by Nancy Thayer
“Look.”
Above them, the clouds were fading from the night sky. Stars came out, twinkling in the dark. Across the harbor, no lights shone—most houses along the harbor front were summer houses. Behind them, the lights of town beamed, but right here at this point, the sky and water were dark.
Then, through the darkness, came the Hy-Line ferry, moving smoothly, even regally, through the waters. From the many passenger windows and the pilothouse, dozens of lights shone, the nautical lights and the colorful Christmas lights strung around the boat. For a few moments, it was as if creatures made of light were headed toward them, and then the ferry moved closer, its engines rumbling as it slowed down for harbor waters, and the lights became brighter, and through the foggy windows shapes and colors moved as people gathered their belongings and got ready to disembark. Soon the large ship was beside the lighthouse and it seemed as big as a castle. Slowly, it turned toward the docking area and slid away.
“That was breathtaking,” Andy said.
Christina stepped closer to him, leaning into him as he put his arm around her. “I know. We seldom take the time to watch the ferries arrive in the dark. It happens every day, but if you’re here at the right time, it’s kind of mysterious, isn’t it? Kind of magical.”
“You’re kind of magical,” Andy said, and bent his face to hers and kissed her.
Christina stood on her tiptoes to reach his mouth. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Andy cupped his hand on the back of her head and gently pressed her to him. They kissed for a long time, leaning into each other, and while Christina was sexually aroused—she’d take off her clothes and let him have her right here on the cold sand if he asked her—she was also aware of a sense of promise in their kiss, a silent pledge for their future.
When they stepped back from one another, Christina felt the magical glow had entered her heart. “There are so many places on the island I’d love to show you.”
“And I want to see them all. With you. But I do have a problem.”
Her heart lurched. That kiss had been so serious. Andy had meant something with that kiss. And now he was going to tear apart the lovely spell they were in? Her voice cracked when she said, “Okay. Tell me.”
“My feet are freezing. Could we please go back to our shoes?”
Christina burst out laughing. “Of course! But first I want to show you one more thing.”
Taking him by the hand, she pulled him around the corner of Brant Point and gestured up toward the fat little Brant Point lighthouse. “The Coast Guard hangs this every year. It takes several men to secure it.”
“That’s the biggest Christmas wreath I’ve ever seen,” Andy said.
“You’ve got your tree at Rockefeller Center, we’ve got our Christmas wreath,” Christina joked.
“It’s beautiful,” Andy said. “And I can no longer feel my toes.”
Christina laughed again. “I’ll race you to the car.”
They reached her car and perched on the edge of the seats to brush the sand off their feet. They put on their shoes, settled in the car, and Christina punched the ignition, turning the heat to high.
They looked at each other and smiled and couldn’t look away.
Andy took her hand. “I have to go to New York for business tomorrow. I’ll be gone two or three days. I’d like to see you when I get back to the island.”
Christina smiled. “Call me when you know your flight number. I’ll pick you up at the airport. Unless you want to come on the ferry at night.”
“I’ll call you either way.” Andy took a deep breath. “Christina, I really like you. It’s probably a good thing I’m going away. You and I need to catch our breath. I don’t want to, but I’m old enough now to understand I shouldn’t go all adolescent over you.”
Christina laughed. “Oh, please go all adolescent over me!”
In response, he pulled her to him and kissed her for a long time. When he released her, he said, “Consider that a sample.”
She looked away, not wanting him to see how very much he moved her, how his kiss had meant more than she’d ever experienced, how euphoric she felt—and how vulnerable. Andy was, after all, Oscar Bittlesman’s son. He lived in New York, he had money, he could have any woman he wanted, and he probably intended to marry a woman of his own set, a wealthy woman who owned diamonds and would run international charities and use nannies for her children. A woman who was a model, like the exotically beautiful Anastasiya Belousova.
Christina had never felt more serious about a man in her life, and she’d never believed so surely that she was headed for heartbreak.
“Christina? Are you okay?”
She turned to face him. She softly ran her fingertips along the side of his face, and then, tenderly, over his lips.
“I’m fine, Andy. More than fine. But I should go home. I’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”
“Of course.”
At her house, Andy walked her to the front door. He bent to kiss her sweetly, briefly, politely.
“I’ll call you from New York. As often as I can.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Christina woke early with a smile on her face.
“Oh, stop it!” she ordered her bewitched brain. “No thinking about Andy Bittlesman today. You have work to do.”
She threw back the covers, which accidentally landed on Mittens, causing the poor cat to jump two feet in the air.
“I’m sorry, Mittens,” Christina said. She took a few minutes to cuddle her cat, who had been ignored recently and also shut in the kitchen during the day so she couldn’t smack all the ornaments off the Christmas tree.
She showered, dressed, ate a bowl of hot oatmeal, and filled her go-cup with coffee. She checked the weather report on her phone. No snow predicted, but no rain, either. She wheeled her bike from the garage and headed into town.
Business was brisk and Christina was in a great mood when she went to Mimi’s to have lunch with the others.
She was surprised, once she settled in the back room, at the way everyone was staring at her expectantly.
“What have I done?” she asked, unwrapping her peanut butter and jelly sandwich, her fastest, easiest lunch sandwich, which would be her standby until after Christmas.
“That’s what we want to know!” Harriet snapped. “You had a date with Andy Bittlesman last night.”
“What Harriet would like to know, as would we all,” Mimi softly refereed, “is whether you were able to convince him to keep his father from raising the rents.”
For a moment, Christina couldn’t speak. Literally. The peanut butter was sticking her mouth shut. She took the moment to consider her answer.
“We didn’t talk about his father or the rent hikes,” Christina admitted. “It simply wasn’t the right time.”
“What, you can’t talk about money at your house?” Harriet demanded.
Christina’s jaw dropped. “Wait. What? How did you know where we ate?”
“Oh, come on, Christina. It’s a small town. Andy Bittlesman is big gossip. Word gets around.”
Christina waited to hear whether or not someone saw them kissing at Brant Point. But it was Jacob who spoke up.
“Christina, please forgive us for prying into your affairs. But you know we’re all worried about that rent hike. I think we’re more anxious than usual.”
Jacob was such a sweet, courteous man. Christina felt awful, as if she had failed him, and the others, by not pushing about the rent hike.
“I know you are,” Christina said. “I am, too. I’m just trying to be diplomatic about it.”
“We don’t have much more time, you know,” Mimi said. “It’s the middle of December. After Christmas, we’ll have a brief rush when people spend their Christmas money, and then January will be a vast frozen wasteland.”
“And the lights will be off in our shops,” Harriet said bitterly.
“I’ve been talking with a real estate dealer, a friend of mine,” Jacob said. “I was hoping to find someplace else in town where we could have our shops. So far, nothing. This island is becoming so popular, every square inch of space in the town is priceless.”
Mimi started to cry. “I’ve had my shop here for thirty years!”
“You,” Harriet almost snarled at Christina, “will probably marry the rich guy and forget all about us.”
Christina was shocked. Harriet and Jacob were desperate, and beloved Mimi was crying. Really, what had she been thinking? She hadn’t been thinking, she’d been caught up in a dream world where she could marry the man she loved. The truth was she was a shopkeeper, only able to run her shop because she’d inherited a house on the island and didn’t have to pay rent or mortgage. Andy was like a glamorous fantasy, but of course they wouldn’t last, while Mimi, Jacob, and even Harriet had been her buddies for years. She wouldn’t desert them.
“I’m sorry I disappointed you all,” she said. “I’m worried, too. Here’s what I’ll do. I’m going to call and ask for a private appointment with Oscar Bittlesman. I’ll state my case logically, and I’ll present it as fiercely and firmly as I can. I’ll let you know what happens.”
Mimi began to hum the theme song from Rocky.
Harriet raised her two arms in the air. “Go, Christina! You’re our hero.”
Jacob said, “She’s our heroine.”
Christina smiled and said, “You all had better wait and see.”
* * *
—
Wink arrived at the shop for her “job” at exactly one o’clock. Several customers had asked to have their purchases gift wrapped, and after Christina showed Wink how to wrap the presents neatly, Wink tucked into a space in the corner and worked away. She was tidy and careful and efficient.
When the shop was empty, Christina told Wink about the Christmas movies coming to the Dreamland. As they moved around setting the shelves in order, they felt the wind rise. Waves sloshed around beneath the wharf and even with the space heater, the interior of the shop was chilly.
Just before dark, Wink raced over to the public restroom on the north side of the wharf.
“Christina, I almost fell into the harbor!” Wink announced as she returned to the shop. “The bathroom door is so close to the water.”
Christina knelt and wrapped her arms around Wink. “Oh, dear, are you all right?”
“Oh, I’m okay. I just got scared.”
“The other shopkeepers and I have to have that changed. Maybe we can concentrate on that after the first of the year.” Christina started to say more—she started to say, Tell your grandfather that you almost fell into the water! That might make him understand Christina’s point of view—true, their sheds were quaint, but the facilities needed improving. But she knew it wouldn’t be right to use Wink as a pawn in her battle with Oscar.
A mother and daughter entered the shop just then, and Christina and Wink went back to work. At four, Wink skipped down to Main Street where Janice was waiting to drive her home.
Light faded from the sky. Fewer people came into Christina’s shop. It was bitterly cold outside. Christina was determined to stay open until six, because she usually had a few customers who raced in, bought something at the end of the day, and raced away. But now, for the few minutes she was alone, she decided to make a phone call.
She found the landline number in the phone book. She dialed.
A woman answered, very formally. “Bittlesman residence.”
“Hi, Janice. It’s me, Christina. Could I speak with Mr. Bittlesman, please?”
“Oh, honey, he left the island this morning.”
“Oh! No, wait, I mean old Mr. Bittlesman. Oh, dear, don’t tell him I said old. I meant Mr. Bittlesman senior.”
“I’ll see if he’s available. Hold on, please.”
Christina waited patiently, and finally Oscar’s strong and crusty voice came on the line.
“Hello, Christina. I didn’t expect to hear from you again.”
“Oscar, Mr. Bittlesman, could I come talk with you some day soon? I won’t take much of your time.” She hated herself for her ingratiating tone. She wasn’t a child and he wasn’t the elementary school principal. But her responsibility to the other Shedders and her need to keep her shop open gave her courage.
Oscar was quiet for such a long time, Christina wondered if he’d fallen asleep.
“Day after tomorrow!” he barked. “Six o’clock. My house. We’ll have a drink.”
“Wonderful! I’ll be there.”
* * *
—
At lunch the next day, as they gathered in Mimi’s back room, Christina told them about her plan.
“Well done!” Mimi said.
“Wait, I haven’t done anything yet.”
“You absolutely have! Bearding the lion in his den! Talking to him man-to-man instead of using your friendship with Wink or with Andy to support you. Don’t try to sugarcoat it. Tell him in no uncertain terms a ten percent raise is not acceptable.”
“And don’t wear that!” Harriet cut in.
Christina blinked, surprised at Harriet’s bossy tone. She looked down at her outfit. Corduroy trousers tucked into Ugg boots, a red sweater, a bright green inexpensive shell necklace she sold in the store.
“Why not?” Christina asked. “I look Christmasy.”
“You look cute. You need to look businesslike. You need to seem totally grown up.”
Mimi nodded. “Harriet’s right. You’ve got to be large and in charge.”
“Maybe one of you should come with me. Maybe you, Harriet. You’re more this type.”
Harriet actually blushed. “No, thank you. I’d just be a distraction.”
“Fine,” Christina said. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”
* * *
—
That night she did everything she could to keep herself calm, to not dwell on what to wear tomorrow night, what to say. She built a fire, made hot cocoa with a marshmallow in it, and put on some low-key Christmas music. If she let herself think about it, she was sorry she had to face Oscar Bittlesman alone. Really, the other three Shedders should go with her. A group of four would be more persuasive than one.
Her phone buzzed. Christina’s heart leapt.
It was Andy.
“How was your day?” she asked.
“Endless. Boring. Nerve-wracking. There are times when I think my colleagues are being obtuse just to drive me mad.”
Christina laughed. “My colleague is much nicer. She’s funny and quick and loves her work.”
Andy chuckled. “She’s very happy there. She really likes Dora. They’re having a sleepover next Saturday night. Before that, Dora’s mom is taking the girls to the ice skating rink. And Sunday, they’re going to the high school pool for open swim time.”
“Lucky girl. And that reminds me, the Theatre Workshop of Nantucket is running Miracle on 34th Street. We might want to go and take Wink.”
“Or we might want Delia to take Wink, and you and I could see a grown-up play.”
Christina laughed. “Actually, I love Miracle on 34th Street. But I’ll check and see what’s on at the White Heron. Oh! Dreamland Theater is streaming a live production of the Bolshoi Ballet doing The Nutcracker. One afternoon only.”
Andy paused. “Mmm, you know I can see ballet live, here in the city. Some opera, too.”
Defensively, Christina said, “It’s true, we don’t have the cultural variety you have in the city, but we have things on the island that make up for that.”
“Sorry, Christina, I didn’t mean to sound like a jerk.”
“I know you didn’t. I know better than anyone how quiet it gets here in the winte
r. But somehow we’ve all found our own special pleasures—book clubs, bridge, visiting lecturers…Oh! I almost forgot. I’m invited for a drink at your father’s house tomorrow night.”
“Get out of town.”
“It’s true. I called and asked to meet him and we’re set for tomorrow evening. Drinks. At his house.”
“Good luck,” Andy said.
“Thank you. I know I’ll need it.”
“You’ve seen the man in his civil persona. You’re about to meet him as his true self, a businessman with no heart of gold. I would be amazed if he changed his mind.”
“I’d hate myself if I didn’t try,” Christina told him.
“Whatever happens, will you call me afterward and tell me about it?”
“Of course, if you want me to.”
“I want you to. And, Christina, remember: I’m on your side.”
“Thank you, Andy. That means a lot to me.”
“You mean a lot to me,” Andy told her.
* * *
—
Christina fell asleep with stars in her eyes after her conversation with Andy, but she woke with butterflies in her stomach, thinking of Oscar. She took a long time getting dressed, wanting to look warm and welcoming to her customers, but businesslike and competent to Oscar.
Her morning in the shop flew by. Snow was forecast for the next day, and people were rushing around buying presents now while the streets were dry.
At noon, she headed down the wharf for lunch at Mimi’s. The other three were already there.
“We shouldn’t stay long,” Jacob said. “Today’s a good shopping day and we don’t want to lose customers.”
“We don’t have to stay at all,” Christina said. “I’ve often eaten my lunch while working.” She hadn’t taken off her gloves, so she waved and turned to go.
“Wait, Christina!” Mimi called. “Wait a moment. We can take a few minutes. Sit down. All of you, sit down.”
