by Nicole Ellis
With puzzlement, she turned her head up to scan his face. “Patrick? What are you doing here? We didn’t have plans, did we?”
He froze. Was it weird for him to have come here unannounced? He awkwardly held up the armful of catalogs and samples. “I thought these might be useful when you decide to remodel the kitchen in your new house.”
Her eyes lit up. “Are those tile samples?”
He nodded, and she grabbed a few of them from him. “These are lovely. Did you use them in your kitchen?”
He breathed a sigh of relief. His plan was working. Maybe he’d have a chance to tell her how he felt about her after all.
“I used the brighter, smaller tiles as a backsplash behind the stove and then used the larger subway tiles for the rest of the wall.” He shivered, and she seemed to realize that he was still standing outside.
She motioned for him to enter. “Come in, come in. It’s freezing out there.”
He acquiesced, and she shut the door behind him. “Let’s go into the living room. It’s warmer in there than the other rooms in this place. I swear it’s impossible to regulate the temperature in this house. It’s either too warm or too cold. I definitely won’t miss that when I move.”
She perched on the edge of an armchair and set the samples on the coffee table. He placed the catalogs on the table too and sat across from her on the couch, his eyes roving around the room. Sarah had decorated for Christmas already, even though he assumed she’d be in her new place by then. A tree sat in the corner, decked out in a wide variety of ornaments and strings of small colorful lights. She’d set up a whole village of ceramic houses on a coffee table against the window.
When she caught his gaze, her cheeks turned pink. “Yeah, as you can see, I’m a little nutty about the holidays.” She shrugged and smiled at him. “What can I say? I’ve always loved the season.”
He grinned back at her. “It’s very festive. I bet you’ll have fun decorating your new house.”
She nodded. “I’m already making plans for it.” She gestured to the sample building materials. “Thank you so much for bringing me these. I think they’ll really come in handy.”
“Of course. I saw them on my kitchen counter and I thought you might be able to use them.” She appeared to be genuinely happy to see him and he took a deep breath. “Sarah, there’s something I wanted to talk with you about.”
A timer pinged. She glanced at him apologetically and popped up from the armchair. “Hold that thought. I’ve got to go check on the pot roast I have in the oven. I’ll be right back.”
She was making a roast for herself? He got up to see if there was anything he could do to help her in the kitchen. When he walked through the small dining area, he noticed that the table was formally set for two people, with both water and wine glasses. Definitely not a casual dinner for herself. Things weren’t looking too good for this being his moment.
He cleared his throat. “I came at a bad time. It looks like you’re having company for dinner. I don’t want to intrude.”
“No, you’re fine,” she called through the pass-through between the kitchen and the dining nook. “Adam won’t be here for a while longer. I’m glad you stopped by. I was beginning to worry that things were awkward between us, you know…after what happened at the harvest festival.”
He stared at the floor, happy that she couldn’t see his expression. The harvest festival. Yeah, things were definitely awkward between them, because he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He glanced at the table setting again. He had to get out of there before her dinner date showed up. Meeting him would make things ten times worse.
“You know, I forgot I was supposed to do something tonight. I’ll leave these with you and maybe we can go over them another time.”
“Are you sure?” She came out of the kitchen to peer at him, a confused expression on her face. “I thought there was something you needed to tell me.”
“Was there? I forgot what it was, but if I remember I’ll let you know. I’m sure if it was important, it’ll come back to me.” A little part of him died inside as he made his way to the door. She followed him, leaning against the open doorframe.
“Well, it was nice seeing you,” she said, wrapping her arms across her chest for warmth.
“You too. Feel free to do what you like with the samples. I don’t need them any longer.” His body was screaming at him to not leave, but he knew he had to get out of there fast if he wanted to avoid meeting her date.
“I’ll do that, thank you.” She smiled at him, then gently closed the door.
He hurried out to his car. As he was pulling away from the curb, he saw another car coming from behind him. By the time he’d stopped at the stop sign on the corner, a man with bright red hair had exited the car and was approaching Sarah’s apartment with a small bouquet of flowers clutched in his hands.
Patrick groaned out loud. Unfortunately, he’d been right. She was having another man over for dinner tonight. He’d missed out on his chance with her after the date with Derek didn’t work out. Once again, they were ships passing in the night.
12
The Friday before Thanksgiving, Sarah was counting down the hours until school was over. The elementary school was closed for the week of Thanksgiving, although she still had parent-teacher conferences to do on Monday and Tuesday. With the school break approaching, her students were wired and having difficulty concentrating on any subject.
At the end of the day, she clapped her hands together to get her class’s attention. “Alright. I need everyone to gather up their backpacks and then sit at their desks for closing.”
The kids bounced out of their seats and into the hallway to grab their belongings, taking twice as long as usual to return. She’d expected that though. The days leading up to school breaks were never terribly productive. When they were settled again, she handed out their reading assignments for the next week and then asked, “What are you all having for Thanksgiving dinner?”
“Corn muffins!” one student shouted.
“Turkey,” said another, and her class erupted in cheers as the others echoed him. “I love turkey!”
“Cranberries.” The little girl who’d said that had a dreamy expression on her face. “I like the cranberries. They’re so pretty and yummy and my mom makes the best cranberry and fruit salad.”
Sarah grinned. She loved seeing her students get excited about things. One little boy had remained quiet though. She moved over to his desk.
“Tommy,” she said. “What are you looking forward to eating?”
He hesitated. “I don’t know. I don’t think we’re having Thanksgiving this year. Mom said everything costs too much.” A tear pooled in the corner of his left eye.
“Oh.” His words smacked her in the stomach. She knew that some of her students were from lower-income families, but she hadn’t thought about that when she’d asked the class about their Thanksgiving plans. “You know, I bet you’re going to have a great holiday anyway.” Her words sounded false, even to her own ears.
“Maybe.” He tried to smile. The other kids were staring at him. She had to do something to get their attention off of him. The clock read two minutes to release time. The end of day attendants would be out there already to lead them to their buses, so it wouldn’t hurt to dismiss them a bit early.
She held her hands up and waved. “Okay everyone, class dismissed.”
“Woohoo!” The kids, including Tommy, rushed out of the classroom.
Sarah sat back down at her desk and stared at her grade book without seeing it. Was there anything she could do for Tommy and his family? There had to be something. She pushed herself to standing and strode down to the principal’s office.
She knocked on the door. “Jane?”
Jane Andersen looked up. “Hi, Sarah. Did you need something?”
“Uh, yes. I was wondering if there were any programs in place for getting Thanksgiving meals to some of our students’ families. I have a student whose f
amily is in need – Tommy Jensen.”
“Well, yes, there are.” Jane’s face fell. “But the families needed to have signed up for them a few weeks ago. All of the meals that have been donated have already been allocated.”
“Oh.” If only she’d known earlier. “Thanks anyway. Have a nice break.”
“You too.” Jane went back to what she’d been working on and Sarah left.
On the way home, Sarah couldn’t help but dwell on Tommy’s situation. She didn’t have much extra money, especially with the new house, but she could probably afford to buy them something to make their holidays special. It was a small town and she knew where many of her students lived, including Tommy. It would be a simple matter to drop off a turkey and some fixings for them.
With the holidays fast approaching, Sarah hadn’t seen much of her group of friends in Candle Beach. So, when Dahlia asked that everyone meet her for happy hour at Off the Vine, the local wine bar, Sarah was excited to join them. Seeing Tommy so sad about Thanksgiving earlier in the day had darkened her mood and she hoped an evening with her friends would be exactly what she needed.
When she arrived at the wine bar at five o’clock that night, the sky was dark, and the wine bar was almost full. Luckily, Dahlia had claimed the corner booth where they could all fit without feeling squished against each other.
Sarah walked over to the booth and slid into the seat next to Dahlia.
Charlotte smiled at her from across the table. “I’m glad you could make it tonight.”
“Me too.” Sarah shook her head. “It’s been a long day.”
“Are you working at the bookstore tomorrow?” Charlotte asked.
“Yes.” Sarah glanced at Dahlia. “We should be busy. I’m already getting parents coming in to buy Christmas presents for their kids.”
A satisfied smile crossed Dahlia’s face. “This is shaping up to be a great year at the store.”
Charlotte scooted out from the booth with her purse in hand. “I’m going to powder my nose. If the waitress comes by, can you please order me a Pinot Grigio?”
Sarah nodded. “Yep, I’ll tell her.” She turned to Dahlia. “I’m not sure yet what I want to drink, but I’ve been dreaming about loaded nachos all day. Maybe a margarita would go best with those.”
“Ah, a margarita sounds good.” Dahlia picked up the drinks menu and flipped through it, then set it back on the table. “But I think I’m more in the mood for a milkshake tonight. I was thinking about Aunt Ruth today when I was working on the window display and wondered what she’d think about the changes I’ve made to the bookstore.” A shadow crossed her face and she shook it off. “Anyway, I saw on the chalkboard that they have banana milkshakes on special tonight. Aunt Ruth always made me banana milkshakes when I’d visit, so it almost seems like a sign from her.”
Sarah smiled. “I’m sure she’d think you’ve done a great job on it.”
“I hope so.” Dahlia sighed. “I’ve been putting everything I have into it, but I’m not sure I can continue doing that. That’s why I’m so glad you’re on board to help with the upcoming Christmas rush.”
“Of course. I’m happy to help.” Sarah put her hand on top of Dahlia’s for a moment. Something was really bothering her. Was this why she’d asked her friends to meet her for happy hour?
“Hey guys, sorry I’m late.” Gretchen rushed over to them, her long dark hair flying behind her. “It’s been crazy at work. Everyone wants to get into a new house before Christmas.”
Sarah grinned. “I know how they feel.”
“Oh yeah.” Gretchen frowned. “I wanted to talk to you about that.”
From her tone of voice, it wasn’t something good. An ominous feeling came over Sarah.
“Is there a problem with the house?” She held her breath, not sure she wanted to know. It had seemed too good to be true that she’d found such a great house and the seller had accepted her offer.
“Well, not the house itself. The appraisal was good on it, but the sellers are dragging their feet on making some of the repairs that the bank requires.”
Sarah’s jaw dropped, and she pushed herself back in the seat, staring at Gretchen. “But they agreed to it.”
Gretchen gave her an apologetic look. “I know. This happens sometimes. Sometimes, it can be difficult to get someone in to perform the repairs, so it may not even be their fault.”
“But won’t that affect my mortgage?”
Gretchen shrugged. “It’s pretty common. I’m sure they’ll have the repairs done in time for closing. It’s annoying, but unfortunately, working with the sellers is just part of the home buying process.” She smiled at Sarah, seeming to notice the panicked note in her voice. “Don’t worry about it. If it were serious, I’d tell you, okay?”
Sarah took a deep breath. “Okay. Thanks for bearing with me on this. It’s such a big purchase and every little thing that goes wrong makes me worry that I’m doing the wrong thing.”
“Totally normal,” Gretchen said. “Even my clients that have bought several houses go through the same thing. I promise.” She reached for the menu. “Have you ordered yet? Maggie called me and said she and Angel were going to be late. There was something going on at the café that they needed to take care of.”
“Nope.” Dahlia handed Gretchen a menu. “I can’t decide what I want. I’m starving, but everything looks good to me and I can’t decide.”
Charlotte returned to the table. “Did the waitress come by yet?”
“Nope,” Sarah said. “You still have time to add your food order on.”
“Oh good.” Charlotte brightened. “Luke was telling me all about his new barbecue sauce and now I want some barbecue wings.”
“Good evening.” The twenty-something waitress smiled at them, revealing perfectly straight teeth. “Are you ready to order?”
“We are,” Charlotte said. “But there are two more people in our party that will be here soon.”
A flicker of annoyance crossed the waitress’s face. “Do you want to order now, or later?”
“Now is good,” Dahlia said quickly. “They can order when they get here.”
They all placed their orders. Dahlia couldn’t decide, so she got two appetizers for them to share.
After she left, Charlotte said, “She must be new. She seemed a little flustered.”
“Probably. Or maybe she’s having an off day. I think little kids are stressful sometimes, but adult customers are probably ten times worse.” Sarah turned to Dahlia. “So what’s going on? What’s the big news?” When she’d seen Dahlia the day before at the bookstore, she hadn’t said anything other than to invite her to happy hour.
Dahlia smiled at her mysteriously “I’ll tell you when everybody gets here.”
Gretchen laughed. “Must be a juicy secret. Ooh, is one of Garrett’s books being made into a movie?”
Dahlia just smiled. “Nope. Although he did have a call from his agent recently about movie rights. I’m not telling you anything until Maggie and Angel get here.”
“Oh, fine.” Charlotte sighed dramatically. “I hate secrets though. I’m way too impatient.”
“Seriously?” Dahlia laughed. “I’ll tell you as soon as they get here, okay?”
“Okay.” Charlotte looked at Sarah. “While we’re waiting, I want to hear all about your new house. Where’s it at? When do you get to move in?”
“It’s only a few blocks from my rental house. I’ll still be able to walk to work and to town.”
The waitress came by with their drink orders and Sarah licked some salt off the rim of her glass, then sipped from it. She hadn’t had much to eat that day and didn’t want it to go to her head before she ate.
“That’s great,” Dahlia said, pouring her milkshake from the silver container it had been mixed in, into a tall glass. “Will you move in before Christmas?” She stuck her straw in the drink and inhaled it for a moment, then peered at Sarah. “Are you sure you’ll have time to work at the bookstore with everyt
hing going on right now?”
“Definitely,” Sarah promised. “I’ve already started packing.” She crossed her fingers under the table. One box of linens packed counted as having started, right? “I close on December second. Well, if everything goes according to plan.” She smiled. “If anyone wants to volunteer themselves or their significant others to help me move, I wouldn’t say no. I’ve already roped Adam into it.”
“Don’t be surprised if the closing date gets pushed out by a little bit, though,” Gretchen said. The waitress had brought by their food and she reached for a fry and dipped it in the house special sauce.
Unease rose in Sarah’s chest. Gretchen had said that it was normal for the banks to take a while with the mortgage. Had she been hiding the truth?
Gretchen sensed her concern and smiled at her.
“Again, don’t worry, it’s totally normal. Sometimes the banks take a little bit longer to verify everything. I just want you to be prepared in case closing is extended. But it will probably close on time. I’ve seen your paperwork. Everything was neat as a pin in there.”
Sarah nodded, but worrying about Dahlia and the house had diminished her appetite. Gretchen had helped her go over the mortgage paperwork to make sure that she wasn’t forgetting anything. She’d just have to take it one day at a time. Still, Gretchen’s comments gave her pause. Buying a house was even more complicated than she had initially thought.
Maggie arrived, with Angel in tow. They removed their winter jackets and crowded into the booth.
“I’m so hungry I could eat a horse,” Maggie said.
“You’ve got to take better care of yourself,” Angel scolded her. “Did you even have lunch today?”
“I wasn’t hungry earlier.” Maggie shrugged. “But now I am. Don’t worry. I would have taken lunch if I’d wanted to.”