Avery reached for a purple ribbon. “This one.” She held it up and motioned for her to lean down a bit, then held it against Tresia’s cheek. A wide smile lit the girl’s face.
“What are you doing here?”
The familiar voice startled Tresia, but she didn’t have to turn to see who it belonged to. Willetta. Arnold’s wife. A harridan who defined the word perfectly. She waited for the beratement that was surely coming as footsteps came closer. She didn’t have long to wait.
“I asked what you’re doing here,” Willetta said as she came closer, her voice rising. “You don’t belong here. You quit. Left us without notice. After Arnold and I were so good to you.”
The belligerent tone, as well as the lie, struck her immediately, but Tresia straightened and turned to face the woman. She couldn’t say, in all honesty, that she missed Willetta Sullivan. Her life was so much better since she didn’t have to put up with her cousin-in-law’s nasty attitude.
“Is that the way you treat all your customers?” she asked before her gaze roamed the store, landing on several displays that hadn’t been touched in days. “No wonder the store is empty.”
Willetta’s round cheeks turned a bright pink, which matched the dress she wore. The color contrasted sharply with her dull, dishwater blonde hair and pasty white skin. Her equally dull brown eyes narrowed, becoming tiny slits in her plump face. “You’re not a customer.”
“I am a customer,” she insisted, then grabbed a few more ribbons from the display, regardless of color and length, and held them out. “And from the looks of it, I’m the first…and only…customer you’ve had today.” When Willetta did not takethe ribbons, Tresia pulled her hand back, calmly walked to the register, and simply waited.
Willetta just stared at her for the longest time then, as if realizing she had no choice, let out a huff of disgust and walked over to the counter.
The sale was made quickly and silently, though the expression on Willetta’s face left no doubt she wasn’t happy. If looks could kill, Tresia would be dead right where she stood. There was no love lost between them, and at that moment, she knew they would never be anything but civil, if that, with each other though she’d tried at one point to become friends with the woman. Her attempts had been swiftly rebuffed, which had hurt at the time, but no longer mattered.
Willetta placed the ribbons in a small brown bag along with a handwritten receipt, the stub of which remained in the receipt book, and handed it to her, seemingly anxious to have her gone so she could go back to what she was doing…which was probably nothing.
“I’m here to pick up the account books as well.”
Willetta stiffened as the bright spots of color adorning her pale cheeks spread to encompass her entire face. “The b…books?” she stammered.
“Yes. I told Arnold when I quit that I would continue to keep the books. He agreed. Seemed relieved actually.”
The woman’s lips tightened before she let out another huff of disgust. “He didn’t mention anything to me.”
Tresia stared at Willetta, not willing to give an inch. “Doesn’t matter if he discussed it with you or not. I said I will continue to keep the books so if you wouldn’t mind…”
Willetta just looked at her, body stiff, mouth pursed in a moue of loathing before she simply…deflated. “I’ll get the books.” She stepped away from the register, then stopped and turned to face her. “You wait here.”
“Of course.”
“She’s mean.” Avery whispered as the woman walked away, tightening her grip on Tresia’s hand.
She glanced down at Avery holding the little brown bag with the just purchased ribbons. “She’s not mean, sweetheart. She’s unhappy. There’s a difference.”
“Why isn’t she happy?”
“I don’t know. I do know there are some people in this world who are never happy, either because life isn’t treating them like they think it should or because they don’t know how to be happy.” Her gaze roamed over the little girl’s face. “You can’t depend on anyone else to make you happy, Avery. You have to start with yourself, and sometimes, it takes a lot of work and searching your heart, but there is always something to be thankful for, and that can make you happy.”
Avery looked at her. “Are you thankful?”
“I am. Very much so.”
Curiosity sparkled in her bright eyes. “Why?”
“I’m a very lucky person.” She bopped the girl on the tip of her nose. “Because I have people in my life that I love….like you.”
Avery giggled, which touched her heart. “Like me?”
Tresia laughed in response. Yes, she did love this child, which didn’t surprise her. What did surprise her was how quickly she’d fallen in love with her. “Yes, like you.”
“And Daddy?”
That answer came swiftly as well. She didn’t even have to think about it as she’d grown quite fond of Devlin Goodrich. “Yes, your daddy, too.”
