Eggnog and Candy Canes: A Blueberry Springs Christmas Novella

by Oram, Jean

  “Not your fault. This is life. Do what we will with it. Time is limited. Cherish each moment. Eat your dessert first. Sing every song like nobody is watching. Or dance to it or whatever the stupid expression is.” She placed her hands on her thighs and stood. “Let’s get your father home.”

  “Mary Alice…”

  “Nash said it would be okay.”

  “I’m pretty sure he didn’t. Dad’s barely even out of recovery.”

  “I wasn’t talking about your father.” Mary Alice jerked her snowsuit to straighten it. “Live a little, Katie. Jam-pack your days with something worthwhile that makes you smile. I’m tired of you holding back.” Her voice was loud enough to wake Harvey. “You hear me? There is a perfectly good man kissing you like you are the only thing that can save his world, and you’re standing here acting as though this is the life you want and the life you chose. Not to step on your toes, Harvey—” Mary Alice addressed the man, who was awake and interested “—but you chose her career, she didn’t. You’re good at it, Katie, but don’t let that be the reason you stay in it. You hear me? Make your move.”

  “Katie is a good nurse,” her father said.

  “Mary Alice, you are going through a very emotional time—”

  “Shut your yap. You know nothing.” She yanked the IV out of Harvey’s arm and he flinched, his face wrinkled in pain. Katie snatched a roll of gauze off a nearby stainless steel trolley and pressed it to the bleeding wound.

  “You need to leave,” she snapped. “Now!”

  Mary Alice pointed a finger at her. “You pursue that man, you hear me?”

  “Do it, Katie,” her father said, his tone resigned.

  “You’re loopy from the anesthetic and don’t know what you’re talking about.” Katie’s throat was tight with tears.

  Mary Alice went nose to nose with her. “Nash didn’t come back just to say hi to old patients, or return a favor. He hoofed it out here when he heard you were single and would be on bare-bones shifts.”

  “You’re…” What? Crazy? Imagining things? Telling me exactly what I long to hear?

  “He’s here for you,” Mary Alice said with special emphasis.

  “Balderdash.”

  “That’s rather romantic,” her father said.

  “He’s here for you,” Mary Alice repeated. “So the question is, what are you going to do about it?”

  Chapter 5

  What was she going to do about Nash? Her hands were sweating, her mind a mess. What if Mary Alice was wrong?

  The woman was never wrong. What if she was right?

  She had a connection with Nash that Katie hadn’t expected. What if…

  Don’t think. That’s all she had to do. Just shove all thoughts regarding Nash into the corner of her mind, along with being an interior decorator and Will ever asking her…no. In the corner. Now stay there.

  Good. Great. It was Christmas. Be cheery.

  She smoothed her ponytail, peeked down the quiet corridor, then shut the door to her father’s new room. She’d convinced Mary Alice that Harvey would perk up if she got him a cup of coffee, sending the woman to the cafeteria while she rolled her father into a room close enough to the nursing station that she could keep an eye on him. For good measure, she’d locked him to the bed.

  He was asleep again and anyone trying to jailbreak him was bad news for his life expectancy. Full stop. She was doing what security would do if they actually had hauled their butt in for a full day of work. Well, no, actually. They would have kicked Mary Alice out, but quite frankly, Katie didn’t think she had it in her.

  She glanced at the clock. Time for a little bit of Christmas cheer. Not carols over the PA, that was too Angelica Reiter and she wasn’t going down that road. But Katie had a box of Christmas cookies from Mandy that she could share with the six or so patients who were in their rooms, and then the five continuing-care patients who hadn’t gone home to their families for the holiday.

  Katie pulled the lid off the tin and inhaled the buttery sweetness of the shortbread cookies. Too tempting. She stole a small square and popped it in her mouth. What was it about Mandy that made her so awesome at baking? No wonder her restaurant was doing so well, her desserts were devilishly divine. Katie sneaked a second cookie, savoring the way it melted in her mouth. Nothing better in the world. And likely nothing better for adding girth to her hips. She tucked a third cookie in her mouth and smiled.

  Who cared? She was single. May as well enjoy the perks.

  She walked through the double doors to the continuing care nursing home attached to the hospital as Elsie Nagorski trudged by, her long grey hair swept up in a high bun.

  “Still not dancing?” Katie asked, following the woman into her room. It had been months since Elsie had stopped dancing her way to and fro through the continuing care area, but it still felt odd.

  “I will never dance again. All the good celebrities are dying. It makes me feel old. All my contemporaries are knocking off, calling it a day, pushing up daisies from six feet under.”

  “Right.” Depressing. But not a lot she could do on that one. “So? What are you up to today? Anything good on TV?”

  Elsie’s eyes lit up and she clasped her hands together in front of her flowered housedress. “Yes! You know Hailey Summer, the girl I told you about from Muskoka?”

  “Yes. Right. I met her once.”

  “Well, she’s with a movie star now. I told my sister, Wilma Star, that it really was Hailey with him last summer. Didn’t I? I did.” She gave a decisive nod. “She still owes me five dollars. She’s as cheap as the day is long. In Alaska. During the summer equinox. That cheap.” Another nod.

  “I’ll remind her if I see her.” Katie moved to the figurine shelf where Elsie had princesses on display. One was out of line and she straightened it, positioning it with the rest.

  “Thanks, dear. That one has been bothering me, but with this shoulder…”

  “Do you need anything?”

  “No,” Elsie gave a dejected sigh and took her spot in front of her aging television. “Commercials are over.”

  “Is that Hailey?” Katie asked, peering at the screen. The woman was beaming from the TV, wrapped in the embrace of a movie star. Finian Alexander. My, he was an eyeful of yum.

  “It is. They are doing a charity thing. It’s very cute. They’re fixing Finian’s old neighbourhood.” Elsie wiped a tear from a damp eye. “You need to find yourself a man like that and save the world, Katie. It needs it so much.”

  “I think your dancing problems are solved. Dance for Mr. Alexander here.” Katie resisted fanning herself. “I’m going to continue my rounds. Buzz me if you need anything, Mrs. Nagorski. Dinner in the common area at six.”

  “It always is.”

  “I asked Leif from Benny’s to bring you a nice slice of roast beef.”

  “Oh, Katie. You are such a dear. You really are the best. Just like your father says.”

  “He doesn’t say that when I argue with him.”

  She left Elsie and turned into Beth’s grandmother’s room, inhaling the scent of her powdery, floral perfume Love Chloé that hung in the air, expecting the suite to be empty.

  “Gran! I thought Beth was taking you home?”

  “Oz needed her to run an errand, and she didn’t want to leave me waiting in the cold car. Said she’d be back later, but now there’s a blizzard.” The elderly woman heaved a mighty sigh.

  “I’m stuck here, too.” Katie offered the tin of cookies, and Gran began to shake her head. “Mandy made them.”

  She took two. “Thanks, dear. I think I’ll have a nip of sherry to go with it. Borski-Nagorski—”

  “Borski?”

  “She’s been boring everyone with her video chats. Like we didn’t hear and see it all with her in the common room, nattering so loudly with her sister over in Muskoka. Her friend’s daughter and that boyfriend of hers. You would think she was the first person to get in bed with a movie star. I need a drink, dear.”

/>   “Lucky woman, that Hailey.”

  “Speaking of getting lucky…pass the sherry?” Gran asked hopefully. She pointed behind Katie to a bottle sitting by framed photos of Beth and her sister, Cynthia, both of whom Gran had raised. “Nash, bless his heart, brought me some of the finer stuff.”

  “He’s changed, don’t you think?” He was sweeter. Dreamier.

  Gran waved a paper pill cup she’d dug out of the trash by her recliner. “Just a finger. How is your father? I heard he’s in.”

  Katie poured her a shot. “Appendicitis. He’s recovering well. You can visit if you’d like.” She capped the bottle. “I’ve got to go check on a few others. Buzz me if you need anything, okay?”

  “I may fake arrhythmia later. Nash’s tush is a sight for sore eyes.”

  Katie released another burst of laughter. “I don’t think anyone would blame you.” She struggled to blink away visions of his tush in the nude.

  Gran knocked back the shot and held out the cup, wiggling it until she filled it again. “You seem different, Katie.”

  “It’s the holiday getup.” She gestured to her garb, knowing Gran had caught her faraway, dreamy look.

  “Not what I meant and you know it.”

  Katie placed the bottle back where she’d found it and hightailed it into the hall. Finishing her quick round, she headed to her station.

  “Katie?” The voice was familiar, kind, and hesitant. Her ex.

  Couldn’t be.

  Yes, could be. Was.

  “Doesn’t anyone listen to the weatherman and stay home in a blizzard?” she asked, turning to face him.

  “I wanted to see you.” The distance between them was being eaten up at a great rate. They were both moving. His hands were extended; hers were lifting to meet them despite her desire to push him away.

  Was this the moment?

  Was it?

  If it was, why didn’t she feel more excited? More like her life was finally going to lift off?

  A patient alarm went off at Katie’s desk and she turned back, thankful for the distraction. She reached over the counter and connected to the room in question. “Yes?”

  “Merry Christmas, honey.” It was her dad. “Say, I was just thinking…have I been arrested? I seem to be…” He paused as he searched for the right word.

  “You aren’t to go anywhere, understand? Sit tight.”

  “Nature seems to be calling my name in a rather loud voice.”

  “You have a catheter.” Thankfully, Amy had done that pre-op, but the nurse had yet to remove it. Where was she, anyway? Katie hadn’t seen Amy since the operation. Hopefully, she hadn’t decided to go home, since her shift was over. There was no way Katie wanted to go anywhere near her father’s family jewels. Nursing degree or no nursing degree.

  “I…”

  “Dad, just let it rip. In fact, you probably already have. It’s a catheter and it—”

  “No. The other kind.”

  Oh, sweet mother of… Katie closed her eyes and thought for a moment. Yes, this was indeed proportionally worse than being at her parents’ house and dealing with holiday overload. Served her right.

  “I’ll send Amy in shortly, okay?” She hung up the phone, paged Amy to her father’s room and turned to Will. “Not really a great time right now. I’m working.”

  “I know.”

  He wanted something. She could tell. He had that hitch in his shoulders like he did when he wasn’t sure if she was going to yell at him.

  “What do you need?” she asked.

  “You.” He dropped to one knee and Katie’s heart nearly gave out.

  “Stand up!” He couldn’t do this. Not right here. Not now.

  “Not one of these again,” Gran said, and turned back toward the continuing-care wing. “Christmas proposals are so overdone. I’ll visit Harvey later.”

  “Kathryn Jane Reiter, I have loved you since the day you told me my shirt was stained and you passed me your stain-remover pen.”

  He was holding her hand really tightly. His grip was sweaty and Katie feared her fingers would suddenly come flying out of his. She kind of hoped they would.

  No, wait. She wanted him to hold her hand. She wanted this. She’d been expecting it.

  She smiled.

  Finally.

  How things were supposed to be.

  “You are the woman who matches me.” Wasn’t he so sweet? They were right for each other and he could see it, too. “You make sure my socks are the same and my colors coordinate. You wash my clothes and take good care of me.”

  Come to think of it, his Dockers were looking a tad grubby. And he obviously hadn’t ironed them. This man needed her.

  “You are everything I’m not, Katie Reiter.”

  Yes, that was likely true.

  Movement beyond Will caught her eye and Katie glanced up. Nash paused, took in the scene, then quietly backed out of the corridor, his head bent over the shoe box he was carrying.

  The floor tilted under Katie’s feet. Something wasn’t right.

  This was wrong.

  She blinked down at Will, the man she’d loved for years.

  “You are my perfect match. You are my…” He was still talking about her as if she were his mother and maid all rolled into one.

  Katie hefted him to his feet. “Look, Will. I don’t think I’m your match, and, honestly, us trying to make each other into the person we want is exhausting.”

  He frowned.

  “It is. Okay? This isn’t going to happen. Not for us. Not today. Sorry.”

  She fled into a nearby storage closet, slamming the door so hard a flurry of damp mops fell on top of her as she collapsed into a sobbing heap.

  The supply closet door cracked opened a few minutes later, allowing a shaft of light and a powdery scent to enter. Gran.

  Unable to hold in the sobs, Katie felt her body shake and her humiliation rise like Benny’s blood pressure when he cooked with too much salt. What she wouldn’t do for a slice of his Chocolate Maven pie right now. She dropped her chin onto her knees and held her breath, struggling to trap the emotions that had broken free.

  “Katie dear?” The warmth of the old woman’s body pressed into her side as she joined her on the floor.

  “Oh, don’t sit,” Katie wailed. “We’ll never get you up again.”

  Gran laughed good-naturedly. “Probably not. But I happen to know ol’ blue eyes is in the building and will help me out.”

  “Frank Sinatra?” That was the only ol’ blue eyes she knew. “Is it time for another mental test, Gran?”

  The woman chuckled. “Nash Leham.”

  Katie sighed. He was crush worthy, wasn’t he?

  Gran snuggled in, making herself comfortable in the crowded closet. “Now, what’s all this about? Did you say no to poor William?”

  Katie sniffed and nodded, but realizing Gran couldn’t see her in the dark, she let out a plaintive “Yeah.”

  “Are you regretting that choice already?”

  Katie thought about it. “No.”

  “Then you must be worried about his feelings?”

  “Not really.”

  “Then what’s the fuss?”

  “I thought this was what I wanted. I’ve been imagining this moment for weeks, and now…and I said no and…and I don’t know what my life is anymore.” Her inhalation turned to hiccups.

  Gran hugged her closer. “Oh, dear.”

  “I mean, this is what women want. What I want. A great job that they are good at, a man who loves them and wants to marry them. And I’m saying no to it all.”

  Outside in the corridor, Christmas carols began, and a new round of sobs welled up within Katie.

  “Is this about someone else?”

  “No.”

  “It’s Nash Leham, isn’t it?” Gran asked, her voice tight. “He’s doing it again.”

  “He’s not doing anything. And he didn’t break up Beth and Oz, Gran. He made them stronger, because without him going after Beth, Oz wo
uldn’t have got his act together.”

  “You like him.”

  Katie stood, patting around for the light switch. She flicked it on and winced.

  The door opened and Mary Alice stared in. Beyond her, Harvey sat in a wheelchair, looking pleased with himself. “I’m taking your father home.”

  “I feel great. Invincible!” Her dad raised a hand as though wielding a sword.

  “It’s the drugs.” Katie carefully helped Gran off the floor, tears threatening. “You need to stay here. You just had surgery.”

  “I’m going home.”

  “He’s fine,” Mary Alice said. “He’s going home.”

  “Fine. I quit.”

  “What?” all three asked her.

  Katie closed her eyes, breath held in. That was not supposed to come out. She slowly opened her eyes and exhaled. “I quit. I’m moving to the city to intern as an interior decorator.” She waited as the stunned expressions turned to ones of confusion.

  Mary Alice swung a fist through the air, her bulky suit rustling with the action. “I knew it!”

  “You did not,” Katie snapped.

  “Okay, I didn’t.” She gave her a Cheshire cat grin. “But I suspected you were up to something big. Maybe you should take a nursing job in Dakota, so you have some money while you intern. I’ll ask Nash to give you a reference.”

  “I’m done nursing,” Katie said softly.

  “Near cleaned me out with that degree and now she doesn’t want it?” Harvey muttered. “Is this real? Am I dreaming?”

  “Nursing was your choice, Dad, not mine.”

  “What’s wrong with you kids?” he asked, his voice rising. “I get you good jobs so you can support yourselves, a family, and you don’t want them!”

  Tears brimmed in his eyes and Katie felt as big as an aphid. She tipped her chin up. “Yeah, well, merry Christmas. Tell Mom I said hi.”

  * * *

  Katie huddled away from the flurry of icy flakes stinging her skin. How had so many people made it in through this storm? She couldn’t see anything five feet from her snowy bench. Her feet were numb and her fingers hurt so bad she could scream.

  But nobody would bother her in the hospital’s smoke pit, where she’d fallen into a personal pit of despair. She’d told the one person she shouldn’t—Mary Alice. The news about her changing her life was probably already all over town. Blizzards couldn’t slow a swarm of gossip locusts.