by Cara Malone
“Hey,” he said. “Whatcha up to?”
“Carmen’s dad thinks he might be able to fix our disorderly food pantry problem,” Joy said.
“Oh, that would be amazing,” Tyler said. Then he turned to Carmen and said, “You’re staying after Christmas, right? Moving here and taking this place on full-time?”
Carmen blushed and her eyes darted to Joy. Staying here – that was the fantasy that kept running through her mind over the last few days, but of course she couldn’t do that. Her life was in New York, and she’d only met Joy a week ago. It was crazy to even think about it.
“Because you’ve been a godsend,” Tyler went on. “I might just have to kidnap you for the good of the shelter.”
Carmen laughed and Joy put her arm around Carmen’s shoulder. Dad came and joined them, introducing himself to Tyler and shaking hands. He said, “No genius ideas yet, but I’m sure there must be a solution.”
“You’ve done more than enough already,” Tyler said. “I’m looking forward to serving a hot meal to all these folks in the morning so I don’t have to tell them they’re spending most of Christmas Day with empty stomachs.”
“Don’t give me credit,” Dad said. “That was all Carmen’s idea.”
“I don’t mean to push my luck,” Tyler said as Mom and the twins came over to meet them and see what all the activity was about in the food pantry, “but would any of you like to come back in the morning and help me serve the meal? We could always use a few extra hands.”
“Oh, I’m sure they’ve got a lot to keep them busy tomorrow,” Joy started to say, but Mom cut her off.
“We’d be happy to,” she said. “I don’t know if Carmen told you, but we made use of a food pantry a number of times when she was younger. I think it’d be a really nice thing for us to do as a family, and the twins might appreciate all the presents waiting under the tree for them a bit more if they have to delay gratification for a few hours.”
“Really?” Tyler asked, like he hadn’t expected his request to be granted. “Thank you, we certainly appreciate it.”
“No problem,” Dad said. “We’ll be here with bells on.”
Twenty-Four
Joy
Joy drove the Castillos back to the cabin shortly after Tyler convinced them to come to the shelter again in the morning to help with breakfast, and when she tried to drop them off at the door, Carmen said, “Where do you think you’re going?”
“To drop off the van and then go back to my apartment?” Joy asked while the rest of the Castillos climbed out of the van and went inside.
“No way,” Carmen said. She reached over and turned the key in the ignition, saying, “You’re not going to spend Christmas Eve alone. Come inside, we’re going to unwrap presents.”
“Oh, well, I should go home then,” Joy objected. “This is your time to be with your family.”
“I don’t want to be anywhere you aren’t,” Carmen said. Then in a sing-song voice she added, “There’s a gift for you under the tree.”
Joy smiled and followed Carmen into the cabin – although she didn’t have much of a choice since Carmen had taken the van’s key out of the ignition and slipped it into her coat pocket. Inside, the twins were shedding their heavy winter coats and Lucia was in the kitchen, heating milk for a round of hot cocoas. Tony was wearing a Santa hat and heading over to the tree to start distributing presents, and suddenly Joy felt a pang of nostalgia. Apparently, it made no difference whether you grew up in a tiny house in the bad part of town, or a quaint mountainside village, or in a New York penthouse – the spirit of Christmas felt the same in every family.
Joy sank contentedly into the lounge chair and Carmen crawled into it with her, their hips pressing together on the cushion that wasn’t quite big enough for two. She wrapped her arms around Carmen and watched as the twins pointed at various gift-wrapped boxes beneath the tree and begged their dad to pick them first.
“Hmm,” he was saying as he poked around under the tree, hunting for the right gift to give each of them. “What do we have here?”
He gave Marisol a long, flat package, and handed Maria a small box with a red ribbon on top. They tore into them with glee, and Carmen leaned into Joy, resting her head against her as she explained, “They know what’s in most of those boxes. They buy what they want with their Christmas allowance and then we wrap it and put it all under the tree. They’re at the age where it’s mostly clothes, so I hope you don’t mind getting a fashion show once they open everything.”
“Sounds cute,” Joy said with a laugh. “A little bit redundant, but cute.”
“Santa will come tonight and leave them a couple things that they don’t already know about,” Lucia said as she came over and set down a couple mugs of cocoa on the table beside Carmen and Joy. She lowered her voice, although it didn’t matter because the twins were totally absorbed in unwrapping their gifts, and added with a wink, “They’re too old to believe in Santa Claus except when it comes to getting extra presents.”
Joy and Carmen sat for a while, watching the girls become buried in a growing mound of torn wrapping paper and wrinkled tissue paper. Tony was having great fun playing Santa, handing a few things to his wife and eldest daughter here and there, and then he pulled a large, oblong package out from behind the tree and said in his best low-pitched Santa voice, “Oh, and this one’s for Joy. Ho ho ho.”
He brought it over to her and she set down her mug, scooting over to the ottoman to handle the large present. It was nearly as tall as she was, wrapped in beautiful gold paper with tiny snowflakes printed on it, and she looked skeptically at Carmen. “This is for me?”
“Yeah,” Carmen said, nudging the box toward her.
“You didn’t have to do this,” Joy objected.
“I wanted to,” Carmen said. “Open it.”
Joy smiled, leaned in to kiss her, and then she carefully opened the wrapping paper. It was a very beautiful, very expensive snowboard and a new set of bindings, and she looked at Carmen open-mouthed as she peeled back the rest of the wrapping paper.
“And I did have to do it,” Carmen said, putting her arms around Joy and not giving her a chance to voice further objection. It really was an elaborate gift, and Joy could feel the eyes of the rest of the Castillos on her, smiling and watching the two of them. Carmen reminded her, “I broke your other board.”
“Just the binding,” Joy said. “It’ll be an easy repair.”
“Well, now you have two snowboards to choose from, then,” Carmen said with a shrug.
“Thank you,” Joy answered. “I love it.”
“You’re welcome,” Carmen said, kissing her quickly while Tony went back to handing out presents to the twins.
Joy took the snowboard out of its box, inspecting the design and the smooth finish. Lucia came over and took a look as well, telling her that it had been the prettiest one in the ski shop when she and Carmen went to shop for her. Then she went and handed her husband a present, telling him to sit down and relax for a minute, and Joy sank back into the couch with Carmen, putting her arm around her.
“I got you something, too,” she said. “But it’s barely a gift – more like a memento. I think I shouldn’t even bother giving it to you after you gave me that beautiful snowboard.”
“You don’t need to get me anything at all,” Carmen said. “Unless you’ve got more time. Can you turn tonight into another week and a half?”
“No,” Joy said sadly. Then she got up and held out her hand to Carmen. “Come with me - it’s in the van. I wasn’t sure when I’d get a chance to give it to you.”
They put their coats on and went outside, the rest of Carmen’s family hardly even noticing their absence. It was dark and cold, and Carmen crossed her arms in front of her chest and started shivering almost immediately. Joy never really minded the cold – she was accustomed to it – but she always loved it when she found herself outside on nights when the rest of Emerald Hill was indoors. It was so peaceful and serene t
o feel like the only person on the mountainside, but now – at least for a little while longer – she got to share that feeling with Carmen.
They went around to the back of the van and she opened the door, helping Carmen climb inside and then closing the door again to protect them from the wind. It was only marginally warmer there, but sitting in the cargo area behind the back seat was a small package wrapped in green and red paper. Joy sat down across from Carmen, picking it up and handing it to her.
“Here,” she said, apologizing before Carmen had even unwrapped it. “Like I said, it’s not much.”
Carmen looked at her, leaned over in the space between them to kiss her, and then opened it. There was a small cardboard box, about five inches square, which Joy had nabbed from the tea party at the lodge the other day. It had a picture of a teapot on the side of it, but it was really the perfect size for the gift she’d known would be perfect for Carmen since their first encounter on the side of the mountain.
It was a snow globe, heavy and filled with light flakes of glitter dressed up as snow. There was a mountain with a little cabin nestled into its side, the roof covered in snow and a great big Christmas tree beside it.
“It’s beautiful,” Carmen said, giving it a shake and sending the snow swirling down around the cabin.
“Look,” Joy said, leaning in to point out a pair of tiny skiers on the side of the mountain, barely larger than a couple crystals of sugar. “It’s us.”
“Except they’re not crashing into each other,” Carmen said, grinning at her.
Her voice had a slightly watery quality about it, and Joy thought that if they sat in this empty van much longer, she was either going to cry or try to seduce Carmen. It could go either way, but with her family just inside the cabin, neither was right. She said, “Umm, it belonged to my dad, so take care of it, okay?”
“It did?” Carmen asked, surprised. “You can’t give this to me.”
“I want you to have it,” Joy said. “It’s yours. Besides, I’ve got at least ten more at home – he was a collector. So anyway, we better get you back inside before you freeze.”
She opened the door to the van, eager to get out before she really did start bawling like a baby, and they headed back into the cabin. She thought she should excuse herself soon, although the dark, empty apartment wasn’t exactly beckoning to her. She would just go inside and say goodnight to everyone, then let them have the rest of their Christmas Eve to themselves.
But when they got inside, the twins were just beginning their fashion show, marching through the center of the living room in a pair of matching parkas, and Tony’s eyes lit up the moment he saw Joy coming back in.
“Joy, I just had a breakthrough!” he exclaimed, rushing over to her. “I think I know how to fix the pantry problem.”
He was elated, and Carmen squeezed Joy’s hand as he led them both over to the dining table, where he’d scribbled a few notes on the back of one of his itinerary pages.
“It’s all about inventory control,” he said. “So what if we re-arrange the shelves a little bit and install a barcode reader at the door? You feed the cans in and the reader sends them to the appropriate place via a series of chutes…”
Tony explained his idea in depth, sketching it out roughly on the paper while his eyes shone with excitement, and he promised to find someone in the Denver area that could help Tyler make his invention into reality. Then when he was done explaining it all, they went back into the living room and watched the twins continue their fashion show, complete with costume changes and a makeshift runway down the center of the living room.
When it got late and everyone was yawning, Marisol and Maria having fallen asleep at the end of the couch and still wearing the last wardrobe items in their show, Tony and Lucia carried them into their bedroom and Joy said again, “I should go home.”
“You are home,” Carmen said. “At least for tonight. Stay with me.”
“Your parents won’t mind?” Joy asked.
“I’m sure they would insist on it if they knew the alternative was waking up to an empty apartment on Christmas morning,” Carmen said. “Come on, I’ll give you some of my pajamas to sleep in.”
She took Joy’s hand and led her down the hall, and it felt like a dream to curl up in the big, soft bed with her. Joy fell asleep easier in Carmen’s arms than she had in a long time, and visions of a happily ever after danced in her head.
December 25
Twenty-Five
Carmen
Carmen woke up early on Christmas morning, the soft pink notes of the sunrise coloring the sky outside her window. She could hear her parents moving around in the cabin, probably making breakfast or putting the finishing touches on the gifts that Santa had left beneath the tree, and soon it would be time to go to the shelter and help with breakfast.
For the moment, though, she was content to lie still to keep from waking Joy. She was nestled in the crook of Carmen’s arm, and even though her hand was tingling with numbness, she didn’t want to move her – she just wanted to watch her sleep. Carmen looked at the snow globe that Joy had given her the night before, which had belonged to her father and which was already very special to Carmen. She’d given it pride of place on the bedside table, setting it just beside her phone so that she wouldn’t forget to pack it when it was time to go back to New York. All the snow had settled in it now, coating the bottom of the little scene with glittering white flakes.
Joy stirred when someone shut a cupboard in the kitchen, then sleepily looked up at Carmen.
“Good morning,” she said, her lips forming into an only half-roused smile that Carmen wanted to put in her pocket and keep.
“Merry Christmas,” Carmen corrected, rolling Joy over on her back and kissing her passionately. They didn’t get a chance to get too deep into this moment, though, because a moment later there was a knock on the door.
“Up and at ‘em,” Dad called. “We’ve got to head out soon if we’re going to get to the shelter on time to serve breakfast.”
Joy grinned at Carmen, clearly just as agonized by the interruption as she was, then said, “Merry Christmas,” and rolled out of the bed. Carmen loaned Joy a pair of jeans and a sweater so she wouldn’t have to wear her lumberjack clothes again today, and then they joined the rest of the family in the living room. Mom had made coffee and handed them each a travel mug, which Carmen gratefully accepted, and Dad was still wearing his Santa hat. Then they all headed for the door, the twins carrying a wrapped gift from beneath the tree under each arm.
“What’re they up to?” Carmen asked as they went out to the van.
“They wanted to donate a couple of their presents to the kids at the shelter,” Mom said. “I told them it sounded like a nice gesture and Santa would approve.”
When they arrived at the shelter, a handful of other volunteers were just beginning to cook. Those who had stayed overnight at the shelter were waking up in the great room, stacking their cots out of the way and helping Tyler to set up the folding tables they used for meals. Both trees were lit and the whole space smelled like pine and Christmas.
“Hey, thanks for coming,” Tyler said with a wave as soon as the Castillos came in.
“Happy to help,” Dad said. “Where do you need us?”
“Check in with Marty in the kitchen,” he said. “She’ll tell you where she needs assistance.”
Joy showed them the way, leading them to a small hallway leading off the great room and then into the kitchen which was already hectic with the cooking efforts. Marty and two other women were scrambling eggs and putting bread into pans to toast, and it seemed almost a nuisance to stop them in order to ask how they could help.
“Hey, Mart,” Joy said. “I brought reinforcements. What do you need?”
Marty gave them each tasks, then went back to her eggs. Dad went back into the great room to help Tyler with his table setup, Carmen and Joy stayed in the kitchen to peel potatoes and slice them thin for hash browns, and Mom and the t
wins went to set up the buffet table where the food would be served. It was hectic and Carmen found herself breaking a sweat in the hot kitchen but every time she looked over at Joy absorbed in her task, her heart felt full and she didn’t want to be anywhere else.
It was about ten minutes to eight when Tyler came into the kitchen to help them carry the chafing dishes full of eggs, potatoes and bacon into the great room where they’d be served. Carmen and Joy lined up behind the buffet table, along with the rest of the Castillo family, and spent the next half an hour serving up food and wishing people a Merry Christmas. Most of them had big smiles on their faces and it made Carmen feel warm and fuzzy to watch how they licked their lips and looked eagerly at their meals. It was unlike any Christmas she’d had before, and with Joy standing beside her, she was sure that it was her best one yet.
Once everyone got their food and had gone to the tables to eat, Dad had a good time circulating through the room, talking to everyone and telling them his rags to riches story, omitting of course the little detail of how his famous app had been born of laziness and a desire to get his friends to fetch him alcohol. Carmen had to smile at this omission as she overheard him saying to one table, “I had to hit bottom before I had the freedom to start climbing back out of that hole. You just do what you can and take it one day at a time, and things will get better.”
She helped Joy and the other volunteers clean up the breakfast mess, and then she watched the twins bring their presents over to the kids they’d met yesterday. Their eyes lit up the moment they realized the gifts were for them, and then she watched with amusement as their eyes darted over to Dad in his Santa hat. They may have been a few years younger than Marisol and Maria, but they were already skeptical of the idea of a fat man in a red suit handing things out for free. They were just opening the presents, some warm weather clothes mixed with a few books that the twins had been dying to read, when Joy came up and grabbed Carmen’s hand.
