Merrie
“Um,” Olivia said when she walked into my shop the next morning, “Did you have a visit from all the elves in Santa’s workshop?”
“Turns out heartbreak-fueled baking can really give you the energy needed to break your own cookie records.” I chugged down the rest of my coffee and threw the paper cup in the garbage with the other five cups that I had bought to counteract the Christmas punch I had drunk at Aunt Bettina’s party.
I slapped another mound of cookie dough on the counter and attacked it with my rolling pin, wishing the dough were Matt’s face.
“I thought you said there might be a logical explanation?” Olivia said gently, setting her bag down.
“Screw Matt,” I said, sniffling. “I saw the tabloid stories this morning. They’re back together. I know it. He’s decorating the whole-ass estate house that he bought her and going on a honeymoon and getting sexy photos from her and sneaking around with her. He was never in love with me. He never liked me.”
“I think you’re making that dough a little too thin,” Olivia said gingerly, taking the rolling pin away from me and folding the dough over.
“What am I going to do?” I asked, starting to cry. Olivia patted me on my flour-covered shoulder.
“Sell cookies,” she said firmly. “If he has the terrible sense to get back together with Hensley of all people, then he’s not the type of man you want in your life. He’s only going to drag you down.”
She handed me a new cup of coffee. “I think you need that.”
I drankmy weight in coffee the rest of the day. I was exhausted, sad, and demoralized. How had I gotten it so wrong? What was wrong with me? I tried to be cheerful as people streamed in to purchase cookies and select their free ornaments. We were on the last batch. I had turned over the key to my storage unit. There were two days until Christmas. I had lost the love of my life, if I’d ever even had him in the first place, but dammit, I wasn’t going to lose my shop.
Matt wanted his money? Fine. I would pay him back every penny of it. I had the biggest number of customers I’d ever had. I was pretty sure I could make the payment.
Just need a Christmas miracle.
“Good thing you made all these cookies,” Olivia told me, trying to cheer me up.
One of the customers came over to give me a big hug. “Switching out sugar and salt can happen to anyone,” she assured me. “And it was so sweet of Matt to pretend like he had done it! You’re so lucky you have such a wonderful boyfriend.”
“Yeah,” I said faintly.
“We just had to come support you.”
“I still voted for you,” another woman said. “Thatcroquembouchemade Hensley’s cake look like it had some sort of weird growth. It did not give me Christmas vibes.”
“Not at all,” another customer added. “And don’t worry, we’re going to come back again when you have your Valentine’s Day shop!”
“Valentine’s?” I asked, confused.
“You have to keep it holiday themed,” her friend cried.
It wasearly evening when we sold the last cookie. We had run out of ornaments, and I had been telling people to select them off the tree.
“And have a very Merry Christmas!” I said to the last customer. Then I slumped at the counter.
“Cheer up!” Olivia patted me on the head. Then she slid her laptop in front of me. There was a spreadsheet on the screen. My friend pointed at a column. “This is how much money you made the last couple weeks. Today was your best day yet! You did it! You can pay all your rent. You saved your shop.”
“I did?” I said in shock. “Oh my god, I did it! I’m a successful business owner!”
“Whooo!” Olivia yelled and hugged me. We jumped around laughing.
She handed me a checkbook. “Now you can pay Matt back and have him out of your life forever.”
“Yeah,” I said, looking down at it.
Forever? Never see him again? Ever?
He’s going to be with Hensley, remember.
