Page 5 of Ten Kisses

"Thank you. I really am intrigued by this box right here, but I think I'm going to start with stickers. I like the brown and gold lettering."

"That's a great choice," she said. "It's an adorable logo. I think I might place an order for some chocolates."

"I'll bring you some when I come back to pick up my stuff."

"That's sweet of you, but the products will ship directly to you. I'll make sure we get your address before you go. Would it work out for you to make a little trade for a box of chocolates? I could offer some extras with your order."

"I would love to make a trade," I said. "I was planning on starting with the five-hundred-dollar package—the one with two different sizes of stickers."

"I can give you fifteen percent off on that. And some extra boxes. Would that work for you?"

"Yes, that'd be great. I'll make you guys a box of chocolate for that."

"Oh, wonderful. Okay, well, I'll take you over here, and Josie will help get your payment information and place your order. Thank you, Molly, Sara, it was a pleasure meeting you both."

I was only in that store for a few more minutes, and then I made my way outside. Sara had gone out before me, and I met her out front when I was finished. She said she wanted to go outside and space out. That was a normal thing for Sara to do. Of us four siblings, she had always been the dreamer. You could usually find her wandering off, looking for four-leaf clovers or watching a bird or butterfly.

She had grown up with her nose in a book, and now she was trying her hand at writing one of her own. It was mostly the true story of our parents' property, Camp Eden. Her idea was to write a romantic novel with true events and some fiction for fun. It would tell the story of our parents meeting there and then years later, their children meeting their own spouses at the property.

She would use my mom and dad's real story, and also tell two of my siblings' love stories. My brother and sister had both really met their soulmates at my parents' property, and that was what had given her the idea for the book in the first place. She had plans for fictional spouses for my story and hers since we didn't have anyone in our lives yet.

She had been planning the book for weeks. We had talked about it a bit today at lunch, and I encouraged her to write whatever she likes about my future spouse. We laughed about the different attributes I wanted my guy to have, and she assured me he would be wonderful.

All this to say that it didn’t shock me at all when I found Sara outside staring at the grass. I wouldn't have been surprised to find her out there doing any number of daydreamer activities. She was squatted down, staring down at a patch of grass near the store. She stood up when she saw me.

"There was a roly-poly, and I picked it up to see if it would make a ball, and it did, but it never went back. I was watching to make sure it unrolled and started walking again, but it will… don't cha think?"

"Are you worried about a bug?"

"Yes, a roly-poly."

"You picked it up?"

"Yeah, it's just a little roly-poly. What happened with the lady? Did you get the discount?"

"Yes, and they're sending me some extra stuff—boxes, tissue paper, and foil."

"That's great. How much chocolate do you have to bring up here?"

"She said she was hoping to get the small sampler, which is sixty bucks, and my discount worked out to be seventy-five, plus all those extras. I'll probably add more chocolate to the box since they were so nice. The lady who checked me out said they are planning on ordering more sometime. I'll put a lot in their box. It's good business to give some away—let the chocolate speak for itself. Hang on, my phone's ringing."

Sara and I stopped on the sidewalk near my car. It was a cool, sunny day, and we stood in the shade under a small tree. "Hello?" I said putting the phone to my ear.

"It's Salem," I said to my sister.

"I know it's Salem," Salem said on the other end.

I laughed. "I'm standing here with my sister, and she was looking at me, asking who it was. Hey, Salem, what's up?"

"I had one of my guys putting together your piece this week. I have some more to do on it, but, uh, yeah, I think we'll have it ready next week."

"Oh, my gosh, are you serious? I am so happy right now. How do I get it? Do I need to get my brother to come pick it up from somewhere? I can get my landlord, too. Darren has a truck. I guess we can work all that out when it's finished."

"Yeah, I'll get one of my guys to help me get it to you. I'm going to keep it for a few more days, but I'll bring it over when I'm done. You're going to like it."

"Oh, Salem, I'm so pumped right now. Thank you so much." I grabbed my sister's arm excitedly and she looked at me with a confused expression.

"I was wondering if you wouldn't mind coming by the house. I need to decide about the floors in my bathrooms."

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