Nantucket White Christmas

by Pamela M. Kelley

  “I’m sorry. I totally forgot to ask you about that. Abby usually runs the Christmas basket giveaway for our local food pantry, but this year Kate is handling the coordinating. They put together about a hundred boxes with a turkey and everything else to make a nice dinner. The delivery comes in this Thursday and the freezer they usually use isn’t available. I thought maybe you’d have some space this time of year?”

  Rhett nodded. “We can make room. The extra freezer we use more in the summer has room and there’s space in our big walk-in, too. We can make it work. I’m assuming it’s just for a week or two?”

  “Yes. They put the baskets together a few days before Christmas.”

  “Tell her to just call me to let me know when they’ll be bringing them by. I’ll make sure we’re ready.”

  “Thank you. I’ll let her know.”

  “Happy to help. I hate to think of local people struggling to get by, especially this time of year.”

  7

  Angela was a little nervous when she walked to The Beach Plum Cove Inn on Saturday morning. Lisa had said to come around nine and that all three of her daughters would be stopping by for breakfast as well. Angela had decided to walk over, as she’d walked past it the day before as she was exploring the area and it was only about half a mile down the road.

  The house was very pretty, big and inviting and right on the ocean, with a wrap-around farmer’s porch. She noticed several cars in the driveway and guessed they belonged to Lisa’s children. She knocked on the front door and Lisa opened it a moment later, pulling her in for a welcome hug.

  “I’m so glad you were able to join us. Come on in. Everyone is in the dining room.” Lisa led the way to a large dining room where an older couple was eating bagels and coffee at one end of the table and three women that Angela guessed were Lisa’s daughters sat at the other end. Lisa introduced her to Kate, Kristen and Abby, and invited her to help herself to the food that was on a side table. There were big thermoses of coffee, carafes of orange and cranberry juice, bagels and cream cheese and some sort of quiche.

  “I splurged a bit today. That’s a lobster quiche,” Lisa explained.

  “If you like lobster, you have to try some. It’s amazing,” Kate added.

  “I’ve actually never had lobster,” Angela admitted as she cut a slice of the quiche and added some fresh-cut cantaloupe on the side. She poured herself a coffee and joined them at the table. Lisa made a plate of food, too, before joining the others. Kate and Kristen were still eating and Abby’s plate was empty. She stood as Angela sat.

  “I’m going back for seconds.”

  Angela took a tentative bite of the quiche. She liked Dungeness crab, which was common in San Francisco, so she had a feeling she would probably like lobster, too. The custard was rich and creamy with a hint of nutmeg and some kind of cheese, and the fresh lobster was so sweet. She was surprised that she liked it even better than crab.

  “What do you think?” Lisa asked.

  “It’s really wonderful.”

  “I made it for Jack when we were dating and he asked me to move in with him soon after,” Kate said with a laugh.

  “I’d love the recipe,” Angela said. She was usually too busy to cook much between working and school, but for the next few months, she had plenty of time to putter in the kitchen.

  “I’ll email it to you.” Lisa stood to get more coffee and when she sat back down again, Angela noticed that she looked like she was in pain.

  Her daughter Kate saw her mother’s expression, too. “Mom, is it your back again? I have some Advil if you need it.”

  “Thanks, honey. I took some just before you got here. It should kick in soon.”

  “When does Harriet come back?” Kristen asked.

  “Not soon enough.” Lisa laughed. “Rhett suggested that I look into getting someone to handle the cleaning until she gets back. My back has been really acting up lately.”

  “You definitely should. Do you know of anyone you could call?” Kate asked.

  “Rhett said he could check with someone he knows.”

  “What kind of cleaning is it?” Angela asked.

  “It’s just basic cleaning for the five rooms upstairs. Mostly changing the beds when new guests are coming in and stocking the bathroom with towels and soaps, and cleaning the bathtub and floors.”

  “I’d be happy to do that. I was working as a house cleaner in San Francisco while going to school. As long as you don’t mind hiring someone who is only going to be here for a few months? I was thinking I might want to pick up some work and—well, this could be perfect.”

  “Really? If you’re serious, I’ll gladly take you up on it. You could even start today if you like. I can show you where everything is. Unless that’s too soon, of course.”

  “I’d love to. I have no plans for the rest of the day. Or the rest of the month,” Angela said with a grin.

  “You used to do house-cleaning?” Kate looked interested.

  “Yes, for the past four years.” She hoped that they wouldn’t want to call for a reference, as that would be awkward to explain.

  Kate looked around the table. “I had lunch with Philippe the other day and his housekeeper, Judy, is in Florida visiting family for a few months. He mentioned that he’d love to have someone come twice a week to tidy up. Would you be interested? Or would that be too much if you’re going to do the cleaning here?”

  Angela laughed. “No, it’s not too much. I’d love to take on a house or two.”

  They relaxed and chatted for another forty-five minutes or so. Angela enjoyed getting to know Lisa’s daughters. After having met her, she was curious to read Kate’s mystery and to stop by the local galleries downtown where Kristen had some of her paintings for sale. She had a feeling they were well out of her price-range, but it was still fun to look.

  Abby was closest to her age, just a few years older, but worlds away in terms of where she was in her life—married and with a newborn. Angela had dated different people over the years, but never had a serious relationship. She didn’t anticipate that happening until she was out of school and a little more settled in her life.

  Abby was very involved with the local food pantry and Angela was impressed to hear what they did for Christmas.

  “Sue said that Rhett is going to store the turkeys for us this year. Please tell him I said thank you,” she said.

  “Oh, he was happy to do it. I won’t be able to lift anything this year, but I can sign people in,” Lisa said.

  “That’s perfect. We have a few guys that will be helping to bring the baskets to people’s cars and could still use a few people to help pack the baskets. The more the merrier. Makes it go by faster.”

  “When do you do that? If it’s later in the day, I could probably help, too.” Angela had always thought about doing some volunteer work and helping with a food pantry appealed to her. She had blurry memories of standing in line at them with her mother when she was very small.

  “They will be packing the baskets around five on Sunday, and then passing them out Monday and Tuesday evening just before Christmas. It doesn’t take long to put it all together. “

  “My nights are totally free, and I’d love to help with that.”

  “Fantastic. Just show up at five and Kate will show you what to do. I’m not as involved this year because of Natalie, so I won’t be there. Oh, and don’t eat dinner. We order a bunch of pizzas for everyone.”

  Once the girls left and all the food was brought back to the kitchen, Angela followed Lisa upstairs to the five guest rooms.

  “Everything you need is in this hall closet, with extra towels and sheets as well as cleaning supplies. The older couple that was eating breakfast has gone out for the day, so we can start with their room.”

  She opened one of the guest rooms and Angela stepped inside, just staring out the window for a moment. The ocean views were breathtaking. The room was beautifully decorated with snowy white sheets, a pale yellow comforter and navy blu
e curtains with white trim and shades. Lisa offered to help, but Angela waved her away.

  “I’ve got this. Go relax. I’ll bring the linens downstairs when I’m done.”

  “Thank you. That would be perfect. The laundry room is at the bottom of the stairs.”

  Lisa headed back downstairs and Angela dove in, making the bed, replacing the towels, cleaning the bathroom and vacuuming. After a few weeks of not working and stressing about finding a job, it was nice to be busy again.

  8

  The next afternoon at half past three, Angela pulled into the driveway of Philippe Gaston’s waterfront home. Kate had texted her the day before to say that Philippe was eager to have her come as soon as she was available to clean and confirmed the time.

  She knew nothing about Philippe, other than he was a famous writer and that his housekeeper was away in Florida. She’d gone to the store the night before and bought all the cleaning supplies that she would need. She preferred to use her own rather than the client’s. That’s the way Happy Cleaners had done it, so Angela thought it made sense to do the same. Plus, there were some brands that she preferred over the ones Happy Cleaners used, so she chose all her favorites and dressed in a pair of jeans and a pale blue sweatshirt with Nantucket across the front of it. She’d bought several at one of the shops along the pier. They were roomy and comfortable, perfect to wear for cleaning. She tied her hair back in a ponytail to keep it out of the way and was ready to go.

  When she reached the top step, the front door opened and Angela stopped in her tracks. It was the handsome man from the coffee shop. He was in jeans and a navy turtleneck, his feet bare.

  “You must be Angela. I heard your car pull in. Come on inside.”

  Angela followed him in and he immediately shook her hand. “I’m Philippe Gaston, pleasure to meet you. Kate said nice things. Thanks for fitting me in so quickly.”

  Angela laughed. “It was easy to fit you in. I have quite a bit of free time these days.”

  “Kate said you’re new to Nantucket? Just here for a few months and looking for a little extra work? Seems like it worked out well for both of us, then.”

  She nodded. “Yes. I’m not here long and am helping out Kate’s mom at the inn. And now you.”

  “Well, let me show you around.” Philippe led her into the kitchen and family room area, and to his office and bedrooms upstairs. The kitchen was the messiest room. Angela smiled at the clutter on his kitchen table and the boxes piled up in the corner of the room, all with the Amazon logo on them. He followed her gaze and laughed.

  “I’m a bit of a pack rat it seems. Especially when I’m deep into the writing of a book. I get out sometimes and go downtown to one of the coffee shops. Otherwise, I’m just holed up here in the kitchen mostly, even though I have a perfectly good office. Judy used to keep me on track before the clutter would get out of hand. Sometimes it’s easier to order stuff from Amazon than to go to the store. It probably seems a little crazy to you.” He smiled and she noticed deep dimples in both cheeks.

  “Not crazy. Just creative. I don’t know how you do it, dreaming up stories. It’s impressive.”

  “It’s just what I do. I don’t know how to do anything else. I’m terrible at cleaning, so thank you for agreeing to help.”

  “Well, I don’t have any creative ability, but I do enjoy cleaning.”

  “I’ll get out of your hair, then. I’m going to run downtown for a few hours and see if I can knock out this scene that is refusing to cooperate. How long do you figure you’ll be?”

  “At least two hours, probably closer to three. It usually takes me a little longer the first time I clean a house.”

  “I’ll be back before then but just in case, I’ll leave you a check now, if you let me know how much.” He grabbed a pen and his checkbook. Angela told him the amount. She charged the same that Happy Cleaners would have charged, figuring that the going rate would be about the same on Nantucket. Philippe didn’t bat an eye when she quoted him the price. He just wrote it on the check and handed it to her. She folded it in half and stuck it in her pocket.

  “Thanks. Good luck with the writing.”

  Angela’s car was still in the driveway when Philippe returned home a few hours later. He guessed that she was probably almost finished. He hadn’t gotten as much work done at the coffee shop as he’d hoped. He was stuck and not sure where to go with his story. He needed to pace around his house blasting Pearl Jam radio until he figured it out. He’d hoped to work all night, but he had that wine dinner with Jessica and though he’d agreed to go, it was the last thing he felt like doing on a Sunday night. Maybe he needed the break and it would help shake loose his ideas.

  He let himself into the house and smiled at the sight of Angela in the kitchen, standing high on her toes on a step stool. She was holding a feather duster and reaching into a corner where the ceiling met the wall. It was impressive. He’d never actually seen Judy do that, though he supposed she might have and he just never paid attention. He waited until she noticed him before he said anything so that he wouldn’t startle her. She turned and saw him as she took a step down the ladder.

  “You’re back! I’m just about done and should be out of your hair shortly.”

  “No hurry at all.” He looked around the room and liked what he saw. All the boxes had been flattened and stacked by the door to go out with the trash. His jackets were off the floor and hung in the front hall closet, and the room smelled clean and fresh and a bit lemony. He’d always liked the smell of lemons.

  He leaned against his kitchen island and flipped through the mail that he’d grabbed on his way inside. When he looked up, he noticed that Angela was smiling as she scrubbed the kitchen counter. She was humming something under her breath and looked lost in her own world. She was a cute girl, with her almost-black hair pulled back in a ponytail and her pale face with a dusting of freckles across a small, straight nose.

  Her light green eyes were the first thing he’d noticed. They were big and stood out against her dark hair. She looked young in her sweatshirt and jeans. He guessed she was maybe just a year or two out of college. Too young for him. Not that he was looking. But he always noticed these things. Cute as she was, though, Angela wasn’t his type, anyway. He was usually drawn to the taller, more glamorous types. Angela was maybe five one or two at the most. He was a good foot taller than her.

  “What brought you to Nantucket? It’s an unusual time to move here,” he asked.

  “I’m from San Francisco. But my grandmother recently passed and I inherited her house here. I actually never met her before she died. Isn’t that odd?”

  Philippe found it intriguing. “Sounds like there’s a story there. What did you do in San Francisco?”

  “I’ve been going to school and working full-time, cleaning.”

  “Full-time? That must be hard with classes.”

  “It would be impossible, actually. That’s why it’s taking me so long to get through. I’m twenty-nine, and have been going to school part-time. I just have two more classes to go.”

  So, she was older than he’d first thought. That was also intriguing. “Then what happens?”

  “Well, the plan is to sell the house here, move home, finish school and get a job in marketing. At a tech company probably.”

  “That sounds like a solid plan. So, you’re just here temporarily, then?”

  “Probably for three or four months, depending how long it takes to make some repairs and sell the house. I know it’s not the best time of year to do that.”

  “People are always looking to buy houses on Nantucket. I bought this one in January, a few years ago.”

  “It’s lovely. And I hope you’re right.” They made a plan for Angela to clean again later in the week, and as she walked toward the door, she stopped in front of a framed photograph of the beach at sunset.

  “That’s beautiful.”

  He smiled. “Thank you. I took that picture myself, the first time I visited Nantucket. I was
here for a vacation and when I left a few weeks later, I knew that I wanted to live here. I bought this house a few months later.” And now he couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. He traveled to L.A. quite a bit, when one of his books was being filmed, but whenever he wasn’t on Nantucket, he missed it. He was hoping that with his new projects, he wouldn’t be traveling as much.

  9

  Angela’s cell phone rang as she drove away from Philippe’s house and she was surprised to see that it was Kate Hodges.

  “I know this is totally last minute, but Jack was supposed to go with me tonight to the Taste of Nantucket event and he’s sick as a dog. I thought it might be fun for you, if you feel like going.”

  “Sure! What is it?” Angela was grateful for the invitation, eager to get out and do just about anything.

  “It’s a really fun night. Local area restaurants give samples of their food and there are liquor vendors with lots of wines to taste. Kristen and my mother are going, too. Rhett’s restaurant is participating.”

  Angela did a mental inventory of the clothes she’d brought with her and frowned.

  “What is the expected dress?”

  “It’s creative black tie, so almost anything goes. Cocktail dresses, mostly.”

  “Okay. I’m not sure if I have anything dressy enough to wear. I mostly brought casual clothes with me.” She thought for a moment. “Are the shops still open? Maybe I have time to go get something.”

  Kate laughed. “Don’t go shopping just for this. I’m a little taller than you but I think we’re about the same size. I have a few dresses you could choose from.”

  “If you’re sure you don’t mind?”

  “Of course not. Why don’t you come by around six thirty? It starts at seven.”