the small crowd waiting for me to open. Some of the faces I recognized from the restaurant. One face was that of my loan officer and I laughed quietly when I realized he wasn’t joking about being my first customer. Of course Amy was there too. I smiled widely as I opened the door and greeted my first customers. Amy hugged me quickly as soon as she entered.
“Thought you might need some help this morning.” She told me
“Thanks” I whispered.
I had hoped for a few customers I hadn’t expected a crowd. We quickly made our way behind the counter to take the first orders.
The morning flew by in a blur. People kept coming. Once the sun had finally broken the horizon the shop was packed. I ran out of half my supply within the first hour and had to go back into the kitchen to make more. I was so grateful Amy had offered her help. I could have never kept up on my own. By 10 am the pace had finally slowed and I was exhausted.
“Wow” Amy exhaled as she flopped into a chair.
She looked just as tired as I felt. The sleepless night was finally sinking in.
“Tell me about it” I replied pouring another cup of coffee for each of us.
We both sat silently drinking our coffee. I thought about the morning, about which items had been the most popular, planning what I would need to bake for tomorrow. I wondered if tomorrow would be just as busy. Amy seemed to be thinking the same thing.
“What time tomorrow?” she asked.
I wasn’t sure how to respond. I knew I needed her help, but I didn’t want to monopolize her time. I knew she was job-hunting, and I felt bad pulling her away from that. She must have understood my hesitation.
“Come on Katherine, I know you need the help and I have plenty of time on my hands these days” she said that last part with a sour edge to her voice.
I knew she was struggling to find a job as a fashion designer. She had taken her portfolio to every major designer in the area and had not yet been offered a job.
“Amy I couldn’t ask you to give up on…”
“I won’t” she inte rrupted before I could finish “ But you need the help, and I had fun today. I want to come back. That is, if you want me to.”
“Of course I do! I couldn’t have gotten through today without you!” I told her honestly.
I needed her help and I couldn’t refuse it if she was so eager to offer it. I wondered if this was a way for her to avoid more rejection in the job market, but if that’s what she needed right now I wasn’t going to deny her.
“I think I’ll open at 5 again tomorrow.” I told her
“I’ll be here.” She confirmed smiling “How late are we staying open today?” she asked.
I had been wondering the same thing myself. I’d had no idea what to expect from today so I had just decided to play it by ear.
“I don’t know. Seems like things have slowed down now, think it’ll pick back up?” I asked both her and myself.
“There’s only one way to find out” she replied “Maybe we should prepare for an afternoon rush just in case”
I agreed and went back to the kitchen, this time trying to bake items that would seem a better fit for an afternoon snack rather than breakfast. Her prediction had been correct. We filled up again around noon and immediately sold out of the 5 dozen batches of cookies I had made. I realized I needed to stop underestimating our demand as I went back to the kitchen again to re-stock.
The lunch rush had not been quite as busy as the morning, but we still had a good steady flow from 12pm to 2pm. We finally closed the shop around 3pm. Amy went home and I went back into the kitchen to prepare items for the next day and to take inventory of my depleting supplies. Finally around 6 pm I trudged home, practically dead on my feet.
On my way home I analyzed the demands of the day. Thinking about which items seemed more popular in the morning versus the afternoon. I was planning the next day as I lay down in bed, but exhaustion overtook me and I was asleep
“Thought you might need some help this morning.” She told me
“Thanks” I whispered.
I had hoped for a few customers I hadn’t expected a crowd. We quickly made our way behind the counter to take the first orders.
The morning flew by in a blur. People kept coming. Once the sun had finally broken the horizon the shop was packed. I ran out of half my supply within the first hour and had to go back into the kitchen to make more. I was so grateful Amy had offered her help. I could have never kept up on my own. By 10 am the pace had finally slowed and I was exhausted.
“Wow” Amy exhaled as she flopped into a chair.
She looked just as tired as I felt. The sleepless night was finally sinking in.
“Tell me about it” I replied pouring another cup of coffee for each of us.
We both sat silently drinking our coffee. I thought about the morning, about which items had been the most popular, planning what I would need to bake for tomorrow. I wondered if tomorrow would be just as busy. Amy seemed to be thinking the same thing.
“What time tomorrow?” she asked.
I wasn’t sure how to respond. I knew I needed her help, but I didn’t want to monopolize her time. I knew she was job-hunting, and I felt bad pulling her away from that. She must have understood my hesitation.
“Come on Katherine, I know you need the help and I have plenty of time on my hands these days” she said that last part with a sour edge to her voice.
I knew she was struggling to find a job as a fashion designer. She had taken her portfolio to every major designer in the area and had not yet been offered a job.
“Amy I couldn’t ask you to give up on…”
“I won’t” she inte rrupted before I could finish “ But you need the help, and I had fun today. I want to come back. That is, if you want me to.”
“Of course I do! I couldn’t have gotten through today without you!” I told her honestly.
I needed her help and I couldn’t refuse it if she was so eager to offer it. I wondered if this was a way for her to avoid more rejection in the job market, but if that’s what she needed right now I wasn’t going to deny her.
“I think I’ll open at 5 again tomorrow.” I told her
“I’ll be here.” She confirmed smiling “How late are we staying open today?” she asked.
I had been wondering the same thing myself. I’d had no idea what to expect from today so I had just decided to play it by ear.
“I don’t know. Seems like things have slowed down now, think it’ll pick back up?” I asked both her and myself.
“There’s only one way to find out” she replied “Maybe we should prepare for an afternoon rush just in case”
I agreed and went back to the kitchen, this time trying to bake items that would seem a better fit for an afternoon snack rather than breakfast. Her prediction had been correct. We filled up again around noon and immediately sold out of the 5 dozen batches of cookies I had made. I realized I needed to stop underestimating our demand as I went back to the kitchen again to re-stock.
The lunch rush had not been quite as busy as the morning, but we still had a good steady flow from 12pm to 2pm. We finally closed the shop around 3pm. Amy went home and I went back into the kitchen to prepare items for the next day and to take inventory of my depleting supplies. Finally around 6 pm I trudged home, practically dead on my feet.
On my way home I analyzed the demands of the day. Thinking about which items seemed more popular in the morning versus the afternoon. I was planning the next day as I lay down in bed, but exhaustion overtook me and I was asleep
Similar Books
