September
“Why is this so hard?” Hallie Abernathy groaned under her breath, careful not to disturb the other library patrons. Closing her laptop, she dropped her forehead onto it.Build a website, she said. It’ll expand your reach, she said.
It had seemed like a good idea when her sister suggested it over the phone last month. But what Elise failed to realize was that neither of them knew a thing about website design. And Hallie’s ambitious assumptions of her own abilities had refused to consider it too. She could barely figure out how to use gifs while texting. Did she really believe she could make an entire internet space look professional?
Her side hustle, Hallie’s Cakes, had made an okay name for itself around Buena Hills since its inauguration during her second semester at USC. But five months after graduation, simply supplementing her academic scholarship no longer cut it. Now her livelihood depended on her ability to scale up. If she didn’t figure out how to expand her customer base soon, she’d have to rethink her career goals.
Needless to say, the idea of paying someone thousands of dollars to create a website for her stomped on a little piece of the confidence she had in her future.
She couldn’t do it.
That was the purpose of the internet, right? She may not be a tech wiz, but she did know how to work a web browser. Anything could be figured out with the help of YouTube and pure determination.
Or so she’d thought.
She’d certainly met her match with this problem. The whole reason for buying this website theme in the first place was becausethe demo showed exactly what she needed. But what she’d managed to create looked nothing like it. What was the point of paying for it if she couldn’t get her site to look the way she wanted it to?
Was this the computer gurus’ way of keeping themselves in business? It made sense. If a tech illiterate like Hallie could figure out how to do it, the world wouldn’t need geniuses like them. A smart business tactic, for sure.
An annoying one, but smart.
She rubbed her nose with the back of her hand, willing the pointless tears away. Sheesh, her family always calledherthe voice of reason. There was nothing reasonable about breaking into tears in the middle of a public library after three hours of limited progress.
With another strangled groan, she slid her laptop into her bag. Leaving her secluded corner, her path to the exit took her past the youth section. She waved at the librarian sitting behind the desk. “See you later, Mrs. Hawthorne.”
The woman, with both sides of her ginger bob clipped behind her ears, looked up from the computer. “Hallie! I’m so excited you’ll be providing the treats for our Halloween gathering this year. The cake for my son’s graduation party was absolutely to die for. All our guests had something to say about it. Delicious and gorgeous, they all said.”
“Thank you.” Hallie’s spirits lifted a bit. Speaking with a satisfied client always turned her day around, no matter that Justin’s graduation party was over three months ago and the woman still brought it up whenever she saw her. “I’m glad you loved it.”
“Oh, I did!” Mrs. Hawthorne clapped her hands together. “I told Lawrence that very night we needed to hire you for our next gathering. Between the cake and those raspberry cream puffs you brought to the school carnival last year, you’ve become a favorite of ours. Yes you have.”
The praise wasn’t all that surprising. Lawrence Hawthorne, the principal at the school they were speaking of, had sampled many of those cream puffs himself. But Hallie still gave the librarian a pleased smile.
“Before I forget,” Mrs. Hawthorne continued, “Is it too late to adda few dozen of those amazing macarons you sold at the Summer Kickoff event?”
This must be some party.Mrs. Hawthorne had already added two dozen double chocolate cookies to the order since placing it back in August. Hallie had no room to complain, though. This event might be the key to keeping her in business. If Mrs. Hawthorne talked her up to her friends, it could lead to some fresh customers.
“Not at all.” Hallie made a mental note to check her stock of business cards when she got home. “I’ll be in touch to confirm everything a few weeks before the party.”
Mrs. Hawthorne smiled. “Thank you, dearest. You’re an absolute godsend.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
Ending the conversation, Hallie turned toward the exit, but she only took a few steps before a small child darted past her, almost colliding with her legs. She stopped short so she wouldn’t trip. The girl continued toddling along, pausing by the fish tank along one wall of the youth section.
Shouldn’t there be a parent following that child? Hallie looked around but saw no one. The girl seemed way too young to be without supervision.
Granted, she knew nothing about kids. In high school, while her friends were padding their wallets with babysitting money, she was working as a waitress in her mom’s café. Her one foray into the world of childcare didn’t go well.
This child wasn’t in Hallie’s charge though, so she continued toward the stairs leading down to the self-checkout stands. But those stairs only triggered more concerns. What if this girl wandered to the first floor by herself? She could easily walk out the automatic doors and get lost. Or worse.
Hesitantly, Hallie approached the fish tank unnoticed. The child stood on the wooden stool, her face pressed to the glass, staring at the colorful neon tetras swimming around artificial hardscape and book ornaments.
“Hey, sweetie,” Hallie said cautiously, looking around for anyparents nearby. Would they appreciate a stranger talking to their daughter? “Are you lost?”
The girl pulled her focus away from the glass, her wispy, light brown pigtails bouncing with the movement. She smiled, revealing dimples on both cheeks.
What an angelic child. With twinkly blue eyes and naturally rosy cheeks to offset her porcelain complexion, even dolls didn’t come cuter than this little girl.
