Lakeshore Christmas

by Susan Wiggs

  “People are freezing their asses off,” he pointed out. “Hard to do your best work when you’re freezing your ass off.”

  “That’s because it’s twenty degrees out. Let’s try putting on some Christmas music,” she said.

  “Oh, please.”

  “Not everyone feels the way you do about Christmas,” she said.

  “And not everyone feels the way you do about Christmas,” he replied.

  “Music,” she said.

  “Whatever you say.” He stalked over to his van and fired up the sound system, selecting a mix tape that was sure to annoy her. A moment later, Rick James singing “Superfreak (U Can’t Touch This)” blasted from the speakers.

  It was worth the trouble just to witness outrage on Maureen’s face. She didn’t say anything, though, because everyone else had a different reaction. The suggestive thump of rhythm and ridiculous lyrics immediately took hold, as he’d known it would. One thing he was good at was music selection—matching songs to occasions.

  “Superfreak” was one of those pieces no one could resist. Even the Veltry brothers, whose taste ran to hip-hop, stepped up their pace.

  As she tilted back her head and regarded the night sky, Maureen looked skeptical.

  “Now what?” he asked her.

  She indicated a guy on a ladder. “Something’s missing,” she said. “I can’t quite put my finger on it.” Her face changed—softened—as she tilted her gaze at the roof of the main structure. “That’s Jabez,” she said. “Have you met him yet?”

  “Briefly,” he said. Something about the kid kept niggling at him. Maybe it was just Jabez himself. He exuded a kind of subtle magnetism. The other high-school kids were drawn to him, handing over light spools and cords as he climbed the ladder. Perched on the roof of the flimsy structure, he appeared to be in a precarious position. Yet he seemed all but weightless as he hoisted the Star of Bethlehem, which was easily as tall as he was, and hung it in place at the peak of the roof.

  “Ready for the lights,” someone called.

  Eddie hit a master switch and the scene came to life. A few moments later, the music changed to Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” Bathed in the glow of the lights, Jabez looked even more striking. Maureen’s face changed. Softened, as though overcome by some kind of magic. He’d never known anyone quite like her. There was something about her that moved him; not just her earnest devotion to Christmas, but her air of…he wasn’t quite sure. Optimism, maybe. And earnestness. There was a deep appeal in Maureen that made no sense to Eddie, yet he couldn’t deny it. When he was a kid, he used to dream about a kind of Christmas that simply didn’t exist. Maybe that was the thing about Maureen. She reminded him of the kind of girl who didn’t really exist—not for him, anyway.

  Then the lights flickered out. She shaded her eyes and looked around. Volunteers were putting away the tools and crates. “Where’d Jabez go?”

  “Don’t know. Do you need him for something?”

  “I was going to give him a flyer about auditions. Maybe he’d like to join in.”

  “Hate to break it to you, but being in the Christmas pageant is not exactly a hot ticket for kids his age.”

  “That’s why I made the flyer.” She handed him a few. “Feel free to give these out.”

  He glanced at the sheet, angling it toward the false starlight. “‘Featuring an original composition by Eddie Haven’?” he read aloud. “Since when?”

  “Since you said the music I picked was stale, I thought a piece by you would freshen things up.”

  “And it never occurred to you to ask?”

  “I’m asking. Will you?”

  “I mean before you advertise my services.”

  “If you turn me down now, you’ll feel like a heel.”

  “Christ, and here I was, starting to like you,” he said. “Turning you down is not going to make me feel like a heel.”

  “I know. It’s the kids and everyone counting on an amazing pageant this year,” she said. “They’re the ones who will make you feel like a heel.” She went around collecting empty cups, moving through the crowd with brisk efficiency.

  “I just got screwed,” Eddie said to Ray. “But I don’t remember getting kissed.”

  “By Maureen? Don’t be sore. She does that to everybody.”

  “Does what?”

  “Gets her way. I’ve known her for years, and that’s just the way she operates. No biggie.” Ray headed toward his truck.

  “She’s into you,” Randy Veltry remarked as they reeled in the stereo speakers.

  “What?”

  “That woman. The one you were talking to. Totally into you.”

  “Right.” Eddie gave a derisive laugh. He tried to dismiss the notion. Into him? Maureen Davenport? No way. She made it clear she couldn’t stand him. Her being into him—that was the last thing he wanted or needed.

  And yet…he liked her, bossy attitude, librarian bun and all. It was crazy.

  “You ought to ask her out,” Moby suggested.

  “Nope. No way. We have to work together on this Christmas production so I can’t be getting personal with her.”

  “Chicken.” Omar flapped his wings.

  “I’m not. It’s just…I don’t have such good luck with women around this time of year. You know what I call Christmas? Ex-mas. With an E-X. I’ve been dumped three times at the holidays.” It was true; he hadn’t learned his lesson with Natalie. He’d never tried proposing again, but his next two girlfriends both dropped him at Christmastime, too.

  “Oh, let me get out my tiny finger-violin.” Randy pantomimed the action.

  “I’m just saying.”

  “You’re looking for excuses.”

  Eddie regarded the three brothers. Thinking about their background and current troubles, he was amazed they even spared a thought for his love life. “Yeah, you’re a bunch of wise guys,” he said. “That’s what you are.”

  “Hear that?” Omar said. “We’re wiseguys, all three of us.”

  “Which reminds me, you’re going to try out for the pageant.”

  “Ha. That’s a good one.”

  “You think I’m kidding? I wouldn’t kid about something that’s going to get you released from school an hour early, three times a week.”

  That clinched the deal for them. The Veltry boys caught a ride home with Noah and Max, leaving Eddie to finish up with the other volunteers. People trickled away, heading home, nagging their kids about weekend chores, checking their e-mail and seeing what was on TV. Eddie didn’t have to worry about any of those things, so he lingered to finish up with the lighting. After a while, he realized only he and Maureen Davenport remained.

  “Pretty cold tonight,” he said, just to fill the silence.

  “I hope the snow comes soon,” she said. “It’s always so lovely to have snow at Christmas. It never officially feels like the season has started until it snows.”

  “Not a fan. But don’t worry. You’ll get your snow any minute now.”

  “No, the weather report earlier said there’s no snow in the forecast.”

  “Maybe not, but it’s still going to snow. Tonight,” he said.

  She shook her head. “I’ve been checking the weather report regularly. There’s not a hint of snow.”

  “Have a little faith, Miss Davenport.”

  “I have plenty of faith,” she retorted.

  “Right.”

  She studied him for a few minutes, her gaze both probing and compassionate. “What is it with you and Christmas? Did it start that night?”

  Eddie studied her keen-eyed expression. So she’d heard the story. Maybe she’d been at the church when his van had gone flying into the nativity scene. He wondered how much she knew. “Wasn’t my best night.”

  “People said it was a miracle you survived the wreck,” she said.

  “That’s me. A Christmas miracle. Yeah, people can believe whatever they want,” said Eddie.

  He was found lying in a snowbank some twenty
feet from the van. Panicked worshipers exiting the church found him that way—dazed, reeking of alcohol.

  “Maybe it wasn’t a miracle, but incredibly good luck,” she suggested. “I heard you weren’t wearing a seat belt, and that was what saved you.”

  “That’s what you heard, eh?”

  “Am I wrong?”

  The accident report had been exhaustive because there was an entire congregation to draw from. Witnesses reported seeing the van careen around the bend in the road and, “at a high rate of speed,” it left the icy pavement, plowed down a slope, mowed over the nativity scene and burst into flames, all in a matter of seconds.

  There could be no disputing these facts. Too many unrelated witnesses reported seeing the same thing. What no one had witnessed—what no one could explain—was how Eddie had survived. Without serious injuries.

  Investigators theorized that the impact of the vehicle hitting the building had caused him to be thrown clear of the van and that the deep snow had cushioned his fall. Experts on such things said that this was one of those rare occasions when the victim had benefited from not wearing a seat belt.

  The report went on for pages, recounting the statements of witnesses, police and investigators. It was very thorough in presenting the facts.

  One key fact had been neglected, however.

  Eddie had been wearing his seat belt that night. A lap belt with a shoulder harness.

  He had explained as much to the investigators, and they instantly dismissed that part of his statement. For some crazy reason, he decided to test his theory out on Maureen. “Yeah,” he said. “You’re wrong. I had my seat belt on.”

  A soft gasp escaped her, and she pressed a mitten-clad hand to her mouth. “The paper said the only reason you survived was that you were flung from the vehicle before it exploded.”

  “I know what I know,” he insisted. “And don’t look at me like that—I read what the reports said. And I know I was in shock from a dislocated shoulder. I also read what the paper said about my blood alcohol level. It’s not so unique for someone on Christmas Eve. Haven’t you ever knocked back a few on Christmas Eve?”

  “No,” she said bluntly.

  “Well, you might, if you’d had the kind of evening I’d had. My memory is not impaired. I wish it was, because there are things about that night I’d like to forget.”

  “What kind of things?”

  “It’d take all night to explain. I don’t want us to turn into a couple of Popsicles. Doesn’t matter, because I do remember, and one thing I remember was clipping on my seat belt.”

  “Why would you remember that so specifically?”

  “Because just like everybody else, it’s a habit ingrained in me from a young age. I spent half my childhood being schlepped around in cars. The reason I remember the situation that night specifically is that I sat in the car for a few minutes, and I considered not fastening it. This was something I deliberated.”

  “Why would you deliberate?” she asked.

  “Long story short, a girl broke up with me that night. I was still young enough to think it was the end of the world. I felt like shit and I kind of did want to die, but if I did, I’d miss out on the rest of my life, you know?”

  Her lips twitched a little at the corners. “Funny how that works.”

  “Yeah, it’s kind of a career decision. One you can’t take back. So I buckled up.” He could still feel the cold metal of the buckle in his hand. He could still feel and hear the decisive click as he latched it home. There was no way, no possible way he was mistaken.

  Except the accident report contradicted him entirely.

  “Have you ever felt that way?” he asked Maureen. “Have you ever been that hurt by another person, so hurt you didn’t care if you lived or died?” That was how he’d felt that night, with Natalie. Later, with the clarity of hindsight, he realized the act of proposing had been more important than the woman herself.

  He expected Maureen to say something utterly practical, like what nonsense it was to give a person that much power over you. Instead, she surprised him. She nodded slowly and said, “I have.”

  “You have.”

  “That’s what I just said.”

  “When?”

  “It’s private.” She looked away, busied herself picking up a stray spool of speaker wire. “No wonder you’re jaded on love,” she commented in a clear attempt to deflect his next obvious question.

  “Who says I’m jaded on love?” he asked.

  “You nearly lost your life. That must have been the last time you trusted your heart to anyone.”

  “Maybe I’m a slow learner. Getting dumped at Christmas kind of became a thing with me.”

  “You know what I think?” she asked, then went on without waiting for his answer. “I think you keep trying to sabotage Christmas for yourself.”

  “Hey—”

  “And guess what? This year, you’re not going to get away with it. This year, you’re going to have a great Christmas.”

  “Because I get to spend it with you?” Oops, he thought, watching her face go stiff with humiliation. Wrong thing to say. “I’m teasing,” he said.

  “No, you’re being mean. There’s a difference.”

  “I’m sorry, okay? I really didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

  The frames of her glasses were probably made of titanium; they looked tough as armor. “All right,” she said.

  He wasn’t sure what she meant by all right. “Listen, I promise—”

  “What?” she asked, every pore of her body exuding skepticism.

  Good question, he thought. It had been so long since he’d promised anything to anyone. “That it’ll snow,” he said, noticing the barely detectable early flurries. “Now, there’s something I can promise.”

  “The weather report said—”

  “Forget the weather report. Look up, Maureen. Look at the sky.”

  Maureen was about to march off to her car, eager to escape him, when she felt a shimmer of magic in the air. No, not magic. Snow. Contrary to the weather reports, the first snow of the year arrived when Eddie Haven said it would. It started with tiny, sparse crystals that thickened fast. Soon the night was filled with flakes as big as flower petals.

  “Glad the snow held off until we finished,” said Eddie.

  “No ‘I told you so’?” she asked him.

  “Nah, you’re already annoyed at me.”

  She scowled at him. “I’m not annoyed.”

  “Right. Hand me that package of zip ties, will you?” He was still tweaking the light display. For someone who couldn’t stand Christmas, he sure had worked hard on the display. She wondered if he considered it a kind of redemption.

  She gave him a hand, in no hurry to get home. Franklin and Eloise, her cats, had each other for company. She wondered if Eddie had any pets. Or a roommate, back in New York. She also wondered if he’d really gone dashing off for a date the other night, or if that was just her overactive imagination. She warned herself that she was far too inquisitive about this man, but couldn’t manage to stop herself from speculating about him.

  As the minutes passed, the snowstorm kicked into higher gear. Thick flakes bombarded them. It was a classic lake effect storm, a sudden unleashing of pent-up precipitation. The church parking lot, empty now except for their cars, was soon completely covered. The landscape became a sculpture of soft ridges, sparkling in the amber glow of the parking lot lights.

  They walked toward their cars, sounds now muffled by the snow. She slowed her steps, then stopped. “I love the first snow of the year,” she said. “Everything is so quiet and clean.” Taking off her glasses, she tilted back her head to feel the weightless flakes on her face. Snow always reminded her of fun and exhilaration, safety and laughter. When she and her brother and sisters were little, their father used to be very quick to urge the school district to declare a snow day when the first big snow of the season came. The whole family would go to Oak Hill Cemetery, where they would ma
ke snow angels, engage in snowball fights or go sledding if there was enough of a base on the ground. No one ever remarked that celebrating the first snow in a graveyard might not be appropriate. It was Stan Davenport’s way of bringing his five kids closer to their late mother. People tended not to argue with him.

  Having lost her mother at age five, Maureen was considered too young to remember, but she did. Sometimes, like when the snow was coming down in a thick and silent fury, a perfect moment would come over her. In a flash of clarity, she could remember everything—the warmth of her mother’s hands, and the way they smelled of flowery soap, the sound of her laughter, the way she liked to collapse like a rag doll in the middle of the bed Maureen shared with Renée, where she would lie with them reading Horton Hatches the Egg and The Poky Little Puppy and Each Peach Pear Plum, always letting them beg for one more story before snuggling them under the covers and kissing them softly.

  Maureen shook off the memory to find Eddie staring at her. And although it was entirely possible that she was mistaken, she sensed a new interest in the way he was looking at her, through half-lidded eyes, with what appeared to be desire. It was the way a man regarded a woman just before he kissed her. Which either meant she was a wildly poor reader of facial expressions, or he had unexpected taste in women.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  She hoped the amber parking lot lights concealed her blush. “I’m weird about snow,” she said. “So sue me.”

  “I don’t think you’re weird,” he said. “Just…you look different without your glasses.”

  “Everyone looks different without glasses,” she said, and put hers back on. “I’ll see you at auditions.”

  “I can hardly wait,” he said.

  He was speaking ironically, of course. She’d read him wrong a moment ago; she wouldn’t make that mistake again.

  “Same here,” she said brightly.

  “Be careful going home,” he said.

  “Of course.” She got into her car and turned it on, letting the engine warm up and the defroster blow the windshield while the wipers did their work, clearing the window for a glimpse of the swirling sky. The beauty of the snow coming down never failed to take her breath away. She loved the first snow. She loved Christmas with all her heart, and she always had. It was a time of year that brought her together with friends and family, a time that filled her with hope, with the sense that anything was possible. She refused to let Eddie Haven ruin it.