Chapter Two
“I hope Corporate can keep up with demand for those Dale McLintock cards,” Abbey declared as she input their weekly order on the computer and sent it off, printing out a copy for her records, which she added to the stack of papers on top of the desk in the small office. “We had to get in an extra shipment mid-week, and I’ve upped our weekly order again. The ladies over at Venus Gallery are also referring people here to buy them, since the cards qualify as art.”
Penny sat at her desk while she finished the bank deposit, placed everything in the pouch, sealed the bag, and locked the day’s profits into the safe. “Judging from the receipts, this year could be our best yet.” She glanced at her sister. “I don’t mean to jinx us, but Dale McLintock has obviously struck a chord with the masses. Everyone will be getting one of his cards this year, at least if our small store is any indication.”
“Might be a ‘her’ rather than a ‘him,’ Penny.” Abbey quirked an eyebrow in her sister’s direction.
Penny smiled. “That’s part of what’s driving the sales. The mystery surrounding the person who is behind the beautiful art. I’m dying to finally have an answer myself.” She spritzed on a dollop of hand sanitizer and then dusted off her hands. “Now I can finally break open my candy cane. The bank tends to frown when the pages of their reports stick together.” She peeled the plastic from the treat with a crinkly flourish and smacked her lips as the first hint of peppermint hit her taste buds.
Abbey grinned as she waved an envelope under Penny’s nose. “Well, this might take away your sweet tooth. We’ll find out soon enough who our mystery artist is. The big reveal happens this weekend, and this letter will tell us the location of the lucky store. I hope at least the store will be on the east coast, rather than the other side of the country, so we can direct people to the place.”
Penny jumped to her feet to examine the envelope. “Well, stop with the suspense, and open the letter.”
“Drum roll, please,” Abbey commanded, holding aloft the envelope.
Penny pounded her hands on the metal desk as Abbey opened the letter and read the contents silently.
Her hand shook, and she dropped the letter on the desk with a gasp. “I don’t believe it. Ours is the store they picked.” Her face lost all color as she stared at Penny.
“What? Our dinky store is where Dale McLintock will appear? You must have read the letter wrong, Ab. Let me see.” She scooped up the paper, scanned the page, and set down the letter again quickly, almost as if the letter were a poisonous snake. “Not that I’m complaining, but why would they pick us?” Penny blinked at the letter. Maybe clearing her vision would change the message.
“Perhaps we were picked because we’re selling so many of the cards. They’re doing even better than the company’s signature ornaments.” Abbey danced around the small office area.
Penny moved to the storeroom doorway and glanced out at their shop. “Or maybe the reason is because we’re so close to Baxter’s corporate headquarters. All the big shots can come to the unveiling and enjoy a day away from the big city. Good Lord, we have a lot to do and only four days to get ready.” She rubbed her stomach, which had tied in knots, with early panic setting in. Only four days.
Again, Abbey picked up the letter. “This letter states corporate has already placed newspaper and TV ads announcing the event, so we don’t have that headache. Tomorrow, we’ll get signage, along with a massive shipment of cards.” She waved the letter over her head. “This is really exciting, Penny. The party has to be much more elaborate than the one we had in November to kick off the ornament of the year.”
Penny had to admit the small size of their shop wasn’t the only issue. Her most dreaded holiday would now take on the size of an elephant, in terms of work, sales, ordering, and more work. As she stared out at their darkened store, she chewed on her bottom lip. “We can’t handle this, Abbey. We should call corporate and tell them they made a mistake.”
Abbey’s eyes widened as she stared at Penny. “No way are we turning our back on this opportunity. We’re too late for them to change venues, since they’ve already got newspaper ads in place, but I’ll admit I’m curious why we were chosen. I’ll call them in the morning to find out more information and to nail down the details. Maybe they’ll tell me how our name got yanked out of the hat.”
After she put the letter in the top drawer of the desk, Abbey punched Penny lightly in the arm. “Hey, a big party will be fun. And we’ll definitely see a boost in our sales for the month. Who knows, this might even help you change the name of the nutcracker back from Solo to Gunther.”
Penny rubbed her arm where she’d been punched. “I highly doubt that.”
Abbey sparred with the air as she danced around on her toes. “And I say, give us your best, Dale McLintock.”
****
A few short days later, Abbey and Penny unloaded the minivan at the back of the store. Competing odors of Christmas cookies from Julie’s Sweet Shop, including with her signature lobster-shaped cookies, hors d’oeuvres trays of olives, cheese, crackers and pickles, soft drinks, and Christmas candy from the Lobster Cove Grocery Mart filled the air in the van in preparation for what they hoped would be a banner day.
Penny secretly figured they’d be eating leftovers for weeks, but Abbey’s eyes sparkled as she bounced from one foot to the other. Penny grinned at her sister’s enthusiasm. “Get the back door unlocked, and let’s start hauling this stuff inside before we get mugged by a horde of hungry teenagers.”
Abbey laughed. “Relax, Sis. This will be a fun day, even if nobody comes. We get to meet the man behind the art.”
Penny loaded her arms with trays and frowned over the mound at Abbey. “Or the woman. You’re the one who keeps reminding me Dale could be female.”
Abbey shook her head. “No rotten attitudes today, Penny. We’ve sold enough Dale McLintock cards alone in the past few weeks to pay the mortgage on our shop for the next four months. And I have a good feeling about today. Maybe, by day’s end, we won’t have to worry about paying the note for the next year.”
Once they unloaded the van, they had a pep rally with their staff and positioned the food stations from the back room to the front of the store, turning on lights as they progressed forward. Penny busied herself opening trays of cookies.
“Penny, come quick up front!” Abbey’s voice broke through the rustling.
She jogged up to the window and stood alongside her sister. A crowd extended from their door down the Main Street sidewalk, snaking around the corner past Hazeltine’s department store and beyond. Penny couldn’t see where the line ended. The women at the front of the store waved when they caught sight of Abbey and Penny, big smiles on their faces as they pointed to the blow-ups of Dale McLintock’s cards, which were now in every window.
Penny found it hard to breathe as the line of human bodies shifted and moved when more joined the line. “Holy tamales, Abbey. Who is this guy? How can he attract such a crowd? Where did they all come from? You don’t think they drove all the way up from Portland, do you? We don’t even open for another thirty minutes. We’re not selling smart-phones, only Christmas cards. How will we ever get Hans and Solo out front?”
Abbey laughed as she bounced from one foot to the other. “I don’t have a clue, but what a delightful problem to have. We’d better order more food trays. And call Betsy to come and provide extra help on the floor.”
“I’ll take care of things.” Penny turned to stride back to the office in the storeroom then paused. “When does our mystery guest arrive anyway?”
“Corporate is due here in fifteen.” Abbey clapped her hands. “Let’s get moving.”
The next several minutes flew by in a flash. They lit pine-scented candles and sprayed the air with a holiday scent to enhance the fresh pine branches strategically placed around the shop. Hans and Solo were muscled outside, to stand guard at the door.
“Just a few more minutes, ladies,” Abbey spoke to the crowd as she positioned the nutcrackers on either side of the door and then hurried back inside. Christmas music cascaded into the room from the built-in sound system they had installed when they first took over the store. The knocking on the back door happened way too soon.
The regional manager from Baxter Greetings ushered in a tall, blond man, and Abbey and Penny joined them, forming a tight little group at the rear of the shop as introductions were made, and they shook hands.
“Nice crowd out front, you two,” the manager, Larry, said as he nodded his head toward the front of the store and the long line. “You’ve done a great job of promoting this event. Shall we get started?”
Penny moistened her lips and glanced again at the artist of the day. Dale McLintock. Definitely male. Definitely handsome. She had a niggling feeling she’d seen him before. Could she sort out the puzzle by day’s end? Why did he keep staring right at her? She might love reading mysteries, but she hated being part of one.