2 Yule Be the Death of Me

by J. D. Shaw

  Vivienne shushed her and pointed to some of the other guests browsing the room. “The creator just might be in here.”

  Kathy’s eyes widened. “Oh, right. Sorry.” She smiled and raised her voice with praise. “Isn’t this little church just darling?”

  Vivienne rolled her eyes as they moved on to the next entry, a charming little tropical diorama with gingerbread figures frolicking along a beach. “They used sanding sugar and cinnamon to make the sand color. That’s pretty clever.”

  Kathy nodded and pointed to the girl gingerbread figure. “She’s a little too doughy to be wearing a bikini, don’t you think?”

  Vivienne snickered. “I never thought of doing something atypical like this. A tropical theme like that might stand out more in the judge’s minds.”

  “I like it.” Joshua smiled. “It makes me feel warm.”

  “Are we bringing up Florida again?” Vivienne groaned and pulled him away from the display.

  “Florida?” Kathy asked.

  “It’s nothing.” Vivienne steered them toward a gingerbread train engine pulling a caboose.

  “Are you two thinking of moving away?” Kathy’s voice raised an octave in concern.

  “No.” Vivienne shook her head. “Joshua just mentioned how nice it would be to spend the holidays in a warm climate like the Florida Keys.”

  Relief washed over Kathy’s face. “Oh, thank God. I thought you were going to leave me here with Nora.”

  “I wouldn’t do that to my best friend,” Vivienne answered, “Unless you really did something to tick me off.”

  “Perish the thought.” Kathy quipped.

  “I guess I don’t have a say in the matter.” Joshua raised an eyebrow.

  “Of course you do, honey.” Vivienne tipped her head against his shoulder. “We women only pay attention when you men say what we would have said anyway.”

  Joshua scoffed and admired the gingerbread train. “I figured as much.”

  Vivienne and Kathy shared a laugh that echoed through the gallery as Joshua steered them toward the south wing where some of the other displays were waiting. “Where’s the wine bar?” Kathy asked.

  Cassandra Pembroke appeared from behind the archway leading to the next room with several members of the city council flanking her. Dressed in a flattering two-piece navy-blue business suit with a tasteful strand of pearls, she managed to appear elegant yet approachable. “Vivienne, Kathy, Deputy Arkins, so very nice to see you.”

  “Hello Cassandra.” Vivienne stopped and corrected herself. “Excuse me, Madame Mayor. It’s so very nice to see you too.”

  Cassandra waved her hands at mention of her formal title. “Please, don’t start calling me that or I’ll have to start calling you Miss Finch.”

  “I’m sorry, Cassandra.” Vivienne had to admit that it was still hard to think of Cassandra as the town’s new mayor. After Richard Clarke resigned his post in late September following the murder of his wife Mona, a special election was announced to fill the vacancy. Vivienne, of course, had helped to solve the murder much to the annoyance of Sheriff Rigsbee.

  In the month that followed, Cassandra put her name in for the running along with several other candidates and won by a landslide when Election Day arrived. Her no nonsense style of dealing with sticky situations during her time as a socialite in New York City gave a unique advantage to reigning in the often cantankerous town council.

  “I must say that Samantha Charles’ gift certainly helped to calm down the situation on Main Street.” Kathy added. “The new sidewalks really made watching the holiday parade more enjoyable.”

  Cassandra nodded. “Yes, her monetary offer certainly took the heat off me coming into this job. I can’t wait to see the new building facades and signs next spring.”

  Vivienne’s thoughts drifted back to late October when Samantha had generously dipped into her family’s deep coffers and assumed seventy-five percent of the cost for the revitalization project, reducing the burden to the Main Street store owners greatly. Her friend, the New York hotel heiress, was true to her word to make her new summer home location a jewel in the Finger Lakes. “I love the idea of the little park area next to the post office. Dedicating those benches and the new fountain to Mona Clarke will be a fitting tribute when it’s completed next year.”

  “Have you seen Samantha in town lately?” Cassandra asked. “I saw some work crews updating the house she bought.”

  “A few weeks ago.” Vivienne replied. “I know that she’s had her hands full buying out Fiona Meadows’ publishing company.”

  “And everyone thinks local politics is tricky to navigate.” Cassandra added. “They’ve got nothing on upper social circles.”

  A young waiter in a rented tuxedo that had sleeves a tad too long for his arms appeared carrying a tray with drinks loaded on it. “Sparkling cider?” He asked.

  They each took a glass as he moved on. Joshua guzzled his down with gusto. “Not bad for non-alcoholic.”

  Kathy took a sip and sighed. “I’ll take a nice blush wine any day.”

  One of the council members, a gentleman with short grey hair and a hook-like nose spoke softly to Cassandra.

  “Well, it was so nice seeing you all again. Good luck with your entry.” Cassandra drifted off into the crowd that was steadily filing into the gallery as the afternoon continued.

  “She’s a good fit for the job.” Kathy spoke as she finished her drink.

  “Everyone likes her over at the Sheriff’s office.” Joshua added. “I couldn’t say the same thing about Richard Clarke.”

  “I wonder where he ended up moving to?” Kathy asked.

  “Florida.” Vivienne sighed. “How many times can that state possibly come into conversations today?”

  “Maybe it’s a sign?” Joshua raised an eyebrow.

  “Now there’s a sign I like to see.” Kathy pointed to a bar set up in the South wing where several patrons were buying glasses of local wine to benefit the library fund. “Cash Bar.” She handed her empty glass to Vivienne and scooted over to get a real drink.

  Joshua shook his head. “She’s your friend.”

  “Yes she is.” Vivienne looked around for a trash can to toss the plastic glasses away. “And I wouldn’t trade her for the world.”

  “There’s your entry.” Joshua pointed to the gingerbread reproduction of the Edgar Rothwell Mansion that was given a prime spot right in the center of the room. “It’s drawn quite a crowd.”

  Vivienne smiled with pride. “It does seem to be getting quite a bit of attention.” She enjoyed watching the people point and smile at the various details, but it also made her nervous. “I’m going to find the ladies room, before the winners are announced.”

  “We passed them when we came inside.” Joshua offered.

  “That’s right.” Vivienne gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll throw these glasses away while I’m at it.” She took the plastic-ware from him and dashed off to the front reception area.

  Along the way she bumped into Suzette Powell who owned The Formal Affair Catering. “Vivienne, it’s nice to see you.”

  “Hello Suzette.” Vivienne smiled. “How are you doing today?”

  “I’m doing well.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “I’m really curious to see what people think of my entry for the contest.” Suzette confessed.

  “I’m doing the same thing.” Vivienne whispered back.

  “I’m glad you entered the contest.” Suzette smiled. “Some years, it’s really no competition at all.”

  “Well, each one is unique in its own charming way.” Vivienne tried her best to be diplomatic.

  “That’s true.” Suzette smiled. “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”

  Vivienne paused for a moment. She liked Suzette and had even helped her out when the police wrongly suspected her in Mona Clarke’s murder back in October, but she did have a competitive streak in her when it came to business. “I think it’s more fun to guess.”


  Suzette took a sip of her punch and nodded. “That’s true.” She gave a quick glance at her wrist watch. “Besides, we’ll find out in less than an hour anyway.”

  “I’m thinking the vintage train is your entry.” Vivienne lied. She was quite sure that Tristan and Nathaniel from Carriage House Antiques had designed the vintage fifties era passenger train, as their shop was filled with memorabilia from the famous Super Chief train that Hollywood royalty rode during the golden age of cross-country travel. It was an elegant display and she was sure it would stroke her ego to think it was created by her two hands.

  “You think so?” Suzette played along. “I think that little cathedral has your name all over it.”

  ‘The little gingerbread piece with the lopsided steeple and loose window?’ Vivienne thought to herself and almost guffawed in response. “Well, you just never know.” She gave a weak little laugh. “I really must pay a visit to the ladies room.”

  “Oh, I didn’t mean to hold you up. Good luck.” Suzette gave a little wave and drifted into the crowd.

  Vivienne scooted past a new surge of people who were working their way toward the bar area and arrived at the front reception desk. She was relieved to see the restroom sign next to the little room that Todd had turned into a coat check.

  She pushed open the door, and as luck would have it, one of the two stalls was open. She stopped by the sink and dropped the plastic cups into the trash can when she suddenly heard a loud sob erupt from the closed stall.

  Looking into the mirror, she could see a pair of plain black flats under the door. Not wanting to appear rude, she pretended not to hear it and stepped into the open stall. Closing the door and latching it, she was just about to sit down when a pair of thick heels clacked into the ladies room.

  “Damn, they’re both taken up.” A woman with a throaty-smoker’s voice said.

  “I bet the men’s room has a dozen stalls.” A softer voice added.

  “Did you see that God-awful gingerbread church?” The smoker asked.

  “I’ve seen abandoned ruins with more charm.” The softer voice laughed. “What a mess.”

  “They ought to have some kind of minimum standard for entering these things. It’s a disgrace to have that eye sore next to some of those others.” The smoker agreed.

  Another sob erupted from the stall next to Vivienne.

  “Honey, pee or get off the pot will you?” The smoker rapped on the stall door where the distraught woman was holed up. “Some of us have small bladders.”

  Vivienne felt angry at the callousness of the pair outside the stalls. After she finished, she pulled the toilet paper roll off the holder and put it in her purse. She then flushed and opened the door. “This one is open ladies.” She smiled.

  “It’s about time.” The smoker voice turned out to be a woman who looked like she was in her late fifties. Tight black curls, a face drawn with wrinkles around the mouth from years of smoking, she appeared as dour as her voice sounded. Dressed in a pair of tan pants and a red sweater, she hurried past Vivienne and closed the door without so much as a nod of thanks.

  Her friend, the softer voiced one, turned out to be a petite woman with a bun of white hair and wore a pair of glasses that were a shade of hot pink with gaudy fake diamonds embedded on the temples. She waited patiently by the sink, seeming slightly embarrassed by her companion’s behavior, as Vivienne washed her hands and left the restroom.

  She held the door open for just a moment and then heard the smoker curse a blue streak that there was no more toilet paper. She let the door close and giggled to herself at her own little version of swift justice. She was about to walk away when a young woman with straight black hair that could desperately use a cut and style slipped out and nearly ran into her.

  “Are you okay?” Vivienne asked.

  The woman was young, looking to be in her mid-twenties at best. She had soft brown eyes that were red and puffy from crying in the stall. Dressed in a plain green tee shirt and a pair of faded jeans that had ragged bottoms, she didn’t look like someone who had much good fortune in this life. “Were you the one in the other stall?”

  “Yes.” Vivienne nodded. “I didn’t want to intrude.”

  “Oh, that’s okay.” The young woman replied. “I just wanted to thank you for what you did.”

  “What did I do?” Vivienne asked.

  “Taking all the toilet paper?” The young woman gave a little smile. “She’s still in there swearing up a storm.”

  Vivienne smiled back. “She deserved it.”

  The young woman opened her purse, a rather beat-up fake leather piece that had seen better days and produced a second roll. “Great minds think alike, I guess.” She smiled a little more.

  “If you don’t mind me asking, why were you crying in there?”

  The young woman was about to answer when a portly man with greasy brown hair, thin lips, and a scraggly goatee approached them. He looked exactly like what her mother Nora would call a ‘mealy mouth.’ “Natalie, what the hell took you so long?”

  The young woman, now known as Natalie, shook her head at Vivienne. “Oh, it was nothing.”

  “When are they going to announce the winner of this thing? I’ve got to be at the bar ten minutes before the fight starts to get a bet in.” The mealy mouth whined.

  “We can leave because I’m not going to win.” Natalie answered. “You were right. It was a stupid idea to start with.”

  “You wasted your money making that, not mine.” Mealy mouth took hold of her arm. “So that’s just less presents for Connor this year. After all, he’s not really my kid.”

  “I’m sorry, Eddie.” Natalie apologized and followed him toward the exit. “I thought maybe I could win and we could put some money in the bank for once.”

  “You’ll never win because all your ideas are stupid.” Eddie replied.

  Vivienne stepped between them. “She has just as much chance as anyone else to win tonight.”

  Mealy mouth’s beady brown eyes squinted, which Vivienne thought made him look like some sort of nasty-tempered overgrown rat. “Who the hell are you?”

  “Vivienne Finch. I run the Sweet Dreams Bakery shop in town.”

  “Well, la dee da.” Mealy mouth’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Why don’t you go back to baking cookies and mind your own business?”

  “Eddie, please don’t be rude.” Natalie reached out and touched the elbow of his rather expensive looking winter jacket. In fact, all of his clothes were designer labels and in good shape. It was quite the opposite of Natalie who was in head to toe in clothes that practically screamed thrift store.

  “I don’t go sticking my nose into other people’s business.” Eddie sniffed. “That’s what’s rude.”

  Vivienne really wanted to punch him something good. Get a good solid hit right into his smug face. But, as much as it pained her to think it, he was right. She didn’t know them or their situation at all. She of all people knew that outward appearances were frequently deceiving. “I didn’t mean to start any trouble.”

  “Then leave us alone and go back to your kitchen, sweetheart.” Eddie pushed his way roughly through the crowd with Natalie in tow. “You better hope my bet pays off tonight. Otherwise, we’re going to have to tell Connor that Santa got lost this year.”

  They disappeared into the crowd leaving Vivienne by the door to the ladies room. She wanted to pursue after Natalie and explain that there were services she could sign up for to help out. There was even a toys for tots fund run by the Sheriff’s office where families under the poverty line could have a few donated gifts dropped off on Christmas morning. At the very least, the nuns at Our Lady of the Lake offered hand-made mittens and hats for the children who needed them. But it was too late.

  “Thanks for using up all the toilet paper.” The smoker complained as she exited the ladies room with her friend in tow. “Not a very Christian thing to do.”

  “Wasn’t there another roll in there?” Vivienne replied with as
sickening sweet tone as she could muster. “I better inform the owner about it.”

  The smoker rolled her eyes in response. “Come on, Mavis.” She tugged on the arm of her friend and pulled her into the crowd of people.

  She waited a few moments before she returned to the rest room to return the toilet paper. No need for everyone else to suffer. Besides, her bladder was petite and she was sure she’d need room for the delicious drinks Kathy was going to buy her at the bar.

  CHAPTER 4

  When she finally caught up with Joshua and Kathy again, they were standing in front of her and Stephanie’s entry. Kathy, as she had hoped, had a sparkling green appletini with some cherries garnished on the sugared edge of the glass waiting for her. She handed the drink to Vivienne. “This is called a ‘Holly Jolly’.”

  Vivienne accepted the drink and took a sip. It was sweet and had the unique danger of going down far too easy to keep track of how many one imbibed.

  “Just be careful. Those creep up on you faster than anything.” Joshua nodded and sipped from a bottle of beer from Ithaca Beer Company. It was one of the seasonal winter brews aptly named ‘Cold Front.’

  Vivienne recalled one of her early dates with Joshua where they had polished off two bottles of Glen Harvest wine. They had both fallen asleep, lulled by the sweet white wine and the warmth of the crackling fireplace in his apartment. It seemed ages ago now but the lesson had been learned. “I remember it quite well.” She smiled at him.

  Kathy glanced at her watch. “They should be making the announcement anytime now.”

  Vivienne took hold of Joshua’s hand with hers. “I’m really nervous now.”

  “You shouldn’t be.” He tried to soothe her. “Your entry is great.”

  “He’s right.” Kathy agreed. “Even if I didn’t know you made it, I’d have cast my vote because of the local landmark connection. You were the only one to go that route.”

  Vivienne thought of the sad little church and Natalie again. “You know, we’re so lucky to have what we have, when you think about it. So many others aren’t so fortunate.”

  Joshua gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Yes, we are.”