by Nancy Krulik
“I gave them a what? For what?” Holly asked Katie. She looked upset.
“That family didn’t have much money,” Katie told her. “And they couldn’t afford a tree so I . . . I mean you . . .”
“What was I thinking?” Holly interrupted Katie. “I would never give a tree away. What if my boss finds out?”
“Your boss?” Katie asked her.
“Yeah,” Holly said. “You don’t think I own this place, do you?”
Katie hadn’t really thought about it.
“He likes to sell trees,” Holly continued. “He might fire me for giving one away.”
Katie gulped. Holly might lose her job. And if she did, it would all be Katie’s fault.
This was soooo not good.
But Katie wasn’t sure what she could do to help Holly. She wasn’t even sure if she should help. After all, she’d tried to help the poor family, and look what a mess that turned out to be.
Her only hope was that no one had seen her give the tree to that family. Maybe it would just remain their little secret.
No such luck! As soon as she and Holly got back from the parking lot, her grandmother was the first person to greet them.
“You are such a nice person,” Katie’s grandmother told Holly. “Giving that tree to that out-of-luck father and his kids was truly the real Christmas spirit!”
Holly didn’t answer. She just glared in Katie’s direction. Then she turned to Nick, who was leaning against a medium-sized tree. “You gonna buy that?” she asked him.
“I sure am!” Nick said. He reached into his pocket, and handed Holly the money. “Thanks for keeping my secret,” he added in a whisper.
Holly looked at him strangely. “What secret?” she asked.
Katie heard Nick say in a very low voice, “Don’t you remember? The surprise for—.” Nick nodded in Katie’s direction.
“Huh?” Holly asked. She had no idea what he was talking about.
“You sure can keep a secret,” Nick told her. Then, as he started to carry the tree back to the car, he called out, “Merry Christmas!”
“Whatever,” Holly replied with a sigh.
Chapter 9
“Grandma told me about that woman who works at the tree farm,” Katie’s mom said that night. Katie’s whole family was spending the evening together, decorating the new Christmas tree. “What a nice thing to do!”
“What are you talking about?” Katie asked nervously. Did her mother already know about Holly?
“I called your mom at the bookstore after we got home and told her how that kind woman gave a Christmas tree to a poor family,” Katie’s grandmother piped in. She placed a teddy bear ornament on the tree and smiled happily.
But Katie wasn’t happy at all. “Why did you do that?” she asked.
Katie’s mom look surprised. “Grandma was just so impressed with what she did,” her mom said.
“We all were,” Nick added. He tossed a handful of tinsel onto a few of the lower branches. “Holly seemed so grumpy. But she had the true Christmas spirit.”
“Well, I don’t think we should spread that story any further,” Katie told everyone.
“Don’t be silly,” Katie’s mom said. “I told Louie and he told everyone who came into the pizzeria about it.”
“Oh no!” Katie said.
“What’s the matter?” Katie’s dad asked. “Don’t you think what that woman did was a great thing?”
“Sure, I do,” Katie said. “But maybe her boss won’t. I mean, he makes a living selling Christmas trees.”
“I don’t think he’ll mind,” Nick said. “It was only one little tree. How could anyone get mad at someone for giving a poor family a Christmas tree?”
“Besides, when the story gets out, everyone will want to buy their trees at that farm,” Katie’s father said. “People like to give their business to places that do nice things for people.”
“You really think so?” Katie asked her dad.
“Oh, definitely,” he answered.
A big smile formed on Katie’s face. She had just gotten a great idea! Quickly, she leaped up from the pile of tinsel and ornaments around her.
“Where are you going, Kit Kat?” her mother asked. “We still haven’t placed the star on the top of the tree.”
“I’ll be right back,” Katie told everyone. “I just have a quick phone call to make.”
Chapter 10
Katie stared at the Saturday morning headline in the Cherrydale News excitedly. “Tree Salesperson Brightens Family’s Christmas,” it said. The news story reported that an anonymous source had called the paper and told them the story about Holly and the poor family.
Katie knew the anonymous source very well. She was the anonymous source! Katie hoped that her phone call would help keep Holly out of trouble. Holly deserved her job. She worked really hard at the tree farm. Now Katie could understand why sometimes Holly got grumpy. The place was like a zoo at times! Katie knew that first hand. After all, she’d been Holly. At least for a little while.
Honk! Honk! Just then, a car horn honked outside. Katie leaped up and ran for the door.
“It’s Suzanne’s mom, Grandma,” Katie shouted out.
“Have fun working on the scenery for the play,” her grandmother called back from the kitchen.
“Thanks!” Katie shouted as she raced out the door to the car.
“Good morning,” Katie said, as she opened the car door and climbed in beside Suzanne in the backseat.
“Good morning,” Mrs. Lock greeted her.
“Hi, Katie,” Suzanne said.
“Hi! Hi!” Heather shouted from her car seat.
“Hi, Heather,” Katie said.
Suzanne shot Katie a look.
“What?” Katie asked. “Can’t I say hi to her?”
Suzanne folded her arms across her chest. “Do whatever you want,” she said.
“We have just one stop to make before I drop you girls off at the Community Center,” Mrs. Lock told Katie. “I want to get a wreath for our front door at that tree farm I read about in the paper this morning.”
Katie smiled. Her plan was working. At least with Mrs. Lock.
“They have beautiful wreaths,” Katie said. “Nick bought a really pretty one for me as a surprise. But I should warn you, not all of the wreaths have price tags.”
Suzanne looked at her strangely. “What were you doing, examining every wreath?”
“No. It’s just that Nick wanted a specific wreath. But that one didn’t have a price on it, so I . . . I mean, so Holly . . .” Katie stammered, trying to come up with a way to explain what had happened at the tree farm.
But Suzanne didn’t really care about wreaths or Christmas tree farms. She cared about what she was going to be doing today.
“While you’re busy painting at the Community Center, I’ll be running around,” she said. “I’ve got to get all the lighting cues right. And then I have to make sure the costumes are being sewn. And then I have to stand backstage during rehearsal to make sure all the actors are saying the right lines.”
“Wow, that’s a big job,” Katie told her.
“I know,” Suzanne said. “The whole play depends on me.”
Katie doubted that was true. A play was a team effort. Everyone was equally important.
“Mama! Mama!” Heather shouted out suddenly.
“Oh, how cute. She’s practicing her lines,” Mrs. Lock cooed.
Suzanne sighed heavily. “See what I mean?” she whispered to Katie.
Now Heather was bouncing up and down in her car seat. It was obvious Suzanne’s baby sister wasn’t practicing anything. She just didn’t like being in the car seat.
“Out!” Heather shrieked. “Want out! Mama. Mama.”
“Okay, Heatherkins,” Mrs. Lock said. “One more minute. I just have to park the car.”
“Ma—” Heather started. But Suzanne stuffed a sippy cup in her hands before she could make another sound.
“Thanks, Suzanne,”
Mrs. Lock said. She pulled the car into the parking lot and turned off the motor. “Okay, Heather, we’re going to let you out now.”
Katie got out of the car, and watched as Mrs. Lock unhooked Heather from her car seat. A moment later, the four of them were walking toward the tree farm.
Suddenly, Katie’s stomach started doing flip flops. She was really nervous. What if her plan hadn’t worked? What if Holly wasn’t working at the tree farm any more? What if by saving one family’s Christmas, Katie had ruined Holly’s?
There were definitely a lot of people at the Christmas tree farm. Katie could see that. There were people looking at trees, wreaths, and decorations. There were people drinking hot cider and eating chestnuts. And there were lots of people waiting around the cash register. But Katie didn’t see Holly anywhere.
Then, Katie heard a customer near the cash register say, “Merry Christmas.”
And a moment later, she heard a familiar voice say, “Whatever.”
“Holly!” Katie shouted out excitedly.
Holly poked her head up over the crowd. “Oh, it’s you again,” she said.
“I’m back with my friends,” Katie told her. “The news article made you sound really nice. They wanted to buy their Christmas wreath from you.”
“That’s what all these people are saying,” Holly said. “We’ve been mobbed all morning.”
“That’s good, right?” Katie asked her. “I mean, you didn’t get fired.”
“No, I didn’t get fired,” Holly said. “My boss loves all the extra business. He even made me Employee of the Week.” She pointed to the special star-shaped pin she was wearing. Nevertheless, Holly’s mouth was frozen in her usual frown. She did not look like a happy Employee of the Week.
“My boss also gave me a Christmas gift,” Holly continued. “He’s never done that before.”
“That’s so nice,” Katie said. “What did he give you?”
For the first time, Holly cracked a smile. A genuine, happy smile. “You’re not going to believe this,” she told Katie. “He gave me a Christmas tree. How funny is that? What would make him think that after a whole day of working here, I’d want to come home to a tree?”
Katie laughed. Holly couldn’t fool her. She might sound tough, but her smile said it all. Holly liked coming home to that tree very, very much.
Chapter 11
“Katie, don’t use so much paint,” Suzanne scolded, as she walked over to look at the scenery.
Katie shook her head. She was getting tired of Suzanne bossing people around. She’d been hearing her order people around all morning. They had to sing louder, dance in a straighter line, and even stay away from the donuts at the snack table. Katie had had enough.
“I’m using just the right amount of paint,” Katie snapped back. “These trees look great!”
Suzanne glared at Katie. “You can’t talk to me like that. I’m the stage manager.”
“The student stage manager,” Katie reminded her. “Mr. Porter is the real stage manager.”
“I’m real, too!” Suzanne shouted. She stomped away angrily.
“A real pain,” Katie murmured under her breath. She put some more green paint on her brush and went back to work.
It took a few minutes, but soon Katie was feeling happier again. It was hard to stay upset for too long, especially when the cast was rehearsing the songs. All of the music was so happy.
“Trains, and trucks, and a baby doll,” they sang. “There are children who would love us all.”
Their voices sounded so cheerful. And they blended so nicely together. Until suddenly, someone hit a real clinker of a note.
“Suzanne!” Mr. Porter shouted out. “You’re not supposed to be singing along.”
“I just thought the song needed to be louder and have more voices,” Suzanne told him.
“Not your voice,” Mr. Porter told her.
Katie bit her lip and tried not to laugh.
“I mean, um, I mean, stage managers don’t sing. We manage,” Mr. Porter explained.
“Oh, right,” Suzanne said. She sounded a little disappointed. “What do you want me to manage now?”
“How about standing backstage and handing cups of water to the dancers in between songs?” Mr. Porter suggested.
“That doesn’t sound very important,” Suzanne told him.
“Oh, it is,” Mr. Porter assured her. “The dancers can’t do their best if they’re thirsty.”
“That’s true,” Suzanne said.
As Suzanne hurried off for the water and plastic cups, Mr. Porter walked over to Katie and some of the others.
“That tree looks great!” he complimented Katie.
“Thanks,” Katie said. “I’ve been working on the scenery all morning. It’s almost finished.”
“And just in time,” Mr. Porter said. “The show opens in three days.”
“Are you going to be ready?” Katie asked him.
“I hope so,” Mr. Porter said with a smile.
At that moment, Suzanne came running across the stage with the pitcher of water in her hands.
“Watch out, stage manager coming through,” she shouted. “This water is heavy . . . whoaaaaa!”
Suzanne tripped over a large box onstage. The pitcher slipped out of her hands. Water spilled everywhere.
“Who left that box there?” Suzanne demanded as she stood in the middle of the big puddle of water.
“I did,” Mr. Newman, the director, shouted. He came bounding up toward the stage. “It’s supposed to be there. It’s the jack-in-the-box.”
“Oh, sorry,” Suzanne said. “I didn’t see it.”
“Obviously,” Mr. Newman said. “And now you’ve ruined it. The cardboard is sopping wet.”
Katie looked at Mr. Newman. Then she looked at Mr. Porter. They both seemed really angry with Suzanne.
Katie felt really bad for her friend. She hadn’t meant to mess up. It had just been an accident.
“I’m almost done with this tree,” Katie shouted out suddenly. “If you can find another box, I can paint it really quickly.”
“Great, Katie!” Mr. Porter said. Then he turned to Suzanne. “Why don’t you go get some paper towels and dry up the stage? We don’t want anyone else falling here today.”
“Yes, sir,” Suzanne said meekly.
Katie grabbed her paintbrush and hurried to put the finishing strokes on her Christmas tree. As Suzanne walked by, she gave her friend an encouraging smile.
“Are you okay?” Katie asked Suzanne.
“Of course I’m okay,” Suzanne told her. “It was just a little water.”
“I know, it’s just that Mr. Newman is kind of scary.”
Suzanne shrugged. “He’s not so bad.” Then she looked at the tree Katie was painting. “You’d better get back to work,” she ordered. “You’ve got a lot to do. Mr. Newman and Mr. Porter will want that tree and the jack-in-the-box completely painted before we leave today.”
Grrrr. Now Katie was really mad. She had volunteered to help Suzanne out of a big mess, and now Suzanne was bossing her around. For a minute, Katie thought about putting down her brush and walking out of there. Let Suzanne paint the jack-in-the-box.
But Katie couldn’t do that. Suzanne wasn’t a very talented artist. She probably wouldn’t do a very good job. And it was important that the scenery look good. After all, Katie wasn’t doing this for Suzanne. She was doing this for the play. She had to keep painting. But that didn’t mean she had to keep listening to Suzanne.
“You go clean up your mess,” Katie told her. “And leave the painting to me. I know what I’m doing.”
Chapter 12
“So, how is the play going down at the Community Center?” Jeremy asked Katie. It was late Saturday afternoon. Katie had come to Jeremy’s house to help him celebrate the first night of Hanukkah.
“Well, Suzanne was there . . .” Katie began.
Jeremy laughed. “That’s all you have to say.”
“Totally. You shou
ld have seen her. She . . .” Katie began. Then she stopped herself. This was the holiday season. It was a time to be nice. “Well, she’s trying,” she added quickly. “It’s a tough job.”
“How does your scenery look?” Jeremy asked Katie.
“I think it’s pretty good, actually,” Katie said. “I have to go back tomorrow and finish up a few things on the last Christmas tree.”
“You’re a good artist,” Jeremy told her. “Suzanne’s really lucky to have you helping out with the play.”
“Thanks,” Katie said.
She sat down on the couch and looked around Jeremy’s living room. There was a blue and silver banner hanging across the wall that said “Happy Hanukkah.” A silver menorah had been placed near the window. It had two candles in it.
“I thought this was the first night of Hanukkah,” she said.
“It is,” Jeremy told her. “The candle in the middle is the shemash, the helper candle. We use it to light the other ones.”
“Oh. I forgot. I haven’t done this since last year when I came over for Hanukkah,” Katie said. “Are we going to play that game tonight? The one with the top and the chocolate candies?”
“Definitely,” Jeremy answered. “We always play the dreidel game on Hanukkah.”
“You’re so lucky that your holiday starts tonight,” Katie said, with more than a touch of jealousy. “I have to wait until Thursday night for Christmas Eve. All those presents are sitting there under the tree, just waiting for me. And all I can do is stare at them.”
Jeremy nodded. “I know what you mean. My parents have wrapped all of my gifts for the whole eight days of Hanukkah. They’re sitting in the basement on the ping-pong table. I really want to just take a peek at one or two of them.”
“Don’t you dare,” Mrs. Fox said, as she entered the room. She had a big smile on her face. “That will ruin the surprise. Now, are you two ready to light the menorah and get this holiday started?”