“Dessert?”
“Pecan pie. I’ve never made it before. Is it difficult?”
“Not really.” A car horn beeped twice, and Mrs. Kaminski rolled her eyes. “I married that man for better or worse, but nobody told me he had the patience of a hungry puppy.”
“Have a good trip,” Mary said as she walked her neighbor to the door. As soon as Mrs. Kaminski left, Mary sprinted up the stairs. Her first Christmas dinner wasn’t going to cook itself.
* * *
Sarah Gallagher arrived at twelve thirty. With her Santa cap, red dress, and white apron, she resembled Mrs. Claus. “Merry Christmas!” she said with a wide smile. “I brought my pickles and some appetizers! Hope you like goat cheese. What a beautiful tree!”
Mary hung Mrs. Gallagher’s coat in the hall closet. “I have a six-year-old friend who made the decorations.”
“That’s the way it should be,” Mrs. Gallagher said as she touched one of the paper snowflakes. “Christmas just isn’t as much fun without children. Is your friend coming today?”
“Yes. She and her family should be here soon.”
Mrs. Gallagher clapped her hands in front of her chest. “Wonderful. Now, what can I do to help?”
Was it rude to ask a guest to help? Mary had never hosted a party at her own residence. But then, Mrs. Gallagher had volunteered. “Would you like to set the table?”
“Of course!” She followed Mary into the dining room. “What a pretty tablecloth.” Mrs. Gallagher traced the bright poinsettias with the tip of her index finger. “Where did you find it?”
“Well, to be honest, I got it at the dollar store.”
“Smart girl,” Mrs. Gallagher said. “You won’t have to worry about it getting stained or torn, and when the party’s over, you can just throw it away.” She reached for the stack of mismatched plates. “How many places should I set?”
“Eight. I know it might be a little crowded but—”
“Don’t give it another thought. I’ll get it set up right away. Now, take care of whatever needs to be done and leave me to play in here.”
But before Mary could retreat to the kitchen, the doorbell rang again. Joe Harrison waited on the doorstep with a red box in his arms. “Glad you made it,” Mary said.
“Thanks again for inviting me,” he said as he stepped inside. “Something smells mighty good. Been cooking all morning?”
“Just about. Come on through, and I’ll show you my new kitchen.”
Joe paused to place the box under the Christmas tree. “Just a little something for you. Open it later.”
Other than the inexpensive presents Mary had exchanged with coworkers, she hadn’t received a Christmas gift in many years. Perhaps Joe had brought a hostess gift, something small to thank her for the invitation. Whatever it was, it probably didn’t merit the swell of emotion Mary felt in her chest.
Mrs. Gallagher entered the room. “Did I hear someone come in?”
Mary introduced her guests to each other. “Joe is a friend of my contractor. I was just going to show him my renovated kitchen.”
The doorbell rang.
“You get the door,” Mrs. Gallagher told her, “and Joe and I will take a look at the kitchen.”
Having no other choice, Mary walked toward the front door. But it opened before she reached it.
“Mary!” Robin yelled. “It’s Christmas! Look what my grandma gave me!” She held up a suitcase-sized dollhouse. “It opens up and then you can see all the rooms. It comes with a doll family too!”
“I love it,” Mary said. “When I have more time, I want to check it out.” Robin’s brother sauntered into the room, hugging his ever-present laptop to his chest. “Hi, Grant. Glad you came.”
Grant swept his hair out of his face. “Is Neil coming today?”
“Not that I know of. Do you need him?”
“Not really. I finished my project and I wanted him to take one last look at it before I send it off.”
“He’ll be at work tomorrow if you’d like to stop by.”
“Maybe,” Grant said with a shrug. “My dad told me he was going to start tearing out your walls tomorrow and he’d need my help. I’m not sure I’ll have the time.”
“Where is your dad?”
“Outside. He said he wanted to work on something and he’d be in later. Is it okay if I work at your desk upstairs?”
“Sure.”
Grant headed upstairs and Robin set up her new doll house by the Christmas tree. Why hadn’t Will come in? Was he avoiding her? Had he changed his mind since last night?
A loud knock sounded on the front door and Robin ran to open it. “Come in,” she said as though she were the hostess of the party.
Rusty Lambert and his sister, Irene, entered.
“Thank you for coming,” Mary said as she took their coats.
“Wouldn’t have missed it,” Rusty said with a friendly smile. “From the looks of the dumpster next to your garage, your renovations are well underway. May I look around?”
“The only thing finished is the kitchen,” Mary explained, “and the contractor is outside somewhere if you’d like to talk to him.”
“I knew coming here was a good idea,” Rusty answered. “If your contractor does good work, I’ve got a business proposition for him.”
Irene handed Mary a plate wrapped in foil. “My fruitcake,” she explained. “Hope you like it.” Before Mary could reply, Irene scowled at the Christmas tree. “This is the strangest Christmas tree I’ve ever seen.”
Mary squeezed her eyes shut, fearing Robin would overhear Irene’s insult.
But Robin brushed aside Irene’s criticism. “Mary let me decorate it myself. She put on the lights, but I made all the decorations myself.”
“Well, that explains it,” Irene said with a critical tone. “Don’t you think you might have overdone it with the glitter?”
Robin leveled her gaze at Irene. “When it comes to Christmas, there’s no such thing as too much sparkle.”
Mary took a step toward the pair, intent on smoothing things over, when Irene gave a perfunctory nod of her head and said, “I see your point. Good job on the tree.”
Robin’s serious face dissolved into a bright smile. “Thank you.” She took Irene’s hand. “Come on, I’ll show you the wreath I made for the back door.”
Soon, there were six people in Mary’s kitchen, each one complimenting some part of the renovation. Knowing she needed to get lunch underway, Mary removed the turkey from the oven, carved it, and placed it on her only platter. Then she carried the food to the dining room.
Her guests took the hint and soon found their way to their chairs.
Mary motioned to Robin and the girl dutifully moved to her side. “Will you tell your brother and dad it’s time to eat?”
The girl nodded and skipped away.
Grant came down the stairs almost immediately and Mary introduced him. It must have been awkward to be the only teenager at the table, but Grant had learned his manners well and politely shook hands with everyone. Only one chair stood empty. Why hadn’t Will come in?
Something must have been wrong. Perhaps his feelings toward her had changed and he didn’t want to face her. Or maybe he thought it too awkward to form more than a business relationship with her until he’d finished working on her house. Had he brought Robin and Grant and then left?
“There’s an empty chair,” Mrs. Gallagher commented. “Who are we missing?”
“My dad,” Robin answered. “He said he was coming.”
“The food’s going to get cold if we wait too long,” Irene pointed out.
Mary glanced at Joe Harrison. He was Will’s friend. Could he help?
Joe smiled reassuringly. “Let’s say the blessing. If Will’s not here by then, I’ll go outside and drag him in.”
That was one solution to the problem, but not exactly the one Mary was hoping for. The last thing she wanted was for Will to be forced to be with her. She took her seat at the head of the
table. “Any volunteers to say grace?”
“I’ll be glad to say the blessing,” Rusty Lambert said. “It’s not every day I’m invited to such a delicious meal.”
The guests held hands and bowed their heads.
“Thank You, Lord,” Rusty began, “for this opportunity to come together on this holy day. Thank You for our health and for the love of friends which blesses our lives so richly. And thank You for sending Your Son to show us the right path to follow. Amen.”
As Mary and her guests echoed the last word, she heard a familiar voice behind her. When had Will come in?
“It’s about time,” Irene said to Will. “If you hadn’t gotten here, I was going to eat your portion.”
Will chuckled good-naturedly. “I’d have fought you for it. Smells to me like Mary’s a good cook.” He glanced across the table and winked at her.
Every one of Mary’s internal organs sighed with relief. Whatever Will had been doing outside, he hadn’t been avoiding her.
Mary’s guests helped themselves to the food, passing plates and talking animatedly.
Joe Harrison asked, “Where’d you learn to cook, Mary?”
She hesitated to answer. If she told her friends she’d shared kitchen duties with the other children at Good Shepherd, they might respond with pity. Growing up in an orphanage might not be the most ideal childhood, but it rankled Mary whenever someone felt sorry for her.
“Tastes to me like she learned at some fancy cooking school,” Will answered. “Maybe Mary should have one of those cooking shows.”
Mary smiled her thanks at him.
Rusty looked at Robin. “Is Christmas your favorite holiday?”
Robin scrunched her mouth to the side and looked at the ceiling, apparently considering her answer. “I don’t know,” she said slowly. “Halloween is fun ’cause we dress up, and Easter is fun ’cause I like to hunt for eggs, and I like the Fourth of July ’cause fireworks are so awesome.”
“You have fun no matter what time of year it is,” Irene said.
Mary was forming a new opinion of Rusty’s sister. Although she’d seemed snide and hard to please, Irene had a dry sense of humor and a no-nonsense way of talking.
“I like Christmas best,” Mrs. Gallagher said, “because I like to watch Christmas movies.”
“Miracle on 34th Street,” said Rusty. “I love the Santa in that movie.”
“I like The Christmas Story,” said Joe. “Reminds me of when I was a kid. ‘You’ll shoot your eye out!’”
“What does that mean?” asked Robin.
The older adults laughed at her innocent question. “The boy in the movie wants a BB gun,” Will explained, “but his mother doesn’t want him to have it. She’s the one who says, ‘you’ll shoot your eye out.’”
“Nothing’s better than It’s a Wonderful Life,” said Irene. “How can anyone not fall in love with Jimmy Stewart?”
“It’s never been a problem for me,” her brother said.
“What about Scrooge?” Mrs. Gallagher asked. “Does anybody like that story?”
“I like Scrooge McDuck,” Robin said.
The adults chuckled. “I like him too,” said Irene. “A Christmas Carol is all right and it has a good message, but it’s not American. You know what I mean?”
No one responded to Irene’s question, but Will asked, “How about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?”
Everyone nodded. “That’s a classic,” said Joe. “Remember the island of misfit toys? When I was a kid, I always wanted to go to that island and fix the toys.”
“They sure don’t make toys the way they used to,” Rusty said. “When I was a kid, I could play all day with my miniature cars.”
Mary’s friends talked on while they ate. Her gaze connected with Will’s and he smiled. Why had she been worried? Her guests hadn’t known each other before today, but they’d quickly overcome any awkwardness and were now enjoying the banter of long-acquainted friends. Worrying took a lot of energy and created something Mary didn’t want. She really needed to learn how to stop.
When her guests had finished eating, Mary carried the empty dishes to the kitchen and brought out coffee and dessert.
“Pecan pie?” Robin asked excitedly. “How did you know pecan pie was my favorite?”
“You told me the first night I met you. Don’t you remember?”
Robin shook her head.
Several guests took pieces of the pie as well as slices of Irene’s fruit cake, but Mrs. Gallagher took only a small piece of each. “I have to watch my sugar,” she explained, “otherwise I’d eat all of these delicious desserts.”
A wave of exhaustion washed over Mary. She relaxed in her chair and listened as her friends debated which of Mrs. Gallagher’s movies they would watch. Once they’d agreed, they moved into the living room and started the video.
Mary forced herself to tackle the piles of dirty dishes waiting in the kitchen. A few minutes later, Will entered with the plates they’d used for dessert. “You must be tired,” he said as he scraped scraps of food into the garbage can. “Sit down and let me do this.”
“I’m going to take you up on that offer,” Mary said as she sank into the nearest chair. “My feet and back feel as though someone ran over them with an eighteen-wheeler.”
Will rinsed a dish and placed it in the dishwasher. “Did you see your realtor talking to me?”
Mary took a long drink of water from her glass and nodded.
“He’s got an interesting business idea. He wants to have a three-way partnership with a lender, himself, and me. His idea is to help homebuyers get a loan so they can buy an old place and still have enough money to fix it up.”
“That’s where you come in.”
“Yep. It would keep my crew busy, keep old houses like yours from falling into disrepair, and help first-time homebuyers who can’t always afford the home of their dreams.”
“Are you going to take him up on his offer?”
“I need more concrete information before I decide, but it’s an exciting idea. Finding steady work is the hardest thing about being a contractor.”
“I thought it was dealing with demanding clients.”
Will grinned and raised his eyebrows. “Like you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He laughed and closed the dishwasher. “I’ll be here first thing tomorrow morning. We’re going to tear down every wall downstairs so we can replace the wiring.”
“I’m so glad I’ll be at work.”
Joe Harrison came into the kitchen with an empty cup. “Can a guy get a refill?”
“Sure,” Mary answered. “Is everyone in the living room behaving?”
“Grant went upstairs, Irene and Sarah are watching the video, and Rusty is snoring away.”
“And Robin?” Will asked.
“Playing quietly with her doll house. Although nothing could wake up Rusty.”
Mary filled Joe’s cup. “Is it time for presents, Will?” Joe asked.
“I believe it is,” Will answered with a mischievous grin. “Mary should open yours first.”
Joe nodded and walked into the living room. When he returned to the kitchen, he handed Mary the red box. Like a child on Christmas morning, she tore the paper from the box and removed the lid. Inside were three wooden figures representing Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus in a manger.
Mary ran her fingers over the finely detailed images, marveling at the perfection of each piece. “These are amazing. Where did you get these?”
“Joe carved them,” Will said.
Joe was an artist? Mary raised her gaze to him. The look in his eye reminded her of a school boy showing his trophy to his mother. “I don’t have the right words…these carvings are exquisite.”
Joe beamed in response. “Thanks. I’ve been working on them all year. In my spare time, you know?”
“These are works of art,” Mary said.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Joe said with a bashfu
l grin. “What about you, Will? Don’t you have something for Mary?”
Will held up one finger as a signal for them to wait. He stepped outside for a minute, then returned with a small, unwrapped box. “Merry Christmas,” he said as he handed the box to Mary.
“Another gift?”
“Open it,” Joe said.
Mary lifted the lid and gasped in wonder. Inside was a wooden crèche, carefully constructed to look like a miniature version of a stable during Biblical times. “Oh,” Mary said softly. “Oh.”
Joe and Will exchanged looks. “I think she likes it,” said Joe.
“It’s beautiful,” Mary said. “I can’t believe you made this. It looks like the real thing, only smaller.”
Will lifted the crèche from the box and set it on the table. “I’m not the artist Joe is, but I like getting creative once in a while.”
Mary placed the three carved figures in the crèche. “They’re perfect together. Absolutely perfect. When Will finishes the living room, I’ll put them on the mantle. They’re so beautiful, they deserve to stay up all year.” She looked at Will. “Is this what you were doing outside before lunch?”
“Yeah. I needed to put some finishing touches on it.”
Mary stood and embraced him. “Thank you,” she said after kissing his cheek.
“What about me?” Joe asked with feigned outrage. “I worked a lot harder than Will.”
Mary grinned and hugged Joe. “You gave me my first heirloom. Not only will I use them every Christmas, I’ll pass them down to future generations.”
The beaming faces of Joe and Will blurred as tears came to Mary’s eyes. Her first real Christmas present in years and it was a reminder of God’s love. What could be more perfect?
* * *
Once the movie was over, Irene woke her brother and they said their goodbyes. Sarah Gallagher was next, followed shortly by Joe Harrison. Mary watched her guests leave and gave a sigh of relief. As glad as she was her Christmas lunch had gone off without a hitch, she was also thankful her guests had gone home. All she wanted now was a few minutes of peace.
Leaving Will and his children in the living room, Mary slipped on her coat and stepped outside. Her normally peaceful neighborhood was quieter than usual. No cars drove by, no children played outside, and the songbirds had bedded down for the night. Mary sat on the top step and took a deep breath. Tomorrow, her life would go back to normal, but tonight was perfect for reflection and prayer.
The Last Lonely Christmas Page 9
