A Sweethaven Christmas

by Courtney Walsh

  Lila stilled. It was true. She said she wanted to be surprised and Mama convinced her it was ridiculous. She should find out so they could get everything they needed ahead of time. After all, Lila wouldn’t want to be seen in public for at least a couple of months after the baby was born. Maybe longer, depending on when she got her body back.

  “Lila, the woman still controls your life.” Tom moved from the couch to the chair across from where she sat. “Maybe it’s good for you to see that she’s not the standard by which to measure yourself.”

  He watched her from across the room and she wondered how pitiful she looked to him in that moment.

  “Charlotte has a daughter who needs a bone marrow transplant.”

  Tom’s brows knit together. “She does?”

  Lila nodded. “I think Mama is keeping Daddy from giving it to her—just to protect her lies.”

  After several seconds, Tom finally said, “I’m sorry, hon. I didn’t know.”

  Lila stared at her own fingers hovering above the keyboard. “I want to help her if I can. No mother should lose her own child.”

  Tom leaned forward and took her hand. “You’re right.”

  Did he conjure every single miscarriage she’d had the way she did? Did he remember with startling clarity the fallen faces of nurses delivering bad news? Some filled with empathy, others detached as if they’d simply recited the menu items at a restaurant. As if the words hadn’t broken their hearts.

  She took a deep breath and forced herself not to think about the babies she’d never meet and turned her attention back to the computer. “Daddy had all of their important documents—birth certificates, marriage license, titles, deeds, will—everything, digitized a few years ago. Something his lawyer suggested. If I’m right, then there’s proof right here that they’ve been lying.”

  “And if you can prove it . . .”

  “I can convince Daddy to give Charlotte what she came here for.”

  She found a file labeled “Important docs” and clicked on it.

  Tom walked around behind her so he could see the screen. “Are you sure you want to know, Lila?”

  She ignored him.

  “In all my years I’ve never heard stories of a big, beautiful wedding. I never thought that was odd until now.” Mama wasn’t the small-affair type. She’d relish the opportunity to be the center of attention—unless she had something to hide.

  Lila scrolled through the various documents, clicking open her birth certificate, scans of social security cards and titles to their vehicles.

  “Look, this one is a marriage license,” she said.

  Tom leaned in closer. “It says they were married at the courthouse.”

  Lila nodded. She had thought a bombshell would shatter her, but instead, she felt her resolve to uncover the truth strengthening. “Yes. It also says they were married three months before I was born.” She leaned back in the chair and stared at the scanned license on the screen.

  “So Charlotte was telling the truth,” Tom said.

  Lila met his eyes. “Yes. And my mother’s been living a lie.”

  Adele

  Ever since their not-so-chance meeting at the café, Adele and Henry had been spending their evenings together. Adele couldn’t deny she loved the company—and she loved having such a voracious eater to cook for.

  “I’m still waitin’ to find out about this cookbook, but you’re going to have to help me narrow down my recipes, just in case,” she’d told him the night before.

  Henry had shoveled a bite of her down-home meatloaf into his mouth and shaken his head. “I’m not going to be a bit of help to you.”

  “Why not?”

  “There is no way I can pick a favorite. You’re just too good.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Delicious.”

  She smiled at the memory as she put the finishing touches on her fried chicken. She had a feeling Henry was going to lick the plate clean on this meal too.

  The knock at the door startled her. She glanced at the clock and saw that time had gotten away from her. Through the door, she saw Henry standing on the front porch, and her mind raced back to simpler times when he’d come to the door of this very same cottage, knock and wait to face her father’s grave stare.

  Henry had never been intimidated by her dad, and after a while, he even won the old guy over with a mutual love for the Chicago Cubs and a solid work ethic.

  Adele pulled the door open and wiped her hands on the blue-and-white-checkered apron around her waist.

  Henry smiled at the sight of her and she noted a strange fluttering in her belly. He handed her a brightly colored bouquet of flowers and stepped inside. Adele brought the flowers to her nose and inhaled. It had been years since anyone had brought her flowers. Henry leaned toward her and kissed her cheek. At the nearness of him, Adele suddenly felt sixteen again.

  Henry stepped back and took his coat off. “It smells wonderful in here.”

  “You’ve said that every night this week.” She took his coat and hung it in the front closet.

  “Then it must be true.”

  Adele served their dinner in the dining room, surrounded by a wall of windows. They sat across from each other, the fading light of the sun casting a yellowish hue to the room. Adele dished up the fried chicken and collard greens for Henry and then did the same for herself. When she set the platter down, she met his eyes and found him smiling at her.

  “What are you lookin’ at, Mr. Marshall?” she said, stifling a smile of her own.

  “A very beautiful woman.”

  Adele’s face heated and she imagined how red her cheeks must be. “Stop that now.”

  He reached across the table and took her hand. “I mean it, Adele. You’re every bit as beautiful as I remember.”

  “Well, thank you. You’re not so bad yourself.”

  As the night waned, she let herself relax, and somewhere along the way realized how very much she enjoyed Henry’s company.

  He gave the fried chicken a thumbs-up and told her the cookbook would be incomplete without that in it, which was exactly what he’d said about each of the other meals. For dessert, she served coffee and apple crisp, one that had the perfect balance of apples and crumble. She didn’t much care for a crisp without any crumble.

  After they ate, Adele sat while Henry insisted on cleaning up. “You cooked. I’ll clean.”

  She had to admit, she’d worn herself out preparing the meal, so she welcomed the rest. How she’d loved having someone to cook for again. Made her feel important, like she mattered to someone. When Henry finished with the dishes, they sat in the living room where the old book with all their memories sat on the coffee table.

  “Am I in this?” Henry asked as he picked it up.

  “More than once.”

  He smiled and started flipping through the pages. When he got to the photo of the two of them outside one of the Sweethaven dances, he held it up with a grin. “Look at how beautiful you are.”

  Adele waved him off. “I was just a kid.”

  “And you’re every bit as feisty and full of life today as you were then. Millie was a lot like that right up until the end.” Sadness filled his eyes and Adele could see Millie had been to Henry like Teddy had been to her. They’d already had the loves of their lives; wasn’t it selfish to hope to have that again?

  “I wish I could’ve met her,” Adele said, her voice quiet.

  Henry laughed. “Oh, the two of you together, I can just imagine. I’d be a goner for sure.”

  Adele took the book and flipped to the back. “Look at you here.”

  Henry’s eyes fell to the image of a boy dressed as a soldier. He stilled.

  “Remember you sent that to me from Vietnam. You and your buddies. I bet you got into a lot of trouble over there.”

  Henry nodded but didn’t look away from the photo. “This guy, Vince, he was from Brooklyn.” He leaned over and pointed to a dark-headed young man with a wide gap-toothed smile.

  “And yo
u were friends?”

  “The best.” Henry ran a hand over his whiskered chin.

  “Do you still keep in touch? Maybe on Facebook?”

  He shook his head. “He died right in front of me. If it had been ten seconds later, it would’ve been me.” He saved my life.

  Adele took the book and closed it, then covered his hands with her own. “I’m sorry, Henry.”

  “It was a long time ago.” His smile had lost its luster.

  “How is it that you seem to have forgotten all about the way you and I parted?”

  Henry lifted his chin and looked her squarely in the eye. “I haven’t forgotten, but I don’t blame you for the way things happened.”

  “I should’ve waited.”

  Henry wiped a tear from her cheek. “You don’t mean that. Think of the life you wouldn’t have had.”

  She took his hand and held it in her own. “I know. And the life you wouldn’t have had.”

  “We were so young—it just wasn’t meant to be.”

  Adele nodded as their eyes met. She and Henry were mismatched right from the start. So why had this ache in her heart returned at the thought of losing him all over again?

  “I’ve been thinking, Adele. We’re not so young anymore.”

  She laughed. “That may be in the running for understatement of the year.”

  Henry flashed a smile. “Maybe now our timing is good.” He punctuated the sentence with a shrug, a question in his voice.

  She folded her hands in her lap and stared at him. “What are you sayin’, Henry?”

  “What if we did something crazy? What if you came to see how you like Grand Falls? We could find you a nice little place near mine. Or we could . . .”

  She frowned. “We could what?”

  His eyes were wide like a boy who’d been caught spying on the girls’ locker room. “Get married?”

  “Henry Marshall, as I live and breathe, that’s crazy talk.” She leaned back on the couch and waited for him to start laughing with her.

  But he didn’t. Instead, he got down on a knee in front of her and took her hand in his. “I asked you once, Adele, and I know it didn’t work out, but I’d be honored if you spent the rest of your life with me.”

  Adele’s jaw went slack and she fumbled over her words. “Henry, I don’t know what to say. Don’t you think it’s a little soon to be talking marriage? You haven’t even kissed me yet.”

  He raised a brow. “Do you want me to?”

  She blinked, suddenly as unsure as she was the first time he kissed her.

  He leaned toward her, eyes intent on hers. When he reached her lips, he closed her eyes and kissed her sweetly. “I never forgot your kisses.”

  Everything in her head told her it was crazy. She couldn’t leave Sweethaven. She couldn’t up and move to Grand Falls—not when her family had finally reunited, when she finally had people to cook for on holidays. But then she let herself get a little lost in Henry’s mocha-colored eyes and she knew a part of her had never stopped loving him.

  But married?

  “Just think about it. I’m here for another day, and maybe you can come visit me in Grand Falls and that will help you decide?”

  She nodded but stayed silent.

  Henry brushed his thumb across her cheek. “I know it’s all of a sudden, but there was a time you knew me better than anyone. We’re not so different now, are we?”

  Adele studied his expression. All those feelings she’d buried or forgotten were still there. She looked away.

  Henry squeezed her hand. “Besides, at our age, we can’t afford to date for any length of time.”

  Adele smiled. “Oh, Henry, you do make me laugh.”

  She saw him out and welcomed another kiss from this man she never thought she’d see again—and she wondered how on earth she’d managed to get herself proposed to. Again.

  As she closed the door behind him, Adele waited for the sound of his car driving away before she burst into giggles that would rival any junior high schooler’s. Henry Marshall wanted to marry her.

  And while it defied all reason, she thought, as she trudged up the stairs for bed, that she might be inclined to say yes.

  Jane

  Jane sat in her car drumming her thumbs on the steering wheel, trying to work up the courage to venture into unfamiliar territory. The gym at the Sweethaven Community Center had never been a place she wanted to go, but the weather wasn’t cooperating with her plan to exercise outdoors. At least not until she’d built up some strength. How could she take off in the opposite direction of her house with no indication of how far she could go—especially with these frigid temperatures?

  But sitting there, watching people come and go, looking like born athletes, Jane suddenly lost her nerve.

  A knock on her car window startled her out of her self-pity.

  She looked up and saw Meghan standing beside her window. “What are you doing out here?”

  Jane sighed. “Trying to work up the nerve to go in.”

  Meghan glanced at the door of the community center. “Come on. I’ll show you around.”

  “Really?”

  “Of course.” Meghan opened the car door and Jane got out. “You already look like you’ve lost some weight.”

  Jane shrank at the compliment. “I’ve been too scared to get on the scale.”

  They walked toward the front door of the community center. “I’m proud of you, Janie. You’re taking care of yourself. It’s nice to see.”

  Jane smiled as they approached the front desk, but the good feelings vanished when they were met by a twentysomething Barbie doll in very tight clothes.

  Heat rushed up to her cheeks and suddenly Jane realized how very much she didn’t belong there. Meghan must’ve sensed her apprehension because she grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to the counter. “You just sign your name here and pay Morgan.”

  Jane glanced up at Morgan and forced a smile. The Barbie doll smiled back. “It’s your first time?”

  Jane nodded and scribbled her name on the line below where Meghan had signed.

  “I’d offer to take you on a tour, but you’re in good hands. Ms. Rhodes is one of our most faithful clients.” Jane could swear she heard a little bell ring at the sparkle of Morgan’s flashy smile.

  Jane followed Meghan through the locker rooms and then out to the pool where her nostrils filled with the smell of chlorine.

  “The lap pool is open all day, so you could try that if you want. And they have water aerobics classes.” Meghan motioned toward a row of old ladies bobbing up and down in the water following the lead of a fully clothed woman teaching them from the side of the pool.

  “I think maybe a treadmill or something,” Jane said. She couldn’t imagine getting into a swimsuit every day.

  Meghan laughed. “Water aerobics isn’t for everybody.”

  They walked upstairs through the weight room and into the cardio room where a row of treadmills and other similar machines stared at her.

  “Why don’t we try the elliptical?” Meghan grabbed a magazine and Jane did the same.

  Two sweat-tinged women on stair-stepping machines watched as Jane followed behind Meghan. Probably wondering what such a big person was doing at the gym. Again, she had to force herself not to run for the door.

  Meghan hopped up on one of the elliptical machines—a cross between a stair stepper and a treadmill and far more intimidating than either.

  Jane stood beside her machine and stared at it. “I don’t know about this, Meg.”

  “Look, it’s easy.” Meghan flipped on the machine, clicked around on its digital face, adjusting the settings until finally she had thirty minutes on the timer. Meghan’s legs started moving in a gliding motion, like she was running without lifting her feet off the ground.

  Jane set her bottle of water in the drink holder and climbed up onto the machine. Scared to mess up the settings, she concentrated on the timer and started moving her legs.

  After five minu
tes, she was dripping sweat. On one side of her, Meghan was coasting along, and on the other side, a muscular guy ran four-minute miles on the treadmill. Jane caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and met the eyes of a woman across the room on a stationary bike.

  She’s probably timing me to see how long I last.

  She’s probably waiting for me to have a heart attack.

  “Jane?” Meghan’s voice pulled her from her self-deprecation.

  “Yeah?”

  “You’ve got it on the highest resistance.”

  “What?” Jane looked down at the settings. “I don’t know what that means.”

  “Ten is the hardest.” Meghan reached over and clicked a downward facing arrow to the number two. “Try that for a little while.”

  Suddenly, Jane’s legs felt like Jell-O, but the ease of resistance made a huge difference. She still didn’t last the entire thirty minutes, but at least it was a start.

  “I’m going into the weight room,” Meghan said when their half hour was up.

  “I think I’m done for the day,” Jane said, wiping sweat from her forehead.

  “You did so well today, Janie. Really,” Meghan said with a smile. “Just coming here is half the battle.”

  Jane responded with a weak smile. She looked at the woman across the gym. Would she ever stop feeling so inadequate?

  Adele

  The day after Henry’s proposal, Adele got the call from Kathy.

  “We love your ideas and your food,” the editor told her. “We’d love for the cookbook to be a go. We’re sending over a contract for you to look over.”

  Adele held in a squeal until she hung up the phone, but seconds later, panic set in. It set in so fast, she didn’t even think to call the Circle with the news. She had hundreds of recipes, all attached to some of her favorite stories, how would she ever narrow them down?

  Then there was the little matter of Henry’s proposal. If she accepted, it meant a move and a tough conversation with her family and the girls. If she declined, she risked breaking his heart. Again. The decision weighed heavy on her, so she did what she knew to do—she baked.