Tidings of Joy: Based on a Hallmark Channel original movie

by Nancy Naigle

  Oh, I want to. I want to so much. But he had people counting on him back in Evergreen. He knew he had to go back tonight. He understood the disappointment in her eyes. “As much as I can see myself here, I haven’t missed a Christmas in Evergreen yet.”

  Katie kissed him again, and by the time she pulled away, it was hard to let her go. Flummoxed, Ben backed away with his pulse still racing. Breathing in her scent, every moment they’d racked up in their brief time together felt like more than some couples enjoyed in a lifetime together.

  Her smile said one thing, that she wanted to be with him. He wanted that too, but neither of them could. Another time. Another place. His heart ached.

  Katie backed up, the braver of the two. “Merry Christmas, Ben.” She turned and walked away as powdery snowflakes began to fall.

  He cleared his throat. At least it wasn’t goodbye this time. “Merry Christmas, Katie.”

  His heart hung heavy in his chest as she walked away. Her long blond hair bounced against the back of her coat, and with each step away from him, he felt lonelier.

  Ben boarded his train. He sat in the same seat he’d been sitting in when he’d met her the first time. Ahead of him, the seat where she’d sat remained empty.

  Come back, Katie. Just walk right through that door.

  But no one else boarded. The train conductor announced, “All Aboard for Evergreen,” and the train pulled from the station.

  Chapter Thirty

  On the morning of Christmas Eve, it was pretty clear no one had tired of the new tradition of the advent calendar. People lined up four and five deep to see what was going on.

  Booths were already in place for all the crafts and games for the festival, and the food vendors were already starting to cook, sending a mix of salty and sweet into the air. Later, the choir would sing from the gazebo, and local performers would take their turn entertaining everyone.

  Ben crossed the square as the biggest crowd yet gathered around for the opening of the Christmas Eve box. The last one on the calendar. The choir singers, dressed in their burgundy Christmas Eve robes, sang “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”

  He mused about how they’d all sung that while at Barbara’s Country Inn baking cookies.

  “And a partridge in a pear tree.” The choir sang loud and clear and held that final note all the way to the release, when Hannah swung her hands in a circular motion and pinched her finger and thumb together.

  Everyone applauded wildly.

  Michelle took the microphone. “Thank you for joining us this morning. It’s hard to imagine this is our fiftieth Annual Christmas Festival here in the town of Evergreen. With all the tradition, and this time capsule, I don’t know how we’ll ever top this.”

  Heads bobbed, and people clapped.

  “But we’ll try, right?”

  Cheers filled town square.

  “We’ll figure it out together.” Michelle picked up the snowman’s hat and reached in to pick the name of who’d have the honors to open the Christmas eve box. She laughed as she turned the slip of paper around to prove she wasn’t making it up, then read the name. “Well, it’s only fitting that our Christmas Eve pick should be…Hannah.”

  “Yes!” Elliott threw a fist in the air. “Yay, Hannah!”

  Hannah blushed, probably excited about being picked and by Elliott’s public display too.

  Ben liked those two together. They seemed happy, and it’d been no surprise to anyone around here. There’d been that little something in their relationship that had seemed like more than friends for years. Funny it had taken them so long to realize it. Their joy touched him. He hoped he’d have that and more with Katie. They’d met and matched so quickly. Like it’d been in the works for years. How often did that really happen?

  He missed her like crazy. He had a stack of possible jobs to apply for, even a couple in New Jersey, within commuting distance from the city. Anything to get him closer to Katie. He wished she was here to see this today.

  Hannah stepped up to the calendar. “Well, is everyone ready?” She turned and opened the box marked twenty-four. Like the others, there was a red envelope, but instead of a crafty whimsical holiday something or other, Hannah struggled to lift the heavy metal box from the drawer. “What could this be? I might need some help. This thing weighs a ton.” But she managed to get it out of the drawer and onto the table. “It’s heavy.” The sturdy gray box had a bright red ribbon tied around it, with another envelope tucked beneath the bow. Only this envelope wasn’t red like all the others. It was green.

  People whispered among themselves in anticipation of what might be in a box that looked more like a fireproof safe than a present.

  Hannah opened the envelope and read, “Dear Evergreen. As the Mayor of Evergreen, I…” She stopped, glancing over at Michelle, who knew exactly what she was thinking. Hannah scanned the group in front of her, then directed her comment to the outgoing mayor. “Ezra, would you like to read this?”

  “Me?” He looked up, excited to still be included.

  “It seems only right that you do.”

  “I don’t know.” He fumbled with the edges of his scarf.

  Michelle marched right over and dragged him from the crowd. “Come on.”

  Hannah handed him the letter.

  “Written by the mayor?” Ezra’s eyebrows rose. “From fifty years ago?” He lowered the letter. “My grandfather was the mayor then! It must have been very cool to be the mayor throughout that blizzard and the creation of this time capsule.” He cleared his throat, taking the position in front of the time capsule with pride. “Ahem. As the mayor of Evergreen, I have been granted the honor of bestowing both of today’s gifts. In this box you will find savings bonds”—he gasped, his mouth open—“hopefully having now matured these fifty years.”

  “Fifty years? That would add up to a lot,” Thomas said from the crowd.

  Hannah opened the metal box and handed the stack of notes to Michelle. “Oh my gosh!”

  “How much is there?” someone asked.

  “It’s hard to say.” Michelle shook away her surprise. “But it looks like the town budget just went up considerably.”

  Nan’s eyes lit up, her hand squeezing tighter around Ben’s arm.

  Ben wondered if this too had been an act. He leaned down and whispered, “Nan? Did you know that about this?”

  “I most certainly did not.”

  Ezra read on even more enthusiastically. “Help the needy. Increase education. Keep the roads clear. Help our small businesses thrive. Welcome all travelers to Evergreen. As the old saying goes, when you have so much, you build a bigger table.” He leaned over to Michelle and stage whispered to her, “Maybe even build more than one road in and out of town. That’s what I’d do.”

  Michelle saluted him. “Definitely!”

  A cheer went up as the town enjoyed this last part of the time capsule.

  Nan looked up at Ben and leaned against his shoulder. “Isn’t this wonderful?”

  “It truly is.” This town had amazed him repeatedly. He was proud to have lived here. To have grown up with these values, and with a community that still came together through the good and the bad.

  “Hold on, everyone. There’s more!” Ezra danced around, which only excited the crowd further. He waited for people to quiet down before he continued. “While I’m sure you’ve enjoyed opening these boxes, we want to be sure you all get to spend Christmas morning with your families. And so, we have officially started a Christmas Festival to be held on Christmas Eve each year.”

  “We’ve kept up that tradition every year, no matter what tried to get in the way,” Michelle said.

  “Tonight,” Ezra continued, “on what we hope will be the fiftieth anniversary of that festival, you are to open the final green envelope with as much of the town present as you can muster. As a town. As a family. As
Evergreen.”

  Hannah raised her hands in the air and, on the count of three, the choir sang “Jingle Bells.” The joyful noise filled the air as folks sang along.

  Ben stopped in at the Kringle Kitchen for breakfast, and Nan went back to wrap a few gifts and meet a few folks she’d ordered books for. He watched as children deposited their last-minute wishes into the Letters for Santa mailbox. How old had he been when he’d finally given up writing to Santa? For the life of him, he couldn’t remember. Nan had always instilled in him that “if you don’t believe, you don’t receive,” so he’d carried on the charade for many years.

  He laughed as he lifted a forkful of Carol’s incredible apple dumpling to his mouth. Maybe he should drop a note to Santa this year. There was only one thing on his list.

  Nick and Hannah walked over and sat down at the table with him.

  “Merry Christmas! How was your trip to New York?” Nick asked.

  “It was good. The job didn’t work out, and I’ll be honest, I’d kind of hoped Katie might want to come back. That didn’t happen.” His heart sank. The connection had felt so real, but it had been fast. These two probably would think he was a little crazy to be pining away for her. Tourists came and went. Everyone knew that. “But I still made a good friend, and it was good to see her in her environment.”

  “Well, sometimes that’s how it starts.” Nick looked at Ben and then over at Hannah.

  Ben wondered if Nick was talking about Hannah and Elliott or people in general. Could he be thinking of Ben and Katie, or was that just wishful thinking? Ben had hoped Katie would be in touch, but it’d been radio silence since he’d left. Even on the ride home, on the train, he’d had to keep himself from texting her. He missed her already.

  “I made a wish on the snow globe,” Hannah admitted to Nick.

  Nick danced a jig. “Something good, I hope.”

  “Definitely. Funniest thing. Having to repair it, we saw the key underneath the sleigh. And that led to finding the mural and the calendar—well, the time capsule. And breaking the snow globe brought Elliott and I together to fix it. I see him in a whole new light. And all because I dropped it that day with you, Nick.”

  Nick nodded ever so slowly. His eyes twinkled and the air of mischief hung above him like mistletoe. “Some things…just take a little push.” He stood before either of them could say a word. “I’m late for something very important.” And just like that, he took off into a jog across the square.

  “Did he just allude to making me drop the snow globe?” She wasn’t asking Ben so much as making an observation.

  Ben watched Nick dash away. “I’m not sure what just happened.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  The sun had set, and kids were getting sleepy-eyed despite their excitement about Santa Claus coming tonight. Later, they’d line up for the candlelight processional. Such a beautiful tradition, with the hand-crafted candles, the church bells and a cappella carols lifting glory to the heavens. The true reason for the season.

  Ben went over to the library to see if he could help Nan with story time tonight. When he walked inside, Nan and Nick stood side by side, looking a little suspect.

  Nan seemed to be explaining the business to Nick. “And of course, if they’re willing to shelve a few books sometimes, we like to waive overdue fees.”

  “Makes sense to me,” Nick said.

  Ben approached the desk. “Hi. What are you two doing?”

  “Ah, Ben,” Nan said. “You’re just in time to meet our new part-time employee.”

  “Nick?” Ben shook the man’s hand. “Welcome aboard. But—”

  Nick bounced on his toes as he spoke. “When I heard the town was putting dollars in the budget for a part-time employee here at the library, I thought it would be great to spend more time here.” He looked over at Nan with more than business in those twinkling blue eyes.

  Does he like Nan? They’d been friends forever. When Nick had been talking about Hannah and Elliott, had there been a little personal experience in that truth too? “At the library?” Ben waited for confirmation.

  Nick made a slight head nod toward Nan.

  That wasn’t very subtle. How had Ben not noticed that before? Nick and Nan. Sure, they’d been running around together like school kids over the advent calendar, but how long had that really been going on? How about that? Nan thought she was cramping his style, when all along Ben might’ve been the one holding her back from other things.

  Ben enjoyed the broad smile on Nan’s face. “So there’s no story hour tonight?”

  “Actually, there is.” She raised a finger in the air. “But my new employee and I decided that since it’s Christmas Eve, it would be best to do story hour in front of the new town mural.”

  “But who’s doing the reading?”

  Nan and Nick responded together. “Go see.”

  Why do I feel like I’m being set up?

  Were those two becoming an item? For all the years he’d lived with Nan, he’d never even considered she might’ve wanted to find someone to share her life with. Her life was so full of friends and the library. But something was definitely underway between them, and he couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed it before.

  Ben walked over to Kringle Alley. Maybe David was doing the reading. That kid could do anything. It’d be a good thing for him to do, although Ben had to admit the storytime readings had always been the favorite part of his day. He was a little sad they hadn’t asked him to do it.

  There was a huge crowd. So many people that he couldn’t even hear the story being told. Was it “The Night Before Christmas”? Maybe “The Gift of the Magi,” or something fun like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” All crowd favorites.

  He politely pressed his way through the crowd. Someone had moved Henry’s antique sleigh here, and adults and children alike were gathered around it.

  There, sitting on the velvet seat, Katie read from Louisa May Alcott’s book.

  He blinked. How had Nan pulled this off? He stepped closer, trying to wrap his head around what was happening right in front of him. Her voice was full of life; she had her own array of wonderful inflection that added to the tale. Her hands moved gracefully as her gaze met each child, tempting them deeper into the story.

  “And Effie fell asleep with a happy smile on her lips, her one humble gift still in her hand…” Katie’s voice carried over the tiny heads filling him with so much pride, happiness, joy. It was so good to see her. The best Christmas present he could ever ask for.

  Ben took great delight in the fact that everyone enjoyed her reading so much. He wanted to shout a hello or wave, anything to grab her attention, but he stood there, holding on to each of her words.

  She lifted her gaze, and their eyes met. She sucked in a quick breath but kept reading, but a smile tugged at the edge of her lips. “…and a new love for Christmas in her heart that never changed through a long life spent in doing good. The end.” Katie closed the book between her hands.

  Kids jumped up and clapped. Families moved toward the games and booths.

  “Hi, Mr. Ben,” one of the boys said, raising his hand in the air for a high five. “Merry Christmas.”

  “Hi, guys.” Ben waved, recognizing lots of them.

  She still sat in the sleigh, talking to one of the parents.

  Ben walked over, trying to wait his turn. Finally, the woman wished Katie a Merry Christmas and left. “When did you—” He couldn’t even string words together. “You look beautiful. What are you doing here?”

  With a playful lift of her shoulder, she said, “Someone had to read Louisa May Alcott. Did you know she wrote a Christmas story, too? It’s…” She lowered the book in front of her, and her tone became more serious. “I came for you, Ben.”

  Overwhelmed by her comment, almost afraid he may not have really heard what he thought he’d heard, he
replayed it in his mind. He’d dreamed she might one day say those words.

  “I kept writing about Evergreen.” Her eyes held his gaze. “And the more I wrote, the more I fell in love with this place. More than that. I was falling in love, am in love…with you.”

  Emotion swirled through him. Love. She loves me too. Ben put his hands softly to her cheeks and pressed his lips to hers. There were no words that could say it better, and he was glad he was the one to start the kiss this time. Their lips lingered between smiles. “I’m so glad you’re here,” he said. “So. Are you staying here?”

  “For Christmas, yes.” She nodded, sucking a breath as she did. “But I’m a city girl. I always will be. At least, I think so. But I realized what it is about Evergreen that got me. I wanted to spend Christmas with my mom…” She pointed over her shoulder.

  “Your mom!”

  “And just…a ton of other people. And especially you.”

  “This is pretty special.”

  “It is. And, um, there’s something else?” Katie’s mom walked over, carrying three hot cocoas.

  “You’re right about this cocoa, Katie,” her mom said. “It’s incredible.” She handed a cup to her daughter.

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  It was nice to see Katie and her mom together here in Evergreen. That it was special enough that Katie wanted to share it with her thrilled him. “Hello, Pam. Nice to see you again.”

  “Ben, I enjoyed your article on Evergreen female-owned businesses.” She handed him one of the other cups of cocoa. “I read it on the train, and while I have a few notes, I’d like to run it in the magazine, if you wouldn’t mind.”

  Today just kept getting better and better. “Um. Wow.” He could barely get the words out. “Yes. Of course. This is very unexpected.”

  “That’s not all.” She glanced over at Katie with a grin. “I’d also like you to come interview at the magazine after the holiday.”