Chapter 20
Afew moments later, as Penny unlocked the front door of the bookstore for what would undoubtedly be a very busy shopping day, she found herself hoping she’d made the right decision.
She glanced at Daniel, who was at the sales counter, his attention firmly fixed on the store’s point-of-sale computer.
“You can still back out,” she said as flipped the “Closed” sign to “Open.”
“Not a chance,” Daniel said. “Okay, I think I see how this works. Can we do a practice sale?”
“Sure.” She approached the sales counter and picked up a snowman keychain from the trinket jar. “I’d like to purchase this, please.”
He took the trinket from her and, with the handheld scanner, scanned the barcode.
“Anything else I can get you today?” he asked with a friendly smile.
She smiled back. When he wanted to be, he really could be charming. “Just this, thanks.”
“If you’re paying by card, go ahead and tap there,” he said, pointing to the card reader on the counter.
She pulled out her card and tapped it. Daniel, still focused on the computer screen, said, “Looks like the transaction was authorized.”
“Always ask if the customer wants a printed receipt.”
He looked at her. “Would you like a printed receipt?”
“No need, thanks. Also, always ask if they want a shopping bag.”
“Got it.” He glanced again at the screen. “Is that it?”
“That’s the easy flow, yes. When Ben gets in, I’ll have him take you through less-common scenarios.” She pointed to the other computer on the counter. “I’ll also have him walk you through how to search for a book and place special orders.”
“Sounds good.”
Her eyes darted to the front door — no customers yet. “Before folks arrive, let’s get you started on unpacking and shelving.”
He smiled. “Excellent.”
She led to him to the back of the store and pushed opened a door marked “Staff Only,” revealing a small room stuffed with boxes and supplies.
In a corner was a tiny desk with a computer and printer on it.
“See the four boxes stacked next to the desk?” she said, pointing.
“The books in those boxes need to be unpacked, labeled, and shelved. Inside each box is a shipping order with a barcode. When you scan the barcode, the book info will go to the computer and you’ll be able to print labels.
” She turned on the computer and clicked over to the label printing screen.
“After you print the labels, stick them on the books, lower right corner, back cover.”
“Okay,” he said, staring intently at the computer screen. “I think I got it.”
“It’s not the most intuitive interface. Don’t be shy about asking for help.”
“Will do.”
“After labeling the books, take them out and shelve them.”
“Any particular rules or guidelines or…?”
“The store’s organized by section and alphabetically by author last name. Before you shelve, familiarize yourself with where everything is, and also what’s up front on the fiction and nonfiction display tables.”
He took a deep breath, his nervousness showing. “I think I got it.”
“I just threw a lot of information at you. If you have questions, you know what to do, right?”
He nodded. “Ask for help.”
She smiled. “Exactly. And don’t worry if you mess something up. Goofs happen. They’re no big deal.”
From the front of the store came the gentle chime of the front door’s silver bell.
“I need to get to the front. You good?”
His warm brown eyes held hers. “Thank you for letting me help you.”
“Thank you for offering to do it.”
With a smile, she left him to his task and hurried up front to greet the day’s first customers. More customers soon followed and before Penny knew it, she was fully immersed in the hustle and bustle of a busy day.
About twenty minutes after she left the storeroom, Daniel emerged with a cart of newly labeled books.
“Any issues?” she asked as she rang up a customer.
“All good,” he said. “What should I do with the unpacked boxes?”
“Break them down and put them in the recycling bin behind the store.”
“Okay, got it.”
The busy day continued apace as shoppers flocked to the store, eager to find the perfect gifts for their loved ones.
Penny’s other staffers, Ben and Sara, arrived for their shifts and showed Daniel the book-ordering computer.
More books arrived that needed unpacking and labeling and shelving, which Daniel jumped at doing.
Sometime around lunchtime, as she finished helping a customer find a cookbook, Penny heard her name and turned to find Hettie Mae and Donald approaching.
“Hey,” Penny said. “Good to see you two.”
Hettie Mae got right to the point. “We heard he’s here.”
“Daniel Bedford,” Donald added unnecessarily.
“He volunteered to help today,” Penny said, not even bothering to ask how they knew. As usual, the Heartsprings Valley communications network was operating at lightspeed.
At that moment, Daniel approached with the book cart, ready to add more books to the shelves.
“Daniel,” Penny said, calling him over, “I’d like to introduce you to Hettie Mae and Donald, two members of the store’s monthly book club.”
“Good to meet you both,” Daniel replied, shaking their hands.
“Mr. Bedford, it’s a pleasure meeting you as well,” Hettie Mae replied, giving him a thorough once-over. “Our book club read Gathering Point and I’m pleased to report that we were very impressed.”
“Quite impressed,” Donald added, nodding vigorously. “Especially by the accuracy of your historical details.”
Daniel smiled. “Thank you. I’m glad to hear that.”
Hettie Mae cleared her throat. “But I would be remiss, Mr. Bedford, if I didn’t also mention your Christmas essay, which impressed us much less.”
Daniel went still, steeling himself what was to come.
“The essay’s well-written, of course — no surprise there, given your talent as a writer. And the facts you chose to include for your core argument appear to be accurate, or at least accurate enough to be used in the way you used them.”
“Thank you.”
Hettie Mae’s gaze was frank. “Unfortunately, that’s as much praise as I’m prepared to offer.”
“Well,” Daniel said, “you’re being kinder than many of my critics.”
She sniffed with distaste. “I would certainly hope so. The online mob, those angry people on TV — they’re not me.”
“They’re a virus,” Donald added.
Hettie Mae turned to him, startled. “An excellent modern application of the term, Donald.”
Donald flushed with pleasure. “I know you consider me an old fuddy-duddy, Hettie Mae, but I assure you, I remain fully capable of meeting the present moment.”
“Gratifying to hear.” She returned her attention to Daniel. “I understand you’re participating in a ‘Christmas tour’ of our little town.”
“I am, yes.”
“With Penny as your guide.”
“She’s done a great job.”
“In exchange for which, your publisher is paying for a new roof for the bookstore.”
Daniel glanced at Penny. “Well, I can’t really speak to that.”
Penny held back a sigh — was there anything this town wasn’t aware of? “You heard right about a new roof, Hettie Mae. It goes in next spring.”
“Wonderful. The sooner the better. We had a slow leak for years at the library, which caused no end of trouble.”
Donald cleared his throat. “Mr. Bedford, you’re doing a press event here tomorrow, correct?”
“Yes, tomorrow afternoon.”
“Hettie Mae and I will be attending. We’re eager to hear if your view of the holiday has evolved.”
“I don’t mind telling you,” Hettie Mae added, “that we very much hope that it has. Hating Christmas isn’t, as the younger generation might put it, a good look.”
“Well,” Daniel said, “to be clear, I don’t hate Christmas.”
“That may be. But most people believe you do.”
Daniel was about to respond when a tiny voice cried out, “You hate Christmas?”
Everyone turned and found they’d been joined by a young girl, perhaps six years old, dressed in a pink winter coat and matching pink winter boots, gazing up at Daniel, her little face scrunched in puzzlement.
Penny had seen the girl before at storytime for kids, but she was blanking on her name.
She glanced around and spotted the girl’s mom a few feet away, typing a text on her phone.
Daniel gave the girl a friendly smile. “Um, no,” he said gently, “I don’t hate Christmas.”
The girl wasn’t done with her questions. “Why do people think you hate Christmas?”
“Well,” he said, unsure how to respond, “I guess you could say I have criticisms of the holiday.”
The girl frowned. “Critta sissums?”
“There are things I don’t like about the holiday.”
“Like what?”
“The commercialization, mainly,” he began, but stopped when he realized she wasn’t following. “I think people spend too much money at Christmas.”
The girl continued to stare up at him, still clearly baffled. “What about Santa?”
Daniel blinked. “Um….”
“He comes down the chimney.”
“Right.…”
“The night before Christmas.”
“Yes.”
“With presents.”
“Right….”
The girl was looking at him like he was from another planet.
“Lola,” the girl’s mother said, approaching and taking her daughter by the hand. She turned apologetically to Penny. “Sorry, she gets curious.”
“No need to apologize,” Penny said. “Your daughter’s asking excellent questions.”
“Yes, excellent questions,” Hettie Mae added.
The girl’s mother said to Lola, “Time to head home, sweetie. What do you say to Ms. Quinn?”
Lola turned to Penny. “I love coming here. Your bookstore is really fun.”
Penny smiled. “That is so nice of you to say. Thank you, Lola. I can’t wait to see you here again soon.”
The girl cast a concerned glance at Daniel. “Can you tell him about Santa?”
Penny smiled. “I will definitely do that — promise.”
“Okay,” Lola said, finally satisfied. “See you later. Merry Christmas!”