Sweet Treasures

by Debra Ullrick

  For the next three hours a steady stream of customers came through the door. All the benches and tables were full. People stood around drinking their specialty coffees and hot chocolates, eating pastries and talking. Smiles lit up their faces, and she was happy that she had some small part in some of them. That’s what her shop was about—bringing people together and seeing the smiles on their faces. She lived to brighten people’s lives. Whether it was through the treats she provided at the shop or doing other things for them too.

  Movement at the window snagged her attention. Donald. Anna held up her forefinger at him and mouthed the word wait. She hurried in the back, fixed five cups of hot chocolate and placed them in a drink holder and put several treats in a paper bag. Within seconds she was outside.

  Donald stood with his back settled on the cold brick wall at the end of her building. Four of his homeless friends, two women and two men stood three buildings down, watching. Anna waved at them like she did every morning. They never returned the wave but instead lowered their heads in shame. If only she could let them know they had nothing to be ashamed of. Like Donald, two of them were war veterans who had served their country and had paid a high price in doing so. They deserved better than this.

  They deserved to be honored and treated with dignity.

  They deserved to be taken care of like they had taken care of America.

  Not left alone to fend for themselves.

  While Anna couldn’t change the world and help everyone, she did what she could to hopefully make a difference in some people’s lives.

  Like she had Cailyn, Jenna, Dorothy, and Maria.

  They were all homeless until she had found them. Anna, through the help of Jesus, had made a difference in their lives by letting them know how much Christ loved them, by helping them find homes, and by giving them a job. That was the main reason why she would never sell her shop and risk them all not having a steady job. No man, no matter how wonderful was worth that risk. Not even Nicholas.

  “Good morning, Donald. How are you this morning?”

  Donald’s kind face, covered with facial hair and lined with wrinkles from the massive trials and tribulations of life, gazed over at her. “Morning, Miss Moretti. I’m doing okay. You?”

  No matter how many times she’d told Donald to call her Anna, he wouldn’t do it. Well, whatever made him comfortable, she was okay with. “I’m doing better now that you’re here. I made too many cookies again.” She tsked. “I really appreciate you and your friends helping me out by taking these off my hands.” She handed him the bag and the drink carrier.

  “Ah, Miss Moretti. You and I both know you’re helping us out. You wouldn’t have any trouble selling these.” He held up the bag with his thin worn out gloves. “But I thank you for not making us feel like we’re the scum of the earth, cuz we really aren’t, you know.”

  Anna laid her hand on his worn out coat with several moth-eaten holes and made a mental note to add coats to her Christmas shopping list. “Yes, I do know, Donald. Jesus loves you all so much and so do I.”

  “We know you do, Miss Moretti, and we appreciate it.” He glanced over at his friends. “I’m hoping someday they’ll come and meet you. God bless you for your kindness to us, Miss Moretti.”

  Anna squeezed his arm. “You’re welcome. Oh, and before I forget, can you wait here for a just a second? I won’t be but a minute.”

  Uncertainty marched across his face but he nodded.

  Whirling around even as she took care to not slip on the few ice patches on the sidewalk, she hurried inside. She darted to her office, grabbed the sack from off the floor, and hurried back to Donald. “I almost forgot. I was going through some things at home and I have no idea what to do with these. Would you and your friends mind taking these off of my hands? You’d be doing me a huge favor, you know.”

  “Anything for you, Miss Moretti.”

  “Thank you.” She put the bag with the twelve sets of gloves, scarves, and hats into Donald’s same hand that held the bag of cookies. She had bought extras in hopes that he would distribute them to anyone else who needed them. Which, she had no doubt that Donald would do. “Listen, I’d better run. I have lots to do. Thanks for helping me out.”

  “No, thank you, Miss Moretti. And just for the record, I know what you’re doing. Thank you again for not making us feel small with your generous gifts. We all appreciate them. We appreciate you. More than you will ever know.”

  Anna held back the sniffles that threatened to come. “Well, I love you all and care about you. And don’t any of you forget it.”

  “We won’t, Miss Moretti.” With those words, he turned and with a pronounced limp, he walked toward his friends. Anna stood there a moment and sent up a prayer for Donald and his friends, many of whom she had yet to learn their names. Someday, she would. At least she hoped that chance came.

  She spun around and bumped into something solid.

  Hands cupped her upper arms, steadying her. “Oh, I’m so sorry.” Her gaze slid upward, and her lips split into a wide grin. “Nicholas! What are you doing here?”

  His eyes, soft and warm, gazed down at her. “I was just standing here watching one of the sweetest, most thoughtful things I have ever witnessed before.” Nicholas’s attention shifted behind her, held for a moment, then returned back to her.

  With his arms still on hers, Anna shifted around slightly. Donald and his friends were huddled on the bench, digging through the bag, glancing over at her, with smiles the size of Texas. Her heart warmed at the sight. Thank You, Lord.

  “Those people will have a warm drink and something to eat because of you.”

  Anna turned and raised her eyes toward Nicholas. “No. They’ll have something to eat and drink because of God. I just happened to be the messenger He sent.”

  “Yes, because of God, and He used you to be His hands and feet because of your willingness to serve and to help others.”

  With a shrug, she ducked out of his hold on her. “That’s what we’re here for. To serve.” Uncomfortable with his praise, she rushed on to say, “Now, enough of that.” She stepped back, and he slid his hands into the pockets of his coat. “What are you doing here? Can’t get enough of my fabulous hot chocolates and cookies, huh?” Anna sent him a slow, playful wink.

  “That. And I can’t get enough of the woman who created them.”

  Speechless. That’s what she was at this moment. Speechless. Something she rarely was.

  ♥ ♥ ♥

  After what Nicholas had just witnessed, there was no way he wanted to let this woman go. Lord willing, he would figure out a way for them to be together. “Listen, I only have a few minutes, but I am ready for another cup of your hot chocolate. Shall we go inside?” He offered her his arm, and smiled when she looped her hand into it. When they reached the door, he opened it for her and followed her inside.

  The place was packed with not one available chair anywhere. People were laughing and talking and enjoying their beverages and sweets. Anna had sure named this place right. Not only was the place filled with sweet treasures, Anna was the sweetest treasure of all.

  “Since the tables are full, do you want to go back into my office?”

  Nicholas liked her idea because he would love to have some alone time with her. “Sure.” Pulling his sleeve back, he glanced at his watch. “I have fifteen minutes before I have to leave.”

  She nodded. “You want to try the pumpkin pie spice white hot chocolate this morning, or do you just want coffee or what?”

  “I’ll try the pumpkin spice. That sounds really good. And last time I was here, I noticed you had some frosted brownies with walnuts on top. I’ll have one of those too.” He took his wallet out and opened it up.

  Immediately, Anna reached over and closed his wallet. “Don’t you even think about paying. Your money is no good here.”

  “And don’t you even think about not letting me pay.” He lifted both eyebrows at her. “If you don’t, I don’t want anything.”
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  Anna rolled her eyes and huffed at the same time. “You’re incorrigible, you know that, right?”

  “So, I’ve been told.” He grinned at her.

  She shook her head, gathered their drinks and pastries, and motioned for him to come back to her office. “Cailyn, I’ll be in my office if you need me.”

  Cailyn looked up from blobbing balls of cookie dough onto large cookie sheet pans. Her gaze went from Anna to him, and a huge smirk of a smile spread across her pixie face. “Oh, I’m sure we won’t need you for a very long time.” She dragged out the word long. “So take your time. We’ve got everything under control here.”

  Nicholas chuckled at Cailyn’s not-so-subtle attempt at matchmaking.

  Anna shook her head at him. “Don’t encourage her.” She handed him his brownie and drink and headed further into the back of the building.

  “Why not?” he asked as he stepped alongside her. “I like what she’s up to.”

  With a glance over at him, she ducked her head. “So you noticed, huh?”

  He chuckled again. “It’s kind of hard not to notice.”

  When they reached her office, Nicholas couldn’t help but be amazed. Christmas decorations and even a miniature Christmas tree on her desk flooded the room. The woman really did love Christmas.

  She sat down in one of the boxy looking chairs, and he sat in the other one. Only a small round table separated them.

  After taking a sip of her drink, she set it on a coaster on the table. “I love pumpkin spice. It’s so… So festive.”

  He took a sip too and had to agree. “This is really good. How do you come up with all of these different ideas?” he asked, taking a bite of the brownie.

  “I do a lot of experimenting and taste tests. I have the best job in the world.” She sighed with a dreamy smile, then took another sip of her beverage.

  A quick glance over the shape of her body, and he wondered without mentioning it how she stayed so slim being surrounded by all those sweets and experimenting with them too.

  “You’re aunt said she was going to come to my shop today. It’ll be nice to see her again.”

  Nicholas finished chewing the bite in his mouth. “Yeah, she can hardly wait.” He set his brownie down and rubbed his fingers together to get the chocolate fudge off of them.

  “I’m sorry. I forgot to grab napkins.” Anna shot up, pulled a napkin from off a counter, and handed one to him before sitting back down.

  “Thank you.” He wiped his hands and mouth. “I think I need to warn you. My aunt Savia doesn’t do anything small. If she likes what she sees, or in this case tastes and sees, she’ll put in a huge order and give them away as gifts.” He wanted to ask if she was prepared to handle such a large order, but he didn’t want to offend her.

  “This time of the year we get a lot of large orders. That’s why I have the girls come in early. I have another crew that comes in around eleven. You didn’t meet them the first night you were here because they had come in earlier that day to help fill orders so I sent them home early.”

  “Well, you may have to keep them a bit longer after my aunt shows up.” A glance at his watch and even though he hated to say goodbye, he knew he needed to get going. His uncle wanted him at this particular meeting.

  He popped the last bite of brownie into his mouth. “Well, as much as I’m enjoying this, I really have to go.”

  “Yeah, I need to get back out there too. Cailyn and the girls can handle it, but I don’t like leaving them shorthanded for very long.”

  They both stood. Nicholas gathered up their trash and tossed it into the trash bin by her desk.

  “How late do you have to stay this evening?” he asked.

  “I’ll probably be here until ten at least. I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on.”

  “When do you sleep?”

  “Sleep? What’s that?” She laughed.

  “I hear you on that one. Sometimes if I get five hours of sleep, I consider myself fortunate.”

  “Same here. Especially around the holidays. There’s always something that needs to be done. So it’s hard to take time off even for such things as sleep.”

  “And yet you took time off to go with me to my aunt’s party.”

  “That was a rare occasion for me.”

  “Well, I’m glad you did. I really like you, Anna.”

  “I like you too.” Her eyelids lowered.

  Glancing behind him to make sure no one could see them, he leaned over, cupped Anna’s chin, and tilting it upward, he kissed her. His lips lingered longer than he had planned for them to, but he wasn’t complaining. He enjoyed the feel of her soft lips under his. Several heartbeats later, he ended the kiss and gazed into those beautiful blue-gray eyes that had a dreamy look to them. He could relate. “Well.” He stepped back. “I really have to get going. Would you mind if I came by this evening around eight or so and brought you dinner? You like Chinese?”

  “Yeah, but I like hamburgers and French fries even better.”

  He laughed. “Okay. Hamburgers it is. Any particular place you like better?”

  She named a place, and he made a mental note of it.

  “Okay. I’ll see you then.”

  They walked out together, and as they walked past Cailyn she said, “Don’t be such a stranger. Come back anytime. Anytime… soon.”

  Anna narrowed her eyes at Cailyn and then smiled up at him. “She’s even more incorrigible than you are.”

  “Nah.” His focus shifted to Cailyn. “We’re just both on the same mission, right, Cailyn?”

  Cailyn glanced over at Anna and back at him. “Yes, sir. We sure are,” she said with a wink and nod in Anna’s direction.

  Needing to get back to work, Nicholas left Sweet Treasures with a smile and with only one thing on his mind. And it had nothing to do with business. “Lord, You know how I feel about Anna. She’s an amazing woman, and we have so many things in common. She possesses many of the qualities and things I have prayed for in a wife. Show me what to do, Lord, because I really believe that You have put us together just by the things You have shown me and by the peace in my heart every time I’ve prayed about Anna. I didn’t have that peace with any other woman.”

  Nicholas shook his head at just how much peace he really did have concerning Anna. “Never before, Lord, has my mind been so preoccupied with another person like it is with her. In fact, it’s downright uncanny how often I think of her. I think of her when I wake up, when I go to sleep. When I’m working, when I’m relaxing. In fact, she’s on my mind constantly, and I could easily see myself falling in love with her. Only problem is, Lord, I don’t have a clue how things could ever work out for us.”

  As a man used to solving problems and coming up with resolutions, no matter how many angles or different ideas Nicholas came up with, no resolution came to him. Not one that would work anyway. With a heavy sigh, he continued his heart-to-heart with the Lord. “Lord, it’s obvious Anna’s ministry is here. And, I know she’s needed here, and that I’m needed back in New York. But, and I know it’s a long shot, if there is a way to work this out, please show me.” Nicholas listened for that still small voice all the way to his uncle’s office building. Usually when he prayed, God would drop something into his heart in some form of an answer or another. But this time, there was nothing. Not even a single word.

  What did the silence mean exactly? He had no clue, but his gut twisted just thinking about the ramifications of it. Not a good sign. Not a good sign at all.

  Chapter Five

  How Anna made it through the rush hour was beyond her. Dead tired, all she wanted to do was go home, but she had a mountain of paperwork that needed her attention. If she didn’t pay her bills, she wouldn’t have to worry about the long hours. Thank goodness, earlier that afternoon, her girls had shooed her away, insisting they could manage things.

  “I’m leaving now, Anna,” Cailyn said from the doorway. “Everything’s cleaned up and ready for tomorrow.” She glanced over
at Anna’s desk covered with a mountain of paperwork and tilted her head. “Unless you need me to stay and help you with something else.”

  Even if she did, Anna wouldn’t let Cailyn know that because her friend had a date with Ted, a very nice man from church. “No. I’m good. Thanks.”

  “Oh. Okay. But only if you’re sure.”

  “Yes. I’m sure,” Anna reassured her friend. “Lock up on your way out.”

  “Will do.” With that, Cailyn turned and disappeared.

  After praying for Cailyn to have a nice time with Ted, her eyes drifted down to her desktop and to the order Savia had placed. Nicholas hadn’t been kidding when he said she never did anything small. It was also a good thing that Anna had ten days to fill the order. She’d need all of those days and then some. A glance at the hefty figure and the check that accompanied it, her heart danced with joy. With this she would be able to give her friends an even nicer Christmas bonus this year and buy a few more things for Donald and his friends. The extra hours would definitely be worth it.

  With that sweet thought tucked inside her heart, Anna got to work paying her bills. Two more to go and she would be finished.

  “Hey there, beautiful.”

  She looked up from her desk.

  “Hope you don’t mind, but Cailyn let me in on her way out.” Nicholas stood in the doorway. Instead of wearing his usual suit and tie, he had on a pair of blue jeans that didn’t do a very good job of hiding his muscular legs.

  Tearing her eyes away from them, she put her pen down and smiled up at him. “No, I don’t mind at all.”

  He held up a large paper bag from her favorite hamburger place “You hungry?”

  “Hungry? I’m famished.” The last time she had eaten was around three, and here it was now eight. She pushed herself away from her desk and walked over to him. “Let’s go eat in the breakroom. It will be a lot easier.”

  “Lead the way, ma’am. I’m at your service.”

  He followed her to the empty breakroom, took off his coat, scarf and hat, and laid them over the back of one of empty chairs. His gaze came over to hers, and she couldn’t help but notice how his blue Pendleton wool shirt made his eyes even bluer if that were even possible. Rather than stand there and stare at him, she tore her gaze away and asked, “What would you like to drink? Hot chocolate? Coffee? Pop? Water?”