by A. E. Radley
“What about tomorrow night?” Serenity asked. “After the bakery closes, we can go to the ice skating rink they set up over the high school soccer field.”
“I can’t skate,” Liv said.
“I’ll hold you up,” Serenity said, swaying forward and catching Liv’s lips with her own. When a couple partygoers came down the concrete steps, she pulled away and added, “Besides, there’s also hot cocoa and a bonfire – plenty of things to do there other than skate.”
“It’s a date, then,” Liv said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“Me too,” Serenity breathed. If she wasn’t so tipsy, she might have been embarrassed by the unchecked longing in her voice, but as it was, she simply linked her arm in Liv’s and let her lead her to the car.
DECEMBER 13
The skating rink was a popular holiday destination and there were already a few dozen people on the ice by the time Liv and Serenity arrived. They rented skates and wobbled over to the edge of the rink, then as Serenity stepped onto the ice, she reached for Liv’s hand.
“I really don’t know how to skate,” Liv warned.
“I told you I’d hold you up,” Serenity said.
“The ice is hard,” Liv objected. “It’s going to hurt if I fall.”
“I won’t let you fall,” Serenity said, then with a laugh she added, “and you can cling to the retaining wall the whole time if you want to, like the little kids do.”
Liv smiled and rolled her eyes. Serenity knew that if there was one thing that would motivate her, it was providing her with remedial options for completing a task. She stepped onto the ice, one foot starting to get away from her, and Serenity grabbed her arms to steady her. She pulled Liv onto the ice.
They made it about a quarter of the way around the outer edge of the rink, slowly shuffling their way along, before a young kid in hockey skates flew past them and Liv lost her balance. She fell into Serenity’s arms and pushed them both up against the wall. Serenity grabbed it, laughing, and pulled Liv over to it.
“Not bad for your first try,” she said. “You’ll get the hang of it.”
“I don’t know how you do it,” Liv said. “It’s so hard to keep my balance.”
“The rink was always my favorite part of Christmas in Angel Valley,” Serenity said. “When I was a kid, I read Ice Castles about a thousand times and thought I was going to be a figure skater.”
“Never heard of it,” Liv said and Serenity gave her a look of horror.
“How is that possible?” she asked. “It’s a classic!”
“You and your classics,” Liv said. “Well, if you’re a figure skater wannabe, show me what you’ve got.”
“You want to see my moves?” Serenity asked, grinning.
“Yeah,” Liv said. “Go ahead – I’ll just cling to the wall here.”
Serenity laughed, then left Liv on the side of the rink as she skated into the crowd. It had been a few years since she’d had the time to come out here so she was rusty, but she managed a few turns and even a small jump. It was nothing very impressive – her parents never had the money for lessons when she was young so what little she knew she’d figured out by watching figure skaters in the winter Olympics.
When she skated back over to Liv, though, all she had to say was, “Wow. That was impressive!”
“Nah,” Serenity said, waving away the compliment.
“Way better than I could ever do,” Liv said. “What do you say we take a break and get some of that hot cocoa you mentioned?”
“Sure,” Serenity said. She wrapped her arm around Liv’s waist and it took them another ten minutes to make it around the perimeter of the rink and back to the opening in the wall. Liv stepped gratefully out of her skates and put her boots back on, then they bought a couple cups of hot cocoa from the concession stand.
“I guess I’m not the ice skating type,” she said apologetically. “But I am the bonfire and snuggle type. Do you want to find a seat?”
“I do,” Serenity said.
They carried their skates and cocoa over to a big bonfire in a metal drum not far from the rink. There were about half a dozen people warming up in a big circle around it and Liv pulled Serenity into an oversized Adirondack chair at the perimeter. She looked self-consciously at the people near them, but no one was paying attention to the two of them. Everyone was either hastily warming up so they could get back to the rink, or wrapped up in winter romances of their own.
Serenity sank into the seat beside Liv, their hips pressing together, and Liv put her arm around Serenity’s shoulder. She watched her for a moment – the way Liv’s eyes sparkled in the firelight, the rosiness of her cheeks, and her faintly visible breath in the cold.
“What?” Liv asked.
“Hmm?”
“You’re smiling at me,” she said.
“Oh,” Serenity said. “I was just thinking that despite everything that’s going on with Abbott’s, this has been one of the best holiday seasons I’ve had in a while – thanks to you.”
“Yeah,” Liv agreed. “It is pretty good. Much better than working through every major holiday like I used to do in Westbrook.”
“Tell me about that,” Serenity said.
“What do you want to know?” Liv asked.
“Fill in the blanks for me. Who were you in between high school and now?” Serenity asked. “How’d you get to be a workaholic?”
Liv laughed. “I could ask you the same question.”
“I’m not a workaholic,” Serenity objected.
“No, you just spend every waking moment in the bakery or thinking about the bakery,” Liv teased. She took a sip of her cocoa before saying, “I never set out to make my life revolve around work. It happened gradually. I kept getting more responsibilities and I never wanted to let anyone down. I had to be the person they thought I was, which meant I had to keep saying yes no matter how much I needed to say no for my own sake.”
When she finished talking, she dismissed it all with a shrug and took another sip from her cup. Serenity glanced around – they were still being ignored by everyone caught up in their own worlds, so she took the opportunity to kiss Olivia. When she pulled away, she said, “I like who you are in Angel Valley. I hope that’s the real Liv.”
“I think it is,” she said. Then she laughed and added, “I like this version of me, too.”
Serenity hadn’t taken her eyes off Liv since they sat down and she hadn’t even touched her cocoa yet. First, she had to ask the question that had been gnawing at the back of her mind ever since their first kiss. “Are you going back to Westbrook after the holidays?”
“That was the original plan,” Liv said. She let out a sigh and tucked a tendril of Serenity’s hair behind her ear. “Plans do change sometimes, though.”
“I want you to take tomorrow off,” Serenity said abruptly.
“Did I say something wrong?” Liv asked, looking alarmed.
“No,” Serenity said. “It’s just that I hope your plans do change and I’m afraid they won’t if I keep working you to death while you’re supposed to be relaxing. You need a day off.”
“You need help in the bakery,” Liv tried to object.
“I won’t be the reason that you don’t get what you need from your break,” Serenity said, refusing to be swayed on this. “You know, the town started setting up an outdoor holiday market a few years back and it’s become an Angel Valley tradition. You should go check it out with your parents – I bet they’d love that.”
“Are you sure?” Liv asked.
“Yes,” Serenity said. “Take a day off. I’ll be just fine on my own, and then you can come back refreshed and ready to help me finish the window display. I won’t take no for an answer.”
“Okay,” Liv said. “But I want to see you get back on that ice and do some more tricks for me, and I won’t take no for an answer to that.”
Serenity laughed and agreed. “Let me finish my cocoa, then we’ll see if I can still do a toe loop jump. If I br
eak my ankle, I’ll have to take back my offer for you to have a day off.”
“Deal,” Liv said.
DECEMBER 14
The bakery was busy the next morning and even though she had no help, Serenity was glad to be on her own – especially when Joseph Abbott walked through her door.
She was juggling three different customers, boxing donuts for one, directing another to the coffee pot, and quoting a cake price for a third, when she heard the bell above the door chime. Serenity glanced up and Joseph Abbott was smiling at her as he stepped into the bakery, a gust of snow chasing him in and melting on the old linoleum floor.
She felt an instinctive urge to shrink away when their eyes met. There was something about his crisp suit and black wool coat that was imposing, sucking the Christmas cheer from the room. It must have been Serenity’s imagination, but even the carols playing on the radio seemed quieter and the string of twinkling lights that Liv had strung up around the display window seemed dimmer. Everyone else ignored Abbott’s presence, but Serenity was painfully aware of it.
She nodded to him, then went back to her work and he waited in line.
When it was finally his turn at the counter, his lips were pressed tightly together and his eyes were narrowed. Serenity wondered if he’d taken exception to being made to wait, or if he simply hadn’t expected his competition to be busy.
Good. Let him see me thriving, even if I don’t always feel like it’s the truth.
“Hello, Mr. Abbott, what can I do for you?” she asked with her most charitable smile.
“Miss Ryan,” he acknowledged, his lips thin and unyielding. He glanced at the display case, and said, “I’ll have a cake donut and a cup of black coffee.”
“Yum,” Serenity said, unable to resist the urge to tease him. Of all the things in her bakery, he couldn’t have chosen plainer options. “Coming right up.”
She slipped his donut in a wax paper envelope and handed him a to-go cup, pointing out the self-serve coffee station at the end of the counter. She took his money and moved on to the next person in line, and it wasn’t until the morning rush was over about ten minutes later that she noticed he’d stuck around.
When the shop was empty except for the two of them, Serenity turned to Joseph with a fresh smile. He was standing against the wall, sipping his coffee. He’d finished his donut and a single, undignified crumb clung to the lapel of his coat.
“Did you need something other than to scope out the competition?” she asked sweetly.
“That was a good cake donut,” he said. “Coffee’s a little bitter, though. What brand do you use?”
“It’s a fair-trade blend imported from South America and sold by an Angel Valley entrepreneur like myself,” Serenity said.
“And I bet you pay a pretty penny for it,” he said, grimacing as he took another sip. “Abbott’s store brand coffee is six dollars a bag. Can’t beat that.”
“I guess it depends on what you’re looking for in your coffee,” Serenity said, holding her ground.
“I’m always looking for three things,” Joseph said, coming up to the counter. He counted on his fingers for emphasis as he said, “Cheap, good, and easy. I’ll bring you a bag of Abbott’s coffee next time I’m in the area.”
Serenity scoffed. Abbott’s was always in the area and that was the whole problem. She made sure to maintain her pasted-on smile as she said, “No thank you, I prefer my own.”
“So do a lot of people in this town, it would appear,” he said, surprising her. “You certainly won that little popularity contest that the mayor made for us at the gala. I’ve never seen a tray of brownies disappear so quickly.”
“You think that was a contest?” Serenity asked. That wasn’t how she saw it and she was surprised that a businessman like Joseph Abbott couldn’t see when a town official was bending over backward to accommodate him.
“Look, I don’t have the time for pleasantries and by the looks of this place, neither do you,” he said abruptly. Serenity did roll her eyes this time but he took no notice. “You’re good and people like your products. So come sell them at Abbott’s. I’ll make sure you’re compensated fairly and you’ll have a crew of bakery assistants working under you – something it’s very obvious you’re lacking here.”
“What about Ashley?” Serenity asked. “She’s your bakery manager.”
Joseph waved his hand like he was swatting a particularly irritating fly. “I’ll demote her. Doesn’t matter.”
“You’re disgusting,” Serenity said. “She has a family to support. I was worried you’d put me out of business from the moment I saw the Abbott’s Grocery sign go up in front of that empty lot last year – that’s just business – but I had no idea I would be competing with a scumbag.”
Abbott shrugged off the insult. “Have it your way. I was trying to help you – join forces, if you will – but if you want to do this the hard way, I don’t mind telling you I’m confident you’ll be broke by this time next year, if not sooner.”
“Please leave,” Serenity said, crossing her arms over her chest. The doorbell chimed and another customer came in – oh, how Serenity wished it was Liv disregarding her wishes and reporting to work on her day off.
Abbott glanced at the customer - an older woman named Betty Glass who was here to pick up the coffee cake she ordered every month for her book group. Abbott set his empty coffee cup on the counter and said to Serenity, “Can you take care of that for me, dear?”
She threw the cup in the trash, trying to look unfazed, then Abbott spun on the heels of his shiny loafers, walking out the door again.
“You okay, sweetie?” Mrs. Glass asked.
“Just fine,” Serenity said. In fact, she was on the verge of tears but she bit them back and went over to the rack of special orders. “One sour cream coffee cake with vanilla icing coming up.”
DECEMBER 15
Serenity did her best to push Joseph Abbott – both his words and his presence in Angel Valley – out of her head. It would do no good to dwell on his visit to her bakery, but that was easier said than done.
When Liv came back to work the following day, she noticed immediately that Serenity’s confidence had been shaken and Serenity told her about his visit while they ate a pair of bear claws and had their morning coffee.
“Screw him,” Liv said immediately after Serenity finished her story. “He’s obviously intimidated by you or else he wouldn’t be poking around here. Let’s just focus on making this your best Christmas ever so everyone in town knows exactly where they ought to spend their money.”
“Thanks,” Serenity said, then she added with a laugh, “now go over to my parents’ house and tell them that.”
“Come on,” Liv said, holding out her hand and pulling Serenity off the stool she was perched on. “What do you need help with today?”
“The display window,” Serenity said. “The parade is coming up and I’ve barely had any time to work on it. There’s still the landscaping to mold out of chocolate and the sugar glass skating pond, and St. Nick to drive the sleigh.”
“We better get to work, then,” Liv said. “I’m at your disposal.”
Serenity gave her a quick kiss, then as they set to work, she asked, “How was the outdoor market?”
“Incredible,” Liv said. “I’ve never seen so many unique gifts before – nothing like the impersonal stuff you get at big box stores in the city. My parents stocked up on huge tins of homemade banana nut caramel corn and I’ve already eaten at least a pound of it.”
“Yeah, I know the lady who makes it - Nadine,” Serenity said. “She runs the business out of her house and sells her popcorn online mostly. Sometimes I let her set up a display in the bakery when I’ve got the room. Good to hear she’s still going strong.”
“So are you,” Liv reminded her. “You’re doing just fine.”
“With your help,” Serenity said. “Thank you.”
They worked for a few minutes with music from the radio filling the ro
om. Liv dusted powdered sugar over the castle while Serenity placed little green-tinted chocolate shrubs around the perimeter. Then Liv asked, “What are you doing after work tonight?”
“I’ve got no plans,” Serenity said, trying not to sound too eager to fill all her available hours with Liv’s company even though that was exactly what she wanted to do. Even though she’d had a raging crush on Liv in high school, Serenity had never really gotten to know her before and she was dying for the chance now.
“I noticed the theater is showing It’s a Wonderful Life,” she said. “Do you want to see it with me?”
“Absolutely,” Serenity said, then she winked and added, “Especially if you smuggle in a little of that caramel corn.”
DECEMBER 23
The town’s annual holiday parade took place on the day before Christmas Eve and with Liv’s help, Serenity was ready to unveil her window display that morning. They’d spent the last week working on it in between the interruptions of orders and customers, and Serenity didn’t mind the excuse to get close to Liv as they crouched together on the floor in front of the window.
When it was finally time to remove the cardboard that had covered the bottom half of the window for the last few weeks, she found Liv in the kitchen and slipped her arms around her waist.
“Hey, what’s up?” Liv asked, leaning into her.
“It’s time to uncover the window,” Serenity said. “I think we should do it together since it was a joint effort.”
“It was all you,” Liv said. “At least all the hard parts.”
“Yeah, but you really dusted that powdered sugar snow expertly,” Serenity teased. “And the twinkle lights were a nice touch, too.”
She nuzzled her face into the crook of Liv’s neck, where the citrus scent of her hair filled Serenity’s nose and made her legs feel weak. She kissed her neck, then pulled her toward the front of the shop. The parade would begin in about half an hour and there were already a lot of people standing on the sidewalk, wrapped in winter coats and thick blankets and waiting. As soon as the coffee was finished brewing, Serenity and Liv would bring the pot outside and distribute cups to anyone in need of a hot beverage, then they’d stand together and watch the parade.