Happily This Christmas--A Novel

by Susan Mallery

  Renee made more notes on her tablet. “I’ll be in touch with the bride as soon as I’m back in my office. She’s fairly responsive so I should have an answer today. Next.” She scanned her list. “We have two Christmas weddings that are mostly planned. I’ve already placed my orders for those, which leaves us with the snowman wedding.”

  “Snowman? You mean snowflake wedding.”

  Renee shook her head. “Snowman. As in snowmen as a theme.”

  Wynn looked at Natalie. “I’ve never heard of that.”

  “Me, either,” Natalie said. “But apparently it’s a thing.”

  Renee sighed. “Less of a thing than I would like. We’re having a lot of trouble finding appropriate decorations that aren’t too kids party. Natalie is creating a whole snowman village scene out of paper.”

  Natalie eyed Renee’s tablet. “I’m not as organized as she is, but I brought in the different paper weights I want and the colors.” She smiled at Wynn. “Mostly everything is white, but I do want a little contrast. Green for trees, some red and a little pale gray for shading.”

  She pulled a small box out of her tote bag and removed several paper samples. Wynn took them and flipped them over. Sure enough, the weights were on the back.

  They discussed the different suppliers Wynn used. She went online to see who had what stocks and who could deliver overnight.

  “I’m going to need some heavy paper for the base of the project,” Natalie said. “I couldn’t find a real sample of what I wanted, but it’s this weight.”

  She handed Wynn an old library card. The paper was thick, but not coated, with a heavy fiber content.

  “Thicker than card stock,” Wynn murmured, rubbing it between her fingers. “But with more give. This used to be popular, but now it’s more of a specialty item. Give me a second.”

  She went into her big storeroom and dug around on several back shelves before finding a half ream of the paper she’d been thinking of. It was heavy, and the paper wrapping was dusty. She blew it off before carrying it back to her office and setting it on the table.

  “What about this?”

  Natalie pulled out a sheet and smiled. “This could work.” She counted the sheets left, then smiled at Renee. “I’ve got my base for the winter scene.”

  Wynn pointed at the notes on the side of the package. “I’ve got a price for you.”

  Renee added the information to her tablet, then they placed the order for the paper Natalie was going to need.

  “It will be here tomorrow,” Wynn said. “I’ll text you when it comes in.”

  Natalie glanced at Renee who nodded encouragingly.

  “So would Hunter be interested in a part-time job?” Natalie asked.

  The question surprised Wynn. “He’s only fourteen.”

  “I know. It’s nothing big. Just making these.” She pulled a four-inch paper snowman out of her tote. “They’re made with a combination of cutting, gluing and a little origami. I need a thousand.”

  Wynn stared at her. “Seriously?”

  “Unfortunately. I wasn’t thinking when I came up with a really cute idea for the centerpieces for the wedding. It’s four weeks away, and there’s no way I can put them together myself. Not and do everything else.”

  “A thousand?” Wynn couldn’t get past the number of snowmen required. “How long does each one take?”

  “It’s slow at first, but then it gets quicker. I would say the average is probably five minutes. The bride’s budget is a dollar fifty a snowman for the work.”

  “She must really want the snowmen for her wedding.”

  Wynn did the math. Assuming five minutes per snowman, that was only twelve an hour. It would take over eighty hours to complete the job.

  “How many are done?” she asked.

  “I’ve done a few samples to figure out the best way to put them together.” Natalie dropped her gaze. “And that’s kind of all.”

  “You’re in trouble.” Wynn looked at Natalie. “You need help. Lots of help.”

  “We’re just about to put out the call.”

  “I’ll ask Hunter,” Wynn told her. “Oh, and let me talk to Joylyn.”

  Her friends stared at her blankly.

  “Who?” Renee asked.

  “Joylyn.” Wynn tried to figure out the easiest explanation. “You know Garrick McCabe is my neighbor, right? He has a grown daughter who’s staying with him until the holidays. She’s pregnant and doesn’t have any friends in the area, so she might be looking for something to fill her day.”

  Given that Joylyn wasn’t working and that her husband was in the military, Wynn would assume they weren’t rolling in money. The extra cash might help.

  “You’ll talk to her?” Natalie asked. “I’m pretty desperate. This is all my fault. I really should have thought through the centerpieces.”

  “You artist types,” Renee said, hugging her. “With your head in the clouds. You can’t help being so talented.”

  Renee’s phone rang. She pulled it from her bag and glanced at the screen.

  “It’s a bride,” she said, getting up from the desk. “I’ll be back when I’ve calmed her down. Feel free to chat among yourselves.”

  She left. Wynn smiled at Natalie.

  “Are you in a panic?”

  “Pretty much.” She pulled one of the little snowmen out of her bag.

  The simple design was adorable, with a folded body and cute face. A tiny stovepipe hat sat on his head.

  “There’s a girl one, too,” Natalie said, setting her down. “I’ve worked up instructions, and I thought I’d hold a quick class for anyone interested in helping.”

  “I can do some in my free time,” Wynn said, not sure how quickly she could get hers done. She’d never been great at crafts. She could design an invitation or a sign with no problems. She enjoyed playing with color and space, but folding and gluing? Not so much.

  “How are you feeling?” she asked her friend. “Aside from the snow person crisis.”

  “Good. Ronan is turning into a worrier. He monitors my every breath.”

  “Your husband loves you.”

  Natalie smiled. “Yes, he does and I like that in a man.”

  Renee walked into the office and collapsed in the chair. She looked shell-shocked.

  “What?” Wynn asked. “Are you all right?”

  Renee blinked a couple of times. “We have a cancellation. The wedding on the eighteenth isn’t going to happen. The bride ended things and is going back to her old boyfriend. The groom is taking a job in China where he’s apparently kept a mistress for two years. The parents are the most upset, but I don’t have to deal with them.”

  Wynn knew that weddings got canceled at the last minute. It was rare, but it happened. “Good news or bad news?” she asked.

  “I can’t answer for them, but for us, it’s kind of not a bad thing.” Her mouth curved up in a smile. “We have a very well-designed contract that protects us from absorbing any costs when there’s a cancellation. And that was going to be our last wedding before the holidays.” The smile widened. “We’re going to get an even longer break than we’d thought.”

  “Good for you,” Natalie said, before winking at Wynn. “She wants time at home to have more sex with Jasper.”

  “I do like the sex,” Renee said as she picked up her phone. “I need to text Pallas and let her know what’s happened. I can’t believe we’re going to get almost three weeks off work and over the holidays. Yay us!”

  Natalie looked at her. “You’re just going to say you like the sex and move on?”

  Renee didn’t bother looking up from her phone. “Oh, please. As if you don’t like making love with Ronan. It’s one of the perks of a great marriage. I’m not going to apologize for enjoying it.”

  “Me, either,” Natalie said with a sigh.


  Wynn didn’t enjoy feeling like the odd friend out, but there was no getting around the fact that she wasn’t having sex with anyone. Even more significant—she was ready for that to change. She wanted a man in her life. A good guy who cared about her and wanted a real relationship. It was time. Probably past time. She’d had her reasons for avoiding anything significant in the romance department, but she was starting to think it was time to forgive herself and move on. Yes, she’d been awful, but she’d learned her lesson and she was a better person now. Wasn’t she allowed to let go of the past and start something new and wonderful? Didn’t she deserve a second chance at happiness? And if she believed all that, shouldn’t she get off her butt and do something about it?

  * * *

  “CAN I TALK to Natalie tomorrow?” Hunter asked eagerly, as he walked next to Wynn. “I want to get going on the snowmen, Mom.”

  She smiled. “I’ve texted her to ask when she can meet with you. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear.”

  “I thought I’d have to wait until I was sixteen to get a job. Earning some money would be great.” He looked at her. “You know, it’s less than two years until I’m sixteen.”

  She pretended confusion. “What does you turning sixteen have to do with anything?”

  “Mo-om! I want to get a car. A guy needs wheels.”

  “I can afford the wheels,” she told him. “It’s the rest of the car that’s going to be more complicated. You should have told me you only wanted the wheels.”

  They climbed the three steps leading to the porch of Garrick’s house. While Hunter sighed heavily, Wynn rang the doorbell.

  “You’re not funny,” her son told her.

  “Actually, I think I have a great sense of humor.”

  Joylyn opened the door. “Hi.” She stepped back to let them in. “My dad just left to get the takeout.”

  “Did he say what we’re having?” Hunter asked. “I hope he got a lot. I’m starved.”

  Joylyn looked pale and unhappy, Wynn noted. “You’re always starved.” She smiled at Joylyn. “He’s in the middle of a growth spurt. I’m sure you know from having brothers that boys can pretty much eat a grocery store when that happens.”

  Joylyn nodded listlessly. “There should be plenty. Dad always buys too much.” She led the way into the living room and flopped down on the sofa. “I’d rather have something from home but of course he doesn’t cook.”

  “Do you?” Wynn asked, trying to sound curious rather than judgy.

  “Of course I can cook.” Joylyn gave her a superior look. “I’m also pregnant.”

  “Oh. I didn’t know you were a high-risk pregnancy.”

  “I’m not.” She sat up straighter. “Why would you say that?”

  Wynn smiled. “Now I’m confused. You said you couldn’t cook because you were pregnant.”

  Hunter glanced between them, but didn’t say anything. He took a seat on the edge of the sofa and watched Wynn, as if trying to figure out what was going on.

  “I’m tired a lot,” Joylyn said. “My back hurts. I don’t want to be on my feet.”

  “It’s nice to have an option,” Wynn told her. “When I was pregnant with Hunter, I was on my own. It didn’t really matter how I felt, I had to keep working to save as much money as possible.” She smiled at him. “I worked until I went into labor.”

  He closed his eyes and groaned. “Mom, please don’t talk about giving birth.”

  “I won’t.” She looked at Joylyn. “I’m simply pointing out that a lot of pregnant women don’t get to spend the last couple of months of their pregnancy living off their parents while neither working nor going to school. You’re lucky.”

  She kept her tone light, wanting to get the message across without being mean. Joylyn flushed and looked away. Tears filled her eyes.

  Wynn braced herself for the explosion, but Joylyn only sniffed and said, “It’s not what you think.”

  “I’m sure that’s true. But it would be nice if you helped around the house.”

  Joylyn’s expression turned sullen. “I don’t want to be here.”

  “You have made that clear, haven’t you?”

  Joylyn opened her mouth—no doubt to shriek—but before she could say anything, Garrick walked in the door. He held up two overflowing bags.

  “I hope you’re hungry. I got plenty.”

  Hunter shot to his feet. “Chinese! My favorite.”

  Wynn shook her head. “Everything is your favorite.”

  “That’s because I’m easygoing and a happy kid. You should be grateful. What if I were a picky eater?”

  “I’d have more leftovers in my refrigerator.”

  They walked into the kitchen. Wynn saw the table wasn’t set, so she washed her hands, then started collecting dishes and flatware. Joylyn watched her for a second before joining in. She poured lemonade for herself and Hunter, then got out wineglasses for Wynn and Garrick.

  When they were seated at the table, Wynn held out one hand to Hunter, the other to Garrick. Hunter did the same, grabbing Joylyn’s hand. Joylyn hesitated a second before reaching for her dad. Wynn said grace, then looked at the cartons of food.

  “A lot of choices,” she said. “Thanks, Garrick.”

  “You’re welcome.” He motioned to the star on the side of several of the containers. “The marked ones are low sodium and less spicy.” He glanced at Joylyn. “I got the chow mein the way you like it. Combination meat and extra vegetables.”

  She pressed her lips together before murmuring a reluctant, “Thank you.”

  Hunter looked pleadingly at his mother. She began opening cartons and handing them to him. “No more than a small serving of everything the first time around,” she reminded him. “Everyone else wants to have some, too.”

  He sighed heavily before pulling an egg roll out of a container and setting it on his plate.

  Garrick grinned at him. “I remember the feeling of always being empty. I don’t think moms get it.”

  “Girls,” Hunter grumbled.

  Wynn instinctively glanced at Joylyn, prepared to share the moment. But instead of meeting her gaze, the young woman was staring at her dad with an expression of sadness and longing. As if she remembered a time when she and her father had joked around and she missed it.

  Wynn quickly looked away, not sure what to make of the moment. She served herself some Kung Pao Chicken before asking, “Joylyn, have you had a chance to drive around town yet?”

  “Not yet.”

  “It’s not a big city but we have some interesting areas. Happily Inc is a destination wedding town. There are several venues that cater exclusively to people getting married. A couple of friends of mine own a place called Weddings Out of the Box. It’s an interesting building, with one entrance looking like a villa while another is a castle.”

  “Why?”

  “A lot of the people who come here to get married have theme weddings. A princess wedding, a Lord of the Rings wedding.”

  “Remember a few years ago?” Hunter asked. “That wedding based on a computer game. That was so cool. They had a zip line and I got to use it.”

  “Why not just have a regular wedding?” Joylyn asked.

  “Sometimes the bride and groom want something else. Oh, we also have a game preserve on the edge of town.”

  “There aren’t any predators,” Hunter told her. “Just grazing animals. There’s a herd of giraffes and a water buffalo and zebras and stuff. It’s pretty cool. We go there a lot on school trips. A baby giraffe was born a few months ago. He was nearly a hundred and fifty pounds when he was born.”

  Joylyn’s eyes widened. “That big?”

  “Uh-huh. Baby giraffes fall to the ground when they’re born. That’s a hard way to start your life.” Hunter sounded more impressed than upset. “They stand in about an hour. You never want twin gir
affes, though.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because when a mother has twins, the two babies are small. A newborn giraffe has to be tall enough to nurse.” He grinned proudly. “Our class had to write a report. I got an A.”

  “I wouldn’t mind seeing a giraffe,” Joylyn admitted.

  “I can check with Carol to see if she can give us a tour,” Wynn said casually, as she glanced at Garrick. “Want to join us?”

  “You know I have a soft spot for the giraffes.”

  Joylyn’s mouth tightened, but she didn’t speak. There was something, Wynn thought, with no idea what it was or how to fix it. But maybe, just maybe, Joylyn wasn’t as unreachable as she wanted everyone to think.

  CHAPTER SIX

  CONVERSATION FLOWED EASILY through the rest of dinner. Garrick allowed himself to relax, at least for the moment. Every now and then he caught glimpses of the daughter he used to know, and that gave him hope.

  Having Hunter and Wynn around made a big difference. Too bad they couldn’t be there every night because Joylyn had changed in the past few years, and not for the better.

  “I have a question,” Wynn said when even Hunter couldn’t eat anymore. “There’s a snowman wedding coming up before the holidays.” She glanced at Garrick. “Apparently it’s a thing.”

  “Snowmen?”

  She nodded, and turned back to Joylyn. “My friend Natalie has designed centerpieces using paper snowmen. The problem is she needs a thousand of them in a very short period of time.”

  “She needs help making them,” Hunter said. “She’s paying a dollar fifty a snowman, and you can make like ten or twelve in an hour!” He sounded delighted. “I’m going to make some. You should do it, too, Joylyn. It’s not hard. Mom, did you bring a sample?”

  “In my bag.”

  Hunter raced into the other room and returned with a small paper snowman. He handed it to Joylyn.

  “You’re not doing anything all day. You should make a lot of money.”

  Joylyn flushed. “I’m pregnant.”

  Hunter shrugged. “I know that, but you just sit around. Why not make these?”