“In His infinite wisdom and boundless generosity, Almighty God sent to us His Son, Jesus Christ. That little baby, who would heal the lame and feed the hungry, who would become the Savior of all mankind, was His gift to us. Is it any wonder that God opened the heavens on this night when Christ was born? How else could you celebrate such a gift? Let us pray.
“Almighty Father, we thank You for this night and for the love You brought to our world through the birth of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Hear our joyful voices on this night and know that our hearts are Yours.”
They listened to the rest of the service, until Daniel ended it with a loving reminder to his congregation.
“I hope that when you leave here today, you will remember that through you, Christ is heard, and that through your faith, someday the heavens will once more be opened and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. A blessed and happy Christmas to you all.”
The tape stopped, the recorder clicked off and for a moment the three sisters sat in silence.
Finally Jane summoned up a single, dazed word. “How?”
“You talk in your sleep,” Alice said. “You told me that what you wanted for Christmas was to hear his voice again.”
Their youngest sister passed her hand over her eyes. “How did you find this?”
“Alice remembered that one year Fred Humbert recorded one of Father’s Christmas Eve services,” Louise replied. “We sent it to Aunt Ethel at her farm because she was too ill to visit us.”
“I never thought …” Jane groped for words and then she looked at her sisters. “I am never going to be able to top this present. Ever.” She glanced at the tape recorder. “May we listen to it again?”
Seeing the wonder and awe in her younger sister’s eyes made Alice realize that the spirit of Christmas had never been more evident than it was on this day.
Pastor Thompson was right, she thought. It is not the gifts that matter, but the love with which they are given.
Afterword
As the days of March dwindled, so did the lingering snows, and by the first week of April the ground was bare. Shoots of pale-green grass appeared and tiny new leaves budded on the branches of every tree. The temperature continued to warm until the residents of the town happily put away their heavy winter coats for another year and brought out their gardening gloves.
Spring had arrived at last, like a forgotten promise finally kept.
It was on a Saturday morning soon after that that Ted Venson also returned to Grace Chapel Inn, accompanied by his young wife Linda, a petite blonde with big green eyes and a lovely smile. The sisters were delighted to see them, and after exchanging greetings and hugs brought the young couple into the parlor for tea.
Jane was charmed to see how happy the couple looked. Linda Venson was wearing a maternity smock and Ted’s first news was that they were expecting their first child in the fall.
“You’ll be able to take photos of your baby, for a change,” Alice said.
“He’s already buying film,” Linda said with a laugh.
“That reminds me. I left something in the car that I brought for you.” Ted rose to his feet. “I’ll be right back.”
While her husband went out to their car, Linda Venson chatted about how happy he had been since returning from the Christmas homes tour.
“He’s been like a different person,” she confessed. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you ladies have done for my husband. Spending Christmas here has completely changed him.” She laughed. “I should say, it’s changed everything for us.”
Louise looked puzzled. “I don’t think we can take credit for that. We only provided a place for your husband to stay.”
“You did so much more.” Linda smiled. “He said you had no idea. Oh, this is going to be fun.” She looked up as her husband returned with a briefcase. “You never wrote a word to them, did you, sweetheart?”
“No, I wanted to tell them in person.” To Louise, he said, “I couldn’t send this through the mail.” Ted opened the case and took out a large book with an unmarked front cover. “This is only the advance reading copy. The final edition will be published in November.”
Louise accepted the book from him and opened it to the title page. “‘Historic Homes of Pennsylvania. Theodore Venson, photographer,’” she read out loud, and then gasped as she turned the pages and saw photograph after photograph of beautiful vintage homes. “Ted, these photographs are wonderful.”
He nodded. “I submitted my portfolio of the homes in Acorn Hill and the other towns we toured, along with my book proposal, to a publisher in January.” His smile widened. “They liked the work so much that they signed me for a four-book contract.”
Alice and Jane came over to admire the book.
“I can’t believe it. This is so great,” Jane said. “Imagine, selling your first book so fast.”
“It might have taken longer,” Linda said, “if not for Mr. Ziglar.”
Alice looked up. “Max Ziglar?”
Linda nodded. “Mr. Ziglar came to see us in January. His son is a graphic artist in New York, as you know, and he convinced Ted to send John his portfolio. John took them to his publisher, who then called Ted and made the four-book offer.” She smiled at her husband. “Ted was a wee bit surprised.”
“Stunned,” he corrected. “I never would have expected any of this from Mr. Ziglar, of all people.”
“Nor I.” Louise sat back. “And to think, Max never breathed a word about this to us when he called last month.”
“With the advance on the new book, I was able to quit my department store job and to qualify for the loan to buy our dream house,” Ted said. “I owe a lot to Mr. Ziglar and his son, but I don’t think any of this would have happened if Max and I and the others hadn’t become stranded here.”
“We’ve asked Max if he will be our baby’s godfather.” Ted’s wife pressed her hand to the gentle curve of her stomach and smiled. “He says he’s too old, but I’ll bully him into it.”
Jane was happy to relate the news that they had heard from Allan Hansford. “Allan told us that he’s going back to college, to teach this time.”
“I’ve heard from him too,” Ted confirmed. “He’s called me with several freelance job offers that he’s arranged through his old architectural firm. He’ll make a wonderful teacher.”
“Rose Bellwood said the same thing,” Jane said. “In fact, he wrote to her and thanked her for the suggestion.”
“We also heard from Edwina, who went out to visit her new grandchild after she returned home,” Alice said. “She’s convinced her school board to sponsor a field trip for her class. Believe it or not, she even talked the tour company into providing free transportation for the kids, so she’ll be coming back to Acorn Hill in June.”
“That’s wonderful.” Ted beamed. “I know how much she was hoping to arrange the trip.”
“Tell them about that decorator lady who called you,” Linda urged her husband.
He chuckled. “I heard from Laura Lattimer too. She sold her business at the beginning of the year for a very large profit and has gone over to England to marry one of her former clients. Apparently he’s always lived in rural areas and didn’t like the fast pace he found here in the US as much as he thought he would. After their wedding, they will be moving out to his dairy farm, and from thereafter she’s going to open a chain of specialty American candy stores.”
Jane burst out laughing. “God help the British dentists.”
“How is Max?” Alice asked.
“Very busy. He’s moving his business to New York, so he can be closer to his son and his family. He said he’s not going to miss another minute of watching his grandsons grow up.” Ted smiled. “He still hasn’t gotten over the fact of finding out that he has two of them.”
“Honey.” Linda reached into Ted’s briefcase and took out an envelope. “You haven’t shown them your cover art yet.”
“Whoops, forgot about that!” Ted opened the
envelope and extracted the contents. “This will be the cover of my first book.” He handed the artwork to Jane. “With your permission, of course.”
Jane sat down between her sisters and rested the cover flat on her knees. Between the title and Ted’s name was a photograph of Grace Chapel Inn, beautifully wrapped in sparkling white snow. Cardinals and jays sat pecking at the pinecone feeders hanging from the branches of the trees in the front yard. Behind the inn was the porcelain blue sky that had blessed their Christmas Eve, and through the front window one could see the glitter of tiny decorations from their tree.
“It’s beautiful.” She blinked away the blur of tears as she looked up at Ted and his wife. “I don’t know what to say.”
“None of this would have happened if not for you,” Ted said gently. “I know Linda and I will always be grateful for the Christmas I spent here with you. You brought five unhappy strangers together, and from that single act of kindness, you have changed all of our lives. I don’t know how we’ll ever repay you.”
Jane imagined Allan teaching, Edwina with her students, Laura in the English countryside and Max with his two grandsons. “I think you already have, Ted.”
About the Author
Rebecca Kelly wrote her first book at age thirteen and hasn’t stopped writing since. When she’s not writing or being a mom, Rebecca volunteers weekly at an animal shelter, creates comfort quilts that are distributed to children hospitalized for cancer treatment and teaches creative writing to local public school students. Rebecca was recently honored by the United States Air Force for her efforts over the last six years in sending books and other reading materials every month to American soldiers serving in Iraq.
Tales from Grace Chapel Inn
Back Home Again
by Melody Carlson
Recipes & Wooden Spoons
by Judy Baer
Hidden History
by Melody Carlson
Ready to Wed
by Melody Carlson
The Price of Fame
by Carolyne Aarsen
We Have This Moment
by Diann Hunt
The Way We Were
by Judy Baer
The Spirit of the Season
by Dana Corbit
The Start of Something Big
by Sunni Jeffers
Spring Is in the Air
by Jane Orcutt
Eyes on the Prize
by Sunni Jeffers
Once you visit the charming village of Acorn Hill, you’ll never want to leave. Here, the three Howard sisters reunite after their father’s death and turn the family home into a bed-and-breakfast. They rekindle old memories, rediscover the bonds of sisterhood, revel in the blessings of friendship and meet many fascinating guests along the way.
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