Chapter Fifteen
By the time her final segment before the camera was finished, Anya was beginning to feel like an old pro at hosting. It’s funny how she hadn’t been nervous at all. Maybe it was because she didn’t have much of a live audience, but then again she had all the other hosts, including the Loughlins, along with the camera crew watching, so there were still quite a few people who were observing her chatting about the items on hand.
As she was dressing back into her street clothes, her cell phone rang.
She grinned, checking out the caller ID. “Hello?”
“I can’t believe how comfortable you looked on television,” Eric observed. “How did that end up happening? You didn’t mention anything about it last night.”
“I got a call this morning from my boss asking if I could help out. For some reason, I didn’t feel nervous at all,” she admitted, laughing.
“You looked like you’ve been doing it for years, that’s for sure,” Eric said. “Do you have to go into your shop?”
“I’m going to stop by and drop off some food for them, but I’m not working tonight because I have to go in there early tomorrow so we can get everyone off work before three in the afternoon for the holidays.”
“How about coming over here? We could order a pizza or something. Brian and Ashley just gave me a call and asked if I minded watching Arielle for a few more hours because they have some extra work to do regarding the auction, and I said sure, because I’ve got nothing else to do anyway.”
“I’d like that. I’ve been hanging out with Ashley and Brian today and they’ve both been great. And actually, I can bring food from here. Danny said to take some back to the shop, so I already have a bunch of to go cartons packed up in a box, but I can grab a couple more. There’s everything from chicken wings to prime rib, and even shrimp cocktail. They’re serving dinner here for the crew.”
“Brian told me that they had lunch with you and made sure you’re invited for Christmas,” he replied. “Food from there sounds fantastic. I’ll see you in a little while then.”
“Give me about forty-five minutes at the most,” Anya replied.
After he disconnected, she grinned, hanging the gown back into its clothing bag. She’d really enjoyed herself today.
Danielle was watching one of the bands performing for the camera when Anya went back to grab more food.
“I wasn’t sure where to put the gown, so I left it in the salon, Danny,” Anya said.
“Oh no, you don’t,” Danielle muttered, turning to Anya and resting her hands over her shoulders. “Did I forget to tell you? The gown and shoes are yours to keep in appreciation for your help here today.”
Anya blinked. “You’re kidding.”
Danielle laughed. “Not at all. Like I said, it looks like it was made for you.”
“Thank you so much,” Anya said, her eyes tearing up as Danielle gave her a quick hug before stepping back.
“There’s something else I’d like to talk with you about sometime too. I’ve already discussed it with Penny, but I think you’re wasted working at the counter of the flower shop. She definitely agreed. I have an idea, but we’ll talk about it after the holidays. Okay?”
“Sure,” Anya answered, taken aback.
“Did you grab some food?”
“I did but I just heard from Brian’s brother, who’s babysitting for them, and I was wondering if I could grab a few more items to bring over to the house?”
“Of course, you can,” Danielle motioned at the buffet. “Take as much as you’d like. We’ve already got food doled out to go to the wounded warrior and disabilities homes. We’d prefer to start with a clean slate after Christmas when we reopen, so that’s why the buffet has so much variety.”
After helping herself to a few more containers of food and then returning to the salon to grab her gown, one of the kids who’d been assisting in the kitchen helped load her truck with the filled boxes.
Heading to the flower shop first, she parked in front. Surprisingly, it was the only spot available along the street. Despite the COVID concerns, it appeared that a few of the bars along Main Street were open tonight.
She’d already sorted the food before leaving the parking lot of the Inn, so she grabbed one of the boxes and carried it in through the front doors of the mall.
“There she is. Our star,” Jaynie called out as Anya walked through the open doors into the shop. “We just turned off the television.”
Wren called out from the storeroom. “Woot. Woot.”
Anya laughed. “Have you guys been getting along alright?”
“Penny came in and blew through a bunch of arrangement orders. She’s an artist,” Wren admitted, appearing from the storeroom in back.
“Definitely,” Jaynie agreed.
“I felt bad deserting you today.” Walking behind the checkout counter and resting the box on her desk, Anya motioned at everyone who was still working. “I brought food for everyone who wants it. Everything’s labeled. I called Penny and she said for everyone to be sure to take a thirty-minute break and eat hearty. And everyone should take home any leftovers. There are some disposable plates along with some silverware in the box.”
“Oh, wow. From the Inn ?” Wren asked. “I love their chicken wings. They’re the best.”
“Is that prime rib I smell?” Joey, one of their delivery drivers asked as he came through the back door.
“It sure is. I loaded up on the main courses, and grabbed a few containers with vegetables and potatoes,” Anya said. “I guess I’ll see everyone first thing in the morning. Penny mentioned she’d be returning to close up and ordered me to stay away.”
“Are you headed home?” Jaynie asked distractedly, shuffling through containers.
“Not exactly,” Anya replied.
Jaynie’s eyes met Wren’s before they grinned at Anya. “Eric?”
Anya smiled widely.
She was ready to leave when she remembered something. “Hey you guys. I’m going to grab some stuff off the shelves that I want to bring with me for Christmas gifts. Will you take care of totaling it up for me to pay tomorrow when I come in? I’ll remove the code bars so I don’t set off the alarm and you can put the tally in the register. I’m assuming Penny went to the bank earlier today?”
“She did. Sounds good,” Jaynie answered, starting to scoop food onto plates for everyone.
Anya breezed through the shop, grabbing a bunch of items, including something for the baby. Returning to the register, she pulled off the codes from each item and stuck them in an envelope with her name on it, resting it near the register for when Jaynie was finished eating.
After bagging everything up, she smiled.
“Have fun,” Wren said. “You’ve had a crazy day today, haven’t you?”
She nodded. “It’s been a really nice day though. I don’t remember the last time I enjoyed myself as much.”
Jaynie grinned. “Good for you. We’ll see you first thing.”
“Goodnight.”
As she walked through the mall, she stepped inside the small gift store that was near the exit to purchase some gift bags and wrapping paper, which she was lucky to find. It appeared that they were nearly sold out.
Now she’d have a few gifts to bring along on Christmas Eve, she thought as she stepped into the truck. She’d better get moving before the food got cold.