Page 75 of Spotlight on Poppy

“Hey! Those are for tomorrow!” she said as she tried to push him out of the kitchen.

“Alright, I’m outta here, but we are going to have to sit down and have a real discussion about this. If you want to start baking more, I think it’s a great idea.”

“Okay, well, let me get through tomorrow and then we can talk,” said Poppy.

He paused for a moment and looked at her.

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing… I guess I’m just really happy you have found something here to make you happy. I would have supported you in anything you chose to do, but I’ve always hoped that we would be able to find a way to make this work together. It has always been a family business and it just feels really nice to have you be a bigger part of it.”

He walked over to her and gave her a big hug. As close as Sam and Poppy were, they weren’t really huggers, but Poppy didn’t mind this. In fact, she found herself getting oddly emotional. She hugged him right back.

After a moment she pulled away. “As touching as this has been, I still have a lot of work to do before tomorrow. So, if you stay in this kitchen another minute, I am going to put you to work.”

Sam gave her a knowing smile. “I’m proud of you, Poppy. And I’m really glad you and Josh found each other. He managed to get you to do some work around here in a matter of months and I’ve been trying my whole life,” he said with a smirk on his face.

“Out! … and thank you, it means a lot, even if you’re a pain in the ass.”

“See you later, Poppy,” he said as he walked out of the kitchen finishing his donut.

She smiled to herself. This may not have been her plan, but she was happy. Now, she just had to finish up planning this event and get that house, but she was feeling pretty good about their odds. Things did seem to be falling in her favor right now.

She scanned the kitchen with a sense of accomplishment, then she got to work packing up all the food. She had a house to save. But first she had a few last minute errands to run.

Poppy walked into Fipp's Market to get a final shoe box of pictures for the event she was planning. It felt good to be doing something for the town, and it pleased Poppy to be figuring out her spot in all of this. She was enjoying putting this event together and she was actually pretty good at it. If she and Josh did manage to get the Whitney House it was just the beginning of the event planning. She was starting to realize that even if they didn't get the house this was still just the beginning of the events she would help this town plan.

"Hey Mr. Fipps, I heard you had a shoe box for me," Poppy said walking into the market.

"We sure do, Janet found some real gems. Also, Katie McPhee was in earlier, she has a bunch of old newspaper clippings at the bookstore if you want those as well," he said.

"Thanks," she said as she took the shoe box.

"Some good memories in there. I’m so glad you and Josh are doing this. This little town needs people like you and Josh to bring us into the future. So many other little towns like ours are becoming ghost towns, but with people like your family and Josh taking charge I know Mystic Falls is in good hands."

"Thanks Mr. Fipps, that means a lot," she said with a smile.

"I will say though that I was pleasantly surprised. I thought you always wanted to spread your wings and fly."

"So did I, but sometimes you just need a little nudge to find out that what you were looking for was right under your nose the whole time," she said.

"Or right next to you on the bus," Mr. Fipps said with a wink.

With her interest piqued, Poppy looked at him with a cocked eyebrow.

"I pulled this picture out, I thought you might like to keep this one," he said, handing her an old photo of the big yellow school buses that were the bane of her existence at the orchard. But there on one of the little benches sat two recognizable children who looked to be about ten, one with two dark braids and one with dark hair, blue eyes, and a smile across his face as he looked at the little girl sitting next to him.

"I think Janet took this photo when she took your class to see Mr. Whitney's train set up," he said as she looked at the picture.

"I think you're right. Thank you, Mr. Fipps, this means a lot," she said with deep earnestness.

"I wish you both all the happiness in the world. Now you better get on your way, you've got a house to save, young lady," he said.

Taking one last look at the photo of her and Josh on the school bus Poppy smiled and slipped it into her purse. "I will do my best. I'm off."

"See you tomorrow," he called behind her as Poppy made her way to the door. They just might be able to pull this off.

She had one final stop before she was done. Bridget's magic shop. Poppy thought Bridget might enjoy an update on her spell.

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