“I have things to show you,” I gush.
“Ok, sit. Show me.”
I drop the stack of papers I’ve been carrying with me. “I took inventory.” I hand her the piece of paper with all the numbers and details. I was able to create a spreadsheet, color-coded, of course, just like she prefers, and it’s beautiful, so I had to print it too. “I also emailed it to you and gave you access so you can modify anything at any time.”
“This is great. Thanks. I’ll use it to order the supplies.”
I all but squeal. “No need! I already did. They will be here next week. Perfect timing for when the counselors start coming in.”
“Really?”
“Yup! I also emailed you the receipt. I used the card on file. I hope that was okay.”
“That works. Thank you.”
Thank you? She’s thankingme?It’s already going better than expected, and she hasn’t even seen it.
“What is this then?” she asks.
“This is what I wanted to show you! Open it, open it!” I clap, and she laughs. Okay, Lils, I see you. We’re in a good mood today.
She takes her time, perusing through names, dates, and times as the pages pull her in, line by line, her eyes tracking from left to right, top to bottom, before turning the page. I hold my breath, following along and praying what she sees is something she likes. I grip my thumb between my fingers, but I refuse to utter a word. The room blurs at the edges as my heart hammers against my ribs, waiting for her reply.
“Riley, this is—” Her words float between us, drastically tugging at my heartstrings in the hope this unusual tone is positive. “When did you do this?”
“Last night.” I shrug, careful not to show a reaction. I don’t want her to tell me she likes it just because I’m excited. I want the truth.
“It must have taken you all night.”
Yes. “Not that long,” I lie.
Please tell me you like it.
Please tell me it was worth it.
Please tell me you can use this.
Her shoulders drop as she lets out a breath. “This just took so much off of my plate, you have no idea.”
“Really?”
“Yes. This is perfect and so creative.”
I thought so too, but the fact she thinks it is makes my heart fill withpride.
“Thank you. This is really good.” She frowns.
Oh no. No, no, no. Go back to Happy Lilly. Why are you upset? What did I fuck up?
“How did you know?” she asks.
“Oh, um, I’m sorry, I didn’t ask if I could do the scheduling. I just overheard you the other night, and it sounded like you had a lot going on. Then Willa had said before that the ranch and the camp were struggling, and I thought that maybe if we had something different to offer this year, we could revamp marketing a bit to make it better and more enticing, and that way, we can try to increase the enrollment. I know if enrollment is low, then we can’t pay for things, and I know there’s not much I can do, but I can do this, I can help this way, or so I thought. I did it, but if you hate?—”
“Riley!” she snaps.
“What?”
“Get out of your head! You’re fine. It’s great. I think this might help a lot. More than you think. Thank you for taking the initiative.”