After a while, some answers started to move around in her brain, like a word jumble that finally made sense. She did a little spin and threw her hands in the air.
"Oh, yes! Now I finally know how it feels to be one with the universe!" she shouted up to the sky, knowing the next thing to eliminate. She hurried over to the glass-topped table, picked up her phone, and scrolled down to Maxine Morgan's number.
"Hello, Arabella! Funny thing is that I was just thinking of our conversation! I have that gift, you know. So, you've come to your senses. Fantastic."
"As a matter of fact, I have, yes. Our partnership just isn't going to work."
"Excuse me?" Maxine's usual airy tone hardened.
"We simply don't have the same vision. So, unfortunately, I won't be reading endless emails or signing any paperwork." Several choice curse words came to mind: she left them out but took some satisfaction in thinking them.
"Are you out of your mind?"
"For a little while, yes, I think I was. But I see things clearly now."
"Do you know who you're talking to?"
"Uh, I just dialed your number, so yes and goodbye." Arabella laughed when she heard the sputtering of Maxine's voice as she ended the call. Raising her hands to the sky, she yelled, "Yes! Crossed off my list!" She drew an X in the air and did the Snoopy happy dance in a circle until she felt dizzy with relief. Now, on to the next call.
"Arabella," answered Jenna. "What's up, girl?"
"Are you sitting down?"
"I am now."
"Okay, you know how you wanted to invest in Hip, Hop, Health but I refused?"
"Yes, silly girl. Have you changed your mind? Then you could give Maxine the heave-ho."
"I'm one step ahead of you. Maxine is history."
"Yes!" Jenna said, and Arabella imagined her friend doing the same fist pump and Snoopy dance that she'd done moments ago. "So, are you finally willing for me to invest? I have the money ready and waiting and a business plan in place. We'd make great partners."
"No, I don't want an investment, but I am offering to sell. The company is worth about what I borrowed from the bank, so if I sold, I'd most likely come out about even. In other words, I'll sell the business to you for a dollar."
"What?" Jenna sputtered. "That just doesn't seem fair."
"It's my fault that I overextended myself. If you don't want it, then I'll put it on the market, but I wanted to give you the first shot. Are you in?"
Jenna squealed. "I'm stunned, but yes! Oh, wait, but with one condition."
"Name it."
"I would like for you to stay on as dance coordinator. I need you to come up with new and innovative routines. There's no one better."
"Done. Call Dean and get the paperwork going."
"Are you sure, Arabella? You've worked so hard and risked so much."
"Jenna, I'm positive," Arabella insisted, and it was amazing how very right this move felt. "It would be a lot harder if I weren't selling to you. You've got a great head for business."
"Wow, I'm floored. Wait, does this have anything to do with a certain boy-band hottie?"
"Yes," Arabella admitted, knowing that Jenna would feel better taking over the business if she knew there were reasons other than financial ones behind Arabella's decision to sell. "Don't breathe a word, but I think we might get a second chance."
"Oh, this is a hard secret to keep, but my lips are sealed," Jenna said, and let out another little squeal.
"Get the paperwork started," Arabella said, laughing with one of her best friends.
"Will do!"
Arabella ended the call and felt her heart beating fast. Now, instead of using the money she earned from the Heartbeat choreography to invest in Hip, Hop, Health, she could buy her grandmother's little house and keep it in the family. Arabella knew she didn't spend enough time in Cincinnati, and having her own place up there would make it easy to visit. Her mother and father might not have given her the perfect childhood, but they loved her and she loved them too. She'd learned from loving Grady that forgiveness went hand in hand with love and made bonds between people even stronger. She needed to stop running from her childhood.
///
Now all she had to do was call her father and tell him not to sell Granny York's house, but she could do that later, since she'd gotten a voice mail from him letting her know he'd put selling the house on the back burner. "This calls for a glass of wine," she said, and headed inside the beach house. She uncorked a bottle of cold chardonnay and gave herself a generous pour. She took a sip of the buttery, oaked wine, sat down on a barstool, and then smiled when the most important thing on her list walked in the front door.