A Family for Christmas

by Mona Ingram

  The waiting area was empty when she returned to the floor housing Drummond Enterprises. Maybe Chase Drummond had completed his business earlier than anticipated. Maddie went to the reception desk and waited for Marilyn to complete a call.

  “Do you know where Annie is?” she asked.

  The receptionist’s gaze went to the chair Annie had occupied for the past hour. “No.” She tapped a pen against her cheek as though that would jog her memory. “She went to the restroom, and then came back.” She looked up. “You were still here then, weren’t you?”

  Maddie nodded.

  “After that, I’m not sure.” She looked around as though Annie might materialize out of thin air. “Mr. Drummond is not going to be happy about this.”

  Maddie looked at the coffee table in the waiting area. “I think she’s gone out. Her magazine is gone, and she seemed attached to it.”

  The receptionist reached for the phone but Maddie stalled her. “Just a moment. I think I might know where she is.”

  “Really?” Marilyn turned hopeful eyes on her. “Where?”

  “I think she may have gone to a fashion show over at Draper’s. We were talking about it earlier.”

  The receptionist looked blank. “A fashion show?”

  “Yes. Annie is fascinated with the fashion business.” Maddie thought quickly and pulled out her cell phone. “Give me a number where I can reach you. I’ll run down there now and look for her. If she’s there, I’ll call you right away.”

  The receptionist adjusted her earpiece, her other hand hovering over the keypad that controlled the phones. “I guess that would be okay. It will only be a couple of minutes, right?”

  Maddie nodded. “Five minutes, tops. It’s up to you of course, but I’m quite sure she’s there, and you won’t have to bother Mr. Drummond.”

  “Okay then, and thanks.” She was visibly relieved. They exchanged cell phone numbers, and Maddie went back to the bank of elevators and was soon en route to the ground floor.

  “David.” She stopped for a moment at the concierge desk. “Did you see Annie Drummond go out a while ago?” She paused. “Sorry, I mean Annie Campbell.”

  “Sure did.” He looked down at some notes. “Fourteen minutes ago. Came out of the elevator and was out the front door quick as you please. She’s a bright little thing, that one, but I was wondering about her being alone, so I wrote down the time.”

  “Did you notice which way she went?”

  “To the right is my guess. She went out the set of doors to the right of the revolving door.”

  “Thanks, David.” Maddie was outside and headed for the crosswalk in seconds. Fortunately, she knew where to go for the fashion show and took the escalator to the second floor.

  Annie’s flame-coloured hair made her easy to spot. She had managed to find a seat at the end of the second row, and was gazing raptly at the fashions when Maddie arrived. The shows were popular but informal, and Maddie grabbed a folding chair and placed it beside the young girl.

  Annie didn’t look surprised to see her. “I think Lily is next,” she whispered, her voice tense and excited. “Her clothes are second to last.”

  “I’ll be right back. Hold my chair, okay?” Maddie stood up and walked away from the spectators and the music.

  “Marilyn,” she said into the phone. “She’s here at Draper’s, she’s fine.”

  “Thank you for doing this. I’ll have to have a talk with Mr. Drummond about my responsibilities when Annie comes to wait for him. She’s never run off before.”

  Maddie thought that was an excellent idea, but didn’t comment. “Listen, Marilyn. I thought I’d take Annie for coffee when this is over.” She gave an embarrassed laugh. “Okay, the coffee is for me, but I thought we’d go to that little place next door. Annie can have hot chocolate or something like that.”

  “Sounds good. Thanks again, Maddie.”

  “You’re welcome.” Maddie looked back at Annie, who was watching the models like a veteran of the runway shows. “She’s really enjoying herself. I’ll see you later.”

  She sat down beside Annie and watched the models parading down the runway in Lily’s clothes. As usual, Lily’s astute business sense had been right on when she decided to start manufacturing resort wear. Her designs were bold and vibrant, and it was obvious that the models enjoyed wearing them. Maddie had as much fun watching Annie’s reaction as she did admiring the outfits.

  The show drew to a close about ten minutes later, and Lily came running out to see them, not much taller than Annie, even in extravagantly high heels.

  “I didn’t expect to see you here!” She gave Maddie a quick kiss and drew back to look at Annie. “Hello,” she said, sticking out her hand. “I’m Lily Hsu.”

  “I’m Annie Campbell. Your clothes are amazing. I hope to be a designer one day.”

  “Excellent.” She shot a curious look at Maddie. “I thought I knew most of Maddie’s friends, but I haven’t heard her mention you.”

  “Oh, we just met.” Annie smiled up at Maddie. “She was waiting to see my uncle.”

  Lily’s eyebrows shot up. “Your uncle?”

  Maddie stepped in. “Chase Drummond. Apparently I have to see him about renting the space, but he’s in a long meeting, and we came over here to pass some time.”

  Lily nodded as though this made sense. “I see. And what are you going to do now?”

  “I haven’t asked Annie yet, but I thought we’d go to that little specialty coffee place next door. I didn’t have any coffee this morning and I could really use some.” She looked down at the young girl. “What do you say? Could you go for a hot chocolate?”

  Annie nodded. “That would be nice. I’d better call my uncle’s office and tell them where I am.”

  Lily acknowledged a compliment from one of the departing spectators then turned back to Maddie and Annie. “I have a few things to do here, but I’ll try to join you. Don’t wait for me though.” She paused and looked at Maddie. “If I get tied up, I’ll call you, and if you leave, you call me, okay?”

  “That’s a deal.”

  Chapter Four

  ANNIE STUDIED THE CHALKBOARD menu, eyes wide with delight. Maddie assumed that her uncle took her to more traditional restaurants. Every second table seemed to be occupied by someone with a laptop, and many of the others were engrossed in their iPhones.

  “What would you like?” she asked the youngster.

  Annie became uncharacteristically shy. “Could I have a chai please? I’ve never had one before and I’ve been dying to try one.”

  Maddie hesitated. She’d never tried one herself, but she couldn’t see that it would do the child any harm. “Why not?” she said brightly. “I’m going to have a latte.”

  They were soon settled at a table by the window. It was obvious to Maddie that Annie was trying to contain her excitement. She sipped at her drink, and Maddie’s heart expanded to see the happiness on the child’s face.

  “It’s good,” she said and took another sip.

  “I’m glad you like it. I’ve never actually had one, myself.”

  “Would you like to try?” Annie turned the cup around and nudged it across the table.

  “I think I would. Would you like to try my latté?”

  “No thanks.” She watched expectantly as Maddie tried the chai.

  “You’re right, it is good,” she said, surprised. “Now I see what all the fuss is about.” She returned the cup to Annie and shrugged out of her cape. “So you liked Lily’s clothes?”

  “They were wonderful. And to think that she does the silk screening, as well.” She sipped thoughtfully at her drink. “We had a demonstration of silk screening at school, but it was just lettering on a t-shirt.” She looked at Maddie, eyes free of guile. “Does Lily ever give tours of her shop? I’d love to see it some time.”

  Maddie tried to remember if her roommate had ever mentioned a tour. “I don’t think so.”

  Annie tried to hide her disappointment. “Maybe some
day. I have a lot of other things to learn, I know that.” A slight frown creased her brow. “Last night my uncle asked me what I want for Christmas and when I told him he just looked at me as though I was crazy.”

  Maddie didn’t know if she should go there, but she wanted to know. “What did you want?”

  “A sewing machine.” She gave her head what could only be called a frustrated shake. “I have to be able to sew if I’m ever going to become a designer.”

  Maddie was surprised. She would have thought that Chase would be delighted to have the problem solved. “What did he say?”

  Annie thought for a moment. “He was going to say something, but then Cynthia came out with one of those phony laughs and said I couldn’t possibly want a sewing machine, that I’m far too young.” Tears started to well up in her eyes, and she brushed them back impatiently. “I’ll bet she doesn’t even know how to use one herself.”

  “Who is Cynthia? Your housekeeper?”

  “No. She’s my uncle’s girlfriend.” She stared into her chai. “She never pays any attention to me. How does she know whether I can use a sewing machine or not?” She shrugged, and the helpless gesture wrenched at Maddie’s heart. “Anyway, Uncle Chase said, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll come up with something’.” She sipped at the chai. “This is really good. Thank you.”

  Maddie took a moment to recover her aplomb. “Have you done any sewing before?”

  Annie nodded. “That’s what makes it so unfair. I know how to work one. We had a play at school, and I helped out with the costumes.” She made a funny face. “It was plain sewing. Nothing glamorous like the fashion show today, but I do know how a sewing machine runs. Mrs. Z. showed us what to do.”

  “Mrs Z.?”

  Annie giggled. “We call her Mrs. Z. because her last name is really long and hard to pronounce. But she sure knows how to sew.”

  “Sounds as if you like her.”

  Annie acknowledged the comment with a quick nod, and then looked out the window, her thoughts somewhere else. When she finally spoke her voice was low. “She sticks up for me when the other kids make fun of me and call me names.”

  Maddie couldn’t imagine why anyone would make fun of this delightful child, but then it had been a long time since she was in school. Things had changed a lot.

  “What do they say?”

  The child turned around, her eyes bright with tears. Maddie could see that she was fighting to hold herself together. “They call me Little Orphan Annie.” She very deliberately took a napkin from the dispenser, folded it once and dabbed at her eyes. “They say all I need is curly hair and I could be in the movies.”

  Maddie’s throat closed up as she thought of what the child must have endured.

  “I’m an orphan too.” She didn’t know where the words came from; they just popped out. She picked up her cup to cover her own confusion.

  “You are?” Annie looked at her as though she didn’t quite believe her ears.

  “Uh-huh. It was five years ago, so I was a lot older than you, but I don’t think it matters how old you are, it still hurts.”

  Annie nodded in agreement, her eyes locked on Maddie’s. “My father died about two years ago in an accident on an oil rig. He was what’s called a trouble-shooter.” She had both hands on her cup of chai and rotated it back and forth between her palms. “My mom died eight months and twelve days later. I saw that in the paper, and for some reason it stuck in my head.” She inhaled slowly. “The newspaper said that the cancer hit her so quickly she didn’t get a chance to grieve.” She looked up. “That doesn’t seem fair, does it?”

  Maddie could only shake her head.

  She was still sitting, staring into her cup, when Annie’s small hand covered hers. “I’m sorry I brought this up. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  Maddie raised her head and looked into the amazing eyes of this woman/child. Most of the adults she knew would have crumpled when faced with the amount of grief this young girl had endured, and yet here she was, doing the comforting.

  “I’m glad you told me,” she said with a soft smile. “Too many people refuse to acknowledge their grief, as though ignoring it will make it go away. They pack it up and shove it away in some dark corner, hoping that they never stumble on it again. But I think that’s wrong. I think you should remember your parents every day, and not be afraid to be sad when you think of them. You’ll always miss them, but in time it won’t hurt so much. One day, happy memories will come along, and eventually they will crowd out the unhappy ones.”

  Annie looked at her quietly for a moment, as though trying to memorize her face.

  “Can we be friends?” she asked finally.

  Maddie opened her arms, and the child walked into them. “Absolutely,” she said. She looked over Annie’s shoulder and saw Lily approaching. “And here comes number three.”

  Annie pulled back. “Number three?”

  “Yes. Lily’s here. We’ll be a gang of three friends.”

  Lily sat down with an exaggerated groan. She brought with her the fresh, crisp air of outside and her own personal scent, the ingredients of which she refused to divulge. “My feet are killing me.” She reached down and massaged her arches.

  “Shall I get you something?” Annie rose, eager to be of assistance.

  “That would be great,” Lily said. “I’d love some chai.”

  “That’s what I had!” Annie squealed her approval and dashed off to the counter.

  “You just made her day,” said Maddie, watching as Annie paid with a credit card. She brought the tea back, set it in front of Lily then turned to Maddie. “Did you tell Lily that she’s part of our gang?”

  Lily rolled her eyes. “Gang? What is this, West Side Story?”

  “No.” Maddie winked at Annie. “Just three girls supporting each other.” She changed the subject. “So how did the show go?”

  “There was a buyer in the audience from a boutique in Edmonton. I didn’t know she was there, that’s what took me so long.”

  “They don’t usually go to showings at retail outlets, do they?”

  “No, but apparently she was in town and heard about the show and as they say, the rest is history.” She paused. “She wants an exclusive for Edmonton, and I’m thinking about giving it to her. My product would be lost in among all the designers in the large stores, and this would be a great way to experiment, for both of us.”

  “Sounds like you’ve already decided.”

  “Yes, I suppose I have.” She reached for her purse and turned to Annie, who had been hanging onto every word. “I forgot to pay you for the chai.”

  “Oh, no. Please let it be my treat. Maddie paid for me.”

  Lily grinned and saluted with her cup. “In that case, thanks!” She closed her eyes and took a sip. “So, Annie. What got you interested in fashion?”

  The child thought for a moment. “I think it was when my parents used to go out for the evening. My mother always let me watch her get ready. She had a little makeup table in their bedroom with lights and everything. She’d sit there in her slip and put on her makeup and we’d talk about...oh, about everything. She always had her dress hanging up, and we’d decide what jewelry she was going to wear, and what shoes.” Her eyes took on a dreamy, far-away look. “My mom had a lot of her clothes made and she took me with her a few times when she went for fittings. I was just a kid then, and it seemed like a magical place to me, yet I understood what they were doing.”

  Lily touched Annie’s silky hair. “Did you get this beautiful hair from your mother? You can do anything with hair like this.”

  “Really? The kids at school make fun of it.”

  Lily gave an unladylike snort. “Well they would, wouldn’t they? They’re jealous, that’s all it is.” She pointed to her hair, which was anchored by the ever-present chopsticks. “Can you imagine the ribbing I took with this? They were always telling me I should put it in a pigtail. Either that or they were calling me a Chink. I was born in Vancouver Gen
eral Hospital for heaven’s sake.” She took a sip of chai. “People can be so stupid.”

  “Can I touch it?” Annie edged closer, obviously fascinated by this exotic creature who spoke her mind so bluntly.

  “Sure.” Lily reached up and pulled out the chopsticks. “As a matter of fact, it’s starting to feel heavy.” The mass of hair came free, and she rotated her neck, causing her hair to ripple down her back. “That feels so good,” she said, her voice low and throaty. “It feels almost as good as...well, hello there!”

  Maddie had seen Lily in just about every situation imaginable, but she’d never seen her react the way she did when Chase Drummond walked into the coffee shop. Lily Hsu, who was accustomed to commanding the attention of every man with a pulse, was looking at Chase as though she’d never seen a member of the opposite sex before.

  “Uncle Chase!” Unaware of the electric undercurrents zinging between her uncle and Lily, Annie jumped up, ran to him and threw her arms around his legs.

  Chase acknowledged his niece with a pat on the head, but he kept his gaze on Lily. A shaft of sunlight came through the window, creating dark blue highlights in her hair. For a moment, Maddie thought he was going to reach out and touch it, then he recovered.

  He tore his eyes away and nodded to Maddie. “I’m sorry you had to wait so long, but Marilyn did warn you, didn’t she?”

  “She did, yes. Please don’t apologize. I didn’t realize I’d have to see you personally to ask about a rental.” She looked at Annie. “We decided to wait here until you were free.”

  Annie tugged at his hand. “Sit down, Uncle Chase. Sit down.”

  “Oh no, I don’t think so.” He glanced at Lily. “Well, maybe for a minute.” He folded his tall frame into a chair. “So, it looks like you ladies are having a tea party.”

  “Can I get you something?” Annie jumped up again.

  “No, I don’t think so. I promised to take you out to lunch, remember?” He was looking at Lily as though he’d like to make a meal out of her. “We could all go together.” He shot a quick, questioning glance at Maddie before re-focusing his attention on Lily. “I don’t think we’ve met.”