“My idea is perhaps not in line with your vision for the second Pink Bean coffee shop, but I wanted to bring it up anyway,” Mia started her pitch to Kristin. The idea had finally crystalized in her mind on a bus ride between the Pink Bean and her home.

“I’m all ears,” Kristin said.

“There is this women’s book shop in Newtown, Annie’s.”

“I know Annie’s. I went there quite often when Sheryl and I lived near the university. Lovely woman, even though I haven’t been there in a while,” Kristin said.

This sounded like a promising first reaction to Mia. “The thing is, Annie’s Bookshop is not doing very well and is about to close or be sold to Pages. I’ve been in plenty of bookshops that have a nook set aside where customers can buy a cup of coffee while they peruse the book they’ve just bought, or might buy if they got to hold it in their hands for a while. Even the big branch of Pages in the CBD has one.” Mia paused for a beat. “The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that the Pink Bean and Annie’s Bookshop could be a match made in heaven. An LGBT-friendly coffee shop plus a women’s bookshop. A university with a thriving Gender Studies department a stone’s throw away. If there’s one thing students don’t economize on—nor anyone else for that matter—it’s a good cup of coffee. The Pink Bean could have its perfect Newtown venue and Annie’s could survive.”

Mia watched Kristin’s face for signs of excitement or dismissal. But Kristin was a master at not showing her feelings and didn’t give much away of what she thought about Mia’s somewhat crazy idea.

“So how do you see this working practically? Would the two businesses be co-existing in the same location?”

“That’s one option. We could lease part of the space from Annie and draw customers to her bookshop. Or we could buy her out and have her lease the space from us. I have done the numbers for both scenarios. But, perhaps, some sort of trial run first would be best.”

“In theory, it’s not a bad idea,” Kristin said, not dismissing the idea outright, “but I’ll need some time to mull it over, talk to Sheryl, visit the shop.” Kristin wasn’t one to bubble over with enthusiasm at the most festive of times, so Mia considered this a win.

“Of course.”

“Can you find out how time sensitive this is?” she asked. “Is Annie on the verge of accepting an offer or just considering it?”

“I’ll go by later today and find out for you.”