Page 51 of The Christmas Cookie Crush

Another day closer to Christmas, another packed day at ChristmasFest. I don’t know if it’s the effects of dating Austin,the specific reality of knowing I get to spend the night with him again tonight, or that I have more responsibility this year, which feels a lot better than I expected, but I’m enjoying ChristmasFest a lot more than I usually do, even on busy days like today.

If I’m honest, it’s probably a combination of all three things. Knowing Mom and Dad trust me enough to put me in charge of this feels like they see me as a grownup, and not just the baby of the family who can’t do anything right. I’ve had a well-deserved reputation as a flake in the past, but them trusting me not to screw up this year makes me want to prove them right.

No one expected much of me in the past. I mean, sure, I was expected to show up and do my job. But even though my siblings rolled their eyes at me when I asked them to switch shifts, no one ever really expected me to behave differently.

But this year? There are no siblings left to switch shifts with. And now that I’m in charge of the schedule, I see how difficult it is to juggle everyone’s availability. I have a newfound respect for Sarah since she did this role the last Christmas before she moved to the Christmas Emporium full-time. I think Mom just held onto it after that because she knew Dylan would complain about it. And she couldn’t give it to me while he was still working as an elf because no way would he take orders from me.

And dating Austin …

It makes me smile more, which makes it easier to stay upbeat and elftastic, even when confronted with grumpy toddlers, screaming babies, and frustrated parents.

Speaking of …

I hold up a finger to Dad to let him know I’m stepping away from the camera for a second and slide in next to Trevor, who’sworking the line and register today. From the rising volume of the woman talking to him and the look on his face, I know this situation is about to escalate out of control at any second.

I offer a big smile to the next family in line while Dad finishes talking to the kid on his lap. “We’ll be with you in just one second. Sorry about the wait, and thank you for your patience.”

The beleaguered-looking mother bouncing a baby in a green and red plaid vest and bowtie on her hip offers me a weary smile. “Thank you.”

Trying to nudge Trevor to the side, I offer a smile to the mother who’s haranguing him about how many prints she gets.

“Additional prints—” he starts, but the woman cuts him off with a nasty glare.

“How are theyadditionalwhen I haven’t gotten any in the first place?” she demands.

“Merry Christmas!” I interject, drawing her attention.

She huffs a sigh. “Maybe for you. ButIcan’t seem to get any competent help around here! Canyoumanage to do anything right?”

My customer service smile feels more like a rictus in the face of her rude condescension. “Hopefully, we can get this figured out. Trevor, will you go check on the line, please?” He steps away with a grateful look, and I turn to the woman in front of me. “Now, what seems to be the issue?”

She sighs like having to explain anything to me is a chore on par with cleaning the high school gym’s locker rooms with her own personal toothbrush, but I don’t react, simply waiting patiently for the story. “I want packageB. I want this pose for the mainprint.” She jabs a finger at the computer screen. “And I also wantanotherprint of this pose.” This time, she flicks the screen with her fingernail, making me flinch and turn the monitor so it doesn’t face her as much.

“Package B only includes one pose,” I start, picking up a brochure and unfolding it so I can show her what the options, grabbing one of the candy cane pens to point to the different choices.

“Iknowthat!” she snaps. “But I want two! And the customer is always right!”

In this case, she’s clearly not. But I keep that thought to myself because I know enough to realize that won’t help.

“Package A offers two poses,” I point out, indicating that on the brochure.

“But I don’t need that many prints! I only need one extra of one pose!”

“I understand,” I say smoothly. “As Trevor mentioned, you’re welcome to order a la carte prints or additional packages on our website.” I circle the website on the brochure. “Once you decide what you want printed today and pay for the package you select”—I put a slight emphasis onpay—“you’ll have the ability to download the digital files from the website later tonight or tomorrow.”

“I should be able to do that immediately anyway!”

Still smiling, I nod. “I understand waiting can be frustrating.”

She screws up her face and stabs a finger at me. “Don’t you talk to me like I’m five. I know what you’re doing.”

She’s right. This is how I’ve heard my sister and Shane talk to Sophie countless times when she’s being belligerent. She’s better now, but when Sarah and Shane first got together, that kid had huge meltdowns and tantrums. Obviously, I wasn’t around for a lot of that, but I witnessed a few, and I was always in awe of how calm they managed to stay in the middle of it.

I took mental notes because angry customers aren’t all that different from first graders throwing tantrums.

Unable to keep the smile on my face, I roll my lips between my teeth to stop myself from saying any of that out loud.

When I see movement out of the corner of my eye, I look over to see Mom heading this way. That means this has gone on too long.

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