“Hey,” Mark said quietly. “You okay?”
I hadn’t realized he was also present and accounted for to witness my humiliation.
Things had been going so well too. In the past two weeks, Judd’s Orchard had been booming with business. The birthday parties, Food Truck Fridays, and other events I’d been planning were doing so well. Regular posting and advertising on social media had brought tourists in by the droves. I’d even gotten a travel influencer on board to feature the farm this month on their channels.
And now that October was right around the corner, I’d been expecting this delivery from Owensby Acres so I could get the pumpkin patch set up and sorted this week.
Yet, the squash we were all staring at was another mistake for the Candace Judd Well-Meaning Hall of Fame.
“Candace,” Mark tried again.
This time I was able to swallow around my embarrassment and nod. “I’m okay. Just surprised.”
“Why would you order sugar pumpkins, Candy?” Joan had her hands on her hips as she walked between the pallets inspecting their contents. “They’re good for making pie and not much else. How are we supposed to make a pumpkin patch out of these?”
“It was a misunderstanding. I’m so sorry.”
“Did you buy tiny Christmas trees too?”
“Of course not,” I replied automatically, but I made a mental note to check the order with Skytop Farm.
My mouth was dry, but I did my best to make my voice even when faced with my sister’s obvious irritation and disappointment. “I’ll fix this, Joanie. I’ll call the vendor and see if they’ll exchange them for carving pumpkins.”
Her gaze narrowed in suspicion. “Did you order them from Grandpappy’s like I told you to? I can’t imagine Will would let you get hundreds of pie pumpkins without double-checking that’s what you actually wanted.”
“Well, no,” I replied. “I mean, I tried. I called over to Grandpappy’s, but all their surplus was spoken for this season. They were happy to put us down for next year though.”
“Next year,” Joan repeated flatly.
I couldn’t know what she was actually thinking, but part of me wondered if she’d envisioned the pumpkin patch—and the rest of my ideas—as a passing fancy that she had to simply endure until I was gone again.
Ignoring the ache those thoughts produced, I admitted, “So I went with Owensby Acres off of Will Clark’s recommendation. The price was nearly the same. I just didn’t realize...”That they were the wrong variety of pumpkinwent unsaid.
Mark hadn’t moved from my side, and I was grateful for it because, from this angle, I didn’t have to see the disappointment that was likely on his face.
Joan sighed and shook her head before walking off, and the sight made all my edges go brittle and weak.
A moment later, Brady’s face entered my field of vision. He wore awell, shitexpression. With a half-hearted punch to my shoulder, my brother said, “Tough luck, Candy Cane. You’ll figure it out though. Let me know if you need help moving them.” And then he, too, was gone.
Thankfully my parents hadn’t wandered over to the farm yet. Then again, it might be best to get the humiliation over with in one fell swoop with all the orchard employees at once. It wasn’t that my mom and dad would be angry. No, they’d be understanding and kind. And that was almost worse.
I couldn’t believe I’d made such a stupid mistake.
When I could no longer take Mark’s quiet, stalwart presence at my side, I finally looked over to find him watching me.
“I really messed this one up, huh?”
His blue-gray eyes were soft. “When I first started, I pressed a batch of apples that I thought Joan had set aside for that purpose. Turned out those were supposed to be bagged up and used as pre-picked for the store.”
I winced. Typically, we pressed apples that had imperfections or were too small. The pretty apples, or the ones up to standard for selling, were sorted separately.
“Joan eventually got over it. Nick and Amy understood. Brady gave me shit about it for a couple of days. And I never made that particular mistake again.” Mark tapped my elbow once more. “It doesn’t feel like it right now, but itwillbe okay.”
I nodded. He was right. In the grand scheme of things, this was a blip. But when you’d worked your whole life to be perfect, anything less than that was a personal affront. Not to mention how important it was to me to help my family and prove myself to my sister.
Rationally, I knew it was okay to make mistakes. People made them all the time. But there was a vicious little gremlin in my head that said it was okay for everyone else...but not for me. My brain fed and watered and tended that little gremlin like it was blue-ribbon livestock down at the county fair, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.
I appreciated what Mark was trying to do though. He was kind to commiserate with me and share his own experience. And it was nice that he wasn’t making me feel like an idiot.
