Fern opens her eyes. Her mind runs through everything she needs to do today, and she remembers that she's receiving a shipment around noon.
She sits up, tosses off her blankets, and strides into the small bathroom to shower.
When she gets out of the shower, she rubs coconut oil on her palms and then combs it through her waist-length hair.
Then Fern walks into the kitchen to grab her jade roller out of the fridge. She keeps it in there, wrapped in a towel, so that when she wants to massage her face, it's nice and cool.
Fern applies her skincare, massages her face, and puts on a white t-shirt with yellow tie-dye and a pair of black denim shorts.
She strides through the red door with a cup of coffee in her hand and flips the sign on the glass door of the store.
Then, Fern turns on the radio and sits on the stool behind the counter to finish her coffee and scroll on her phone until her first customer comes in.
She has a slow stream of customers all morning, and at 1 a box truck pulls in the parking lot. Spotting it, she goes through the red door and then the back door to meet the truck.
The driver opens the door on the back of the truck and offers to help her carry the heavy boxes and crates. Fern doesn't turn down the help, but in the end she carries the majority of the boxes into the storage room at the back of Freeman Market.
The driver is shocked at Miss Freeman's strength as he watches her petite frame lift and carry all these boxes.
Fern is stronger than she looks. She doesn't work out, but she receives shipments like these multiple times a week. Not to mention, she built this store with her own hands. She had a lot of help from her dad and his friends, but she did most of the work herself.
After all the boxes and crates are unloaded, Fern waves goodbye to the driver and heads back to the counter of the store.
She stays up late into the night opening those boxes and restocking the shelves after the store is closed.