Page 29 of Only for the Season
There are tables scattered around the foyer to display the gingerbread houses to visitors who can vote on their favorite house. The house with the most votes wins. I’m hoping my Smuggler’s Hideaway themed gingerbread house will be a local favorite.
“We have your table right here.” Lana motions to a table in the middle of the foyer.
I want to cry. This location is the best one. Not only is it in the middle of the room, but the table is the largest and it’s slightly elevated. No one entering city hall will fail to notice it.
“Chop. Chop,” Jennifer says. “You’ve met the ten o’clock deadline, but you still need to have your gingerbread house in place with any extra decorations by noon.”
I nod to them before slowly rolling my creation through the room to my spot. As I pass the other gingerbread houses, I evaluate them. All of them appear perfect but they’re also boring. Not a mermaid or pirate or kraken amongst them.
Smuggler’s Hideaway doesn’t enjoy boring. Good. Maybe I can win this contest after all.
I begin by placing a treasure map table runner with “X marks the spot” near where the house itself will be. I ordered this table runner when I thoughtPirate’s Pastrieswas going to be included in theMermaid Treasure Hunt.
My stomach sours. The treasure hunt was a great opportunity to expand my business and save my bakery from bankruptcy. Next year, I promise myself. Next year I’ll have the cash to be a stop on the hunt.
With as much caution as possible, I transfer my gingerbread house to the table. Once it’s in place and hasn’t broken, I can breathe again.
Okay. Time to get to work. For the next two hours, I scatter chocolate gold coins and rock candy ‘crystals’ around the house. I add mini fondant moonshine barrels and tiny candy rum bottles, as well as gingerbread pirate figures. I coil licorice ropes around the pirate figures before adding gummy fish, starfish, and jelly sea creatures.
And now for the finishing touch. I use icing to create kraken tentacles that peek out from underneath the house and add edible glitter to give the entire display a magical sea sparkle.
When I’m finished, I step back to admire my creation. It’s perfect. It’s a bit eccentric with the pirates and sea creatures, but this is Smuggler’s Hideaway, where we believe in mermaids. Eccentric is part of our charm.
“Time!” Lana yells. “From this point forward, you are not allowed to touch your gingerbread house. Jennifer will photograph each house every morning to ensure no one’s cheating.”
Smugglers love to cheat, but since there aren’t any other locals entered in the contest, I’m not worried about anyone cheating.
I pack up my supplies and place them on my cart. Jennifer arrives and snaps a picture of the house.
“I knew your gingerbread house would be awesome,” she says as she tapes the picture to the corner of the table.
“Of course, it’s awesome. Parker attended one of the best pastry schools in the country.”
“The best? I think you mean the most expensive.”
Flipping fishcakes. What are my parents doing here?
Jennifer pats my arm. She’s well aware of the relationship I have with my parents. Everyone on the island is. It’s impossible to keep a secret here, especially when you decide to move out of your parents’ house in the middle of the night.
“I’m okay,” I whisper to her.
She purses her lips. She doesn’t believe me, but she moves on to photograph the next gingerbread house. Thank the mermaids. The town secretary is the queen of the gossiping inhabitants. The last thing I need is for her to eavesdrop on my conversation.
I blow out a breath and force myself to turn around to face my parents.
“Mom, Dad. How are you doing?”
Mom scowls at me. “You’d know if you’d bothered to show up to our house for Thanksgiving.”
Bothered to show up? They never invited me.
“I was working all day on Thanksgiving.”
“You must have missed our house when you were out delivering pies,” Dad says.
I fist my hands. This is what they mean by ‘show up’. Not show up to spend the holiday meal with them. Nope. ‘Show up’ as in give them a pie free of charge.
I’m supposed to supply their baking needs and yet they complain about my business not doing well. Do they not understand the correlation between the two?
