Christmas Forever

by Sophie Love

  “I’ll go get the ladder,” Stu said, heading off in the direction of the garage.

  Evan and Clyde helped, too, by carrying all the boxes of decorations out of the garage. Then the three men headed off into town to watch the game and have a drink after their long day working on the island, leaving just the family to decorate.

  “We need to put on Christmas music,” Emily said, heading over to the reception desk where the sound system was set up. She found an old Christmas Crooners CD and put it on. Frank Sinatra’s voice filled the hall.

  “And,” Daniel added. “We need to have hot chocolates!”

  Chantelle nodded enthusiastically, and they all hurried into the kitchen. Daniel boiled milk on the stove, while Chantelle searched the pantry for leftover marshmallows. She returned with not only marshmallows, but also rainbow sprinkles and whipped cream.

  “Excellent,” Daniel said, as he poured them each a mug of hot chocolate, then topped them with cream, marshmallows and sprinkles.

  Emily had never seen Patricia consume anything like that in her life! The smores had been a sight enough to behold, but this was a whole other thing. It was like Patricia had been transformed by the spirit of Christmas, at last, after sixty-odd years of resistance!

  They headed back into the hall, where the giant Christmas tree stood waiting to be decorated, and got to work. Of course, Chantelle took the lead.

  “We need lights over here, Daddy,” she said to Daniel, pointing at a bare patch. “And Nana Patty, those reindeer need to be on this branch.”

  Emily leaned in to her mom and said, “Chantelle has a very specific vision.”

  Patricia laughed. “Yes, I can tell. She has an eye for detail. She’ll make a wonderful interior designer one day.”

  Emily could certainly picture it. Either that, or some kind of events organizer. She touched her bump, wondering what kind of personality Baby Charlotte would have, whether she’d be similar to her sister -- a leader, organizer, socializer, performer -- or whether she’d have a different way about her. Perhaps she’d take after Emily herself, and be less inclined towards the limelight, more content to read a book and take the dogs on quiet, countryside walks. Or perhaps she’d be like her father, practical and hardworking, prone to moments of broodiness. Or, as Emily tended to think, she might take after the aunt for which she was named; sweet, imaginative, inquisitive, calm. She couldn’t wait to find out.

  “Nana Patty,” Chantelle said then, breaking through Emily’s reverie. “What was mommy like when she was my age?”

  Patricia was busy stretching a large piece of sparkly tinsel across the branches, weaving it through them so it wouldn’t fall.

  “At eight-years-old? Well let me think. Her hair was very curly then, much more than it is now. She used to wear these beautiful plaid dresses. Do you remember darling?”

  Emily cast her mind back in time. The plaid dress and itchy tights combo her mom always dressed her up in had been a source of numerous fights. Emily had hated the way she wasn’t allowed to run or climb trees because Patricia didn’t want her to mess up her clothes.

  “I remember,” she replied.

  Patricia continued. “Her father was teaching her piano then as well. She was quite good at it but lost interest.”

  Emily wished now that she hadn’t. That she’d continued to sit beside her dad on that battered piano stool, learning songs from musicals and old classics. Those were precious times and she hadn’t made the most of them. She hadn’t known that she needed to.

  “Papa Roy?” Chantelle asked.

  “Yes,” Patricia said. She smiled. “He was very gifted at the piano. And he loved it. That’s why he had to have one in this house, even though we were only here a few weeks a year. But he’d light the fire and play us the piano, and Emily would wrap herself up in a blanket and fall asleep.” She let out a melancholy sigh. “There were always wonderful moments in between, weren’t there, sweetheart?”

  Emily knew what she meant. In between the pain of losing Charlotte. That after her death, when the silence grew between her parents like an invisible wall of glass, there were some moments of normalcy, of joy, even, when the quietness was filled with beauty and their minds were given a reprieve from grief.

  “I love Papa Roy,” Chantelle told Patricia. “Was he a very good husband?”

  Patricia looked back at Chantelle. And to Emily’s shock and surprise, she reached out and stroked the girl’s head.

  “He was. Not always. But no one is perfect.”

  “Did you love him?”

  “With all my heart.”

  “What about now?” Chantelle asked.

  “Hush,” Emily interrupted. “That’s a personal question.”

  “I don’t mind,” Patricia said. She looked Chantelle squarely then, and spoke in an undeterred voice. “We spent many years as husband and wife, many good years. But we weren’t happy and the most important thing in life is to be happy. It was very hard to say goodbye to him, but in the end it was for the best. And yes, I still love him now. Once you love someone you can never really stop.”

  Emily turned away then, wiping the tear that had formed in the corner of her eye. During her entire lifetime, Patricia had only ever bad-mouthed her father. Never once had she heard her admit that she still loved Roy.

  Silence fell then, and the family quietly put the last decorations on the tree. The melancholy air that hovered around them dissipated only when Daniel took the angel statue out of the box.

  “It’s time,” he said, handing it to Chantelle.

  With an excited smile on her face, Chantelle climbed the ladder, stretched her arm as long as she could, and placed the angel on the top branch of the tree.

  “Ta da!” she cried.

  Daniel helped her back down the ladder and everyone stepped back to admire their handywork. Emily felt overcome with emotion as it occurred to her that this was the first tree she had decorated alongside her mom for close to twenty years. Patricia had withdrawn from the ritual shortly after Charlotte’s death. But now, with a new family around her, and a new child growing inside Emily, she had come back. The timing felt poignant to Emily, as if the spirit of Charlotte had had a hand in making it happen.

  “I think this is the most beautiful tree I’ve ever seen,” she said, looking with gratitude to each of her family members.

  *

  With the tree complete and the hot chocolates drunk, it was time for Patricia to say goodbye.

  “I wish you didn’t have to leave,” Chantelle said, clasping her arms around Patricia’s waist.

  Emily watched her mom hug the child back, looking significantly less awkward than she usually did with overt displays of affection.

  “We can speak on the telephone, if you want to,” Patricia told the child.

  “Will you Face Time with us?” Chantelle exclaimed, her face breaking into a huge grin.

  “Will I what now?” Patricia asked, looking bemused.

  “Video messaging, mom,” Emily explained. “Chantelle loves it.”

  “We video message with Papa Roy all the time,” Chantelle told her. “Can we? Can we? Can we?”

  Patricia nodded. “Of course. If that’s what you want.”

  She looked genuinely touched, Emily thought, that Chantelle would want to keep in contact with her.

  “And,” Emily added, “Please do think about coming for Christmas. We would love to have you.”

  “I don’t want to get in the way,” Patricia said.

  Daniel piped up then. “You wouldn’t be in the way,” he said. “We have no bookings at the moment. If you want a bit of your own space we could even put you in the carriage house.”

  “Well,” Patricia said, looking like she was trying to hide her touched expression. “I will certainly consider it.”

  Her cab arrived then, coming down the long drive, its tires crunching on the gravel. Daniel picked up Patricia’s case and carried it down the porch steps. The rest of the family followed. Even M
ogsy and Rain came out to see her off, wagging their tails in unison as they peered through the posts.

  Daniel put the case in the trunk, then hugged Patricia goodbye. Chantelle clung to her.

  “I love you Nana Patty,” she exclaimed. “Please come back soon.”

  “I will darling,” Patricia said, stroking her head. “It won’t be long at all.”

  Then it was Emily’s turn. She hugged her mother, feeling herself filled with gratitude and appreciation. It may have taken years to get to this point -- and the horrible, sobering shock of Roy’s illness -- but it seemed like things were finally changing for the better between them.

  “Please stay in touch,” Emily said to her mom.

  “I will,” Patricia replied. “I promise.”

  They released one another and Patricia climbed into the cab. Emily joined her family, feeling Daniel’s arm reach around her shoulders and Chantelle’s hands clinging onto her. She cradled her bump with one hand, and waved goodbye to her mom with the other. They stayed there until the cab had disappeared out of sight.

  As they turned back to head into the inn, Emily heard the phone start to ring. She went over to the reception desk and answered it. It was Amy’s voice on the other end.

  “Em, I just saw the bulletin outside the town hall,” she said.

  Emily was still struggling to wrap her head around the fact that Amy was a Sunset Harbor resident, that she paid attention to the goings on of their little town.

  “What bulletin?” Emily asked.

  “Raven’s inn! The meeting is tomorrow. The one they postponed until after Thanksgiving.”

  “Tomorrow?” Emily exclaimed. “That’s a bit short notice! And hardly much of a postponement!”

  “I know. What do you think it means that it’s so soon?”

  “I can only assume that means the zoning board came to a quick and unanimous decision,” Emily told her, recalling the process of getting her own inn licence.

  “A unanimous yes or a unanimous no?”

  “We’ll find out soon enough.”

  Amy sounded incredibly stressed about the whole thing, which Emily found a little odd considering she was the one who’d be most affected by the outcome.

  “We have to go to the meeting,” she said brusquely. “Can you clear your calendar?”

  “Maybe. I’m not sure why I need to though. I already said my piece.”

  She could hear the impatience in Amy’s voice. “Emily, you have to go. You have to shoot it down! If Raven opens an inn in Sunset Harbor your business will struggle.”

  “You should have more faith in me,” Emily told her. “I don’t mind competition.”

  “Well you should,” Amy told her. “Especially coming from Raven Kingsley. She’ll crush you.”

  Emily thought of the moments she’d spent with Raven. They hadn’t bonded, as such, but they were on friendly terms. Raven had helped her when Daniel was in his boating accident, and she’d even come to the town Thanksgiving dinner Emily had thrown. She perceived Raven’s inn as friendly competition.

  “What makes you say that?” Emily said, shaking her head. “Raven’s just like any other business owner. She wants to work hard and make a success of herself. I know she’s been a bit of a vulture in the past, but she wants to settle here. Her husband left her and she just wants the kids to be in one place for some stability.”

  “I think you’re being naive,” Amy said. “A leopard doesn’t change its spots.”

  “Amy, my mother just drank hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows and chopped and helped saw down a Christmas tree. Leopards, like dragons, can, indeed, change their spots.”

  But Amy wasn’t backing down. “Raven will drive you out of business then head to the next town. It’s what she does. She’s got a history of doing it, destroying local areas with her big, flashy hotels. It’s all corporate, soulless. The last thing the town needs. And she has so many of them, she makes the room prices dirt cheap to start with. Even if she runs a loss for the first five years she’ll do it, just so she can eliminate the competition!”

  Emily couldn’t reconcile the Raven Amy was talking about and the one she’d become acquaintances with. But hearing what Amy had to say was starting to rattle her.

  “Just come to the meeting,” Amy said.

  “Okay,” Emily said.

  As she placed the receiver down, she wondered whether Amy was right. Maybe Raven was as ruthless as all that. But if Emily didn’t have the inn, what would become of her? Of her family? Suddenly, she felt as if the ground beneath her was becoming unstable. What if the dream life she was living turned out to be temporary after all...?

  CHAPTER THREE

  The next day after dropping Chantelle at school, Daniel drove Emily to Harry and Amy’s house before heading off to work. When Emily rang the doorbell, Amy answered, beaming from ear to ear.

  “Ready?” Emily asked.

  Amy’s grin only widened. “You bet!”

  Today Amy was having a bonanza shopping day, with appointments booked at potential wedding venues and several house viewings with real estate agents. And since Harry was working in the restaurant all day, Emily was on hand to offer support and words of wisdom. She was, of course, thrilled to be helping.

  They got into Amy’s white Chrysler and set off.

  “Where’s the first viewing?” Emily asked from the passenger seat.

  “Eastern Road,” Amy said, as she looked over her steering wheel for traffic. Seeing none, she turned onto the main street.

  “Ooh,” Emily said. “That’s a nice part of town. The other side of the harbor to me, but still close.”

  “Especially in comparison to New York,” Amy joked. “There’s a brochure in the glove compartment. Take a look.”

  Emily reached inside and, finding the glossy folder, opened it up. She browsed through the slips of paper inside. Amongst the legal information and property details -- three bedrooms, Emily noted with a knowing smile -- she found a selection of photographs. The house looked gorgeous. If Harry and Amy were indeed planning to start their own family soon, this would be the place to do it! She smiled to herself, but then caught sight of the eye-wateringly huge asking price and almost choked.

  “That one has an outside studio space,” Amy informed Emily as she drove. “They’re using it as an art studio at the moment but I’d turn it into an office. If I’m going to be working from home full time I’d like to have a separate space, you know?”

  “Sure,” Emily said, thinking of the downsides of living and working in the same space that she faced every day. “This place would be perfect for that.”

  They passed the harbor. It was a calm day, so Stuart, Evan and Clyde had gone over to the island to do their reno work. Emily felt very fortunate that the weather had been so mild. They definitely looked set to have everything finished for the April bookings. It was one less thing to worry about!

  “Have you thought anymore about the babymoon?” Amy asked.

  “Not really,” Emily told her.

  “You ought to go,” Amy insisted. “You’re almost out of time!” She nodded her head at Emily’s ballooning stomach. Then she added, “There are some lovely hotels that do great babymoon packages.”

  Emily narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Have you been researching?”

  Amy grinned devilishly. “Just a little. Look in the pocket behind your seat.”

  Rolling her eyes jovially, Emily leaned around behind her and found a stack of glossy magazines. She heaved them out. “A little?” she joked.

  “Okay, maybe a lot,” Amy confessed. “I just really want you to have a break! My favorite one is on the top there. The spa in Quebec.”

  Emily looked at the first of Amy’s selection. Located in the old part of Quebec city, it looked more like a castle than a hotel.

  “It’s right in the old center of town,” Amy said. “So there’s loads of culture and stuff. City walls. A citadel. Museums galore.”

  “Are you sure y
ou don’t want to go?” Emily joked, raising an eyebrow.

  Amy laughed. “Of course I do. When it’s my turn, that is. But my focus right now is the wedding and the house. When it’s babymoon time, I’ll be heading there, I promise.” She leaned over and tapped the top of the magazine.

  Emily glanced down again at the stunning castle. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea. The babymoon package including a special prenatal massage for the mom’s to be and a stress busting massage for the dad’s to be. Plus all the products were natural, with no harmful chemicals, and all the food was organic. It did seem idyllic. Doctor Arkwright would certainly approve of Emily reducing her stress levels. Better late than never!

  “Daniel will probably come up with a very logical and practical reason why we shouldn’t go,” Emily said. She listed on her fingers. “Chantelle. The island. My impending due date. To name just a few.” But she slipped the magazine in her purse anyway to show him later. Maybe she could convince him.

  They pulled onto the drive of the first viewing. Emily loved it immediately. The outside lawn was large with a hedge for them extra privacy, and there was enough space for at least two cars to park outside. The house was even more pretty in real life. There was a cute porch out the front, not quite as grand as the inn’s wraparound one, but there was space for a rocking chair and bistro table with chairs.

  “I can already tell I’m going to love it,” Emily said.

  But Amy didn’t look so convinced. “It’s a bit underwhelming,” she said.

  “Are you crazy?” Emily gasped. “It looks like something from a movie!”

  “Yes,” Amy continued, in a distracted sort of voice. “A boring movie.”

  Emily rolled her eyes at Amy’s perfectionism, but at the same time, she knew she shouldn’t be so harsh. Amy’s life had gone completely differently to Emily’s. Her college dorm room business had succeeded and she’d bought her New York apartment while still in her early twenties. To Amy, home had always meant independence. Now it would mean domesticity. Emily had to admit that, for Amy’s tastes, it was possibly a little too sensible. There was no elevator to negotiate, no traffic hum in the distance. In short, there was no challenge. If Amy was going to be happy in this new stage of her life, Emily realized, she was going to have to find an exceptional house, not just a lovely one.