by Jenny Hale
Eleanor bustled into the entryway with her coat, and when Lila met her gaze, again she saw herself in the old woman’s eyes, and the back of her neck prickled in fear. She pushed aside the uncomfortable thought as they headed out and crossed the yard back to the cabin, opening the door to a waft of buttery smells from the cookies filling the air around them.
Eleanor stood in the center of the main room in her nightgown, coat, and boots, gripping her little tin of chocolate. “Oh my goodness, ladies,” she said, blinking rapidly as she seemed to fight back emotion. “Y’all have outdone yourselves! This is the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen.” As she said it, her words broke, and she seemed completely overwhelmed. Tears welled up in her eyes.
Lila and her friends had become quite skilled and efficient at their little ritual of organizing their festive vacation spaces, and after three years of practice they could throw a place together in about two hours. Lila had always marveled at the beauty of their decorating, but this was the first time she’d really seen it for what it was. It had to be a magnificent sight, coming from the main cabin in the shape it was in.
“Come on inside and settle in by the fire,” Lila told her gently.
Taking a jagged breath, Eleanor slipped off her boots and coat, placing them by the door. She padded over to the sofa and took a seat, still looking around in wonderment. “This feels like a dream,” she said, her eyes wide. “I wish I could still decorate for Christmas, but my back is bad, and being by myself, it’s just too risky to climb up on things…” A cloud drifted over her face for a second, just long enough for Lila to notice before she cleared it.
Charlotte picked up the plate of cookies, offering her one. “Have you lived in this area all your life?” she asked, clearly trying to ease Eleanor’s emotions.
Eleanor took a cookie, the answer spreading across her face in the form of a smile. “I moved here in my twenties. Chased a boy all the way to Tennessee from my little hometown in Macon, Georgia. And when we weren’t together anymore, I liked it so much here that I never left.”
Lila perked up. She knew all too well what it was like to follow a guy to another state. She’d moved from her hometown in Richmond, Virginia to Nashville doing that exact same thing. But she hoped Eleanor had experienced the happy-ever-after she never got.
“Did you leave him?” Lila asked, wondering how close their similarities were.
She gave a sad chuckle. “He left me.”
“How long ago?” Piper asked, before sipping her glass of wine.
“Two years ago,” Eleanor said, her face somber. “His name was Chester. We were together for sixty years before he passed. Heart attack.”
Edie threw her hand to her chest. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” she said, looking around. “You know, I’ve been thinking of selling this place, but I just can’t do it. “This was ours—mine and Chester’s. We never had children of our own and this place was like our baby. We nurtured it, raised it from a little possibility to what it is now. What it was, actually… It hasn’t been the same since Chester left.”
Lila’s own wounds of loss and loneliness surfaced easily whenever she encountered another person who shared a similar experience. She longed for the chance to talk to her father—her rock—just one more time. She missed him terribly. For so long, it had just been the two of them, and once he was gone, the emptiness ate at her every single day. Not just the void she felt from his absence, but the emptiness her innocence had left behind once it had withered away. The innocence of those moments when she’d skipped down the steps toward her car, leaving her father waving in the doorway, and said, “See ya!” as if they had forever—those were the moments she’d never get back. If she’d only known, she’d have run back in and thrown her arms around him one last time. With no sisters or brothers, her friends were the saving grace she’d always needed.
Eleanor could definitely use a few friends, and suddenly, Lila felt purpose in their trip. There was a reason they’d stayed.
Charlotte, who’d gotten up to get another glass, returned and filled it from the bottle of wine they had on the table. “Did you ever want kids?” she asked, handing the glass to Eleanor.
“We’d talked about having kids, but we just weren’t ever blessed with any.” Eleanor’s eyes misted over. She hid it with a big gulp of wine. Setting her glass down, she shook her head as if shaking the thought free. “I had dreams for this place when Chester and I bought it.” She brightened. “If I close my eyes, I can still see children running through the hills from cabin to cabin, collecting arrowheads and other mementos.” She smiled. “But God had a different plan for us.”
Lila could understand perfectly. She adored children, and as she grew older and hadn’t found someone to settle down with, the thought of adopting a child would flutter through her mind. But she wanted to be sure to have a job that would allow her a ton of time with a little one—she didn’t feel like she was in the right place in her life. She’d done a few humanitarian trips, helping underprivileged youth, and she’d tutored kids who were struggling in school, but it hadn’t been enough to fill the void for her.
“But Chester and I made enough memories of our own with just the two of us,” Eleanor continued. “Did you know that one time I was helping a man reserve a room and we found out it was for Meryl Streep? She stayed in this very cabin while she shot a movie. She was here for an entire week.”
“That’s amazing,” Piper said, her eyes wide.
“We’ve had all kinds of interesting people stay. Authors on retreats, historians researching the battles of the area, a couple of musicians… But enough about me. I don’t want to take up your whole night. You need to enjoy this gorgeous Christmas spirit y’all have created. Y’all should be celebrating.” She opened up the tin of chocolates she’d brought. “These are from France,” she said proudly. “A friend of mine sent them from her travels abroad. I’ve always wanted to go to France—over the years I’d saved the information about hotels and flights and everything—but never have.”
Lila selected a ganache-filled cluster. “Why not?” she asked before popping it into her mouth, the creamy raspberry center and crunchy dark chocolate exploding with flavor.
Eleanor looked down at the assortment of chocolates, as if she were considering whether or not to tell them her answer. She shook her head, clearing her throat, evidently uncomfortable. “Chester and I had the money at one time to travel like that, but we always said, ‘one day’ for those kinds of things. We never realized that the day we were waiting for would never come. Never wait to do the good stuff,” she said, her chest filling with air as she pushed a smile across her face in an obvious attempt to lighten the mood. Then she changed course. “What have we got on the agenda tonight, ladies?”
“We usually put on a Christmas movie the first night,” Charlotte replied. “Want to join us?”
Eleanor finished her wine and stood up. “Thank you, but I should be heading back. It’s nearly my bedtime, and you girls have more fun things to do than babysit an old woman like me.”
“It’s really fine,” Piper said. “We’d love you to join us.”
Eleanor yawned. “It’s all right. Y’all enjoy yourselves. I’m going to head back and get some beauty rest.”
“Would you like me to walk with you?” Lila offered.
“I’ll be just fine,” she said. Eleanor scooted the tin of chocolates to the center of the table. “Y’all can keep these. I’ll never eat them all.” She went over to the door and put on her coat and boots, the four women following her to say goodbye.
“We were going to grab a coffee tomorrow and plan what we want to do this week,” Lila said. “Is that café at the edge of town the only place to get a coffee out here?”
“I’m afraid so,” Eleanor said.
“Okay, I guess we’ll go there then. Will you come with us?” Lila asked.
Eleanor’s eyes grew round. “Oh, no. Thank you, but I’ll pass.” Then sh
e leaned in as if she were telling them insider information. “The new owner’s a nightmare.”
Edie laughed. “Yeah, we’ve met him.”
“Good luck,” Eleanor said as she opened the door. “And thank you for tonight.” She headed out into the snowy darkness, the door swinging shut behind her.
“I feel terrible for her,” Charlotte said, twisting a gold curl, frowning with worry.
“I know,” Edie replied. “How long has she lived in that condition all by herself? I feel like we should spend more time with her, but she wouldn’t stay tonight or get coffee tomorrow, and I really doubt she’d be able to keep up on our adventures this week. What should we do?”
Lila went over to the window just in time to see Eleanor making her way to the main house. She stayed there until the elderly woman had gotten inside. “We’ll come up with something. Let’s think on it and talk about it tomorrow.” She closed the blinds. “There’s nothing else we can do tonight, so why don’t we just try to enjoy ourselves? We have a Christmas movie to watch.”
“Yes!” Piper said, clapping her hands. “We need popcorn.”
“We absolutely need popcorn,” Edie agreed. “Even if we’re not hungry, it’s a tradition.”
“She’s right,” Piper said, nodding emphatically. “Traditions are important. This trip is all about creating memories, right? Let’s do everything all the way—no skimping! Did anyone bring some?”
All of them looked around at each other, shaking their heads.
“I’ll run out to the market and grab us some,” Lila offered. “It’s just down the road.” She grabbed her coat and purse. “Y’all decide on the movie.”
Lila stood in Pinewood Market, the shop that sat a few minutes from the cabin. She walked down the chip aisle, looking for a box of popcorn, her eyes on the selections when she hit something.
“Oh!” she squealed with a jump. Only when she looked up did she realize the thing she’d hit was Theo’s chest. He shook his head, irritated. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I wasn’t paying attention. I was looking for popcorn.”
He reached around her and grabbed a box, handing it to her.
“Thank you,” she said, their solitude making her nervous for some reason. He didn’t respond, turning his gaze away from her to view something on the shelf beside him.
But when she started to take a step toward the checkout, he took one too, the two of them moving together awkwardly, which only seemed to bother him more. As they both walked toward the counter, they passed the refrigerator section and he stopped, pulling out a gallon of milk.
Trying to make light of the situation, she pointed to the glass. “Hey, don’t you need to grab an almond milk?” She offered an uneasy grin.
His eyes were like daggers. “Nope. I’m good,” he snapped, storming off toward the register.
Lila hung back until he’d bolted out of the shop, the door slamming shut with a thud behind him, leaving her stunned, standing in the middle of the dairy aisle.
Four
When they all entered the coffee shop the next morning, Theo was sitting behind the counter, reading a book. He wore an open flannel shirt that revealed the shape of his chest through the tattered T-shirt he had on under it. As they walked across to him, he turned the book over on the bar, the pages spread to mark his spot. Trying not to be discouraged by last night’s odd encounter, Lila leaned in to see what it was he was reading. But he tossed a towel over it. Had he done that just to annoy her?
“Hello again,” he said, his face already set in an irritated scowl.
“Hi there,” she said, her tone overly friendly to spite him.
He didn’t move from his chair behind the bar. “How may I help you?”
“Well, this is a coffee shop. So we’d like to all get coffees and then sit and enjoy them in a pleasant atmosphere. Is that possible?”
He shrugged. “I’d say it’s possible, but it boils down to your expectations.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Piper and the others went to find a table, evidently wanting to avoid confrontation.
“I didn’t waltz in to someone else’s establishment requesting mistletoe and Christmas bows. So maybe, if you don’t find yourselves in a ‘pleasant atmosphere,’ it’s because your expectations are out of whack.”
Lila narrowed her eyes at him.
“What’s your order,” he asked, not meeting her gaze.
“You know, she’s really easy to talk to,” Edie called over to Theo from the table. “Lila doesn’t have a mean bone in her body.”
“I’m not much for talking,” he clipped over his shoulder, barely even attempting to look her way. He cleaned the espresso machine, the spout hissing as he wiped it down. “Just give me your order.”
“Four peppermint lattes. For Christmas.”
“What?” he asked over an exhale. “That’s not on the menu. We don’t even have peppermint syrup.”
“No almond milk and now no peppermint syrup?”
“Like I said, your expectations might be out of whack.”
“My expectation that this is a full-service coffee shop?”
“You ask for something up there,” he said, pointing to the limited menu, “I make it. Full service.”
She noticed that there was now a piece of tape over the almond milk option—was that to keep them from coming in? “We’ll take vanilla,” she said, rolling her eyes.
She gritted her teeth, debating what to do next. They needed some local tips, but this wasn’t exactly the local she wanted to talk to. Yet looking around the shop, he was her only option, and they didn’t want to arrive somewhere only to find out that it was closed or not worth visiting. While he prepared their drinks, Lila ran over to the table and swiped the handful of pamphlets and maps they’d gotten at the gas station on the way there. Edie’s head swiveled, undoubtedly to see what Lila was up to.
“Which of these do you recommend?” Lila asked, spreading them out in front of Theo.
“Why are you asking me?” He snapped the plastic lid on top of a coffee and set a second latte on the bar, grabbing another cup.
“Because you live around here. You know what’s good and what isn’t.”
“And you trust my opinion?” His voice was sarcastic and deadpan, but she didn’t let it outwardly affect her.
One of the traits that made her great at her job was being able to read people’s responses—it was what had made her stick with it for so long. She had a unique ability to determine whether they were up for a chat or not, if they’d become impatient waiting for their food, or wanted to talk for hours. She was almost always right, and while she was rolling the dice to think this guy was anything other than a total jerk, she wanted to try to dig down under that hardened exterior. This time though, she just couldn’t quite get a read on anything.
“Yep, I trust you,” she challenged. Maybe he’d surprise her.
He smirked. “Do the ropes course.” He pushed toward her the pamphlet with the photo of a rope bridge that extended above a tree-lined valley. “You should have everything you need after your rock-climbing date.”
She held up the pamphlet and read the title: Your next extreme adventure awaits. So much for thinking he might have a little kindness in his heart. “Is this where you’d take a girl on a date?”
“Depends on the girl.”
“Oh, enough of this,” she snapped. “What would you really suggest?”
“For your day out or for a date?”
“Both,” she replied.
“Neither answer would impact your little group there.” He slid the fourth latte toward her. “Your coffees.”
“You seem to have some preconceived notions of who we are,” she noted. “But you don’t know us at all.”
He locked eyes with her. “Likewise.”
She bristled, her talent for reading people hitting a wall with this guy. “I’m gonna sneak a Christmas wreath on your front door when you’re not looking,” she teased, allo
wing herself one last lighthearted little jab at him.
He completely ignored her.
He wasn’t going to ruin her vacation. So she gathered up the pamphlets and maps, pinning them under her arm as she grabbed two of the lattes. Charlotte got up and took the other two to the table.
When Lila sat down at the table, she looked over at Theo but his back was turned to them.
“I worry you might be giving him too much credit, trying to have any conversation with that guy at all,” Edie said, her voice quiet.
“I don’t know,” Piper replied over her paper cup as she held it in both hands. “He’s kind of dreamy in a rugged sort of way…”
Charlotte laughed, rolling her eyes. “You think everyone’s dreamy. We need to focus. What are we going to do today?”
Piper held up one of the pamphlets. “We could tour the Pinewood Christmas tree farm. You can ride horses, roast marshmallows, and drink fresh mulled cider by the outdoor fire pits.”
“Oooh,” Edie said, looking on. “That sounds amazing. And it’s better than the barista’s rope suggestion,” she said, a little more loudly than she should.
“I’m up for it,” Charlotte said, holding up her latte and then taking a sip.
“Let’s do it.”
Once the plan was made and they’d finished their coffees, the four women stood up, gathering their coats and winding their scarves around their necks. Lila turned around and called, “Wanna go horseback riding with us?” to Theo, just to bother him. The last thing she actually wanted to do was spend any more time with this guy, but she was enjoying dishing out comments to make him squirm. Charlotte gave her a playful punch on the upper arm.
He stared at her from behind his book.
“What?” she questioned him. “Are you scared to ride a horse?”
