Page 5 of Christmas Cove

Satisfied with Poppy’s inspection, America pushed past her. The shock of Mr. Janowitz’s request had by no means worn off, but she was able to walk the remaining steps to her small corner office, where she fell into a plush pink chair and rested her feet on the edge of the desk.

Poppy closed the glass door and sat across from America in a matching seat. “Spill,” she said.

“Janowitz wants me to draft an article. For the current issue. That’s only a few days away.”

Poppy clapped her hands together. “That’s fantastic. You’re a good writer?”

“I mean...” America threw her head back. “I’m an editor, yes, but I don’t draft original content. Even if I did, there’s no way I can give him what he wants in such a short timeframe.”

“Well, what’s the assignment, his expectations?”

“He’s in a pickle. Meghan called out at the last minute, and no other writers were available to go to some little Christmas town. He said I can turn in a very rough draft, and he’ll get one of the other staff writers to help shape it.”

“That sounds easy enough for a first assignment. Why are you flustered about it?” Poppy handed her a candy cane across the desk. “Here, the peppermint will help calm you.”

Taking the candy in hand, America unwrapped the cane’s stick end and tapped it on her lower lip. “You know these things don’t have real peppermint in them.”

“Just eat it,” Poppy said and unwrapped a candy cane of her own. “Has anyone ever told you how stubborn you are?”

“Once or twice,” she said. Of course, America had heard the accusation before, but she disagreed with the sentiment. She preferred to see herself as determined rather than stubborn. Stubborn implied an unmoving state of being. Determination—er—persistence was the hallmark characteristic of a successful editor.

“So, why the sad face?” Poppy asked.

“I suppose I wasn’t expecting anything like this when I woke up today. Decorating his office or helping with his gift list would have been a fruitcake-walk compared to what he wants me to do.” She sucked the candy for a moment as she considered the opportunity. “On the other hand, I know I would have never asked for this assignment, and it might be nice to go do some festive activities. Apparently, their traditions are a big deal.”

“What’s it called?” Poppy asked.

Janowitz never did say, but America recalled the name from the images on her boss’s computer screen. “Christmas Cove.”

“No wonder he asked you to do it. You love the holidays.”

“I don’t think I’m going to do it,” America said, though a legitimate reason escaped her as she prepared her inevitable rebuttal to whatever Poppy would say next.

“Why not?” Poppy said and slapped her hand on the desktop. “You love Christmas, and the place is called Christmas Cove, for goodness’ sake!”

“I don’t think I can do it. I don’t create original content for the mag. I edit. I pore over trends and data and tell the writers what we need.”

“This is no different. You craft emails and proposals and do research already. This is just a next step up, an extension of your natural world, if you will.”

“I appreciate the confidence...but it’s last minute, and—”

“And you have nothing else to do,” Poppy interrupted. “I can’t make you do it, but the assignment seems like a perfect fit. Not to mention, it won’t be hard to exceed Mr. Janowitz’s low expectations. It’s a fantastic opportunity.”

“He needs to know if I’ll take the job by noon today.”

Poppy looked at the clock, and America realized she hadn’t checked her watch in a while. Looking down, she noted the time.

“Sixty-seven minutes,” they said in unison, and each laughed.

“I suppose I’d better get to thinking,” America said.

“About that,” Poppy said. “I spoke with your landlady.”

“What does she want?”

“This might make your decision easier. Apparently, there was some sort of water main break at your building, and the city won’t have it fixed for at least a week. She said all the residents must evacuate while the problem is being fixed.”

“Seriously?” America’s forehead fell into her palm, and she massaged the spot beside her eye. That’s it. There really was nothing keeping her from going. Her parents were happily in the air on their way to Italy, and now she was going to be out on the street while the city fixed the water problem at her apartment.

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