Bright Lights, Big Christmas(35)
“Thanks,” Kerry said. “And when you come get your tree, I’ll throw in a free wreath.”
“It’s a deal,” Astrid said.
chapter 26
Kerry was half a block away from Abingdon Square when she spotted the crowd. People were swarming around the Christmas tree stand, waiting in line on the sidewalk, taking selfies in front of the TOLLIVER FAMILY CHRISTMAS TREE FARM sign and standing beside Spammy.
“What on earth?” she murmured, breaking into a trot, and then a full-out dash.
Murphy was standing in the middle of a knot of mostly women, all of them chattering, although there was a sprinkling of men in the crowd too. She saw Vic, struggling as he tried to strap three trees onto his bike-hitched wagon.
Her brother looked trapped. And panicky. As she arrived at the stand his eyes met hers over the crowd and he mouthed one word: Help.
“Hi,” she said, wading into the fray. “Sorry. Let me just put my bag in the trailer…”
“Miss!” a woman called. She had her arms wrapped around a small tabletop tree. “How much is this? And do you have any more this size?”
“Miss.” A middle-aged woman butted her way around the one with the tabletop tree. “I was here before, and I need…”
She heard a twenty-something exclaim to her friend, “Oh my God. That trailer is just the cutest ever. I just want to move in and live here.”
Kerry opened the door to the trailer, tossed in her bag, and turned around to find a middle-aged man shoving his credit card at her. “I have an appointment and need to pay for my tree right now.”
“In a minute, please. We only have one credit card reader, and my brother is using it.” When he started to protest, she turned away and made her way to Murphy’s side.
“What’s going on here? Where did all these people come from?”
“That’s what I want to know. These women are about to start a rumble over Christmas trees. They say they read it on Ashley somebody. Who the hell is that?”
“They must be talking about AshleyActually. She and her fiancé bought a tree here last week. Turns out this woman is a big-deal lifestyle influencer. She’s got a social media following of over a million people.”
Kerry pulled out her cell phone, tapped the Instagram icon, and typed “ASHLEY ACTUALLY” into the search bar. She immediately recognized the stylish blonde and her fiancé, standing beside the Tolliver sign, and then another of herself and the duo, with the caption:
Last week Shaun and I discovered the coolest spot in New York City to buy a Christmas tree and soak up some holiday cheer. Run, don’t walk to the West Village and Tolliver Family Farms Christmas tree stand to support a great family business. Their trees are fresh-cut from their farm in the North Carolina mountains and smell amazing. And don’t forget to check out the cute little camper they call Spammy. They actually live there during the Christmas season!
She passed her phone to Murphy. “There are over eight thousand likes and more than seventeen hundred comments. And she only just posted this a couple hours ago.”
“Some girl you never met before is responsible for all this … chaos?”
“Apparently. Isn’t it great?”
“Did they all have to descend on us at the same time?”
“Sir? Sir?” A young woman dressed in head-to-toe purple waved a credit card. “I want a six-foot tree, and where do you keep those cute wreaths like the one Ashley showed on her IG post?”
“The wreaths are on back order,” Kerry said. She handed the woman her notebook. “Write down your name and phone number and I’ll text you when they come in again in the next day or so.”
“Hey!” A man with a tree slung over his shoulder pushed his way toward the siblings, narrowly avoiding poking someone in the eye with the tip of the tree. “Bro, can you cash me out? My Uber is only a block away.” He had a handful of bills in his hand. Kerry plucked the money and gave him his change.
The next two hours were a blur, as fresh waves of customers arrived at the stand, clamoring for trees and wreaths and for Kerry and Murphy to pose for selfies or for permission to tour Spammy.
The pile of trees awaiting delivery grew precariously tall, and Vic pedaled away from the stand countless times, with a sweaty face and an ear-to-ear grin.
Shortly before four, the crowds subsided and brother and sister collapsed, in tandem, onto their folding chairs.
“This is nuts,” Murphy said, surveying the picked-over assortment of trees, some of which had been knocked down during the crush of business. “Look at this place. If business keeps up at this pace, we’ll be out of trees by Sunday. Maybe before.”
“What happens if we actually do run out of trees?” Kerry asked.
“Not sure. We’ve never had it happen before Christmas Eve. We sure as shooting haven’t ever sold out this far ahead of Christmas. I mean, usually we hold back a few trees so we can still help out the last-minute crowd. I guess, if we run out, we just pack up and go home.”
Kerry’s mouth went dry and her stomach did a little dip. A few days ago, she would have jumped at the thought of heading home, to a real bed, plumbing, and an actual silent night not punctuated with Murphy’s snores. But now?