Returning to the Van Direstag home, Richard had some sense of some continued complicated issues that were still to come. Of course, they also added to an already complicated situation that the Van Direstag family had already found. Though, in some ways, as he pulled into the garage, Richard rationalized that with him and Rose being werelions now and sharing Moon Lake's secret, the issues with the law wouldn't be there and finding that his mind and personality were largely the same eased his fears regarding other things that had come from his initial reaction. That filled him with some relatively good feelings, along with the fact that Rose might be on her way to being pregnant with their fourth child, if she wasn't pregnant already as a result of her entrance into were society the previous day. That would enable them to give Frank a safe and financially secure way to get through college, and even before becoming a were, Richard had generally found Moon Lake College's academic program to be helpful.
But there were still things to do and overcome. One was on the career side of things, which he and Rose intended to get started on. They had their sports and health shop to run and get going, and Richard knew there would be some minor hurdles there as he walked around the car and approached the door that led from the garage to the house. The other issue, and potentially the bigger one, was part of the things he had discovered the previous night and related to the likelihood that Rachel would eventually find herself joining were society at some point. There were some worries about Rob too, but for the moment, Rachel was the more immediate worry on the back of Richard's mind, and he wasn't sure about how to discuss that with Rose. Though, he did hear her voice as he approached the door, and it got clearer after he opened it.
"So... you'll meet us at the site?" Rose asked as Richard came into the hallway to find her on the phone, presumably with the realtor that they had been dealing with. There was a pause for a few moments and then Rose answered, "That quick? Well... my husband just returned, and I'll let him know. We'll meet you there. Thank you."
As Richard came in, he found Rose in the hall, but facing toward the main living room at the far end of that hallway. She was dressed now in a pair of light blue jeans and a dark blue collared shirt with short sleeves. Because she was facing the living room, he couldn't tell if the shirt was a full button-down shirt or just a polo with buttons at the collar area of the shirt, though a part of him was also happy to see her and felt that she filled out what she was wearing very well. As he shut the door, she did turn to face him, and he noted it was a polo shirt with a gold "M" sitting above the curve of her generous chest. In this, Richard was able to guess that this was one of her old work shirts that was worn as a sort of uniform while they ran their store in Ann Arbor and often with some connection to the college's athletic department. She hung the plastic cordless phone on its wall mount and looked to Richard.
"That was the realtor for the property we've set up to rent for our sporting goods and exercise equipment," Rose announced, "a... Ryan Burger. He does a lot of the business realty work here."
"He lives in Moon Lake?" Richard wondered.
"No, he lives in Seattle and works there," Rose answered, "but there generally isn't a lot of realty business that goes on IN Moon Lake to have a major office here. He said there is a small shop that handles local housing and that sort of thing, but they don't handle the bigger buildings that would relate to businesses and so on."
"Probably because of the potential for business related risks that a small town wouldn't have as much need for," Richard surmised, to which Rose nodded.
"Anyway, I gave him a call to let him know that we were ready to pick up the keys for the shop and see what all we need to get things set up there," Rose answered, "he said that all our loans were in order and handled the payments to get started, but he will meet us at the shop."
"He's on his way here?" Richard blinked.
"Not to the house, the shop that we've scheduled to rent," Rose corrected, "on Main Street. Did you meet him in person when you and Frank scouted out the location last summer?"
"I believe we did," Richard said slowly, "though... I'd imagine that I was probably just a face in the crowd for him."
"Maybe... but you are substantially bigger and more athletic than you were last summer," Rose reminded him.
"We'll cross that bridge if he brings it up," Richard commented, "on the business side of things... we will need to get our shop going. How long will it take him to get here?"
"He said he'd be at the shop in about an hour," Rose commented, "so... on the business side of things, we have a little while before we'd need to go down and get the keys."
Richard nodded and followed Rose down the hallway and into the living room. Rose made a left turn and was likely looking to get another cup of coffee before they headed out again. As it wouldn't take them long to drive to the location of where their shop was to be. In fact, things were close enough that they could probably walk there if they wanted to save on gasoline and would still have time to wait. However, there would likely be some other business-related matters that they'd need to make some scouting runs on that related to Moon Lake's secret and how that would relate to a lot of the business they did. If the college or the high school had sports teams, they could work out a deal for apparel and replica gear, just as they'd done in Michigan. If not, they could stock in apparel for some of the other colleges that did have teams, along with gear for the local professional teams as a sort of "sporting goods store."
"Do you want some coffee?" Rose asked him.
"If there's enough for one cup," Richard answered, "as while we may have some time... we can't really afford to be late. Particularly while thinking over things, we'll need to prepare for. Looking over certain investments for inventory and when we can get that delivered to the shop. As we would need to make some calls... I still have the contacts for the companies that provided the equipment we sold in Michigan with regard to exercise equipment..."
"There will also be making sure there are good fire escape routes and a means to store excess inventory," Rose commented, "and some we may need to scale back on."
"Scale back..." Richard said slowly.
"Yes, both of us look stronger than we did in college," Rose answered, "and while my ribs are still a bit sore... I know I have more energy than before. I'd imagine that a lot of weres have that sensation in their lives and won't invest in exercise equipment. They'd either go out and climb the mountains or go hunting."
"That'd make sense for the larger predatory weres," Richard commented, "but that wouldn't apply for all... and I'd imagine that even with a higher metabolism... I don't even weres can afford to just lay back and stuff themselves. And from what we know, not everyone in Moon Lake is a were. From what we've heard from Mrs. Twist, the Talbots, and some of the other people we've run into... there are even people that have grown up here as normal humans and are still here. So... I'd assume there would at least be SOME need for the equipment. Perhaps not as much as we had in Michigan, but some demand, nonetheless. And I believe we discussed adding in repair work for equipment we do sell. If it's mechanical, we could do that work on the equipment... and for some of the stuff, if it's software that would require new coding... we could probably better afford and handle their bills for repairing or replacing that stuff than those we'd sell the equipment to."
Rose appeared in the doorway to the living room a few moments later and handed Richard his mug. He looked in to find that it was only half full, but he could feel the heat coming off it as he sniffed it. He also guessed that Rose had a full mug as well.
"And I agree," Rose spoke, "but it'll be something to keep in mind. For while sports apparel will be easy, as we did a lot of that in Michigan, it probably wasn't as big of a part of our inventory as it will be here. And we should prepare for that."
Richard nodded and sipped his coffee, what was there of it, "the bigger issue might be on things like apparel. For even if there are a fair number of normal humans that go to college and attend high school here... I'd imagine that MOST are weres. And even among some of the normal humans that move here... I'd wonder how many families have come in and not just have at least one member become a were to go by their strange laws... but the whole family changes. Think on the Jenkins... Rachel's friend and her father moved here before we did. He became a weretiger and is engaged to the weretigress that turned him... Melissa fell in love with a local boy and became a werecow... She's taller, stronger, and... well... bigger. And there are probably a fair number of normal families that ultimately make that choice. And that'll change what we need to order for sizes... and what sorts of apparel and so on."
The two sipped their coffee for a while, though Rose did answer.
“I’d think the bigger thing would be on the nature of the order,” Rose commented, “for if there are large number of weres… if Moon Lake participated in Washington’s sports, they’d have weres setting records that some professional athletes don’t easily reach and could draw attention that Moon Lake doesn’t want.”
“Even without the secrecy, it’d be troublesome,” Richard commented, “I mean… I’m stronger now than I was in college… you’re stronger than you were in college. And all of it without extensive training or exercise. If we then trained, things would become even more extreme in that regard and wouldn’t be fair to high schoolers facing competition that could probably hold its own against top tier colleges or even paid professional athletes.”
There was an uneasy silence as Richard finished his coffee and put it on an end table next to the couch.
“But there could be something where Moon Lake does some kind of competition within the town and with the schools,” Richard commented, “where the secret would be known, and the bulk of the competition would be between weres and thus on more equal footing. If they have things like that, we might be able to sell promotional gear for that for Moon Lake residents and so on. But we’d have to talk to the school superintendent and likely the college dean as well. And if not… we can sell things like replica jerseys for the local pro teams and the bigger Washington colleges that Moon Lake might have fan interest in.”
"So... all further adjustments," Rose spoke, "things that are surprising in a way... but doable. As from what we've already seen on the list of businesses that are in Moon Lake... they don't have anything for sporting goods, apparel, and so on. They'd have to go to Seattle for that."
"The rest will have to wait until we can get a look at the building," Richard nodded, feeling some degree of relief at being able to talk business. It would provide something of a distraction from the worries regarding Rachel and her future regarding were society and Aaron Tachibana.
They did ultimately finish their coffee and then drove down to the site their shop would be at. It wasn't far, and thankfully traffic was slow enough that they were able to make the left turn onto Main Street, the east-west road that ran through Moon Lake, but with other missions that would relate to both Moon Lake College and the local school district's central office to get at least confirmation on what the Van Direstags suspected, driving was considered big. Richard came and parked in front of an empty space before the building. Based on the build, it was likely an older building from the end of the 1800s to early 1900s, though Richard wasn't good enough of an architectural historian to say which. He could just tell that by its brick construction that it was "old." It was a relatively long building in terms of what it occupied along the street going east to west but wasn't as deep in terms of going north and south. There was one large glass window that was in front where he parked on the building, but as Richard looked up, he could see that there was also a row of smaller windows on the building's second floor, which he guessed were actually apartments, and fit with the vibe of an older building.
"Well... the outside looks nice... for an older building," Richard said to Rose as he heard the passenger door shut.
"We'll need a sign, though," Rose pointed out and raised an arm up to point to a long section that ran above the door at the front and above the main window. It was like a large recess was built into the brick and was set up to allow for a wooden sign to be placed there. For the moment, that space was empty.
"That might be a bit different," Richard mused, "but not unworkable. Either I can see to get some wood and paint a sign or see if the High School has a wood shop that would want to make the sign as a sort of project."
"We might still need temporary sign if we go that route, and they've likely all started their work for the year," Rose warned, "it may be easier to work things out on our own."
Richard slowly nodded. It would present something where there would need to be some question on what the name for the store would be. If Moon Lake College didn't have an athletic program, they wouldn't be able to link the name to the college as they had in Michigan, and at the same time, Richard was not someone that felt that selling on his name was a good strategy. A good business needed to work on either the goods it sold, or the quality of the service provided. Playing to a "name" often played to branding, and that wasn't necessarily a good thing. He was about to go and take a look through the window while they waited for the realtor when he heard some footsteps coming, along with the jingling of a key on a chain. He noted there were others on the street, but they weren't close, so he looked up to see a lone man approaching.
"Mr. and Mrs. Van Direstag?" the realtor, Ryan Burger, asked.
"Yes," Richard said slowly.
"So... I'd see that you've gone through with Moon Lake's laws, that'll help," Ryan Burger gave a friendly smile and actually shook Richard's hand, "Ryan Burger. I told your wife on the phone that the loans for the business have gone through, and you should be set... at least financially. The coverage based on that payment should give you time to get your stock in and get things set up."
"You... you know?" Richard blinked.
"On what were you are now... no, of Moon Lake's secrets, yes," Ryan Burger answered, "as I said to another new resident here before he opened up his restaurant, my family moved here when I was a baby... too young to be our family's were. My older sister was around seventeen and became a werefox. She's still around with her family... and while my dad's work saw us move away when I was five... working in the realty business, and specifically the company that will handle business properties in Moon Lake, is something quite good. I'm close enough to see my sister and be happy for her family."
Richard blinked again but decided not to get into it. This surprise made some things easier.
"Anyway, with you here, I've brought the keys and can give you a good final look over with regard to the property," Ryan Burger spoke and moved toward the door. Richard and Rose followed and watched as Ryan Burger lifted up the key. "This is the main key to the building. It will open this door and the back door that you'll see once we're inside."
They came in and found a relatively open room. The floor was tiled, and it looked fairly new, so that Richard felt the building had had to have gotten some upgrades over the years. Some of that was reinforced as he looked up to see rows of florescent lights hanging from the ceiling. There was an orange metal folding ladder that lay on its side by the southeast wall of the room they'd come into. There was a wooden counter just to their left and Rose figured that that was where the cashier's station had been with whatever store had been here before she and Richard had found the space open for a new business to move in the previous summer and before their plans to move to Moon Lake were set.
"Well, this looks good," Rose said to Richard, "we could probably arrange things to sit well. Some exercise equipment for any were that may want it... or normal humans living in Moon Lake. Some sets for things like basketball hopes. Balls and the like. And then a fair amount of space for what apparel that would be the big thing here."
Richard nodded in agreement. The counter at the front was long enough that he or Rose could handle some of the other related business matters while the other ran the cashier. They might want to install an office space for them at some point, as he didn't see an open space for one. Toward the south side of the large open room, he could see two doors. One had "him" and the other had "her" on it. Richard assumed those were restrooms. Ryan Burger then waved them forward and they crossed the room toward a third door, which was painted to match the wall. He opened it from the inside and then presented the lock on the other side of the door and then motioned the same key he'd used earlier.
"The key that opened the main door will also open this backdoor," Ryan Burger spoke and ushered them out, "and that leads into this back hallway. The air here was a bit staler and there were large metal stairs at both ends of the hallway and doors on the east and west sides of the building. Ryan Burger then flipped to another set of keys and held that one up. Richard noted that the part that would be held by the person turning the key was circular as opposed to the first one that had a more pentagon shape to it. "This key will open the two side doors here and would allow of outside entrance and a way for you to stock items without interfering with any shopping traffic."
"What about renters?" Rose wondered, "the building has two floors and from what I could see, it looked like there were a row of windows on the top floor that would look like apartments."
"There are two small apartments on the second floor," Ryan Burger nodded, "and they would only have keys to these side doors and the door to their specific apartments. They're one of the very few residential properties that my company in Seattle would have access to... as when this shop building was originally built, the people who lived in them also worked and ran the store. Over time as businesses changed or people moved out... those sorts of things changed. The main purpose of the building is the shop area that you're buying... but the company agreed that we can't kick people out of their homes. Which is why the apartments here would be among the very few that we might hold residential interest in... and where I've made sure that if anyone calls about renting them, I'd be sent..."
"Because you already have family that lives here," Richard finished and watched Ryan Burger nod.
Richard then looked up and noted that on a walkway above them there were three doors behind an iron railing that was fenced in tightly enough that it'd be unlikely for anyone to fall from the second floor to the first. Going from east to west, the doors were numbered 1, 2, and 3. From there Richard then mulled over what Ryan Burger had said about the number of apartments.
"You said there were two apartments," Richard said slowly, "but there are three doors."
"Yes," Ryan Burger nodded, "door one is actually the storage room for you. From what I know... when the shop first opened, they would store everything on the main shop floor and organize things as they came it. It likely meant long hours and a lot of extra work... but that was how it worked. However, as the "shop" changed hands and so on, some of the plans or wants for "space" changed. And it made sense to at least have one room be a sort of storage and sorting room. You can have some office space there, along with warehouse space for affixing price tags and so on. And unless you're ordering things that are insanely long... it should all be workable."
He led them up the stairs and they clanged a bit. Nothing that indicated that the stairs were faulty but just the result of their shoes hitting the metal on the stairs with each step. When Ryan Burger got to door one, hen then produced a new key. This one had the section where one would grip the key looking like a large triangle. He held it up for both Richard and Rose to see.
"And this key would be the one that would open this door to what you can use as an office and as your warehouse space," Ryan Burger noted.
He then opened that door and opened it, letting Richard and Rose look through. The space was open and looked like it had the floor space of a small apartment, like one they had had when they first got out of college and when Frank was little and before Rob and Rachel were born. Richard thought he saw some spots where interior walls had been, but he noted they were also fixed up well enough that one might really have to look for it. He also noted spots that where things like plumbing came in were now closed off and had heavy metal caps to protect against water flow.
"Do you think we can make it work?" Richard asked to Rose.
"It might be hectic at first... but, from the way things look... and with there being two stairways," Rose commented, "it should be manageable. And I can move and unpack our business computer for here. The site does have an internet connection, right?"
"You'd probably have to call who you'd prefer as a provider and they'd set you up," Ryan Burger commented, "though some of that could take time, as I don't think they have offices in Moon Lake. Though, on the plus side, if you ever have computer issues in the future, my sister says they do have someone who knows computers and their programming. The bigger thing will be the phone line. With this room set as the shop's "warehouse," we've seen to it that the phone lines are the same. So someone could call at the cashier and it would also ring here. Both of you... or whoever you employ... could then direct the call to a specific line. The main shop floor would be line one and this one line two."
Richard nodded and added that to the list of things to do, but so far, the start of the day was looking to go rather well.
"Well, that all sounds good... and all our paperwork is in order?" Richard asked.
"Yes, and you'll keep with the deals and arrangements made with regard to the rent and all that?" Ryan Burger asked.
Richard and Rose both nodded. With that Ryan Burger smiled and then handed the keys to Richard. They shut the door and Richard locked door one. Both Van Direstags smiled. While they knew there were plenty of other issues that would be going on as they adapted to Moon Lake, both as new weres and as parents, they could at least be pleased with the start at getting their business set up. Next would be to scout out more and see what both the school district's central office and the college would have or want for apparel needs and so on.