They were there when I arrived. I had worn one of my nicest dresses. They looked up, startled by my appearance. They were sitting in a booth, and the sight of them and their familiarity was reassuring to me. Henry and Lea sat close, and Griffin clutched his coffee mug. He fumbled with his bracelets, and I knew he was nervous for me. Before I handed them my proposal, I looked at them and smiled. My brother, who had been through his own struggles but had never deserted me. And Griffin. There weren’t enough commas, prepositional phrases, or ellipses that could adequately define that place he occupied in my heart. What we become is the only thing we can ever truly take credit for. I was about to become Bailey Edgeworth, visionary of VERT. I took a sip of water and started.

“Thank you for giving me this job.” It may have sounded hollow, but I meant it with everything I had. I opened my preliminary notes. “Before I get to the nitty-gritty of my proposal, I want you to stop a minute and think about what the color green conjures up for you.

“For me, the color green represents limitless possibilities. It is, the color of lush fields and the leaves that surround fragrant flowers, the color of robust lawns awash in new growth. It represents springtime when everything blooms anew. Green is the color of hope rewarded after a brutal winter. It is the color of Daddy’s eyes—yours, Henry—and my own. Green is not a color of stasis but rather one of seizing opportunities and momentum. Green signifies beauty.” I paused and set down the proposal in front of each of them.

“I have not only studied this place but other successful restaurants and bars in town. The first thing you’ll notice is that I’ve changed the footprint of the bar.” Griffin looked up. I continued, “I did this for two reasons. I have added additional seating in the bar area. Some people like to just come after work with money in their pockets and an Uber app. They want to drink, maybe have a bite to eat, and watch some sporting event on TV. Henry, I want you and Griffin to put your heads together and concoct a dynamite new bar menu. A five-to-seven menu with drink specials, food specials, and some neat offerings. The other reason I changed the footprint around is because I want those same people to be able to look out into the restaurant and see how much fun everybody is having, to see the beauty and interesting food passing by, and think to themselves that this would be a great place to come on a date or to bring their family.”

No mutiny yet. I continued. “Currently, the bar is blocked off by this wall. I hate not being able to look out and see the panorama of the restaurant. There’s no vista.