Page 57 of August
Well, it wasn’t just how excited she was to see the carousel actually working and also starting her new job as carousel operator, but it was also because she had amazing news to share with August…she was just looking for the right time.
Some news needed to be shared in an epic way, and this was one of those pieces of news.
Stomach fluttering, she made her way to the section of the park where the carousel now proudly gleamed in the spring sunshine. The park would open at ten, which was in less than an hour.
“Today’s the day, Ginny?” Lexy, Win’s soulmate, asked from the door of the candy shop where she, Trina, and Jenni made and sold various candy to park patrons.
“Yes! I’m so excited!”
“You look like it! Come here for a second, I’ve got a surprise for you.”
Ginny changed direction and hurried to the candy shop, following Lexy inside.
“Hey, girl,” Jenni said from behind the counter where she was pushing colorful gummy candies out of small molds.
“Hi!” Trina said as she fluffed a bow on a box of chocolates.
Ginny greeted the females. “What’s up?”
“I wanted to do something special for the carousel’s grand reopening, so I talked to Marcus and the other bears, plus Trina and Jenni, and we came up with an amazing idea.”
Trina walked out from behind the counter with a wooden tray filled with treats.
“Okay, so I asked the marketing department to come up with some stickers for treats for the carousel, and they came up with these really cute ones. See? Some of them have the individual horses and some have the whole thing,” Lexy said, pointing to a few spools of stickers. “We came up with a handful of treats to make for you, which we also put the stickers on the packaging as well. So we made classic round suckers—they’re cherry flavored—kettle corn in individual bags, and Jenni’s favorite thing to make—gummies shaped like carousels.”
Ginny stared in shock at the tray of adorable carousel-themed treats. She lifted one of the palm-sized bright red suckers with a carousel horse sticker on the plastic covering that was tied with a gold ribbon.
“Holy crap, you guys! I didn’t know you were planning to do something like this. It’s amazing!”
“We’ve got a stand for you to sell the treats right at the operator booth,” Trina said. “Whenever you need a refill, just call the shop and we’ll run them out to you. There’s a cash box in the booth that’s got cash in it and a tablet so people can tap or swipe credit cards or their cell phones.”
“I think you thought of everything!” Ginny hugged the females, her heart swelling with how much her friends cared about her and the carousel. Of course they’d been hearing her talk about it for months, and now the day was finally here.
“Be sure to come by on your break for a ride on the carousel, free of charge!” Ginny said before thanking them again. She took the tray with her, leaving the shop and hurrying to get to the carousel.
When she reached the carousel, August was standing at the operator booth holding a bouquet of red roses. He had on his coveralls, and there was something about seeing him in his work uniform that always made her heart pound.
She set the tray of goodies on top of the newly installed treat stand and hugged him with one arm, taking the flowers in the other.
“They’re so pretty, thank you!”
She kissed him, her skin prickling as he held her close and his gorilla hummed, making his chest vibrate.
“It’s your first day, sweetheart. I wanted to commemorate it and give you something special.”
She brought the flowers to her nose and inhaled the sweet scent. “I love them, and I love you.”
“The carousel looks great. Are you ready for it? Social media has been buzzing with news of it opening today. Joss said that ticket sales are way up.”
“That’s so cool!”
The marketing department, which consisted of a few wolves who had an office underneath the park near the marketplace, had been using the park’s social media accounts to document the carousel’s refurbishing and construction.
“I heard there’s a class coming for a tour today and they get to ride it,” August said.
“Yep, it worked out really well that the school had already scheduled the visit for today when it happens to be opening. They’ll be here right before they get to have lunch, and then they’re going on the safari tour too.”
“I’ll stop by and give you a hand since it could get pretty crowded,” he said.