Chapter Twenty
Celebrate Life with Sprinkles—The Blog
Good Things Come to Those Who Wait
Today, I’m shooting my first feature for Boulder Live, and I feel as though I’m living a dream. I’ve waited for this moment; sometimes, it seemed like it would never come. Sometimes, I made questionable decisions, but my determination and patience have paid off. Life doesn’t always happen on the timetable we want. Things don’t go according to plan, and sometimes, they even backfire spectacularly. But when the moment we’ve worked so hard for, waited so long for, finally arrives, it makes that moment that much sweeter. Keep focused. Fight for it. And when your moment comes, savor it. XO Skye
I arrive with my videographer at a beautiful split-level home with lots of large windows. In my first feature for Boulder Live, I’m interviewing a woman named Whitney Green, a seasonal decorator. The company—called Décor Bliss—is based in Seattle but recently opened their second branch in Boulder. In my research for the interview, I learned that seasonal decorators come into your home and take decorating off your hands, creating a magical Christmas setting or the perfect table for a dinner party.
Whitney is going to show us this home in Boulder, which she has been hired to decorate for spring. She also said she would bring some St. Patrick’s Day decorations to show us what a holiday-type service would include.
“First shoot, are you ready?” Hayes Blevins, the shooter, asks, turning off the engine. This Boulder Live van rivals my car in the competition of which will hold out longer before completely imploding.
I glance at Hayes. He’s in his twenties like me, and we are both cutting our teeth together on Boulder Live. Hayes was hired only a month ago, from a small station in Iowa, so this is a step up, closer to the bigger Denver market. On the drive over, we discussed how lucky we feel for whatever breaks we get and how we plan to make the most of them. Our time together so far has been brief, but I can already tell I like him. If he knows anything about my time on Is It Love?, he’s too polite to ask.
“I’m ready. I know a lot of reporters don’t like these kinds of stories—the fluff pieces—but I do,” I say. “These stories add balance to the serious news of the day. They give people something fun to think about, teach them something new, or inspire them.”
Hayes nods as we climb out of the van. He goes around to the back to gather up his camera and the audio equipment.
“I agree. Although I still don’t understand what the hell a seasonal decorator does,” he teases.
“That’s where we come in,” I say, grinning. “We get to tell viewers what the hell a seasonal decorator does.”
My phone buzzes, and I retrieve it from the pocket of my cream, wool swing coat, one perfect for the mild, mid-fifties that will be the temperature today. I swipe my phone and smile when I see it’s a text from Maxime:
Good luck today with your first feature. I know you’ll do great.
I’m so besotted with this man, I think smiling down at my phone. I begin to type back, but another message comes through from him first.
I miss you so much. I can’t wait to come home.
Forget besotted. I’m so in over my head for Maxime, there’s no hope of ever going back.
I don’t want to go back.
I text him back as Hayes slams the back door shut on the van.
I miss you, too. So much it hurts. About to shoot seasonal décor. I’ll ask if she has any tips for creating a cozy theme for our date on Saturday night.
Hayes and I begin walking up the winding sidewalk to the house, and Maxime gets in one more message before I turn my phone off:
All I need is you.
Same, I think as I stare at his words.
I shut off my phone and drop it into my pocket, tucking his words inside my heart while my brain gets ready to go to work.
***
“So, Whitney, why don’t you show me what things you have done in this home to bring in a spring feeling?” I ask, smiling brightly at her.
The light of the camera is shining on me and Whitney, a young, beautiful red-haired woman who is one of the decorators for Décor Bliss Boulder. The homeowner, Suze Joyce, is standing by with a giddy look on her face, pleased that her home is going to be featured on TV. I will interview her as soon as I’m done shooting with Whitney.
After a brief chat about on-camera basics—look there, don’t be nervous, act like you are talking to a friend—Whitney is practically a pro.
“Sure, I’d love to,” Whitney says, leading me over to the expansive dining room table. “One place I love to bring in the elements of spring is at the table. We often think of tablescapes for big holiday gatherings or parties, but I say, use the place you share your meals and make it seasonally beautiful.”
I gaze down at the table, which reflects the bounty of spring with rustic wooden boxes filled with tulips and peonies in gorgeous shades of peach and pink. A cake stand holds a stack of artfully arranged apricots. A white-and-red-ticking-striped runner lays across the length of the table, with orange and cherry jams in mason jars, each tied with elaborate bows to coordinate with the flowers, anchored at each end. The place mats are the same ticking stripe, and a full place setting sits in front of each of the eight chairs.
“This is gorgeous,” I say, picking up one of the mason jars. “This is such a cute idea. This is jam, right?”
“Yes, I sourced those from a local farm stand and added the bows,” Whitney explains, her green eyes lighting up.
“And if someone hires you, you come in and make all this happen?”
“Absolutely. Our job is to do décor tasks, big or small, and make your home seasonally beautiful. We can work with what you have, or we can bring in everything for you.”
“Even the plates?” I ask, picking one up.
“Of course. We can source plates for your table or lanterns for your living room. We can do it all, no matter what the occasion or holiday. The items are rented to you for as long as you want the décor up.”
“That’s fantastic. You make it so easy to give your home a refresh.” Then I give her a skeptical look. “Okay, Whitney. The next holiday is St. Patrick’s Day. What do you have up your sleeve for that?”
Whitney laughs, and I can’t help but notice how much she loves her job. She’s completely at ease talking about it, and her thoughts and words never waiver.
It’s a dream interview to get me out of the gate with Boulder Live.
“I do have some things up this bell sleeve of mine,” Whitney says, gesturing so her sweater sleeve swishes. “If you will follow me over to the living room, you can see I have done up a St. Patrick’s Day mantle.”
Hayes and I follow Whitney to the mantle, where she has placed a beautiful collection of bright green bottles filled with fresh white flowers.
“You can go whimsical, with shamrock bunting or garlands, but in this case, I wanted to capture the color of the holiday,” Whitney explains. She moves over to the coffee table and picks up a stack of books. “Another way you can infuse a season into a room is through curated collections, like these books on Irish legends and the scenic countryside of Ireland.”
“That’s smart,” I say, nodding.
I go on to ask her a few more questions, making sure I have more than enough footage to edit together a great segment, and then I move on to Suze, who has a frozen smile in front of the camera. I have to stop a few times to make her laugh and loosen up before I’m able to talk to her about why she hired Whitney and how she feels about the result. Then we call it a wrap.
“I’m going to shoot some close ups,” Hayes says, moving around to the mantle.
I thank Suze for opening her home to us and tell her I will email her as soon as I know when the segment will air.
“Would you mind signing an autograph for my daughter? And taking a selfie with me? She’s a senior in high school, and she loved you on Is It Love?”
I nod. “Of course.”
“Thank you. Our whole family loves you, Skye. Tom was an idiot.”
“Things worked out the way they should have,” I say, thinking of Maxime’s messages on my phone.
Whitney walks out with us, and once we’ve stepped out into the sunny February morning, she pauses and clears her throat.
“Is it hard talking about your ex all the time?” she asks.
I shrug. “When the show first aired, and my feelings were raw, it was. But now? Nah. I’ve moved on.”
Whitney nods.
I get the feeling she is thinking of an ex.
“My heart hasn’t gotten that far yet,” she admits, stopping next to her car. “I hope to be where you are someday. I thought coming here to Boulder might help. I’m here to launch the branch, and hopefully, by the time I go back to Seattle next December, I’ll be where you are.”
I don’t know her story, but I see a bit of myself in her. There’s a vulnerability in her voice when she speaks of her ex. I don’t hear sadness or longing, but she’s not fully healed, either.
“I think this temporary move will be good for you,” I say, nodding in assurance. “I know it was for me. Time is a great healer.”
“Thank you,” Whitney says. “Knowing your story, and seeing how happy you are now, I believe it can happen for me, too.”
“I have a pretty good feeling you’re not only going to be fine but better off,” I say, thinking of how things turned out with Maxime and me.
As I did with Suze, I promise I’ll let her know when the segment airs. We say goodbye and part ways, and I get in the passenger seat while Hayes reloads the equipment into the back of the truck. I retrieve my phone and turn it back on.
I text Maxime back:
Interview is done! I think it’s going to be great. The décor consultant was very good on camera. Have a good nap this afternoon and know that I can’t wait to kiss the cut on your cheek better when you get home. Which can’t be soon enough.
Maxime replies:
I can’t wait to see it. I know you did a fantastic job. Not much longer, two more nights, but it seems like forever until I can see you. I’ve got some news. Gavin is being released from the hospital and flying home tomorrow morning. Would you mind checking on him for me? I’m worried about him.
Maxime is such a good man, I think. How did I get so lucky to have another chance with him?
While I might never know the how, I do know I will never, ever, take it for granted.
I send my response:
I’ll be first up in the dinner rotation. I’ll see if I can get him to talk. I know from experience burying your heartache only makes it worse. I’ll bring something with sprinkles for dessert. That will make everything infinitely better. Just kidding!
Maxime types back:
You make everything infinitely better.
My heart fills with happiness. While he’s been physically gone these past eleven days, we’ve been more connected than ever. Our video dates have allowed us to get to know each other on a deeper level as we talk for hours every night.
I can’t wait to take our relationship to the next level when he comes back in two days.
In the meantime, however, I need to take care of Maxime’s friend, and that’s exactly what I’ll do tomorrow night.