Chapter Eleven
Daphne and Luke had picked Prospect at Hotel Jerome for Christmas dinner.
The moment Caroline walked through the wooden doors of the hotel, she knew it was perfect. It was like stepping into the library of a century-old mansion. The walls were lined with bookshelves and filled with leather-bound books. Hand-stitched armchairs faced a fireplace and there were framed photos of Aspen during the silver rush.
Caroline entered the restaurant and saw Daphne and Luke sitting at a table near the window. Luke wore a red blazer with a shirt and tie. Daphne was glamorous in a red sequined evening gown. Her hair was scooped into a knot with blond ringlets framing her face.
“You look stunning,” Caroline said, giving Daphne a hug.
“Mom loved dressing up at Christmas, and she always wanted us to wear red.”
Every Christmas when they were children, Anne would take them to Macy’s to buy red Christmas dresses. And she adored dressing up for Christmas dinner. She said it was like preparing for the ballet or opera. It made the meal so festive, even if it was just the three of them and Walter when he was alive, eating at the cabin.
Caroline ordered a Silver Queen cocktail and they chose a four-course Christmas tasting menu.
“We had the best day,” Daphne gushed after the waiter brought the first course—seared scallops and a celery root soup. “The dogsled ride took us to the foot of the Maroon Bells mountains. The snow had fresh footprints of squirrels and it was so quiet.” She sighed happily. “Luke and I decided that next time we come to Aspen, we’ll bring Truffles. She would have loved to run in the snow with the other dogs.
“We saw a herd of elk and some moose. Afterward we went back to the inn and listened to the carolers. They were having Teddy Bear Story Hour at the same time. It was so sweet. The children are given teddy bears to hold while someone reads ‘The Night Before Christmas.’”
Caroline was going to tell them about Nick and his novel, but Daphne kept talking.
“We’re crazy about Aspen. Luke is thinking of opening another restaurant here. Similar to the one in Hudson, but with fish caught in mountain streams and locally grown, organic meats.”
“Luke can’t be in two places at once,” Caroline said in alarm.
It was bad enough if Daphne worked in Boston and Luke was in Hudson. Their marriage might not survive if he had to spend time in Colorado too.
“He wouldn’t be doing it alone,” Daphne said. “I’d quit the PR company and we’d run the restaurants together.”
Caroline put down her soup spoon. “You can’t do that! You just moved to Boston, and you love your job.”
“Public relations is about selling something. Why should I work on other people’s projects when I can work on our own?” Daphne smiled at Luke. “It will be more fun if it’s ours.”
“I told Daphne we’ll have to be cautious,” Luke cut in. “She’d be great in the restaurant business. Her ideas are so creative and people love her.”
Daphne had that stubborn look again. She was furiously cutting her scallops. Caroline knew she should back down, but she couldn’t help herself.
“You should slow down. You’re not married yet.”
Daphne’s mouth formed a small pout. “It’s Christmas and you’re acting like the Grinch. You never change. When I was in college, you told me not to take a summer abroad. You wanted me to get an internship instead, so I’d have a job when I graduated. After college, when the company I worked for wanted to send me to Australia, you told me not to do it. I’d be far away from the action, and I’d never get promoted.
“It’s time to start doing the things I want to.” Daphne ate a bite of scallop. “I don’t want to die without having lived.”
Caroline was silent. Luke was about to say something, but Daphne jumped up.
“Excuse me, I’m going to the restroom.”
Caroline waited until Daphne left. She turned to Luke.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interfere.”
Luke offered a small smile. “She’s your sister, you want her to be happy.”
Caroline debated whether she should be honest with Luke about her fears. Daphne would be furious, but Caroline might not get another chance to talk to him.
“Daphne can sound like a dreamer, but she’s really smart and grounded,” Caroline began. “The engagement is so sudden. I wonder if…”
“She’s reacting to your mother’s death.” Luke finished the sentence for her.
Caroline flushed. “You’re a great guy, it’s just all happening so fast.”
Caroline wondered if Luke was going to agree with her. He’d tell Daphne they should postpone the wedding until spring. Daphne could settle into her job in Boston, and Luke would have more time to devote to the restaurant.
He took a sip of his cocktail.
“Before I met Daphne, I never thought about marriage,” he said slowly. “But the first hour of talking to Daphne on the beach, that changed. If we don’t get married in Aspen now, I’ll be waiting until the day we do. I love Daphne and I want to be with her.”
Caroline finished her Silver Queen.
Luke really was a good guy.
“I believe you.” She stood up. “I better go talk to her.”
Daphne was sitting on a velvet stool in the powder room. A box of tissues lay on the dressing table.
“I’m sorry if I made you upset,” Caroline apologized.
“You could have waited until after dinner.” Daphne balled up a tissue. “I’m so embarrassed, Luke will think all we do is fight.”
“That’s not true,” Caroline said. “He knows how much we care about each other.”
Daphne turned from the mirror. Her blue eyes were bright.
“I always thought you and Mom knew more than me. I remember when we were teenagers and Walter’s mother gave us Christmas money. We were each going to buy a pair of shoes. I wanted yellow ones with bows. You told me not to get them, they wouldn’t go with anything. So, I bought a pair of boring white ones instead. They sat in my closet for a year, I never put them on.”
“Getting married isn’t like buying shoes, it’s forever.”
“And I always listened to Mom.” Daphne ignored her. “Mom said that nothing was more important than being independent and having careers. It was easy for you, you loved books. I don’t feel the same about public relations. It’s fun and I like to travel, but it isn’t my whole life.”
Daphne was right. Caroline had never considered doing anything else. But Daphne fell into public relations. A friend knew someone at a PR company and recommended Daphne for the job.
“I’m worried that you’re acting hastily because Mom died.” Caroline tried to steer the conversation.
“I would want to marry Luke no matter what,” Daphne snapped. “You’ll never know what I’m talking about because you keep yourself all closed up.” She narrowed her eyes. “I dare you to break your one-month rule.”
Caroline’s mouth dropped open. That was impossible. She’d lived by those rules for years. And now that she was in danger of losing her job, she had to focus on her career.
“I can’t.” She shook her head. “I’m going through a rough patch at work.”
“You’d be surprised how energized you feel when you’re in love,” Daphne challenged. “Mom was brave, for the way she fought cancer. It’s time you were brave too.”
The spring after Anne had been diagnosed, she almost never stopped working. She took on three new authors, and spent endless hours editing their books. Caroline thought she rested on the weekends, but when she drove up to the cabin one Saturday, Anne was planting flowers in the garden. It was only later that Caroline realized what she was doing. It was Anne’s way of believing she’d be around the following year. She had to stay alive to see the books get published, and to see the flowers bloom.
Caroline was brave, that’s why she was determined to take care of herself.
Daphne took her lipstick out of her purse. “Have a real relationship with the next man you’re interested in, and I’ll never say anything again.”
Caroline thought about Max. The attraction was there, but she’d been checking her phone all day, and he hadn’t called or texted. Besides, he lived in Aspen and she was in New York.
But Caroline had never backed down from a challenge. And if she agreed to Daphne’s challenge, it would end their recent bickering.
“There’s Max, but he lives in Aspen. I’m going back to New York.”
“Max is definitely cute, and lots of relationships start long distance,” Daphne said.
“All right, I accept your dare. As long as you don’t take offense if I question your relationship with Luke.”
A smile played across Daphne’s face. She was her light, bubbly self.
“You can have all the doubts you want, it’s not going to change the way I feel.”
Even if Caroline couldn’t stop Daphne and Luke from getting married, she could at least convince Daphne not to quit her job.
Daphne smiled mischievously.
“You have to get rid of your other rules.” Daphne counted on her fingers. “Not letting him see your place, and not staying at his for your morning coffee. Oh, and you have to let him leave a toothbrush in your bathroom. You’re going to be a normal woman who’s open to love and finding the right man.”
It was Christmas, and she was stuck in Aspen until she met Anne’s lover at Santa’s Little Red Mailbox on New Year’s Eve.
Caroline held out her hand. “All right, you have a deal.”
They went back to their table and joined Luke. The entrees were venison and homemade pasta and grilled trout. For side dishes, there were pureed vegetables and baked potatoes. The desserts were delicious—roasted hazelnuts with whipped cream, pecan pie, a custard fruit tart. Caroline couldn’t resist trying each one.
After dinner, they returned to the inn and exchanged presents. Luke gave Daphne a charm bracelet with charms of the places he wanted to go together. Daphne gave him a pair of suede boots and a book of the best restaurants in New England.
Daphne presented Caroline with a small box wrapped in silver paper. Inside was a miniature grandfather clock. It was painted white with yellow and red flowers.
Caroline gasped. It was almost the same as the clock Caroline had received as a child.
“I know it’s silly, people don’t use clocks anymore,” Daphne said, pleased at Caroline’s reaction. “I found it in the gift shop next to Santa’s Little Red Mailbox. They have all sorts of things. I wonder if Mom shopped there when she was here.”
Anne had loved to explore local shops when she traveled. She always brought something back for Caroline and Daphne. Hand-carved nutcrackers when she attended the Frankfurt Book Fair, flamenco skirts from a book tour of Spain.
Caroline gave Daphne and Luke the presents she had bought the first morning she was in Aspen. A snowflake sweater for Daphne, and a pair of wool gloves for Luke.
“We’re going to play board games in the lobby,” Daphne said when the wrapping paper had been put away.
Caroline was feeling too emotional. She needed to get some air.
“I’m going for a walk. Plus, you always beat me at Monopoly.” Caroline turned to Luke. “Daphne is a real estate magnate. She bankrupts me with her rents every time.”
Main Street was more beautiful than Caroline had seen it. Christmas lights twinkled everywhere. On the silver bells tied to lampposts, and on the banner strung across the street.
A horse and carriage stood next to the sidewalk. A little girl was feeding sugar cubes to the horse, while a man talked to the driver.
The man looked up. It was Max.
“Caroline!” Max exclaimed. “This is my niece, Lily.”
Lily had dark hair cut in a cute pageboy style, and large brown eyes. She wore a red dress and long wool socks.
“Did you get any goldfish for Christmas?” Caroline asked Lily.
“I didn’t ask for goldfish this year. I’m getting a guinea pig instead. Max and I are going to pick it out at the pet shop.”
“My sister had to go to Denver Airport to pick up her husband,” Max said. “I’ve been hanging out with Lily while she’s gone.”
“I made Max turn off his phone. Grown-ups spend too much time on their phones,” Lily said. “My mom got a time-out because she was texting when she was supposed to be reading me a Christmas story.”
Caroline felt lighter. That was why Max hadn’t answered her text.
Caroline took her phone from her purse. “I’ll turn mine off too.”
“Max was mad at first, but we had fun,” Lily went on. “After we opened presents, we made Christmas cookies. Max took me tobogganing and we saw the puppet show. Now we’re going on a horse and carriage ride.” Lily patted the horse’s nose. “You should come with us.”
Caroline still didn’t know if Max was still interested in her. Christmas Eve had ended so awkwardly.
“I don’t want to intrude,” Caroline said hastily.
“I bet Max would like you to come,” Lily persisted. “You smell good, guys like girls who wear perfume. My best friend, Emily, told me that. She has an older sister so she knows.”
Max smiled at Caroline. He looked handsome in a down parka and boots.
“Lily is right, you should come. Lily wants to sit up front with the driver, now I won’t be alone.”
Caroline climbed into the carriage next to Max. She was afraid they wouldn’t have anything to say. But Lily kept up a steady conversation about which house had the prettiest Christmas lights.
The carriage stopped in front of a Victorian mansion. A group of carolers stood on the doorstep and listeners were scattered over the lawn.
“These are the Aspen Carolers, they’re members of the Aspen opera company.” Max pointed at them. “Every summer, the opera performs at Maroon Bells Amphitheater. People come from all over the world.”
Caroline pictured her mother watching the opera in a floppy sun hat and a pair of Italian sandals. Besides books, opera and ballet had been Anne’s favorite things.
“You look far away, I must be boring you.” Max cut into her thoughts.
“I was wondering if my mother attended an opera while she was here.”
“Aspen is beautiful in the summer. And there’s so much to do. Horseback riding and hot-air ballooning.” Max grinned. “I’d invite you to come, but I don’t want to break your rules.”
Caroline almost blurted out that she had decided to bend her rules. But she would have to explain that it was for a dare with Daphne, and Max wouldn’t understand.
Max kept talking. “I’d like to believe that last night, you got chilly and wanted to go back to your hotel. But I think you got cold feet.”
“I didn’t mean to.” She looked at Max. “I’m over them now, I’d like to try again.”
Lily had gotten out of the carriage. Now, she ran up to it. She was holding a giant candy cane.
“Can you believe how big this is?” She waved it proudly. “And each child got a coloring book.”
Max pulled away from Caroline. “You can keep the coloring book but you better give me the candy cane. If your mother finds out I’ve fed you more sugar, she’ll be furious.”
An hour later, Caroline sat on the armchair in her room. Her new clock was on the bedside table, and a plate of peppermint chocolate truffles sat on the sideboard.
Max had asked Caroline to join them for the fireworks but she decided to go back to the inn instead. Caroline had enjoyed Max’s company and Lily was sweet and fun, but she wanted to be alone.
She couldn’t stop thinking about what Max said about Aspen in the summer. Caroline hadn’t come with her mother in June because she was too busy working. It would have been lovely to take in an outdoor concert together. They could have ridden the gondola and eaten at one of the restaurants at the top of the mountain.
Perhaps Caroline would have met her mother’s lover. She wouldn’t be sitting here, wondering if he was going to show up on New Year’s Eve.
Now her mother was gone, and she’d never get another chance.