A Sweethaven Christmas

by Courtney Walsh

  After the three of them left, Meghan turned to Nick. “Unbelievable.”

  “I’m sorry, hon. I had no idea.”

  “They can’t do this,” Meghan said, motioning toward the door where the three had just left. “I’ve already told people about the special. They’re excited, and I want them to be a part of it.”

  “Let me look over the contract and talk to Martin,” Nick said. “If we’re going to do this without Duncan, we need to read the fine print a little better.”

  She shot him a look.

  He walked toward her. “That’s not a dig at you. Just an observation. If there’s nothing we can do, we’ll make the best of it.”

  Meghan sighed. “I’m going to let them all come anyway. Once that Liz sees how wonderful our real friends and family really are, she’ll have no choice but to let them be in the show.”

  Nick frowned. “I don’t think it works that way.”

  “I should get to have some say in how this goes, shouldn’t I? It’s my Christmas special. My name’s on it.”

  Nick stood in front of her, wide-eyed.

  She didn’t care if he disagreed. He wasn’t going to change her mind. Her friends and family were going to be in the special one way or another.

  Adele

  The computer and all the power it seemed to wield still remained something of a mystery to Adele. She woke up with a plan— decorate the house—but even as she hung the swaths of evergreen on the stairway and wrapped it with white lights, her thoughts turned to Henry and whether or not he’d written again.

  Finally, after hanging a bay leaf wreath on the front door and finishing the entryway, Adele wandered toward the dining room and stared at the machine.

  “Ridiculous,” she said out loud and turned around. She exchanged the plain pillows for Christmas pillows in the living room, cleared a spot for the tree she’d eventually purchase from the Boy Scouts downtown and redecorated the mantel.

  And all the time, she thought of Henry.

  Finally, after she’d whipped the living room into proper Christmas shape, she couldn’t deny that her old bones needed a break. Might as well be in front of the computer.

  As she waited for the machine to spring to life, her mind rushed through the errands she needed to run, presents she wanted to buy, and through it all she reminded herself to slow down in the coming weeks—to really enjoy the holidays because they’d be over before she blinked.

  The screen came on and Adele talked herself through the steps to get back to the site that promised her a connection with Henry. Once there, she began to search around, still trying to get an idea of what all could be done on this Facebook. As she did, a little box with Henry’s picture popped up in the lower right-hand corner of the screen.

  Adele gasped. What in the world?

  She put her reading glasses on and leaned in closer and read the words “Hi there” beside Henry’s name.

  Hi there?

  The box began blinking as the words “It’s been too long, Adele. How are you?” appeared.

  Was Henry talking to her over the computer? She stared at the cursor as the words “Are you there?” appeared.

  Adele inhaled, then typed “Yes, I’m here,” but the words didn’t move from where she typed them into the conversation box. She studied the keyboard and then finally realized she hadn’t pressed Enter. When she did, her words popped up underneath Henry’s.

  She was talking to Henry. Just like that. Without saying a word.

  “Hi,” Henry wrote.

  “Hi.”

  The cursor blinked at her. Now what?

  “How’ve you been?” he wrote.

  “I’m good. You?” She couldn’t help but think if this were a real conversation, she might be searching for a way out.

  “Wonderful. Especially now that I’m back in touch with you.”

  Heat zipped through Adele’s cheeks and she smiled. Always a charmer, that Henry. “I didn’t know anything about Facebook until my kids showed me.” It had been awhile since she’d typed, and her fingers barely remembered where the home row was. Little by little, it started to come back to her. She glanced up and reread what she’d written. She hadn’t meant to talk about her kids. Would Henry want to avoid that topic?

  “Me either,” he wrote. “Actually, it was my granddaughter who showed me. She’s ten.”

  Adele laughed out loud. For nearly an hour, she and Henry exchanged words on a little box in the right-hand corner of her computer screen. She learned that he’d been married, but his wife had passed away. They had four children and now he had eleven grandkids. None of them lived nearby.

  “Remember our last summer together?”

  Henry’s words caught her off-guard. She did remember. She remembered what he told her on the beach that night and how it changed everything.

  “I remember everything, Henry,” she typed.

  Sweethaven, in many ways, seemed to be in a bubble of sorts, but in those days, the condition of the country extended beyond the town’s limits. Their world had been turned upside down with talk of the draft and the war in Vietnam. She and Henry had escaped it all by spending long summer nights in his father’s boat, a crummy little speedboat that had been replaced by something much grander.

  “Pop says this is my boat now,” Henry had said as he cut the engine and they stared across the lake at the whole of Sweethaven.

  “What will you do with it?” Adele asked, admiring the sun dipping below the horizon, the Sweethaven lighthouse in the foreground.

  “Whatever I want, I suppose.” Henry leaned his elbows on his knees. “I’d like to keep heading that way.” He looked out over the lake, expanding as far as his eye could see. “Just you and me. We could get away from all this nonsense of trying to figure out what to do with the rest of our lives.”

  Adele hadn’t started thinking about the rest of her life. Not really—not yet. But Henry was two years older.

  “My dad wants me to go to med school. He’s already decided I should be a doctor.”

  “And you don’t want to?”

  Henry shook his head. “I’ve got other ideas, but he’s going to hate them.”

  “What are they?”

  Henry started the engine again. “It doesn’t matter. Let’s just enjoy the night.”

  And while they had enjoyed the night, and many others like it, there were moments when Henry seemed burdened with a decision he had no business having to make.

  Looking back on it now, Adele wished he would’ve talked to her about it then instead of keeping everything bottled up inside, but it wasn’t his way.

  The cursor blinked and Adele had to remind herself to respond to whatever Henry had just said. When she glanced up she saw his words waiting for her: “So when should we get that cup of coffee?”

  Adele stared at the words, unsure of what to type next.

  “Adele?”

  Her hands hovered over the keyboard and her mind spun, doubting her previous decision to see him. She’d accepted that she’d never see Henry again. She’d decided his life had turned out a certain way—that he’d turned out a certain way. Could she bear it if she learned none of those things were true?

  Could she bear it if she met him and that familiar old regret over a choice she’d made all those years ago twisted its way into her belly?

  She started to write “Oh, next week might be hard for me . . .” but deleted it. Next, she tried, “What day were you thinking?” but was she ready to commit to a face-to-face meeting? She quickly deleted that. Back to a blinking cursor.

  The sound of the back door opening startled her.

  Without thinking, she clicked out of her Internet connection just in time to see Luke come into the room. “Hey, Ma.”

  “Luke, you scared me to death.”

  Luke narrowed his eyes. “What were you doing?”

  “Nothin’.” She stood and walked past him into the kitchen. “I’m working on my cookbook. I’ve got a lot to do.” Never mind t
hat she still hadn’t heard back from that weasel of a man about whether or not there would actually be a cookbook.

  “Uh-huh. Well, I just came by to make sure you’re coming to Meghan’s for the filming.”

  “You came all the way here to ask me that? Why didn’t you just call?” Adele said, willing her heart to settle down.

  “I would’ve, but on the phone, I couldn’t steal one of these.” He picked up a chocolate chip cookie and waved it at her.

  Why was she so jumpy? What did it matter if she wanted to have coffee with an old friend? Surely her son wouldn’t care one bit—so why did it feel like a secret she’d hide from her parents, like a diary stuffed under her mattress?

  “Ma, are you okay?” Luke swallowed one cookie and picked up another.

  “Of course. And I’ll be at Meghan’s. You can plan on it.”

  “Will you bring the cookies?”

  Adele laughed, but she couldn’t rid herself of the panic she felt. Henry had posed an important question and she had turned the computer off. Granted, she had hesitated, even without Luke’s intrusion, but she would’ve said yes eventually. Wouldn’t she?

  On his end, how did this look? Like she’d just abandoned their conversation at the most pivotal moment. Oh, she hated that blasted computer.

  But without it, she’d never have found him again.

  After Luke left, with half a dozen cookies in his pockets, Adele hurried back to the computer, but Henry had signed off.

  She hadn’t been this disappointed in a long time.

  Lila

  Lila awoke to the smell of pancakes. She opened her eyes to find Tom setting the little table in their room at the Whitmore.

  “I ordered us breakfast,” he said.

  She forced a smile. She didn’t have the heart to tell him that her morning sickness made that pancake her enemy or that their days at the Whitmore had only increased her loneliness.

  After she splashed water on her face and brushed her teeth, Lila felt a little better—good enough to sit across from Tom and at least pick at the pancakes.

  “I made a few appointments to look at cottages,” Tom said, inhaling a bite of his breakfast.

  Lila tried to find excitement, but truth be told, she felt like she needed four more hours of sleep. Suddenly, this baby seemed to need more of everything—more food, more rest, more water. Did she really want to trudge all over town looking at cottages?

  “You don’t look happy.” Tom frowned.

  “No, it’ll be great. I’m excited to find our own place.” She wasn’t lying—she just didn’t feel like being visibly excited in that moment.

  After breakfast, Lila showered and dressed, then followed Tom out to the car so they could make their appointment with the Realtor. She’d packed Saltine crackers and a large water bottle in hopes that they would ward off any ill feelings she might have.

  But when they pulled into the driveway of the first cottage, she realized it would take more than bland food and proper hydration to keep the bad feelings away.

  “I already hate it,” she said, staring at the mustard-colored ranch behind overgrown bushes.

  “You haven’t even seen the inside yet.”

  “I don’t think I need to.”

  “Lila, keep an open mind,” Tom said. “We can always get something cheap and renovate it. I’ve always wanted to do that.”

  Lila frowned. “Well, that makes one of us.”

  “You’re an interior designer. You could easily transform a house. Let’s just see.” He jumped out of the car and met Pearl Bailey standing near the edge of the driveway. Pearl was old and should’ve retired years ago, but she had the corner on the Sweethaven real estate market. After they exchanged hellos, he motioned for Lila to join them.

  She moved slowly up the walk as Pearl fumbled with the lock. Finally, the old woman pushed the door open and they walked inside. The smell of animals and cigarettes smacked Lila in the face. Before she knew what had happened, she turned and threw up in the front bushes. She slapped her hand over her mouth, stunned, then turned to find both Tom and Pearl staring at her.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said. “This was a bad idea.”

  “I take it that’s a ‘no’?” Pearl’s head shook involuntarily as she waited for a reply.

  “Or cigarettes,” Lila said, moving away from the stench of the house.

  “Maybe we could find homes that haven’t had pets?” Tom offered.

  “Duly noted. On to the next.” Pearl stuck her index finger in the air and trudged back down the walk, Tom and Lila following behind.

  Back in the car, Tom still seemed shocked. “I can run through them first. If they’re okay, I’ll come get you. Sound okay?”

  Lila sighed. “Maybe this is a dumb idea.”

  “What? Why?”

  “My parents have the nicest house in Sweethaven. Looking for a replacement is hardly wise.”

  Tom took her hand. “It’s not a replacement, hon. It’s something completely new. Just ours without any of the baggage.”

  She nodded but stayed quiet. She didn’t want to admit that the Christmas decorations all over town only made her sadder. Christmas, more than any other time of year, meant good memories with family—and she wasn’t even speaking to hers.

  Tom followed behind at Pearl’s snail’s pace as she rounded the corner. Pearl kept driving, but Tom slowed down in front of a little cottage set way back off the road. “What about that one?”

  Lila glanced up and gasped. “Your parents’ old cottage?”

  He shrugged. “It seems fitting.”

  She stared out toward the house where Tom had grown up. Though the trees in the yard were all bare, that didn’t keep her from seeing the beauty in the white two-story and its wide porch. She remembered the three-bedroom home, its huge kitchen and dining room. She could easily recall the living area where Tom’s parents often spent their evenings playing gin together. Lila had always marveled at how easily the two of them got along.

  She wanted that for her and Tom.

  “But it’s not for sale.”

  “Let me make a few calls.” Tom grinned. “Everyone has a price.”

  Was Tom right? Could this be their dream home? She had to admit that she liked the idea of having a piece of Tom’s childhood to share with their own child. She smiled.

  “Make the calls,” she said.

  * * * * *

  After their cottage-hunting adventure, Lila left Tom to follow up on his parents’ old house so she could take a much-needed nap.

  The door of the dark room popped open, but Lila barely stirred.

  Tom sat on the edge of the bed and brushed her hair back away from her face. “You’re still sleeping.”

  She took a deep breath in, her body warm under the covers. “I’ve been so tired.”

  “I know. The Luminary Walk starts in an hour. Do you still want to go?”

  Lila had always loved the Luminary Walk. The few times her family had been in town for Christmas, the magic of the holiday seemed to sprinkle itself like fairy dust over the entire town.

  She could use some of that magic now.

  As her parents’ hold on her seemed to lift, Lila felt more confused than ever. Without having their expectations to live up to, who was she supposed to be?

  Tom pulled the curtains back, the dim light from the waning day pressing in. “It’s cold out there, but it’s going to be such a nice night.”

  Lila groaned. “What if Mama and Daddy are there?”

  He knelt in front of her and took her hands. “Listen, I’m not going to let your parents ruin Christmas for us. We’re having a baby. We’re in Sweethaven.”

  Lila met his eyes.

  “I got a hold of the owner of our old cottage.”

  “You did?”

  He grinned. “He’s arranged for us to go look at it. I think you’re going to love it.”

  Tom had done everything in his power to make sure she knew he loved her—in spite of her chan
ging body, in spite of her sad disposition. What Mama had said before shouldn’t matter, but in the back of her mind, Lila still found herself wondering about all those trips he’d taken for work, jet-setting to countries all over the world. Without her. Had she been foolish to trust him?

  Tom peeked out the window. “They’re getting set up. Will you be ready in time?”

  Still in pajamas and virtually makeup free, Lila was anything but ready.

  “Give me half an hour.”

  He nodded and she hurried to make herself presentable, noting what a chore it was to put on mascara and line her lids. Perhaps this was her form of rebelling against everything Mama had taught her. Not wearing makeup certainly wasn’t acceptable where Cilla Adler was concerned.

  Twenty minutes later, they walked out the door and downtown where the sidewalks had been lined with luminaries. The faint flicker of the candles inside dotted sidewalks and streets everywhere they turned.

  Excitement bubbled inside Lila the closer they got to the town square, where people were flocking. It always amazed her how such a small town could draw such a big crowd, but no one wanted to miss these festivities.

  Among the low drone of the mingling crowd, Lila caught bits and pieces of Christmas conversations and well wishes—the kind only found in a community like this one. People seemed genuinely interested in each other, and that was something Lila wanted more than anything.

  In spite of her heavy eyelids, she kept an eye out for her friends, following Tom across the street toward the center of town.

  Inside the gazebo, the city council members stood, waiting to kick off this year’s Christmas Celebration with the Luminary Walk, a tradition dating back to the earliest days of Sweethaven. It comforted her to know that generations before them had walked these brick roads, lined with small white bags filled with sand and a single candle to help usher in the holiday season.

  Lila had been so lost in romanticizing the beauty of the luminaries, she didn’t hear Campbell come up beside her.

  “I’ve never seen anything like this,” Campbell said.

  Lila startled, then smiled. “It’s something else, isn’t it?”

  Mama’s words taunted her now. In light of Charlotte, was it a mistake to befriend Tom’s daughter? Did it send the message she accepted what he’d done—his betrayal?