Page 24 of One Sweet Day is Never Enough

“I sure can.” Gia straightened her shoulders. “Worked at a grocery store during high school.”

Seth’s mother looked at him for confirmation, and Seth nodded. His mother trusted his judgment. “You sure you don’t mind?” he said.

“Of course not.” Gia shook her head.

“All right, then, thank you!” his mother said. “Come with me and I’ll show you.”

Gia hurried after her.

“The prices are all marked on a sheet. You just have to ring them up.” She stopped in front of the other register. “We’ll have backup soon.”

About two minutes later, she came back to tell him that Gia was all set.

“Okay. Let me know what’s going on with Dad. I’ve got my phone. And don’t worry about us.”

“Will do. Thanks, honey.” She headed off toward the house.

Seth glanced over at Gia. She was already ringing up a few boxes of baking mix and pie filling while chatting comfortably with a woman at the counter. A smile crept across his face as he turned back to greet his next customer. Gia Stewart was full of surprises.

An hour later, Gia handed one of the last cherry pies on the table to a customer and Melissa rang it up. Melissa, a cheerful teenager with two blonde ponytails, had returned and resumed her spot behind the cash register, but Gia had stayed to help.

Seth’s mom had texted that his dad was doing better and that she’d put him to bed. He must’ve overdone it today. Seth responded that things were under control outside and that she ought to get some rest. She’d been up well before dawn, like he and most of the employees had today.

It was just after seven and the line of customers had finally disappeared.

“That’s the official end to another festival.” Seth held a hand in the air. “Put it there, ladies. Great teamwork.” Gia and Melissa gave him a high five.

“So should we start closing up shop, boss?” Melissa asked.

“Yeah, let’s do it.” Seth pulled out some crates from under the tables and started to clear the counters.

The day had gone smoothly, and judging from nothing more than the sheer number of customers he’d rung up in the past hour and half alone, it was likely they’d made good money today. He’d find out tomorrow morning when he went through the receipts. He was too drained to do it tonight. He needed to relax for a while.

Gia gathered up the last of the baked goods that hadn’t sold while Melissa organized and boxed up the other merchandise. The equipment supplier arrived and began to break down all of the folding tables and chairs.

Seth emptied the cash and receipts from each register into a couple of zippered cases. He turned to Melissa. “I’ve got to take this to the safe and then see if things are under control everywhere else. You good with directing over here? Shawn and Trevor should be over soon with my truck to take everything that needs to go back to the warehouse.”

“Not a problem.” Melissa kept stacking.

“Great. Thanks.” He’d finally get a chance to return Stacey’s texts, but because of the time difference between them, she’d be busy at work for a few more hours. He’d send her a quick hello and tell her he’d call her later tonight.

He turned to Gia. “Okay, so I know you didn’t plan on being here this long, but do you want to stay for a little while longer and help me celebrate the great turnout? Plus, I owe you a huge thank you for helping out.”

“It was no problem. I had fun!”

Seth waited. “But?”

“But sure, I’d be happy to stay.”

“Okay, good. I just have to take care of a couple of things first.”

Gia smiled. “No worries. I’ll keep busy.”

“You’re a lifesaver. I won’t be long.”

“Take your time.” Gia smiled and folded up a tablecloth as Seth hurried off.

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