Page 132 of The Blessings of Christmas
“Looks as if people are taking your Christmas wishes to heart.” Maisy chuckled. “Do you think the clinic will have more? We’re running out.”
“I'm not sure.” Her confidence was slipping until she grabbed it by the tail. “Yes, of course. I'm sure I can pick some up the next time I stop by.” But a sick uncertainty circled in her stomach. What if those Christmas wishes were snatched away but not fulfilled? How would she explain that to Phyllis?
Holding an empty tray, Maisy swept past. Following her into the kitchen, Victoria waited until she had slid the empty tray into the rack. “Maisy, do you know what happened to all the Christmas tags?”
Flushed from the heat, Maisy turned. “I don't know. People took them, I guess.”
“You guess?” Victoria’s forehead pulsed. “Haven't you been keeping an eye on them?”
If Maisy’s face was pink before, it only got redder now. “I didn’t realize I was supposed to keep track of them. Sorry.”
“Now we don't know who has them.” Victoria ran her fingers through her hair. Phyllis had trusted her. Had she blown it? “What will I do if people don’t bring in those gifts?”
“I’ll put out a clipboard and ask people to list what they've taken.” Maisy was grasping at straws but at least she had an idea.
Sweeping up the tray, Maisy disappeared down the hall but not before Victoria saw her lower lip trembling. Her assistant was one tough cookie. And Victoria had made her cry.
Collapsing onto one of the kitchen stools, Victoria dropped her head into her hands. She should've organized this better. Grabbing a pen and paper, she began to jot down what she could remember from those tags. But her list looked incomplete. Like wisps of smoke, the Christmas wishes had disappeared.
Just when Victoria was losing it, Darla came in with an empty serving bowl. “Any more orzo salad with shrimp?”
Victoria nodded to the refrigerator. “Check and see.” She had to keep it together. No way did she want her employees to think she couldn’t handle this holiday rush. How could she ever have considered leaving here during this busy time of year?
“Nope. Not seeing it.” Darla closed the refrigerator door and a wave of cold air washed over Victoria.
“I’ll ask Emily to make more...or I’ll do it myself.”
“Anything wrong?” Darla asked.
Springing to her feet, she had to get out of here. “No, of course not. Fill the bowl with any salad you find in the refrigerator.” Edging down the hallway, she took a right turn that led to her office. Closing the door, she leaned against it. Failure was yapping at her heels like the ghost of Christmas past.
That afternoon, she spent a lot of time online, looking at kids’ toys. If something looked familiar, she jotted it down. At the end, she had a list that might be close to the clinic’s Christmas wishes. But the idea of having even one disappointed child or adult made her miserable.
An email pinged in her inbox. Plopping herself down in her office chair, she tried to focus.
Do you have a headshot of Dr. Darling?the email read.The one of him with a patient will be used but we’ll also need one of him looking like a physician. Reginald Osborne
What had Derek been wearing that day? Of course it was casual, like the clinic.
While she sat there trying to decide what to do, someone knocked at the door. She cracked it open. “Someone's here for you.” The expression on Darla's face was somewhere between curiosity and amazement. But before Victoria could ask who it was, Darla had disappeared.
Maybe Daddy had stopped in, hoping for the financials she didn't have? Taking a mirror from her top drawer, she swiped on lip gloss and smoothed her hair. Then she went out front, expecting to see Daddy or maybe Emily.
But no. Derek Darling stood there. Hands jammed in his jean pockets, he was glancing around and looking totally uncomfortable. What was he doing here? The place was packed and every eye was on Dr. Hot Stuff.
“Your shop is really hopping,” he said with a grin.
She looked around. “I guess it is. That's a good thing.”
“I like the tree.” With that, he headed toward the corner where lights blinked and ornaments glittered. “I thought you were going to hang our Christmas wishes on your tree?”
No way could she admit that she didn't know where they were. “Right. Everyone’s scooped them up.” Her chirpy voice sounded strained.
“That’s great.” His eyes dropped to the empty tree skirt. “So no one's brought the gifts yet?”
“Not yet. Still two weeks out from Christmas.” She needed more time. And she needed gifts, the right gifts. If she had to, she’d find them herself...if she only knew what to buy.
Miss Charlotte and her two side kicks had arrived. A young mother with two children left and Miss Charlotte’s group quickly took the empty seats, wiggling her brows at Victoria. Dr. Darling had become the center of attention.
