NOVEL FROG Chapter Twenty
The shop smelled like fall and I didn’t understand why. Per my calendar, it was still the middle of summer, but as I got dressed it was somehow fall. By the time I got downstairs and made my first cup of coffee, I was certain.
“Cat, why is it suddenly fall?” I asked.
The cat didn’t appear and I walked into the kitchen. The oven was already preheating for the bacon and a sheet pan was on the counter. “You are so amazing,” I whispered. Seeing the pan out my brain went to the last of the cookies we had in the freezer. The cookie dough supply had been dwindling slowly, but I had enough to make a few batches. It all depended on the schedule for today.
“Cat, what…”
“Yes?” asked the cat.
I turned, and he was on the island, staring at me. “There you are! What's the schedule today?”
“It’s All Hallows Eve.”
I blinked. “You mean Halloween, right?”
“That’s what your people call it now, yes. Halloween.” The cat didn’t seem happy about the fact. “We will have children visit us for candy.”
I froze and then burst into action. Energy roared through my veins as I got the bacon into the oven. “I need to get some cookies out and see what else we can get from the cookie place. Do you think I can order Halloween cookies from there? Like, is it that time of year on earth?”
The cat’s eyes grew wide at my frantic questions. “I bet you could order whatever you wanted from her store and it will be here pronto. Why are you all excited?”
“Halloween is the best!I love all of the holidays. Doesn’t matter which one, but I do really like Halloween. How much time do I have to prep?” By the time I turned back to the counters, more pans had appeared, along with the tubs of cookie dough. I quickly grabbed the parchment paper and lined the pans, tossing little balls on each of them. I set the timer and then quickly headed to the register.
The listing for the cookie dough place was already on the screen and I grabbed my phone to call Sandra. She answered the phone.
“This is Sandra, the Cookie Master.”
“Hey, Sandra, this is Sable from MEOW. You…” I didn’t get to finish my statement before the other end exploded.
“Oh, my god! I can’t tell you how much your review meant to me. My sales spiked after you posted everywhere. I even hired a person to help. How can I help?”
“This is a weird one. Do you make Halloween cookies? Something orange and black. Cute, but not scary?”
“Of course… it's a little early, but I bet I can whip something up. Do you want them already baked?”
“If possible? I’m throwing a little themed party for some friends and their kids are dressing up. So, make it a pretty large batch of cookies. Maybe four dozen? I’m gonna use up the dough I have in the freezer as well.”
“I got you.” I heard her call for someone named Jenny. “I’ll deliver them as soon as possible.”
“Thank you so much! Just charge the card on file.”
“Thank you!”
I hung up and found the cat staring at me. “We could just give out some candy.”
“Cat, I know you can’t understand this, but we are a magical bookshop. On Halloween. That can do actual magic. Like, we are going to go all freaking out.”
Warmth and the smell of cinnamon filled the air. A timer went off in the kitchen and I dashed in to get the bacon. We couldn’t live off of only cookies.
This was going to be fun.
“Cat, I need to know exactly what we need to accomplish today.”
The cat followed me into the kitchen and accepted a hot piece of bacon as tribute.
“There will be several groups of children that stop one. One or two need the magic of this night to fuel their dreams. Think of a butterfly’s wings changing the world. That sort of thing.”
“This is going to be the best day ever. Time to find out what we have in storage.”
#
I don’t know if the cat paused time in the shop or how it worked. All I know is that what should have taken all day, didn’t. I asked the bookshop for cauldrons, a fake fire and spooky decor. It rewarded me with anything I could need to decorate the front room like a witches' cottage. Bottles of all shapes and sizes with candles lined the front window. I set out an old chair next to the cauldron I set up. The deep red glowing stones I set on top flickered like flames.
I asked it to move the bookshelves around to give it a smaller space feel, then headed into the kitchen. When I came back the room itself was smaller, the counter was still there but Betty was hidden behind some fake stone paneling. The bright wooden floors were a darker color, and dusty stacks of books were all over the place. A few were topped with candles.
The small table near the door was where I’d place the cookies. It gave kids enough space to come in, but not wander around too much. “Do we have any lanterns?”
By the time I turned back to the counter, a few lanterns had appeared around the space. I moved a few things here or there, after standing in front of the door and looking around the area. I cackled in delight.
“Be careful, some of these items are magical,” said the cat. “Like that cauldron. It amplifies magic.”
A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts, and I quickly opened it. Sandra held out several large containers. “Woah, you went all out. I bet once the lights are off and the candles lit this is going to look amazing.”
I grabbed the trays and carefully set them on the counter, which would be shrouded in darkness. There were over four dozen cookies in the shapes of ghosts, witches' hats and pumpkins. Sandra, or her assistant, had drawn a few quick details on each, like eyes for the ghosts and buckles for the witches' hats. The pumpkins had little jack-o-lantern faces on them.
“You outdid yourself,” I said.
“Well, Jenny is now prepared to make many cute Halloween cookies for this fall. I also brought some more cookie dough for your freezer.” She pulled off a backpack and took different tubs out of it. “You shouldn’t run out soon. I have a new recipe for you to try as well. It’s on the house, let me know what you think.”
“Awesome! Thank you so much again for this order.”
Sandra just smiled. “Of course, you have no idea how you changed everything. Anytime you need an order, just let me know.”
Then she headed out as I set cookies on the stand. A thought crossed my mind, and I paused, cookie in hand.
“Cat?”
“Yes?” He sat next to the register, which hadn’t moved. His nose was directly over one of the sugar cookies, like I had caught him sneaking a snack.
“That book signing, was that for the cookie place?”
The cat didn’t answer, but a cookie vanished in that way he ate things.
“It was, wasn’t it?”
His tail flicked in the air, and I shook my head.
After the book signing, I’d posted a review in the normal places, but I also posted pictures on my social media profiles tagging the shop with pretty pictures of the cookies. They had gotten some traction, but I wasn’t one to chat on social media. I looked at pictures, but wasn’t someone who wanted to comment.
Still, I’d changed her life and how her business was doing. She’d hired someone and things were looking up for her. That happened because of this place. Warmth filled me and I began to hum as I fluttered around the room. This would blow that out of the water, I just knew it!