He walks with quick steps to our table. “I’ve been trying to call you,” he says, his face pinched.
My mind spins. “What is it?”
“Can I chat to you privately?”
Missy hoists herself out of the chair. “I’m just going to find that hunk of a man of mine,” she says, and winks.
The doctor’s face is ashen, and I suddenly remember the blood tests.
Damon stands. “What is it, doc?”
The doctor’s expression softens as he picks up my still-full champagne glass. “Can’t drink, Lil?”
Puzzled, I say, “It tastes funny.”
“That’s because you’re pregnant.” He grins. “Congratulations.”
Damon’s eyes go wide as I let out a shriek.
The doctor continues: “The blood tests came back a bit later because of Christmas…you’ll still need a sonogram. But, lay off the champagne.” He smiles fondly. “I tried to call you at home, figured you’d want to know.” I recall the phone call we missed as we rushed out the door to the church.
Our friends and family gather around. Damon raises his eyebrows at me and I nod yes. There’s no way we’ll be able to keep this to ourselves.
He runs a hand through his hair, and shakes his head as if he can’t believe it. “Lil and I have a little announcement to share with you.”
Charlie bounds over, holding the hand of another little girl. “What is it, Daddy?”
He lifts Charlie to his hip. “We’re delighted to share with you that we are expecting a baby! It’s early days yet, but well…you’d figure it out anyway.”
A cheer rises from the group and there’s more hugging and kissing. It’s been such a huge day for all of us, I don’t think my cheeks will ever be the same.
Charlie isn’t as boisterous as I would’ve imagined. She’s quiet and playing with the pearl on her necklace. “What do you think about a little brother or sister, Charlie?” Damon asks.
She drops the pearl. “Oh, I can’t wait. CeeCee told me all about it at the church today…he’s going to be the cutest little thing.”
We look at each other over the top of her head. So CeeCee already ‘knows’.
EPILOGUE
Christmas Day
“My own baking set?” Charlie squeals as she tears open the box. Cheery Christmas wrapping paper litters the floor in a circle around her crouched figure. “Santa remembered everything on my list!”
Damon sits beside her and balls the scrunched-up paper together. “You must have been a good girl all year.”
“Oh, I was,” she says with a serious expression.
I’m still buzzing from the wedding and the baby news, even though it’s barely dawn and we haven’t slept much. I know we’ll all fall in a screaming heap this afternoon. We’ll nap after breakfast before we wake to prepare a late Christmas lunch for our families.
“I’ll start breakfast,” I say, forcing myself from the comfort of the sofa.
Damon stands quickly. “You take it easy, Lil.” His gaze drops to my still-flat belly. “Put your feet up. I’ll cook.”
“All protective already?” I smirk.
He laughs. “It’s not too soon, is it?”
“Come here.” I pull him to the sofa. He takes me in his arms, and lifts my sweater, exposing my belly. Charlie dashes over to look. “Is he kicking?” she asks.
“Not yet, Charlie Bear.” Her little face is lit up as if she can’t wait. I’m thankful she took the news well and isn’t threatened by a sibling. She leans right up close to my belly button. “Hello?” she says. We hold back laughter as she waits for a response.
“Good morning, sugar!” Missy and Tommy let themselves in. “I didn’t think we’d get here with the amount of snow falling,” she says. “What’s going on there?”
“Charlie’s introducing herself to the baby.” I pull my sweater back down and stand up, holding Charlie’s hand. “Merry Christmas.” I kiss Missy and Tommy.
“I don’t know about you, Lil, but I am completely shattered today. Sarah and Ridge slept in but they’ll be along soon.” We thought having Christmas breakfast together would be better so Missy can rest up for the day.
Damon saunters over, his jeans clinging to him, and his shirt open a few buttons. In my groggy state I have explicit thoughts that make me blush. He grins at me like he can read my mind. We all wander into the kitchen. “Sit down, ladies. Tommy will help me sort breakfast.”
Tommy takes his beanie off, and goes to the kettle. “I can possibly make instant coffee,” he says, “or toast. I’m not as fancy as you guys.” He winks at us.
“I’ll have a glass of water.” Missy holds a hand to the table to steady herself as a low groan escapes her.
I push my chair back and rush around the table. “Missy, is it the baby?”
She scrunches her face tight.
I grab a chair and try and ease Missy into it. Before I know it, I’m standing in a puddle.
“Oh, my God! Her water’s broken. Help!”
I’m almost frantic when Missy laughs. “Lil, relax, I just need a minute. Well, I’ll be darned. I think it’s really gonna happen. My boy is on his way…” I grab some tea towels and line the floor, worried she’ll slip when she stands. There’s no time to explain it might be her little girl who’s on the way.
Tommy crouches down, and searches Missy’s face.
“It’s show time,” she trills and flashes her jazz hands.
“Oh, my God. Tommy, make sure they don’t give her any drugs. She obviously doesn’t need them, crazy as she is.” I shake my head at her cool.
Missy throws her head back and laughs, then grabs a fistful of Tommy’s shirt. “If I ask for the gas you make sure they give it to me. That’s your job, mister.”
Tommy widens his eyes. “Drugs it is.”
“Lil, can you call the doctor and tell him we’re on our way? I want to leave now. The snow’s falling hard and I don’t want to get stuck.” Tommy helps Missy out of the chair.
“Of course!” My heart hammers in my chest as I search frantically for the phone.
“Relax, Lil, you look like you’re going to pass out!”
I stop and exhale as if I’m the one about to give birth. “OK, OK. Give me a hug and get going.”
Later that day phone shrills, startling me from sleep. We’d all been exhausted after the wedding, and the excitement of the last couple of days and had eagerly fallen into bed for a daytime nap. I grope the bedside table for the cordless phone as the time flashes neon green. It’s a touch from noon.
“Hello?” I say.
I strain to hear; there’s faint chatter in the background.
“Cee?”
“Cherry blossom, were you asleep?” She’s so quiet I can barely hear her.
“No, no. Is everything OK?”
Damon turns over next to me and rubs his eyes, turning on the bedside lamp. I mouth the word, “Cee.” And he sits up, pulling the quilt against us.
“She’s gone, Lil. Not even an hour ago. My best friend…gone to God.” Her voice breaks, and I close my eyes against the heartbreak of it. She chokes back tears.
“Cee, I’m so sorry.”
After a minute she says, “Me too, Lil. But seeing her so frail and in pain…she was ready, she said she was ready to go. And then she drifted off, just as quick as that. In its own way it was beautiful, Lil. With a soft sigh, she was gone. And now she’s outta pain.”
“I can’t believe it. At the wedding…”
“I know, she gave living that one last push, and enjoyed every second of it, Lil. But you know, I don’t think Janey’s gonna be all that far away…”
“What do you mean?”
“We had to ring the doctor, and he just happened to be delivering Missy’s baby. She delivered a little baby girl right around the same time as Janey passed on. The same time, Lil.”
I gasp as tears well. “At the same time?”
“The very same. The doctor told us.” She sobs; the dis
tance between us seems like a gulf and I want to go to her. “That child gonna be something special, all right.”
My heart thuds as I think about the two happening simultaneously. It’s got to be a sign.
“So Missy doesn’t know any o’ this yet, she’s sleepin’, according to the doctor, but you know somethin’ else…”
“What?”
“You know what Missy called the baby?”
I close my eyes as goose bumps break out over my body. “Tell me…”
CeeCee chuckles as if she can’t quite believe it. “Angel.”
Wide awake after CeeCee’s call, I turn to Damon and explain what she said. He’s sits there quietly, his head resting against the bedhead.
“That has to be one of the most amazing things I’ve ever heard,” his voice is wistful.
I nod. “It’s so special, and I know it’ll be something for CeeCee to hold onto in the coming months.”
We sit there silently, lost in thought. My mind whirls with Missy having a little girl, and of Janey being out of pain.
Before the maudlin sets in, I say, “We better get dressed. Our family will be here soon.”
Damon pulls me in for a tight squeeze. “Yes they will, Mrs. Guthrie. And we have lots of cooking to do before we go to the carols by candlelight tonight.”
I squeeze him back, hugging the warmth from his body. In a last minute rush, my dad helped one of Walt’s friends at the community center rally around and organize a last minute town gathering to celebrate Christmas. It was done quickly in the hopes Janey would be there. But now, we’ll sing in her honor instead.
If there’s one thing Ashford does well it’s come together as a community when we need to.
We get dressed and head to the kitchen to start preparing our Christmas dinner. My hand itches to call CeeCee back but I know her, and I know she’ll need some time alone.
Olivia throws her napkin on the table and stands to clear the dinner plates. I go to help but she shoos me away. “Relax, Lil. Take a break. That has to be the most delicious turkey I’ve ever tasted, you two certainly make a fine pair.” She shoots us a sweet smile. “Let me wash up.”
My dad flicks his braces. “One day off the diet, and look.” He points to his belly.
Mamma raises an eyebrow. “One day? Don’t think I don’t know you sneak into the Gingerbread Café and charm Lil into serving you things you aren’t meant to eat.”
I go to protest, but she gives me one of her knowing mom looks and I close my mouth. Moms’ always know. She says, “I’m going to help Olivia with these dishes, so why don’t you see how Charlie Bear is faring, and then we’ll head down to the carols?”
Damon’s dad George snores loudly in his chair, his napkin still tucked into his shirt.
We laugh and Damon says, “I’ve never known him to sleep like that in company. Must be the country air.”
Olivia turns, her gloved hands covered in suds. “Well, we’ll find out, won’t we? We plan on spending a lot more time here in future.” We exchange a glance, as happiness courses through me.
“I think,” I say. “That sounds mighty nice.”
With one last offer of help, they wave me away, so I go look for Charlie, who has retreated to her room to play with her Christmas presents.
I lean against the door jamb and watch her pretend play with her dolls, holding up conversations in different accents for each character.
She stops when she sees me and laughs. “I’m still learning how to talk southern,” she says, after throwing in one of CeeCee’s one liners into her role playing.
“You sound exactly like Cee.”
“Really?”
“Really. And hopefully you can show her soon. I know she wants to see you as soon as she’s able.”
Charlie puts the dolls carefully back into the dollhouse.
“I know, Lil,” she stares up at me. “I know her heart’s sore. She told me all about it. But I can wait.”
It never fails to amaze me the way CeeCee connects with people from age seven to seventy. She’s just got that way about her.
I cross my arms against the chill of this side of the cottage. “Are you ready for the Christmas carols? We’ve got some teeny tiny candles that are LED, so there’s no danger my mom can set anything on fire. And we can huddle together in the town hall, and sing ‘till our heart’s content.”
Again she gives me a look that seems so much older than hers years. “Let’s sing for CeeCee.”
“She’d like that,” I say.
“And for the baby.” She glances at my tummy.
I smile. “Perfect.”
She jumps up and I grab her in a hug, inhaling her innocence and marveling at her sweet heart. “Let’s go, and sing for everyone we love.”
We head to the kitchen where everyone is busy throwing on jackets and winding scarves around their necks.
“Ready?” Damon asks, and scruffs Charlie’s hair.
We nod, as Charlie pulls her mittens on.
Damon loops a hand lazily around my waist and I clasp Charlie’s mittened hand. Damon opens the door to the blustering snow. We decided to walk slowly to the town hall since we won’t all fit in the one car and while it’s artic out, at least we’ll all be together. And that’s all I want right now. To be with those I love. To be thankful for what I’ve had, and what I’ve got. To celebrate the joy of life, including the new one inside of me, and to be there for my friends when they most need me. Again I think of CeeCee and wish fervently I could go to her now.
Damon senses my mood, and grips my waist tighter, searching my face as I look to him. “You OK?”
I nod. Our parents walk behind us chatting away about all the places they’ve traveled to, and how much more they want to see. We turn the corner into the town hall and see Sarah and Ridge clutching steaming cups of coffee. Their breath blows out like fog. Sarah waves us over, her face shining with happiness.
“Lil!” She embraces me. “We’ve been waiting. Come on inside. CeeCee is here. And Guillaume.” She winks.
“They’re here?”
“Everyone is here,” she says. “What kind of Christmas would it be if we weren’t?”
Damon rubs my back through the thick parka I wear and whispers. “Go to her, Lil. I’ll escort everyone else in in a few minutes.”
I nod and kiss him on the cheek. He senses what I need, always.
Sarah takes my hand and leads me into the warmth of the hall. Charlie races in after us, so I stop, and throw an arm around her shoulder as she catches up. We continue through the crowd of locals who sing and wave candles in the air in front.
She sees me before I find her in the throng of people. “There you be, sugar plum. And what’s this I hear you’ve gone and got yourself a little bun in the oven?”
I launch myself at her in proper CeeCee style, and as she hugs me back I notice Guillaume sitting next her, his face lit up by love.
“Well,” I say, looking into her deep brown eyes. “I think you knew about it before I did.”
She lets out her southern haw and picks up Charlie in a huge bear hug. “Well o’ course, didn’t we Charlie Bear?”
Charlie giggles. “That was such a hard secret to keep.”
Damon and the gang meld their way over to us. CeeCee makes room so we can all sit on a rug she’s laid out.
Everyone spends a minute saying Merry Christmas and Sarah hands out candles to our folks, and we sit quietly together. I lay my head on CeeCee’s shoulder so grateful to be close to her. She pats my hand, we don’t need to talk, we each know how we’re feeling.
Charlie stands and tries to sit between us to cuddle CeeCee. I inch out of her way and scoot over and wrap my arms around my husband. He kisses the top of my head, and lays a gentle hand on belly.
While carolers croon out from the little stage in front, I close my eyes and absorb the meaning of the words. It’s been a big year for all of us, my friends, my family, and me. And I can’t help but feel life has come full circ
le. I smile, for once, certain I’m not going to blubber. There’s too much to be thankful for.
If you enjoyed Christmas Wedding at the Gingerbread Café, here is a sneak peek at
The Bookshop on the Corner
Chapter One
Snuggled in the cozy bay window of the bookshop, I looked up from my novel as the first golden rays of sunshine brightened the sky. Resting my head against the cool glass, I watched the light spill, as though it had leaked, like the yellows of a watercolor painting. Almost dawn, it would soon be time to switch on, and get organized for another day at The Bookshop on the Corner.
Every day I arrived at work a few hours prior to opening to read in the quiet, before customers would trickle in. I loved these magical mornings, time stolen from slumber, where I’d curl up with a book and get lost inside someone else’s world before dog-earing the page and getting lost in mine. Sure, I could have stayed in bed at home and read, but the bookshop had a dream-like quality about it before dawn that was hard to resist.
I turned back to the inside of the shop to watch shards of muted sunlight settle on piles of books, as if it were slowly waking them. The haphazard stacks seemed straighter, as if they’d decided when I wasn’t looking to neaten themselves up, dust their jackets off, and stand to attention. Maybe a customer would stumble across one of them today, run a hand lovingly across their covers, before selecting a book that caught their attention. Though my theory was books chose us, and not the other way around.
The bookshop was silent, bar a faint hum — were the books muttering to each other about what today would bring? Smiling to myself, I went back to my novel, promising myself just one more chapter.
When I looked up again the sun was high in the sky, and I’d read a much bigger chunk than I’d meant to. Some stories consumed you, they made time stop, your worries float into the ether, and when it came to my reading habits I chose romance over any other genre. The appeal of the happy ever after, the winsome heroine being adored for who she was, and the devastatingly handsome hero with more to him than met the eye tugged at my heart. And I’d read about them all: from dashing dukes, to cocksure cowboys, I never met one I didn’t fall for.
Christmas Wedding at the Gingerbread Café (The Gingerbread Cafe - Book 3) (A Gingerbread Cafe story) Page 17
