Chapter Ten
Candy had just refilled the carafe and was preparing to make the rounds of the tables when a pretty, very pregnant lady came in. “May I help you?” Candy asked, precisely the way Lisa and Hannah had coached her.
“Don’t I wish! I need to see Hannah. Is she in the kitchen?”
“Yes, she is. But…”
“Hi, Sally,” Lisa came up and took the carafe out of Candy’s hand. “I’ll do the coffee. You go see if you can round up any more Cherry Winks. We’re running out. And take Sally back to the kitchen with you so she can talk to Hannah.”
“I’m Sally, and I run the Lake Eden Inn,” Sally said as Candy led her toward the kitchen.
“And I’m Candy. I’m helping Hannah and Lisa out over the holidays. Are you the one giving the big party tonight?”
“That’s me. Or maybe I should say, ‘That was me.’” Sally gave a little sigh as Candy pushed through the kitchen door and held it for her.
Hannah looked up from the tray of Lovely Lemon Cookie Bars she was cutting and nodded to Sally. “What are you doing here? I thought you’d be decorating for the party.”
“I would be if I had some help. But I don’t.”
“I don’t understand. You said you were going to hire three high school girls.”
“I did, and all three of them called to cancel this morning. One’s sick, one’s grounded because she got home late from her date, and the third one slipped on the ice and broke her thumb. I managed to find one girl who said she’d help out, but she can’t do it alone.”
Hannah glanced at Candy. “Do you want to help Mrs. Laughlin and this other girl decorate for the party?”
“Sure, if you can spare me. But I don’t know if I’d be any good at decorating.”
“If you can throw tinsel at a tree and make it stick, you’re good enough for me,” Sally told her.
“Okay, then.” Hannah grabbed Candy’s parka and tossed it at her. “I’ll pick you up in the lobby at five-thirty so we can drive back to the condo and get dressed. Sound good?”
Candy nodded. “Fine with me.”
Thanks, Hannah,” Sally said, and then she turned to Candy. “And thank you, Candy. My car’s parked in front and the clock’s ticking. Let’s go do it.”
“Candy? Meet Sonny.” Sally turned to the girl who was waiting in the lobby for them when they arrived at the inn. “Sonny? Meet Candy.”
“Hi, Sonny,” Candy said, giving the other girl a tentative smile. She was a little overweight and she wore a knit slacks-and-sweater outfit that was much too good for putting up decorations, but she looked friendly enough.
“Glad to meet you,” Sonny said, returning the smile.
“Sonny has the pictures,” Sally told her. “My husband hired a photographer to take photos of the decorations last year. We want it just the same, except we decided to use multicolored lights on the trees instead of white. And we want gold balls instead of silver.”
“Got it,” Sonny said, and Candy was glad. Since she hadn’t seen the pictures, she didn’t really know what Sally was talking about.
“Come with me and I’ll get you started,” Sally said, and the two girls followed her to the dining room. She flicked on the lights and gestured toward the boxes that were stacked against the back wall. “Everything you need should be in those boxes. The busboys set up the tables this morning, and all you have to do is put on the tablecloths and the centerpieces. And that reminds me…on the centerpieces, take off the silver bows and replace them with gold.”
“Where will you be if we have a question?” Sonny asked.
“In the kitchen. Just go out the door we came in and turn right. It’s at the end of the hallway behind the swinging doors.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Laughlin,” Candy said, hoping that she would be up to the job.
“It’s Sally. There’s a cooler of soft drinks in the corner and I’ll have one of my staff bring out a snack in an hour or so to keep up your energy.”
Once Sally had left, Candy gazed around at the bare tables that dotted the space and the dozen six-foot Christmas trees that sat in their stands, waiting for ornamentation. “It’s a huge job,” she said with a groan.
“Relax. It won’t be that bad,” Sonny told her. “We’ve got five hours.”
“And we’re going to need every second of it. Do you have those pictures so we know what it’s supposed to look like when we’re through?”
“Right here,” Sonny plunked a folder on the table. Then she sat down in one of the chairs and motioned for Candy to take the other. “Let’s spread out the pictures and leave them right here for reference. That way we won’t make any mistakes.”
“Good idea.” Candy was impressed.
“Thank you. I’m not just another pretty face.”
Candy burst out laughing and then she wished she hadn’t. What if she’d hurt Sonny’s feelings? But she hadn’t because Sonny was laughing too. “Do you think we should work together? Or start in opposite corners and meet in the middle?”
“We should work together. That way all the decorations will look the same. Besides, it’ll be more fun. What should we do first? The tables or the trees?”
Candy thought about that for a moment. “We should do the trees. That way we can use the tables to hold the boxes with the balls and the lights. They’re probably dusty, especially if they were in storage all year.”
“Good idea! You’re not just another pretty face, either. Except you are.”
“Are what?”
“Pretty. I’d kill for hair like yours. Mine’s straight as a board.”
“And I’d kill for eyes like yours. Your lashes are so long.” Candy stopped and gave a little laugh. “Is this the grass is greener on the other side of the fence?”
Sonny stood up with a grin. “I think so. It’s either that or something about walking a mile in somebody else’s shoes. Let’s go take a look at those boxes and see if we can find the lights.”
“So how are they getting along?” Hannah asked, stretching out the phone cord so she could take another tray of Oatmeal Raisin Crisps from the oven.
“Like two peas in a pod. Every time I stick my head in, they’re laughing about something or other.”
“That’s great. But are they getting any work done?”
“Tons of it. They’ve only got one tree left to go and then they’re going to start on the tables. If they finish early, that’ll give them even more time to talk.”
“You’re getting your outfit all dirty,” Candy said, noticing the smudges on Sonny’s slacks when she placed another box on the table. “You should have worn jeans.”
“I’m not allowed.”
“What?”
“Well I guess I am now, but I don’t have any. I wasn’t allowed to wear them at boarding school.”
“What did you wear?” Candy asked, thoroughly shocked. She suspected she’d die if she couldn’t wear jeans.
“We wore uniforms during school hours, and dress slacks or skirts after school and on the weekends. And pajamas to bed, of course.”
Candy just shook her head. “Did they think jeans would corrupt you?”
“Maybe. We were supposed to act like ladies all the time. It was one of the rules. There were an awful lot of rules.”
Candy just shook her head as she climbed the ladder and placed the last angel on top of the last tree. “I’m glad I never went to boarding school,” she said, once she was back on the floor again. “I think it would have killed me.”
“When I first got there I thought it was going to kill me, too. But it didn’t and I learned a lot.”
“Like what?”
“Like you really ought to carry that box of ornaments right side up, because I already opened it.”