As he walks by Mrs. Kurtz’s classroom at lunchtime, he sees Maddie sitting alone at her desk, eating lunch. Mrs. Kurtz is at her desk, holding a sandwich in one hand and leafing through a stack of papers with the other. He knocks on the door before opening it. “Hello, Gabe,” Mrs. Kurtz says.
“Hi. I noticed that Maddie wasn’t in school yesterday and when I saw her sitting in here at her desk, I thought that maybe she isn’t feeling well again today.”
Maddie looks at her lunch, and Mrs. Kurtz is careful as she speaks. “She’s physically fine but sometimes people can make you feel less than fine, right, Maddie?” Maddie nods, playing with the carrots on her napkin. Mrs. Kurtz smiles at Gabe, knowing that he understands.
“When I saw her I was wondering if she could help me get some tools from the maintenance office. I’m working in Mr. Glade’s room, across the hall, and it would take me a few trips by myself to get all the tools but—”
“Absolutely!” Mrs. Kurtz says, smiling. “Maddie, do you think you could help Mr. G. for a moment?” Maddie shakes her head.
“It’d only take a few minutes,” Gabe says. Maddie keeps her eyes on her carrots. Gabe glances at Mrs. Kurtz and she lifts her shoulders in a shrug. “Okay, I’ll see you later, Maddie.” He waits for a moment but she doesn’t respond and he knows that something is wrong.
At the end of the school day, Gabe lowers the flag and folds it, noticing that the van for Glory’s Place has already left. He missed saying good-bye to Maddie but sees her in the school lobby as he walks through the doors. “Hi, Mr. G.,” she says sheepishly.
“Maddie! You missed the van.”
She nods. “I know. I told the driver that I was sick and now the lady in the office is trying to call Linda at work.”
“I’m sorry you don’t feel well.”
She shakes her head. “I lied. I’m not sick.”
He kneels down in front of her. “What’s going on? Why did you tell the driver that if you’re not really sick?”
She looks at him. “Because I felt bad about not helping you today and wanted you to drive me to Glory’s Place.”
He smiles. “You don’t need to feel bad about not helping me. I was just trying to get you out of the classroom to see how you were doing.” He stands, extending his hand. “Well, let’s go to the office and let everybody know that they don’t need to call Linda at work to come get you. I’ll be your chariot today.”
Thankfully, Mrs. Kemper hasn’t been able to contact Linda yet, so with the proper authorization filled out and signed, Gabe and Maddie leave the school together. They walk down the sidewalk stretching in front of the school and Gabe puts his hand on her shoulder. He’s never realized how small and fragile she really is. “Rough couple of days, huh?” She nods. “Was it something another student did?” She nods, and they turn the corner to the parking lot. “Was it one student or more than one?” She holds up one finger. “Did the student do something or say something?”
“Said something,” she says, staring at the pavement as they walk.
“Was it a student in your class?” She shakes her head. “Not your class. Can you tell me what the student said?”
“I don’t want to.”
“That’s probably for the best because I planned on roughing them up.”
She looks up at him, shaking her head. “You can’t do that. You’re a grown-up.”
He smiles. “Kidding.”
“Mrs. Kurtz talked to him but it probably didn’t do any good.”
Gabe opens the back door and takes her backpack, setting it on the backseat. He helps her inside and walks around the truck and slides in behind the wheel, starting the engine. She’s quiet on the drive and as Gabe approaches Glory’s Place he says, “You’re sure you don’t want to tell me what he said?” She shakes her head as he pulls to the front of the building, getting out and opening the back door.
“You know what?” he says. “It doesn’t matter what he said.” She looks up at him, her eyes lacking their normal flashes of light. “It doesn’t. No matter what he said, it doesn’t define who you are.” He kneels down in front of her. “You are smart, awesome, and a beautiful little girl with an amazing smile and this world is a better place with you in it.” Her expression appears to question what he’s said. “It’s true. Just think about this world without you in it. Think about what that would mean for Mrs. Kurtz’s classroom, or for Linda’s home, or for Glory’s Place, or for me as I work at the school every day. The world wouldn’t be the same.” Tears fill her eyes and her mouth stretches to a straight, thin line. She crumples into him and he pats her back. “It doesn’t matter what he said, Maddie. Words hurt but it doesn’t mean they’re true.”
She pulls away from him. “We were talking about Christmas and saying what we wanted. I said I wanted a pretty ring and he said that nobody would ever give a ring to somebody as ugly and weird as me. He said fancy gifts like jewelry are for normal people.” Her lip begins to quiver. “I know everybody thinks that I’m weird. Sometimes I see people look at how I walk and I know what they think.” She begins to cry. “They think I’m ugly.”
He puts his hand on her arm, squeezing it. “Do you know what people think when they see you?” She doesn’t answer. “Do you know what they think?” She shakes her head. “They think, What an awesome, beautiful little girl she is. What a great personality! She’s so smart! What a beautiful name! They notice you. And nobody in the history of the world would ever think that you’re ugly.”
“I haven’t been around for the history of the world.”
“It doesn’t matter!” Gabe says, detecting the beginning of a smile. “If you were over six thousand years old, no one in those six thousand years would ever have thought you were ugly. Yes, several of them would have thought you were weird, but we’re all weird. My last name’s Rodriguez and I don’t like rice and beans! I’m half Hispanic! What Hispanic person doesn’t like rice and beans? That’s weird.”
“I don’t like olives.”
“That is weird! I love olives.” He cocks his head. “You missed a day of school because you felt so bad about what that kid said?”
She nods. “I told Linda I didn’t feel good and stayed home.”
“The next time that bully says something to you, just show up. Just showing up drives bullies crazy.” He stands and begins to walk her to the door.
“Mr. G.?” she says.
“Yeah.”
“I think just showing up drives the bad things away too.”
He looks at her. “What do you mean?”
“Everything bad that that kid said was stuck on me. It was stuck in my brain. But then you showed up.” She gives him a quick hug before slinging open the door to Glory’s Place.
SIXTEEN
Wilson’s Department Store shimmers and sparkles with all things Christmas: from the wintry scenes displayed in the storefront windows, to the giant ornaments hanging from the ceiling, to Santa’s workshop located in the children’s department. Gloria’s husband, Marshall Wilson, and his team of employees work for months leading up to Christmas, planning and dreaming of how the store will look. Several years ago, Marshall created “Christmas Delights,” a hot chocolate, spiced cider, and homemade cookies station where a customer could buy a drink and a cookie for a quarter each. Kids would always eat and drink for free. From the moment customers enter the front door, Marshall wants them to feel at home, especially at Christmastime. “A lot of folks aren’t able to bake cookies or decorate their homes at Christmas, so I want them to feel the warmth and wonder of Christmas when they walk through those front doors,” he has said to his employees year after year.
Lauren and Travis open the front doors and Travis inhales. “That smells like gingerbread,” he says, raising his eyebrows in a grin. “Let’s go see.”
Lauren tugs on his arm. “No! Let’s look for what you’ll wear for the wedding first and then you can go buy a cookie.” She shakes her head, sighing. “I sound like a mom talking to a f
our-year-old!”
“Listen, when I was a kid it rocked my world when Mr. Wilson set up that cookie and hot chocolate station! It rocked the world of every kid in Grandon. Kids got everything for free and adults could get a cup of hot chocolate and a cookie for twenty-five cents! And the price has never gone up. You go to Betty’s and you’re paying over four dollars for the exact same thing!”
She folds her arms, tilting her head when she looks at him. “I thought you loved Betty’s?”
“This has nothing to do with my love for Betty’s. This is all about keeping a childhood tradition alive.”
Lauren groans. “Oh, good grief. Let’s go get your cup of coffee and your cookie because you’re good for nothing until you do.”
He begins to lead her to the back of the first floor, where the Christmas Delights station is located. “Actually, it’s a cup of hot chocolate. That’s my childhood tradition. Not coffee.”
“Whatever,” she says playfully, holding his hand. They stand in line behind several parents with children. “Can I point out that everyone waiting in line is a child?”
He looks at her, dumbfounded. “When do you think childhood traditions begin? At twenty-four?”
As they wait, Lauren looks around the store, admiring the decorations and Christmas displays. Her eye catches a young woman in the dress department who looks familiar. She notices another woman with her and recognizes them as the mother and daughter who had helped put the star on the gazebo and who were at Grandon Dress and Formal Wear a few days ago. They are methodically pulling dresses from the racks and checking each price tag, before hanging them each back up. “I’ll be right back,” she says to Travis.
“Don’t you want a cookie and hot chocolate?” His eyes are huge and eager and make her laugh.
“Okay, okay. But I want a cup of coffee with the cookie.”
“Is this going to be your tradition? Cookie and coffee?”
She throws her hands in the air in mock exasperation. “Yes! I declare on this date that a cookie and coffee will be my official Wilson’s Department Store Christmas Delights tradition.”
“That’s all I needed to hear,” he says, turning to wait in line again.
Lauren walks up two stairs into the dress department, walking close to the young woman and her mom, and holds up a dress at arm’s length in front of her, pretending to be interested in it. “There are other dresses downstairs, Mom. Let’s go look there.”
“They aren’t going to be as nice as these,” the mom says.
The young woman looks stressed but relieved, as if a long-awaited answer has come to her. “They won’t be as nice as these but they couldn’t be more perfect for what I need. As a matter of fact, I don’t even need it. I could wear these blue jeans and this shirt and get married and still be completely happy.”
Lauren can see the beginning of tears in the mother’s eyes and turns her back to look at another dress, so they don’t think she’s listening. “But you need a beautiful dress for your wedding.”
“Mom.” The young woman’s voice is firmer now. “Jared and I could go today to the courthouse and get married, and as long as you and Kristy and his family were there, it would be a perfect day for us. It’s got nothing to do with a dress.” Her mom opens her mouth to speak but the young woman will have none of it. “I know that Dad wanted me to have a beautiful dress but he never anticipated getting sick and neither of you knew what that would cost the two of you. You keep saying that Dad wanted me to have a beautiful dress and I will. And it will come from downstairs at Wilson’s. Not from upstairs at Wilson’s.” She wraps her arm around her mom and leads her to the stairs. “We’ve always been downstairs-at-Wilson’s kind of people anyway.”
Her mom laughs. “That would never fit on a business card.”
“Well, we’ve never been business-card people either.” The mom rears her head back and laughs as they walk down the stairs.
Travis finds Lauren and hands her a cookie. “Just as I thought … gingerbread!” He takes a bite of his cookie and notices her face. “What’s up?”
She shrugs. “Have you ever had a moment where you are just instantly sad? I mean, just like that,” she says, snapping her fingers.
“I guess. Why?”
“I just heard a conversation that should have been really sad but somehow it wasn’t.”
“So it wasn’t really sad but you were instantly sad listening to it?”
She smiles. “I know. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“How do you feel right now? I mean, standing here eating your first Christmas Delights cookie at Wilson’s? Are you instantly angry? Instantly annoyed? Instantly miserable or depressed?”
She laughs. “I’m instantly delighted eating this Christmas Delight cookie!”
“Yes!” he shouts, handing her the cup of coffee. “Our first Christmas tradition together.” He kisses her and she grins. Growing up, she never had traditions. Not one. But all that changes today.
SEVENTEEN
At five o’clock, Gabe opens the door to Glory’s Place. Linda called earlier in the day to let the staff know that Gabe would be picking Maddie up today. Several children and Maddie are playing a game when Gloria informs her that Gabe is taking her home, and she jumps up from her place, grabbing her backpack and jacket.
Amy is helping two children sound out words at the reading circle and glances up to see Gabe waiting. She wonders if he’s here to talk to her but notices that he’s not craning his neck, as if looking for her. He’s just standing there with his hands in his pockets. He never catches her eye but perks up when he sees Maddie walking over to him, and Amy watches as they leave together.
* * *
Maddie finds the perfect booth for them inside Betty’s Bakery, and she slides into one opposite the pastry displays. “I still can’t believe you picked me up for dinner today,” she says, beaming.
“I just assumed that you ate dinner and since I eat dinner too, I thought why not eat it together? I told Linda that I would have you home by the time she gets home from work, and that we would bring her dinner tonight.” He looks over the menu. “What do you think we should get her?”
“She loves casseroles. We eat a lot of casseroles,” she says, kind of chewing on the words, which makes Gabe laugh.
“So I take it you won’t be ordering any casserole?”
She shakes her head with her eyes wide, studying the menu. “No, I will not! I will be ordering this hamburger with fries and lemonade.” She points to it, smiling.
The waitress walks to their table, bringing two waters, and takes Maddie’s order first. “And I will have the same thing because I love hamburgers, but no lemonade with mine,” Gabe says, handing the menu to her before she walks away.
Maddie slaps her hand down on the table. “We have a lot in common! We both liked the movie. We both like the park. We both love hamburgers. We both like Grandon Elementary School and Mrs. Kurtz. We both like Lauren and Travis and Miss Glory and Miriam and Linda and Dalton and Heddy and Amy.” She thinks for a moment. “We like all the same people!” She slaps the table. “I almost forgot! All the kids are invited to Lauren and Travis’s wedding. Are you?”
“Am I? I’m actually in the wedding!”
“You are? How?”
He laughs. “How? Travis is my cousin. He asked me to be his best man and I said yes.”
She shakes her head, looking at him. “How did I not know that you were his cousin?” Her face looks vacant as she ponders this. “I’ve never really thought about it before but I don’t have any cousins. That’s weird.”
“Plenty of people don’t have cousins.”
“How’s that possible?”
He leans both arms on the table. “Because if you’re an only child and you marry an only child, that means you don’t have a brother or sister who has any children, and the man that you marry doesn’t have a brother or sister, which means no children on either side. Or … you could have a brother or sister but they don’t
have any kids. Maybe your husband has a brother or sister but neither one of them has any kids either. Without any kids, you don’t have any cousins. So it’s not that weird.”
She furrows her brow, trying to follow what he just said. “Okay. But I wish I had cousins.”
“Travis and Lauren would definitely call themselves your cousins.”
She points her finger at him. “But they’re grown-ups and those aren’t fun cousins. And anyway, how can they do that if they’re not my family?”
He raises his arms in exasperation. “Do I have to explain everything?” he says, teasing her. “Families come in all shapes and sizes and colors. You know Stacy at Glory’s Place?” She nods. “I don’t know her, except for meeting her and Ben at Betty’s Bakery after the fund-raiser, which, as you know, was way, way, way awkward!” She giggles listening to him. “But anyway! Lauren thinks of Stacy as an older sister and she thinks of Stacy’s kids as a younger brother and sister. When Lauren moved here last year, she became part of their family.”
“She told me that she didn’t have a mom and dad either.”
Gabe nods. “They were out there in the world somewhere, but they didn’t take care of Lauren. She lived with a lot of families but she finally felt like she was part of a family with Stacy and her husband and kids. And Miss Glory and all the others are extended family for her. Just like they are for you.”
Maddie smiles. “I wish you were my family too.”
“I’d like being part of your family because you make me laugh and you’re so smart about stuff that I don’t know anything about!” She grins at him but there’s an underlying sadness in her face.
“Have you ever wanted to be a dad?”
He feels self-conscious and looks over his shoulder for the food, but knows it’s too soon for it to arrive, forcing him to answer. “When Amy and I were married, I didn’t want to be a dad.”
“Why not?”
“Well, first of all, I was very selfish. And, I didn’t think I would be any good with kids.”
The Christmas Star Page 9
