Chapter Twelve
This was awkward.
Felicity chanced a glance at Justin. He hadn’t said a word to her since he got into the vehicle. He wasn’t happy about this arrangement. That much was obvious.
It wasn’t her fault. She’d attempted to let him off the hook, but he’d been too stubborn. He only had himself to blame for this awkward situation.
She turned and stared straight ahead. The snow was coming down so heavily now the wipers couldn’t keep up with it. Fluffy snowflakes outlined the path of the wipers. Then again, she was appreciative for the ride.
Felicity worried her bottom lip as she sat in the passenger seat while Justin drove them the short distance to the high school. The elementary school was borrowing the stage at the high school for their Christmas play.
How often had they driven this exact route? Countless times. She’d been all smiles back then because when she was with Justin, he’d fill her with happiness that came out in a big smile. Those were good memories.
So much had changed since then. They weren’t the same people they used to be. When they were in high school, she never imagined this day would come—when they were barely more than strangers to each other.
She didn’t even know that Justin wasn’t married.
Then again, why should that surprise her?
She didn’t know that her own mother had sold their family home.
The reminder jabbed at her heart. She never got to have one final look at her childhood home or to pick out what she wanted to save. Now, it was all gone.
But Justin not being married buoyed her heart. Not that she had any illusions about them getting back together. However, it did open the door for them to possibly become friends again. After all, they were friends a lot longer than they’d been boyfriend and girlfriend.
She should probably say something to break the tension. But between the rapid beating of her heart and her jumbled thoughts, she couldn’t come up with any words.
As though he read her thoughts, Justin spoke up. “What made you decide to help with the play?”
She shrugged. “They needed help, and I used to help with the costumes. Remember?”
“I remember.” The words were flat.
She couldn’t tell by the way he’d said it if him remembering was a good or bad thing. Now that they were speaking, she wanted to keep it going. “What happened to the person who was working on the costumes?”
“I’m not exactly sure. But at the last rehearsal, there was a lot of yelling between the parents and Mrs. Geller about the costumes.”
Felicity gaped. “You mean she’s still making costumes? She was doing that when we were kids, and it seemed like she’d been doing it for a long time before then. She must be in what? Her seventies?”
“I think she’s in her eighties.”
“Oh, wow. And she was still volunteering her time?”
“Well, she isn’t volunteering any longer.
The parents were up in arms about the costumes.
They said their kids weren’t going to wear them.
Merry Kringle was trying to calm everyone down and she lost the battle.
That’s when Mrs. Geller said she quit. Said she was going to have Christmas with her daughter.
I forget where she lives, but it isn’t in Kringle Falls.
She took her sewing machine and some other stuff and walked out. ”
“And here I thought Kringle Falls was the most boring town in the country where nothing ever happens. And now you go and prove me wrong.” Felicity couldn’t help but laugh. An uprising over children’s costumes. Only in Kringle Falls.
A little smile pulled ever so slightly at the corners of Justin’s mouth. It was enough that his dimples were just beginning to show. He was still so handsome. And then her traitorous heart fluttered.
He turned into the parking lot. “Are you ready for this?”
“Sure…I think.” She laughed. She wasn’t quite sure what she’d gotten herself into. “Hey, I’m sorry if you felt like we sort of ganged up on you about the puppy.”
He cast her a sideways glance. “Sort of?”
She let out a nervous laugh. “Okay. So we did. But Sunny is the sweetest dog. She’s quiet and well-behaved. I think you’re really going to enjoy spending time with her.”
“Just remember, you agreed to take care of her when I’m at work.”
“Oh. Yeah. Sure. No problem.” She hoped her mother felt the same way, but she would deal with that later.
He pulled into a parking spot. “It’s not too late to back out of this.”
She glanced over at him. “Why are you making it seem like I shouldn’t go inside?”
“I’m not.” He spoke the words too quickly and in a higher octave.
“Justin, what don’t I know?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. I’m sure you’ll have the costumes under control in no time.”
He got out and left her sitting there, hating that the moment had passed so quickly. It wasn’t that anything special had been said during the short ride. It was rather the fact that they’d shared the peaceful moment.
Apparently she’d lingered too long, because the next thing she knew Justin was opening her door. She hadn’t meant for him to do that. It was something he used to do for her—in another lifetime.
She got out. “Thank you.”
Wordlessly, he gave a slight nod of his head.
Together, they walked toward the school. It brought back a lot of good memories of them entering the school together. She thought about asking him if he remembered, but she refrained. Of course he remembered. The real question was did he want to remember? Something told her he did not.
Still, he wasn’t married. Was it wrong that it made her happy? Of course she didn’t want him unhappy. She was just glad that at last there was a chance she might be able to repair some of the damage she’d done to their relationship.
She doubted they’d be good friends by the time she went back to New York, but she’d like to think he would no longer go out of his way to avoid her. Maybe it was nothing more than wishful thinking on her part.
After they passed through the double-set of glass doors, she came to a stop. The glass cases displaying the school’s athletic awards were no longer lining the walls. In their places were benches, and on the wall were various framed photos of whom she could only assume were alumni.
She didn’t get a chance to ask Justin about the change because he was already several steps ahead of her. She rushed to catch up to him. Along the way she noticed the gray lockers they’d had when she was a kid were now replaced with smaller bright red lockers. More changes.
It took her a moment to get her bearings. When she did, she stopped walking and looked around.
“Felicity, what are you doing?” The exasperation was evident in Justin’s voice.
“I’m figuring something out.” She continued searching the walls for a familiar landmark.
Justin backtracked to her side. “I think you’re supposed to be figuring out the costumes.”
“I know.” She waved him off. The memories of high school came rushing back to her. They were good times, but back then she’d been too anxious to make tracks out of town for her to realize just how good she had it.
She’d had the most amazing boyfriend. She resisted the urge to glance in Justin’s direction.
Her father had been alive and healthy. Her mother had been happy.
And Felicity had an anchor—a place to call home.
If only she could go back in time and tell that girl with stars in her eyes that life wasn’t always greener on the other side of the fence.
If she had known all of that, would she have made different choices? Probably not. She’d been so convinced that she was going to make it big in the city. And here she was still reaching for those dreams and coming up short.
Justin’s sigh drew her from her thoughts. She looked around some more and finally figured it out. She stepped over to a row of shiny red lockers. “This is where my senior locker used to be.”
“Really?” He shook his head. “I thought it was something important.”
“This is important to me. I remember sharing it with Holly Berry. I took the top shelf and she took the bottom one. Those were some really good times.”
She noticed her words were greeted with absolute silence. She supposed she deserved it. After all, she was the one to reject the diamond ring he’d presented to her.
The sharp memory of the pain in his eyes that day brought her feet firmly back to earth. Pushing the unwanted memory to the back of her mind, she said, “Let’s go see what I can do with those costumes.”
They continued through the somewhat familiar hallways. At least the stage should still be in the same place. She had to jog to catch up to Justin. He didn’t acknowledge her presence.
She swallowed hard. “They’ve done a lot of updates to the school.”
He shrugged. “Yeah. I guess.”
When they reached the stage, he pulled open the wooden door. When she went to pass him, he said, “You aren’t over here.” When she sent him a confused look, he said, “They changed the room across the hall from a classroom to a dressing room.”
“No way. Really?”
He nodded. “They do a lot of plays. They even have a drama department now.”
“Wow.” She would have loved to have that when she went to school.
“The kids love it.”
She stepped across the hall and opened the door. She didn’t know what she expected to find, but she was floored to find an actual dressing room with lighted mirrors and racks of costumes.
Kids and parents all stopped and looked at her. Some had suspicious looks, as though knowing she wasn’t a parent. Others looked familiar and had expectant looks, as though already having been told that Felicity was there to help.
A hush fell over the room. This was her moment to speak. She was not an extrovert, so her stomach balled up as her palms grew clammy.
She swallowed hard. “Hello, everyone. If you don’t already know me, my name is Felicity Wright. I used to go to school here. In fact, once upon a time I was in the Christmas play. I also used to help behind the scenes. Anyway, I’m here to help with the costumes.”
She didn’t get a chance to say more before she was besieged by parents all clamoring to have their child’s costume altered.
She did her best to listen to their concerns.
Some were founded. Others were just a bunch of nitpicking.
The pants were too long, sleeves were not the same length, and the mouse hats were just… well, they were just wrong.
The real problem revealed itself quickly. There was no sewing machine. After inquiring, one of the parents told her that Mrs. Geller brought her own. Well, this was certainly going to complicate matters.
But seeing as the play was the following week, there was no time to spare.
She would use this time to figure out the problems with the individual costumes, and then she would make a plan to resolve them.
Her mother used to have a sewing machine.
She wondered if she still had it or if she got rid of it with all of the other stuff from the house.
As she had each child try on their costume, she had to reenvision some things, fix others, and get rid of some of it. With only six days until the play, she didn’t have any time to waste. She took names, notes, and measurements.
At one point, she caught sight of Merry Kringle sticking her head in the door and looking around. Their gazes briefly met, and Merry mouthed a thank you. Felicity’s attention was drawn away, and when she looked back, Merry was gone.
She was kept so busy that the time flew by. When at last she was the only one in the dressing room, she gathered the costumes she wanted to work on. With her notes on her phone and the costumes bundled in her arm, she turned off the lights and headed out the door.
She would just order a rideshare, and she’d be back at her mother’s apartment in no time. She paused in the hallway and retrieved her phone. After a few swipes and taps, she found out that Kringle Falls didn’t have a rideshare. It appeared her hometown was too small for that sort of service.
Now what was she going to do? She thought of calling her mother, but she was still working evening shifts. Felicity’s next thought was to call Connie, but she didn’t want to bother her, especially after she’d taken care of Sunny all evening.
And so, that meant walking to the Evergreen Apartments. She was really starting to regret not renting a car. She could just add it to her growing list of regrets.
When she reached the exit, she found Justin propped against the wall. “What are you doing here? I thought you would have been long gone.”
“And leave you to walk home in the snow? I don’t think so.” He held out his arms. “Let me take that for you.”
She shook her head as her fingers tightened on the costumes. “I’ve got them. Thanks.”
He hesitated before he lowered his arms. “Then we better get going. We have to pick up Sunny.” He opened the door for her. “Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to get much sleep tonight?”
“Everything will be fine.”
At least that was what she kept telling herself.
She told herself that when she found out the promotion she’d so desperately wanted had been turned into a competition.
She’d told herself that when she’d packed up her office desk and headed out the door for the last time.
She’d told herself that when she put her furniture into storage and headed home again.
She kept telling herself everything would be fine, but she was starting to wonder if that was true. Because right now, nothing felt like it would be fine.