Page 11 of Wolfish
Best of all, her hand-carved Howling Wolf store sign had come in, and maybe Frank and Daniel could hang that in the window too. Things were beginning to shape up.
They’d already put up the framed mirror, and it made her shop look so much bigger. She found a box of small skeletons and hung one on each end of the mirror. Then, to her surprise, the MacTire sisters arrived.
“We saw you were getting deliveries. Can we help you with anything?” Laurel asked.
“Sure.” The sisters had done a beautiful job decorating their hotel. Selena figured they could help her with her decorating.
They began digging out the three-foot-tall, smaller skeletons, and Ellie said, “Oh, we have to have two of these on our counter and one on the banister for the stairs.”
“And one of the ones on the counter can be holding this jack-o’-lantern with the battery-operated candle.” Meghan pulled it out of one of the boxes.
“The other skeleton can hold onto this bundle of fall flowers.” Laurel set it aside on the counter with the rest of the collection they were going to purchase.
Daniel smiled at Selena.
She found a box of turkeys—soft fabric, hand-carved wooden, with springy legs, ceramic turkeys. She also had ceramic turkey salt and pepper shakers. She set them out for anyone who wanted to buy something for Thanksgiving.
Then Maxine Fox popped in. Her clothing shop was on the other side of Selena’s store. Maxine started pulling merchandise out of one of the boxes. “I had to see what merchandise you had. The sitting black cat with the witch’s hat is mine. Oh, and this one too that is sleeping.”
Selena laughed. She would sell everything before she even opened shop. But she was thrilled that others were interested in her merchandise. And it was unique.
She set a carved pumpkin with a wolf howling on its face in the window and placed a battery-operated candle inside it. Then she filled the rest of the window with purple flowers, sunflowers, and pumpkins.
Silva walked inside and laughed. “I thought I had seen all of you come in here. And what’s this?” She motioned to the counter, where all the merchandise was sitting. “All the goodies you’re going to purchase? I knew I needed to get in here before you bought everything. Aww, the witch kittens are so cute. Oh, I love these skeletons. I wouldn’t sell them in my store, but a couple of them drinking from my teacups? Perfect.” She set two aside.
Note to self: buy more skeletons.
The guys worked on hanging her sign in the window as the MacTire sisters made sure it hung properly, and now that Selena’s store had a name, it seemed more official.
Frank had made the clothes carousels at home, and he and Daniel brought them in and set them up.
They hung up her outdoor skeletons on the awning, just the way she wanted them. She thanked Frank for the beautiful workmanship and for all that he had done, and thanked Daniel for helping with everything. She paid Frank, and he left. She handed Daniel a string of orange lights to hang in her display window, and they hung them up as the finishing touch.
The ladies were hanging up all the clothes on the carousels, looking at each Halloween and fall shirt, then picking out the ones they wanted. Maxine found one with a black cat wearing a witch’s hat, sitting among books and potions. Silva found one with a cat sitting in a teacup. Selena had forgotten she had anything with teacups, but Silva didn’t sell clothes, just aprons in her shop.
Then Roxie and Kayla Wolff entered the shop. “Oh, my, Selena’s shop isn’t open yet, and everyone is buying her out. What about these skeletons? We could put children’s ski goggles on them?” Kayla asked her sister.
“Three of them?” Roxie asked.
“Sure.”
“And a couple of lighted jack-o’-lanterns. We have pumpkins,” Roxie said, “but no jack-o’-lanterns that you can light up.”
“Aww, look at the fall T-shirts. The Halloween ones are cute too,” Kayla said.
They picked out a couple apiece.
Selena had to stop unpacking boxes to make up sales tickets so the ladies could get back to work, but they just kept emptying boxes until they were done.
“We have a recycle bin out back,” Silva said, breaking up the boxes.
Everyone began helping her, and Daniel hauled the flattened boxes out back.
“He sure is a help,” Laurel said.
Selena remembered Silva telling her that the MacTire sisters were into matchmaking.
“It would have taken twice as long to get my shop in order if he hadn’t been here to help.” She still hadn’t gotten all her merchandise in, but after the ladies pulled out all the things they wanted, they’d sure put a dent in her merchandise, which was great.
