Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Laney
Everything is fine. I’m fine.
Maybe if I repeat the words enough, I’ll start to believe it. Fun fact: I don’t love being on a stage. Probably something I should have known about myself before I agreed to chair the Holly Jolly Jubilee. It’s just making lists and organizing people, Laney. That’s how she got me. Promises of lists and organization. Now, as she mingles through the crowd with a travel cup of muddled wine in her hand, I wonder how I can convince Ms. Linda to resume the duty of opening night emcee.
It isn’t as though I don’t want to greet everyone and kick off the season. I simply want to toss my cookies before I step up on that stage. How does Ryan do this for a living? It’s terrifying. I lift my hair off my neck, wishing I had dressed for the weather, not the occasion. But it’s officially the holiday season and I always wished to have one of those moments like in a movie. Beautiful red coat with the perfectly adjusted cap on my head, smiling at the crowd as I wish them good tidings and encourage them to take part in the activities over the next two weeks.
I skipped the coat because, while it’s cooler than it was a week ago, Alabama isn’t known for brisk evenings. That didn’t stop me from wearing the cap and a long-sleeved holiday themed shirt. Honey weaves through the townspeople, a huge smile on her face as she approaches.
“Ohmygosh, you look adorable! I love your shirt.” I accept her hug and admire the flashing antler headband she’s wearing. “Why are llamas so funny?”
I shrug and take a sip of water from my cup, wishing it was wine. “I don’t know but it’s like I can’t help myself. I see a llama and I have to have. Add in a pun and well... you have this. Look at these earrings.”
My friend squeals, drawing looks from the people closest to us. I can’t shame her enthusiasm. When I saw the dangling little llamas wearing Santa caps, I couldn’t resist. If Honey thinks this outfit is cute, wait until she sees the matching shirts I have for me and Steve to wear during caroling. See, I’m over the moon excited for the Jubilee. I just don’t want to stand on the stage. And talk.
“Laney, everything looks fantastic. Your vision really came to life.”
Her praise quiets my nerves slightly. “Thank you. I only wanted to add a little vibrancy and modern twists. Though I couldn’t help myself with the tree.”
“Having the elementary school students create the ornaments was genius. Lemon said the kids loved doing it and can’t wait to visit the tree to find their contribution.”
I look around at the crowd, trying to see the minor changes of the Jubilee decorations through the town’s eyes. Streetlamps are adorned with traditional green garland accented with red and gold. Magnolia Park is lit up with bright lights woven through the trees. Our committee made sure to keep the candy canes along the walking path, but Dean Sullivan had his crew reinforce them and add bright reflective paint making them more visible at night.
Having a friend who is also a wedding planner made securing a large tent for the various activities to be held a lot easier than I expected. Lucy was beside herself when she realized the plan was to use those pop-up things people have at yard sales and the farmer’s market. It was one tradition I gladly took off the list.
My eyes continue to take in the decorations and I’m proud of what we’ve done. Seeing it all come together and the happiness on people’s faces makes up for the sleepless nights and random stress pimples I dealt with these last few months.
“Mimi wanted me to make sure you know the ladies have rallied and Ryan shouldn’t have any problems.”
I turn to face Honey and smile. “Thank you for being there when he met with them.”
“Of course. I have to say, Ryan is not what I expected.”
Interesting. “How so?”
Honey lifts her shoulder in response while waving at Rae Lynn and Dean. “I don’t know. I guess I thought he’d be kind of full of himself.” A laugh bubbles out of me. “Oh hush. I didn’t say he is full of himself. Quite the opposite. He’s pretty down to earth. No wonder you like him.”
My eyes widen at her flippant comment. I swivel my head so quickly to see if anyone
heard her, my glasses slide down my nose. Pushing them up, I look back to my friend who is unabashedly smirking. Of course, I called her after spending time with Ryan the other night. Did I also swoon as I told her about kissing him? Yes, I did. Girl code requires she keep this information to herself.
“Shhh,” I admonish.
“Relax. Nobody is paying us any attention. Besides, you do like him. It’s a good thing, Laney. And watching him with his little girl? Girl, I felt my ovaries threatening to explode. Poor JD. I went straight home and brought up babies.”
“You are too much. But I know what you mean. Pepper is the sweetest and he’s so patient with her. And Mimi and Mrs. Jinny? They weren’t too overbearing?”
Honey waves me off. “You know them. Of course they came on a little strong but in a loving way. Mimi made sure he understood how much power their group holds.”
“You know,” I begin before looking around one more time, “until now I didn’t realize how much an outsider might think we’re speaking about the mafia.”
Honey shrugs. “I mean, they kind of are like their own little underground society. I still think they have meetings we know nothing about, and if we let them, they could rule the world.”
“It’s so weird to think about that but I have to agree. Not to change the subject but, do you think Mattie would consider taking my place tonight?”
A deep voice from behind me causes us both to jump. “Not a chance.”
Hand to my chest I spin and glare at the man himself. “Why not?”
Emma, Zoey, and Mattie’s brother, Jayson, gather around us laughing. “Why? You’re the one who let Ms. Linda talk you into this madness. I have to give you credit, Laney, changing the theme of the tree was pretty ballsy.”
Jayson chuckles as I shoot him a glare. Before I can respond, Wade and Lemon join our group. I accept the compliments on the first event of the Jubilee. This is why I love Magnolia Grove. Even when I’m freaking out internally about having to greet all these people, my friends make it all disappear.
As a group, we stand around talking a little longer, folks stopping to say hello and offer holiday greetings. The music playlist I put together blasts from the speakers and people sing along to the familiar tunes, some couples dancing. I’m laughing at a story Wren and Decker share about his grandpa, Vernon, when something pushes on my legs, causing me to lose balance. I look down and smile at the familiar little girl wearing pink glasses and a matching Santa hat. Pepper is smiling up at me, her eyes bright as the lights strung all around the stage.
I look around for Ryan but don’t see him among the masses. It’s not like him to not be near Pepper, but it is pretty crowded so possible they were separated. I squat down eye level with my little friend.
“Hey cutie. Where’s your daddy?”
She shrugs and leans into me, her mouth near my ear. “He got lost.”
I lean back and look at her, my heart swelling triple its size at the sound of her sweet voice. I try my best to school my expression, trying not to look like I’m freaking out. This is a special moment. Something I know most don’t get with Pepper.
The opening chords of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” blast from the speakers and Honey taps me on the shoulder. “That’s your cue, Laney.” Like I don’t know.
Before I can start my internal freak out again, I watch as Honey and Pepper share a fist bump. Then to my surprise, Boone and Dolly turn their attention to my little neighbor and another fist bump is exchanged between the rodeo king and the girl dressed in pink. Okay then. I guess my neighbors have been busy the last few days making friends.
Ms. Linda waves her hands frantically from the bottom of the steps leading to the stage. Groaning but with a wide smile on my face, I wave her off and scan the crowd again, looking for Ryan. I can’t just leave Pepper here even if she’s clearly made friends with Honey and Boone. The song begins to fade, and Mayor Harrington steps up to the microphone.
Honey catches my eye, her brow raised. I give her a silent “I have no idea where Ryan is” look while Pepper grabs my hand, swinging it back and forth as she does a little dance.
“I’ll keep her while you go emcee,” Honey offers.
There’s no reason for me to hesitate leaving the little girl with my friend. They know one another and I trust Honey. But her well-being feels like my responsibility. Instead, I look down and ask, “Pepper, do you want to help me light the Christmas tree?”
Her eyes go wide, almost the size of the lenses of her glasses. Her little mouth forms an “O” and she nods enthusiastically, curls bouncing beneath the pink hat.
The crowd separates as we move toward the stage, and I can hear the mayor stalling as he searches for me. This is not an ideal way to kick off my first Jubilee, but here we are. I slow and scoop up Pepper, her little arms wrapping around my neck as we rush to the stairs. Relief washes across the mayor’s face as I step up beside him.
“And we have this woman to thank for tonight’s festivities and all that is to come over the next few weeks. Laney Whitfield is a third generation Magnolia Grove resident, and we are honored to have her as the new chairperson of the Magnolia Grove Holly Jolly Jubilee.”
Mayor Harrington steps aside, his smile wide as he motions me toward the microphone. Shifting to adjust my hold on Pepper, I feel less stressed than I did a bit ago. I’m no longer looking for a bucket in case the nervous stomach comes back and I’m grateful to have this little girl in my arms, distracting me.
“Hello everyone.” The crowd says hello back which makes me laugh. Movement to the right of the stage catches my attention and I spot Ryan weaving through the rows of people. My heart drops at the look on his face. Fear is the word that comes to mind. He must be terrified that something happened to Pepper.
My eyes fly to my group of friends, a few stop talking and look at me and follow my line of sight to where Ryan is. Mattie nods and takes off in that direction.
“Thank you all for being here. I’m honored to be the current chairperson of the Jubilee. I wanted to say a huge thank you to Ms. Linda and the men and women who worked alongside her to establish such an amazing tradition. We have a fun schedule of events for this season, and I hope you’ll stick around for them all.”
I pause, watching as Mattie reaches Ryan and points toward the stage. Relief washes across his face and his body folds forward. That poor man.
Turning my attention back to the task at hand, I continue with my off-the-cuff speech. Oh yeah, I also didn’t plan on what to say. “As a special treat this year, we’ll be ending the Jubilee with a dinner and live music. All proceeds from the ticket sales and silent auction will go to the library. Make sure you grab your tickets on the Holly Jolly Jubilee website. Now, with all the business-y stuff out of the way, it’s time for my favorite moment of the entire Jubilee.”
People begin whistling and cheering. Ryan has made his way to our group of friends, and I feel better, knowing he’s with people who will make sure he knows Pepper found me.
“Growing up in Magnolia Grove, I looked forward to the tree lighting every year. Tonight, you’ll see the decorations are a little different than in years past. The children of Magnolia Grove Elementary handmade ornaments that adorn the limbs.”
Another bout of applause.
“I’ve brought a friend with me to help push this big button here,” I say, motioning toward the stand with a ridiculously large button balanced on top. Dean and I have practiced pushing this fake button while he actually flips the switch for the tree’s lights. We’ll just call it Christmas magic.
“How about we all count down from five?” I say into the mic before moving to the button.
“Ready to push that button?” I ask Pepper.
With complete seriousness on her face, she nods her head. When the countdown is complete, we both place our hands on the button and the twelve-foot tree comes to life. It’s a beautiful sight, and the entire crowd erupts into cheers, but it’s the sweet voice in my ear that has my attention.
“Wow. It’s pretty.”
I blink quickly, not willing to let the emotions bubbling inside me make an appearance. Instead, I hustle down the steps where Ryan is waiting to greet us.
“Violet Joy, don’t you ever run off like that again.”
Pepper drops her head shamefully. Me? I ask, “Who’s Violet Joy?”