13. Dulcie #2
“Thank you all for being here tonight,” the mayor said, smiling out at the crowd. “And thank you to the choir for transporting us with that beautiful song. This community is so fortunate to have you, and to have each other, and to have a precious holiday season to celebrate together.”
There were noises of approval among the crowd, and an older lady wearing a green, knit scarf that matched the mayor’s sighed and smiled up at him.
“Now, I’d like for Mia Bianchi to step up here, please,” the mayor said.
Everyone looked around and a moment later, a pretty lady with dark-brown hair came forward through the crowd to join the mayor on the platform. She looked nervous, but happy.
“Mia, your work heading up the food drive helped us provide nourishment to so many beloved members of our community this year,” Mayor Fontaine said fondly. “We’re so glad that you’ve chosen to make Sugarville Grove your home. Now we’d like to make you our Christmas Star.”
Everyone applauded, and Mia blushed, but looked very pleased.
“The Christmas Star is someone who did a lot for our community,” West explained quietly.
“There’s a food drive?” Dulcie asked.
“They provide needy folks with staples to take home,” West said. “It’s been a lifesaver for a lot of our older population.”
“We made pictures,” Elizabeth said proudly.
“That’s right,” West said. “Elizabeth’s preschool class donated cheerful artwork to be added to the bags this year.”
Dulcie felt another tug at her heart at this idea, though she wasn’t sure why. It was such a nice gesture, and it felt exactly like the kind of thing that would exist in this little town.
Up at the podium, the mayor began counting down from ten. By the time he got to eight, most of the crowd was chanting along with him.
“ Three…two…one… ” Dulcie yelled out as they reached the end.
Mia plugged in the big cord, and the tree lit up behind her, illuminating the beautiful ornaments.
The choir immediately began singing “O, Christmas Tree” and the crowd joined in.
Dulcie gazed up at the big tree, feeling her eyes get misty. It was such a beautiful sight, and even more beautiful because she was sharing it with people she cared about.
She stole a glance at West. His eyes were on Elizabeth as she lifted her little face to the tree, wonder brightening her eyes.
When the song was finished, the mayor announced the beginning of the Giving Tree event, and West bent to explain what was happening to Dulcie.
“A bunch of us that are lucky enough to be having a good year will usually buy and wrap some extra Christmas presents, and then we put them on those blankets under the tree,” West whispered.
“They also accept laundered, lightly used clothing, as long as it’s in good shape. We put that in those boxes over there.”
“I know it’s been a hard year for some,” the mayor said. “But we take care of our own. Giving what we can, when we can, and from the heart is what this community does best. I thank you all for sharing what you can this Christmas.”
At that, he stepped back, and the front row began moving forward, carrying presents or bags of clothing as the choir took up another song.
West placed Elizabeth gently on the ground and she immediately dug into the big bag they had brought and pulled out a stack of wrapped presents.
All around them, people were pulling gifts and clothing out of shopping bags and backpacks as they smiled and murmured to each other with excitement over helping their neighbors.
“Come on,” West whispered to her as their row moved up.
She pressed her lips together and shook her head, too caught up in her feelings to go with him, and too tongue-tied to explain.
But West seemed to understand. Elizabeth dragged him toward the tree and Dulcie watched as she proudly placed each present on the blankets, and then went to the boxes and carefully deposited a packet of clothing into one of them.
When she was finished, she popped back up and smiled so happily at Dulcie that the whole scene went blurry. Dulcie smiled back at her and quickly tried to wipe away the tears that slid down her cheeks before they got back to her.
“Hey,” West said softly as they rejoined her. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, but the tears just fell faster.
“Come on,” he said softly, taking her hand. “You too, Elizabeth.”
The three of them hurried away from the crowd, past the skating rink to the corner where they could see the whole town square.
Dulcie turned back, drinking in the sight of the sparkling tree, the pavilion, the rink, and the gorgeously decorated shops.
She knew now that those things were nothing more than pretty icing on a cake.
The most beautiful and important thing about this little town wasn’t visible at all—it was the generous hearts of the happy people so dedicated to caring for one another.
“You’re crying,” Elizabeth said suddenly. “You’re sad , Dulcie.”
Her little face scrunched up like she was going to cry too, and that only made Dulcie want to bawl even harder.
“I’m okay,” she managed, crouching to hold Elizabeth gently by the shoulders, so she could look right into the little girl’s eyes. “I’m not sad. Sometimes grownups cry when they’re happy, or when they see something very beautiful, like your town tree lighting.”
“You like it?” Elizabeth asked worriedly. “You cried because you like it?”
“I love it,” Dulcie told her simply.
Suddenly Elizabeth was in her arms, hugging her so hard she almost fell over into the snow.
“Don’t go,” Elizabeth whispered fiercely.
Dulcie glanced up at West to see if he had heard that, or understood what the little one meant.
But the look of fierce possession in his eyes as he gazed down at her took her breath away.
“Let’s go home,” he said. “Are you ready, Elizabeth? ”
Elizabeth nodded and let go of Dulcie, but clung to her hand. They walked in silence until they reached the truck, where West lifted Elizabeth in and buckled her into her car seat.
Dulcie got in the passenger side and stared out the window, watching the people by the big tree dissipate, all of them hugging and calling out to each other as they headed out of the park back to their cars.
Does West think I’m weird for crying?
It didn’t seem that way. It almost felt like her crying had made him like her more. In fact, it seemed like he hadn’t even been trying to hide the interest in his eyes when he’d gazed down at her as she held Elizabeth.
And he wasn’t doing anything to hide it now as he got into the driver’s seat, gazing into her eyes as if he were trying to read her soul to be satisfied that she was all right before nodding to himself and starting the truck.
The radio played softly as they drove through the beautiful, winter night, past the twinkling decorations on the houses with Christmas trees glowing in the windows, and into the moonlit farmland.
By the time West drove through the covered bridge and up the drive into the farm, Elizabeth was nodding off. When they arrived at the big red Victorian, he unbuckled her and carried her into the house.
“Start some water for tea?” he whispered to Dulcie before heading up the stairs with his daughter.
She did as she was told, grateful for something to do with her hands when her heart felt like it was under siege.
What’s wrong with me? Why does it hurt to see all the things I’ve always wanted, to finally know that they’re actually real?
But she knew the answer. It hurt because none of these things were hers, not to keep anyway.
She busied herself getting their tea ready. When the kettle was on the stove, she grabbed their tea bags, then went to the cupboard and pulled down two mugs—West’s favorite and the one she liked best.
I have a favorite mug at his house.
“You’re not just here for the winter,” West’s deep voice said suddenly.
She turned to find him standing in the threshold, that same wild look in his eyes as before. For a moment, she couldn’t even put together what he was saying.
“You want to stay,” he said, his voice breaking a little.
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She did want to stay, though she hadn’t realized it until tonight.
He moved to her then, slowly, the same way he had approached the frightened toddler in his office, like he was afraid he would spook her if he moved too fast.
Dulcie’s breath caught in her throat, but she held her ground, daring him, begging him to keep coming closer. His eyes moved to her lips and in that moment, she was sure that he was going to kiss her.
She had never really wanted to be kissed before, never wanted anything more than just to feel safe. But she found that she craved West’s touch now, so intensely that it almost frightened her.
Maybe it didn’t mean anything to him. Maybe he would even deny it had happened tomorrow. But she couldn’t imagine not wanting to belong to West Lawrence, even if it was only for a moment.
“Dulcie,” he said softly.
He reached out and cupped her cheek, the gentle contact sending a rush of pleasure through her. The look in his eyes turned to wonder as she leaned into his touch.
Dulcie forgot to breathe as West leaned down, his eyes still on her mouth, his lips moving slowly toward hers.
But before they could complete their journey, her phone buzzed in her pocket.
“Oh,” she said in surprise.
West stepped back as if he had been hypnotized and the sound of her phone had snapped him out of it.
“I’ll just grab the tea,” he muttered, heading to the stove as if nothing had happened.
Heartbroken, and too flustered to do anything else Dulcie pulled her phone from her pocket as she began to breathe again.
dad
where’s my car?
A cold finger of dread slid down her spine, and all the happy anticipation that had filled her chest just a moment ago turned to ash.
“Everything okay?” West asked, setting their mugs down on the table.
“It’s fine,” she said, hoping her face didn’t give her away. “I’m feeling kind of tired though. I should probably go message my sister and then head to bed.”
“Sleep well,” West said with a sad smile.
He looked like he wanted to say more, maybe even apologize for almost kissing her. Her heart broke a little at the idea of him apologizing for something she had wanted so dearly.
She gave him a silly little wave and headed back to her room quickly, before she could open her mouth and embarrass herself.
After she’d taken a quick shower and slipped into her pajamas, she pulled out her phone again. Just knowing that the message was on there made her feel sick to her stomach.
He doesn’t know where I am, she reminded herself. I’m fine. Everything is okay.
Her finger hovered over the delete button for a moment. But she ultimately tapped on her text with Delphine instead.
It was a pathetic sight. Just a long line of her own messages without replies. She had been texting up a storm about West and Elizabeth over the last twenty-four hours without a single reply.
She hadn’t really expected a response. She knew Delphine probably wouldn’t get minutes on her phone plan anytime soon. And honestly, it was pretty likely that Dad had confiscated the phone or maybe even sold it. But it still comforted her to talk to her sister.
Soon, she told herself. We’ll be together again soon.
The subject of her pay hadn’t come up, but if she was living here and West kept feeding her, she could save all of it, no matter how much it was. Surely that meant she could find a tiny apartment for the two of them above one of the shops in town .
Before she knew it, her fingers were dancing on the screen.
we went to the tree lighting ceremony in town. you would have loved it. the people here take care of each other. they were all so happy to be donating gifts and clothing. elizabeth was really excited to drop off her donations
She tried to stop herself from writing anything more, but she really had no one else to share with and her emotions seemed to be overflowing tonight.
west seemed really happy tonight. he was talking to me in the kitchen.
i think maybe he wanted to kiss me
and i think i wanted him to
As soon as she saw the words on the screen she shook her head at her own foolishness. She was supposed to be setting a good example for Delphine, being a good person and working hard, not crushing on her boss.
She deleted the kiss messages and sent something better.
love you baby sister
hug yourself hard for me