Chapter 6 Clara
SIX
CLARA
I could count on one hand—really one finger—the number of people I hated. Like, truly, deep-in-my-gut hated. Silas St. Nick was on track to bump that person from my list and become the only person I hated. I’d only known the man for less than twenty-four hours, and I loathed him.
And the fact that he was the mayor… “The mayor?” I whispered under my breath, still trying to process that new tidbit.
Pamela must have heard my question because she turned her attention to me. She asked, “Have you met Silas?”
I forced a smile and nodded. “Yes, I have met Silas. In fact, I’m his neighbor.”
Pamela’s face was deadpan as her gaze flicked down to the Christmas sweater I’d chosen to wear today.
In terms of Christmas sweaters, this one was understated.
I even paired it with my green slacks as a sort of muted accessory.
I had much more ostentatious outfits. Now that I’d seen Silas twice this morning, I wished I’d gone with one of them.
It would have made my morning to see his eyes bug out ever so slightly over a Christmas dress.
Geez, that man needed to get a life if he let a little red and green bother him that much.
Before I could ask Pamela what the deal was with this town, Maria’s door opened.
“Yes, Silas, I understand,” she said as she stepped out of her office and off to the side so Silas could follow after her.
They shook hands and then Silas turned, his gaze sweeping over me for a moment before he walked out of the office. The air felt lighter once the door swung shut behind him. Maria puffed her cheeks as she slowly blew her breath out. Her gaze landed on mine and she raised her eyebrows.
“Hey, Clara,” she said, her voice soft and inviting. It was just what I’d been looking for ever since I’d driven into Grinchland. Something familiar. Something welcoming.
“Hey, Maria,” I said as I stood and hurried over to give her a hug.
Thankfully, she was still the hugger I remembered her to be. She didn’t hesitate to pull me in and give me a big squeeze.
“How are you getting along in Grinchland?” she asked as she let me go and extended her hand toward her office.
I blew my breath out extra loud so she’d pick up on my exasperation. “Well, I thought it was going well until the mayor threatened to fine me for playing Christmas music in my kitchen.” We were standing in her office now with the door shut.
Apparently, just talking about Silas St. Nothing—that man didn’t deserve a last name that good—was a no-no. A worried look came across Maria’s face as she glanced around like hidden cameras were everywhere.
“So I’m not crazy,” I said as I plopped down on the armchair. “Your mayor is off his sleigh.” I smiled at my pun.
Maria must have felt it was safe because she rounded her desk and sat down.
“Silas is…interesting,” she said as she grabbed a stack of paper from the sorter in front of her and tapped them on the desk a few times before she handed them over to me.
“This is your HR pack. Let me know if you have any questions.”
I took them from her, but instead of flipping through them, I set them on my lap. “Is that legal?”
Maria frowned. “What?”
“Banning Christmas? Like, this is America, right? There has to be some sort of freedom he’s infringing on.” I wished I had actually paid attention during my college history classes.
“Clara…”
“What does the sheriff think? Has anyone tried to fight this in the courts?”
“Clara…”
I glanced up to see that she was leaning on her elbows and studying me. She had the same sympathetic expression that I remembered from my student teaching days when one of her students would start to spiral because they couldn’t draw a Thanksgiving turkey correctly.
Great. She was using kid gloves with me. I sat back and folded my arms.
“Grinchland is just that, grinch land. The town council signed the bylaws. There’s not a lot we can do about it, so we’ve just accepted it.
” She shrugged. “I don’t mind it. I’m not gaining holiday weight or overworking myself to decorate and entertain.
I leave in the middle of December after school gets out, and when I get back, I have nothing to put away. ” She sighed. “It’s not that bad.”
I blinked. Once. Twice. Three times.
Grinchland was in America, but it was like she was speaking a foreign language. I understood the words she was saying individually, but the way she was linking them together created concepts that were alien to me.
“Canceling Christmas is not that bad?” I used air quotes to repeat her words back to her, hoping if she heard them, she’d realize how ridiculous they were. “I have daily traditions to uphold. What am I going to do about that?”
My chest squeezed, making it hard to breathe. What world was I living in? Was this hell? It felt like hell.
“I think you’ll be okay.” Maria offered me a consolatory smile.
She had no idea what she was saying.
I tapped my foot on the ground as my mind started reeling.
I was not going to be okay. If I didn’t have Christmas, then who was I?
There had to be a way of changing these ridiculous Grinchland laws.
I mean, I’m sure it would never become Christmasland, but there had to be a middle ground where everyone could be happy.
“Maybe Silas just needs to grow his heart a little,” I said, more to myself then to Maria. “Maybe he needs to rekindle his love of the holiday.” I glanced up and met her gaze. “Like Scrooge in A Christmas Carol!”
“Clara, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Silas is serious about this. If you step out of line, he’s going to fine you.”
I waved away her worry. “Once he’s fully immersed in my holiday antics, he’ll waive all the fines.” I shrugged. “It’s worth the risk.”
Maria sighed. “I’m going to stay out of it. All I ask is that you don’t rope the school into anything.”
“Sure,” I lied. I didn’t have any immediate plans to involve them, but I liked to keep my options open. I was going to have to pull out my big guns to fix this one. My eyes widened as a hush fell over me. It was like I was Rudolph. Christmas this year depended on me.
“Let’s go meet your class,” Maria said as she moved to stand.
I nodded, plans still rolling around in my head as she led me through the office and down the depressing and barren hallway.
The walls weren’t decorated with paper Christmas trees and finger-painted ornaments.
There were no paper snowflakes hanging from the ceiling with countdown paper chains strung between them.
“What do the kids here even count down to?” I whispered under my breath.
If Maria heard me, she didn’t respond. She stopped in front of a very plain door with a small window to the right. “Ready to meet your class?” she asked.
A spark of excitement mixed with nerves lit in my stomach.
I loved and missed teaching, and it was always an emotional roller coaster to start somewhere new.
I took a deep breath and then slowly blew it out.
I was ready for some normalcy. My first impression of Grinchland had been so strange.
I was ready to fall back on what I knew—teaching.
I gave her a big smile. “You betcha.”
Maria pulled open the door, and I could hear the normal five-year-old chatter from where I stood. Nerves turned to excitement as she led me into the room. The voices quickly hushed as we stood in the center next to the whiteboard, facing the kids. Curious eyes peered up at us.
“Thank you, Mr. O’Brien,” Maria said, and the man sitting behind the desk nodded and stood. He gave me a quick smile as he walked past, and once he was out in the hall, he shut the door behind him. I turned back to the kids as Maria took a step away from me and waved her hand in my direction.
“This is Ms. Snow. She’s taking over for Mrs. Helen. She’s going to be your teacher for the next few months.”
I smiled as I swept my gaze around the room. Most of the kids didn’t seem phased. They looked bored and antsy. There was a little girl with braided pigtails and a blue polka dot shirt who was staring at me. She looked worried, so I offered an encouraging smile.
“Thanks, Mrs. Thompson. I’m so excited to be here and to be your substitute teacher.
” I clapped my hands. “I know we’re going to have so much fun and I’m going to be able to tell Mrs. Helen”—I glanced over at Maria to make sure that I heard her right; she nodded—“what an amazing class she has and how welcoming you guys were to me.”
Maria’s smile was encouraging as she glanced at the class.
The flow was starting, and I could feel the excitement of being in a classroom surge through me. I could do this. I could do this and rock at it.
“Why don’t we go around the room and you can tell me your name and your favorite Christm—” I pinched my lips together to stop the words Christmas celebration from flowing out. My cheeks heated as I turned to Maria, whose eyes were wide as she stared at me.
This was going to be harder than I thought.
“What I meant to say was, your favorite color and why,” I said, hoping the kids hadn’t picked up on my blunder.
“I’ll go first so you can see what I mean.
” I cleared my throat and straightened. “Hi, I’m Ms. Snow and my favorite color is green.
It’s my favorite because it’s the color of a Christm—” I pinched my lips together, halting the word.
What was wrong with me? I was going to leave Grinchland destitute if I couldn’t put a cap on my love of Christmas. It was in everything I did—everything I talked about. This was proof that Christmas was such a part of me that I didn’t know who I was without it.