by Hebby Roman
“The cookies do lose some detail when you bake them,” said Alma.
“Doesn’t look like a cowboy...” Leland rolled his eyes. “You have to decorate it the right way, that’s all. Ma, remember how we used to make the fringe on his chaps?”
“We used chocolate jimmies. I think I have some in the pantry.” Alma got up from the table.
Melody studied Leland as he hunched over to spread white frosting on his cookie. His hair had flopped over his forehead and he was biting his bottom lip in concentration. She could see the small boy in him, and a sudden warmth washed over her heart, which she quickly dismissed.
He picked through the tubes of colored icing until he found a blue one. “What you have to do now is put the details back in.” He outlined a cowboy hat on the pointy top of the cookie, and she did see it now. He put in two blue dots for eyes. Next he got the red out and gave the cowboy a crooked smile. He looked at his work and frowned. “What I need is brown but I guess green will do since it’s a Christmas cookie.” He outlined the gun holster.
“It doesn’t look like a Christmas cookie to me.”
He snorted at her. “That’s where you’re wrong.” He shaped three holly leaves on the boots and added red dots for berries.
“Here they are! I found these silver balls too.” Alma plopped a plastic tub of jimmies and a bottle of silver dragees on the table.
Leland’s eyes lit up. “Those silver balls will make perfect conchos on his hatband!”
Melody wrinkled her nose and went back to sprinkling colored sugar on her cookie while stealing glances at him out of the corner of her eye. He placed a row of dragees on the crown of the hat with a steady hand. Her round cookie with green sprinkles looked like the sugar plum fairy had sneezed fairy dust all over it. She put a band of dragees around the middle. Much better.
She finished her cookie and put it down in triumph and turned to Leland. He looked at her work and shook his head in disbelief.
She pushed away the tray of cookies in front of her waiting to be decorated. “Can I look at your cookie cutters? The older ones in the hatbox?”
Alma passed the box to her. “Sure. These are the cookie cutters passed down in the family for generations. They’re antiques, really.”
Leland’s eyes had shot up when Melody asked to see the cookie cutters, and now he watched her carefully, like he was worried she’d try and steal one. She ignored him and pulled out each one, laying them out in a row. There was an angel, a Santa, a reindeer, a few different wreaths, bells, and a set of geometric shapes with scalloped edges and tiny wood handles on the back painted a light green. The cutters had once been silver, but were now dark, almost black in spots, with age.
With all the cutters laid out in a row, Leland relaxed. Easier to spot if one went missing, she surmised. He went back to working on his cookie. He now had a toothpick pinched between his fingers and was using it to meticulously place the jimmies on the outside of the chaps. He put in a row of dragees on each side and was now arranging jimmies around the outside of each to represent tassels. He held it up and smiled at his work so far.
Ignoring him, she turned to Alma, pointing to the cutters. “These are lovely! They have such a nice patina.”
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Leland carefully putting narrow red stripes down the cowboy’s shirt. Then he took the toothpick and ran the tip horizontally across the stripes making the design plaid, then he finished off the shirt by creating two pointed flap pockets. He turned a smug smile on her.
Overachieving show-off. It’s a cookie, not the Sistine Chapel.
She looked away quickly acting unimpressed with his handiwork and went back to the cutters. “You know, it’s a shame to leave these cookie cutters in the box. They’d look nice on display. They’re prettier than the cookies, really.” She shot a nasty look at him. Show him what I think of his cookie.
“How do you mean?” asked Alma.
“Like on the mantelpiece there.” She pointed at the fireplace on the back wall of the kitchen. “If you had some evergreen boughs and ribbons, they’d look so cheerful!” In her mind she had a wish list for her future dream home and a fireplace in the kitchen was on it.
“That’s a good idea! I have some other pieces around here like an antique tin gingerbread house mold. Leland, why don’t you grab my clippers from the mudroom and go out in the yard and cut us some boughs?”
He kept his head lowered but looked up briefly through long lashes. “I would love to do that, but I have cookies to decorate.”
She watched his long, tapered fingers putting more detail into his cowboy with the help of the toothpick. He positioned silver-colored sugar crystals in a line. What is he doing now? He looked up and noticed the puzzled expression on her face. “Pearl snaps,” he said.
Melody studied the cookie in her hand. It was a snowman. She gave it a carrot shaped nose, eyes, and a mouth. There wasn’t much more you could do to a snowman, and now that she looked at it, what she intended as a carrot nose looked more like a surgical scar from a procedure gone wrong. She sighed and gave the snowman an icing scarf. She finished it, her tenth cookie, and put it next to the others to dry. She could see him still adding detail to his cowboy. At this pace we’ll be sitting here sprinkling sugar on cookies until Easter Sunday.
Just then they all looked up at the sound of the front door opening and closing. Melody shivered when a cold draft blew through the house.
“Hello!” A clear voice cut through the air.
“Oh, it’s my daughter, Faith,” said Alma. “We’re in the kitchen!”
The tip-tapping of boots on the hardwood floor came from the other room. Then a long pause before the sound started up again getting closer. A petite blonde burst into the room. She had the photo album in her hands, about to hold it out when she saw Melody. “Oh, you have company!” she clutched the photo album back to her body. “I wondered who that car belonged to. Who’s your friend, Leland?” She had a teasing lilt in her voice.
Leland’s head shot up, eyes wide in horror. “She’s not with me. She was already here when I got here.”
“She is my friend and she has a name. Melody meet my daughter, Faith.”
“Hi, pleased to meet you.”
“Ma met her at the women’s club,” said Leland, meeting his sister with a meaningful look in his eyes Melody didn’t care for.
“Oh, how nice. And... Leland! Look at you. Decorating Christmas cookies.”
“I’m just doing the one.”
“Thank heavens,” Melody muttered under her breath.
Leland skewered her with a withering glance before turning back to his sister. “I’ve been trying to call you.”
“Have you?” She patted her pocket. “Damn, I must have left my phone at home. I was so happy to get out of the house! I just ran right out.”
“What brings you here, and where are my grandkids?”
“Well, that’s just it. Seth said he’d watch the kids and I thought I’d squeeze in some shopping. I was coming by to see if you needed a ride into town to do your shopping.”
“I’m busy today.” Alma snapped her head in Leland’s direction. “And, hey, when is my car going to get fixed?”
Melody noticed Leland and Faith exchange nervous glances. Leland cleared his throat. “They’re having trouble finding a part.”
“Come on! It’s a Ford not a Maserati.”
“I don’t know. That’s what they said. You know….” He cleared his throat again. “It might be beyond repair.”
“Then I’ll get a new car. It’s time I got rid of that old thing anyway.”
Faith pulled the photo album in even tighter and opened her eyes wide at Leland. Melody watched him clench and unclench his hands. “You don’t want to buy a car at the end of winter. Worst time to buy one. You want to get one earlier in the year when the new models come out.”
Faith relaxed her hold on the album. “Yes, that’s right! S
eth was just saying that the other day.”
“But I need a car now.”
“And you have a car now. It will be out of the shop soon. Anyway! Look what I found in the living room.” Faith held out the book.
“I know, Melody and I were looking at it. She wanted to see the wedding pictures,” said Alma.
Faith slid her gaze over to Melody and then back to Leland again, a half smile on her face. “I see. You all were feeling romantic.”
Leland went pink. “No, you don’t see. It was only Ma and her. Her business is wedding planning―”
Faith, ignoring him, sat down and began flipping through the pages. “Look! It’s the sleigh!”
Melody figured her for the enthusiastic type. She craned over to see the black and white photo. A family sat in a horse drawn sleigh, bundled up under buffalo blankets. A man with a hat pulled down low on his head held the reins in his hands. Ruts had cut through the deep snow, leading up to the sleigh. Everyone from child to adult had a big smile on their face.
Alma tapped the photo with her fingernail. “That was your great Uncle Ollie.”
“Remember when Dad would clean up the sleigh and take us out for a long ride? I can still hear the jingle bells ringing,” said Faith.
Leland got a faraway look in his eyes. “That was the best part. The Christmas Eve sleigh ride. He brought a thermos of hot chocolate and we’d stop at the lookout and watch the elk.”
“That was to get you two out of the house so I could wrap presents.”
Leland furrowed his brow. “Is that right? He always pressed you to come with us, I remember that.”
Alma tapped her nose. “That was part of our devious plan. You all still believed in Santa Claus and you were hard to trick. Especially you, Leland, so nosy and into everybody else’s business.” She laughed.
“Well, it was a great tradition. We were lucky kids. Sometimes we’d get to bring friends along, and I felt so proud.”
Faith sat up straight. “Leland! We should get the sleigh out again this year. It would be so much fun, and the kids are old enough now to enjoy it.”
“That’s a lot of work—”
“You don’t have to do it. Seth can.”
“Aw, now, I don’t think...no offense meant, but Seth is an accountant. I don’t know if I’d trust him—”
“Then put us in charge of cleaning it up and everything, and you can take us out. Come on! Uncle Leland.”
“It might help pass the time over the holidays. I’ll think about it. Let me check out the sleigh and see what condition it’s in. It’s been...gosh, it’s been decades.” At long last he let his cowboy join the other finished cookies.
“Are you sure you’re done with that cookie?” Melody bit her lower lip. “Doesn’t he have any tattoos? Dental fillings?”
His mouth dropped open like he was going to say something, but one look at his mother and he snapped it shut again. “You know, I think I’ll go out and clip some boughs for you, Ma.”
A dull scraping sound came as he pushed his chair back from the table. He stood up and passed behind her.
Her skin prickled in a delicious way as the hair on her arms stood up. Hang on. What’s happening here? She was acutely aware of him, his body throwing off heat, the scent of him, and a frisson in the air between them. As he headed out the back door, she had to admire his nice behind. She didn’t normally notice a man’s backside, but oh, my—She also didn’t imagine people without a stitch on, but she got a sudden image of a long-limbed, toned torso flash through her mind. Melody gave herself a mental nudge and turned back to the ladies left at the table.
* * *
After Faith and Melody left Leland stayed to enjoy a home cooked dinner alone with his mother. Now, as he passed through the empty kitchen, he stopped to examine the work the ladies had done earlier decorating the mantelpiece. He’d brought them the evergreen boughs and then stood back and watched while they chattered away as they decorated. It did look nice, he had to admit. He picked up a round tin and examined it. I haven’t seen this in decades. It was a jello mold with Santa in the middle that had belonged to his great grandmother. He put it back among the boughs. All tastefully arranged, but one thing had been bothering him.
He glanced over his shoulder to make sure his mom was still napping in front of the TV in the den. The old hatbox still sat out. He searched through it until he found what he was looking for and crossed to the mantelpiece where he placed his addition to the decorations.
“There you go, Mustang Muldoon. Front and center. Doesn’t look like a Christmas cookie, my Aunt Fannie.” He threaded a red ribbon around the cowboy cookie cutter and leaned him against the gingerbread house mold. “Best looking thing sitting there, buddy.”
Chapter Eight
December 4
She’d died and gone to Christmas tree heaven! Melody closed her eyes to better concentrate on the scent of pine. The cold air trapped in their branches pouring off the rows of trees exhilarated her. She opened her eyes and spun around slowly. Rows and rows of every type of Christmas tree were evenly spaced in regular lines in this unnatural forest. An army of joyful soldiers waiting to march off one by one.
She’d been looking forward to this day. Volunteering at the Christmas tree lot, with all benefits going to charity. It was prescription for a feel-good experience. Helping families pick out their very own tree and then passing on the goodwill to others. She could feel the gaiety rolling off the families picking out trees the same as she felt the winter rolling off the trees. To be part of something bigger than herself. Magic.
All the workers had to wear Santa hats, which was one of the best parts. You have to go all out for the holidays, in her opinion. Though she wouldn’t go as far as a Christmas sweater, she did have on a tunic dress with a silhouette of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in silver on the front. It wasn’t that cold so she was able to leave her coat open to show off her dress, which she wore over thick tights, leggings, and boots.
The first family entered the lot. Mother, father, and two little kids. The youngest child started to fuss. Melody remembered to turn on the music and cranked up Jingle Bells. Like magic the toddler smiled and twirled around. Father and mother smiled at one another in that way couples do when locked in their own shared thoughts.
Now the lot was filling up at a quick pace. Melody zeroed in on a young couple looking at a loss as if overwhelmed by choices. She ran over to them. “Can I help you?”
“No, we’re good,” said the young man.
The woman holding his hand scrunched up her shoulders. “Actually, maybe you can. You see this is our first Christmas together. I never picked out a tree on my own.” The girl blushed. She looked about twenty years old, a baby, really.
“Well, let’s see. First, how much space do you have for a tree? If it’s tight corners, I’d recommend a Fraser fir like this one.” She pulled a tree forward, tapping it on the ground a few times to shake the branches out. “See, it’s got a narrow profile, and to my way of thinking the ornaments look best on a Fraser fir because there’s lots of space between the branches.”
The young man chuckled. “We only have two ornaments.”
“An early Christmas present for each other.” The girl squeezed his arm. “We thought we’d buy more after Christmas when they’re on sale. We’re on a budget.”
Melody tapped her chin. “In that case you might want a Scotch pine. Let me show you one.”
She began to lead them across the lot when she was overcome with an odd sensation. Waves of energy pulsed through her body. Sensing someone watching her, she looked over her shoulder.
There, sitting on the edge of a table, was that rude Leland. He froze when their eyes met. The woman he was talking to turned around to see who he was staring at. Melody recognized Faith and waved to her. Leland said something, and though she couldn’t hear him, he clearly mouthed, Aw, hell, no.
She spun her head forward again, swallowi
ng through a tight throat and put on her happy face. “Here are the Scotch pines! Beautiful even without ornaments. It’s a classic. Nice long needles, and the bonus is they hang on to their needles a long time. It makes cleanup easier, and you’re not picking pine needles out of your socks for the next twelve months.”
“I like this one!” said the girl, pointing to a four-foot tree.
Melody looked it over with a critical eye. “It’s a good size, but you see it’s a little sparse on one side—which is fine if you’re going to put it in a corner. Or you could put that side to the wall.”
The boy put his arm around the girl. “I think we’ll look over these Scotch pines on our own now. Thanks for your help.”
The young couple looked into each other's eyes. At the sight of such pure love, the breath caught in Melody’s chest.
“You’re welcome. You can find the colored tags on each tree and the price chart is over there.” Standing next to the price chart was Leland, who she prayed would be gone soon. “Let me know when you’re ready to check out.”
She walked away from them, a lost memory coming back to her. Long before there was Ted, there had been her first love, Casey. They were so young, still in high school when they’d met. So young they didn’t know yet to hide their emotions. Things had never been equitable with Ted; she could acknowledge that now. She was forever trying to win his love. But with Casey, she’d felt at one with him. Of course, they drifted apart once they started college, but it had been a loving exchange from beginning to end.
A buzzing sound ripped through the air. Melody jumped and put her hands over her ears. She glanced over to see Leland with a chainsaw, slicing off the bottom of a trunk. The first family who’d come in stood around him, watching. With the fresh cut at the bottom, their tree was ready to go home. Leland easily swung the tree in both his hands, and they all headed over to the family’s car.
Oh, no, he must be helping here today too. His presence certainly was going to put a strain on an otherwise happy day. He’d been so mean to her at his mother’s. He wouldn’t even let her take the photo album home. He told her he’d scan the photos for her and give them to his mother to pass on to her. It made sense, but the way he said it implied he didn’t trust her.