Page 31 of Cookie

Ryan

T he snow continued to fall, and by the time Christmas rolled around, I was starting to hope spring would come early. The store was busy, and I finally felt confident I’d made the right decision about buying it. Then there was Charlie. He was the best decision of them all.

“Hey, babe, I’m going to head over to the shop. I’ll see you after work,” he said, and after a quick kiss, he was out the door hurrying across the freshly plowed street. We’d be ringing in the new year together at his cabin, something I would have never imagined last year.

“Morning, Ryan,” Avery said as she walked into the store covered head to toe and bringing my focus back to the here and now. “I’m so glad the power is back on.”

“Morning. Me too. The generator is okay, but it’s nice to be able to turn the lights on and not worry about running out of gas. Do you have plans for tonight?”

“Some of my friends are getting together at my house for a few drinks and games. We’re not really into going out to drink on New Year’s Eve,” she said as she hung up her coat and stripped off her scarf and hat.

“Good choice. We’re going to Charlie’s cabin so we can stay there tomorrow.” At first, I didn’t want to close the store, but we’d been working hard even with the heavy snow and power outage. I was ready to spend time with my man.

“That sounds nice. Are you cooking anything special or going out to eat?”

“I’m not sure. I’m letting him take care of that. He’s a better cook than he likes to admit,” I said.

“You hit the jackpot with that one. Charlie really is one of the best.”

“He is. I should get something special to take with us. I’ll think about it and maybe once you’re settled, I’ll go down the street.”

“Sure thing. It’s not like we’ll be swamped today.”

“Thanks, Avery, I appreciate how much you do for the store. You know I couldn’t have made this happen without your help.”

“I know,” she said and walked into the backroom. I took care of the small amount of tidying up needed and unpacked an order we had received earlier. Just as I was putting the last book on the shelf, Avery walked out carrying a cup of coffee.

“You’re still here? I thought you’d be out shopping by now,” she said with a grin before taking a sip of coffee. “What are you waiting for?”

“You’re right, no time like the present.

” I slipped on my coat and after a wave goodbye, was out the door.

The street was quiet, but most of the shops were open.

The first stop was at the café where I ordered the same meal we’d had that first date and made sure it would be ready right after work so we could go from work to Charlie’s cabin and not worry about cooking anything.

Then I went to the bakery and after choosing a few cookies to snack on, I also bought a small Opera cake for dessert.

“Can’t go wrong with chocolaty goodness,” I said as the counter person slipped it all into a bag.

“No, you cannot,” he said. “Special occasion?”

“Just celebrating the new year with my boyfriend. I thought I’d make it a little special and save him having to cook everything.”

“Sounds nice. Thank you,” he said as he handed me my bag and the next person in line walked up to the counter.

I hurried out the door and walked past a few stores that sold souvenirs and other things that neither of us really needed, but then I came to a store that sold handcrafted wooden items. There were so many unique items in the window I walked inside to see what else there was.

Neither of us were interested in giving gifts just because.

We both liked to put some thought into what we gave each other, which was why we both just gave each other one small gift for Christmas, instead of a pile of meaningless gifts.

Charlie had given me a new warm scarf that I had on, and I’d given him a new pair of thick socks.

As I wandered around, there were so many unique items I stopped and looked at each one that caught my eye.

Then there was a display of something that had a propeller on the front and when it turned, it made the character on top move.

“Those are whirligigs,” someone on the next aisle said.

“They’re so fun,” I said and spun the propeller on a few to see how they worked. One of them was a goose, the wings flapped when the propeller turned. Another was a truck, and the wheels spun while it bumped along. But then I saw one that was perfect. “Can I get this one?”

“Of course. I have some in the back still in the box,” the woman whose name tag read Bonnie said, before hurrying off. I spun the propeller again and watched as the lumberjack raised his ax and chopped at a piece of wood. “Here you go. Was there anything else?”

“No, that’s all for now. I love your store.”

“Thank you. Don’t you own the bookstore?” she asked as she rang me up.

“Yes, Ryan Stone,” I said and held my hand out.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Bonnie Porter. I’ve been to your store a few times, but Avery was working.”

“I’m sorry I missed you,” I said.

“Oh, I’ll be back,” she said and handed me a bag. “I gave you the local discount.”

“Thank you, and I’ll be back too.” I walked out the door and turned once more to look at their window.

I hadn’t heard about this “local discount” but I’d ask Avery about it, because it sounded like something we should be doing too.

The tourists’ dollars were great, but when everything shut down like it had been, we were dependent on the locals and a small discount helped everyone.

I hurried back to the store and passed Avery and a few customers as I walked straight to the backroom. “Did you get something good?” Avery asked as soon as I walked back out to hang up my coat.

“I did. There are so many fun shops. Every time I go out, I find something I haven’t seen before.”

“We do have a pretty good little town,” Avery said and smiled at the customer she was currently helping. When everyone had gone, I asked her about the local discount. “How much is it?”

“It’s only ten percent, but the locals appreciate it. It’s better than nothing and encourages shopping local,” she said.

“Let’s start doing it. They kept us so busy the past month, it’s the least we can do to give back.”

“You’re a good boss, you know that?” Avery said.

“Well, you’re an outstanding employee,” I said.

“And an excellent boyfriend,” Charlie said from behind me.

“Hey, what are you doing here already?”

“Work is slow. I thought I’d see how busy you were and ask if you wanted to go to my place early,” he said and wrapped his arms around me.

“Please go. You two will drive me crazy if you’re here all afternoon. It’s not too busy and you’ll want to get out of here early anyway,” Avery said.

“Are you sure?” I asked and hoped she meant it.

“Yes, go ahead, and Happy New Year.”

I hugged her and thanked her before turning back to Charlie. “We need to stop by the café on the way out of town,” I said as I slipped my coat on, and he continued to stare at me.

“What did you do?” he asked and narrowed his eyes.

“You’ll see. Can you grab those bags there.” I pointed at the bags I’d just brought in. Charlie shrugged and without asking picked them up.

“Looks like you’ve been busy,” Charlie said as we waved to Avery and walked over to his truck.

“Maybe,” I said, and reminded myself not to forget to pick up our dinner.