Michael’s mother drew near and wrapped Michael in her arms. “Oh honey,” she spoke with tears in her eyes. “First of all, it’s wrong to get even with people, even if they really do hurt you. But in this case, you’re completely mistaken! The Hamptons are good people.”
“No, they’re not!” He looked at his mother like she was crazy.
“Oh Michael, there’s so much you don’t know about your grandpa. He was a good man, but in those last few months before he lost his job, he was already very sick. The Hamptons didn’t know it, of course. He didn’t want them to know.”
“What do you mean, Mom?”
“He told me he’d been falling asleep on the job. A lot. It was probably the medication he was on. I always suspected that, of course. And he never told the Hamptons he was on medicine for his weak heart, so they never knew. He didn’t want anyone to know.”
Geneva Hampton began to cry. “I always thought there was something more going on with Joe. He kept falling asleep on the job. But I didn’t realize he was on medication!”
“He was,” Maggie said. “And mighty strong medicine, at that.” She turned back to Michael to finish the story. “One night your grandpa fell asleep on the job. It had happened before, but this time a fire broke out in the area where the cows were kept.”
“I remember that night,” Uncle Ollie said, scratching his head. “It was a close call! The Hamptons could have lost all of their cows that night.”
“And it was your grandpa’s fault,” Maggie said softly to Michael.
Michael shook his head. “Why didn’t you ever tell me this? Why did you let me think…” He looked up at Mr. and Mrs. Hampton and shook his head. “I just thought they were being mean to him. Now I don’t know what to think.”
“I think we’re all confused and hurt,” Uncle Ollie said. “And when we’re hurt, we often do things we don’t mean to do. I once heard a pastor say, ‘Hurt people hurt people.’ And it’s so true.”
Mr. Hampton shook his head, looking more than a little upset. “Oh, I feel terrible! I wish I had known about Joe’s heart condition! We could have worked something out. Maybe cut back on his hours or something.”
“No, he was really too frail to be working, anyway,” Maggie said. “That’s why I tried to pick up so many extra hours at the diner. I figured the more money I made, the less he would have to worry about finances. We were doing okay, until…”
“Until he had the heart attack?” Uncle Ollie asked.
Maggie nodded. “Yes. Then I knew…” She began to cry and Kate reached over to wrap her arms around her. “That’s when I knew he would never work again. At that point, I just wanted to see him get better, to come back home.”
“We just wanted everything to be…normal,” Michael said, his eyes glistening with tears. “But then…”
“Well, we all know what happened next.” Maggie sniffled then wiped her nose with a tissue. “He went to be with Jesus. And, of course, he’s in heaven celebrating right now, but we still miss him so much.”
“Enough to do some really dumb things.” Michael kicked at a pile of snow with the toe of his tennis shoe. “I…I’m so sorry. I really thought you guys fired Gramps because…well, because you didn’t like him.”
“Oh no, honey!” Geneva Hampton wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “We loved your grandpa. And we were concerned about him. That’s really why we let him go. Though he never told us about his illness, we knew something was wrong and we decided the job was putting too much stress on him.”
“You did the right thing,” Maggie said. “It wounded his pride a little, but he needed the rest.”
Michael looked at Mr. Hampton with tears in his eyes. “Can you ever forgive me? I’m so sorry.”
“Of course we forgive you, Michael,” Mr. Hampton said. “It would be wrong to hold a grudge.”
“I’ll do everything I can to make this better,” Michael said with a hopeful look in his eye. “I know! I’ll come to work for you. You won’t have to pay me or anything. I’ll work in the factory every afternoon to make up for what I’ve done. And I’ll tell everyone I know to buy Mad River Valley cheese!”
Mr. Hampton laughed. “Well, we can always use the help, but you’re a little young to be working, aren’t you?”
Michael shook his head. “I’m turning fifteen in a week! I can have a job if my mom says so, right? I just want to make up for what I’ve done. I…I can’t believe I let my anger get control of me like that. Next time I’m going to wait till I have all of the facts before acting!”
“Great plan!” Mr. Hampton gave him a pat on the back. “Now, I have an idea! Geneva made a huge pot of cheddar cheese soup for the festival. It’s out in the car. Are you folks hungry?”
“Cheddar cheese soup?” Kate’s stomach rumbled, just thinking about it. Man, did that ever sound good!
She turned to Sydney with a smile on her face and whispered, “I can’t believe it! We were right! The creamery was being sabotaged!”
Just as quickly, she thought about the woman in the white coat and her husband. If Michael was the one who’d sabotaged the creamery, who were they…and what were they doing in Mad River Valley?
Christmas in Vermont
On the day after the big Winter Festival, Kate went to church with her family. She knew their time in Vermont was drawing to a close, and she wanted to enjoy every moment. She couldn’t have been more surprised to hear the preacher’s topic of the day: forgiveness. What a fun coincidence. Of course, Aunt Molly called it a God-incidence. Kate couldn’t help but agree!
A couple of times during the service, Kate looked at Maggie and Michael who sat in the row beside them. He really seemed to pay attention to the sermon. And she felt pretty sure he’d learned his lesson about forgiveness.
But, had she?
As soon as they arrived back at the inn, they all ate lunch together, then Aunt Molly and Kate’s mother washed the dishes. Sydney settled into a chair across from Uncle Ollie to talk about sports, and Kate…well, Kate had something specific on her mind. There was something she needed to do. Something she should have done days before.
Heading over to Uncle Ollie’s computer, she signed into her email account. Then, thinking carefully about each word, she began to type.
Dear Phillip,
I’m in Mad River Valley, Vermont, on Christmas vacation with my family. I’ve been working on my science project. It’s all about cheese! (Boy, have I learned a LOT!) I’m sure you’re hard at work on your project back in Philly or wherever you’re spending your vacation. Hope you’re having fun!
I just want you to know that I’m sorry if I ever did anything to make you feel like you’re not as smart as me. I think you’re so smart and should have told you so instead of always trying to make it look like I’m the best!
When you made fun of my project a few weeks ago, it hurt my feelings, but I have forgiven you. Will you forgive me for the mean things I was thinking about you since then? Please? When I get back to school, I’m going to ask Mrs. Mueller if we can work together on our next project. The Bible says that one can put a thousand to flight but two can put ten thousand to flight. That’s kind of a fancy way of saying we can do more if we work together!
I learned a lot about that this week in Vermont. I worked with my friend Sydney and together we accomplished great things. I can’t wait to tell you all about it! The rest of the school year is going to be better if we’re friends!
See you soon! Kate Oliver
She read over the email once or twice, then pressed the SEND button.
Just then, Kate heard her mother’s voice behind her. “What are you doing, honey? The others are waiting to open Christmas presents!”
“Oh, just taking care of something I should have done days ago.” Kate turned around and smiled at her mom, feeling contentment in her heart. “Forgiving someone. Or rather, letting that someone know I’ve forgiven him!”
“Wow. Well, I can think of no greater Christmas gift
than that. You know, honey, God is in the forgiving business. That’s why He sent His Son, Jesus, as a baby in a manger. He knew that we—His children—all needed a Savior.”
Kate nodded. “I know. But I’m glad you reminded me. I’ll never look at the baby in the manger the same again, Mom!”
In the next room, Kate heard voices raised in song. Aunt Molly warbled, “Deck the halls with boughs of holly” at the top of her lungs, and the others soon joined in.
“Come and join us, honey,” her mother said, extending her hand. “We’ve got some celebrating to do. And lots of presents to open!”
“Yes, we do!” Kate thought about all of the victories of the past week as she made her way into the great room, where flames lit the fireplace and her family members sang in several keys at once! In one week’s time she had solved a mystery, won a competition, and forgiven Phillip. That’s a lot, Lord!
Only one thing left to do…and oh, what fun it was going to be! Talk about a merry Christmas!
One by one the family members opened presents. Kate was tickled to get so many fun gifts—a hand-knitted scarf from Aunt Molly, a great journal from Sydney, and lots of cool things from her mom and dad. Even Dexter gave her a great present—a cool new digital recorder.
Finally the moment arrived…the one Kate had been waiting for. She watched as Sydney opened the gift she had so carefully wrapped. Everyone’s eyes nearly popped when they saw the three hundred dollars in cash inside.
“W–what?” Sydney looked at her, stunned. “What have you done, Kate?”
“It’s my Christmas gift to you!” she exclaimed. “The only reason I agreed to take your place in the competition was to help you go on your mission trip. Of course, I never dreamed I would actually win…but I did! It was a huge blessing for both of us! Don’t you see? Now you can go to Mexico.”
“B–but…I didn’t earn this money.” Sydney tried to hand it back to her. “You did.”
“No, the way I look at it, it’s really a miracle I made it from the top of the Rat to the bottom without falling on my face and embarrassing myself in front of hundreds of people! So, we’ll call that our miracle money. And I can think of no better way to spend my miracle money than on a mission trip!”
“A–are you sure?” Sydney stammered.
“Sure I’m sure! Take it. Go to Mexico. Have the time of your life.” Kate leaned over and whispered, “Just don’t have any big adventures without me, okay?”
“Okay! I’ll try!” Sydney giggled and hugged the gift tightly. “Oh, I don’t believe it! Can I call my mom? Would that be okay?”
“Of course, honey.” Aunt Molly pointed to the phone. “You go right ahead. But the rest of us still have presents to open.”
Sydney headed over to the phone to make the call. Kate could hear her squeals as she shared the story with her mother. Oh, how wonderful it felt…to be able to do something so fun for a friend!
Several minutes later, after everyone had opened all of the Christmas gifts, Kate heard singing at the door. At least, she thought it was singing. Sounded a little off-key to her!
“Sounds like carolers!” Uncle Ollie said.
He opened the door and Kate smiled as she saw Mr. and Mrs. Hampton outside, along with Michael and his mother. Together, the four of them sang “The First Noel” really, really loud. Oh, what a wonderful sound, to hear their voices raised in harmony! A little off-key, but harmony, just the same!
Thank You, God! Kate giggled. This is what happens when people forgive one another! You fix their broken relationships!
After they finished singing, Aunt Molly invited them inside. “You’re just in time!” she said. “We baked snickerdoodles and I’ve made wassail! Let’s celebrate together!”
“We have a lot to celebrate, don’t we?” Mr. Hampton said, smiling at Michael. “God has done such wondrous things this Christmas season. He’s brought us all closer together and given us plenty of reasons to look ahead to a bright new year!”
“Yes, He has,” Mrs. Hampton agreed with a twinkle in her eye.
They had all settled into chairs around the dining room table to eat cookies and drink wassail when Mr. Hampton cleared his throat to get the attention of everyone in the room. “I have some news,” he said, clasping his hands together.
Everyone looked his way. Kate could hardly wait to hear what he had to say. She hoped it was good news!
“Geneva and I are selling the creamery!” Mr. Hampton grinned from ear to ear.
“W–what?” Everyone spoke in unison.
“Are you kidding?” Uncle Ollie asked.
“Please say this is a joke!” Aunt Molly added. “We don’t want you to move away!”
“We’re not moving away,” he said. “I promise!”
“Oh Mr. Hampton…please don’t give up just because your sales are down right now,” Michael begged. “I’ll do anything…everything to help you get them up again.”
Mr. Hampton laughed. “No, you don’t understand. Geneva and I are ready to retire. And we have no children to pass the business to. God never blessed us with a son or a daughter. A wonderful couple from central Vermont has been talking with us about buying the place. In fact, I think you met them, girls. They were on the tour that day…”
“Abigail and Mark Collingsworth?” Kate stammered.
“Why, yes.” Geneva Hampton looked stunned. “How did you know their names? That’s amazing.”
“Oh, trust me,” Sydney said. “We know a lot more than that about them. They already own a creamery called Cheese De-Lite about fifty miles from here. They’re Mad River’s main competitors.”
“Not anymore!” Geneva Hampton laughed. “They’re moving their operation to Mad River Valley. From now on, there will be no Cheese De-Lite. But they will bring their signature cheese flavor with them…the low-fat version of cheddar.”
“Low-fat cheese?” Kate wrinkled her nose. “No wonder that man has such a sour look on his face. That doesn’t sound very yummy.”
“No, he had a sour look on his face because he really thought we had rats at the creamery,” Mrs. Hampton said with a laugh. “We had a hard time convincing him it wasn’t true! But now that he knows the real story, he’s made us an offer. And it’s a good one. So the next time you see him, he will be smiling, I’m sure!”
“Still, low-fat cheese?” Kate said. “Icky!”
“Hey, we have to cut back on our calories every way we can!” Sydney said. After a sheepish look, she added, “Well, at least I do, if I’m going to be a sports star!”
Kate sighed. “I guess I’d better cut back on calories too. Skiing was a lot of fun. You never know, I may end up liking sports too! Wouldn’t that be something!”
“I can hardly wait to tell the other Camp Club Girls!” Sydney laughed. “Can you imagine the look on Bailey’s face when she hears you won a skiing competition!”
“And what about McKenzie! She’s going to flip!” Kate chuckled just thinking about it. “I’m excited to tell Elizabeth. I know she’s been praying. I always feel better, knowing she’s praying.”
“Me too,” Sydney observed. “And I always feel better when I’m spending time with you. That’s why…” Her eyes filled with tears. “That’s why I’m so sad this week is almost over! We have to go home soon!”
“Let’s spend every minute together…having fun!” Kate said.
A few minutes later, Michael asked if he could speak to Kate in private. She sat next to him on the couch wondering why he had such an embarrassed look on his face.
“You know, I bragged a lot about how fast I am on the slopes,” he said. “Yes, you did,” Kate agreed. “But you are fast. I saw you with my own eyes.”
“Yes, but I saw you too! And you’re amazing, Kate! Really amazing.”
“You think so?” She felt her cheeks turn warm as an embarrassed feeling came over her.
“I know so.” He grinned. “Are you coming back to Mad River Valley next winter? If so, I’d better start practicing
now if I’m ever going to beat you.”
Kate laughed long and loud at that one. “How funny! A boy actually thinks I’m good at sports! That’s hysterical!” She giggled. “I don’t know if I’ll compete next year. I liked it more when I was skiing for fun. But I’m sure we’ll come back for a visit if Aunt Molly and Uncle Ollie invite us!”
“Oh, you’re always welcome!” Aunt Molly said, sweeping Kate into her arms. “Please come and see me as often as you like.”
“Yes, I feel sure there are lots of mysteries to solve in Mad River Valley,” Uncle Ollie said.
“Like who ate all the snickerdoodles when I wasn’t looking,” Maggie said, looking at Uncle Ollie.
“Or who put too much cheese in the fondue,” Michael threw in.
“Or who used my treadmill when I wasn’t looking!” Uncle Ollie added, looking at Sydney.
“Wasn’t me!” Aunt Molly proclaimed.
They all laughed at that one.
“It doesn’t matter where Kate goes, adventure always seems to follow,” her dad said. “She’s my little supersleuth!”
“I just love adventure!” Kate said. “Love, love, love it!”
She and Sydney spent the next few minutes telling everyone about some of the cases they had solved with the Camp Club Girls. On and on their stories went, filling the ears of everyone in the room.
When she finished, her dad looked at her, beaming with pride. “I’m so proud of you, Kate.”
“Here’s to Inspector Gadget!” Sydney raised her glass of wassail.
Seconds later, everyone joined her, offering up a toast to Kate. She felt all warm and tingly inside. Solving mysteries made her feel good from the top of her head to the bottom of her toes.
But what made her feel even better—much, much better, in fact—was forgiving Phillip. Perhaps that had been the greatest lesson of all this week. Never again would she hold a grudge. No, from now on she would forgive…quickly!
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Kate smiled as she whispered the words. Yes, from now on, she would always be quick to forgive!
Kate Page 21
