The Christmas Bus

by Melody Carlson

  7

  By Tuesday afternoon, the Shepherd’s Inn was full. Lauren and Michael Thomas, a pleasant thirtysomething couple from Seattle, had arrived just past noon and were settled nicely into the Cool Water Room. And Leslie, the young and recently divorced mother, and her adorable daughter, Megan, had shown up in time for tea.

  “Ooh,” said Megan with wide eyes when she gazed up at the twelve-foot tree. “Look how big it is, Mommy!”

  “This is beautiful,” said Leslie as she looked at the various Christmas decorations and admired the setup for afternoon tea. “Much nicer than I expected.”

  Edith had to admit to herself that it was a great relief to have some guests who truly seemed to appreciate the inn’s humble offerings. Perhaps the week wouldn’t be so bad after all.

  “Would you like to get situated in your room?” suggested Edith. “Then come back down for tea.”

  “That sounds great,” said Leslie as she removed her thick down coat and hung it over her arm. “You know, the forecast said there was no chance of snow, but it’s getting so cold outside that I’m not so sure now.”

  “Snow!” exclaimed Megan, looking at Edith hopefully. “Do you think it could snow in time for Christmas?”

  Edith laughed. “Well, you just never know. And it wouldn’t be the first time the weatherman was wrong.”

  As they walked through the foyer, Megan stopped to look at a delicate porcelain sculpture that was situated on a side table, something Edith had had for years. “Ooh, Mommy, look,” she said, tugging on her mother’s arm. “An angel.” She reached for it.

  “Don’t touch, Megan.” Leslie gently pulled her back. “It looks very breakable.”

  “It’s managed to survive all my grandchildren so far,” said Edith as she escorted them upstairs. She smiled to herself as she opened the door to their room, the Lamb’s Room, pausing long enough to hear Megan exclaiming over the small collection of pictures and statues that depicted lambs throughout the room. Clearly, the little girl was pleased. Well, that was something! Edith was feeling more and more hopeful.

  After going back downstairs, she poured herself a cup of tea and gazed out the front window as she sipped. It was definitely getting colder out, but the sky was still crisp and clear with not a single cloud in sight. Of course, that could all change quickly enough. That’s how it was here in the mountains. In fact, according to the town’s historians, that’s exactly how it happened back when the original trappers got stuck here so long ago. The weather had started out mild and unseasonably warm before it snapped and turned into one of the biggest blizzards in recorded history. Not that Edith cared to see a snowstorm of that proportion this year, but a nice layer of white for little Megan . . . well, that would be lovely.

  The phone in the kitchen rang, jarring Edith back to the present. And when she answered it, the male voice on the other end sounded rather angry. “We have a little problem down here at the North Pole Coffee Shop.”

  “Who is this calling?”

  “This is Mayor Drummel, Edith. And you have a rather eccentric guest who is making a bit of a scene down here,” he told her. “Seems she has a problem with Santa Claus.”

  “Oh, dear.” Edith took in a quick breath. “That must be Myrtle . . . and I’m guessing you must be playing Santa today?”

  “You got that right. Can you please come down here and get this woman, or do I have to call in the police?”

  “Of course,” said Edith. “I’ll be right there.”

  Lauren and Michael were just coming in to get tea as Edith was leaving. “I’m terribly sorry,” she told them, “but I have to run to town to pick up a guest. Do you mind helping yourselves?” “Not at all,” said Lauren. “This looks yummy.”

  Edith nodded. “Thank you. I should be right back.”

  As usual during the week preceding Christmas, Mayor Drummel was outfitted in a very authentic-looking Santa suit, and a line of young children were waiting to sit on his lap. However, Santa was not seated, and the children looked rather unhappy.

  “She’s in the coffee shop,” said the mayor when he spotted Edith. “I told her to either go in there and shut up, or risk going to jail.”

  “I’m so sorry,” began Edith.

  “Just take her away,” demanded the mayor in a hushed voice. “She’s ruining everything. Do you know that she actually told the children that I was a fake and that there is no such thing as Santa Claus?”

  Edith just shook her head. “I am so terribly sorry.”

  “Just get her out of here,” he said as he turned and headed back to his big velvet-covered chair. “Everything’s going to be okay now, children,” he said in a big, dramatic Santa-style voice. “Ho-ho-ho! That poor old woman was very naughty when she was a little girl, and all I ever put in her stocking was lumps of coal and switches.”

  The children’s eyes grew wide with worry, as if they too might’ve been naughty a time or two.

  “But don’t fret,” he told them in a reassuring tone. “You’re all good children, and I’m sure that I’ll be bringing you something much better.”

  Edith hurried into the North Pole Coffee Shop, unsure as to what she might find. Perhaps Myrtle would be standing on a chair and telling the customers to repent of all Christmas folly lest they be doomed forever.

  Fortunately, that was not the case. Myrtle was quietly sitting at the counter, sipping a cup of coffee.

  “I heard there was a problem . . .” Edith spoke in a quiet voice as she took the empty stool next to Myrtle. She was well aware of the eyes that were watching her now. And she felt certain that they wanted her to get the crazy woman out of here, the sooner the better. Still, she didn’t want to do anything to rock Myrtle’s boat. That would probably just make things worse.

  “Wasn’t much of a problem,” said Myrtle in a matter-of-fact voice. “I just wanted to set the children straight. Grown-ups shouldn’t be lying to children.”

  “It’s just for fun,” explained Edith.

  “Well, I told those kids that they should come to church and see the Christmas pageant if they wanted to know what Christmas was really about.”

  “You didn’t?” Edith was horrified. What a terrible way to invite people to their church! Good grief, Myrtle might as well have been carrying a gun. No wonder Mayor Drummel was so upset. As far as Edith knew, that poor man had never set foot in church in his entire life. And this would probably set him back light-years.

  “I did,” retorted Myrtle. “And I’d do it again if necessary.”

  “Please, don’t.”

  “Well, it’s a shame letting children think that Christmas is nothing but Santa Claus and ho-ho-ho. Someone should tell them the truth.”

  “In due time, Myrtle,” said Edith. “I’m sure the children will all hear the truth in due time.”

  Finally, Myrtle was done with her coffee, and Edith quietly escorted her out a side door and to her car that was parked in back.

  “It’s cold out here,” said Myrtle as she climbed in the car. “I can feel snow in my old bones.”

  “I hope so,” said Edith, thankful to change the subject from Santa to snow. “We’ve got a sweet little girl at the inn who is praying for snow.” She looked up toward the mountains and noticed a thick layer of clouds that was accumulating there.

  “Praying for snow?” Myrtle shook her head in obvious disapproval as she made a tsk-tsk sound.

  Edith decided not to engage. “All the guests have arrived now. The inn is full.”

  “No room at the inn, eh?”

  Edith smiled. “Yes, I guess you could say that.” Of course, she was also thinking that it would be nice if a certain room, a room that was occupied by a certain cantankerous woman, would suddenly vacate. However, she could never admit such an ungracious thing to a single soul. Besides, she reminded herself, this Christmas was about being hospitable to strangers. And she’d certainly never had a guest who was any stranger than Myrtle Pinkerton!

  All the guests, except Al
bert Benson, were having tea in the dining room when Edith and Myrtle walked in. It was nice to see they’d introduced themselves and were now comfortably chatting with each other. To her relief, Charles had emerged from his study to join them and was currently talking to Jim Fields about Australia. It seemed that the Fieldses had spent their last Christmas down under. And Lauren and Michael were visiting with little Megan, telling her that they too thought it might snow for Christmas. In many ways, it wasn’t so unlike one big happy family.

  Edith introduced Myrtle to the other guests, hoping that this unpredictable woman wouldn’t do something to immediately alienate herself from the rest of the group, but to her surprise, Myrtle seemed in good spirits now. And soon she was visiting with Leslie, examining her knitted vest, and giving her tips on how Leslie could’ve done it even better. Oh, well.

  Edith went to the kitchen to make a fresh pot of tea. As she turned on the teakettle, she wondered about Myrtle and what they would do about her. Perhaps it would be best if they restricted her from going to town at all. Edith could offer to fix her simple meals to eat in the kitchen, since she spent half her time in there anyway. But how could they force her to comply? It wasn’t as if they were her legal guardians. Perhaps Charles would have some ideas.

  The afternoon tea party slowly broke up, with some people going to town, others to their rooms. Charles joined Edith in the kitchen. “Everything going okay?” he asked, and she suspected that her face, as usual, was giving away her concerns.

  So she told him about the little fiasco in town with Myrtle. Of course, this only made him laugh. “I can just imagine the look on poor Drummel’s face,” he said after he’d recovered.

  “That’s not all,” she continued, telling him how Myrtle had “invited” everyone to the church’s Christmas pageant.

  He shook his head. “Well, don’t worry, Edith, I doubt that it’ll make a difference one way or another. And, besides, I’m sure she meant well.”

  “Just the same, I think we should have a talk with her,” said Edith.

  “Meaning, I should have a talk with her?”

  “Well, you’re better at these things . . .

  “Perhaps we can make it seem as if she’s our special guest,” said Edith suddenly. “We can tell her that since she doesn’t have a car and it’s difficult for her to get to town . . . that we’d like her to share meals with us. Would that be okay?”

  He nodded. “That sounds like a wise plan.”

  So they put it to her, and to Edith’s great surprise and relief, Myrtle seemed perfectly fine with this idea. When the three of them sat down to a humble meal of black-bean soup and cornbread, Edith looked out the kitchen window. She saw that fluffy white snowflakes, illuminated by the back-porch light, were tumbling down.

  “It’s snowing,” she said with childlike enthusiasm. “Perhaps it’ll be a white Christmas after all.”

  Charles nodded. “The weatherman is wrong again.”

  “They should hire weathermen with old bones like mine,” commented Myrtle. “Then they’d know for sure if it was going to rain or snow. My joints have been aching something fierce all day.”

  “Well, I’m sure that it didn’t help to walk back and forth to town,” said Edith. “Fortunately, you won’t have to do that anymore.”

  Myrtle just nodded without commenting, and for some reason Edith wasn’t so sure she was going to be able to keep Myrtle from her anti-Christmas antics. She might have to keep a special eye on this woman during the next few days.

  It had been a long day, but it finally seemed as if things were settling down at the Shepherd’s Inn. The guests were all back from their various dinner places. Even the somber Albert Benson had ventured out. Now everyone was in their rooms, and Edith and Charles were turning off the downstairs lights when they heard a knock at the door.

  “Who could that be at this hour?” asked Edith.

  “We’ll soon find out,” said Charles as he went to open the door. A blast of chilly winter air mixed with snow burst in, and there on the porch stood a young couple.

  Edith blinked as she looked over Charles’s shoulder to see them better. These people looked as if they’d stepped right out of time. The tall, narrow-faced man had long brown hair and a full beard, and the shoulders of his dark woolen coat were dusted with snow. But it was the young woman who got Edith’s attention with her sad dark eyes and a cascade of curls beneath a plaid woven scarf that was wrapped around her head.

  “Do you have a room for the night?” asked the young man.

  Charles looked at Edith, then back at the couple. “I’m sorry, but the inn is full until after Christmas.”

  The woman sadly nodded. “I told you they’d be full up, Collin,” she said.

  “Why don’t you come in,” suggested Charles. “That way we can close the door and keep the heat inside.”

  So the couple stepped into the foyer and, shaking powdery snow from their clothes, they looked around the inn and seemed impressed.

  “This is a real nice place you got,” said the man.

  “It’s so pretty,” said the woman.

  “Where are you two from?” asked Charles.

  “Montana,” said the woman. “We’re heading to California.”

  “California?” echoed Edith. “Aren’t you a little off course?”

  The woman made a half smile. “Well, Collin picked the straightest route going west. Then we planned to head due south to San Diego where his brother lives.”

  “But we were having some engine troubles,” explained Collin.

  “And then the weather hit,” she added. “It’s a real blizzard out there.”

  “And so we thought we’d treat ourselves to a room for just one night,” said Collin. “Just to get cleaned up, you know. But that’s okay, we’re pretty low on funds anyway, we can stay in our bus.”

  “Your bus?” queried Charles.

  Collin nodded toward the big picture window that looked out over the street. “Yeah, it’s all set up to live in with a bed and everything. Not the Ritz or anything. But comfy enough.”

  Edith went over to peer out onto the street, but all she could see was dark shadows and snow flurries.

  “Do you mind if we leave it parked there?” asked the woman. “On the street I mean? Just for the night, you know?”

  “Or until I have time to tweak on the engine a little,” Collin added. “It’s running pretty badly right now.”

  Charles looked at Edith, and she just shrugged. “I don’t see that it’s a problem,” she said.

  “You wouldn’t think so,” said Charles. “Not for just one night.”

  “Do you need anything?” asked Edith. “Food or anything?”

  The woman’s eyes lit up. “We’re low on water. And, hey, if you want to share some food . . . that’d be cool. We’re pretty broke. Just trying to get down to San Diego so that Collin can find work, you know.”

  “Come on in the kitchen,” said Edith, forgetting her sign again. “We’ve got some leftovers from dinner that you can have if you like. By the way, my name is Edith, and my husband is Charles.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” said the woman. “We didn’t even introduce ourselves. I’m Amy and,” she jerked her thumb over a shoulder, “that’s Collin.”

  In the brighter light of the kitchen, Edith could see that Amy was quite young. Probably early twenties at the most. And she also appeared to be quite pregnant.

  “You’re expecting?” said Edith as she put the bean soup into the microwave to heat.

  “Yeah. My due date is actually the first week of January. But my back’s been aching, and I feel as big as a house right now. I wouldn’t mind if it came tonight.”

  “Tonight?” Edith felt her brows shooting up. “But what would you do? The hospital is nearly an hour away, and that’s in good weather.”

  “Oh, I plan to have it naturally, at home.” She laughed. “Or in the bus.”

  “Really?” Edith wrapped a generous chunk of cornbread i
n plastic wrap and put this into a grocery sack, along with several pieces of fruit.

  “You mind if I fill this up in here?” asked Collin as he appeared with a large water jug.

  “That’s fine,” said Edith. “Or if it’s easier, go ahead and use the laundry sink out on the back porch.”

  Now Charles was in the kitchen too.

  “Amy is expecting a baby soon,” said Edith in what she hoped sounded like a calm voice.

  “Yeah,” said Amy. “The sooner the better. Although I suppose it might be easier to have it in San Diego. Not to mention warmer.”

  “It must be hard on you to travel,” said Charles.

  “Not really,” she said. “If my back starts hurting, I just go lie down on the bed. But the bouncing gets to me sometimes. Do you have any idea how bouncy a bus can be?”

  Charles just shook his head.

  “Here you go,” said Edith as she handed Amy the bag of food. “And you two feel free to come in and get some breakfast in the morning. There’ll be plenty to go around.”

  “Seriously?” Amy looked truly surprised.

  “Of course,” said Edith. “You’re more than welcome.”

  Now Collin emerged with his full water jug. “You guys are way cool,” he said with a bright smile. “I told Amy that there were still a few good people left in this world.”

  Charles smiled at them. “Well, let’s hope so.”

  They walked the couple to the door and told them good night. “Sleep well,” called Edith as they went back out into the snow. She wanted to add “and don’t go into labor,” but that didn’t sound quite right. Still, she really hoped that the baby would wait until the parents had safely made their destination in sunny Southern California.