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“Thanks, Paige. I’ll tell her.” I put my phone back into my pocket and smile at Sammy. “Can you hang out for a bit? Paige said she’d stop by soon.”
Sammy’s green eyes open widely. “Seriously? That’s so cool, thank you!”
“Excellent. Do you want to help me pick out accessories for the dresses I’ve put aside for my first appointment?”
“That would be awesome.” Sammy claps her hands together in delight. That’s exactly how I felt when my mom first let me help around the shop.
“Good. We’re going to need to pick out veils, tiaras, and gloves. Not all brides wear gloves but the long ones look particularly nice with strapless dresses.”
Leading Sammy toward the accessory wall, I ask, “Do you need to call your parents and let them know where you are?”
She shakes her head. “My dad is going to pick me up when I call him.”
“One of the nice things about living in a small town is having some freedom to walk around on your own.” I can’t imagine Sammy had that luxury in a city like Chicago.
Pulling a tiara off the shelf, she says, “I hope I make friends soon. You don’t know any seventh graders, do you?”
“I don’t, but I’m sure Paige does. Let’s ask her when she gets here, okay?”
Sammy smiles brightly. “You’re my first friend, Melissa. I guess that kind of makes you my bestie.”
“That’s an honor I’m pleased to have,” I tell her. Then we jump into preparing for the first appointment of the day.
I like Sammy a lot. She’s fun, enthusiastic, and while seemingly as vulnerable as any other kid her age, she’s also full of optimism. I smile while appreciating the odd turn of the day.
Who knew my new bestie would be only twelve years old?
CHAPTERSIX
JAMIE
I’m using the kitchen table as my makeshift office until Sammy and I find a house. The view of Elk Lake is unparalleled. The only problem is that beach dwellers below appear to be having so much fun I’m having a hard time focusing on my work. I want to be out there with them.
“Jamie, did you hear me?” Connor, the marketing director in charge of the new baby formula campaign, asks. He’s on speaker phone.
“Sorry, no,” I tell him. “What did you say?”
“I said we could use the song ‘Milkshake’ by Kelis. Everyone knows it and once the tune is in your head, it’s there for a long time.”
“What image would you put with it?”
“I was thinking we could have a mother sitting in a lounge chair feeding her baby in a field surrounded by cows.”
“Um, no,” I say. “That would seem like we’re likening new mothers to cows. I can’t imagine that it would fly.”
“I disagree,” he says. “We’re selling formula so we’re likening the formula to the song, not the mothers.”
“I don’t think so, Connor. It’s a fine line and the possibility of offending anyone who’s just given birth is not the way to go.”
“My wife thought it was funny,” he says.
“It is funny, but it’s also borderline offensive.” Changing the subject, I ask, “Do you know that song ‘Ring of Fire’ by Johnny Cash?”
“Yeah, what about it?”
“In the 1970s, Preparation H tried to buy the rights to use it in a commercial.”
“OMG!” Connor snort-laughs.
