In the House On Lakeside Drive

by Corie L. Calcutt

  “Well, how do you know Sam would run into it?” Josh challenged, looking put out.

  “Good point, Remy,” Evan seconded. “How do you know?”

  A scowl crossed Remy’s face. “Okay, I don’t. But the needles on Josh’s tree are hard and prickly. Someone could get them stuck in their skin, or their eye if they were to trip and fall. The other one’s safer. And it looks prettier.”

  “Mine is pretty,” Josh pouted.

  “I think we’ll let Remy win this one, Josh. Yours won’t fit on the top of the van. His will. Practicality wins.” Evan knelt down and began sawing, making sure the others kept their distance. Soon the tree plopped into the soft snow with a whoomph, and the three of them worked to carry it to the waiting transport.

  “Wonder what kinds of ornaments there are,” Josh said. His eyes were glistening with glee. He liked Christmas. “We always put popcorn on our tree at home.”

  “You strung it?” Remy asked.

  “Yeah! It was really hard, though—Mom usually put it on the string, but then I would take it and go round and round the tree and make sure it was setting even. Then we’d put white lights in the tree.”

  “We used blue ones, as well as white,” Remy said wistfully, remembering past Christmases. “Mom liked making her ‘ice tree’ where all the ornaments were blue or white, with the blue and white lights. Dad and I did a little one with colored lights for the kitchen table.”

  “You did?”

  “Yeah, we did. It was fun, usually.” Remy broke out of his reverie. “So, Evan, what’s the plan now?”

  “Well, I thought we’d take the tree home, then I’d send out for pizza while I watch the lot of you decorate the tree,” he said. “I sign up for driving, cutting, and ordering. My work is done.”

  “But what about ornaments?” Josh cried.

  “Rachel has ornaments. And I think you’ll be making some today as well. Every student that lives with her makes two—one to keep, and one to stay. There’s a pretty good amount of them now, and I’ve been doing this with her for five years now.”

  “Really? Five years?”

  “Yep. Five years. That reminds me, tomorrow night I’m heading into town to finish my shopping. Either of you need to get a few things?”

  Josh shook his head. “Mom is gonna pick me up on Saturday. I’ll get my stuff then.”

  “Remy?”

  Remy shrugged. “I’ve got Sam, and you, and Josh. I still need a couple for Rachel and Libby.” Libby was his on-again, off-again girlfriend. At the moment, Libby was definitely on.

  “Make sure you’re ready when I pull in. I need to hit a few places before they close.” The town of Otter Lake had only one department store. Most of the businesses were small shops and tourist traps for the summer crowd. While the merchandise was usually better than the department store, they tended to close by six.

  “Or…we could sign me out early, and leave at noon.” Remy looked up at Evan with a hopeful gleam in his eye.

  “Tomorrow’s Monday?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You caught up in class? And before you say ‘Yeah,’ remember, I can find out.”

  “I’m caught up. Well, except for my résumé. We’re still trying to find that on Mr. Everson’s flash drive.”

  Evan smiled at the mention of his friend. “I know. José has a habit of losing stuff.”

  “Yeah. Boy, was he pissed when he thought he lost the keys to the supply closet! Mrs. Rosales was about to slap him upside the head, and she’s his aunt!”

  “He almost lost the keys to the supply closet?” Josh parroted, as though he’d missed the conversation.

  “We just said that, Josh.”

  “Man, he loses everything! I heard one time he lost fifty bucks walking out to his truck.”

  “You’d remember losing fifty bucks,” Remy countered.

  “No, it’s true. Happened the year before you started at the school, Remy. José had a fifty-dollar bill in his pocket along with his phone. He pulled out the phone, and the fifty went sailing into the wind. We were laughing at him for hours because he looked like a lost cat chasing its tail. Apparently that story still gets around.”

  “So, about leaving early tomorrow…”

  Evan sighed, a deep melodramatic sigh. “Yeah, all right. I guess I could argue I’m teaching you about shopping and handling money, right?”

  “Well, that’s what I’m telling Miss Rachel. You know how she is about people skipping class.”

  “That’s because you shouldn’t be skipping class. What’s the point of going to the school if you’re just gonna skip?”

  “Good point.” The smile on Remy’s face was a mile wide. It was shaping up to be a good Christmas after all.

  * * *

  “Gift cards? Really?”

  “Really,” Sam said. He could hear the rush of foot traffic plodding through the snow-covered sidewalks along Otter Lake’s shopping district. “Easiest thing to send my brother and sister. I use Amazon and eBay for my grandparents and my aunt and uncle, and my cousins…” He turned his head, a little sheepishly. “I really don’t shop much.”

  “Good thing you came, then. We’ll have to make it a point to have you do the shopping more.” Rachel stopped near the large plate glass window of Kern and Sons, eyeing up the pairs of emerald earrings and strands of pearls. “Let’s stop in here a minute,” she said, her hand gently pushing Sam’s left shoulder toward the door. “Mind the step.”

  “I got it,” he said, trying to take extra care not to hit the rows of jewelry cases he couldn’t see.

  Inside, the room sparkled with glitter and twinkling lights. Rows of earrings stood sentry in a revolving case while watchbands glistened under the protective glass. An older man, reminiscent of a miniature Santa Claus, came up to them. “Good afternoon, Rachel,” he said, giving the redhead a hug. “Cold enough for you out there?”

  “Oh, yeah. Evan took the other two to get the tree. Sam had to finish his shopping.”

  “Hey, I didn’t forget,” Sam said, a grin plastered on his face. “I just…put it off.”

  The old man shook his head. “I remember coming to Tree Day with my Stephanie,” he said, a small smile on his face. “She loved it. I still have the ornament she made.” He was working hard not to let a tear fall from the corner of his gray eyes, and he turned toward the young man who couldn’t see him cry.

  “Me too,” Rachel said, her throat getting thick. Clearing it, she said, “I was hoping you could help me find something for Evan.”

  “Getting serious, is it?”

  “You could say that,” Sam said. He could feel the eyes staring at him. “What? It’s true.”

  “Well, okay…” Rachel blushed. “I was thinking a new watch, maybe. That one he has needs an update.”

  Sam smiled to himself. He knew Evan kept an old wristwatch for work, one he had gotten when he’d moved to Otter Lake. The band had been replaced three times, and the latest one was so worn and frayed Sam feared touching it because it might break.

  “I know the band he has isn’t going to last much longer,” Simon Kern said. “I said as much when he was fixing the back cases two weeks ago. I never would have guessed that all the hinges needed was something to loosen them up.” He walked the pair over to where he kept his better selection of watches. “Have a look at some of these. Considering his line of work, you’ll want something that will last a while.”

  Rachel was looking at the prices. “Simon, they’re beautiful…but I’m a teacher’s assistant. These are banker’s watches.”

  “The nice thing about owning the store: you can decide when to significantly lower the price on an item or two for a deserving customer.” Wide brown eyes crinkled merrily, and a neatly trimmed silver beard grew an inch on the outsides with the jeweler’s smile. “Before you protest, my dear, I daresay you and that young man of yours have done more for this town than any of the so-called ‘bankers’ you think can afford the going retail markup rate on the
se pieces.”

  The young lady stood there, speechless. Sam reached over and poked her with one of his long digits. “Are you there, Miss Rachel? I can’t hear you…”

  “I…I…thank you, so much!”

  “Take your time. Now, Sam, is it? You say you have a few things to pick up yourself?”

  “I do. Jewelry is not really my thing, though. Can’t tell what looks good.” Sam leaned against his stick with a smile.

  “Nonsense. Here, I’ll show you.” Simon led the young man toward the workshop part of the store, encouraging Sam to use his fingertips as a guide. He placed a small object in Sam’s hand. “Now, tell me what that is.”

  Sam rolled the cool round piece in his palm a few times, and then took his fingertips around the outer rounded top. There were little dots across it, like Braille, but smaller. “It’s a ring,” he said finally. “Are there stones in it?”

  “No, there’s not. What you’re feeling is the trace bits of metal from engraving. There’s a message written around the top of the band.”

  “What does it say?”

  Simon told him.

  “He’s really gonna do it?”

  “Seems serious enough. I asked that very same question when he came in two weeks ago to place the order. Can you keep it under your hat?”

  “Sure!” A chime beeped, and Sam pressed a button on his watch. It told him that it was four o’clock.

  “Talking watches,” Simon said. “I’ve heard of those, but they’re not something I carry in stock.”

  “Well, I could tell by the face,” Sam explained, showing off the instrument. “I can open the cover and feel the bars representing the points of the clock. I don’t like the idea of breaking the hands, though.”

  “What they won’t think of next,” the old man marveled. “Now, what did you have left to pick up? Perhaps I can make a few recommendations…at least keep you both out of this weather…”

  “I’d like to get something nice for Miss Rachel. And Evan. I sent out my family’s things yesterday.”

  “Well, Evan’s a trick, but I think I can help you with Rachel.” The sound of thick leather soles tapped across the ceramic tile floor, and Sam heard a box shuffle across a table as it was picked up. Soon it was placed in his hand. “Open it.”

  He found a pair of small earrings—they had a large round point at the top where the post connected, and underneath that were fine long rays of metallic material that put Sam in mind of the tactile comet installation they had had at the North Kingston museum when he was ten. “Those are cool,” he said. “What color are they?”

  “Synthetic emeralds set in sterling silver. I can let you have them for fifteen dollars.”

  “I’ll take them. Thanks!”

  “Anytime. Now, let’s see what Rachel’s picked out. I’m curious.”

  “Me too,” Sam said, following his guide back out onto the showroom floor. They found her with two different watches lying out on the glass case—a large pocket watch that fit inside Sam’s palm and a smaller wristwatch with a metallic band that stretched out. Sam’s fingers traced the cover of the pocket watch, taking in the brushed feel of the metal casing.

  “A pocket watch?” Simon said, his eyebrow raised slightly. “Seems an odd choice, given his line of work.”

  “I know, but…” Rachel blushed. “He’s got this thing for clocks. Loves ’em. I think there’s one in every room of the house now.”

  “Not the front living room,” Sam said. “It’s quiet in there. I can read without the ticking driving me nuts.”

  “Anyway, I know it’s something else he has to put in his pocket, but I know he’d love this one. But for practicality’s sake, the other one would hold up better. That one he has now is about to fall off him.”

  The older man thought a moment, and then started toward a small case near the register. He returned moments later and placed a finely linked rope chain in Sam’s hands that put Sam in mind of the velvet cordons they used at the movie theater and the bank. “Something like this would attach the watch to his coat pocket,” Simon explained. “The hook at the top fits into a coat buttonhole, or acts as a claw to hold it onto a belt loop. I know from experience Evan doesn’t seem to own a pair of dress pants.”

  “I could get this for Evan,” Sam said, fingering the chain. He felt a flat space near the hooking mechanism. “What’s this for?”

  “Engraving, if you wanted. Usually you’d put the person’s initials on it, but others have gotten more creative.

  Sam thought about it a minute. “I’d put a puzzle piece,” he said. “Evan has this saying, “Find the right pieces, and you’ll have a whole picture.” Plus, I know he does puzzles on this table in the back of the kitchen where I think we’re really supposed to eat.”

  “I gave up on that with my third tenant. He kept eating at the bar table. Couldn’t get him to switch,” Rachel said. “Finally it became easier just to make that the kitchen table instead of the formal one.” She weighed the silver watch in her hand, fiddling with the spring-loaded cover and the old-fashioned face. It had little dials for the weather and the time of day—rain, sun, moon, and stars—and also kept an accurate date. “Does this need winding?” she asked.

  “Self-winding,” Simon said. “Makes it more expensive, but it’s worth it to avoid the hassle of resetting the watch every other day.” He quoted her his asking price for the watch, which was a fraction of the piece’s retail price.

  “Go on,” Sam encouraged. “I really think he’ll like it. Plus, he’s gotta have something to go with this chain I’m buying…”

  “I’ll take it.” She smiled at the thought of Evan’s face as he opened it. “Thank you, Simon. So much.”

  “My Stephanie was happy the last few months she was here with us. You and Evan made that possible, Rachel, and for that my wife and I can’t ever repay you.” The watch and chain were engraved, rung up, and packaged in the store’s trademark red and gold bags. “Merry Christmas, both of you.”

  Chapter 8

  “It needs to go to the left.”

  “No, the right. There’s too many ornaments on this side.”

  Josh turned and faced Remy square. “The reindeer are on the left side of the tree.”

  “Fine. Let the tree fall over then, because there’s too much weight on that side!”

  “Guys!” Rachel barked. “In about five minutes I’m going to throw you both out of here and Sam will help me decorate the tree!” She heaved a giant sigh. “Remy, I agree—there’s too much on that side of the tree. Josh, we can spread the reindeer so that they fall evenly around the other ornaments. Will that work?”

  The two verbal sparring partners looked at the tree, and then at the exasperated face of their landlady. “You mean make the reindeer like garland?” Josh finally asked, a confused look on his face.

  “Kind of. We can put some here, and here, and here,” Rachel explained, placing several clothespin ornaments with googly eyes and painted noses at random points. “Now it’s not so full on one side, and they fit in with the rest of the stuff.”

  Bright brown eyes took in the sight of the tree. “Okay! Okay, I get it now!” he said with a smile. “Like when you sprinkle pepper on a salad, right?”

  “Right. Too much, and you won’t eat it. Spread it around, and it’s good.” Remy’s face brightened. “It doesn’t have to be all one thing in one spot.”

  “But how would you find anything if you didn’t? There’s a spot for shoes, and…and one for the toothpaste…and coats, there’s a spot for coats…”

  Remy sighed. “And yet I can find things in my room just fine.”

  “Your room is a mess,” Josh pointed out.

  “It’s a system. I know where things are.”

  “Like the CD you lost three weeks ago?” Sam asked.

  “It’s in the pile.”

  “Which one? There’s like, five of them. And before you say they’re alphabetized, I know better. It’s my CD, and I have Brailled label
s on my stuff.”

  Now it was Remy’s turn to be exasperated. “Okay, I put it somewhere. I just can’t remember where, exactly.”

  Behind them, Evan chuckled as he munched on a piece of pizza. “Our luck, we’ll find it in the lettuce crisper behind the bricks of cheese.”

  “Really?” Sam’s face perked up at the comment.

  “Beats me. I know one time someone left their iPod there. Come to think of it, it never did work quite right after that.”

  Josh laughed. “Why would you put your iPod in the refrigerator?!”

  “Tenant at the time had a hard time remembering things. He swore for a week that it was upstairs in his room, even tore the place apart looking for the damn thing. Minute he found it he was looking for a space heater to unthaw it.”

  “There,” Rachel said as the last strands of popcorn and tinsel were placed onto the tree. “Done. Hon, you want to kill the lights while I plug it in?”

  “Can I do it?” Josh asked. “I wanna plug it in.”

  “Okay. Plug it in.”

  The lights went dark, and Josh’s small hands plugged in the extension cord. Bright multicolored lights twinkled from nearly every branch, and from the handmade ornaments hung alongside of finer pieces made of blown glass and painted porcelain. “Wow,” Josh said, the bits of pink and blue light reflecting off his sandy hair. “That’s cool.”

  “It is,” Remy seconded. “It’s like my dad’s tree got bigger.”

  “I love the holidays,” Rachel said. “I like the postcard pictures, I like the movies, and I like the fuzzy feeling people get this time of year.”

  “Me too,” Sam said. He could feel the warm heat radiating off the prickly object in front of him, and the scent of pine filled the room. “All I have to do is remember that the couch moved.”

  “Why would you need to remember that the couch moved?” Josh asked. “It’s still in the same spot, more or less.”

  “Think about it, Josh,” Remy said, impatience creeping into his voice. “Sam’s used to the couch being in a certain place for a reason.”