“Okay.” She hesitated. “Oh, and do you have any syrup?”
He took a quart jug off a shelf in back. “Anything else?” he teased. “Would you like my firstborn, too?”
“Sure,” Maddie said with a grin. “I’d love to have Mikey around!” She paused, looking at the tree and syrup. “Actually, do you have something I can put all this in?”
John found a box and put some newspaper around the pot to keep it upright. Maddie closed up the box and gave her brother another hug. “Thank you for everything,” she said softly.
“Have fun!” he said, looking in his younger sister’s eyes. “And don’t worry! One of these days, that boy will wake up and realize what a wonderful girl he has in front of him.”
Maddie feigned confusion. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
John nodded with an easy smile. “I think you do ...”
Maddie tried to be discreet as she tucked the box next to the pie carrier in the truck bed, but, when she got in the cab, Asa and Noah both looked at her questioningly. She just smiled and said, “It’s a secret!”
As they turned onto the highway, Maddie looked out the window and thought about what John had said ... were her feelings that obvious? Her mind wandered to the summer day when she’d first met Asa. She’d been working on a project in the Howe Library when she’d first noticed the slender blond-haired boy shelving books ... but it wasn’t until a couple of days later that she learned his name.
A young woman had come into the library looking for “Asa” and Maddie had overheard the librarian say that she expected him soon. The woman had asked if it would be all right to wait and the librarian had nodded. She’d found a seat in a faded Queen Anne’s chair in the corner and seemed to be passing the time by reading, but as the minutes turned into hours, the woman had become increasingly captivated by the pendulum of the library’s old Seth Thomas clock.
At last, she had stood, thanked the librarian, and said she had to leave. She tucked the note she’d written into a book she was carrying and, when she pulled on the heavy oak door, Maddie suddenly realized that the woman was pregnant ... and that she seemed to be in pain. Soon after, Maddie had left the library, too. Almost immediately, she had encountered Asa and, when she stopped him to tell him that a woman had been waiting for him, his blue eyes had filled with dismay and sadness ...
Chapter 3
“Should I wake him?” Maddie whispered over the wispy blond head that was nestled on her shoulder.
Asa looked over. “I guess you better. He said he wanted to be awake when we crossed the bridge ... and he’s not going to sleep tonight if he keeps napping.”
Maddie shook Noah gently. “Noah, wake up,” she said softly. Noah stirred and opened his eyes. “We’re crossing the bridge.”
Noah sat up and looked out at the canal and, as they reached the other side, he looked for the CAPE COD sign made out of evergreen bushes. “I just love that sign,” he said with a contented sigh.
“Me, too,” agreed Asa.
“How much longer?” Noah asked with a yawn.
“Less than an hour,” Asa replied. “But don’t fall back asleep.”
“I won’t,” he said with a sleepy smile, and leaned against Maddie’s arm again.
“Want to sing some Christmas carols?” Maddie suggested.
“Sure!” said Noah, perking up. “How ’bout ‘Jingle Bells’?”
“Okay,” agreed Asa, “but you two have to carry the tune.”
As they drove along winter quiet Route 6, they sang every carol they could think of and, before they knew it, they were turning onto the rotary in Eastham. Asa stopped singing and looked over at Noah. “I think we better run our errand before we go to the house or they might not be open.”
Noah looked out the window to see where they were. “Okay,” he agreed as Asa turned off the rotary. A quarter of a mile down, they pulled into the parking lot of a long gray shop with a porch out front. The sign above the porch read THE BIRDWATCHER’ S GENERAL STORE and had a painting on it of a cartoonish figure looking through binoculars.
“Can I come in?” Maddie asked.
Noah looked at Asa and Asa winked at him. “Well ... you can ... if you don’t follow us ...”
Maddie gave Noah a puzzled look. “Hmmm ... what are you two up to?”
“Oh, nothing ...” replied Noah with a shrug and a grin.
Asa held the door for them and Maddie noticed the store’s funny hours: 9:03–5:57. Underneath was a handwritten addendum: “We will be closing at 2:33 on Christmas Eve ... have a Merry!” She glanced at her watch—it was ten after two—good thing they’d stopped ... Noah would’ve been disappointed! They went inside and Noah pointed to the left. “Maddie, they have really good books over there ...”
Maddie smiled. “Well, you know me! I can never pass up a really good book!” Noah grinned at her, reached for Asa’s hand, and pulled him in the opposite direction. While she perused the collection of books, Maddie glanced over at them a couple of times and saw them conferring in a tucked away corner.
Moments later, they were by her side and Asa was asking, “Find anything?”
Maddie looked up. “I did ...” She held up a little paperback titled That Quail, Robert. “It’s a true story,” she explained. “And it happened on Cape Cod! I thought I’d get it for my mom’s birthday.”
Asa read the synopsis and approved. “Looks good!”
He handed the book back to Maddie and she eyed the two of them suspiciously. “So, are you two sneaky people all set?” Noah nodded with his hands conspicuously behind his back. “Okay ... well, let me pay for this.”
“We’ll wait in the truck,” Asa said as Noah backed his way toward the door.
When Maddie climbed in next to them, she said, “It’d be nice to come back here again when we have more time.” She eyed Noah. “I was only able to look at the books.” Noah just grinned and looked out the window.
Asa turned the truck back onto Route 28 and soon turned left onto Beach Road. Maddie looked over at him. “I keep meaning to ask you ... how come your parents aren’t having Christmas at their summer place?”
Asa hesitated and glanced at Noah before answering. “Well, they thought about it and decided that Noah might enjoy having it at this house because this house was left to him when Nate died ... and they don’t want it to just sit empty until Noah’s an adult. They want us to continue to use it.”
Maddie nodded, silently wondering at the wisdom of the impromptu decision. She looked out the window and tried to grasp how complicated it must be for Noah to understand. First, his mother dies in childbirth and, at barely six years old, he loses the wonderful man he’s called “Dad” to a sudden heart attack ... and, within days, another man steps into his life and gently tells him that he is his dad. What does a little kid do with all that? Maddie looked at Noah leaning against Asa ... well, he certainly seems to be adjusting ... and she looked at Asa ... and he seems to be adjusting, too! One of her mom’s favorite sayings suddenly slipped into her mind—the Lord works in mysterious ways ... it was definitely true in this case!
Asa turned onto the sandy driveway that led up to an old bow-roof Cape overlooking the ocean. He glanced up at the massive center chimney and felt his heart pound. He thought back to the last time he was there, and realized that it had also been for Christmas.... Seems like a lifetime ago! He parked the truck and looked up to see his dad standing in the doorway. Noah climbed out and raced to him, jumping into his arms. “Merry Christmas, Grampa!”
Samuel Coleman wrapped his little grandson in a big bear hug. “Merry Christmas to you!” he returned. “How’s my little guy?”
“Great!” Noah exclaimed. “Come and see the Christmas tree we picked out—it’s from Maddie’s family’s farm.” Noah pulled him toward the truck, but Samuel released him so he could greet Maddie and Asa with hugs, too.
“Merry Christmas!” he said heartily. “It’s so good to see you! You look great!” Over the y
ears, Samuel had met Maddie on several occasions and he knew what a good friend she’d been to Asa. He had decided she was pretty special ... and he often wondered when his son would wake up and take notice.
“You look great, too,” Asa said with a warm smile. “Gettin’ a little white,” he teased, motioning to his father’s snowy mane.
“Yes, I know ... don’t remind me!” Samuel replied, running his hand through his hair. “It’s all thanks to you!”
“Grampa, come see the tree!” Noah called from the tailgate.
Samuel turned, “I’m coming!” He walked over and surveyed the tree, which filled the back of the truck. “Wow! That’s a beauty!” He eyed Noah. “You sure know how to pick ’em!”
Noah grinned, nodded, and began to bubble over with the details of the search. “Maddie helped and ... you know what else?” Samuel looked up. “There’s a bird’s nest in it! And Maddie said her dad always says that if you find a nest in a Christmas tree, the year ahead will be full of blessings—so we had to pick this tree!” Samuel nodded, completely caught up in his grandson’s excitement. He was still smiling when Sarah came over, too, wiping her hands on her apron. “Grandma!” Noah shouted, jumping down and just about knocking her over with a hug. “Did you see the tree?” He began to recount the story again, this time adding the part about the magnificent tree that belonged in Rockefeller Plaza.
Asa looked at his dad and smiled. “He’s a little excited. . .”
Samuel put his arm around his son. “He’s supposed to be!”
An hour later, the handsome little tree was in a stand full of water in the corner of the living room with its best side out, and Maddie and Noah were sitting at the kitchen table, threading popcorn and cranberries for decoration, munching down almost as much popcorn as they threaded. Asa and Samuel took advantage of Noah being busy and made room in the closet under the stairs for the boxes of Christmas gifts. They also carried in the duffels, Maddie’s suitcase, the pie carrier, and Maddie’s bag of secret ingredients. Samuel peered into the brown paper bag and raised his eyebrows. Sarah, for her part, suddenly noticed how much popcorn was being consumed, and asked if they’d had lunch yet. When Asa admitted that they hadn’t, she eyed him in dismay.
“Why didn’t you say something?”
Before Asa could protest, she was making roast beef sandwiches and coleslaw on rye bread and pouring tall glasses of sweet, cold cider. While they were still eating these, she also set out a plate of warm mincemeat cookies and brewed a fresh pot of coffee.
Asa reached for a cookie with his free hand and smiled at his mom. “You’ve been busy!” He took a bite and closed his eyes. “Mmmm ... Maddie, have you ever had a mincemeat cookie fresh out of the oven?” Maddie smiled, amused by Asa’s apparent rapture, and revealed that she hadn’t. Noah picked one out for her and Maddie graciously accepted. Seemingly unaware that everyone was watching, she took a generous bite and tasted the sweet warm brandied fruit. “Mmmm!” she murmured, “Mrs. Coleman, these are wonderful.”
Sarah smiled. “Thank you, Maddie. You can take some home with you.” Asa looked up, feigning alarm, but Sarah laughed and assured him. “Don’t worry, Asa, I’ll fix a plate for you and Noah, too.” Asa elbowed Noah with a grin and a thumbs-up and Noah returned the gesture and took a big bite out of his cookie.
Samuel reached over Noah’s head and took a cookie, too. He looked at Asa. “By the way, which service would you guys like to go to? I know we usually go to the eleven o’clock, but there’s also a service at eight for families. Your mother and I thought Noah might enjoy it. And then, of course,” he eyed Noah and whispered with his hand cupped beside his mouth, “you-know-who can get to bed early ... so you-know-who can come ...”
Noah’s eyes grew wide. “Who, Grampa? Do you mean Santa?”
“Santa?” Samuel said, feigning ignorance. “Who’s Santa?” He looked at Sarah. “Are you expecting someone named Santa for dinner, dear?”
“Grampa, Santa doesn’t come for dinner!” Noah sounded exasperated. Didn’t his grampa know who Santa Claus was? “He comes for Christmas cookies ... like these ...” he explained, holding up a mincemeat cookie.
“He likes mincemeat?” Samuel asked.
“Mmm ... hmm ... ,” Noah nodded.
“But they’re my favorite. Couldn’t we give him Fig Newtons or Oreos?”
Noah shook his head with authority. “No ... they have to be homemade Christmas cookies ... and eggnog.”
“Eggnog, too?” Samuel began to sound perplexed.
“Yup, and carrots for the reindeer ...”
“Carrots, too?! I don’t know ... I don’t think we have any carrots ... do we, dear?” He looked to his wife for support.
“Yes, we do,” Noah said, hopping down and running to the fridge. Samuel tried to nonchalantly block the door, but Noah gently nudged him and said, “Grampa, let me show you.” Sarah was enjoying their playful exchange and watched as Noah pulled open the fridge door and produced a big bag of carrots. “See? We have ’em!”
“I guess we do!” Samuel said, scooping Noah up and giving him a hug. “There’re no flies on you, that’s for sure.”
Noah looked puzzled by his grandfather’s funny observation, but gave him a big squeeze. “I love you, Grampa.”
“I love you, too!” Samuel replied.
Asa watched his father set Noah down and noticed that there were tears in his eyes. “Hey, Dad,” he said quietly, “the eight o’clock service sounds perfect.”
Samuel nodded and wiped his eyes. “We better get going on the tree then!”
Chapter 4
Asa lugged a heavy cardboard box down from the attic, set it on the floor, and pulled on the flaps, which had been tucked under one another. Inside the tattered old box was a smaller box, simply marked, NOAH. He lifted it out just as Noah came in trailing a long string of popcorn and cranberries. “Dad, can you help me with this?”
“Yup ... but I think you’ll need a chair.”
Noah laid the string carefully across the afghan blanket that was on the back of the couch and ran back into the kitchen. He returned with the chair and with Maddie, who was carrying another long string of popcorn.
“Dad, can we take the tree back with us and put it outside for the birds to hide in? That’s what we used to do—they love the popcorn and berries.”
“Sure,” Asa replied with a smile ... but suddenly feeling oddly sad. That’s what we used to do ... the innocent words had an odd sting ... he hadn’t thought of Noah’s previous Christmas memories that didn’t include him.
Maddie looked over at Asa and seemed to read his mind. “You and Noah will have lots of time to make memories of your own,” she said as she passed the string back and forth with Noah around the tree.
Noah looked up from trying to untangle his end and said, “And you, too, Maddie!” Maddie paused thoughtfully. . . I hope so, Noah! I hope so!
They continued to work from top to bottom, gently draping the popcorn string over the limbs. Meanwhile, Asa tried to determine if all the lights worked and, when he was certain they did, they hung those on the tree, too.
“Moment of truth!” he declared as he plugged them in.
“Uh-oh, Dad!” Noah said in dismay. “The bottom ones aren’t on.”
Asa tried unplugging and plugging the string back in, with no better results.
“They were just working!” he exclaimed in frustration.
Maddie walked around the tree to see which light might be the culprit. She pulled out the first unlit bulb and the whole string came on.
“What did you do?” Asa asked in surprise.
“I just unplugged the first dead one,” she said with a shrug. “Do you have any replacement bulbs?”
“I don’t know,” Asa answered.
“I’ll go ask!” Noah said, running to the kitchen.
Maddie grinned at Asa and teased, “Guess you have to have the magic touch!”
“Hmmm,” he surmised, “and I guess you do!”
Noah returned with Samuel in tow. “I think there are replacement bulbs somewhere in here,” he said, squatting down next to the box. He started to look and then spied Noah’s box. “Noah, here’s your box. Why don’t you open it?”
Noah knelt down next to his grandfather and pulled up the top of his box. “Hey!” he cried. “Here’s my stocking!” Asa watched Noah unfurl the soft red felt. “Dad,” he said, hopping up, “can you help me hang it?” Asa nodded and lifted Noah so he could hang the stocking on a painted hook that was tapped into the mantel. He looked at Noah’s name embroidered across the snowy white trim and thought back to the first time he’d seen that stocking ... before a name was embroidered on it. He leaned on the mantel and closed his eyes. “What’s wrong, Dad?” Noah asked.
“Nothin,’ pal ... just thinking ...”
“Okay,” Noah said, shrugging, and turned his attention back to his ornaments.
Maddie watched Asa and knew that he was struggling with long-ago memories ... memories that she wasn’t a part of. She began to wonder if it had been a mistake to come ...
Samuel, sensing a somber mood descending on the room, turned to Maddie, handed her a new bulb, and said, “So, Maddie, tell me what you’re cooking up with those potent ingredients.”
Maddie laughed. “Oh, it’s just an old Swedish recipe that my family always makes on Christmas Eve. I thought you guys might like to try it.” Maddie slipped the new bulb in place and added, “It’s called Glug.”
Noah laughed. “Glug? That’s a funny name! Can I try it?”
Maddie smiled. “That will be up to your dad!”
Asa looked up. “I don’t know ... I think you might just have to savor the fragrance.”
“When are you making it, Maddie?” Noah asked.
“Probably when we get home from church.”
Just then, Sarah came in and, spying the tree, proclaimed, “Oh, my! That tree looks beautiful!” She walked around it and admired it from every angle. Then she turned to Samuel, who’d recently found a seat in the rocking chair and appeared to be contemplating a nap. “Are you coming back to the kitchen, dear? I need you to make cocktail sauce.”
Making Spirits Bright Page 31
