Winter Wishes

by Fern Michaels

  “I have no idea what I’m looking for,” Noah grumbled. “No idea what to get them.”

  Meredith steered him into the nearest department store. “Let’s start here. Tell me about your dad,” she said, as she and Noah navigated the men’s section.

  “He’s the postmaster in a small town just outside Topeka,” Noah said.

  “And you told me he likes to barbecue. What else does he like to do?”

  “He likes sports. Mostly, he watches them on TV, but every once in a while he’ll get tickets to a game. The Royals or the Chiefs.”

  “Go on.”

  “That’s about it.”

  “There’s more to him than his job and sports. What do you talk to him about?”

  “Um, my job and sports usually. Cars.”

  Meredith gave him a look. “Do you want a noogie?”

  “You know? I kind of do.”

  “Well, keep it up, and I’ll give you one.”

  “Is that a promise?”

  “We’ll see.”

  Noah grinned.

  “What I’m trying to get at is sometimes it’s easier to choose a gift if you think about who the person you’re buying for is. What’s his favorite thing to do? What’s the best time you ever had with him? What’s important to him? What kinds of things does he like?”

  Noah stared at a display of wallets and key chains, spinning the turntable around and around while he thought. “I don’t know.”

  “What’s your dad’s most treasured possession?”

  Noah continued to spin the display. “His wedding ring, probably.”

  “Does he still wear it?”

  Noah shook his head. Meredith sensed she was broaching a sensitive subject. “Does he wear other rings? Jewelry?”

  “He always wears a watch. It’s ancient. It’s pretty beat up, but I think he wears it because my mom gave it to him for Christmas one year.”

  “Your dad sounds like the sentimental sort. If he had a new watch, do you think he’d wear it?”

  Noah paused the turning display. “He might. I don’t know.”

  “Even a good watch doesn’t last forever,” Meredith pointed out. “Okay, what about your brother?”

  “What about him?”

  “Same questions. What does he like? What do you talk to him about?”

  “Am I going to be in trouble if I say jobs and sports and cars?”

  Meredith chuckled. “Of course not. But there must be more to him. For example, we know he likes high-maintenance women. What does he do for a living?”

  “He’s a stockbroker.”

  Meredith’s eyebrows raised. “Really?”

  “Why? Does that impress you?”

  “No. I mean, I’m not unimpressed. I just always think of stockbrokers as gamblers, you know, with the market being so volatile. I guess I lived in Vegas too long.”

  “He loves it,” Noah said. “And he’s good at it. He’s highly analytical.”

  “Does he like puzzles?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact. When we were kids, it seemed like there was always a jigsaw puzzle going somewhere. But really, any kind of puzzle. The one where you have to pull out the blocks of wood and stack them on the top, but if you make it fall, you lose? He loved that one.”

  They left the department store and chose a direction at random. “I feel like we’re making progress,” Meredith said.

  “You do?” Noah slanted a look down at her. “I feel like an ant going against a herd of elephants.”

  Noah was referring to the crowds. Meredith was referring to gift ideas for his family. She patted his arm gently. “We’ll get there. Don’t you worry.”

  She saw a big-name designer handbag store and pointed in its direction. “Let’s go in there.”

  “Why?” he said as he followed her.

  The store was crowded but not as badly as some of the others. There were several salespeople milling about keeping an eye on the customers as well as the high-end merchandise.

  “Because,” Meredith informed him, “if you want to get something for Tiffany, it has to be small but worthy of notice. I’m betting, from what you told me about her, that she’s into designer labels. Did you happen to notice what kind of purse she carries?”

  “Uh, no.”

  “Did you see any letters or special designs on it?”

  “Never looked. Didn’t care.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Meredith said confidently. She began circling the counter where small items were displayed in glass cases. “See? Look. There are coin purses and key rings. Cell phone cases and wristlets.”

  “What in the world is a wristlet?”

  “That little purse there? With a strap that circles your wrist. You can carry the bare essentials along without hanging on to a big purse all day. Like if you went to an amusement park or a concert or something.”

  “Okay,” Noah said.

  “How much do you want to spend?” Meredith asked.

  “I don’t know. On Tiffany? As little as possible. I’m not even related to her.”

  “Yet,” Meredith reminded him. “I say you get her a key ring or the coin purse. Probably the key ring is best. Even if she doesn’t use it, she’ll think you get her, which, apparently, you do. And she’ll appreciate that you didn’t buy her some piece of junk from a discount store.”

  “If you say so.” Noah looked a little lost. No, a lot lost. He was the only man in the store.

  “Which one do you like?”

  “Which one do you like?” he returned.

  “That one.” She pointed to a silver one with the designer’s logo on it but in a subtle pattern.

  “Perfect,” Noah said, as a salesclerk approached.

  “We’ll take that one,” they said in unison.

  “I think we’re making progress,” Meredith said again, as they left the store. “And you won’t even have to wrap it.” The key ring was in a little box with the designer’s logo on top, tied with a pretty ribbon in the designer’s signature colors. The package was inside a fancy little shopping bag that dangled from Noah’s fingers.

  “Actually, I was going to ask you to wrap it before I realized they’d do it for free,” Noah said.

  “I’d have done it for free,” Meredith assured him.

  “Good. I’ll keep that in mind since we have two more gifts to buy.”

  “Let’s wander a bit, or as much as anyone can wander in this crowd,” Meredith said as she was jostled by a couple who were apparently on a power-shopping trip. “See if we see anything or get some more ideas.”

  “Okay.” Noah took her hand. He didn’t ask. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world. She liked holding his hand. Liked being close to him. Liked the idea that anyone who saw them would assume they were a couple. This is the start of us as a couple, Meredith thought. Yesterday. Today. Who knew what the future would bring? There was a new year starting soon. Maybe it will be the year of us, she thought.

  A lot could happen in a year. Why, a year ago, she’d never even heard of Nashville, Kansas, much less thought of moving here, buying a house, getting a job. But she’d spun her life on its ear, and the past few weeks, she’d felt like she was embarking on an adventure she couldn’t have dreamed up on her own, ever.

  It was like leaving Las Vegas had inspired her, in a way. It had changed her perspective. She’d certainly never thought of writing a children’s book. Or teaching kindergarten.

  Meredith slowed as they approached a brightly lit jewelry store. “Do you mind?” she asked Noah. “I can never resist looking at jewelry.”

  “I’ve got all afternoon. Look all you want.” He let go of her hand but stayed nearby.

  Engagement rings were displayed prominently in the first case, which was fine with Meredith because that was her favorite thing to look at. To look at and dream that maybe someone would love her enough to want to marry her. That someday, she’d be one of those patient moms in the grocery store with children of her own. She loved
the sparkle of the diamonds and the different designs of the settings and bands. She liked how the styles changed from year to year.

  She strolled slowly along, taking them in before a salesclerk approached. “Hello. Looking for anything in particular today?” His gaze flickered from Meredith to Noah. “An engagement ring perhaps?”

  Meredith could not help but laugh when she saw the look on Noah’s face. Was that panic she saw in his eyes? “No, we’re just friends.” At this point, that was the truth. “I just enjoy looking at jewelry. It’s my reward for helping him Christmas shop.”

  The clerk’s gaze went back to Noah, noting the single, small shopping bag he was carrying. “We’re having a holiday sale today on men’s and ladies’ watches. Buy one, get the second half price. Also, we have a lovely selection of sterling silver jewelry on sale at fifty percent off.”

  Meredith caught Noah’s eye. “Did you hear that? Watches. Let’s have a look.”

  They followed the clerk to the display case with the watches inside.

  “I don’t know,” Noah said. “He’s so attached to the watch my mom gave him.”

  “Well, maybe that’s because he thinks it would be disloyal to her memory if he bought himself a new watch. But if his son gave him one, that’s entirely different. It’s a gift from someone else he loves very much, right?”

  Meredith glanced quickly at the clerk, hoping for some support. He picked up the ball. “We can also do same-day engraving at no extra charge.”

  “Let’s just look,” Meredith urged. “It doesn’t mean you have to buy one.”

  “Okay.”

  An hour later, they left the store. “I can’t believe it,” Noah said, looking at his own watch. “I thought we’d be here all afternoon, and we’re done already.”

  “Well, almost done,” Meredith agreed. In the end, Noah couldn’t resist the deal on the watches. He’d purchased one for his dad and one for his brother. They were both being engraved and would be ready in an hour.

  “Are you hungry? We could check out the food court or get ice cream or something.”

  “Or hot chocolate?”

  He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “Or hot chocolate. Anything you want.”

  Meredith wondered if that “anything” included him. Because she definitely wanted a future that included Noah. She felt more and more comfortable with him, and she felt she had gotten to see a little more of what made him tick. How he felt about his family. How the loss of his mother had affected them all.

  There was a long line at the coffee shop, but it was Noah’s turn to stand in it. Luckily, they snagged a recently vacated table before anyone else could. It was at the outer edge of the café’s enclosure, so Meredith was able to watch the shoppers. Across the way, a Santa held court, and a long line of children and parents waited to visit with him and get their pictures taken.

  She couldn’t help but smile at some of the toddlers dressed in their Christmas outfits and the mothers trying to keep them happy until it was their turn to sit in Santa’s lap. Meredith was perfectly content to watch all of the action and absorb the holiday bustle while she waited for her hot chocolate.

  “I’m not sure how I feel about that,” Noah said as he set a tray down on the table. He unloaded it and set the tray near the condiment bar before he took a seat across from her.

  “Not sure about what?” Meredith asked. She took the lid off her hot chocolate, delighted to see a sprinkle of cocoa powder on top of the whipped cream. Noah had ordered a warm chocolate brownie for her, too. And one for himself as well, of course. My little chocoholic, she thought.

  “Santa Claus.”

  “You have issues with Santa Claus?” Meredith asked. She took a sip of her hot chocolate. It was divine.

  “Not the concept itself. The idea of telling kids to believe it’s true. That he’s real or whatever.”

  “Well, according to ancient lore, there was someone Santa Claus–like at some point.”

  “No, I know that. It just sort of feels like you’re lying to your kids if you make them think that he comes down a chimney and puts presents under the tree on Christmas Eve.”

  “Considering an awful lot of kids live in places that don’t have chimneys.”

  “Exactly.” Noah took a bite of his brownie and watched the procession to Santa’s lap.

  “Maybe it would be better just to tell kids that Santa Claus represents the spirit of giving during the holidays. That it’s okay to tell him what you want for Christmas or get a photo with him, but he’s not who’s bringing you presents. He’s just a fun guy who hangs out at the mall during December.”

  Noah laughed, then started to cough. His eyes started to water.

  “Oh, my goodness,” Meredith said, alarmed. “Are you all right?”

  He waved a hand at her and coughed into his napkin. “I’m fine. You kill me sometimes, you know that? Santa’s just a fun guy who hangs out at the mall in December. I can just see our kids walking into kindergarten telling their classmates that.”

  Our kids, Meredith thought. Did he even realize he’d said that? “Well, we all have to find out sometime that Santa’s not real.”

  “Yeah, but the kid who tries to talk twenty other five-year-olds out of believing is going to get punched.”

  “Not to mention the fallout for the parents.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Maybe that’s why everyone lets their kids believe until they figure it out on their own. Nobody wants to be the bad guy.”

  “Maybe.”

  “It’s still fun to watch them, though,” Meredith said. So that’s what they did until it was time to go pick up the watches and head for home.

  Chapter Ten

  They were both quiet on the drive back to Nashville. Meredith didn’t know what Noah was thinking about, but she was thinking how much she liked being with him. They didn’t have to be doing anything. Although she supposed Christmas shopping was doing something. He didn’t try to impress her with dinner in expensive restaurants, although that wasn’t possible anyway. Not in Nashville, at least. Probably not in Greenburg, either.

  No concert tickets or weekend getaways. Probably too early for those kinds of things, she reminded herself. Not like he’d shown up at her door with a dozen roses, either. Which made sense since they weren’t even dating. Not really. He hadn’t asked her out for anything but coffee, and every time he had, she’d turned him down. But even the coffee-“date” Christmas present she’d given him wasn’t really dating. Was it?

  And his request for help with his Christmas shopping, well, that wasn’t a date either. She’d told the clerk in the jewelry store they were friends, and Noah hadn’t corrected her. There was nothing wrong with being friends, either, she reminded herself. Because it could always turn into something else, couldn’t it?

  There was an attraction there. He’d held her hand in the mall. That was datelike at least. She was done looking, she decided. She was more than ready to leap. She wondered if Noah was, too. Maybe he was taking things extra slow now to pay her back for all the times she’d said no to his coffee-date invitations. Maybe he was still enjoying the game they’d started. There was nothing wrong with continuing that, either, because even that was fun.

  “I know I’ve thanked you at least five times, but I have to thank you again for today.”

  “You more than made up for it with the hot chocolate and that brownie,” Meredith assured him. “Besides, it was fun hanging out with you.” As your friend, she thought.

  Noah pulled into her driveway and put the car in park. “So are you going to the Macabees’ party? It’s tomorrow, you know.”

  “I don’t have anything else planned, so yes, I am going. Janet says their house is gorgeous, and they go all out for the holidays.”

  “The party is always fun, that’s for sure. They’re really generous people. Usually everybody from the school system is there unless they’ve gone out of town for the holidays.”

  Meredi
th opened her door. “All right then. I guess I’ll see you there.” She slid out and waved as Noah backed out.

  The Macabees’ party was the perfect opportunity to move this relationship out of the friend category and into dating mode. All she needed was an outfit to knock Noah’s socks off. A little dancing, a glass of wine maybe. Who knew what could happen?

  * * *

  Meredith’s cell phone rang at a ridiculously early hour in the morning. She squinted at the screen but didn’t recognize the number. She was awake but luxuriating in the fact that she didn’t have to get up right away, but she answered it anyway.

  “Meredith? It’s Jessica.”

  “Hi, Jessica. What’s up?”

  “I have a huge favor to ask you,” Jessica said in a rush. “I run the nursery at my church. There are usually three other ladies, and we rotate weekly. Two of them are out of town, and the third one just called me. She has the flu. Are you busy? Is there any way you could help me out for a couple of hours this morning?”

  “In a nursery?”

  “Usually there aren’t that many kids, but with the holidays, I don’t know. I need someone who has already passed a background check. You’re the only person I could think of on such short notice.”

  “I’d like to help you,” Meredith said uncertainly. “But I’ve never been around children much. I don’t know how much help I’d actually be.”

  “Then you’ll do it?”

  “I guess so.”

  “You’re a life saver! It’s the Liberty Community Church on the corner of Oak and Third Street. If you can get there by nine-thirty, you can help me set up.”

  “Oh. Okay. Did you hear me say I’ve never been around little kids before?”

  “You’ll be fine. Thanks a million. I’ll see you there, then.” Jessica disconnected.

  The church was small, with simple lines, painted white and decorated for the season with a nativity scene set up on a small patch of lawn at the front and wreaths on the front doors. Meredith followed the sign that pointed to the nursery in the basement of the structure and found Jessica in what looked like a miniature classroom. There were bright plastic tubs of toys and small round tables and chairs. A changing table sat in one corner, and a couple of infant carriers were on a nearby counter.