Page 2 of A Very Merry Enemy
The sisters each take a bite, chew, and swallow. Their eyes widen.
“I’ve eaten so many of Holiday’s cookies while we worked on the menu,” Emma says from the chair behind me, “I think when the babies come, they’ll call her mama.”
I snort. “I’ll cater their first birthday party.”
“I’m going to hold you to that,” Emma says. “Edna is my witness.”
“I heard it,” my old teacher confirms.
Once the cookie is gone, the three sisters pull out their credit cards and each asks for a dozen.
I sigh. “Wow, looks like I only have ten dozen left of these for the rest of the day.”
“I’ll take them all,” they say in unison.
“We can split them,” Edna explains. “Down the middle.”
They nod, and I load every star window cookie into three large boxes. All that’s left is powdered sugar and crumbs.
When they leave, Emma’s shocked. “How did you do that?”
“Not to be cocky, but I’m good at what I do. You said as soon as everything was sold out, I could go home. I give it an hour.”
Emma gasps. “No way. You baked five hundred cookies.”
“I did. And they just bought one hundred fifty-six of them. Five minutes and word will spread. Edna will give every kid she sees a cookie. Just watch.” I lean against the counter, my eyes on an analog clock with candy cane arms above the door.
At the four-minute mark, a line forms at the counter.
Bethany comes out from the back, eyes wide. “Um. Where did all those cookies go?”
My sixteen-year-old niece—my older sister Tricia’s daughter—is doing half days here for school job credit. With a thirteen-year age gap between me and my sister, Bethany feels more like a little sister than a niece.
“Sold ’em,” I tell her. “Run the register, just like I taughtyou. I’ll box orders.”
“Okay,” she says, still looking confused. It’s her first real job, and I’m trying not to be too militant even though professionalism has been drilled into me. I want her to have fun and learn what it takes to grow a start-up.
For thirty minutes, I place dozens of cookies into boxes until we sell out completely. The line is out the door, but all that’s left are crumbs.
I clear my throat. “Okay, everyone, I’m sorry! We’re sold out for the day. You’ll have to come back tomorrow at nine when we open.”
The groans are loud.
“We’ll have a new menu, too. Once they’re gone, they’re gone for good!” I say.
I move everyone out of the shop and lock the door. I flip the sign over to “Sold Out.”
“I don’t know what to say. You just sold five hundred cookies in an hour. That’s…unheard of,” Emma says.
“Isn’t that incredible?” I grin. “I think we need to triple our amount. While it seems like a lot, there are hundreds of people who visit the farm throughout the season. You couldn’t have picked a better location, but you might want to consider getting two more ovens. Bethany, Bella, and Wendy can handle it this season.”
“Okay.” She opens the register and pulls out the money we earned for the day. “This is for you.”
“What? Absolutely not.”
“Yes, because you’re going to be busting your ass for two months to keep up with this demand,” she says.
“No. I’d do this for free,” I tell her, not taking the cash. “Become a sensation and sell out every day, then we expand in town, then worldwide.”
