CHAPTER FOURTEEN
JJ—
We show up at the Christmas Town city council meeting.
It’s held in the basement of the county courthouse. In addition to the six people on the council, there are about twenty others besides Rebecca and myself.
Neither of us has mentioned the kiss from last night, and maybe that’s for the best. I was probably out of line, and I suppose she wants to pretend it never happened.
We find a couple of empty folding chairs at the end of the third row, and I stow the big black garbage bag at my feet with the sample wreath inside.
After the call to order, there’s the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer.
They approve the minutes, the city manager’s report, and then they handle old business, which tonight is something about an amendment to an ordinance of the municipal code designating the requirement of animal-resistant garbage containers.
This all drones on, and I’m leaning in my chair with my arms folded, trying not to nod off.
Finally, they move on to the next topic, which is items from the public.
Since only three hands go up, they don’t require them to form a line, instead just calling on each. Since Rebecca is the only woman, they call on her first.
“Yes, ma’am. Go ahead with your name and business,” one of the council members states.
She stands and clears her throat. “Thank you. I’m Rebecca Reardon. My partner and I have taken over Holly Jolly Tree Farm.”
All eyes focus on her and me.
“We’ve come before you today because we heard you may be looking to upgrade the town’s holiday decorations this year.
For the lampposts, specifically. We’d like to be considered for fresh wreaths for all thirty lampposts around the town square.
I have this example for you to consider.
” She turns to me, and I stand, pulling the wreath from the bag.
I approach the dais and let each member get a good look at it.
They seem interested, leaning closer to inspect it.
One of the women on the council tilts her head, then points her pencil between Rebecca and myself. “Wait a minute. You two are the couple from the ad I’ve been seeing everywhere on my social media, aren’t you?”
I grin. “Guilty as charged.”
She covers her microphone and leans to the man next to her, whispering something. They have a furtive conversation, and I set the wreath in front of them and return to my seat next to Rebecca.
The man clears his throat. “Perhaps we can make an arrangement.”
I frown and catch Rebecca’s eyes.
“An arrangement?” she asks.
“You see, we’re in need of a couple for the town’s living nativity. The couple who committed to play Joseph and Mary had to cancel. Perhaps if the two of you could take their place, the city could take a serious look at purchasing thirty of these wreaths of yours.”
“We’ll do it,” Rebecca replies, and I gape at her.
“Wait. Are you serious?”
She elbows me. “We’d love to take part in such a wonderful town tradition. Wouldn’t we, JJ?”
“Um, sure.” I glare at her.
“Wonderful. Do you have a business card?” the man asks.
Rebecca approaches and passes one to each of the members.
“We’ll be in touch with the details,” the man advises with a nod.
“Thank you. We appreciate the opportunity.”
“The wreaths are very nice,” the woman who recognized us says. “Just what Main Street needs.”
After the meeting ends, I collect the sample, and we head out to the truck. Once we’re out of earshot of any people, I hiss at her. “What the hell have you gotten us into?”
“You heard them. We had to agree or we wouldn’t get the business, and thirty wreaths will bring in over a thousand dollars. We need the money.”
“We have to play Mary and Joseph. You do get that, right?”
“So, we dress up and stand in a manager for a couple of hours. How bad can it be?”
I beep the lock to the truck, then yank the passenger door open for her.
Once we load up and are on the road, I feel her eyes on me.
“She said she saw our ad, JJ. A bunch of times. That means it's being seen. The social media is working. I hope it all pays off.”
By the time we get back to the farm, Rebecca receives an email with a contract for the thirty wreaths.
“Wow, that was fast.” I lean over her shoulder and read it. “Um, they want them in three days. You gonna be able to make thirty of those things in that amount of time?”
“Me? We. We’re in this together, JJ.”
I lift my palms into the air. “Becca, I have zero crafting ability. I can’t even wrap a present or make a bow.”
“I’ll teach you.”
I sigh. “Do we have all the supplies we need?”
“I picked up enough forms when I was in town the other day. I figured if I didn’t get to sell them to the town, I could use them for wreath-making classes, and we saved all the trimmings from when we shaped the trees last week.”
“How’s the wreath-making class going, by the way? Have you got many people signing up?”
“So far, no one. But I’m hoping that changes now that the ad is running.”
I follow her to the shed that she’s converted into a place to hold the classes, as well as room for the gift shop and concession area. I glance around at the empty shelving, knowing we open for business soon. “What are you going to sell, anyway?”
“Well, wreaths and arrangements to put over mailboxes, plus I’ve worked out a deal with the owner of Silver Bells Ornaments.
We’re going to sell some of his stuff and split the profit, and he’s got some other décor he’s going to bring up, too.
Plus, I ordered a bunch of stuffed black dogs, and these cute little tags with our logo on them.
I thought we could put them on the collar.
I think it’s going to be a big seller. They’re supposed to arrive next week. ”
“I never would have thought of that. I’m sure he’ll be a big hit with the kiddos.”
“I hope so; otherwise, we’ll be stuck with them until next year.”
At her reference to next year, I shove my hands in my pockets, still not sure I’ll be here. I can’t get over her certainty that we will be operating next season. She’s a believer, and it’s hard not to let that be contagious.
She cocks her head, studying me. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Show me how to do this thing.” We move to the plywood table I built her, and she slides wire circular forms before us both.
“Here. You’ll need these.” She grabs two pairs of work gloves and hands me one. “We use these wire forms to attach the pine branches into shape.”
She grabs a handful of them from the big cardboard box we stored some in.
She uses little snipping shears to cut them into sizes and slides me a pair.
“Just cut off the ends like so, making them small enough to work with. I’ve already cut the floral wire into little pieces.
” She shoves a small tray of them between us.
“Just gather them into little groupings and secure the bottoms together. We’ll need a bunch of those. ”
We do this until we have a good supply.
“Okay, now we need to attach them to the form, wrapping the floral wire around, then we add another bunch and twist the wire, add and twist, all the way around the frame. Get it?”
It seems easy enough, but I’m sure it’s more difficult than she’s making it out to be. “Sure.”
“We keep doing this until the entire frame is full, keeping the wire tight. Then we’ll add a red bow and some berries and pinecones, and a few of these silver and gold plastic ornaments I picked up.”
“Okay.” I try it and fail miserably at getting the first bunch of pine boughs attached.
“You need to wrap it tighter,” she informs me.
“Ya think?” It’s tricky, and I keep dropping the wire.
“Don’t get frustrated. Just slow down and take a breath. It’s not a race. Relax and concentrate.”
I breathe in and try to do what she says, wrapping each branch with slow patience. It seems to pay off, and I stop fumbling so much.
By now she’s already done with hers. She looks at mine. I’ve only got about a quarter of the frame covered.
“It’s not fair. Your hands are smaller than mine,” I grumble.
“It’s not a race. You’re doing great.”
Am I, though? I study the branches. I suppose they’re not that bad, though not nearly as good as hers. “Maybe from a distance they’ll look okay.”
“Keep going. Practice makes perfect.”
I grunt; not sure any amount of practice will improve my skill.
“You know what we need? Christmas music.” She pulls her phone out and pulls up a playlist.
I have to admit, it makes the time go by faster, and any time I get to spend with Rebecca is enjoyable, even if it involves crafting.
I make a face at her. “I can’t believe you’ve got me doing this.”
She giggles. “Making things with your hands can be quite relaxing, don’t you think?”
“Working with my hands on a motorcycle engine, maybe. Not sure about this.”
“Look at how good yours is coming along, though. You’re doing great.”
It’s silly, but her compliments and words of encouragement are like tonic to me. I never received many of them growing up. I wonder if things had been different at home, and I’d gotten more of them as a kid, just how different my life would have been.
We work for an hour, but it's getting late, so we call it a night.
I finished a total of two, but Rebecca finished six.
Hitting the light, I close the shed door, and we walk toward the cabin in the chilly fall air.
“Well, that only leaves twenty-two,” I say, thinking I’ll be doing it all day tomorrow.
Rebecca grins and bumps my shoulder with hers. “Don’t worry. I’ll let you off the hook. Maybe Amanda can help. I know it’s the last way you want to spend your Saturday.”
“It’s not that, but there’s still a lot to do.
I’ve got to get all the trees cut and set up in the ‘cash and carry’ lot, plus string the lights around it.
Plus, I want to get some new saws for customers who want to cut their own.
I took a look at the ones in storage, and they’re all pretty rusty.
So, I’ll need to run to Wilson’s Hardware for that. ”
“Maybe we should go over the list of everything and make sure we’ve got it all covered,” she suggests.
“Good idea.”
We pause on the porch, and she pulls her phone out. “I’m going to call Amanda right now.”
Buddy gets up from the bed I made him on the porch, yawns and stretches. I squat and scratch his ears.
Rebecca puts her phone on speaker, and her sister answers on the second ring. “Hello.”
“Hi, Amanda.”
“Hey, what’s up?”
“How would you like to come tomorrow for a free private wreath-making class?” Rebecca grins.
“What’s the catch?”
“You’d be helping me make twenty-two more wreaths for the town.” She grimaces while waiting for the reply.
“You got the job? That’s fantastic.”
“It is, but there’s no way we can finish them in the time they gave us.”
“What about your business partner?”
Rebecca’s eyes shift to me. “He’s awesome help, but he doesn’t have a woman’s touch, and I want the wreaths to look good.”
“Hey,” I say. “You said they looked okay.”
“They do, JJ.”
“Is he standing right there?” Amanda asks.
“Yep,” Rebecca replies.
“So, he tried to help?”
“He did, and they were great. I was teasing him. But he’s not real fast.”
“Fine. I’ll help,” she huffs out.
“Yes, thank you, thank you.”
“But I want to keep one for my house.”
“Okay, twenty-three wreaths, it is. Can you come early?”
“Only if you make me some of your famous muffins.”
“It’s a deal. I’ll have muffins and coffee waiting. Thanks, Amanda.”
“See you tomorrow.”
Rebecca disconnects, and the moment she does, her phone chimes with a text.
I don’t like the frown that forms on her face, or the way her jaw tenses when she reads it.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“Your mother. She wants me to meet her and your father on Monday for lunch. Says she needs to talk to me about something urgent.”
“Meet them where?”
“Santa’s Kitchen.”
“I’m coming with you,” I say, pulling the door open.
“I don’t know… They don’t mention you.”
“I don’t care. I know how they can be, and I’m not going to let them pressure you into some decision or other that you don’t want to do.”
“You don’t know that’s what they’re planning. Besides, you can’t stand them. You really want to sit through lunch?”
“It’s the last thing I want to do, babe, but if it keeps them from bullying you, I’ll gladly sit through whatever I have to in order to protect you.”
Her eyes soften, and I’m shocked by how good that makes me feel.