Again silence spread among them, broken only by the whispery sound of Noelle’s gentle breathing.
“You’re going to get in touch with the right people, aren’t you?” he asked at last. It was the question Annie dreaded the most, the subject that had brought her and Alice to a quarrel. She did not want to argue with Ian too.
“I suppose I must—at some point. But not for a while.”
“But—”
“This child was given into my keeping. I will care for her until the right time comes for me to make other arrangements.”
Ian took in another deep breath and held her gaze.
“And what constitutes ‘the right time’?”
She stood, Noelle now a dead weight in her arms.
“I’m not sure, Ian, but I suspect I’ll know it with extreme certainty when it gets here. And I won’t be talked into doing something that goes against my heart and soul.” She softened her tone with a smile. “I’m sure you understand. And now, I’ll tuck this child back into bed, and when I come back, we’ll enjoy that pizza. Alice, maybe you ought to stick it back in the oven. It’s probably cold by now.”
As she left the room, she heard Alice say, “She means it, Ian. She’s like a mother bear.”
When Annie returned a bit later, the pizza was warm, and three large white mugs brimmed with spiced cider.
“So, Annie,” Ian said as she seated herself, “am I invited to spend Christmas Day with you, Alice, and Noelle, or must I malinger at home, alone on the holiday?”
Alice grinned, and Annie felt relief sweep through her. Whether it had been her own words or something Alice might have said that convinced Ian to keep her secret, she didn’t know. At that point, she didn’t care, as long as he held her confidence about Noelle.
“Absolutely!” she said. “I’m going to fix a big family-style dinner, and it just wouldn’t be complete without you.” She reached for a slice of pizza. “This may have turned cold two or three times in the last hour or so and been warmed over, but it smells good, looks good, and I’m sure it tastes great.” She bit into the thin, firm crust, spicy sauce, and soft layer of cheese. “Umm. Oh, my goodness. Sal knows how to make a pizza.”
“That he does. I watched him make this, tossing the dough in the air, smiling and singing New York, New York at the top of his lungs. He’s from New York City, you know.”
“Well, their loss is our gain.”
They consumed the pizza and talked lightly about the weather, the town, and the latest movie showing at the theater.
“You know,” Ian said, while he munched on his third slice, “this Stony Point secret Santa business seems to be spreading.”
Annie stopped chewing and looked at him with interest. There was no way he knew yet about the gifts left on her front porch for Noelle, and Annie wasn’t going to mention them, not for a while anyway. First she planned to chase down her undeniable lead and see if Stony Point’s Santa lived in a shack on the beach not far from where they now sat. And after that she’d share the news of Noelle’s gifts.
“Who received what this time?” Alice said.
“Not so much of someone receiving a gift from an unknown benefactor this time, but Bennett Woods called me today. He and his family have decided to deed that portion of land they own on the west side of town for a community garden. Not only that, he said Gil Landry has agreed to plow sections for each member, and Mike Malone will donate tomato seedlings to the first twenty-five gardeners who choose to participate. I know it’s a long way until gardening season, but what generous donations to our town! I tell you, ladies, this secret Santa has opened up a door of giving that I wish would spread to the whole world.”
“So do I!” both women said in unison, fervently.
Annie wondered what Alice or Ian would say if they knew a crotchety old man started this wave of generosity. They’d probably think she was crazy for having such notions.
****
The next morning, Annie stood in the living room, gazing at the frigid Atlantic water while she sipped her morning coffee. The house was silent except for the invading sound of wind.
“Good morning, neighbor,” Alice said, shuffling into the living room in fuzzy slippers and a robe as thick as a bearskin. “I smell coffee.”
Annie smiled. “Good morning. You smell a whole potful. Are you ready for breakfast?”
Alice waved one hand. “Just some coffee. Ask me about breakfast after I wake up.” She yawned and shuffled out again, heading toward the kitchen. Annie grinned, watching her leave. As much as she hated that her friend’s heating system was out, Alice’s presence in Grey Gables pleased her. Having Noelle and Alice in the house was like being with family.
“How about if I make some waffles?” Alice asked when she returned with her coffee. She stood by Annie and looked at the frozen landscape. “Waffles are one of my specialties.”
Annie smiled at her. “All your baking and cooking is special, as far as I’m concerned.”
Alice returned the smile and sipped her hot coffee.
“Beautiful out there, isn’t it?” she said. “Everything looks so clean, so unspoiled.”
“Winter has its own style of beauty,” Annie agreed. “Of course, I love spring.”
Alice sipped again. “I know. But that’s a long way off.”
They stood in silence a bit longer, and then Annie spoke her thoughts aloud. “I wonder if Noelle will still be here in the spring.”
“You aren’t planning to keep her a secret for that long, surely.”
Annie hesitated, but then she agreed. “No. I’ll need to let someone know.”
“If I were you, I’d see about taking those classes to be a foster parent. That way, maybe she can stay with you.”
“I’ve been thinking about that myself. I looked online at the requirements for being a foster parent, and I believe after the holidays, I’ll go to the Department of Health and Human Services office and get the paperwork started.”
Alice turned from the window and settled down in an armchair. “Annie, when did you get all that?”
Annie turned and saw her friend’s gaze fastened on the pile of gifts from Stony Point’s Santa.
“Actually, I found it. Last night, on the porch.”
Alice lifted both eyebrows. “What?” she asked.
“Hang on,” Annie said, putting down her cup. “I’ll show you something.” She hurried upstairs and took the note that had accompanied the package from the dresser where she’d laid it last night. Downstairs again, she handed it to Alice. “Here. Take a look at this.”
Alice read it and then shrieked, “Are you kidding me?”
“Shhh! Don’t wake Noelle!”
Alice clapped one hand over her mouth for two seconds and then stage-whispered, “This is so great, Annie! Wow!”
Alice examined each item of clothing and every toy, excitedly but silently bobbing in admiration or giggling at the “cute factor.”
“Look at these itty-bitty boots! Aren’t they the sweetest things you’ve ever seen—” Suddenly she broke off. “But Annie! How in the world did anyone know about Noelle being here …” She paused for a second, and then said, “Ian! He’s the only person other than you and me who knows about her.” Alice’s blue eyes sparkled so lively that they looked like diamonds. “Ian Butler is Stony Point’s Santa. Oh, Annie, he didn’t so much as flicker an eyelash to give himself away!”
“That’s because Ian Butler is not Stony Point’s Santa,” said Annie confidently.
“Of course he is. He’s the only other one who knows about her … well, except for whoever left her here, of course, and whoever left her here could not possibly be a generous, anonymous gift-giver. Someone like that would never leave a child with a stranger.”
“These clothes were left on the porch before you and Ian showed up.”
A frown creased Alice’s pretty face. “Then who?”
“You’re forgetting who I talked to the other day, accusing him of leaving her
with me.”
Alice’s expression changed to one of disbelief.
“The old man on the beach! The old man on the beach?” She spoke as if saying the words often enough would fit together every piece in the puzzle. “Really? No, Annie. From what you’ve told me, he’s a step or two down from Ebenezer Scrooge. There is no way some surly, antisocial old geezer is going out and buying fluffy little trinkets and outfits for a toddler. No way.”
“I hear you, Alice. I understand what you’re saying, but yesterday at dusk, before you and Ian showed up, I heard something out on the porch. It took me a few seconds to get up and go outside, but when I did, I saw him just as he disappeared across the road, going toward the beach.”
Alice frowned. “About dusk you say? That means it was dark—”
“Almost dark.”
“Really too dark for you to actually recognize anyone, I imagine.”
“But I saw his coat. It was that red-and-black–plaid mackinaw I gave him.”
“Annie, for goodness’ sake. There are probably 300 coats just like that in Stony Point. In fact, I bet nearly every house in the entire state of Maine has a red-and-black–plaid mackinaw in it. They aren’t unique.”
“But the person wearing it went across the road in the direction of the beach.”
“So? If whoever it was saw you coming out the door, they were probably trying to duck out of sight.”
“Even so, I just have a feeling it’s him.”
Alice crimped her mouth and gave Annie a level stare.
“I’m sorry if you disagree, Alice, but it’s something I feel deep inside.”
Alice plucked at the snowsuit on her lap, her eyes on the snowman stitched on the front of it.
“OK, Annie. I trust your instincts most of the time, so I see no reason to change now.” She looked up, smiled, and added, “Even when your ideas fly in the face of logic.”
“I know it doesn’t make sense to you. It doesn’t make sense to me either.” Annie stared at her friend over the rim of the cup as she drank. “You know,” she continued thoughtfully, “this has been the oddest holiday season ever. So many questions and no real answers.”
Alice nodded and set aside the snowsuit.
“I agree. But Ian was right. Whoever this mysterious Santa Claus is, he or she has really started something in our town. Look at all the gifts and services that have been given, free of charge, that have nothing to do with our Santa.” She began to tick them off on her fingers.
“Mary Beth received that refrigerator, and then you and Stella give her more things to make the break room comfortable. I found out that someone paid to have the snow plowed off my driveway—and yours—the other day. Bennett Woods donated land for a community garden.”
Annie sat up so suddenly that she spilled her coffee. “Oh, my goodness!” she cried. “Oh, my goodness! All this excitement with Noelle completely chased Sara’s bookmarks out of my mind. I have a large order for them from a couple of places in Portland, and they want them ASAP. I need to take the order to her right now.”
“You know,” Alice said thoughtfully, “we were talking about how people seem to be in the Christmas spirit so much this year … well, I’d like to give Sara Downs some new clothes. Do you think she’d be OK with that, or do you think she’d be offended?”
Annie shook her head. “I doubt she’d be offended. Ask her.”
“Or,” Alice said, her eyes lighting up with a new idea, “I could leave them anonymously for her at the Atlantic Jewel or at The Cup & Saucer. That way, she’ll be a recipient of gifts from an unknown person just like the others.”
Annie felt her smile bloom at the idea. “I like that notion. I’ll help!”
Alice clapped her hands. “Good!”
“While I go upstairs and change, why don’t you write up a list. Then if you stay here with Noelle, I’ll stop at Dress to Impress and pick them up while I’m in town,” Annie said. “Being a secret Santa is fun!”
Alice had to agree.
15
Annie’s first stop was at Dress to Impress, and she bought everything from petite-size nightgowns to jeans to a party dress. She purchased work shoes, sneakers, and dress shoes, and prayed they’d fit. The clerk who helped was no one Annie recognized, and for that she was thankful. She did not want word to get out that she was buying clothes that obviously were not for her.
Annie’s next stop was the Atlantic Jewel. She entered the little office that looked every bit as dismal as she expected, with its dingy tan paint and cheap faded pictures of ships on the walls. It stank of stale cigarette smoke, but as Annie glanced around for the manager, she noticed the front desk was spotlessly clean, the floor swept, and the windows shining.
A balding middle-aged man—with the careworn expression of someone who does more than he has time for—came from a room behind the desk.
“Help you?” he asked.
“I’m looking for Sara Downs.”
“Ah, Sara.” He nodded. “She’s working over at The Cup & Saucer today.” He frowned and gave Annie a sharp look. “She in some kind of trouble? I don’t want any problems here.”
“No, no trouble at all. I’m her friend, Annie Dawson.”
He nodded again. “I know who you are. Grey Gables, right? Yeah, I’ve heard about you.” He held up both hands as though stalling a protest and gave her a gap-toothed smile. “All good, of course. Not a bad word have I heard.”
Annie returned his smile. “That’s nice to know.”
He sobered quickly. “What d’ya need Sara for?”
She hesitated a moment and asked, “If I were to bring some things by here for her—gifts, that is—would you please see that she gets them, but not tell her where they came from?”
His eyes lit up. “I heard rumors that you might be the secret Santa who has been giving away gifts right and left.”
“And a rumor is all it is,” she said. “I’m happy to help when I can, and I would love to be able to do the kind of giving that’s been done lately, but I’m not Stony Point’s Santa. A friend of mine and I have gone together and got some things for Sara, and well, we didn’t want to embarrass her, so we thought we’d give them to her anonymously.”
He nodded enthusiastically. “I see. Well, I think that’s a fine idea you and your friend had. Sara is a nice lady. She’s quiet and clean, and I don’t usually have a bit of trouble out of her. But the other day ….”
“The other day?” Annie asked.
“I don’t know what was going on, but there was quite a ruckus outside her room—shouting and such. Before I could get out there to see what was happening someone jumped in a car and sped off. I went to her room and tried to talk to Sara, but she wouldn’t talk. She barely opened the door to me. Only time I ever had any problem with her.” He paused then added, “I can’t have that kind of trouble here. This place ain’t the Hilton, and it attracts some of the seedier sort, but I make it plain: You cause problems, you’re outta here. But Sara—I like her. I don’t want her to go.”
Annie noted the soft expression in his eyes when he talked about the woman. Whether Sara knew it or not, she had an admirer and champion in this fellow. “I have the gifts for her out in the car. May I bring them in here, and will you see that she gets them?”
“I will.”
“Thank you!” She reached out her hand to shake his. “Thank you so much!”
“It pleases me to see that lady smile. I hope I get to watch her open those gifts, but she’s mighty private. By the way, I’m Aaron Webster.”
“Thank you, Mr. Webster. I’ll run out, bring everything in and give you the gift receipt. If anything doesn’t fit, please tell Sara she can exchange it at Dress to Impress. And remember, not a word that I brought the gifts here.”
****
Annie’s third stop was The Cup & Saucer. Few diners sat at tables during the mid-afternoon, and the owner, Jeff, sat alone at a booth closest to the kitchen.
“Hi, Jeff,” said Annie, greeting
him with a smile.
Jeff looked up, slightly distracted, but when he saw her his face cleared and he smiled. “Well, hello, Annie. Have a seat.” He indicated the seat across from him, removed his reading glasses and slid a few papers to the side. “How are you? Would you like some coffee?”
Annie sat down.
“Thank you, no. I can only stay a minute or two. I’m doing great,” she said. “Just busy preparing for Christmas, of course. How’s your family?”
“Doing well. My sister will be here for Christmas. I haven’t seen her in a couple of years.”
His words pricked her heart a little, reminding Annie that her own family would be absent during the holiday season.
“That’s wonderful. I hope you enjoy her visit.”
“I’m sure I will. We always have a good time together, but she lives in San Diego, so we have the entire country between us and don’t get to see each other very often.”
Annie glanced around and saw one waitress filling salt shakers and another pouring coffee for a couple of men across the room. Peggy was nowhere to be seen, and she wondered briefly if Peggy would quit her job now that the mortgage on her house had been paid. That wasn’t likely. She and Wally now had an opportunity to get ahead a little.
“Is Sara here?” she asked. “I need to talk to her for just a minute, if you don’t mind.”
“I wasn’t aware you knew Sara.”
“She’s a member of the Hook and Needle Club.”
He grinned. “Ah, yes. I remember now. Peggy thought it would be good for Sara to become involved in something other than working in the kitchen here. And she was right. Everyone needs something beyond work.” He made a face. “I’m one to talk.” He spread his hands over the papers in front of him. “I really need to make the transition completely to computer, but old habits die hard.” He put his glasses back on and picked up his pen. “You’ll find Sara in the kitchen. Feel free to go on in.”
“Thanks, Jeff,” Annie said as she got up. “I’ll see you later.”
She pushed through the swinging doors separating the kitchen from the dining room and entered a room filled with noise from two huge, steaming dishwashers. The damp heat that met her mingled with odors of meat, deep-fryer oil, and hot bleach water from the dish-washing area.
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