Page 17 of December Wishes
Skylar hadn’t moved away for purely selfish reasons. She had seen the pain in Mik’s eyes when the need to move came up. Skylar had been one of her biggest supporters, too, going as far as telling Mik it was the perfect opportunity to move back now that she no longer had her marketing job. Mik had always planned to go into independent consulting, but moving into her grandmother’s house in the countryside took much off the financial pressure.
When Mik finally opened up about therealreason she was nervous, Skylar knew what she had to do. She needed to support her best friend. Mikneededher. Her friend was in need, and Skylar was in a position to offer it.
So much for that. Within one month of moving back to town, Mik was back with her ex-girlfriend and causing such a commotion that her time was constantly consumed. Meanwhile, Skylar spent so many weeks looking for a job, that by the time she finally landed this gig at the pizza place, she had burned through most of her savings paying off her student loans. It only made her feel guiltier about living in the Marcott house rent free, since the original plan had been to either financially contribute or find her own living situation.
So, what was she going to do about all of this?
“I have to either find something to keep me here, or get out. Somewhere.”
Skylar sipped her straw and realized she was out of soda. She crushed up some of the ice and finally gave in to the idea that her break was over. The moment she donned her apron and put her empty lunchbox back into her locker, John approached and announced they got a takeout order he needed her to start right away.
“Anchovies,” he said with near-awe. “Somebody actually ordered anchovies!”
While it wasn’t unheard of, someone in Paradise Valley opting for the anchovy topping was definitely at the bottom of the list. The pineapple wars remained in full force, though, and blood had been drawn…
“Oh, and they want pineapple! Anchoviesandpineapple!”
Skylar turned around from the walk-in entrance. “Excuse me? Is this a joke order?”
“Nope. Recurring customers. When I asked her if that’s what she really wanted, I was told it made sense in their house.”
“You sure it’s not half and half? Like, one side anchovy, the other side…”
“Nope. Whole medium pizza is anchovy and pineapple. See?”
Sure enough, Skylar saw the order for herself on the computer. “All right, I guess. Since they’ve already paid…”
Besides John, Skylar was the only employee on duty that otherwise slow Wednesday night and was on the front line to present the pizza to the customers coming in to pick it up. Loud voices drifted from the front counter to the kitchen, where Skylar finished boxing the pizza. She gagged from the smell.
“Oh, jeez, Lor.” Krys Madison stepped away from the counter, hands held out and head shaking. “You’vegottabe kidding. What’s on that thing? Smells likeass.”
Lorri Abrams, the woman who must have called in the order, accepted the box. “It’s for Joanie! She’s the one who wanted both anchovies and pineapple!”
“That’s love right there.” Krys turned to Skylar, who was only mildly invested. “If my significant other asked me to bring anchovy and pineapple pizza into my house, I’d break up with her right there. There are boundaries in relationships.”
“You’d do it if she were pregnant. You don’t mess with a pregnant woman’s cravings.”
“God help me, I won’t know what that’s like. Ever.”
Lorri acknowledged Skylar on their way out the door. “Thanks! Wish us luck!”
John emerged from the kitchen as soon as they were gone. “Smells like hell back there.”
“It’s about to smell like hell in their house.”
Bouncing between both feet, John grabbed his car keys from his pocket and motioned to the door. “Will you be okay here if I run down to the store and get some new air fresheners? I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”
“Considering that was the only order we had in the past hour, I think I can manage. If you have your phone on you, I can text if we get a sudden influx.”
John glanced at the clock. “Cool. You’ll be fine before eight hits. Be right back.”
Skylar was rarely left alone in the pizzeria. She always had at least John there, or if not John, then Carrie or any of the other capable employees who could back her up in times of pizza crisis. Yet it was Wednesday. Outside of events going on in town, they rarely got orders that amounted to anything more than the odd large pie. Nothing Skylar couldn’t handle on her own.
Although she always had that tinge of panic whenever she realized how… exposed she was.
It was the city girl inside of her. What if someone chose that moment to rob them? Hardly worth traumatizing a few minimum wage employees. Jail time? Skylar wanted to believe it was possible, but after living in Portland, she wasn’t sure how seriously the PNW took armed robbery.
That was anxiety talking. Skylar didn’t like being alone, did she? Every time she faced the crushing reality that was loneliness, she froze up a little and thought of every bad thing that could possibly happen to her.
