Epilogue
Two months later, Christmas week
I can’t believe Mom and Dad and your parents aren’t going to be here for Christmas this year,” Charlotte says.
She and I are sitting behind the front desk.
The inn is decked out in full holiday regalia.
There are stockings and garlands and fake snow on the mantelpiece.
There are brightly decorated trees in every room.
There are wreaths and Santa Clauses and little snowy villages along the door trim.
There is mistletoe in every doorway and more evergreen garlands strung up the banister.
The cinnamon is simmering on the stove, of course, and Sera has just brought in a fresh batch of gingerbread people.
They smell so good. I want to stick my nose on the plate like a bloodhound.
But I refrain. That would be unsanitary. And weird.
“I’m happy for them, but it won’t be the same without them,” Charlotte continues.
Mom and Dad and the Parkers are on a Caribbean cruise.
Aruba, Bonaire, St. Lucia, St. Barts. The works.
They’ll be gone for two weeks. They just left two days ago.
After working at the inn and orchard every holiday for over thirty years, we all managed to convince them to take a break.
The money we made from the festival plus the money that’s currently streaming in from the changes we’ve made to the businesses, including the lucrative new apple my boyfriend invented, easily paid for their trip.
Before they left, Mom and Lyn had a bit too much cider and admitted to me and Aiden that they’d invited me to help with the festival with the specific hope that Aiden and I would get together.
Man, scheming mothers. But, of course, Aiden and I had to forgive them for meddling.
They would not admit they had anything to do with the burst pipe or the apartment sharing, however.
I asked a half dozen times, and all I got was the pish posh.
I suppose I’ll have to get Dad wasted one night before that truth comes out.
It’s only been two months, but I’m happily settled in here.
At first, I had all of my stuff in the attic apartment, because Aiden and I agreed that logically it made sense to wait and see how things went for a while before shacking up together.
That lasted less than a week. Now I live in his house with him and Argos.
It’s a tight squeeze in the closet with all of my clothes, I’m not gonna lie, but we’ve made do.
I’ve learned to wash dishes by hand without complaining.
And I get to ride the bookcase ladder (and its owner) whenever I want.
The Harvest Hollow Hot Sheet had a field day after I returned.
Aiden and I parked in the back row at the next Gilmore Girls night and made out like sixteen-year-olds.
It was super fun and entirely premeditated.
We were headliners the next morning. You have to have goals.
And talk about a bold PR move. We decided it would be a rip-the-Band-Aid-off type of maneuver.
It’s been an eventful two months for the inn and orchard.
We’ve already implemented some of my ideas.
First, we created a gift shop in what used to be a sitting area near the lobby.
We sell stuffed apple dog toys, apple and pumpkin Halloween costumes for dogs and cats, and a whole host of other things with an apple-y autumn theme including T-shirts, postcards, key chains, and pillows.
Oh, and tumblers. Big old Honeycrisp Orchard Inn tumblers.
If you are in the market for an HOI tchotchke, we’ve got you.
One of our bestsellers is a set of orange PJs (for people) that look like Pumpkin’s set.
Don’t ask me why, but we can’t keep them in stock.
The minute guests see Pumpkin wearing them, they’re in.
The internet orders are ridiculous too. That’s another thing I did, set up an online store to sell all the items we offer at the inn.
The apple-scented face scrub is super popular!
We also offered Jesse and Sera ownership in the business.
They both bought in, and now the brewery and bakery are theirs.
We technically lease the space to them vs.
pay them a salary. It’s worked out great, because Jesse is making money hand over fist since he’s been able to turn the brewery into what he always wanted, a full-service brewery/Biergarten.
We have also heavily publicized Sera’s “Karmic Bakery,” and now people come from all over the region to try her magic love-potion cider and donuts.
I mean who doesn’t want some love potion?
There’s even a group on social media dedicated to the couples who’ve fallen in love after drinking it.
It’s advertising gold. I do not question it.
She’s got new products for the holiday season too: love-potion hot chocolate and magic peppermint brownies.
They’ve been big sellers all month. She also offers tarot card readings (yes, my idea), and she’s never made more money.
Charlotte is in charge of the inn. We gave her an equal share, and she’s paying us all back in installments.
She’s been helping Mom run the place for the last two years, so she knows everything, and I’m happy to let her do it.
I help out Charlotte when she needs it, but mostly I am the event coordinator, and I’ve never been happier.
We have a barn wedding special and a baby shower extravaganza.
We have bachelorette parties and bat mitzvahs and gender reveals.
If people want to gather and have fun, we’re the go-to place outside of the city thanks to Maria’s continuing PR brilliance.
Only, we’re able to pay her now. She’s still doing OnlyFans, though, because Manhattan ain’t cheap.
We are all keeping a close eye on Charlotte and her new boyfriend, Miller.
He’s the guy who went to the drive-in with her in October.
They’ve been together since then. Every once in a while, I see Sawyer looking at Charlotte longingly, but she seems pretty committed to ignoring him.
I have no idea what happened between the two of them, but Sera and I are always hunting for clues.
Any time we’ve tried to ask Charlotte about it directly, she’s sidestepped the conversation.
Aiden did a full background check on Miller, of course.
Turns out he’s a linens vendor. They met when he came to the inn to sell his wares.
According to Aiden, he has no priors and a high credit score.
He came to family game night in November and seemed nice.
But I just can’t shake the feeling that Charlotte isn’t quite head over heels for him.
Speaking of head over heels, I never drank the love potion, but I couldn’t be more gaga over Aiden.
Turns out he’s the best boyfriend ever, and even after two months, my stomach still flips every time I see him.
Turns out a stomach flip is what you should be going for with a significant other.
What seems like nausea at first is actually being smitten.
Who knew? And I am a smitten kitten, I admit it.
There’s only one downside to living out here.
I don’t get to see Maria as much. But we FaceTime and text, and I go into the city every few weeks for brunch.
I invite her out here all the time, but wouldn’t you know it, she’s always busy.
Hmm. Sounds familiar. I don’t blame her, though.
I love the city too, and with it so close, I go in whenever I want.
I invited Maria out here for Christmas, actually. She politely declined. She’s going to LA like she does every year to see her ginormous family. She has to bring a second suitcase for all the presents for her nieces and nephews. I’ll see her after New Year’s. We’re planning a girls’ weekend.
I am putting the finishing touches on the New Year’s Eve party we’re throwing out here. We’re doing another one of those drop-off-your-kids weekends, and it’s sold out. Only this time, we’re bringing in the big heaters for the barn. Otherwise, the staff and kids would freeze out there.
I’m going over the night’s bookings, when the front door to the inn opens and Aiden strolls through with Argos at his heels. Aiden is whistling and looks as hot as ever. Seriously, will I ever get over how hot he is?
He’s wearing jeans and a dark-green pullover and his brown work boots. His hair has grown out a bit, and a dark curl rests over one eye. That always gets me.
Argos immediately comes around the counter, pushing open the wooden half door with his nose.
He needs to say hello to his good friend, Pumpkin.
Pumpkin remains an internet sensation. Guests constantly ask about him.
We let them take their picture with him for free these days.
P-dog is always rockin’ his orange PJs and ready for his close-up.
Since they’ve been gone, Mom and Dad call every night to FaceTime him.
While Argos and Pumpkin press their noses together to say hello, Aiden strolls right up to the front desk and leans over it. He braces his forearms on top. “Hey, Charlotte. Can you handle everything for a little while if I take Ellie away?”
Charlotte’s brows shoot up. “Depends on what you’re doing with her.”
“Nothing indecent, I promise,” he says, laughing.
“In that case, I don’t want to go,” I reply, waggling my eyebrows.
Aiden laughs and holds out his hand and takes one of mine. “Come home with me.”
“It’s the middle of the afternoon,” I point out, trying to squelch my smile.
“Yes, but I need to show you something.” He is biting his lip in that way that drives me insane.
“What? Did your ‘pipe burst’ again?” I do air quotes and laugh at my own joke.
“Very funny,” Aiden replies. “No. It’s your Christmas present. I want to show it to you.”