Luther snickered.“You fellows call me when you play a round of putt-putt.”
Everyone laughed.
“Jeff, you should invite a couple of friends to join us,” Cavin suggested.
“I will see who I can scrounge up.”
“Tell them the outing is on me,” Cavin offered.He carried a healthy budget for wining and dining, and he would pay for the meal he and Luther just ate even though Luther invited him.“That might entice them.”
“We will likely have a line of people waiting to play,” Jeff teased.
“The more the merrier.”
Cavin needed a local to have some drinks with this evening so he could check out the nightlife on his first Friday in Beaufort.He considered asking Luther or Jeff, but neither seemed like the type.Both wore wedding rings and probably had a family at home.Cavin thought back through the people he met today—the names he wrote in his notebook and the business cards with phone numbers.He would prefer to meet an attractive woman who could show him around town, and if it turned into something more, that would be an added bonus, especially since he would be in Beaufort for a while.
Cavin recalled meeting a few cute ladies today.Some he imagined could show him a pretty good time, but for some reason one in particular stood out.In fact his interaction with Noel Puckett crossed his mind several times as he familiarized himself with this place.She had kids, though, making the chances she could go out on a whim on a Friday night seem unlikely.He would also feel a little awkward going back into her store for a second, or technically a third, time today.
Cavin blinked his eyes realizing he lost track of the conversation the two gentlemen sitting across from him were having in reality.When they reached a stopping point, he asked a question his mind had been pondering.
“So who owns the fancy yacht?”
11
The morning hours at the candy shop flew by along with the gusts of wind that swirled outdoors.Lunchtime came and went, and the only thing Noel found time to eat was leftover fruit from last night.The fifty cinnamon rolls disappeared within an hour, and she could proudly say she never indulged.Instead she burned calories racing around the shop doing everything from showing customers to the candy of their liking to sweeping up an entire box of malt balls that somehow got spilled to working the cash register when Mrs.Madelyn needed a break.
Mrs.Madelyn preferred to work the front counter because it allowed her to sit on the stool for the most part which kept the pressure off her knees that came with working the floor.She knew Noel’s young body could handle the bending, random ladder climbing, and walking countless laps around the maze of candy barrels and bins.She nearly had to force Noel to sit on the stool up front while she devoured the sandwich she brought for lunch.Her husband packed it for her knowing a busy day lay ahead.He always did sweet things like that.
Levi and Laney nibbled from the fruit bowl here and there as they showed the younger customers around the store, tackled random projects Noel and Mrs.Madelyn needed help with, and ran up and down the stairs a hundred times like usual.They also made sure each kid who entered the shop received a hand-delivered miniature candy cane from the basket near the tree or the one by the front door depending on where they were when they noticed them.
“Have you seen my Santa hat?”Noel figured she heard this question ten times today as the kids ran around the store, mostly helping but also playing.When they got hot or tired of wearing the decorative hats, they ended up in the most random places.Thankfully, Noel hadn’t had to ask them to slow down many times, and in each missing item situation, one of them or Mrs.Madelyn found the hat.
The kids weren’t the only ones asking questions.“Do you think we are busier than last year’s Black Friday?”Noel asked Mrs.Madelyn on more than one occasion.She knew a steady stream of customers meandered through the store, but she made a pact with herself not to be distracted by looking at the sales numbers throughout the day.Instead, she would wait for the big reveal after closing.
“It’s hard to say, but I know I have rung up a lot of customers,” Mrs.Madelyn answered optimistically.
The afternoon hours seemed to move like the fast-forward feature on a television as Noel cut and weighed countless slices of fudge while tackling other random tasks that popped up.She loved giving children samples of the fudge that looked or sounded best to them, and then watching their eyes light up like the Christmas trees their families decorated this time of year.Many of the kids wanted to keep the tiny spoons, but the downside to their excitement about the miniature utensils was having to collect them from the most peculiar places in the store.However, there was always an opportunity for a positive spin, and the one for this dilemma was that Levi and Laney enjoyed having Where’s Waldo hunts to see who could find the most.On the other hand, neither of them wanted to clean the mirage of fingerprints off the glass display case, so Noel often found herself with the window cleaner and paper towels in her hands.
The Christmas tree needed watering daily, and that didn’t click in Noel’s brain until late in the day.The kids filled a water pitcher in the kitchen sink, and she followed behind, wiping up a trail of droplets they left in their wake.
Throughout the day it brought Noel joy to see so many familiar faces, even ones she saw just yesterday at the Thanksgiving feast, as well as to meet new customers.Some she hadn’t seen frequently enough to recognize, and others said this marked their first visit to the candy shop.She made an effort to tell every customer how much she appreciated their business whether they purchased a handful of candy or walked out with bags full in each hand.Everyone seemed so full of energy, and Noel imagined hearing Christmas music for the first time of the season and seeing the store decorated for the holiday may have had something to do with that.She received numerous compliments on the tree, the icicle lights, and the window displays.
The mayor’s wife stopped by for her favorite pie and promised to order more for upcoming festivities.The jolly woman threw more parties than anyone Noel ever met which delighted her because she regularly ordered pies, fudge, candy, or an assortment of all of these goodies.Just today Noel wrote down a handful of orders for the lady including one for the book club and another for her bridge group.
When the cuckoo clock sounded at five, Mrs.Madelyn finished ringing up the customers in line, and Noel held open the door for each of them.Mrs.Madelyn walked the final customer to the exit where they all stood talking for several minutes with their hair blowing across their shoulders.
While the adults remained occupied, Laney and Levi scurried like little mice down the stairs and snuck into their hideout underneath the cash register.Laney threw a blanket over their heads and held her pointer finger to her lips.
“Stay quiet so we can surprise them,” she whispered excitedly.
Noel pushed the door against the wind, turned the lock, and hurried to the cash register to pull up the sales data on the monitor.Mrs.Madelyn knew her motive, and she too was eager to see the Black Friday totals.She stood over Noel’s shoulder as they scanned the list showing the number of transactions, average ticket amount, and all kinds of other helpful data.However, the figure that interested Noel the most was at the bottom, and when she mouthed it as Mrs.Madelyn read it, her head and heart sank into her hands.
Mrs.Madelyn sighed and rubbed Noel’s back gently.“Oh, honey, it’s just one day,” she reminded her friend.
“It’s supposed to be the biggest day of the year,” Noel murmured beneath her palms.
“It probably was,” Mrs.Madelyn replied looking on the bright side.
“Yeah, but not big enough.I can’t hire anyone to help if sales aren’t up enough even for me to pay myself a decent wage.”
