Chapter 7: Chapter 7
Putting the unpleasantness out of her mind, Memory switched on the Christmas music and hummed along to “Silent Night” as she checked the stock room to make sure she had the candy cane ornaments ready to ship. She loved music but never sang and only hummed if no one else was around to hear her chronically off-tune voice.
She’d been optimistic about this order, so the ornaments were already boxed up. She’d just have to figure out a way to get them to the post office before it closed, which was tricky without anyone to watch the shop. Most of the time, she just did her mailing on Saturday when her dad could cover the store for an hour or two, but these needed to go out today, so she’d have to find another way.
The bell at the front of the store announced she had a customer. “I’ll be right there!” she shouted, hoping her voice sounded pleasant and not irritated at being interrupted. Slipping the red apron she always wore over her festive red and green sweater and jeans, she pulled her blonde hair out from the neck strap and checked the mirror to make sure it wasn’t sticking up. Satisfied that she looked all right, she tied the apron around her waist and headed out of the stock room, making sure the door clicked locked behind her, and then on through the swinging door to the shop.
“Can’t a guy get any service around here?” her dad, Bryce, joked, standing at the front counter with a big smile on his face.
“Dad... what are you doing here? I just left home twenty minutes ago. Did you miss me already?” Memory teased, stopping in front of him.
“No, you forgot your lunch.” He handed her the purple lunch bag she normally carried with her.
“Darn it. I knew I was forgetting something. Thanks.” She took it and set it on the counter, thinking she could put it away later. It was just a sandwich and a few other things she could eat between customers, so it didn’t need refrigerating. “What would I do without you?”
“I don’t know. Grandma always joked that you’d lose your head if it wasn’t attached to your body.”
“So do you and everyone else,” Memory reminded him.
Bryce chuckled, running a hand through his graying brown hair. “I wonder if your mother would’ve changed her mind and named you something else if she would’ve known your name didn’t quite match your personality.”
“It’s not my personality,” Memory corrected. “I just get... distracted. I can remember important things. Like people’s birthdays. And favorite colors. And recipes for snickerdoodle cookies—even if I don’t remember to take them out before they burn.”
“Now that I’m glad you can remember,” Bryce agreed. “Well, I should get to work.”
“What’s that?” Memory asked, noticing a flyer in his hand. The red and green trim looked similar to the one she’d seen blowing down the street earlier.
“Oh, this?” Bryce asked, his tone changing slightly as if he didn’t want to tell her. “It’s nothing. Just something I saw at the diner.”
“Can I see?”
Reluctantly, her dad handed her the paper. Memory took it and immediately wished she hadn’t. “Seriously? Another one? That makes, what... three?”
“Memory, honey, I know you don’t like these bed and breakfasts springing up all over town, but... maybe it’s a good thing. Maybe having these homes restored is better than leaving them empty.”
“If there was a family moving into them, sure, Dad. But look—this is another one of those big companies swooping in and buying up real estate, turning it into more of a hotel than an actual family run bed and breakfast. I remember when the Candy Cane Lane Inn was the only B and B in Christmas Falls. Now, with this one, there are three more. And none of the other ones are family operated. They may as well be Motel 8s.” She shook her head and handed the flyer back to her dad. “Gingerbread House Inn--grand opening this weekend. I bet they’re already booked through Christmas.”
“Booked with customers who will come here and buy your ornaments and other trinkets,” Bryce reminded her, looking around the shop.
“And take a home that could’ve been filled with a family and turn it into another impersonal hotel disguised as a B and B.” She shook her head, folding her arms. She knew her dad didn’t see things the same way she did.
He leaned down and kissed her temple. “I gotta get to the office. I hope that gust of wind we had a little while ago didn’t cause any damage to any of our clients.”
“Have fun adjusting claims, Dad,” she said, watching him head to the door, her mood still off.
Bryce waved at her from the door and headed to his red truck, which she could see parked in one of the spots in front of the shop. If only the insurance agency was on the square, instead of across town, so he could cover for her for a few minutes during lunch. She knew he’d come over and help her out if she asked, but her dad liked to eat lunch with his coworkers, so she hated to ask him to give that up. She’d figure out how to get the boxes to the post office in the next day or two. Maybe if she waited until Wednesday, a few more sales would come through and she could mail them all at the same time....
The door chimed and a local couple she knew from church came in. “Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Howard. How are you?”
Memory went about helping Mrs. Howard find a gift for her niece, trying not to let her father’s news about the new B and B keep her from enjoying the holiday spirit. Christmas really was the most wonderful time of the year, even if this one felt a little off without Grandma Helen. She put a smile on her face and got to work, glad to stay busy to keep her mind off of what she’d lost.