Love Finds You on Christmas Morning

by Debby Mayne

  “No, I’ll tell her,” Mr. Pickard said as he slowly stood from the chair. William started to reach out to help him but thought better of it. “Go on, you two. Get out of here before I change my mind.”

  William extended his elbow. “Shall we?”

  “We might be going in your automobile, but I’ll still need my coat. It’s not like you can have a roaring fire in there.”

  William chuckled. “You’re right. I wouldn’t want you to freeze to death. There’s also a blanket on the seat; Mom insists I take it with me at all times.”

  * * * * *

  Lillian was so happy that she was downright giddy. She couldn’t remember ever having such a wonderful time. All her exhaustion seemed to fade the moment she stepped foot inside her house and saw William.

  No matter how much she tried to deny it, she liked him way more than she knew was good for her in the long run. But right now, sitting beside him in the automobile, riding through the streets of Cary, she felt as though she didn’t have a thing to worry about. The future would take care of itself.

  Finally, after covering most of downtown and crossing back over the railroad tracks, William pulled up in front of her house. He didn’t waste any time getting out and coming around to help her to the ground.

  “Thank you for obliging me,” he said as they walked toward the house. “I’ll see you to your door; then I’d best be getting home.”

  “I enjoyed it,” she said, doing everything she could to keep her voice from sounding as breathless as she felt.

  Lillian had barely opened the door when her mother came toward her, shaking her head. “You are playing with fire, young lady. When your father told me where you went, I told him that was a huge mistake.”

  “Maybe so, Mama, but it’s mine to make. I like William. I tried not to, but I can’t help it. He’s so nice.”

  Mama placed her hands on Lillian’s shoulders and looked her in the eyes, her face inches from Lillian’s. “That’s what boys like William Tronnier do. They cross the railroad tracks to this side of town to have a little fun, but then when it comes time to settle down with one woman, they go back to their own side and find someone more suited to their station in life.”

  Lillian knew Mama was right about most cases, but maybe not this time. William had to be different. He certainly seemed to be.

  “Go wash your hands and come to the kitchen for supper. Your daddy has already sat down at the table.”

  Washing her hands gave her an opportunity to mentally prepare for any questions her parents might ask. By the time she got to the table, Mama had calmed down considerably, and Daddy had a pleased look on his face.

  “So how was the ride?” Daddy asked, a twinkle in his eyes.

  “Very nice.” Lillian glanced down at her empty plate before allowing herself to look back up at Mama.

  “Like I said when you first got home, this is a dangerous situation. Don’t get used to having all this attention from a man you have no business seeing.”

  Daddy reached for Mama’s hand. “Let Lillian enjoy her moment, Helen. It’s not like she’s wanting to run off with the boy.”

  Mama opened her mouth but closed it before anything came out. Lillian let out a sigh of relief as she reached for the bowl of beans.

  The next morning, Lillian and her parents arrived at church at the regular time. She kept watching the door, hoping to see William. Mama occasionally gave her a look of disapproval.

  “Don’t get your hopes up, Lillian,” she whispered. “Remember what I said, or you’ll get hurt.”

  Lillian didn’t respond. Instead, she forced herself to turn her attention to the message in the sermon.

  Lillian wanted to throw herself across her bed and sob after they got home from church. She didn’t have a good reason, but the disappointment of not seeing William clouded everything around her. Daddy kept winking at her, and that only made it worse.

  She helped Mama put together their big meal of the day in the early afternoon. Afterward, she took advantage of a brief warming spell and went for a walk. She heard the occasional sound of an automobile, but each time she looked, she was disappointed to see that it wasn’t William. This was one day she was glad to be finished with.

  On Monday morning, she popped out of bed before her alarm clock went off. Mama hadn’t gotten up yet, and since there was no reason to wake her, Lillian went about her business of getting ready in the silence of the sleeping household.

  She managed to get all the way to the door to leave when she heard Mama calling after her. “Why are you leaving so early? The store doesn’t open for another hour yet.”

  “I want to get ready for our new employee,” Lillian replied. “If you don’t have to be up, why don’t you go back to bed?”

  Mama looked at her with sleepy eyes. “Good idea. I didn’t sleep well last night because your daddy was snoring so loud.”

  “I’ll be home a little later every evening until after Christmas, so don’t hold supper for me. I can eat whatever is left when I get home.”

  She walked out the door and pulled it shut behind her. The store was already unlocked when she arrived.

  Mr. Joachim had pulled out another dozen or so boxes and strewn them across the floor, blocking the way to the cash register. He glanced up from the wires he was trying to untangle. “Oh, good. I’m glad you came in early. Here, give me a hand with this. I want to finish getting all these decorations up before we open for customers.”

  Instead of preparing what to say to Rose, Lillian spent the next hour decorating the store. They managed to finish everything on time, though, and that gave her some relief. Mr. Joachim took a step back, surveyed everything as he brushed his hands together, and nodded. “Looks very festive, doesn’t it?”

  “Yes,” she agreed. “Very festive.”

  The bell on the door jingled. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Rose come in. “You said to come back on Monday morning, so here I am. I hope you have some good news for me.”

  Mr. Joachim held his hand toward Lillian, gesturing for her to speak. She nodded, walked toward Rose, and extended her hand. “Yes, we have some very good news. We’d like to hire you to work during the Christmas season.”

  Rose broke into a smile. “That is such a relief. I need this job.”

  “You do realize it’s temporary, right?” Mr. Joachim said. “We’re doing a booming business now, but it will slow way down after Christmas.”

  “Yes, sir,” Rose said with a sweet smile.

  “Can you start today?” Lillian asked.

  “Absolutely, yes!”

  Mr. Joachim beamed. “Good. Now why don’t you ladies discuss the job while I go do some paperwork?”

  Lillian watched him as he headed back to his office. She’d noticed that he spent less and less time on the sales floor, and she often wondered if he didn’t enjoy waiting on customers. But he’d inherited the store from his father and grandfather, so perhaps he would have rather done something else.

  After he was out of listening range, Rose turned to Lillian. “Okay, now why don’t I help the customers while you ring them up?” She scanned the floor. “We must get those boxes out of here. They look absolutely ghastly. While you’re doing that, I’ll tidy up around the cash register and make it look a little nicer.”

  Lillian was stunned and started to do what she was told, but then she stopped. Rose had barely been hired, and here she was bossing Lillian around as though she owned the place.

  “No, Rose. I don’t know how you did things at your last job back in Raleigh, but you need to learn how we do things here.”

  Rose’s forehead scrunched, and she folded her arms. “I just wanted to help make this place look nice.”

  “After you learn your job, you can share your ideas. But in the meantime, you’ll need to do what’s needed around here.”

  “Just tell me what to do,” Rose said in a tone of exasperation. “Even if it doesn’t make any sense, I’ll do it just to keep you from gett
ing mad.”

  “I’m not mad,” Lillian said. “Let’s get through the day, and we can discuss everything after we close the store.”

  “Oh, I can’t stay after we close.” Rose thought for a few seconds. “By the way, I might need to leave early today. Mother doesn’t know where I am, so I’ll have to come up with a reason why I won’t be home every day.”

  “You didn’t tell your mother you applied for this job?” Lillian asked incredulously.

  Rose shook her head. “She’d be appalled at the very thought of her only daughter working at a five and dime.” She lifted her hand and giggled behind it. “And if she knew I was taking the train to work, she’d probably put a padlock on my bedroom door to keep me there.”

  “Where does she think you are when you’re not home all day?”

  “Oh, just gallivanting around, doing the things girls my age do.”

  Chapter Ten

  Lillian was about to comment when someone came into the store. As she helped the customer, she wished she’d had more time to talk to Rose before hiring her. Fortunately, Rose didn’t hold onto her notion of being the boss after Lillian had set her straight.

  Mr. Joachim seemed to be pleased with Rose. He came out of his office at various times throughout the day and observed. Rose didn’t disappoint him, either. When she saw him watching, she turned on the charm and made the customers feel as though they were in an exclusive boutique rather than the Five and Dime.

  He cornered Lillian when she went to the back to get stock to replenish the shelves. “Maybe we’ll consider keeping her on after Christmas,” he said. “She’s really livened up the place.”

  Lillian didn’t let on that Rose’s parents wouldn’t have approved of the job. She wished she knew why Rose was there.

  Toward the end of the afternoon, William stopped by. Lillian didn’t even try to hide her joy at seeing him.

  “What can I do for you?” Rose said from behind Lillian. “Would you like to see a nice shave set?”

  “He’s a friend,” Lillian said.

  An odd expression covered William’s face. “Rose McNault? What are you doing here?”

  She tilted her head back and laughed. “Killing time. What are you doing here, William Tronnier?”

  “I stopped by to see Miss Pickard.”

  “Oh you did, did you?” Rose turned to the side and looked back at William coquettishly. “Sort of how you used to stop by and see me when I worked in Raleigh?” She let out an ear-piercing laugh. “Oh, I get it. You’re having a little fun on the other side of the tracks. My brothers did that before they settled down.”

  Lillian felt as though the earth had opened up and swallowed her. She looked at William, whose chin had dropped, and then back to Rose, who held his gaze with her own flirty eyes.

  As difficult as it was, Lillian forced herself to take a step toward the back of the store. “Um…I need to go see about something. I’ll be right back.”

  She walked away as quickly as she could. Mr. Joachim stepped out of his office, but she wouldn’t look him in the eye. She could tell he started to follow her but stopped.

  As soon as she was out of sight, she leaned against the wall. Mama had been right. She had no business even thinking that William Tronnier was interested in her. She sniffled back the tears, cleared her throat, and took several deep breaths.

  The pain of her discovery turned to anger. How dare he treat her so disrespectfully? Lillian pulled herself together, squared her shoulders, and gave herself a lecture. This is not the end of the world. It’s best to find out now and be done with someone who only wanted to pretend.

  When she was certain she could face William and Rose without crumbling, she marched right back out to the sales floor. He was gone, but Rose stood behind the counter with a smug look on her face.

  “That was a pleasant surprise,” Rose said, her voice laced with sarcasm. “I didn’t realize you and William were such good friends.”

  “We’re not.” Lillian couldn’t keep the edge from her voice. “We’re merely acquaintances.”

  “Oh?” Rose ran her hand along the edge of the counter, studied her hand, and flicked away the dust with the other hand. “I thought maybe…well, it was just a silly notion. Anyway, I need to leave soon. What time should I be here tomorrow?”

  “We open at nine. I like to get here early.”

  Rose patted her bobbed hair and pouted her brightly glossed red lips as she headed toward the door. “I’ll be here around nine. See ya.”

  Lillian wondered if she’d made the biggest mistake of her life by hiring Rose. But then if she hadn’t, she wouldn’t know about William. Lillian cringed as she thought about how she’d been played a fool.

  She wiped off the cash register and dusted the countertop before gathering her personal belongings and going home. Mr. Joachim stayed behind and told her he’d lock up. William wasn’t anywhere around—not even in front of her house, where she’d half expected to see him.

  Mama had prepared a nice little meat loaf and a compote with some fruit she’d purchased with the extra money Mr. Joachim had given Lillian. Although having meat on the table more than a couple of nights a week was good, Lillian thought it might be nice to spend a little on herself. She could use a pair of gloves, and maybe one of these days she might even consider going to the beauty salon. The one time she’d gone there was when Daddy was still working and she wasn’t old enough to appreciate it.

  Daddy was cranky, which kept Mama occupied, and Lillian wasn’t terribly upset about it. She didn’t have all the attention on her, so she could eat in peace and then retire to her room after the dishes were done.

  She lay in bed staring up at the ceiling with only the light of the half-moon filtered through the sheer draperies. Her initial resistance to William came from a gut feeling that she didn’t belong with someone like him. Mama and Daddy had warned her, but William’s charm had broken through her shell and Daddy’s. She needed to listen to Mama and not even think of straying from what she knew was good for her: working hard and not thinking about romance.

  As she dozed off, images of William swirled in her head, with Rose standing at his side laughing and teasing her. “You’ll never be good enough for a man like William,” came Rose’s taunts. Lillian awoke with a crick in her neck and a sense of dread about facing Rose at the store.

  Lillian arrived at the store at a quarter to nine. Mr. Joachim was right behind her, humming a familiar tune and smiling. “Nice morning for this time of year, isn’t it, Miss Pickard?”

  “Very nice,” she said, trying hard to act more cheerful than she felt.

  He instantly stopped humming, scrunched his forehead, and leaned toward her. “Are you not feeling well? I’ve heard there’s something going around.”

  “I’m feeling just fine,” Lillian said. “I just know we’re going to be very busy today, so I have to set everything up. Would you like me to put one of the display racks on the sidewalk, since the sun is shining and it’s not too cold?”

  “Rose said she didn’t like that display,” Mr. Joachim said. “So I’m thinking we might find another way to get people into the store.”

  “Well, I like it.” Lillian grabbed both sides of the rack that rested against the wall next to the front door. “So I think I’ll put it out there, if you don’t mind.”

  He jumped back. “Okay, if that’s what you think we should do.” He started for his office and then stopped and turned around. “Please send Rose back to my office when she gets in. Tell her I have something to discuss with her.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Rose was five minutes late, and she didn’t even bother with an excuse. Instead, she lifted her head, looked directly at Lillian, and asked if she needed help bringing in that “hideous-looking” display. “I think it cheapens the look of the store,” she explained.

  “Well, this is a five and dime,” Lillian retorted. “It’s not exactly a specialty boutique.” Lillian cleared her throat. “Oh, by the w
ay, Mr. Joachim would like to see you. He said to tell you to go back to his office when you got here.”

  “Be a dear and go tell him I’m busy right now. I’ll see him a little bit later.”

  Lillian stopped in her tracks, spun around, and glared at Rose. “I don’t know who you think you are, but Mr. Joachim is the owner of this store. He is the one who gives us our pay at the end of the week. I will not go tell him you’re too busy to see him.”

  “Wow, you sure are testy this morning. I thought you’d be a sweet girl to work with, but you’ve actually turned out to be quite difficult.” She frowned and contorted her face. “Okay, I’ll go see what he wants.”

  Lillian had no idea what Mr. Joachim would want to see Rose about, since he’d given her the task of training. The only thing she knew was that he really seemed to like Rose, and he’d been in a particularly good mood until he realized Lillian wasn’t. Uh-oh. What if she’d made him mad and he wanted to discuss it with Rose?

  Lillian felt as if all the blood had drained from her body. She stood still, willing her body not to react like it was.

  Then Rose came storming out of Mr. Joachim’s office, ranting about no one appreciating her good taste. Instead of stopping by the cash-register counter, she continued until she was out the door, letting it slam behind her.

  What had just happened?

  Lillian leaned forward to see if Mr. Joachim’s office door was still open. Not only was his door open, but he was on his way to the front of the store with a smug look on his face.

  “Tell you what, Lillian. Next time we hire someone, let me take care of it. I don’t want to take a chance and have that happen again.”

  “Wh–what just happened?”

  “You don’t know?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “I have no idea.”

  “First off, I don’t want to see my prized employee butting heads with the new person.”

  “I’m sorry,” Lillian said. “That was partly my fault—”

  “No, you were right,” he interrupted. “That young woman is no lady. She doesn’t have an ounce of respect for authority, and she doesn’t seem to know the difference between right and wrong. I don’t mind giving a young person direction, but I don’t want to hire someone then turn around and have to act like a parent.”