Coming Home for Christmas (22 page)

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Authors: Fern Michaels

BOOK: Coming Home for Christmas
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Chapter Nine
The crowd gathered smack-dab in the middle of Maximum Glide. Hundreds of people had faced the cold weather to attend the Christmas tree lighting. A thirty-foot evergreen was placed directly in front of the main offices, the site of most of the day's comings and goings. Ski lessons could be arranged in the building to the right of the giant tree. To the left, children under the age of three could be left in the capable hands of Bunnies and Babies, the day care offered by the resort. North of the tree was The Lodge, where one could eat breakfast or lunch, or simply sit by the raging fire that never seemed to burn out in the giant fireplace. South of the tree were the ski lifts that took men, women, and children to the other forty-six lifts that covered the mountain. Tonight was like a scene from a Charles Dickens novel. Snow twirled like tiny ballerinas in the chilled night air. Mock gaslights wearing bright red bows flanked the main street on both sides. The shops stayed open, all displaying brightly colored lights and Christmas trees decked out in all the finery of the holiday season. The odor of mulled cider emanated from several of the shops, along with the earthy smell of burning wood.
Stephanie held her daughters' hands in hers as the three of them walked through the festive village that made up Maximum Glide. Melanie walked alongside them. The four were silent as each took in the fairy-tale-like images that lit up the resort like something right out of a magical storybook.
As expected, it was Amanda who spoke first. “Mommy, this is the most beautiful place in the whole wide world! I never want to leave here. I bet when Santa comes here, he doesn't want to leave either, right?”
They all laughed.
“I'm sure he doesn't, but he has many places to go all over the world. Still, I'm sure it hurts him just a tiny bit to leave this very special place,” Stephanie said, as they continued their leisurely stroll down the main street, taking in all the brightly decorated windows and people dressed in their warmest, most colorful outdoor wear. It really was beautiful, Stephanie thought. It would be equally beautiful in its raw form, too. No lights, no flashy decorations, just the tall trees with the scent of evergreen perfuming the air, along with the clean freshly falling snow. Yes, she mused, that would be just as beautiful.
“What time do they light the tree?” Ashley asked excitedly.
“I can't wait. I know it's just a tree, but it's so big!”
Stephanie and Melanie looked at one another over the girls' toboggan cap-covered heads. They laughed. “Seven o'clock, right on the dot. And it's ten minutes till, so we'd best hurry over so we can get in as close as possible. I don't want you two to miss anything.”
“We don't want to either, Mommy. Right, Ashley?” Amanda singsonged.
“
Right,
Amanda. You know what I'm going to wish for when they light up the tree?” Ashley asked in a firm voice.
“I haven't the first clue,” Stephanie said. “Why don't you tell us.”
“I'm going to wish that Amanda would stop saying, ‘right, Mommy,' ‘right, Ashley,' ‘right, Melanie' all the time.”
Stephanie looked at Melanie, who could barely contain her laughter. Amanda, on the other hand, looked as if she was about to cry.
“It's okay, honey. Your sister is just doing what big sisters do.” Stephanie fluffed the ball on top of her toboggan cap, hoping this wouldn't turn into an all-out verbal war between the two.
“Santa Claus doesn't tell me what to say, right, Mommy?” Amanda asked in her squeaky-I'm-about-to-cry-voice.
“Of course not. You're the only one who can decide what words come out of that sweet little mouth of yours. Look”—Stephanie pointed to the tree a few yards ahead of them, hoping to distract her younger daughter—“they're about to light the tree. Come on, let's hurry.”
Without another word, the quartet weaved their way through the throngs of people clustered around the giant tree's perimeter. They were able to find a spot about six feet away. Stephanie figured that was as close as they could get without actually trampling on toes, strollers, and, looking down, the largest boot she had ever seen. Her eyes followed the boot to the calf, then the knee, all the way to the thigh. Why did this look familiar to her? Before she knew what was happening, the boot man snatched Amanda right out of her grip and hoisted her on top of his very broad shoulders.
Patrick!
“If you'll follow me, I've got the perfect place to view the tree,” he said.
Stephanie was about to tell him to back off when Melanie shook her head and pointed to the girls. They were so excited, the sparkle in their eyes could light up half the giant tree if needed. She mouthed okay and inched behind Patrick, with Ashley sandwiched between her and Melanie.
Patrick guided them through the crowd without too much pushing and shoving. On the opposite side of the street, Stephanie spied what she knew to be a giant boom lift, or a cherry picker as some referred to it. She couldn't help but grin. She glanced behind her at Melanie, who wore a grin as big as the tree. Ashley hadn't said a word since Patrick had come in and literally swooped Amanda onto his shoulders. Not that she could've been heard through the sounds of excitement coming from the groups gathered around the center of the resort.
“Let's hurry, we have about two minutes to climb up in this thing,” Patrick said.
“This will hold our weight?” Stephanie asked cautiously. Up close, the machine didn't look that big or steady.
“I'm one hundred percent sure,” Patrick attested. “I wouldn't risk it if I wasn't.”
Was that supposed to be a dig of sorts, she wondered, as Patrick opened the glass door. Did he think she'd taken too big a risk when she'd allowed Melanie to take her girls skiing on the mountain? She figured if he had, too bad. It wasn't his concern how she raised her children. She told herself if he really knew her, he would know the last thing she would do would be to place her children in danger. A small voice reminded her that was exactly what she'd done when she'd remained married to an abuser.
But that's for another time. Tonight, I simply want to enjoy being with my daughters and Melanie.
Trusting he knew what he was doing, Stephanie allowed Patrick to lift Amanda inside the boom. Ashley wasn't nearly as excited as her sister about climbing into the small bucket.
“Mommy, is this safe?” she asked.
“Absolutely,” Stephanie replied in her most reassuring voice. “I would not allow you inside if I thought otherwise,” she added.
“Well, okay then,” Ashley said, allowing Patrick to assist her.
Patrick placed Ashley next to Amanda on a small seat. He grabbed Stephanie's hand to help her take the giant step leading to the inside of the bucket. Sparks shot up and down the length of her arm as he held her for what she thought was a minute too long. She felt out of sorts for a few seconds. She stood behind the girls, then Melanie climbed in. Once they were all securely in position, Patrick spoke up.
“I'm going to be operating this thing. It'll only take a minute to reach the height you'll need to view the lights. Just try not to jump around too much, okay?” Patrick said.
“You're not gonna watch the lights with us?” Amanda asked.
“I'll see them from below, kiddo. Now let me close this door and get all of you ladies up in the air,” Patrick said. He gave Stephanie a small smile before closing the door.
She wondered if this was his way of making up to her for the way he'd talked to her at Snow Zone. She wasn't sure, but again, for the girls' sake, she wouldn't question it, at least not just then. There would be plenty of time later for her to think about and rehash the day's events.
Before any of them could utter a word, they were lifted in one giant swoop. Patrick had positioned the boom so that they were able to view the tree at its midpoint. They could look up and down, yet they weren't so close that they couldn't see the people below them, too.
“Oh, Mommy, this is the best fun ever,” Amanda said.
“Okay, let's watch,” Stephanie said.
Within a matter of a few seconds, the giant evergreen lit up . . . just like the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center!
Hundreds of red, green, blue, and white lights clung to the tree's branches, illuminating the entire perimeter around the tree. From somewhere there was a drumroll, then a giant silver star as big as a car tire sparkled, completing the ceremony.
“Wow,” Ashley said. “This is so way cool from up here.”
“And I'm not even scared, right, Mommy?” Amanda informed them.
“See, she's doing it again!” Ashley pointed out.
“Girls, now isn't the time. Let's just enjoy the view before Patrick puts us down.”
A few minutes later, Patrick lowered the boom to the ground. Once they stopped, he stepped out of the cab, opened the door, and let them out into the frigid night air.
“That was the coolest thing ever, thanks,” Ashley said.
“Yep, it sure was. Mommy thinks so, too, right?”
“Amanda,” Stephanie chastened, “it was wonderful. Now, what do you girls say to Mr. O'Brien?”
Quizzingly, Amanda said, “That we want to do it again.”
They all burst out laughing, even Stephanie.
“That's not what I had in mind,” she said as an afterthought. Her girls knew their manners. Or at least she thought they did. Apparently tonight, that knowledge had taken a leave of absence.
“Thank you, Mr. O'Brien. That was very thoughtful of you to think of us,” Ashley said in her most prim and proper voice.
Again, the adults laughed.
“You two are very welcome. That tree sure is a sight to behold, huh?” Patrick said as he gazed up at the rainbow of colors.
“Do you wanna go to Burger King with us?” Amanda asked. “We didn't have lunch today when we were with the pups. I am starving, and Mommy says we both can have double-dipped ice-cream cones because we didn't talk on the ride home.”
If there had been a giant hole somewhere, Stephanie wished it would swallow her up right then and there. She was really going to have to start explaining to Amanda exactly what social manners were. She realized her daughter was only seven, but she had to learn sometime, and it might as well be now, before she totally humiliated Stephanie.
For once, Patrick saved her from Amanda's eagerness. “I'd love to, but I need to go to Claude's to see how the pups are doing.”
“Oh, I want to go with you,” Ashley said. “I've been so worried about them. Can I go with Patrick, Mom? Please?”
Stephanie wasn't sure exactly what had gotten into her girls, but she was really going to have to sit them both down and discuss manners with them.
“No, you may not. And please don't assume that Mr. O'Brien has to invite you just because you want to go. That is very rude.”
“I tell you what I'll do if it's okay with your mom,” Patrick said to both girls. “As soon as I leave Claude's, I will call your mom with a pup report. Maybe later this week, if it's all right with your mom, I can take both of you girls to see the pups.” Patrick looked at Stephanie, shot her one of his killer smiles, and her heart turned to mush, but only for a second. She remembered just how hateful he had been to her that afternoon.
“I'll think about it. I'll certainly have enough time on my hands to do so,” Stephanie said directly to Patrick.
Patrick looked at his big brown boots. “About what I said today—”
“What's done is done, Mr. O'Brien. Thank you for offering the pup update. You can call my cell as soon as you have word of their condition.”
With that, Stephanie took both girls by the hand and led them away from Patrick, his promises, and whatever it was he had been about to say.
Chapter Ten
Two Weeks Later . . .
 
“Well, I for one think he owes you at least a bit of loyalty. You've worked your rear off at that place for two years, and this is what you get? Laid off during the holidays?” Melanie took a sip of her coffee. “I still think you should have told Max and Grace at the tree lighting.”
“I know you do. It stinks, but it is what it is. I didn't want to spoil their evening. I'll be fine as long as the deal on the house goes through. I've already filled out all the paperwork; the deposit is being held in escrow; now all I'm waiting on is the bank. And you know how banks are. They take their good old easy time. Jessica said if I was lucky, I'd be moved in before the end of the year, but I don't see that happening. Not with the holidays coming up.”
Stephanie and Melanie had just returned from walking the girls to the bus stop. Since her forced leave of absence had begun, they had spent almost every day together. If anything good had come out of her layoff, it was her close friendship with Melanie. They'd taken the girls to the movies twice, three times to McDonald's, and once they'd gone out for pizza at a new pizza parlor in town called Izzy's. Melanie wanted to take them to see a Christmas play in Denver this weekend, but Stephanie really couldn't afford the tickets. Melanie had told Stephanie it was her treat, but Stephanie, who had no idea just how well-off her friend was, said that was too much. Instead, the four of them were planning to see
A Christmas Carol
at the high school in Placerville. It was free to anyone, and Stephanie knew the girls would get a kick out of it. Ever since Grace had taken them to see
The Nutcracker
at Eagle Valley High, they'd fallen in love with live performance of any kind.
“I know you can't wait to get out of this little place, but I think I will miss it when you and the girls leave,” Melanie said as she gazed around the three-room garage apartment.
“Then you should ask your parents to rent it to you,” Stephanie teased. “I'm sure they would give you a decent rate. Not that they haven't given me a good rate. I didn't mean to imply that they hadn't. I know what they could really get out of this place if they wanted to rent it as vacation property.”
“I don't see that happening. They've loved having you and the girls here. I don't think the place has ever looked quite as homey.”
Stephanie had tried her best to make the small, cramped area into a home. She'd painted the walls a warm butter color and sewn cream-colored drapes to cover the large picture window in the living area. She'd spent two weekends putting new tile in the one and only bathroom. She'd been quite proud of herself, too. She'd taken a course on installing ceramic tile offered at the local hardware store and found it really wasn't all that hard to do. She'd borrowed the wet saw and cutters from Max, and the tiles she'd chosen, a creamy beige, were on sale. She'd asked permission first, and, of course, she'd been given complete and total discretion over the apartment. She was told to make it her own, and that was exactly what she'd done.
The kitchen wasn't much bigger than a closet, but Stephanie had left her mark there, too. She'd wallpapered the one wall with tiny butterflies, bought an inexpensive set of pale yellow canisters at a discount store, and added a sheer yellow curtain over the window above the sink. The table had been there when she moved in. Stephanie now knew that it had been a tenth-anniversary gift from Melanie's father to her mother many years ago. Solid hard rock maple with four matching chairs. She'd purchased yellow checkered cushions and matching place mats after she'd polished the deep honey-colored wood to a mellow shine. It was homey, just as Melanie said.
Stephanie had been hesitant about putting up a tree that year, hoping by some sheer force of magic that she would be in the new house, and they would have Christmas there, but she hadn't told the girls about the house, so she'd had to decorate the small artificial tree she'd purchased the first year they lived there. The apartment couldn't hold much more than that, but she and the girls had decorated wherever possible. They'd tied red and green ribbons on all the doorknobs, and on the handles on the kitchen cabinets. They'd strung cranberries and popcorn on thread and draped it on top of the curtain rod in the living room. Baskets of pinecones they had gathered covered every available surface. Amanda had cut out shapes of stars and Christmas trees from red and green construction paper and taped them all over the walls. Not to be outdone, Ashley had used all the aluminum foil in the house making angels and taping them to the ceiling. That had been quite the task, but they'd all enjoyed themselves. And now their little place sparkled and shone, ready for the holidays.
Though it was expensive and not in her budget, Stephanie had bought the girls each a cell phone for Christmas. Remembering those few hours of fear on Black Friday had left her shaken, more so than she'd let on. She'd purchased cards with a limited number of minutes and would instruct the girls that the phones were only to be used in case of an emergency, but she didn't see that happening, at least not with Ashley. She was starting to talk on the phone with her school friends, and Stephanie knew she would want to fit in with the rest of her classmates by texting and talking on her new cell phone. When Grace and Max had asked what they could give the girls for Christmas, she'd told them to buy them minutes for their phones.
“Thanks, we love it here, it's just not big enough. You know what it's like when three girls share a bathroom?” Stephanie teased.
“I've witnessed it with my very own eyes,” Melanie informed her.
“Yes, I suppose you have. I'm just lucky they're still young. Can you imagine what it would be like if they were teenagers?”
Melanie laughed. “I don't even want to think about it.”
They chatted for a few more minutes. As Melanie was getting ready to leave, the phone rang. Stephanie hoped the girls were all right. She still didn't feel one hundred percent secure when they were out of her sight.
She raised her index finger to Melanie, indicating for her to wait a minute.
Melanie stood by the door.
“Hello,” Stephanie said into the phone, her voice tinged with a bit a fear. “Jessica! It's great to hear from you.” Stephanie paused, then nodded to Jessica, who, of course, couldn't see her. As though she were moving in slow motion, she sat down on the kitchen chair.
“That's not true,” she cried vehemently. “I don't understand,” she trailed off, her voice laced with disappointment. “Yes, of course. I don't know what to say except it's simply not true. I'll have to call you back,” Stephanie said as she tossed the phone on the table.
Melanie walked across the small living room back to the kitchen. She sat down in the chair she'd just vacated. “You don't look so hot. Are the girls okay?”
“I hope so. That was Jessica Rollins on the phone. She said she just got off the phone with the bank.” Her eyes pooled with unshed tears. “They've denied my loan.”
Melanie reached cross the table for Stephanie's hand. “How can that be? Jessica said the hard part was over. I thought they'd already approved the loan, that it was simply a matter of signing the final papers at the closing.” Melanie appeared to be as dumbfounded as Stephanie. “Did they offer an explanation? Did Jessica say what happened to change their minds?”
Crestfallen, Stephanie nodded. “Jessica said banks don't give loans to people who are unemployed.”

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