A Christmas Kind of Perfect

by Christine Schimpf

  Lila shrugged and smiled. “It can be troublesome until you implement a structure to organize your thoughts and ideas. It took me a while, but I’ve got a system that works now.”

  “What about love? How does that fit into a writer’s life?”

  Lila hoped Melanie’s perception didn’t penetrate the false bravado she was portraying. She shrugged. “I’ve dated, but nothing ever panned out. My schedule’s a little too chaotic—maybe one day.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that. There’s always time for love. Jack and I experience great times that we realize we’ll never forget and bad moments when we go head-to-head, but I wouldn’t give up our marriage for anything. We understand each other the way you and Conrad used to.”

  Lila shifted her gaze from Melanie to where Conrad disappeared. What was he doing? She fought the urge to go investigate.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t keep bringing up your relationship with Conrad,” Melanie apologized drawing Lila back to their conversation.

  Lila waved her hand as if shooing away a pesky fly in the room. “It’s OK. You’ve always been smarter and luckier in life in so many ways. I wish I possessed some of your good sense.”

  Melanie walked around the counter and took a seat next to Lila. She laid her hand on Lila’s knee. “It’s no accident or coincidence that you’re here, Lila. And luck? I don’t believe in it. For whatever reason, you’re right where you should be. Your decision to come home is exactly what you need, a breath of homespun air. You can reset your priorities in life.”

  Lila nodded, giving serious thought to what Melanie told her.

  “How long can you stay?”

  Lila laced her fingers together. “About two months.”

  “Two months.” Melanie gasped. “That puts you back in New York right before Christmas.”

  “I sold your idea to my agent last night. She wasn’t thrilled about the visit, but she’s agreed. I promised her the first couple of chapters of my next book. It shouldn’t be a problem—I hope.”

  “Good. What are you going to write about next?” Melanie asked.

  Lila lifted her eyebrows. “No idea. I’m hoping to be inspired while I’m here.”

  “Are you open to a new adventure?” Melanie widened her eyes.

  Spontaneity always was an attribute Lila wanted. “Sure.”

  “Any chance you’d be interested in a part-time job?”

  “Me? Why?”

  Melanie sighed. “I semi-promised Jack I’d close the store early beginning in November. He’s noticed how tired I’ve become these last couple of weeks. But I really hate to do that, especially with the holidays approaching. After the summer tourism season, it’s the second-best sales quarter. If you’d agree to part-time, you may find working here could generate a story idea. People love to talk at the checkout counter, and I need the help. I’d pay you, of course. Straight commission on anything you sell.”

  Was she serious? The thought never occurred to Lila. “What happens when I need to return to New York?”

  “My mother arrives the week before Christmas. She runs the store like she did her sixth-grade social studies class.”

  Lila giggled along with Melanie. “That’s adorable. I’m sure Aunt Cathy wants to get a few things done in the house, but outside of that, I’m wide open.”

  “I bet she’s in heaven having you home again. She’s so proud of you and talks about your books all the time.”

  Lila laid a hand on her chest. “Since Mom and Dad’s car accident, she insists her home is mine, too. And I’m glad she’s still here in Sister Bay, so I can come back.”

  “She’s often in here buying something for someone. Bless her heart.” Melanie twisted her wedding band around her finger. “Well, what do you think about taking the job?”

  Lila’s gaze drifted to her hands in her lap, as she bought time to think about the offer. Was this the blast of inspiration she needed in her life? “Why not? It could spark an idea for my next book.”

  Melanie leaned over and grabbed both of Lila’s hands and gave a gentle squeeze. “Oh, Lila, you’ll come to love it as much as I do. And there’s plenty of time to get you trained.” Melanie eased back in her chair and fought a yawn. Then she reached under the counter and rummaged and then held out a keychain with a cute lemon drop fob. “Here’s my extra key.”

  Lila took the keychain and slipped off the stool, slipping into her heels. “OK, that’s enough for today. You’re exhausted.” She picked up the plate and her mug.

  “Don’t you dare clean up. It gives me something to do. But you’re right, I’m bushed. Can you come in tomorrow before we open up? It’ll give us some time to get started with your training.”

  Lila reluctantly placed the plate and mug back down on the counter. She grabbed her jacket and purse. “Sure can. I’m so glad I’m here.”

  “Me, too. Sleep well and we’ll meet tomorrow bright and early.”

  “OK, you too.” Lila headed for the door, but not before she gave a quick glance to the back of the room and found Conrad watching her.

  Knowing he belonged to someone else now filled her with sorrow…

  It was her own fault.

  6

  Lila pulled into Aunt Cathy’s driveway at seven o’clock. An autumn palette of oranges, yellows, and russet browns flanked the side walk. A soft breeze shook loose the remaining leaves overhead from the enormous oak tree Lila had climbed as a child. What a refreshing change from the gray, black, and white tones of Manhattan she’d grown accustomed to. How much she’d missed the colors of the earth. She rang the bell, bringing to life Westminster Abbey chimes.

  Her aunt opened the interior door. “Lila, honey, come on in. You don’t need to ring the doorbell. You’re home.”

  With those few welcoming words, Lila was reminded of her parents’ fatal accident five years ago. She knew their deaths were part of the reason she stayed away for as long as she did—that and her breakup with Conrad. She inhaled and exhaled, coming to terms with their deaths all over again. The hurt finally healed over. The scab had disappeared but a scar remained. She thanked God for her relationship with her aunt, as close to a mother-daughter bond as she would ever have now.

  She opened the screen door and stepped into the foyer. Thick arms wrapped around her, and with them came a delicious scent of vanilla. Her aunt was baking again.

  Aunt Cathy helped her out of her coat and hung it in the closet. Across the room, family photos lined the staircase wall, beginning with the framed wedding picture Lila remembered so well and the children, whom her aunt referred to as her blessings that followed. Six years had passed since Uncle Ralph died, but his favorite chair and worn footstool remained in the corner of the room. Lila was filled with a sense of comfort missing in her life for a long time.

  “I pulled a Dutch apple pie out of the oven about an hour ago and made a batch of your uncle’s award-winning chili earlier today. Let’s go to the kitchen and enjoy a little supper together.”

  Lila’s stomach growled in agreement. She’d had very little to eat today. She suspected her aunt waited to eat with her, which warmed Lila’s heart. She followed Aunt Cathy into the kitchen. “That sounds perfect. I’m starved.” Everything remained in the same order as it had been five years before, including the original floral wallpaper, the hurricane lamp in the window, and the oversized cooktop her aunt referred to as “Big Mama.”

  “Me, too.” Her aunt ladled hot chili into a soup tureen. Lila retrieved the bowls from the same maple cabinet that had always housed them, grabbed a couple of soup spoons from the drawer, and joined her aunt at the solid wood kitchen table.

  Once seated, Aunt Cathy folded her hands and bowed her head. “Lord, thank You for the food on this table and for Your hand in our lives every single day. In Jesus name we pray.”

  Lila followed her aunt’s lead and mouthed, “Amen.” She eyed the meal. “I can’t remember the last time I ate chili. It smells delicious.”

  Aunt Cathy spoone
d two servings into the bowls. “I remembered how much you liked your uncle’s recipe and with a nip in the air I decided to stir up a batch.”

  “Ah, you couldn’t have made a better choice. I’m starved.”

  Aunt Cathy giggled. “You probably haven’t eaten much all day, right?”

  Lila smiled. “I had a scone at Window Shopping. It’s a lovely store. Melanie has done a fabulous job. I had a difficult time leaving.”

  “I try to get down there and buy a little something every now and again. Did you notice the area in the store she dedicated to you and your books?”

  “Yes, I was surprised.”

  “She doing OK?” Aunt Cathy furrowed her brow.

  “Her back’s giving her grief, and she’s tired.”

  “Poor thing. She hired college kids this summer. Are they all gone?”

  Lila reached for a napkin. “Back to school I suspect.”

  “And having no family around makes it tough. She’ll need help soon. She won’t be able to keep going at this pace—not with twins on the way.”

  Lila rested an elbow on the table. “Jack wants her to close the store early after Fall Fest.”

  “I can understand why, but she’d miss out on the Christmas buying season. When her mother visits, she takes over so Melanie gets a break. I help out, but I’m not interested in anything permanent.”

  “She’s asked me to work in the afternoons.” Lila allowed the news to percolate. “What do you think?”

  “You?” Cathy’s eyebrows shot up. “What about the work on your next book?”

  Lila tipped her bowl and scooped up the last of her chili on the spoon. “I can handle both, and to be honest, I’m searching for story ideas. Melanie thought working the store might light a spark of inspiration for me.”

  “She’s right. The stories you’ll hear will knock your socks off. I love the idea, and you’ll catch all the post-festival sales. Most of the other retailers close up and go south for the winter months.”

  Lila nodded. “It’s another way I can help her out.”

  “Funny how things fall into place, isn’t it? Didn’t she have a ramp installed for the handicapped? I’m sure that cost her some.”

  “Conrad’s finishing that up.”

  Aunt Cathy paused. “Conrad?” Her question held a hint of surprise bordering on shock.

  Lila shifted in her seat. She half-expected what was coming next.

  “You spoke with Conrad. Face-to-face?”

  “Um-hmm.” Lila bent the edge of the placemat forward and backward between her fingers. “He’s going to install a small riser for the signing.” Lila wiped her mouth with the napkin.

  “How did that go?” Aunt Cathy asked as she ladled a second helping of chili into her bowl. It appeared as if she were settling in for a long discussion as she reseated herself in her chair.

  Lila shrugged, ignoring the twinge inside with the mention of her ex-boyfriend. “I think it went well after not talking with each other for the last five years.”

  “He comes around here from time to time if I need something fixed. With Ralph gone, he’s a real blessing. He charges a fair price, and his work is topnotch. And because he’s local, folks naturally trust him. Easy on the eyes, too, isn’t he?”

  Lila fought back a smile. “Don’t start, Aunt Cathy.”

  Her aunt filled Lila’s mug with tea. Before placing the teapot on the table, she refilled her own. “I wondered if you ever sat down with Conrad and talked things through.”

  Lila hesitated, not wanting to open up old wounds. “It didn’t work out for us. He chose to start his business in Sister Bay, and I picked New York. End of story.”

  “What did you do about the hurt and disappointment?” Aunt Cathy sipped from her mug.

  Lila exhaled. “Lived with it, I guess. Our demise seemed to be the casualty for our successes.”

  “Unresolved issues in life tend to bubble up and reappear later. Remember the days of making applesauce together? I told you how important it was to peel off all of the apple skins before adding them to the pot?”

  Lila flashed a smile in her aunt’s direction. One of her life lessons was headed in her direction.

  Aunt Cathy wiggled a finger in the air to help make her point. “The little bit of skin that you missed made its way into the jars. That’s when you realized you failed in making the perfect sauce.”

  “Where are you going with this?” Lila asked.

  “Time has taught me many things. One of them is that unresolved issues in life tend to resurface until you make them right.”

  Lila placed her spoon on the table. What was her aunt getting at? “I’m here for the book signing to help out Melanie.”

  “No, that’s the issue that brought you home. Maybe you’re really here to make it right with Conrad.”

  “How would I do that? It’s pretty clear he’s moved on. Melanie told me he’s almost engaged, right?” Lila sipped the chamomile tea.

  “Yes. That may be true, which means there’s not much time left.”

  Lila stared, open-mouthed, uncertain of her aunt’s antics. “What are you up to?” she asked and hoped she wouldn’t regret asking it.

  Aunt Cathy raised her hand as if halting traffic. “Let me ask you something. What is the last good relationship you’ve had? And I’m not referring to the one-sided liaisons you’ve entered into knowing they weren’t going anywhere.”

  Oh no. “I’ve been dating. Remember the man I met at Stonewood’s Halloween party?”

  Cathy gave Lila a perturbed glance. “And that lasted how long? Six months? And the one before him, a doctor, right?”

  Lila’s defenses stirred. “Yes. At first, it was exciting to be with such a confident, well-connected man, but a lifetime of arrogance and self-centeredness?” Lila shook her head. “No, thanks.”

  “And the actor?” She wiggled her shoulders back and forth in a comical fashion.

  Lila stifled a giggle. Her memory was no match for her aunt’s. She remembered details about Lila’s life that even Lila chose not to remember. “We agreed from the start it was all fun, and we’d never go anywhere.”

  “My point exactly. Lila, you deliberately choose the wrong man, over and over again. I suspect Conrad’s done the same thing, settling for Suzanne.”

  Lila bent her head, studying her fingers. What could she say to counter her aunt’s opinion? Her mind reeled backward in time, searching for proof to weaken her argument. But all she found was evidence against her. The men in her past were one of three things—too young, too vain, or too unavailable. Her aunt won that debate. But was she also right about Conrad?

  Aunt Cathy placed a warm hand over Lila’s. “Lila, there are no mistakes in life. You and Conrad had something very special, and that doesn’t keep coming around in life. Sometimes, that kind of perfect happens only once.”

  Lila fumbled for words. What could she say? Conrad was taken.

  Cathy sliced the pie and served both of them a generous piece. “How’s everything in New York? Still all you thought it would be?”

  Lila pulled the plate toward her. “I love my career, and the success, but I’ve paid a huge price for it.”

  Her aunt waited. “Are you talking about what happened between you and Conrad?”

  Lila sunk a fork into the pie. Creamy, cinnamon-speckled apples spread across her plate. “Among other things.”

  “Like?”

  Lila stared at her plate. “I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed home. New York is full of brand-new opportunities all the time, but it’s not home—the place where you’re understood. The tiny corner of the world where nothing can harm you. It’s safe and warm and the place where you can lay your head on a pillow and fall asleep to the sound of crickets instead of sirens and traffic and noise.”

  Lila lifted her gaze.

  Her aunt smiled at her.

  “And I was beginning to think you’d never learn.” She stood and started to clear away the dishes.

 
; 7

  Lila parked the car in the store’s back lot, next to a large red Hamilton Construction truck. She rubbed the back of her neck. He was here.

  She fished around in her purse for the lemon drop keychain Melanie gave her last night. It slid into the lock easily. She gave the handle a slight lift and a quick turn with the passkey and pushed hard. A gust of air swooshed into the foyer, causing stacked laminate flooring to topple over and cascade over the floor like a can of pickup sticks. She pressed her hand against her chest.

  Lila shrieked. “Oh, my! Look what I’ve done.”

  Conrad peeked around the corner, his eyebrows pinched together. “Careful where you walk now.”

  “I am so sorry. Let me help.” Lila placed her purse on the floor and began to pick up her end of the floorboards. Conrad held up his side.

  “Remember when we stacked wood in your uncle’s shop?” The words spilled out as she laid the last of the boards back in place on the pile.

  Conrad snickered. “What I remember is waiting on you to do your half of the work.”

  “Me, the dead weight? I think not.” Lila scrambled to fill the silence that ensued after she alluded to a joke they used to share. “Melanie speaks highly of your company.”

  He gave her a curt nod. “Good to hear.”

  “When did you start it up?”

  “About four years ago.”

  “And your brother Luke? Is he part of the company, too?”

  “Part-time only, until we get bigger. He went to work for an engineering company down in Sturgeon Bay right after college. Cassie helps out keeping things straight in the office.”

  Lila’s mouth fell open. “Cassie? She was still in high school the last time I saw her.”

  Conrad shrugged. “A lot has changed over the years. I was a little surprised to learn you were coming back for a book signing. I wouldn’t think a career as big as yours could afford time off.”

  With one sentence, a barrier sprung up between them. The awkward silence lingered like a dense fog that wouldn’t clear.