I've been shopping for five hours now. Crazy, I know. I had woken up early this morning and got ready for a day of craziness. I left a note before leaving, explaining where I was and not to worry. Gran had called when she woke up to ask me to pick up groceries for Christmas dinner and a few things for the café and then Grace had called and asked if I could pick up a few things for her. So, here I am, five hours later, finally checking out. I bought everyone presents, I got everything gran and Grace needed, I bought super cute cookie cutters, a few gingerbread houses, and I picked up a bunch of stuff to put into baggies to hand out to the homeless shelter.
That's another tradition we have. Every year, we volunteer at the homeless shelter and fix a big dinner for them and hand out baggies and small gifts. It's so worth it, especially when you see their eyes light up.
I drove to Grace's house to drop off the things she needed before heading home. Grace is at the café, but Ben and the kids are home.
When I got home, I carried everything for gran and the café in, leaving the presents in the car until later, when there would be no prying eyes.
"Jessica! Here, let me help you." Grace ran over to me and I gave her the bags for the café while I took the bags for gran upstairs and put everything away.
After I finished putting everything away, I went back downstairs and started helping Grace with stuff. We made fresh coffee, hot chocolate and cappuccinos, we baked cookies, brownies and pies and then we made a few of our famous little sandwiches before we set everything out and decorated some of them.
***
A few hours later, while we were serving a couple of our customers, gran and grandpa came in with a lot of bags and hurriedly went upstairs. Grace and I looked at each other and laughed.
While we were in the kitchen, Ben and the kids came in, "Man, it is coming down out there." Ben shook the snow off of him and the kids before sending them upstairs and then walking to the back where we were.
"Well, the weatherman did say we were going to be getting a blizzard, sweetheart." Grace smiled and kissed him before turning back to baking.
"I know, but I was hoping he was wrong.." Ben said, smiling back.
"Here Ben, you can take my spot. I'm gonna go keep an eye on the front." I smiled and walked out of the kitchen.
***
An hour before closing, we get one more customer. It's a young man, looks to be around my age, maybe a little older. He's quite handsome, honestly. Snap out of it, Jessica!
"Hi! Welcome to Family Sweets! What can I get for you?" I asked, smiling.
"Can I get a cheeseburger with onion rings, and a bottle of water for here?" He looked back at me after looking at our small menu.
"Of course. That'll be $5.50 please." Ben came out and grabbed his order receipt before going to fix it. "It'll be a few minutes if you want to go find a seat, and then I'll bring it to you." I smiled as I gave him his change.
He nodded and went to find a seat. I glanced outside and saw the snow wasn't letting up and decided I should probably go get the presents out of my car before I can't even get outside.
"Grace! I'm going to my car for a minute, I'll be right back!" She walked out to the front of the café as I was grabbing my keys.
"Why in the world are you going out to your car?" Grace asked, curious.
I grinned and looked at her, "Wouldn't you like to know?" I winked and then went out to grab the bags.
After finally being able to hold them all, I shut my trunk, and carefully went inside after locking my car. Grace was holding the door for me, so I tried to hurry.
As soon as I got in, I thanked her and booked it upstairs before her noisy butt decided to look in the bags.
I carefully hid them in my room and locked my door before heading back down. Ben had just finished the customer's food when I returned, so I thanked him and grabbed it, carefully making my way to the man.
"Here you go, sir. Your cheeseburger, onion rings and a bottle of water. Enjoy! If you need anything else, I'll just be over here." I smiled and grabbed the empty tray before walking back to the counter.
Grace grabbed the tray and a deep tray we use for picking up dirty dishes at the end of the night and started making her way around the little tables, collecting the dishes. Ben started sweeping and mopping, cleaning around the café, and I started putting the food away and cleaning the counter tops.
A little while later, our only customer walked up to the counter.
"Could I get a slice of blueberry pie and a glass of milk?" He asked, getting my attention.
"Yes, you can." I said, before grabbing a small plate and glass. I carefully cut a piece of the blueberry pie before pouring the milk. "Here you go, sir."
The man started handing me some money, more than enough for the order.
"Don't worry about it. It's on the house." I smiled and handed him his pie and milk.
"Oh.. Okay. Thank you." He nodded his head at me before sitting at the counter.
"You're welcome. Happy holidays!" I smiled once more and went to clear his previous table.
Ben had just finished what he was doing when he looked outside.
"Holy moly. When did the snow get so bad?" He asked no one in particular.
Grace and I looked out the window after he said it. We were surprised at how much it had piled up out there.
"Jess, turn on the weather please." Grace said, standing by her husband.
I obliged and turned the tv to the Weather channel.
"The blizzard we were expecting sure did hit us, Mike. The snow has now piled up to where many citizens can't even open their doors! So, even though you might not have a choice in the matter, I suggest you stay indoors, folks!" Gary, the weather man, said.
"Thank you, Gary and that's insane! After the break, we'll be talking to you about the local charity donation event. Thank you for staying with us on the 6 o'clock news!" I turned the tv off after they went to break and turned to Grace and Ben.
"Are we able to get out?" I asked, unsure.
Since Ben was right closest to the door, he tried to open it, only to fail at it. Uh oh..
"Well, either I'm a wimp, or we're stuck here." Ben shrugged, turning towards us.
Hearing this, the customer turned around and shook his head, "No, no. No offense, but I can't be stuck in here. I have somewhere to be." He stood up and walked over to the door, trying to open it. And just like Ben, failed at it.
"Don't worry, man. It'll probably be better in the morning and hopefully you will be able to get to where you need to be." Ben patted the man on the shoulder before running upstairs to get grandpa.
The man sighed and frowned, turning to go back to his seat.
"My name is Grace Adams, and this is my niece, Jessica Mitchell. What's your name?" Grace asked, smiling at him.
"Derek. My name is Derek Roberts." He said, giving us a small smile.
"Well then, Derek, my parents live upstairs and I'm sure they won't mind you staying with us for the night. As my husband said, it'll probably all be fine in the morning." Grace said, finishing up putting dishes away.
"We don't mind at all, actually. Sorry, I just got down here and heard the conversation. If you'd like to join us, you are more than welcome to." Grandpa smiled and shook Derek's hand.
"Oh, no. I wouldn't want to intrude. I should be fine down here, if that's alright?" Derek asked, shaking his head.
"It'd be so uncomfortable down here. You should join us. There's enough room for all of us, including you. Plus, it'll be much more comfortable." I said, smiling and putting my apron away.
Derek sighed, and bit his lip. "Only if you're absolutely positive that it's no trouble.."
Grandpa grinned and nodded, "I promise, it's no trouble at all. Come on, let's all head on up and show Derek around."
After we locked the doors, and grabbed our things, we all headed upstairs. We introduced him to gran and the kids before grandpa showed him where he'd be sleeping and where everything else was in case he needed them.
***
It was around 10 o'clock now, and Grace and the kids were asleep. Ben and grandpa were busy talking with Derek while me and gran were fixing the baggies for the homeless shelter.
"Gran, do you think the snow will clear enough for the tree lighting in a few days?" I asked, finishing my third baggy.
"I'm not sure, my dear. I hope so, but I'm just not sure. I'm going to make some hot chocolate, would you like some?" Gran asked me while standing up, grabbing a few coffee mugs before starting on the hot chocolate.
"Yes, please." I smiled at her, and stood to get the marshmallows out.
When the hot chocolate was finished, gran pulled out a small serving tray and a tiny bowl for marshmallows. Grandpa was picky about how many marshmallows went in his hot chocolate, and we didn't know if our guest would like them or not, but Ben, Ben absolutely loved a ton of marshmallows in his.
While she took theirs out to them, I made ours. Gran and I always liked ours the same way as each other. My mother did too. It was our thing, I guess.
Once gran came back, she thanked me and we began working on the baggies once more. Grace had helped earlier, but then the kids requested a bedtime story, so we relieved her of her assistance. We found out she fell asleep later on, so we didn't want to bother her.
***
Two hours later, we were finally finishing up the baggies and put them in the box we had found for them. Once we put all of them into it, we went out to join the men, only then finding out that Ben had gone to join the others in sleeping.
"I think I'm going to head to bed, my love. But feel free to stay up as long as you'd like." My gran kissed grandpa's cheek and was about to head to bed before grandpa decided to join her.
"Sorry kiddos, I'm quite tired as well. Goodnight, Derek. Goodnight, doll." Grandpa kissed my cheek and patted Derek on the shoulder before turning to join gran.
"You all seem really nice." Derek said, looking where gran and grandpa had just disappeared to.
I smiled and nodded, "We try to be. So far, so good. You seem kind."
He smiled and chuckled, "I doubt that. I was quite rude to you all earlier."
"No worries. We forgive pretty easily here, plus, you had a reason to be upset. You had somewhere to be, but you got stuck with a bunch of strangers." I shrugged, sitting down in a chair that had a little foot rest.
He didn't say anything else, so I didn't either. We just sat there quietly. I was admiring the decorations, he seemed to be interested in his phone, which was fine.
By the time either of us said anything, half an hour had passed.
"I'm going to head to bed. If luck is on our side, and the snow does clear enough, I really have to be on my way as early as possible." He sighed, standing up.
I nodded my head, "Alright. Goodnight, Derek."
"Goodnight, Jessica." He smiled and went towards the room he was sleeping in for the night.
After a few more minutes, I decided I'd go on to bed also. So, I turned off the lights, locked up and went to my own comfy bed, completely ready for a good night's sleep.