I'll Be Home for Christmas

by Fern Michaels

  “We want four trees,” Amy heard the father say. She watched as the mother rolled her eyes as she did her best to herd the six kids to the gift shop. “Don’t forget the four wreaths and the four grave blankets.” Amy laughed. She knew immediately who was the boss of this rambunctious family. She continued to laugh as the dog chased Cyrus, trying to get his reindeer ears.

  The rest of the day was no better. By four o’clock three inches of snow covered the ground. The trees were coated with it, which only made them heavier. At five o’clock, when Gus closed the gate at the entrance, Amy thought she would collapse. She knew if she closed her eyes even for a second she’d be out for the rest of the night.

  While she waited for the Seniors to come in for supper, Amy drank three cups of black coffee, one after the other. She was so wired from all the caffeine she’d consumed that she thought she was going to explode. The minute Gus walked in the door, she eyeballed him and said, “So when are we getting married?”

  “How about tomorrow?”

  “I’m too tired.”

  Gus laughed. “Did you just propose to me? I thought I was supposed to do the asking.”

  “You did. This morning. I’m just…I’m just confirming it. I’m a detail kind of gal. You should know that about me.” Suddenly, Amy looked around and was stunned to see the room was full of Seniors, her mother, and Gus’s father.

  “We’re getting married,” Gus said.

  Everyone clapped. Even Amy.

  “When?” the Seniors asked.

  “New Year’s Day,” Gus said.

  Amy yawned. “Works for me,” she said before she slid to the floor and was out like a light.

  “Looks like your daughter might be spending the night, Tillie. Guess I’ll be driving you home after supper.”

  Tillie smiled. What was the point in telling Sam she’d driven to the farm this morning? There were all kinds of being tired. She smiled up at Sam. “I’d really appreciate that, Sam. I was going to put my tree up tonight as a surprise for Amy. Maybe if you aren’t too tired, you could help me.”

  Gus sidled up to his father. “Go for it, Dad; that’s the best offer you’re ever going to get.” He bent over to pick up Amy. Cyrus barked as he slung the sleeping girl over his shoulder. She felt like a rag doll. The Seniors clapped again. Gus felt like a caveman as he made his way through the gauntlet of helpers to the living room.

  Gus covered the sleeping girl and built up the fire. He was staring into the flames, his thoughts a million miles away, when one of the Seniors brought two plates of food, one for him and one for Cyrus.

  Harvey Jenkins poked his head into the living room. “We’re going to put a tree up for Sam if you don’t mind, Gus. Is there anything special you want in the way of ornaments, or should we use some from the gift shop?”

  “I have no idea where Mom kept the ornaments, Harvey. Just put some lights on the tree and use the ornaments from the shop. I appreciate it. You’ve all done so much already. This is above and beyond what any of us expected.”

  “Can’t have Christmas without a tree in your living room. We want to do it. We’ll have it up in no time and be out of your way. You can sit here and enjoy it. It’s snowing pretty heavy out there right now. Most of us are staying the night, because if it snows all night we won’t be able to get back here. Sam said it was okay. We’ll be upstairs if you need us. Later on, that is,” the old man said gruffly.

  “Okay,” Gus said as he leaned back in his father’s favorite chair. He was asleep the moment his eyes closed. He didn’t open his eyes again until six o’clock the next morning. He could smell bacon and coffee, but it was the sight of the beautiful tree in the corner of the living room that made him suck in his breath. This was the tree he’d never had as a kid. All lit up with shiny ornaments and a ton of gaily wrapped packages nestled under it. He had to blink his eyes several times to ward off the tears. How beautiful, how awesome, how generous of the Seniors. He knew he would remember this moment for the rest of his life.

  He turned around to see the Seniors watching him like a cluster of precocious squirrels, big smiles on their faces. “Does it look like the kind your Momma used to put up?” Addy asked.

  Gus had no trouble with the lie he was about to tell. “Exactly,” he said, going over to hug each one of them. He loved how they fussed over him, patting him on the arm, on the back, then hugging him.

  “Wake up Amy. I hope she likes it,” Harvey said.

  “Hey, sleepy head, wake up,” Gus said, poking Amy on the arm.

  Amy bolted upright. She looked around in a daze. “Did I sleep for three whole days? Is it Christmas? It’s gorgeous. It takes my breath away. Oh, Gus, it’s just beautiful.”

  “The Seniors did it while we both slept. Thank them, not me. I couldn’t have done that even on my best day. But to answer your question, you did not sleep for three days, and it is not Christmas.”

  “Oh, well, we’ll manage somehow,” Amy said as she ran over to the Seniors, who hugged and kissed her. “It’s like having a bunch of mothers, fathers, and grandparents all rolled into one.” She winked at Gus. “I don’t think it gets any better than this.”

  

  Time lost all meaning as Gus, his crew, Amy and the Seniors got their second wind as the countdown to the noon hour on Christmas Eve began. Sam’s Victrola continued to play Christmas carols over the jury-rigged sound system as all the Christmas tree procrastinators showed up to buy their trees at the last minute while the kids romped in the snow and chased Cyrus all over the compound.

  Christmas Eve morning, Sam and Tillie arrived with what Gus called sappy expressions on their faces. All Amy could do was giggle. She’d never seen her mother so happy. Gus said the same thing about his father. All morning, as they worked side by side, they kept poking each other and pointing to their parents.

  “I don’t know why I say this, but I think the two of them are up to something,” Gus said as he picked up a twelve-foot tree to shove into the barrel. Amy pulled it out from the other side and tied the bailing plastic in a knot. Two of Gus’s crew plopped it on top of an SUV, its engine still running. They both waved as the car drove out of the compound, the kids inside bellowing “Jingle Bells” at the top of their lungs.

  “One more hour and it’s all over. Then all we have to do is deal with the media and the drawing, and the rest of the day is ours. Did I mention lunch? Addy said Dad’s freezers are about empty, so lunch and dinner will be a surprise.”

  “I wonder who’s going to win the contents of the stocking,” Amy said. “I hope it’s someone who can use a face-lift.”

  “The snowblower is what everyone is talking about. Whoever wins is going to need an eighteen-wheeler to cart it all away.” He grew serious when he turned to Amy. “This was…an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. If you hadn’t showed up that night in your purple hat and scarf, I don’t know which direction I would have gone in. I feel so damn good right now. All thanks to you, Amy Baran.” Amy blushed as she squeezed Gus’s arm.

  “I wouldn’t trade it either, but you did all the hard work. All my wreaths and blankets sold. We have two trees left. I think that says it all. Look, here comes the media, and it’s starting to snow again. I guess we better get ready.”

  “What does that mean, get ready?”

  “That means we comb our hair and get ready to smile. I’ll do that while you close the gates. Business is officially over.”

  Gus loped off. As he struggled through the snow with the huge, slatted, iron gate, he looked up at the sign he’d repainted when he first arrived. He blinked, then rubbed the snow from his eyelashes. It was a different sign. This one said, MOSS & SON CHRISTMAS TREE FARM. A lump the size of a lemon settled in his throat.

  The snow was too deep; the damn gate wasn’t going to close. Suddenly, it started to move. “Need some help, son?”

  Maybe he should have answered, but he couldn’t get his tongue to work. Suddenly, he was eight years old, running to
his dad because he couldn’t close the gate by himself. His father’s words were crystal clear in his memory. “You need some help, son?”

  Gus threw himself at his father, and together they toppled into a snowdrift. “Yeah, Dad, I need some help.”

  “Then let’s put our shoulders to the wheel and close this gate. The media people will have to open and close it on the way out. We’re done here.”

  How easy it all was when you worked together. Gus wished he could think of something profound to say but he couldn’t come up with the words. Then again, maybe actions and not words were all that was necessary.

  His father’s arm around his shoulder, Gus walked with his father back to the compound.

  The Victrola was still playing, the Seniors were bundled up in their winter gear, and Amy and her mother were standing between the giant Christmas Stocking and the mile-long scroll that Amy was starting to unroll. Cameramen snapped and snapped their pictures, close-ups of the awesome scroll and the giant stocking. Amy pointed to the glittering letter on the stocking. An obliging cameraman focused his camera and took his shot.

  MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL!

  In smaller letters, each Senior’s, each worker’s, each volunteer’s name was listed. At the bottom, it said, THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT. The names Sam, Tillie, Amy, and Gus ran across the toe of the stocking.

  “I think this is the most exciting moment of my life,” Tillie whispered to Sam.

  “I know it’s the second most exciting moment of my life,” Sam whispered back. “The first was the day Gus was born.”

  Gus smiled. If he had been a bird, he would have ruffled his feathers and taken wing. Since he was a mere mortal, he punched his father lightly on the arm as he moved forward to stand by Amy, who was getting ready to pick the winner from the bulging stocking.

  A microphone was shoved in Amy’s face as she stood on top of a ladder and dug deep into the stocking for one of the entries. “And the winners are…Janet and Ed Olivetti!”

  The Seniors buzzed. Gus caught phrases as they chirped and chittered among themselves. They sure can use it…Ed was laid off the whole summer…Two kids in college…two more getting ready to go…and the littlest one with major health problems…

  After the media packed up and left, Gus turned to Amy and said, “Now.”

  “Okay.” Amy turned to the assembled Seniors and proclaimed, “Listen up, people. There was an unannounced gift not listed on the Christmas Stocking scroll. Let me tell you about it.”

  She took a piece of paper out of her pocket and read, “In honor of all the effort put in by the Senior Citizens, a prizewinning architectural firm has donated its services to supervise the building of an additional wing.”

  Before anyone could react, Gus turned to his father and said, “Please, Dad, can we turn off your Victrola?”

  “I can do better than that.” Within minutes, Sam had the old contraption and the scratchy records in his hands. With a wild flourish, he dumped the machine and the records in the trash. “As a very wise person said to me just recently, it’s time to move on. I could use a little Bing Crosby or Nat King Cole. Now, let’s have some lunch.”

  Gus reached up to help Amy down from the ladder.

  “Merry Christmas, Amy.”

  “Merry Christmas, Gus.”

  “Do you realize in seven days I’ll be calling you Mrs. Moss?”

  “Yep,” Amy said linking her arm with her soon-to-be-husband’s. “Until then, you won’t mind if I sleep the days away.”

  “Not as long as I’m sleeping alongside you.”

  Gus opened the door to the kitchen. Everyone shouted, “Merry Christmas!”

  “To one and all!” Amy and Gus called out in return.

  Epilogue

  Amy Baran slipped into her mother’s wedding gown, which fit her to perfection. “I didn’t know you saved your gown. You never said…”

  “I never said a lot of things, Amy. I was happy the day I wore that gown. What came after…well, it no longer matters. A wedding gown is something you save for your daughter. You look beautiful. Do you have something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue?”

  “I do. The Seniors were more than helpful. Mom, I am so happy. I wish there was a way for me to thank you for asking me to come home. I did what you said, I went for the gusto. I hope Gus doesn’t think I’m pushy.”

  “He doesn’t think any such thing. He loves you. Sam told me he talks about you in his sleep. He’s a fine young man, Amy. Sam…Sam can be stubborn, but he finally came around. We’ve had such long talks. He’s become a good friend. A really good friend.”

  “Is that your way of asking me if I approve?”

  “I guess. This room we’re standing in was Sara and Sam’s room. I feel like she’s still here. Sometimes I have these…doubts. My situation was different from Sam’s. He dearly loved his wife. I’m not…”

  “Mom, Sam knows his own heart. He’s moved on. He found you. You don’t have to live here in this house if you don’t want to. You have your own house but you need to ask yourself if Sam feels the same way about our house. Dad’s room is the same. You didn’t change a thing. Sam cleared all of Sara’s things out of here. Hey, you could move down the hall to another room.”

  “I guess. It’s time to go downstairs. Where’s your veil? Amy, do you think I’ll make a good grandmother?”

  “The best. Mom, I know about Dad. I want to thank you for never telling me. I think if you had, I would have run amuck. Now, we’re never going to talk about that again.”

  Tillie nodded. “Did something happen to the veil?”

  “I’m not wearing it. I’m wearing this”—Amy said, plopping her purple hat on top of her curly head—“and this scarf,” she said twirling the purple scarf around her neck. “Whatcha think, Mom?”

  Tillie laughed so hard she cried. “I think you’re going to give those California gals a run for their money. I hear the music. Sam’s waiting outside the door to walk you down the steps and give you away to his son.”

  “Then let’s do it.”

  She saw him standing next to the minister. She paused, waiting for him to see her. He turned, his eyes popping wide as both his fists shot in the air. Amy started to laugh as all the Seniors clapped their hands. She sashayed forward, twirling the end of the purple scarf this way and that. Gus howled with happiness as wedding protocol flew out the window.

  This, he decided, just like the last two months, was a memory he’d keep with him for the rest of his days.

  Ten minutes later, the minister said, “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

  The Seniors clapped and hollered, whistled and stomped their feet.

  “I promise to love you forever,” Gus whispered in Amy’s ear.

  “And I promise to love you even more.”

  Comfort and Joy

  Chapter One

  Angel Mary Clare Bradford, Angie to her friends, looked over at her assistant, who was stacking rolls of colored ribbon onto spindles. Satisfied that the rolls of ribbon were aligned to match the spindles of wrapping paper, she turned away to survey her domain.

  The thirty-foot-by-thirty-foot room with its own lavatory was neat as a pin because Angie Bradford was a tidy person. The room she and her assistant, Bess Kelly, were standing in was known as the Eagle Department Store gift wrap department.

  Eva Bradford, Angie’s mother, had a lifetime lease on this very room, thanks to retired owner Angus Eagle, something that rankled the current young department store head, Josh Eagle, Angus’s heir.

  Angie and Josh had gone to the mat via the legal system on several occasions. Josh wanted the lease canceled so he could open a safari clothing department. He claimed the paltry, three-hundred-dollar-a-month rent Angie paid for the gift wrap space was depriving the Eagle Department Store of serious revenue. Another set of legal papers claimed his father had not been of sound mind when he signed the ridiculous lifetime lease.

  Angie
countered with a startling video of Angus playing tennis and being interviewed by the New York Times talking about politics and his philanthropic endeavors on the very day he signed the lifetime lease. In a separate filing, Angie charged Josh Eagle was a bully, and presented sworn testimony that he repeatedly turned off the electricity in the gift shop as well as the water in the lavatory just to harass her. On occasion the heat and air conditioning were also turned off. Usually on the coldest and hottest days of the year.

  Josh retaliated by saying Angie should pay for the electricity, water, heat, and air-conditioning. He said there were no free lunches in the Eagle Department Store in Woodbridge, New Jersey.

  Judge Atkins had glared at the two adversaries and barked his decision: Josh Eagle was not to step within 150 feet of the gift wrap department. Angie was to pay an additional thirty-dollars-a-month rent for the utilities, and a new heating unit was to be installed at Eagle’s expense.

  At that point the Eagle-Bradford war escalated to an all-time high, with both sides doing double-time to outwit the other. The present score was zip-zip.

  “So, are you going to the store meeting or not?” Bess asked as she gathered up her purse and jacket.

  “Nope. I don’t work for Josh Eagle or this store. I work for my mother. I’m just renting space from Eagle’s. It was toasty in here today, wasn’t it?” Angie asked. It had been unseasonably cool for September.

  Bess eyed her young employer and laughed. She’d worked for Eva Bradford for twelve years before Eva turned the business over to her daughter, 110 pounds of energy who was full of spit and vinegar, five years ago. Angie had jumped right into the business, played David to Josh’s Goliath, and come out a winner. At least in Bess’s eyes. With the Christmas season fast approaching, Bess knew in her gut that Josh Eagle would pull out all his big guns to try to get under Angie’s skin and make her life so miserable she would give up and move out. She laughed silently. Josh Eagle didn’t know the Angie Bradford she knew.