Starlight Christmas

by Bonnie Bryant

  Listening to Carole was almost like being there, Lisa thought. She could see the newborn trying out his independence for the first time. She could even understand how he felt.

  “It’s a little bit like the first day of school, isn’t it?” Lisa mused. “Going off on the school bus by yourself, just terrified. Then, by the time the second day of school comes around, you’re a pro at it. You wave good-bye to your mother and that’s that.”

  “That’s just what it was like,” Carole agreed. “For one second, he’s too scared to move. Then, the next minute, he knows all the ropes!”

  Stevie cut up the Rice Krispies Treats, now cool enough to eat, and passed them around to her friends. “Lisa and I had an eventful day, too,” she said. “After you left, we managed to overhear a very interesting conversation Veronica diAngelo had with Diana and Elaine.”

  “Veronica actually said something interesting?” Carole asked.

  “Very interesting,” Lisa assured her. She and Stevie filled Carole in on the events planned in their honor for the Starlight Ride.

  “Why, of all the …!” Carole sputtered. “I can’t believe … How could she even dare …?”

  “Don’t worry,” Lisa said. “Stevie’s got a plan that will get her but good.”

  “You do?” Carole asked.

  “Not quite. But I will,” Stevie said firmly. “Trust me.”

  There were things Lisa and Carole knew they could trust Stevie to do. Getting back at Veronica was one of them.

  The phone rang again. This time it was Phil calling Stevie. Carole and Lisa knew it immediately by the sweet tone of Stevie’s voice.

  Stevie was glad he called. She’d been anxious to tell him what Max had said about having guests along on the Starlight Ride. She told him he was invited—without mentioning that she’d left almost everybody there with the impression that her friends were girls, not boys. Phil and A.J. had their own horses and would bring them to Pine Hollow in the same van that Phil had used to bring his horse to Moose Hill.

  “Oh, great!” Stevie said happily. “Then I don’t have to wait until New Year’s Eve to see you. I’ll see you next week on Saturday!”

  “You’ll see me before that if I have anything to say about it,” Phil declared. “Tuesday is the first night of Hanukkah. My parents said I could invite some friends over. Would you and Lisa and Carole like to come?”

  “I’d love to,” Stevie said. “But let me check with the others. Lisa and Carole are right here.” She put her hand on the phone and told her friends about the invitation.

  “No problem,” Lisa said. “As long as my mother—”

  “I know,” Stevie said. “I’ll tell him yes. You handle your mother. Carole?”

  Carole shook her head. “Can’t do it,” she said. “It’s the night that Judy has her small-animal clinic open and I promised I’d help her out. Maybe next year.”

  “You get two yeses,” Stevie told Phil. “Lisa and I will be there. Carole can’t come. She’s working with our vet that day. Wait until you hear her stories!”

  Carole was sorry to be missing the party at Phil’s. She liked Phil and she thought it would be fun. Still, she wouldn’t trade anything for the time she was spending with Judy.

  Stevie finished her phone call and then got an okay from her parents about going to Phil’s, bringing Carole’s clothes up from the kitchen with her. Lisa would have liked to have checked with her parents as well, but she was afraid the phone conversation might remind Carole about her earlier conversation with her “mother” and the “Salvation Army colonel.” The sooner Carole forgot about that, the better.

  The girls finished the last of their Rice Krispies Treats and put on their pajamas. They weren’t ready to sleep yet, but it was time to get comfortable.

  Stevie’s room was set up with two twin beds and a futon for the third sleepover guest. The girls drew straws. Carole won the futon and she was glad about it. She snuggled down into the covers and looked up at the ceiling.

  Lisa and Stevie were having a lively conversation about possible ways to wreck Veronica’s scheme. Carole was very interested in their ideas, but she found it hard to focus on what they were saying. Her mind was a jumble of thoughts from the day. She recalled every horse she and Judy had seen, and all their ailments. When she closed her eyes, syringes, sample tubes, leg wraps, and veterinary instruments seemed to dance before her, like the visions of sugarplums in the poem that began, “ ’Twas the night before Christmas …”

  Her thoughts moved on. The night before Christmas was the night of the Starlight Ride. And the next day would be Christmas.

  That would be the second Christmas without her mother. Carole tried to think of it in a more positive way. It would be the second Christmas she could share with just her father. She sighed. It was a nice try, but it didn’t change the truth. She knew her father was going to love his socks, and she would love whatever he gave her, but it couldn’t make up to either of them what they were missing. She didn’t care about herself, but she wanted to make it all right for him. She wanted to make him happy.

  Her eyes closed again and she quickly drifted into a deep sleep, dreaming of horses wearing argyle socks to keep their feet warm on a cold winter night.

  STEVIE COULDN’T BELIEVE how much she cared about what she was wearing. Usually, she was satisfied with grabbing a pair of jeans up off the closet floor, and throwing on any shirt that happened to be lying around. But now, before going to Phil’s with Lisa for the Hanukkah celebration, she’d spent a full twenty minutes selecting an outfit and another ten minutes deciding exactly what shade of tan panty hose to wear with it. She looked in the mirror to make sure it really was her.

  It was. Not only that, but with a light application of mascara and lip gloss, it was a prettier version of her. She smiled at herself in the mirror. She thought she might even look better by candlelight.

  “Stevie, you’re beautiful. So, let’s go,” Lisa said. Lisa had watched the entire process. She had even approved the shade of panty hose.

  The girls weren’t exactly dressed up, but they looked very nice. Lisa was wearing a wool jumper with a turtle-neck and low-heeled shoes. Stevie ended up wearing a kilt, a pretty white blouse with a red sweater over it, and red shoes.

  “I think the red shoes are a nice festive touch,” Stevie said.

  “Nice festive touch?” Lisa asked. It wasn’t that she didn’t agree; she just couldn’t believe she’d heard Stevie say it.

  “I guess I mean they go well, huh?” Stevie sounded sheepish.

  Lisa nodded.

  STEVIE’S FATHER DROVE them to Phil’s house. When they arrived, the Marstons invited him to join them for a little holiday cheer. For a few terrible seconds, Stevie was afraid that he was actually going to accept. Fortunately, Mr. Lake had the good sense to go home. Stevie and Lisa went in.

  Stevie had already met Phil’s parents, and she introduced Lisa to them. Then they met Phil’s sisters. His older sister, Barbara, was sixteen, and Rachel, his younger sister, was ten.

  Then Phil introduced A.J. to Stevie and Lisa. A.J. was Phil’s age, but he was much smaller than Phil. He had bright red hair and a personality to match.

  “I’m awfully glad to meet the girl who was able to teach Phil so much about riding this summer,” A.J. said, shaking Stevie’s hand. “He thinks he knows everything. I’ve been telling him he doesn’t, but he never listens to me. But you succeeded! And for that, my lady, I owe you a great debt.” With that, A.J. took Stevie’s hand and pretended to kiss the back of it, just like a seventeenth-century courtier.

  Naturally, Stevie curtsied. “But, my lord,” she said, instantly slipping into character, “I make it my job to tell everybody that they don’t know as much as they think they do. I think you’ll be next!”

  “Try it and I’ll sic the dragon on you instead of slaying it for you, my lady!” A.J. retorted.

  Lisa and Phil laughed.

  “Is this going to be a long night?” Lisa asked him
.

  “Could be,” he agreed. “But I’ve got an idea. Let’s leave these two to talk and go check out the food. Wait’ll you see what my mother’s cooked for us!”

  “Food? Did somebody say food?” A.J. asked enthusiastically. “Just follow my nose!”

  The four of them went into the dining room, where a tantalizing buffet was spread out on the table.

  “Mrs. Marston, this is just great!” A.J. declared. “But what are the rest of you going to have?”

  Phil snorted. “Even you couldn’t eat that much.”

  “And nobody’s going to eat yet,” Mrs. Marston said. “First we have to light the Hanukkah candles.”

  The dining table had a candelabra on it, but that wasn’t for Hanukkah. The Hanukkah candle holder, or menorah, was standing by itself on the sideboard. It had room for nine candles. Eight of them were the same height. One candle, placed in the center of the menorah, was taller than the rest.

  The whole family and their guests gathered around the dining room table. Mrs. Marston spoke. “Tonight, since it’s the first night of Hanukkah, we just have one candle, the one farthest to the right, and the tall one, called the shammash. The festival of Hanukkah celebrates a miracle, recalling a time when the besieged Jewish tribe of the Maccabees had only enough oil to light their temple for one night. But the oil lasted for eight nights, showing us how we can rejoice in strength we have that we didn’t know we had. Each night we light one additional candle, remembering the miracle.”

  Then Mrs. Marston recited a prayer in Hebrew. Mr. Marston translated it into English. After that, Rachel struck a match and lit the shammash. She used the shammash to light the first candle, put it back in its place, and stood back.

  There was a moment of quiet. Stevie looked at the lovely glow of the menorah and its light as it reflected on all of the Marstons and their guests. Then, as if on cue, the Marstons began singing a Hebrew song. Stevie recognized the tune, but not the words. The tune was the same as a hymn she sometimes heard in church. The song the Marstons sang was called “Rock of Ages,” but wasn’t anything like the old Christian hymn of the same name. It was a much brighter and happier song than that one.

  “Next stop, the table!” Mrs. Marston announced, showing everybody where to get a plate. She didn’t have to show them where to fill it up. The table was positively overflowing with good things to eat.

  “The most traditional Hanukkah food is latkes. We eat fried food at Hanukkah, particularly latkes, because they are cooked in oil,” Phil said. “At Hanukkah, we call them latkes. The rest of the year, they’re known as potato pancakes.”

  “But they’re always known as delicious,” A.J. finished, loading his plate with the pancakes.

  “Don’t take him too seriously,” Phil said. “Food is A.J.’s favorite subject.”

  Lisa thought it would be hard to take anything about A.J. very seriously. He was too funny for that!

  They filled up their plates and then took their places at a table Mrs. Marston had set for the four of them near the fireplace.

  “There’s something else you should know about Hanukkah,” Phil said as they sat down. He looked a little embarrassed. “It has to do with presents.”

  Stevie smiled to herself. She had a feeling she knew what was coming.

  “We give gifts on Hanukkah—not big, expensive ones, just little ones,” Phil continued. “Traditionally, it’s something like a child’s top, a dreidel. Anyway, I do have a little present for you, Stevie, but it’s just because you’re my guest. You shouldn’t worry that you don’t have anything for me.” He gave her a small package, wrapped in blue-and-silver paper with little dreidels on it.

  “Oh, I’m not worried,” Stevie said. She handed Phil a small package of her own, wrapped with red-and-green paper and topped with a big red bow.

  “Isn’t this cute?” A.J. asked, batting his eyes at Lisa.

  Lisa grinned. “I think so,” she said. “So, go ahead and open them, guys.”

  “You first,” Phil told Stevie.

  Stevie looked at the box. She had thought so much about her gift to Phil that it hadn’t occurred to her that Phil would give her something, too. Carefully and slowly, she broke the tape and removed the paper, unwrapping a small brown jeweler’s box. She opened the box. There, lying on the velvet lining, was a small silver horseshoe on a silver chain. It was beautiful. It was perfect. For a moment, Stevie was overwhelmed.

  “This isn’t a dreidel!” she managed to say. Suddenly she felt terribly embarrassed about her little present for Phil.

  “Well, you can spin it on the chain if you want, but I think you’ll have more fun wearing it,” Phil teased her.

  “I think so, too,” Stevie agreed. She took it out of the box and asked Lisa to help her put it on. Phil smiled as he watched her. Stevie made him take her to a mirror so she could see how it looked on her. He stood behind her in the powder room as she admired the necklace.

  “Perfect,” he said softly.

  “Thank you,” she told him, turning to face him.

  Rachel poked her head into the powder room. “Is it time for the dancing yet?” she asked, wrecking the romantic moment. Phil and Stevie drew back self-consciously and smiled at each other.

  “Not yet,” Phil told his sister. “We have to finish dinner first.”

  “And present opening,” Stevie reminded him.

  They returned to the table and Phil opened his gift. Stevie had gotten him a silver tie tack for his riding stock. It had a horse head on it with the horse’s mane blown back by the wind.

  “It’s meant to give you good luck at shows,” Stevie said. “Maybe you’ll get lucky enough to beat me one day!”

  “I need it, as you know—both the tie tack and the luck. Thanks very much,” Phil said. Since he wasn’t wearing a tie, he pinned it on his collar. Stevie liked the way it looked on him. She knew he was pleased and she was happy about that.

  “So, tell us some more about this Moonlight Ride,” A.J. said, changing the subject.

  “Starlight,” Stevie corrected him. “It’s the Starlight Ride and, hey, I just thought about something. You guys can probably be a gigantic help to us. Especially you, A.J., if you’re as much of a troublemaker as I think you are—and it takes one to know one! What do you think, Lisa?”

  “Absolutely,” Lisa said. “They’re just what the doctor ordered—or should I say banker’s daughter instead of doctor?”

  Stevie nodded and grinned wickedly.

  “Do you have any idea what they’re talking about?” A.J. asked Phil.

  “Nope. But if I recognize the symptoms in Stevie, it has something to do with schemes, right?”

  “Of course you’re right. What else puts this gleam in my eyes?”

  Phil and A.J. laughed, but they stopped laughing when Stevie told them about Veronica’s plan to keep The Saddle Club out of the Starlight Ride.

  “That’s outrageous!” Phil said indignantly.

  “But what an opportunity!” A.J. exclaimed.

  “My thought exactly,” Stevie concurred. “But just how? That’s the question.”

  “How about we beat them at their own game?” A.J. asked. Stevie nodded. That was just what she had in mind. “Tell me,” A.J. continued, “do you know what horses these girls will be riding that night?”

  “Probably,” Stevie said. “Max tries to let riders stay with a horse they’re comfortable with. Not all stables feel that way, but Max finds it works at Pine Hollow.”

  “So what are the horses they ride?”

  Stevie scrunched her eyes and furrowed her brow. “Elaine usually rides the bay named Bluegrass and Diana’s been on the Appaloosa called Chip, for Chippewa.”

  “What horses do you usually ride?” A.J. asked.

  “I ride Topside, a championship Thoroughbred bay,” Stevie told him. “Lisa rides Pepper, a dappled gray.”

  “Hmmmmmmm,” A.J. said thoughtfully. “These are new riders, right? Pretty green?”

  “Absolut
ely,” Lisa assured him. “If they weren’t new at the stable, they’d never go along with this kind of prank just to be Veronica’s flunkies!”

  “Think they can tell the difference between two bays or between a dappled gray and an Appaloosa?”

  “Oh, my,” Stevie said, getting the drift of A.J.’s idea. “The famous old switcheroo?”

  “Precisely,” A.J. said proudly.

  “Devious!” Lisa said in sincere admiration.

  “But how are we going to protect Carole’s horse, Barq?” Stevie asked. “After all, she’s the main target, because Veronica wants to lead the Starlight Ride. And, most of all, how are we going to keep Veronica out of the ride?”

  A.J. scratched his chin thoughtfully. Everybody watched him. “There are ways,” he said. “There are ways. Trust me.”

  Lisa and Stevie had the funny feeling that that was exactly what they could do.

  “Listen, we’re going to have to get there early,” Phil said. “Is that okay?”

  Lisa and Stevie exchanged glances. “We have to get there early anyway,” Stevie said.

  AFTER DINNER AND dancing and singing, Phil suggested that the four of them go out to the stable in the Marstons’ backyard and check on the horses. Phil had his own horse, a bay gelding named Teddy. A.J.’s horse, a gray mare named Crystal, was also stabled at the Marstons’.