by Julie Allan
“I’m so glad you are here!” exclaimed M.A. as Lizzie got the dogs set up with their bowls.
“It’ll be fun. I can’t wait to watch the kids tomorrow,” Lizzie replied.
“Now at least for tonight I want you to relax and no working in the kitchen. I am sure you are exhausted. I have supper for tonight well in hand. Hopefully it will meet your culinary standards, and I even have a breakfast casserole in the fridge ready to bake for breakfast,” M.A. informed Lizzie.
Lizzie gave her a grateful look. “I am exhausted. I never really knew how hard it is to work in retail during the holidays.”
Once M.A. got the cookie decorating cleaned up and the girls off to play, she finished up her prep for their supper. The two friends relaxed with some hot tea.
Jim came in, giving both women a kiss on the cheek. “Mission accomplished.”
“What’s he talking about?” asked Lizzie.
“Oh, you will see tomorrow morning. We have a big surprise for the girls,” M.A. explained.
After supper the five of them went over to the church for the midnight service. The air was crisp and the girls enjoyed huffing their breath to make mini clouds in front of them. The walkway up to the church was lined with luminaries and the arched doorway was surrounded by evergreens and twinkle lights. Inside, the church was dramatically decorated, draped in garland and wreaths of evergreen and magnolia leaves. Candles burned in the windows and some small fir trees with simple white lights flanked either side of the aisle. Lizzie was enthralled with the beauty, but taken more by the looks of wonder on the faces of the girls, and all the folks young and old around her.
She saw the Hutchins and Wilsons and waved. Jeremy ran over and gave her a quick hug before joining his siblings in their pew. After the service, they all met outside, Scott carrying little Faith and Jim carrying Rebecca, as both toddlers had fallen asleep during the service. Greetings and hugs were exchanged and Lizzie found herself lingering in a bear hug from Bennett.
“Merry Christmas, Lizzie,” he said, and gently kissed her on the cheek.
“Merry Christmas, Bennett,” she replied, touching his cheek with her hand.
“Hurry up, we’ve got to get home and hang our stockings,” declared Ben, the oldest of Amy and Scott’s children. All the other kids, at least those who were still awake, chorused, “It’s stocking time! Santa Claus is coming to town!” On that note, the families said goodbye and headed home.
Once the stockings were hung, Lizzie climbed into the grand rice bed M.A. had in her guest room, visions of children and Bennett dancing in her head.
The next morning was a hurricane of wrapping paper and shrieks of delight. Lizzie was pleased that Elizabeth was enthusiastic about her cookbook.
“Miss Lizzie, you can teach me how!” she had squealed.
Lizzie was surprised that there were several gifts for her from Aunt Dorothy. “You are not the only one Aunt Dorothy has emailed from across the world,” M.A. explained, as she noted the look of surprise registering on Lizzie’s face when she handed her the first package.
Aunt Dorothy had wrapped gifts from different countries and shipped them to M.A.’s house. Lizzie received a wool plaid scarf from Scotland, a box of chocolates from Belgium and a delightful wood carved angel from Germany. She had also sent Elizabeth and Rachel each their own magnificent wooden marionette puppet also handcrafted in Germany. To M.A. and Jim she sent a stunning nativity set from Spain.
After it seemed all had been opened and appreciated. Jim said, “Now there is one more surprise. I will need to go next door to get it, so hang tight.” While he went to fetch the mysterious gift, Lizzie, M.A. and the girls cleaned up the wrapping paper and neatly stacked each person’s gifts into discernible piles.
Jim came in with a large basket that had a blanket covering the top. Lucky and Ella perked up, sniffing the air and their tails began to wag furiously. Jim carefully sat the basket down and pulled back the blanket. He reached in and lifted out a small bundle of wriggly fur.
“A puppy!” the girls squealed.
“Not just any puppy,” Jim explained. “This is a Boykin Spaniel, the South Carolina state dog. She is ours; we just need to figure out her name.”
The rest of the morning was spent watching the antics of the puppy as she interacted with the girls and Lucky and Ella. By the time Lizzie and her four-legged children returned home, she found she was rejuvenated. She was ready to tackle the remaining work to get the holiday season to New Year’s Eve.
Lizzie looked into the camera and smiled, “You look fantastic, Aunt Dorothy,” she exclaimed as a bright-eyed Aunt Dorothy looked back at her via the computer screen.
“Child, I feel fantastic, but pardon me for saying so, you look exhausted,” Aunt Dorothy replied.
“I am. I closed the shop at twelve today. The holiday season has been non-stop. Thank goodness we made it to New Year’s Eve. It’s only two, in the afternoon, and I have already changed into my pajamas,” said Lizzie.
“We are getting ready to head out to supper. They eat late here in Italy and tonight there should be festivities and fireworks to boot. We are gussied up and plan to be out past midnight, I’m surprised you aren’t going out with friends tonight. New year, new start Lizzie,” said Aunt Dorothy.
“I am just too tired. Believe me both Amy and M.A. have been on my case about staying in tonight, but I want to end this year on my own. There will be time to start anew tomorrow, I’m going to Mrs. McGantry’s for Hoppin John and collard greens,” answered Lizzie.
“Oh, I’m glad of that. I have had some entertaining emails from Marie recently. Well I need to say, arrivederci and Buon Anno, that’s Happy New Year in Italian! I’ll post new pictures tomorrow and remember Tuesday we take off for a four day jaunt in Egypt,” Aunt Dorothy said.
“Be careful! Keep emailing, our next scheduled Skype is two days after you arrive in Australia. I love you and give my best to Maggie,” Lizzie declared.
“Will do child, will do,” and blowing a kiss Aunt Dorothy signed off. Lizzie shuffled back to the couch to find a good movie to get lost in.
She started a fire in the fireplace and the dogs were soon sacked out in front of it. She pulled up the soft chenille throw, not because she was cold, she just wanted the comfort factor of snuggling underneath it. She had stocked the coffee table with some cheese wafers, salted almonds and bottled water. Lizzie clutched a steaming mug of hot cocoa and had indulged herself with some whipped cream to top it off. With the remote in hand she settled in for the afternoon.
She found one of her favorites, a black and white classic called Arsenic and Old Lace, a delightful Cary Grant film. She woke up with drool escaping the corner of her mouth, the credits rolling and the phone ringing.
“Hello?” she said groggily.
“Well, hell. Did I wake up the biscuit queen from her afternoon nap?” laughed M.A. on the other end of the line.
“I just dozed off during a movie. What’s up?” Lizzie rubbing the drool off her chin.
“Just wanted to check and see if you changed your mind about joining us tonight,” asked M.A.
“No, I really want to stay in and say goodbye to this year my way,” Lizzie answered. Feeling the need to explain she continued, “I have been through a lot this year—Uncle George, the end of my marriage, a total upheaval of my life. Not to say the last year has been all bad. After all, I finally am following my dream. I have reconnected with my best friends and I am back home. I just want the year to end on a quiet note. Besides, I think I would need toothpicks to hold up my eyelids if I even attempted to socialize tonight.”
“Okay, just thought I would try ... see you next year!” M.A. said as she acquiesced to Lizzie’s wishes.
After hanging up, Lizzie went in the kitchen and made scrambled eggs and toast for dinner. She carefully rebuilt the fire in the fireplace. Once the fire was s
teady, she fetched her wedding album and took out the pictures one by one. She watched them burn, the edges curling at first, then the whole picture disintegrating into ash. She kept two photos, one of Aunt Dorothy and Uncle George as parents of the bride and one of her and Uncle George cheek-to-cheek on the dance floor. It was a close up so you couldn’t even tell she was wearing a wedding dress.
Then Lizzie found every photo she had of Mark, which was not many as he often gave her a hard time about taking pictures unless it was a campaign worthy event, and she burned those too. By the time she was done it was nearly eight so she let the dogs out and popped popcorn, taking care to pop extra for the dogs. They were nuts for popcorn.
Once they were all settled back into the den, and she had watched some of an NCIS marathon, she looked at the list of movies in her Netflix queue and selected The King and I, one of her favorites. This time she managed to stay awake for the whole movie. Lizzie, caught up in the romance of it, fantasized about Bennett as the King and herself as Anna, whirling around the dance floor. As if Bennett would be caught dead in that outfit let alone channeling his inner Fred Astaire, and that thought made her smile. If she needed him to dance, she knew he would, he had finally convinced her he would always have her back. But what about me? Does he know he can count on me? Not likely. When was the last time I did something for him? She felt her cheeks burning as once again, she realized she was the selfish one in this relationship. She did not want to be Bennett’s Mark, but how to fix it? That is one thing to put on my New Year’s resolution list. I must be a better person to Bennett.
Her phone binged indicating an incoming text message. It was from Bennett. “Happy New Year,” it said, and around her she heard fireworks being shot off. It was midnight. She texted back, “Happy New Year. I have your back, too.” Then, afraid of what he might text back, she turned off the phone and with the dogs headed upstairs to crawl into bed.
“Come in! Come in!” a cheerful Mrs. McGantry greeted Lizzie at the door.
“Thank you so much for inviting me,” Lizzie answered, as she handed Mrs. McGantry a jar of homemade pickles. Lizzie entered the living room and saw Mr. Lee on the sofa holding a small long haired gray kitten.
“Oh, she’s adorable,” Lizzie exclaimed. Mr. Lee held out the kitten to Lizzie, who promptly took her in her arms, loving the purring vibration that emanated from deep inside the ball of fluff with startling blue eyes.
“Meet Angel,” Mr. Lee said, “and Happy New Year!”
“Same to you,” Lizzie answered. “Seems you have been spending a lot of time with Mrs. McGantry lately, Mr. Lee,” Lizzie queried.
“Very observant of you dear. Actually, Marie and I have been seeing each other lately,” Mr. Lee answered.
“You have?” Lizzie exclaimed, unsure what to make of it.
“Yes we have,” Mrs. McGantry said as she entered carrying a tray of iced tea, spiced nuts and cheese wafers. “You probably are unaware Lizzie, but Tommy and I were an item back in high school.”
The two smiled at each other. As Mrs. McGantry sat down next to Mr. Lee, he gently took her hand in his.
“Really,” Lizzie replied, “What broke you two up?” she asked.
“Well, it was silly really. Tommy was headed to The Citadel and planned to go on to law school and I was impatient to get out into the world, so we went our separate ways. I took a job as a nanny to a local family that had been called to serve in the diplomatic corps in Japan, it was a chance to go see an exotic part of the world. When I returned home, Tommy had gone off to law school at Tulane and I met my Gerald, god rest his soul, and he swept me off my feet. We got married in a whirlwind, had a few good years together and then he died in that awful plane crash. I got caught in the role of the poor sad widow and even though Tommy had returned home to open his practice, we never could reconnect,” Mrs. McGantry explained.
“That is not entirely true,” Mr. Lee interjected, “If you recall about twenty years ago, I tried to get you to give us another chance, but you were adamant you could not go down that road.”
“Well, I felt guilty, partly because I felt I owed Gerald loyalty and partly because if I was truthful with myself I had to admit, I had always loved Tommy even when I chose to marry Gerald. He really was such a good man,” Mrs. McGantry replied.
“So what changed, why now?” asked Lizzie.
“We can thank your Aunt Dorothy for that,” Mr. Lee answered. “For years she had watched me pine away for Marie, not giving other ladies a fair shake.”
“And she watched me sink into more misery and unhappiness over the years,” interjected Marie.
“When your Uncle George died, she scolded us both, cajoling us into trying again, daring us to find a way to make each other happy and it worked,” Mr. Lee explained, gazing adoringly at Mrs. McGantry.
“We were finally honest with each other, there was a reason we had connected in our youth and there was a reason we continued to care for each other all these years. I realized that Gerald would want me to be happy and most of all, I realized I could trust Tommy with my foolish heart. I hope you will be happy for us,” Mrs. McGantry added.
“I’m thrilled for you both,” Lizzie said with genuine affection and she felt a warmth in her heart and a hope.
“Come on Lizzie, let’s get this Hoppin’ John together and stir the collard greens. We need to get you some luck for the new year!” Mrs. McGantry said and she and Lizzie headed to the kitchen while Mr. Lee found a football game on the television and Angel dozed on his lap
Chapter Fifteen
Lizzie put the finishing touches on the Valentine specials flyer and then took another look at the photos Aunt Dorothy had posted from New Zealand. She and Maggie were wrapping up their tour of Down Under and heading to Hong Kong to celebrate the Chinese New Year. It was hard to believe but January was coming to a close.
How does time seem to get faster and faster? Lizzie shook her head in disbelief. The front door was jingling at a steady pace indicating the start of the lunch time rush, so Lizzie put her laptop in sleep mode and strapped on her apron. Her staff had grown so she had two workers in the kitchen and three out front the majority of business hours, freeing her to bounce back and forth between kitchen and store front as needed.
Each morning Lizzie herself would complete the majority of the orders for take-and-bake casseroles and a few extras for walk in purchases. When the kitchen crew came in they began the prep for the brunch and lunch service and an efficient routine had developed.
She stepped out of her office and made a quick survey of the kitchen. Seeing all was in hand she passed through the swinging door to the store front. It was a mild winter day so the tables on the porch were two-thirds full and all but one table was occupied inside. In addition there were several customers browsing the store and one placing a gift basket order. Excellent for a random Wednesday in winter and what really warmed her heart was recognizing many familiar faces. Repeat customers—that was a sign her business was thriving. Hers, all hers.
She had accepted Bennett’s offer to sell her the property earlier than the original lease agreement had stated. She had been brave enough to ask him why he wanted to sell so soon and was relieved to find out he wanted the capital from the sale of the building so he could invest in a new boat for his charter fishing business and was not trying to sever ties with her. But still nothing had happened between them. He came in several times a week to get coffee or lunch and they made small talk.
An observer might note some effort of flirtation between them, but it never progressed past that. The longer it went on, the more Lizzie found herself hung up on Bennett. She had even lost interest in meeting anyone new, although honestly that had more to do with the three disastrous date experiences she had just endured.
M.A. and Amy had wisely backed off from trying to set her up or push her to get out there on her own.
She started towards the tables intending to check in with the customers when she heard the door jangle and turned to see who had come in. Her face lit up with a smile when she turned to see Mr. Lee and Mrs. McGantry standing just inside the door holding hands. Their faces were beaming. It was so nice to see both of them so happy. Lizzie embraced them both and led them to the free table in the dining area.
“What can I get the two of you?” she asked.
“We have several bits of business to conduct with you my dear, but first we want to indulge in some of your oyster stew before it goes out of season. I can’t speak for Marie, but I want a side of your collard greens and cornbread to go with it,” Mr. Lee stated, practically licking his lips in anticipation.
“I think I would like just the cornbread with my stew, so I can save some room for dessert,” Mrs. McGantry chimed in.
“I will put in the order, how about drinks?” Lizzie asked.
“Sweet tea for me,” Mrs. McGantry answered.
“Same for me,” Mr. Lee said and with a wink added, “Although I should order unsweet to watch my girlish figure.”
“Oh, Tommy,” laughed Mrs. McGantry.
“Coming right up.” Lizzie went to fill the drink orders herself. Mr. Lee and Mrs. McGantry lingered over their lunch and dessert not finishing until the majority of the crowd had left. They waved Lizzie over to the table and asked her to sit with them for a moment. They had something to tell, something to give and something to ask. Lizzie was intrigued and pulled up a chair.
“Well first the good news,” Mr. Lee grinned and Mrs. McGantry blushed. She held up her left hand revealing a lovely antique diamond ring in a platinum setting. “We’re engaged!” they said in unison and Lizzie clapped her hands together with glee.