Orchard Hill Volume Three

by Kara Lynn Russell

  “That could be part of it,” said Joseph. “But I don’t think that’s all.”

  “Guys, I said I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “We know,” Joseph said to him over his shoulder. “We weren’t asking you to talk about it.”

  Shaun sat up in his chair. “Hey, I think I know the rest. It’s really hard planning all these wedding ceremonies when you’re alone…”

  “But there’s someone you love…” Joseph added. “And you have no intention of ever doing anything about it.”

  Isaac rose from his seat at the desk and walked over to his friends, the intruders. He crossed his arms and glared down at them. “So if you two are so smart, then what exactly do you think I should do about it?”

  Shaun and Joseph exchanged looks. In chorus they responded, “Want to talk about it?”

  Isaac groaned and collapsed onto a chair. Sometimes friends were a mixed blessing.

  Though nothing had been resolved when Shaun and Joseph left, Isaac had to admit he felt better for talking about it. He thought he could probably manage to stay in his own office tomorrow.

  ****

  The next morning, Joy was very careful as she filled her birdfeeders. The walkways in the garden were slick from yesterday’s rain, frozen into a sheet of ice. She felt sort of bad about feeding the birds and leaving. She was used to spending time with them before going back in, but the icy walks had already made her late.

  She was even more nervous today than she was yesterday. What if Isaac made her go home today? What if he was angry that she came back?

  Maybe she should stay home today. Yes, she’d be better off staying home. She couldn’t do this after all.

  Joy stopped and took several long, deep breaths. She remembered how good she felt when she’d sung the solo. Well, after her stomach had calmed down, anyway. Did she really want to crawl back into her shell?

  No, she didn’t.

  She finished getting ready for work, mentally building up her “determined to succeed” attitude. Before she left the house, she slipped the Christmas concert tickets into her bag. Maybe today would be the day she’d ask him.

  A nearby farm delivered Christmas trees to the church that day. Pansy usually decorated the tree that was set up in the gathering space, while the Sunday School children decorated their own tree. Decorating the big tree in the sanctuary was a youth event.

  Joy wasn’t sure where the decorations for the tree were stored. Isaac was in his office today, but he’d barely said two words to her. Should she ask him or not? Okay, she should, but Joy didn’t think her bravery had yet extended itself to asking grumpy men for help.

  Well, she supposed she could call Pansy. The last few times she’d phoned Pansy for help, she’d gotten no answer. This time, thankfully, she picked up.

  Pansy’s instructions led her down to a basement storage room that was filled to bursting with various boxes and items that were only used occasionally by the church. Joy flipped the light switch and a bare bulb snapped to life. It didn’t create enough light to illuminate the corners of the large room, and so Joy went in search of a flashlight. She began picking her way down the aisles, reading the labels on the various boxes. Thank goodness they’re marked.

  ****

  The phone rang, and no one answered it. Isaac heard it, but he thought that Joy was in the office so he didn’t pick up. The phone continued to ring.

  He got up and peeked into the outer office. It was empty. He walked over to Joy’s desk and picked up the phone. “Orchard Hill Community Church, Pastor Isaac speaking.”

  Pansy’s crisp voice came over the line. “Isaac, all this packing I’m doing has got me so confused. I gave Joy the wrong location for the Christmas decorations. They’re in the supply closet on the top shelf. I told her they were in the storage room downstairs.”

  “Pansy, it’s not like you to make a mistake like that.”

  “I’m seventy five years old, I’m getting married and moving across the country. Give me a break,” she snapped.

  “All right. I’ll tell her when she comes up.”

  “No, you’d better go get her. She could be searching through that storage room all afternoon.”

  Isaac sighed. “Right.”

  “Oh, and by the way, Delia says ‘hello.’ She thinks I should invite you over to dinner this week.”

  “Um…I’d better go find Joy. I’ll talk to you later, Pansy.” He quickly hung up the phone.

  So Pansy was trying to set him up with her niece. Luckily he’d seen through that one.

  Isaac went downstairs to find Joy. It had been a long time since he’d visited that storeroom. He’d forgotten how dark and dusty it was. At the entrance he called out, “Joy, where are you?”

  “Back here.”

  He turned in the direction he thought her voice came from. “Pansy called. She said she was mistaken about the decorations being down here. Come back up.”

  “Okay.”

  Isaac jumped as Joy popped out from behind a stack of boxes, practically under his nose.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “That’s all right. Let’s go back.” Isaac allowed Joy to precede him out of the room and up the stairs.

  “Where did Pansy say the decorations were?” Joy asked.

  “In the supply closet on the top shelf.” Isaac wanted to disappear back into his office, but he knew how high the top shelf was, and he doubted Joy could reach it even using the step stool Pansy kept there. “I’ll help you.”

  “Thank you.”

  He retrieved the box and brought it out by the tree. He watched as Joy opened it and began to sort through the ornaments inside.

  “I should really get back to work,” he said.

  “All right.” She didn’t even look up at him. Somehow this bothered Isaac. Here he was putting all his willpower into not touching her, and she seemed totally oblivious to him.

  “Do you need help untangling and testing the lights?”

  This time she did look up at him, and that look was blank. “I have to test the lights?”

  “Yes, you don’t want to go through all the work of putting the lights on and then find out that there’s a short in the string.”

  “Oh.” She studied the mass of cord and tiny bulbs in her hands. “Maybe I can just do the rest and then add the lights later.”

  “Joy, the lights have to go first.”

  “They do?”

  “Haven’t you ever decorated a Christmas tree before?”

  “Well…um…no.”

  “You don’t have a tree at your house?”

  “When Grandfather was still alive, he had the staff take care of it. After he passed away…I only kept Rosie on, and she’s gone at Christmas, so I never bothered.”

  That was the saddest thing Isaac had ever heard. He found himself kneeling on the floor next to her. “All right. I’ll show you how to do it.”

  For the next hour or so, he and Joy strung lights and garland and hung ornaments on the tree. And, Isaac realized that he was having fun. When it came down to placing the angel on top of the tree, he handed it to her. “It’s your first Christmas tree. You should have the honor.”

  Her eyes lit up, and her cheeks flushed with pleasure. Isaac took her free hand to steady her as she climbed onto the step stool and placed the angel on top of the tree. He plugged in the lights, and she actually clapped her hands in excitement as the tree lit up.

  “Isaac, it’s beautiful. Thank you for helping me.”

  She looked far more like an angel to him than the doll on top of the tree. He enjoyed the time they spent together. Until now, her shyness had placed a wall between them.

  Joy seemed different the last couple of days. She was still shy and hesitant, but not tongue tied and panic stricken. What was going on?

  “Isaac…”

  Joy had taken her attention from the tree and was looking at him now. She was clutching the edges of her cardigan in a clearly nervous gesture. Maybe she wasn’t
so different after all.

  “There’s something I wanted to ask you.”

  “OK. What?”

  She dropped her gaze to the carpet.

  “Joy,” he prompted, “what is it?”

  “Would you…would you…?” She hesitated again and then finished in the tiny, breathy voice he was more familiar with. “Would you put the box back in the storage closet for me until it’s time to take the tree down again?”

  “Sure.”

  ****

  Joy was downhearted about her failure that day. She’d been so close to asking him to the concert, and then her courage had deserted her. Apparently, she wasn’t cured yet.

  “The concert is this weekend,” she told Mozart as he flitted about in the large cage she’d bought for him. “If I don’t ask him soon, it will be too late.”

  Rosie called and was delighted with how well the secretary’s job was going, and she was surprised about Mozart.

  “I’m surprised you found a canary at an animal shelter. Don’t they mostly keep dogs and cats?”

  “Yes,” Joy agreed. “But they told me they get an occasional small animal. Mozart’s owner passed away and none of the family wanted him. Wait until you hear him sing. He sounds beautiful.”

  “Maybe you should go back and get a puppy or a kitten, something you can cuddle.”

  “I don’t know, Rosie. Maybe someday.”

  The subject switched then to whether she’d been eating, and if she was dressing warmly enough.

  “I heard there was freezing rain up there this week. Is that right?”

  “Yes, Rosie. It’s still very slippery, but I promise I’m being careful.”

  “Be extra careful for me, all right?”

  “I promise.” Joy knew she was too old for Rosie to fuss over her like this, but she enjoyed it. It was good to know someone was watching out for her.

  ****

  At five o’clock the next day, Isaac came out and locked his office door behind him. Joy looked up from her desk to say good night.

  “Aren’t you going home?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “Choir practice tonight. I figured I might as well stay until it starts. There’s no point in going home and coming back.”

  “What about supper?”

  “I’ll get something later.” She hoped that not eating beforehand would make another emergency trip to the bathroom unnecessary.

  “You have to eat.”

  “I will. Later. Right now I have a few things to catch up on.”

  “You eat like those birds you love so much.”

  “Actually birds eat quite a lot, especially at this time of year. It takes a lot of energy to keep warm.”

  “It takes a lot of energy to work all day and then play for the choir.”

  Joy hated arguing. If Isaac didn’t leave her alone, she’d show up at choir with her stomach already upset.

  “Isaac, please…”

  He held up his hands. “All right. I’m going.”

  After he left, the office was deafeningly quiet. Joy hummed to herself as she typed up the minutes for the council meeting. Typing was still a slow job. She used what Pansy had called the biblical method of typing—seek and ye shall find.

  As Joy became absorbed in finding the right keys to strike, the rest of the world faded away. Without realizing it, she switched from humming to singing Christmas carols softly. Maybe that was why she didn’t hear the door open.

  A cough got her attention. She jumped a little as she looked up and saw Isaac standing in front of her.

  “How long have you been there?”

  “A few minutes.”

  “Well, why didn’t you say something?”

  Isaac shrugged. “You were singing. I like to hear you sing.”

  Joy’s face warmed. He liked her singing. Now she was sure she’d made the right decision in asking for the solo.

  “I brought you supper,” Isaac said in a gruff voice.

  Joy raised her eyebrows in surprise. “You did?”

  He lifted a wicker hamper up and set it on her desk. “I can’t have you fainting away. People would say I’m overworking you.”

  Joy looked at the hamper. “How much food is in there? Am I supposed to share it with the rest of the choir?”

  “No.” Isaac hesitated and then asked, “But would you share it with me?”

  He’d brought her food, and he wanted to eat with her. Hope filled her heart. “Sure. Thank you, Isaac.”

  He was going to pull a chair up to her desk but Joy stopped him. “I have a better idea.” She went out into the gathering space and turned on the lights for the tree they had decorated. “Let’s eat out here.”

  She had to go down to the kitchen to find a small tablecloth they could spread on the ground. Then Isaac set out the food. It wasn’t fancy—sandwiches, grapes and chips. But he’d made it for her, and Joy was happy.

  Sitting next to the softly lit tree, Isaac talked about his family. Joy loved hearing about his childhood, and the time passed quickly. When she glanced at the clock she was surprised to see that it was almost time for choir practice to begin.

  She was tempted to skip it or at least be late. Then it occurred to Joy that now was the perfect time to ask Isaac about the concert. The picnic was almost a date in itself. Asking him to go with her to the concert wouldn’t be such a big step.

  Isaac finished the story he’d been telling about spending summers on his grandfather’s farm, and she mentioned it was almost time for her to go. “Thank you again, Isaac. I really enjoyed our picnic.”

  “It was nothing,” he insisted.

  “No, it was very nice of you.” It was now or never. “There’s a Christmas concert in Green Bay on Friday. I have tickets.”

  “I think I know which one you mean; they’ve been advertising it on the radio.”

  “Would you like to go with me?”

  The question clearly surprised Isaac. “Go…with you? Do you mean like a date.”

  Her voice had deserted her so she merely nodded.

  “I thought we’d talked about this. I can’t go out with you, Joy.” He began picking up the remains of their picnic. “I’m sorry. You know I wish it were different.”

  Joy said nothing as she helped Isaac put things away. No, he doesn’t wish things were different. If he did, he’d risk it, but he doesn’t really want to take a chance on me. She wouldn’t be sorry though. She might have failed with Isaac, but she’d found her courage, and that was enough in itself.

  She made it through choir practice, although her performance felt a little wooden. Afterwards, Angel suggested they go out for coffee again. “I warned Jeff this might happen, so he’s prepared to stay with Cherub a little longer.”

  “Cherub? Is that your dog’s name?” asked Joy as she fell into step with Angel. She was glad Angel had suggested this because she didn’t want to go home to an empty house just yet, and didn’t think she was up to asking about it after her earlier rejection.

  “Yes. My cousin Misty said a cherub was the perfect companion for an Angel.”

  “I hope Jeff doesn’t mind dog-sitting a little longer.”

  “Actually he loves Cherub as much as I do. He’s just not as patient with her little quirks as I am. Anyway, I bought a lock for his refrigerator so we should be fine.”

  Settled in at The Grace Place, with a cup of peppermint tea and Christmas music playing softly in the background, Joy began to relax. Angel talked about Jeff and their wedding plans. She wished she could tell Angel about her problems with Isaac, but she wasn’t ready just yet.

  The concert did come up, though. Angel mentioned that she and Jeff wanted to see it but that tickets were sold out. “Next year we won’t wait so long to call.”

  “I have tickets,” Joy blurted out.

  “Really? Lucky you. Who are you going with?”

  Joy reached into her purse and pulled out the tickets. “No one. It turns out I can’t go. You and Jeff should use them.”
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br />   Angel’s face lit up, and Joy decided she’d made the right decision. It took a little convincing to get her to take them, but by now, Joy didn’t want to go anyway.

  When they emerged from the coffee shop, fat flakes of snow were drifting down from the sky.

  Angel frowned. “I love snow, but we don’t need this.”