Restoring Christmas

by Kate Kasch

  “Well, if we lose at least we can get some free groceries,” Gretchen sipped her wine.

  “How are we going to keep busy until eight? It’ only 5:30 and I already feel like we’ve had to wait forever,” Adrienne whined.

  “First, we are going to eat some food, drink some wine, and eat some cookies,” Gabe said.

  “That will take an hour tops,” Adrienne said.

  “We could watch a Christmas movie,” Nick suggested.

  “I think it will be hard for me to just sit still and watch a movie,” Adrienne said. “Wait, I know what we can do! Charades!”

  “You’ve got to be joking,” Gabe looked up from the meat and cheese platter he just put together. “Charades?”

  “Yes! It’s so fun – I am totally in,” Gretchen was excited.

  “We used to do this as a family all the time,” Adrienne said. “Let me see if I can find the game in the game cupboard and then after we eat, we can play charades until we have to leave. Trust me, it will make time fly by.”

  With the plan in place to take their minds off the contest, the foursome chatted and laughed over cheese, meats, crackers, olives, dried apricots, and nuts – with a few cookies thrown in there too, of course. And then, led by Adrienne they filed into the family room and started to play charades, some of them reluctantly.

  “We’re in luck!” Adrienne said with a wicked smile, “I found the Christmas Charades game!” She ignored the groans and pulled out the first card. “If Gretchen and I are on the same team, we will crush you guys. It would be totally unfair. So, in the spirit of Christmas, Gabe and I will be on a team and then you two, Gretchen and Nick will be a team. Here we go!”

  Adrienne did her best to act out the movie The Polar Express, but she soon realized that Gabe was, well, Gabe was terrible at charades. Once their time was up, Gretchen and Nick had the chance to steal the points, and Gretchen guessed correctly immediately. Then it was Gretchen’s turn, and lucky for she and Nick, she had to act out chopping down a Christmas tree. Mr. Saint Nick’s Tree Lot owner guessed the answer within seconds.

  The group played on for a while with lots of laughs and teasing, and with a score of 21 to 5, Gabe and Adrienne were losing big time. When it is once again Gabe’s turn to act, he looked at his watch and his face broke into a smile. “Although I am dying to act out another round of charades, it looks as though we need to leave if we want to be there for the live announcement. And I so wanted to act out,” he looked down at the card he was holding, “A Charlie Brown Christmas, that would have been so easy,” he feigned disappointment.

  Adrienne and Gretchen looked at each other across the room, anxiety passed between their stares. Adrienne suddenly felt like she was going to be sick. They all quickly bundled up in warm coats, hats and mittens, and piled into Gabe’s truck.

  Down at the town square, the giant Christmas tree was lit up in thousands of multi-colored twinkle lights. The crowd waiting around the tree was buzzing with anticipation. There was a small platform in front of the tree with a microphone, and a group of carolers standing nearby singing “O Holy Night” as Adrienne, Gretchen, Nick and Gabe drew near. Nick did a great job of subtly weaving through the crowd so they could all be front and center. Apparently, if you’re as big as Nick, people just subconsciously move over for you to give you room. Before they know it, the four of them were in the front row, with Adrienne and Gretchen standing shoulder to shoulder, holding each other’s hands. Adrienne wasn’t sure she had ever been this nervous for anything in her life. She was certain none of the other contestants had the fear of losing their home on the line. They had to win. They just had to.

  After a few more songs from the carolers, which felt to Adrienne and Gretchen like they were ten minutes long each, the carolers stopped singing and looked toward the small stage. The crowd followed their eyes and saw the arrival of Mayor Jessup, Angela, and the other three judges. Adrienne tried to look at Angela’s facial expressions to see if she could read her thoughts. However, Angela was just smiling that angelic smile, as usual.

  Mayor Jessup stepped up to the microphone and introduced himself. He thanked all the contestants who put in so much time and effort into making their homes beautiful for the contest, and in turn, made the town shine that much brighter this Christmas season. He took way too much time, in Adrienne’s opinion, thanking each judge personally and giving a background on each of them. The crowd cheered and clapped for all the judges. And then, just when Adrienne and Gretchen thought he was going to start to announce the winners, he rattled on thanking the Sponsors of the event who had put up the cash prize for the winner and runner-up. He also thanked Peas & Pickles for giving out gift certificates to all participants.

  And then, finally, the tone of the Mayor’s voice changed, “Without further ado, let’s get down to what we are all anxiously awaiting, the announcement of the winner of the Christmas Home Decoration Contest. Let me just say, this was a very difficult decision, as each home was so beautifully decorated and exuded the Christmas spirit. First, we will announce the runner-up of the contest, who will win $10,000! Not too shabby a prize if you ask me. So here it is, the Runner-Up of the Chestnut Ridge Christmas Home Decorating Contest is! Adrienne and Gretchen Harkins of 22 Oak Street!”

  The crowd erupted in cheers and clapping. Adrienne and Gretchen stood there, stunned. Adrienne felt like she was having an out-of-body experience as she tried to process what just happened amidst the chaos surrounding her. They wanted to hear their names called, and they were called, but they were the Runners-Up. They didn’t win. They didn’t win.

  Adrienne turned to Gretchen as tears welled up in her eyes. Gretchen looked just as shell-shocked with wide eyes and a confused expression.

  “Well girls, are you going to come up and claim your prize?” The Mayor asked over the wild crowd. “If you don’t want the $10,000, I’ll certainly take it,” he laughed, and the crowd laughed with him.

  “Adrienne. Adrienne, you have to go up on stage,” someone was saying in her ear. She turned toward Gabe who was looking at her with growing concern. “Do you want me to claim it for you?” he asked.

  Adrienne slowly shook her head. She turned back to Gretchen, linking their arms together. She gently pulled Gretchen with her and they made their way up to the stage.

  “Here they come!” The Mayor yelled. “Let’s all give a giant Chestnut Ridge congratulations to the Harkins’ sisters! Come on now, you can do better than that,” he encouraged the crowd. The crowd screamed louder, and Adrienne couldn’t hear herself think. She and Gretchen stood up on stage looking like two deer in the headlights of a Mack truck. They held up the large fake check, and all five judges crowded around them as a photographer snapped photos. Adrienne felt someone’s arm go around her shoulders, she looked to her left, and saw Angela’s shining face. At that moment, Adrienne was sure she was going to break down and cry right there up on stage for the whole town to see. Somehow, she managed to keep her emotions under control.

  Once the photographs were finished and the crowd died down, Adrienne and Gretchen were led off the stage. Their legs moved without their brains telling them to – one foot after another. Adrienne was in front carrying the first half of the giant check, and Gretchen was right behind her sister, holding the back end of the check. They walked without even knowing where they were going – just away from the stage, away from the Mayor and away from all the cheering, happy people.

  Gabe and Nick came running up beside them, “Are you two okay?” Gabe asked quietly. The girls kept walking.

  “Adrienne. Stop walking. Talk to me,” Gabe touched Adrienne’s shoulder gently.

  Adrienne stopped abruptly, which caused a domino effect where Gretchen then bumped into her. Then she turned too quickly toward Gabe, and the front of the giant check knocked into Gabe’s stomach. It was like a slapstick comedy routine with all the bumping and hitting. Gabe was slightly bent over holding his stomach, and when Adrienne saw that, she burst out laughing. Gabe, sti
ll bent over, starts to laugh too, followed by Gretchen and Nick. Soon all four of them were hysterically laughing. Adrienne could no longer hold up her end of the check and she let it drop to the ground. Bent over with their hands on their knees, Adrienne and Gretchen laughed until tears were streaming down their cheeks. It was another one of those moments where if you didn’t laugh, you would cry. And Adrienne figured, she had cried on enough Christmas Eve nights. This year was going to be different.

  Catching her breath, Adrienne wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. She looked up at the starry sky and was overcome with emotion. Surprisingly, she felt . . . grateful. In the background she could hear the Mayor over the microphone announcing the Grand Prize Winner, “The Goody Family from View Point Drive have won $25,000! Their home was absolutely spectacular, and if you haven’t done so yet, you have got to drive by and see for yourselves. With a light show timed to the instrumental of ‘Hark Hear the Bells,’ it is like nothing I have ever seen on someone’s front lawn. Congratulations Goody Family!”

  “Let’s go home,” Adrienne said to Gretchen, Nick and Gabe as the crowd’s cheering assaulted her ears. The three nodded their heads and started the trek back to Gabe’s truck in silence.

  As the truck pulled up to 22 Oak Street, the four friends sat stared at the beautiful house, each lost in his or her own thoughts.

  “It looks so amazing,” Nick said, “Nobody can take that away from you. Nobody can take away what you two did to make this happen. You should both be so proud.”

  Gretchen laid her head on Adrienne’s shoulder and Adrienne wrapped her arm around her sister. They would be okay. Adrienne had never been so sure of it.

  They walked into the house Gabe went immediately to start a fire. Gretchen disappeared into the kitchen, and a few moments later “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” was playing softly on the surround sound.

  They all sat in what had become their unofficial assigned seats, with Gabe on the end of the sofa, Adrienne next to him and Gretchen then Nick on the other sofa. Adrienne sank into the cushion, physically and emotionally drained.

  “I can’t believe this is going to be the last Christmas we have in this house,” Gretchen voice shook.

  No one responded. Sitting in silence, they all stared at the red and orange flames fluttering in the fireplace. And then Adrienne sat up with a start, “Okay, that’s it. The pity party is officially over. It’s Christmas Eve and we are all here, together. We have a lot to be thankful for, and I want to spend Christmas celebrating for once.”

  Gretchen, Gabe and Nick all looked at Adrienne like she had suddenly grown a second head.

  “Who’s with me?” She was now overflowing with enthusiasm.

  A smile slowly started to form on Gretchen’s once melancholy face. And if there is one thing that was contagious on Christmas Eve, it was a smile. Soon all four of them were smiling at each other and thinking about all they had to be thankful for.

  “I will pop the champagne I bought! Yeah, maybe I thought we would be celebrating something different, but Adrienne’s right, we do have a lot to celebrate,” Gretchen jumped out of her seat.

  The doorbell rang and they all looked at each quizzically. Who could that be?

  Adrienne stood up, “You get the champagne, I’ll get the door,” she told Gretchen.

  Adrienne pulled the door open to reveal the mysterious woman dressed in all white that always seemed to show up at the most unexpected times.

  “Angela, hello. Come on in,” Adrienne stepped aside to let Angela enter.

  Angela wrapped Adrienne in a warm hug, “I wanted to come check on you two. How are you doing?”

  “Surprisingly, okay,” Adrienne smiled. “Better than okay, actually,” she looked at Gabe walking over to her. “I’m just trying to focus on the positive.”

  “Angela! You’re just in time!” Gretchen walked over to them with a tray of champagne flutes. “Come in and join us in celebrating!”

  “That sounds wonderful,” Angela reached for a glass of champagne, “What are we celebrating?”

  Standing around in a circle, the five friends held up their glasses in a toast.

  “To wonderful family and friends,” Adrienne said.

  “To coming home,” Gretchen chimed in.

  “And to the magic of the holiday season,” Angela finished off the toast as they all clinked glasses and sipped the bubbly beverage.

  Soon again there was another ringing of the doorbell. Gretchen answered the door and was surprised to find Pete Wallace from Wallace Landscaping & Tree Removal, Charlie Matthews from Matthews Garden Supply and Kurt Jeffries from Jeffries Painting Service. She invited them all into the family room and handed them a glass of champagne. What started out as a small intimate gathering turned into a full-blown Christmas Eve party.

  The three men approached Adrienne and wished her a Merry Christmas. “We heard about the Christmas Home Decorating Contest, and we all feel terrible. Maybe if we had been able to help out more we could have given you more of a chance,” Charlie Matthews said.

  “Yeah, I’ve seen what the Goody’s do every year, I should have known they would enter the contest. I could have warned you what you were up against,” Pete Wallace said.

  Adrienne shook her head, “Please don’t feel bad about anything. The three of you helped us out so much and encouraged us and motivated us when we thought we were trying to accomplish the impossible. I mean, look at what we did! Normally, a second-place finish and $10,000 is an unbelievable prize. Perhaps Gretchen and I staying in this house was just not meant to be.”

  While Gretchen chatted with Kurt Jeffries about the work taking place down at Town Hall, Angela walked over and asked to borrow her for a minute.

  “Thanks so much for coming here tonight, Angela. It’s always so nice to see you.”

  “It is my pleasure, trust me. Now Gretchen, you took a lot of photos of the house and all the people who helped you fix it up, correct?”

  “I did! That is my way of guaranteeing the memories last forever.”

  “Do you think I would be able to see some of them? I would love to see the full transformation of the house.”

  “Of course! Who doesn’t love before and after renovation photos? I have them all on a thumb drive that I can lend you. Some of them are just taken with the camera on my phone, so they definitely aren’t going to win any awards, but it is a documentation of history.”

  Angela gave Gretchen a quick hug, “thank you so much! Would you mind going to get it now? I actually have to be on my way.”

  “Of course,” Gretchen ran into the kitchen to get the thumb drive. After handing it over to Angela, the two gave each other yet another hug before saying good night.

  The festivities continued with Christmas music playing, the smell of pine and burning wood filling the house, and most importantly the chatter of good friends enjoying each other’s company. As the party dwindled down, soon it was just Adrienne and Gretchen left in the big, old house.

  “It seems so quiet now,” Gretchen laughed.

  “Yeah, that was such a fun, impromptu Christmas Eve celebration, do you agree?”

  “It was the best Christmas Eve I’ve had in . . . well, in a long time,” Gretchen gathered empty glasses and dishes and brought them to the sink.

  “I can’t believe it will be the last one we spend in this house.”

  “I know. But it was all worth it, don’t you think?”

  Adrienne nodded her head, thoughtfully. “I can’t stop thinking about our champagne toast tonight. You know the only thing I have toasted over in the past four years was work-related. How pathetic is that?”

  “I’m not sure if pathetic is the word, but I can see where your priorities were.”

  “Exactly. I have realized that you can’t put all your eggs into one basket and expect to be happy. Do you know what I mean?”

  “Not really,” Gretchen laughed. “I assume you’re talking about balance?”

  “Yes. Balance. Bein
g in this house, surrounded by this community of good people – a balanced life is more easily achieved here. In the city I just work and work and work . . . and with every raise I just spend more money. So, it’s like running in place.”

  “Are you saying you don’t want to go back to the city? Do you want to move back here?”

  Adrienne sighed. “I’m not sure. I mean, could I really live in Chestnut Ridge again?”

  “I think I could,” Gretchen smiled. “I too have been thinking a lot about my life since we’ve been back here. And, I’m just so unhappy in the city. I thought that unhappiness was due to everything with mom and dad, but it’s more than that. I need a change. I feel so at peace here - even without my camera.”

  Adrienne gave her sister a big hug. “I’ve been cursing that red envelope that showed up on my doorstep, but now I’m thankful for it. It brought us back together, and it brought us home.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  The sound of a ringing bell pounded in Adrienne’s ears. She rolled over in bed, disoriented and groggy. Her bubblegum pink room was still dark, indicating it was either the middle of the night or waaayyy too early in the morning. She peeked over at the clock and saw that it was 6:45 a.m. What the heck?

  Tangled up in pink sheets and blankets, she struggled to free herself from the grips of her warm, soft bed. She stumbled off the mattress and absentmindedly slipped her feet into her slippers and wrapped a robe around her shoulders. Opening her bedroom door, the sound of the ringing bell grew louder and louder. At the top of the stairs she ran into Gretchen who looked just as confused - her hair in a giant tangle of curls sticking out in every direction. The sisters slowly trudged down the stairs and then tried, with no luck, to spy through the window to see who might be at the door.