“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
She must be dreaming. She couldn’t see him, but not even Zeke the Parrot could deliver that opening line quite the same way as Jamey Sullivan.
Chapter Thirty-four
The cast came out for curtain call and the crowd stood to its feet. With the last bow, Jamey searched for Dorie. What would he say when she asked why he’d come back for opening night?
He searched the stage in vain, the Stanton boys the only ones who remained. One of them picked up a hat and dusted it off. Then they both left. Aunt Gillian sneaked up behind him and threw her arms around his neck.
“Does this mean you’re back for good?”
“Don’t know yet. Have you seen Dorie?”
“She’s helping Josh gather his things.”
Jamey headed toward the auditorium door.
“Jamey!”
He turned to see Josh and Emma barreling toward him. Josh beat Emma and wrapped his arms around Jamey’s waist. “You’ve come back.”
Dorie’s mom caught up with the children. “Looks like the whole town is glad to see you. Great performance tonight, Jamey, as always.”
“Thank you. Where’s Dorie?”
“Backstage, I suppose. She asked me to take care of the kids tonight. Apparently, most of the cast is getting together at The Pines.”
Josh kicked an auditorium seat. “Mom won’t let me go. Not fair. The Stanton boys are going.”
Jamey bent down and lifted Josh’s chin. “Maybe she doesn’t know the other boys will be there. Want me to ask her for you?”
“Yeppers. She’s in the girls’ dressing room.”
“Stay here with your grandmother. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
***
Dorie hung up her costume and looked in the mirror. Traces of talc collected under her chin and her mascara blackened both eyes. “What a mess.”
Evie picked up a stray tube of blush from the floor. “There’s cold cream in the ladies’ bathroom. That’ll get most of the gunk off.”
Since her hands were still sticky from peeling off latex, she backed out of the dressing room door.
“You did a good job tonight, Dorie.”
A fresh flow of tears probably smeared her already-streaked makeup. Too embarrassed to look him eye-to-eye, she hid her face. Jamey gently spun her around. “Well, aren’t you going to return the compliment?”
“Why did you come back?”
His face reddened. “I think you know why.”
“No, I don’t. I thought you were going to trip the light fantastic.”
Seeing him now, knowing he’d leave again, burned worse than when he left the first time. “Excuse me, I’ve got to find Josh. I’d told him he couldn’t go to The Pines, but then I found out the Stanton boys are going. He’ll be disappointed—”
He put a finger on her lips. She sensed his urge to kiss her and she lowered her eyes in submission—a heartbeat from bliss. Gillian breezed by and suffocated the moment. “Excuse me. I didn’t mean to interrupt anything. I thought maybe I could ride with Dorie, but I see you have other plans. Gabe and Susan won’t mind if I go with them.”
They laughed together as she skittered off in a whirlwind of embarrassment.
Jamey took Dorie’s hand and ushered her into the music room where he had ripped her heart out. Now he wrapped his arms around her. “I got your e-mail, Dorie.”
“I never meant for you to give up—”
He cupped her chin and drew her into a gentle, quick kiss. She wanted more.
“I didn’t give up anything. I love you, Dorie. I don’t want to live the rest of my life without you.”
“What about—”
“After I read your e-mail, I realized that, if I tried hard enough I could probably wear away your resistance, uproot you and the kids, and make a life for us in New York. We’d be okay, you and I. Okay isn’t good enough.”
Had he come back to hammer in what she already knew? “That’s what I tried to tell you the last time we were in this room.”
“And that’s why I left. I thought I knew what I wanted. Then I heard the voice again.”
“The voice?”
He released her and paced. “Do you remember Brandy telling you how I saved his life?”
“Now? You want to explain that to me now?”
“It has everything to do with now.” Jamey faced her again. “That night, four of us junior counselors sneaked out of the cabin and built a bonfire on the beach. When we saw Brandy come out of the administration building, we thought we were busted.” His tone flattened. “We were past curfew.”
“And?”
“We’d been smoking pot.”
“You don’t smoke pot now.”
“Of course not.”
“Go on.”
“Apparently Brandy didn’t see us, so we high-tailed it toward the dorm.”
“Let me guess. The other three were Gabe, his brother, and your brother.”
“Right. We got half way back and I stopped. The others ran on ahead.”
“Why did you stop?”
“A voice inside my head told me to go back. I wasn’t sure why. When I got to the beach, I saw Brandy slip under the water’s surface. I jumped in and pulled him out. We talked until the sun rose. Not as scoutmaster to scout but as friends bound by shared secrets. You see, Brandy hadn’t gone for a midnight swim. We just let people think that. Truth was, he tried to drown himself.”
“Why would he want to do that?”
“His business was on the verge of bankruptcy, and he couldn’t see any way out. I told him Pop was always in and out of financial woes and that he should wait it out. Before long, we started talking about deep stuff, including religion. I told him what I’d been doing on the beach before he got there. But I made it sound as if I’d been alone.”
“Your friends left you to take the heat. They didn’t deserve your loyalty.”
Jamey shrugged. “The point is that Brandy and I became Christians that night. We’d both been brought up in church, but neither of us had taken it to heart. There on that beach, Brandy and I realized we needed God.”
“I don’t understand what all that has to do with us.”
Jamey stroked her hair. “I’m getting to that. Later, Brandy led the Wellington boys and my brother to the Lord along with a lot of other young people, some of them becoming ministers and missionaries. None of that would have happened if I had kept walking the other way.”
Jamey took her hands into his. I read your e-mail before last night’s performance. I didn’t know what you’d hoped I’d say to you. So I didn’t reply. During the play, it all made sense to me.”
“I’m glad it makes sense to you, because I’m confused.”
“At her funeral, Emily Gibbs reminisces how wonderful her life had been. Her words reminded me of Clarence’s line, “You see, George, you really had a wonderful life. Don’t you see what a mistake it would be to throw it away?”
Dorie searched Jamey’s face—a face filled with peace.
“That’s when I realized that my Grover’s Corners, my Bedford Falls—is Midville. And the voice told me to turn around, that the best of my life would be here, in the town of my birth with the woman I love. George Bailey knew it. And now I know it too.”
Jamey pulled her in with a grip that said he’d never let go. “The curtain has risen on us, Dorie. I’m never leaving Midville or you again.”
Epilogue
Snow drifted across the yard as dusk settled on the best Christmas Day ever. Icy droplets glistened on the windows. Dorie lit the striped candles she’d purchased at Bargains Galore earlier in the week. The memories of the day, a graceful minuet of wonder and joy, danced through her mind.
Jamey had arrived seconds before the children sprung from their beds and stampeded downstairs. For a child’s eternity, Emma squinted at an unwrapped present nestled against the lower branches. “Is that dolly mine?”
“Yes, sweetie.”
She ripped off the cellophane and hugged the doll to her chest. Mr. Bear might have serious competition. That would be for the best. His left leg was now completely severed, and his stuffing littered the carpet and furniture. Next stop, Teddy Bear Cemetery.
Mom and Daddy had arrived at ten for Christmas brunch. Daddy insisted on taking the family out for dinner later in the afternoon. “You can’t beat The Pines for a Christmas buffet,” he’d said. Spoiled by Mom’s expert culinary skills, Dorie couldn’t help wondering if Daddy really wanted to eat out or if he dreaded Dorie’s cooking. At least he’d acquiesced to letting Dorie have Christmas at her house.
After the buffet at The Pines, Mom and Daddy returned to their house. Then Josh and Emma went upstairs to play with their new toys, giving Dorie and Jamey a few minutes of quiet as the sun crept behind the horizon and a full moon ascended.
After lighting the candles, Dorie dimmed the lamps. The Christmas tree cast radiant beams across the carpet. Jamey came in from the kitchen, handed her a cup of hot chocolate, and pulled her next to him on the couch. “You did a nice job decorating.”
“Thanks.”
“When I was kid, my father used to have us all gather around the tree and sing Christmas songs while he played the guitar. I’d give anything to have those days back. I’m going to miss him.” His eyes misted.
They’d shared much over the past two weeks. The more of Jamey Sullivan she discovered, the more she loved him. Yet he was still secretive about the future of Sullivan Enterprises.
“I hate to bring up business on Christmas,” she said, “but I’m curious. Are you going to sell or not?”
“Why? Is Junior giving you a bad time?”
“Now that he’s attending church, he’s almost human. He even shuts our adjoining door.”
Jamey took Dorie’s hot chocolate and set it on a coaster. He clasped her hands within his. “I thought we would talk about this later, but since you brought it up … I know we planned to exchange our gifts after the kids went to bed tonight and watch the video of the play. We might want to consider going over to our parents’ houses instead.”
She gave him a pretend jab to the arm and feigned confusion. “Don’t go changing the subject.”
“I’m not changing the subject. Sullivan Enterprises is not for sale.”
“And you didn’t tell me? I’ll bet Branson’s one unhappy camper.”
“Like you said, he’s changing. He gets every red cent of profit during the negotiations. At the height of our profitable season, that should compensate for his wounded pride.”
Dorie nudged him again. “So who signs my paychecks now?”
“That’s up to you. Jamey reached in his pocket and pulled out a little black box. Dorie’s heart raced.
“Junior wants to keep you on. He said he’d give you another raise if you stay. It’s a nice offer. I wouldn’t blame you if you kept working for him.”
Jamey held the ring for Dorie to view, then slid to one knee. “We haven’t known each other long, and we’ve been dating for only a few weeks. But when it’s right, a man knows it. And we’re right together. Dorie Fitzgerald, will you marry me?”
“Jamey Sullivan. Not so fast.”
He closed the box, his confusion priceless. “Hey, you. Open that back up. Of course I’ll marry you, as long as Josh gives his permission. And as for Branson Harwood’s offer, I’d rather have fresh flowers every day on that old desk at Bargains Galore. That is, if you don’t mind your wife working for you.”
“I love you, Dorie.” He slipped the ring on her finger. They stood to seal the engagement in what should have been a long, passionate kiss, a kiss to be recorded along with the other events of the day and seared in her heart as indescribable.
But as their lips touched, Boomer charged in and knocked Jamey to the couch. He scrambled back to his feet, handed Dorie her cup, and lifted his in the air. “Here’s to us.”
They giggled as they clinked their cups together, their laughter bringing curious Josh downstairs. “What’s funny, Mom?”
Squatting to meet Josh’s inquisitive stare, Jamey coughed and masked a serious face. “I have an important question to ask you. I’d like to marry your mother if it’s okay with you. I know I can’t replace the father you lost, but I’ll always be your friend. What do you think?”
Josh gave Jamey a high five. “Cool, man. Hey, Emma, guess what?”
As Josh ran upstairs, Jamey pulled Dorie into a hug and gazed into her eyes. “I’m afraid that kiss will have to wait a few hours, huh?”
Dorie smiled through joyful tears. “Yeppers.”
The End
Quote from John Greenleaf Whittier Maud Muller (1856)
More Candle Light Reading from LPC
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It Really IS a Wonderful Life: The Snowflake Falls but Hearts in Love Keep a Home Warm All Year Long Page 18