Tidings of Joy: Based on a Hallmark Channel original movie

by Nancy Naigle

  Today, the metal and glass seemed stark and lonely.

  Honk. Honk.

  And loud.

  The taxi driver swerved over to the corner and popped the trunk.

  It’d be quiet, with nary an ornament or light, and not even a Christmas card lying around. For a moment she considered getting back in the cab and taking a detour to Rockefeller Center to see the lights on the tree first.

  But the taxi driver already had her bag on the curb.

  She got out and paid him, then rolled her suitcase up the walk to the front of her building. It felt less like home today, but there was her name on the intercom, CONNELL ~ 501. She’d worked so hard to buy this place. Her dream home.

  She carried her bag up the steps, through the lobby. On the elevator, a flyer had been tacked to the corkboard next to the floor button panel. She read it as she pressed the button for her floor. There was a holiday mixer tonight. She’d never gone to even one of the many gatherings people planned in this complex. For a moment she tossed the idea around of going. It could be fun, like the caroling or cookie baking in Evergreen. But she dismissed the thought just as quickly. It wouldn’t be the same as Evergreen. Nothing would ever be the same. Her heart hung heavy, and she wondered what Ben was doing right now.

  When the elevator stopped with a jolt, the doors opened, and she stepped off. Her suitcase rolled smoothly across the high-gloss floor in the hall. She punched in her code in the high-tech lock, and the mechanisms disengaged. She walked inside and kicked off her shoes at the door.

  To her surprise, not only was every light in the apartment on, but there was garland hanging in her kitchen. Not the real stuff. There wasn’t even the faintest hint of pine or spruce or fir in the air. White lights twinkled from her fake fig tree and plastic philodendron.

  In the living room, a Christmas tree—fake, of course—rose to at least seven feet tall.

  “Mom?”

  “Hi. I came to talk to you about your article.”

  She rubbed her hand along her arm. A little groan escaped. “As my editor or as my mother?”

  “Little of both.” She held out her arms. “Hi, honey. Welcome home. Merry Christmas.”

  Katie hugged her. “You bought me a tree?”

  “I did. I remembered all you had was that little three-foot-tall one you used to put on the table in front of the window.”

  “It’s cute.”

  “If you like Charlie Brown trees, maybe.” She stepped back. “You look good. I’ve missed you.”

  “Thanks, Mom. I missed you too.”

  “I wanted to surprise you with a little Christmas decor.”

  “You sure did.”

  Pam picked up a box of ornaments off the couch. “And have a look at these ornaments. These have been tucked away in my storage unit for years.”

  Katie recognized a lot of them. “You saved all these?”

  “I did. Some are from when I was little; some I’ve collected. Some you made when you were little.” She held up a red stocking with white rick-rack on it. “And this. You made in second grade.”

  “Isn’t that cute?”

  “You made it for me, and inside you’d made a Santa’s list with my name on the nice side. I still remember crying when I saw it.” Pam handed Katie a snowman ornament to hang.

  Katie walked it over to the tree, looking for the right spot or, as Lisa had advised, the slightly wrong spot to hang it. The tree was pretty, even if it had no smell. No terpenes. No snow.

  Pam hung an ornament on the other side.

  “I’m really sorry I didn’t make the deadline. I keep trying to think how to turn this story into something I can print, but—”

  “You should publish it,” her mom said. “As-is. Just not in my magazine.” She stepped back, admiring the tree.

  “What are you saying?” Katie waited, trying to understand.

  “Honey, those characters! The town vet who stayed because she found love, the woman who moved there to run the general store, those competing anxious mayors.”

  “I know, but it wasn’t meant to be about—”

  “I know. And don’t you worry. I have my eyes out for another article.”

  Katie breathed a sigh.

  “The point is, I know you were looking for some inspiration for your next novel, and honey, I think you found it.”

  This was the first time she’d really heard Mom encourage her to work on the novel. Katie thought about the story she’d sent to her. It hadn’t been right for the magazine. She’d known that all along, but there was something special about it. The people of the town, the age-old traditions. Mom’s encouragement tonight just might make this her best Christmas in a long, long time.

  Mom looked over at her, waiting for a response. As her editor, and as her mom, Katie knew she was in good hands.

  Katie had taken her mom’s support a little for granted. Like those people in Evergreen who cherished their traditions, she loved and cherished her time with Mom over the holidays, and there was room for them to do more. She hung another ornament from one of the higher boughs. “So, Mom, is the invitation still open to come to your office Christmas party?”

  Pam’s eyebrows shot up, and her mouth opened wide. “It is!”

  Mom had wanted her to come for years, and she’d never given in. The happiness on her face was unmistakable. I’ve been really selfish about this. It’s time to change that.

  “Good,” Katie said. “‘Cuz you know I’m coming.”

  “I’d love that so much. That’s great.”

  “And I will write that book.”

  “I know you will, and it’s going to be wonderful.”

  Katie and her mom decorated the tree with little conversation, just enjoying their time together.

  When her mom left, Katie sat in the living room on her couch in the dark, staring at the tree by only the illumination from the Christmas tree lights, wishing there was some way the two worlds, her life here and her friends in Evergreen, mostly Ben, could be one.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  The following Monday morning after the town revealed the contents of the daily calendar, Ben and Nan walked back to the library together to start their day.

  While Nan went inside, Ben collected the books from the night drop out front and carried them inside for processing. His phone rang. The New York City number took him by surprise, and he didn’t hesitate one second before answering.

  When he finished the call, he walked inside.

  Nan stood behind the desk, checking in the books left over from the weekend, pulling the cards from the pockets and stamping the date the old-fashioned way before placing them on the cart to be shelved.

  Ben adjusted his glasses and picked up the other stamper to help. Stamp…stamp…stamp. They were in perfect time. “The strangest thing happened this morning.”

  “Oh, what was that?”

  He stamped the next book, watching Nan for a reaction. “I just got an interview request for that job in New York.”

  Nan opened the next book. “For the one that was on the printer a couple of weeks ago?”

  “Yeah. The strange thing is, I never actually applied for it.”

  “My. That is strange.” She stamped another book and never looked up. Didn’t congratulate him. Just kept her eye on the task. So unlike her.

  “Nan?” His tone had come out more like that of a schoolteacher getting ready to put the naughty kid in the corner. He hadn’t meant for it to, but it wasn’t so far from the circumstance.

  “Hmm?” If it hadn’t been for her averted gaze and the tight grip of the book in her hand, he might have even believed the innocent sound of the response.

  Ben closed the last book and turned to her. “Did you send that application in?”

  “Your application?” Her eyebrows shot straight up,
but then she relaxed with a sheepish grin. “Yes.” She removed her glasses, and pulled her shoulders back, looking him straight in the eye. “Yes. It was me. I saw it on the computer. It was almost completely filled out. I simply checked a couple of boxes and clicked send.”

  Ben already knew she had to have been the one to submit it, but her admitting to it still kind of blew him away. “But I’m not prepared. I haven’t written anything serious in a long time.”

  She stood proud and pointed a finger to his chest. “Well, Ben, then I suppose you’d better dust some old stories off and get started.” Nan stepped even closer and looked him square on. “Ben, this library is my dream. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for everyone my entire life. I love it.”

  “I know you do.” And he loved that about her. The friends of the library were truly her friends, and she treated them like extended family.

  “And you get it from me,” she said.

  “I get what from you?”

  “The part inside you that makes you want to stay here and help me. But Ben, the only thing you owe me is to live your life as you want it lived.”

  “Nan. If I even think about leaving, who will watch over the library?”

  “Me! I’ll watch over the place.” She smiled proudly. “And no, I know I can’t do it all by myself. But this is Evergreen. I’m quite certain we can find someone who’d like to help. Now go get started. You’ve got work to do.”

  Ben let out a breath, trying to make room to take in another. He loved being here for Nan, but the possibility of more sent his heart zooming as if it were on rails. He hugged her tight. “You’ve always been so good to me.”

  “I’ve let you stay here helping me for too long.” She patted his back as they hugged.

  He took a step back. “I’ll never be far away.” It was a promise he meant to keep.

  “Wherever your dreams and desires take you is fine by me.”

  Yes, writing was a dream, but there was a bigger dream. He could picture Katie so clearly. He’d never been happier than while she’d been here. Her blue eyes twinkling, and the way she pulled her lips together and kind of squinted just a teensy bit when she was getting ready to give him a hard time. It was so cute.

  I should never have let her go.

  “Thank you, Nan.” He hugged her again. A million thoughts raced through his mind. He’d have to look over his old portfolio of work for inspiration. That interview was only a week away. If I land that job, I’ll be closer to Katie. The sooner, the better. Please let there be a second chance with her. Can I really do this?

  Nan had continued stamping books when the front door opened, and in walked Ezra with a box of books.

  “A donation,” he said. “My apartment in the city is much smaller. I had to winnow down my collection.” He plunked the box down on the corner of the desk. “You ordered most of these for me over the years.”

  “You’ve always had wonderful taste in literature,” Nan said. “I’m sure these books will be well-loved on my shelves.”

  “I’m really going to miss this town.”

  “And we’ll all miss you, Ezra, but you’ve made your mark. You won’t soon be forgotten.” She smiled sweetly. “You won’t be a stranger, will you?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  Ben enjoyed seeing Nan’s special way touch the heart of others. He went into his office and sat down in front of his computer. He laced his fingers, stretching his hands. It’d been a while since he’d actually sat down with the intent to write something for publication.

  Write what you know.

  As good a place to start as any.

  Once he started typing, the words came so easily. He resisted the urge to edit. Although he wrote pretty clean anyway, he focused on just letting the words pour out onto the page.

  Nan eased open the door. “I don’t mean to disturb you, but I brought you a little snack.”

  “Thanks.” He looked at his watch. He’d typed nonstop for well over an hour.

  “How’s it going?” She set down a steaming mug of tea. The little plate sitting on top of the mug to allow the tea to steep held a giant shortbread cookie in the shape of a star. “I thought you might enjoy one of those. It’s one of the cookies you and Katie made from my old recipe.”

  “I see that.” He’d recognized the shape from the big copper cookie cutter immediately. A smile spread across his face. There was nothing subtle about his grandmother. He’d remember the fun they’d had making cookies together forever. “Thank you, Nan. You really do always think of everything.”

  “You get that from me too.” She patted the desk. “Chase that dream.”

  He wasn’t entirely sure if she meant the job interview or Katie, but he had every intention of putting all of his attention on both.

  For the next three days, he spent his time working on articles. He interviewed Ezra before he left for Boston, and Thomas about his logging camps and what had made him decide to set up shop in Evergreen for his headquarters. After choir practice, he accidentally ended up interviewing Hannah, who, thank goodness, didn’t seem upset by the unscheduled intrusion.

  “You know,” Hannah said to Ben. “You bring up Katie quite a bit. I don’t mind at all, but I thought I might point it out. You know, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I’m that transparent, huh?”

  “Oh, yeah. Don’t let her get away. She’s the real deal.” Hannah clapped her hands together, then pushed them to her knees. “I’m so in love, I can’t wait for everyone in the world to feel it too.”

  “On that note, I think I have all I need from you. Thanks for letting me interview you for my article. You’re the best.” Ben got up and marked her off his list of interviews for the day. Next stop, Daisy’s Country Store.

  He spent the rest of the afternoon stocking shelves with Lisa at Daisy’s Country Store and hearing her tell of her fancy Boston business and buying trips to faraway places, followed by her transition to Evergreen.

  He and Carol spent a whole day alongside Joe in Kringle Kitchen, making those ever-famous kringles and shipping them out to customers who couldn’t make it through the holiday without one, even though their plans wouldn’t allow another holiday vacation to Evergreen.

  And Michelle, the first woman mayor, not only had an interesting story to share about how she’d transitioned from being a kid who’d grown up here and come back after college, but also one about her big transition from education to public service.

  He knew the stories, but hearing them retold from their own perspectives, their point of view, brought new facts to light, and as he was going through his notes, the angle for the story he wanted to tell about Evergreen became perfectly clear.

  He worked on the article until he’d polished it to perfection. Then read it out loud and made a final pass of tweaks. Finally satisfied, he hand-delivered it to the editor and owner of the Evergreen Mirror, who read it on the spot.

  The editor nodded as he read the pages, then stood and paced, even laughing once. He shook his head, rubbed his chin, then sat back down behind his desk. “I’m running this on the front page,” he said.

  All of Ben’s nervous energy came out in a laugh. “Really?”

  “Absolutely, and your timing couldn’t be more perfect. It’ll be in tomorrow’s paper.”

  That was a stroke of luck, because Ben hadn’t even considered that the local paper only came out every other week. “Wow.”

  “I wondered when you’d get back around to writing again. You were always such a talent. I’m glad you shared this with me first.”

  Ben couldn’t believe how good it felt, and now he’d have something new to take along to that interview in the city.

  He walked over to the skating rink. The heft and craftsmanship of this bridge had always been such a wonder to him. He’d have loved to have seen it const
ructed. There weren’t many people on the ice this afternoon, just a couple of speed skaters racing around in circles, their scarves drifting in the wind behind them.

  The last time he’d stood here overlooking the ice, he’d been with Katie. He pulled out his phone and flipped through the pictures. They’d packed in quite a bit of fun in her visit.

  Picture by picture, he relived their time together. The silly antics between them…and to think it had all begun with a clumsy misstep on the Evergreen Express that had landed her practically in his lap. If it hadn’t been for that one bump, they might never have met.

  He typed her a text.

  I’ll be in the city tomorrow. Lunch?

  The daunting dot-dot-dot in the little gray box below his text made him nervous.

  It disappeared, then started again. What had changed her mind? How was she going to respond? Why had he sent it at all?

  He put his phone back in his pocket. He was nervous enough about the interview. Why had he added a chance to meet with her while he was in the city on top of it all?

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Katie sat at her desk. The sounds of the city filled the room, even from here inside her apartment. The honks, hollers, the rumbling diesel of a city bus, and a siren.

  The other day, she’d moved her desk right into the living room in front of the windows overlooking the busy New York streets below. If she was going to be a full-time author, by golly, why not take over the biggest room in the place? It had the best view, and the best light.

  The night she’d come back home from Evergreen, she’d found a new confidence from her mother’s words as they’d decorated the Christmas tree together. It’d been the first time Katie had heard her mother really sound like she was excited about Katie working on another novel. That had been empowering.

  While in Evergreen, Katie had been so focused on that assignment for the magazine that she’d completely missed that her new novel was already being mentally created, even though she hadn’t started an outline or plotted the story.

  And although Mom was crazy about the characters, as she called them, Katie knew those people as friends, and they wouldn’t be the heroes and heroines in her novel. No doubt some quirks and experiences would sneak their way into the book, but what she’d gained through those experiences with them was so much bigger.