Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
I was still glowing the next morning when I got up for work. Thanksgiving couldn’t have gone better. I was making good, true friends here. Not to mention that kiss. I could still feel that kiss all the way to my toes. I dreamt about it all night.
But now I had to wipe the smile off my face and get into professional mode. We had a busy day ahead of us, and the holiday concert was tonight.
Which gave me a thought. I sent a quick text to Ellison.
Me: I need a date for the concert tonight. Any ideas?
He replied quickly. A good texter. I liked it. Unfortunately, he had bad news.
Ellison: Snow Village has extended hours tonight so I’ll be at work.
He added a few sad face emojis for good measure.
Me: It’s probably for the best. I need to be taking pics and video for our socials. I don’t need to be distracted by anyone too handsome.
Ellison: Maybe I can distract you later, after we both finish working? I get off at 10.
A surge of anxiety shot through me. A late-night date could mean horizontal tango time.
Though we’d shared an Earth-shattering kiss, I didn’t know if I wanted to jump to that quite yet.
We hadn’t even had an official date. But I didn’t not want to, either.
My fingers hovered over the phone when a new text came in.
Ellison: We can grab some cocoas from downstairs and then I’ll show you the roof. No pressure, though. If you’re tired from a long day.
A relieved breath escaped my lips.
Me: Sounds good!
A hot cocoa date was exactly what I needed. But I brought my razor with me into the shower and wore a set of matching bra and panties, just in case I decided to call an audible.
Carol was already in her office when I got to work. Someone was in there with her, so I didn’t interrupt. I headed past and turned my lights on. I slipped out of my coat and hung it on the back of the door.
“Kelsey, stop in when you have a moment!” Carol called out.
I smoothed out any wrinkles from my black pants and headed over with a smile. “Good morning!”
The guest on the other side of the desk was an older woman with white hair held up in a wispy bun. She wore circular glasses, brown corduroy pants, and an oversized white cardigan. Quite the bohemian look, but she’d probably just been wearing the same style for decades.
“Kelsey, this is our choir director, Dorothy,” Carol said by way of introduction. “Dorothy, Kelsey manages our social media.”
Dorothy looked at me over the top of her glasses. “I don’t know anything about those Facechats and Snapgrams. I think they cause more trouble than they’re worth.”
Um, okay. That was only my career. I kept my pleasant—read fake—smile and said, “Well, I’m looking forward to taking photos and video at the concert tonight. It should be a wonderful evening, and I can’t wait to share it with everybody.”
Carol gave me a quick look that told me exactly how she felt about this woman. “Dorothy and I were just discussing the plan for the evening. As I was telling her, the businesses on Main Street are very excited for the foot traffic.”
Dorothy harumphed. I raised my eyebrows. Apparently she wasn’t as excited.
“So, where on the road will the show take place?” I asked.
“That’s the best part.” Carol smiled broadly. “Without a stage weighing us down, we can be more mobile. We’ll have the first song in front of the town hall. Then the choir will move down the street and stop in front of Candy Cane Dreams for the second song. Then move again, and so on.”
“Like traditional Christmas carolers,” I said.
Carol smacked her desk excitedly. “Exactly! See? Kelsey gets it.”
Dorothy practically snarled. “They’ve been practicing for months on a stage, not on a street.”
I could tell that they’d been having this argument a lot longer than in the past minute. Carol was obviously losing her patience. I saw that familiar fire in her eyes.
“Dorothy,” Carol snapped. “With all due respect, this isn’t West Side Story. Just sing the songs. Make the tourists happy.”
The woman grumbled something under her breath, grabbed her puffy coat, and left in a huff.
“See you tonight!” Carol called cheerily at her retreating back.
“Well, she’s just lovely,” I said when she was out of earshot.
Carol held her hands up in a what can you do pose. “Even small-town choirs can have divas.”
I pulled up an image on my phone and passed it to her. “Here’s the newest graphic I created to remind people of the place and time.”
“That’s perfect, Kelsey,” she said, taking a quick glance. “Have a seat, and let’s go over some details.”
I lowered myself down to the chair, unfortunately still warm from Dorothy’s butt, and took my phone back.
“Yesterday’s analytics were great—increases in followers, likes, comments, and shares,” I reported.
And no issues in the comments, which made me thankful.
I checked those this morning before I even got out of bed.
TheChristmasKiller apparently didn’t bother creating another account to continue trolling me. Yet.
Carol squinted at her computer screen, her brows knitting together as she tilted her head slightly. “Tonight’s forecast shows mild temps and no wind. So the weather is behaving.”
Let’s just hope the people do, I thought.
“We lucked out,” Carol said, clicking through forecast maps. “A nor’easter is on the way for late Sunday.”
“Why is that lucky?” I asked, leaning forward slightly in my chair.
“If a big storm rolls in on a Friday,” she explained, “visitors cancel for the whole weekend. But if the storm’s not arriving until late Sunday, they’ll still come—and just check out early in the morning. It doesn’t affect revenue at all.”
Well, thanks for that, Mother Nature, I thought, with a mental salute to the skies. “Are they saying how much we’re going to get?”
Carol spun her chair back toward the screen, clicking around with her mouse. “They still don’t know. The various models are showing widely different accumulation numbers. But the important thing is that it’s not snowing tonight!”
I nodded, shifting back into logistics mode. “I will be there all night to take pictures and videos. I’ll definitely add to our story as the night goes on. But I don’t think we should go live during the event.” I didn’t think I had to explain why, so I left that obvious part unsaid.
A grim look came over Carol’s face. “Yes, I agree. It’s best not to live stream.”
“And in good news, the local company Ice Art agreed to donate a large ice sculpture of Santa in return for a shoutout post. I’m sure a few visitors will post their own photos with it, which is always nice.”
“You know how I love free marketing,” Carol said, pleased. “Tell them to place the sculpture beside the front steps of the town hall.”
“Will do.” I typed it on my to-do list in my Notes app.
Carol’s fingers drummed rhythmically on the edge of her polished desk as she leaned back in her chair, the leather creaking softly beneath her. “How many entries do we have for the mural contest?”
“About four so far.”
She pursed her lips thoughtfully, then reached for her coffee mug and took a measured sip. “Okay, let’s keep it going for longer. I’d like to have at least a half dozen artists to choose from.”
I nodded, mentally calculating how much longer we should keep the contest going to gain those last few entrants.
“You’re doing a great job, Kelsey,” Carol said suddenly.
I looked up, surprised by the sudden change of subject. “Thank you.”
“I mean it. You’ve taken everything I’ve thrown at you and come up with innovative ideas on your own. We’ve been given some rough times here, and you’ve been a team player.” She paused and added with a small smile, “I know that sometimes I can be a lot—”
“Nooo,” I said, denying what we both knew was the truth.
She clasped her hands on top of her desk. “I just wanted to make sure you know that you are valued.”
My face warmed at the compliment. I didn’t think I’d heard that once in my last job, and my performance was just as good.
I gave them years of my life, sixty hours a week, with layers of stress, and I’d never felt valued.
A lump formed in my throat. Carol might just have been saying this so that I wouldn’t quit and flee from Serialkillerville.
Or it could have been a genuine moment. Either way, I appreciated it.
“That means a lot,” I said, my voice tight.
Carol cleared her throat and straightened in her seat. “Now go get me more followers! I want Main Street packed tonight!” She shooed me out of her office and back to my own.
I had a little extra pep in my step now. It was always nice to get a compliment. Beyond that, I did think, despite what the town had been through, we would get a packed event tonight. I only hoped everyone stayed safe.