The Christmas Rental

by Hendricks, Savannah

  While he enjoyed decorating for the Christmas season, when he thought back on the process, he noticed everything he did was a routine, a rhythm without thought. Not to say that it was a mess or that he didn’t care, but seeing Lorelei and her attention to enjoying the process and being in the moment made him realize maybe he’d been doing it all wrong. He needed and wanted to see Christmas through her eyes, in fact, everything through her eyes. For someone who worked in such a demanding and stressful field, he understood how she needed to be a part of something slower, something with a more personal connection.

  Returning to the library tree, he took the time to learn from what he’d witnessed and hung the rest of the ornaments with a sense of joy, savoring the process. When he finished the tree, he stood back and took a breath. This Christmas would indeed be different.

  “Have you thought any more about your decision?” Lorelei peeked around the door frame to the library. “Oh, your tree is beautiful.” She entered all the way and placed her hands on her hips, admiring the tree.

  He didn’t want to admit she’d added to the complexity of his decision. “Thank you, and no, I should be, but . . .” He followed her out of the room and back into the living room, where Mary Ann wobbled on hands a knees.

  “Oh, goodness!” Lorelei shrieked as she lowered herself to the ground, directly in front of her daughter. She clapped her hands. “Come on. Mary Ann, are you going to crawl?”

  Mary Ann rocked her bottom back and forth and moved her arm like a robot, locked at the elbow. She lurched again, and the back knee jerked ahead.

  “Come on, baby girl,” Lorelei encouraged, propped up on her knees.

  Mary Ann squealed in delight and inched forward again, wobbly on her arms but solid on her knees. Lorelei reached up and grabbed Tyler’s hand. He flinched with surprise and delight that he was able to be a part of this first moment with them. Lowering himself to his knees, too, he joined Lorelei on the floor and cheered on Mary Ann.

  Mary Ann kicked her feet back and laid on her stomach. Then she pulled her knees up and started the motion forward again, but the momentum was too much and she face-planted when her arms gave out.

  “This is amazing to watch and rather funny.” Tyler elbowed Lorelei.

  Lorelei continued to hold his hand as she glanced over at him. “It’s both, isn’t it?” She turned back around and observed her daughter with a full-on smile. After a squeeze, she let go of his hand and clapped for Mary Ann.

  After a few more crawls forward, Mary Ann’s arms must have grown tired as she flopped forward and started to fuss. Lorelei picked up her daughter and rocked her until she quieted down. Tyler watched as her eyes grew heavy with each sway and struggled to stay open.

  “Do you want me to start on the side dishes?” he asked, already heading to the kitchen.

  “If you don’t mind. I should put her down for a nap so she isn’t cranky during the feast.” Yet, she didn’t head upstairs. Remaining in front of the living room Christmas tree, the crackling fireplace, and among a sea of Christmas décor, Lorelei swayed her baby, and he could do nothing to stop watching. He rubbed his eyes as though it would help, but he couldn’t stop. If Norman Rockwell saw this, he would paint it for sure, and no doubt, it would be a bestselling piece of art. Tyler pictured such a masterpiece hanging in the bookstore. He would keep it up all year long, even with the Christmas theme. And he knew exactly where he would hang it, on the wall by the children’s reading nook.

  He blinked, pulling himself from his daydream. Being an adult shouldn’t be so hard. Why did he continue to waver? It upset him. He’d pushed his dream aside because breaking the news to his parents that he didn’t want to continue with the family’s business gave him anxiety. Why were the best things in life the hardest? To him, this seemed backward. If life made good things easy and bad things hard, maybe the world would be a better place.

  Being around Lorelei reminded him why he must obtain his goal. Not that he didn’t want to hand the family business down, but he wanted a different legacy to leave for his children. Yet, only if they had the same joy as he did. His parents found happiness in real estate just as he did with books. And he wanted to have a job he loved, something which gave him absolute pleasure.

  With excitement in his blood at the comforting thought, he threw open the refrigerator door a bit too hard, and condiments clattered against the shelf. Once he straightened them out, he removed the green beans, celery, onions, and carrots.

  “Oh, no,” he mumbled.

  “What’s ‘oh, no’?” Lorelei asked as she headed to take Mary Ann upstairs.

  “We didn’t stuff the turkey with stuffing.”

  She paused as her lips formed a straight line. “I didn’t season it either.”

  “This will be a Christmas feast to remember.” He chuckled.

  As she sighed and headed up the stairs, all Tyler could think about was that it surely would be a Christmas feast to remember because it would be the best one ever. Just like everything else since Lorelei and Mary Ann had arrived.

  Chapter 18

  Thankfully, no one noticed the turkey had been seasoned midway through the cooking process as they gobbled up their tiny slice. Tyler had a genius idea of whipping up more gravy than anyone could possibly eat—and any doctor (even her) would ever condone—to cover up the lack of flavors. When in doubt, gravy up.

  The residents continued to pile through the door, and each one gave her a warm hug and introduced themselves. There would be no way to remember every single one of them, and she wished she’d thought to get name tags.

  She couldn’t help but wonder how it was that she didn’t even know the names of her two closest neighbors in her building at home. To be fair, she didn’t have lots of practice with having to remember names. At work, names were on the patients’ electronic charts on her laptop, and employees wore badges. Lorelei wanted to remember everyone’s names. She wanted to stroll the town and say hello to anyone she saw, get to know her neighbors, and then when they came into the doctor’s office, she wouldn’t have to glance at the chart to know who she was treating.

  Every time the front door opened the blast of outside air caused the flame to dance in the fireplace. Mary Ann slept soundly upstairs in spite of all the commotion downstairs, and Lorelei couldn't believe it. She never would’ve thought this day would come. Any of these days, to be exact. Staying in the Christmas rental house in a small town, her daughter learning to crawl and being there to witness it, and making a turkey for the first time, along with cutting down Christmas trees. Everything she ever wished for was coming true. And then there was Tyler—she never expected him, yet she felt ar home around him.

  “Delicious turkey, incredibly moist,” Diane of Kim and Diane’s Thrifty Finds mentioned. Her ruby-red coat hung off her arm, and a paper plate rested in her hand. Lorelei offered to put it with the rest of the coats, but Diane politely declined. Lorelei thought perhaps it was a security blanket for her, amongst the socialization. Diane remained at the living room window, gazing out at the display of Christmas lights in the backyard.

  “Thank you. Please excuse me,” Lorelei stated and left to mingle with the others.

  Diane nodded but didn’t turn around.

  The kitchen island held the side dishes including mashed potatoes, a hot green bean dish, buttery rolls, cranberry sauce, stuffing, sweet potatoes with toasted mini marshmallows on top, and mandarin orange Jell-O salad, a family recipe and a staple at any Minnesotan gathering. Bowls, more like troughs, of gravy flanked both ends of the island. The platter of turkey, sliced as thin as possible, sat on the kitchen table next to the plates and cups. Tyler had brought over his blue cooler filled with ice and sparkling apple cider.

  “Lorelei, this is delightful. Thank you for all your hard work.” Jodi appeared out of nowhere. “I brought you my space heater.” She set her plate on the island and tore into the roll.

  “Thank you, you didn’t have to do that,” Lorelei said over the crowd noise
.

  “I hated the thought of you having another issue with your heater with the baby and all. Tyler put it upstairs for you already.” Jodi raised her shoulder and beamed. “He’s simply the best. He helped you today, right?”

  “Yes, we went out to see Paul’s trees in Booth,” Lorelei mentioned. “Is your car running alright?”

  “For the moment. It got me here.” Jodi held up her hand. “Fingers crossed.”

  Tyler appeared from the end of the buffet line with a full plate. “Why are you crossing your fingers? This food is amazing. You didn’t cook it.” He elbowed Jodi.

  Jodi rolled her eyes and forked some of the stuffing. “Let’s hope you didn’t either.”

  “I supervised, so we’re good.” Tyler winked at Lorelei, who focused on not blushing.

  “We were discussing Jodi’s unreliable car.” Lorelei’s stomach moaned, but she wanted to make sure everything was running smoothly before she filled a plate of food.

  “Ah, yes”—Tyler nodded as he dipped his slice of turkey into the mound of gravy steaming over his mashed potatoes—“the beast with heart but no motivation.”

  Jodi giggled. “It does sound like a grumbly grumpy beast every time I start it up.”

  “I can always give you a ride home if you need it.” Tyler raised his fork of green beans.

  Yet again, Lorelei needed to switch her focus off Jodi and Tyler. They’ve both confirmed they’re only friends, but even their witty banter made her heart slightly jealous. She wished she had someone like that back in Minneapolis. Someone to joke around with who was also there whenever they needed each other. Her job didn’t allow much time for creating relationships of any kind, certainly not closely bonded ones.

  As she took in the scene of everyone gathered around, chatting and eating, she wished her parents were here now to see this, to experience such a feast. And she needed it, too. She’d already forgotten the name of the couple holding their four-month-old baby boy standing near the kitchen table. The boy’s name was Jack, that much she remembered. Hopefully, they could arrange a playdate soon.

  With Garrison at her heels, Sandy finished filling her plate and gave a slight wave to Lorelei.

  “Thank you for coming.” Lorelei waved back.

  “No, thank you,” Sandy iterated as she and Garrison drew closer. “This is quite a feast. Where’s your daughter?”

  “Can you believe she’s sleeping through all this? She should be waking up soon.” Lorelei bent down and rubbed Garrison behind his ear. “She crawled for the first time today.”

  Sandy’s eyes widened, a smile spread across her face and drew up her already rosy cheeks. “I’m happy for you, how great you were able to see her accomplish that.”

  Lorelei’s shoulders raised in joy. “You’re right. It’s what makes life special, being able to be there for all those moments.”

  “Has Tyler convinced you to move here yet? Or do you not even need convincing?” Sandy forked her Jell-O salad.

  Lorelei glanced around, checking that Tyler’s parents were not within earshot. She spotted them with Tyler and Cider over by the fireplace. “Tyler and I have been busy getting to know each other, but I don’t need to be convinced to stay. I need a place to live full time and courage. I’m hoping my uncle will be up for retiring.” She leaned in closer to Sandy. “I’m trying to focus on giving Tyler the support he needs to gather the gumption to tell his parents he wants you know what.”

  “I can’t think of anything better.” Sandy tilted her head. “Wait, I can, but that’s a wish for a later time. Now, go mingle. We have plenty of time to chat later.”

  Lorelei weakly smiled and caught the red lines on the baby monitor rising up and down. Mary Ann was awake and probably babbling to herself about her feet. She hurried out of the kitchen and upstairs with a spring in her step.

  Entering the darkened room, Lorelei found her daughter had rolled over and was wiggling her bottom as though a song played.

  “Hi, Mary Ann. Did you sleep well?” she asked, lifting her out of the crib.

  Lorelei held her close, breathing in that delicious baby scent she still had. Voices gently filtered into the room with the light from downstairs. As Lorelei swayed her daughter, she closed her eyes in hopes of capturing the memory for years to come. Déjà vu washed over her as the feeling of being at her favorite aunt and uncle’s place in the country came to life. She’d visited a few times in the summer and occasionally in the winter when her parents traveled overseas. As her memories continued, a twinge of homesickness welled up inside her, and she knew why. She missed and yearned for such a lifestyle—and always had—but between work and her parents, she’d pushed it aside.

  As Lorelei descended the stairs with her daughter on her hip, she paused, holding onto the railing. Standing in the perfect spot, she soaked up the gathering of the community below. The warm glow of Christmas lights filled the space, and voices of happiness floated up to her ears. This is what her parents needed to experience. This was why she’d brought Mary Ann there. She needed to find a way to make Oakvale home.

  Lorelei’s lips parted in a smile. For the first time, she didn’t feel the need to race down the steps to do a million things. She didn’t have the urge to reach for her cell phone to respond to texts or calls. All she needed was right in front of her to enjoy.

  The sting of determination caused her to shiver as she continued down the stairs.

  “There you are, and I see the princess has woken.” Tyler placed his hand on Lorelei’s back and guided her down the hall to rejoin the festivities.

  With his hand on her back, although slight, it was enough to cause tingles to travel up the back of her neck.

  “I wish my parents were here,” Lorelei mentioned as they reached the island. “I’m determined now.”

  “Good! But don’t worry. There’ll be many chances to wow them and show them how important your dream is to you,” Tyler encouraged. “I haven’t seen you eat anything. Can I fix you a plate before all the food is gone?”

  She switched Mary Ann to her other hip and nodded. “Thank you. Or, if you don’t mind holding Mary Ann, I can get myself a plate. I can’t believe how well everyone liked the turkey.”

  Tyler stuck out his hands, and Mary Ann leaned out of her arms. She happily accepted Tyler holding her and proved so with a raspberry-filled babble.

  “Did you decide?” she asked, turning toward the island.

  “I think so.”

  “Will you be talking to your parents tonight about the bookstore?”

  Tyler shook his head. “No, I was excited earlier at the thought, and then I saw their faces and decided I need more time.”

  After filling up a plate, Lorelei stood next to Tyler and her daughter. “You decided on forgoing the travel? That’s great! Sometimes you need to jump in with both feet. Would it help if I pushed you?”

  “Lorelei, let’s enjoy this evening. We’ve worked hard to put it together. The last thing I want is to ruin everything.” Tyler’s tone low and sharp.

  Over her years working in the ER, she’d seen many causes of anxiety, not only with patients but the families as well. And Tyler’s voice had a sense of tension and unease in it. She’d met Richard and Arlene, and they seemed like caring, loving parents. Maybe the anxiety Tyler felt was not from his parents, but solely from him.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you,” Lorelei whispered.

  “No, I’m sorry. I think I’m on edge simply thinking about it.”

  “Excuse me,” Sharon interrupted, stepping in front of them. “I have to say this feast is amazing. Such delicious food. You must tell me your secret for the turkey.”

  Tyler and Lorelei glanced at each other, eyes wide. Neither of them wanted to reveal the secret was being ill-prepared.

  Sharon raised an eyebrow and stared them down. “Fine, don’t tell me, but I brought my famous Christmas cookies. A nice full box I set on the entryway table.” Sharon motioned to the front door without taking
her eyes off Tyler and Lorelei.

  “I’ll tell you if you promise not to tell another Oakvale resident.” Lorelei took a bite of Jell-O salad. Usually, people wanted her recipe for the salad when she made it for hospital potlucks.

  “You cave so easily, Lorelei.” Tyler leaned into her and gave her a bump.

  “I want to try those cookies.” Lorelei gave him a bump back.

  “Good girl, I knew you were a keeper.” Sharon took a long sip of sparkling apple cider.

  “The trick is to cook the turkey from frozen and add the spices after one hour of cooking. Plus, shove a stick of butter into the cavity because you didn’t put stuffing inside.”

  Sharon’s mouth dropped into a gaping O shape, followed by a set of giggles rattled out in Morse code fashion. “My word, a doctor, putting a stick of butter on or in anything! And all the gravy you have out. Lorelei, you might be the best doctor ever.”

  “Thank you, but I’m not advocating for those meal choices. This is a special occasion, after all.” Lorelei’s forehead creased.

  “Come on now. I’m stealing you away from Tyler. You can spend plenty of time with him later. Let’s meet some new faces.” Sharon wrapped her arm around Lorelei, directing her into the crowd of people.

  As she mingled with Don and Kim and Uncle Steve and Ted, happiness welled inside her heart. She couldn’t help but glance at Tyler holding Mary Ann as he chatted with Mrs. Wilson, who was without Mittens, and Paul, who ended up arriving about an hour into the feast. Her thirst to live her life here in Oakvale grew, even if it meant her parents would disown her. And as much as the excitement and desire rose in her, she couldn’t stop thinking about Tyler’s dream. A part of her didn’t want to be happy if he was not happy. She was falling for him. She knew it even before she thought it. Lorelei pondered if possibly everything would find a way to work itself out. She needed to find a way, and deep down, she didn’t want to fight her parents about it.