15. West #2
“Hey, Doc,” another called out, his eyes straying to Dulcie and back to West again with interest.
He waved to them all, wondering how long until the whole town knew he was running around at night with the poor girl Joe Fournier had rescued from a snowy ditch.
Honestly, he was surprised at the little twinge of pride he felt at the idea of being connected with her, even if it was only a little silly gossip. He was pretty sure there was already plenty after they attended the tree lighting together over the weekend.
He pushed open the door to the shop. As usual, it was warm and bright inside, and filled with colorful items from all over Vermont.
He took a bag of coffee from the shelf, and then headed over to the spinning display rack by the main counter.
“Hey, West,” Max said, nodding to him from behind the register.
“Max,” West said, before he spun the rack and grabbed a bag of puffy melt-in-your-mouth mints.
“That all?” Max asked.
“For now,” West said. “Thanks.”
Max rang him up without comment, then his eyes drifted over to Dulcie and twinkled.
“Nice to see you both ,” he said, winking at Dulcie. “A good man should have good company.”
“I guess we’ve both got good company these days,” West said, and almost let out a chuckle when Max’s eyebrows shot up in dismay.
West figured maybe he wasn’t the only one losing his heart against his will this Christmas.
They headed back out to the truck in silence, and West wondered if Dulcie had taken Max’s remarks the wrong way. He had half a mind to tell her that Max was just having some fun.
“Is the candy for Mrs. Harris?” she asked before he had the chance.
“Mrs. Harris has a sweet tooth,” he told her. “And these are her favorite. I was hoping they might put her in a happier mood, and then Ellen can get her medicine in her.”
“I can hold it,” Dulcie offered when they reached the car.
Kitty’s little brick cape cod was just a few blocks away. When they reached it West pulled in and turned off the truck.
“I’ll come with you,” Dulcie decided. “If you think it would be okay?”
“It’s too cold out here,” he agreed. “And it might take a little while. Are you sure you’re okay coming in?”
“Of course,” she told him.
They headed up to the door and West knocked. Ellen opened up as though she had been standing by with her hand on the knob.
“Thank you so much,” she said, stepping back to let them in.
“This is Dulcie,” West said, realizing suddenly that he hadn’t thought about how to introduce her. “She was with me when I got your call, and I didn’t want to delay stopping by. I hope you don’t mind that she’s with me.”
“Of course not,” Ellen said. “Come in, both of you.”
West could sense that Dulcie was a little nervous, so he stepped in first.
Mrs. Harris was sitting on the loveseat, nervously clutching a pretty lap blanket Ellen had made for her. West had seen her this way many times. She was confused, which also made her feel frightened and angry.
“Hello, Mrs. Harris,” he said gently, making no move to approach her. “It’s West Lawrence. You knew me when I was a little boy.”
“I don’t want you,” Mrs. Harris whimpered. “I want Sissy.”
“That’s her little sister,” Ellen said quietly. “She’s been asking for her all day. ”
West’s heart ached for the poor lady and her daughter.
“Can I come sit with you?” he asked Mrs. Harris.
The medicine was right on the table. There was a pill for pain that Mrs. Harris absolutely needed in order to stay comfortable after hurting her wrist a week ago. And there was another for her heart that was as much for Ellen’s benefit as it was for Kit’s.
Mrs. Harris frowned at him but didn’t cry or try to get away. West had learned it was worth spending as much time as it took to help her get comfortable before approaching. So he decided to wait a bit, turning to Ellen to try and engage her in a comfortable conversation that would set the mood.
“ Sissy,” Mrs. Harris said suddenly, her voice quavering with emotion. “Sissy, you came.”
West looked over to see that the older lady was gazing at Dulcie, a rapturous smile on her careworn face. His heart broke at the idea that she was going to be disappointed.
“Hi, Kit,” Dulcie replied softly, holding up the bag. “I brought candy.”
The room went silent for a moment.
“Oh,” Kit sighed happily. “That’s nice.”
“Can I sit with you?” Dulcie asked her.
“Come on, Sissy,” Kit said happily.
“We have to take our vitamins first,” Dulcie told her as she snuggled onto the loveseat beside the older woman.
When West finally remembered to move, he walked slowly over to the medicine to get it ready.
“Is that your boyfriend?” Kit asked Dulcie, eyeing West with a mischievous expression.
“He’s cute, right?” Dulcie asked quietly.
West tried not to chuckle.
But Kit just threw her head back and laughed, and West was suddenly reminded of the long-ago days when Kit had been part of all the ladies’ social circles in town. His mom used to say that Kit Harris’s book club picks were always the funny ones.
West carefully placed Kit’s pills in her hand and then placed pretend ones in Dulcie’s.
The two ladies knocked back their pills and Dulcie handed Kit the glass of water from the table to wash hers down.
“Christmas candy,” Kit said conspiratorially to Dulcie.
“I could eat the whole bag,” Dulcie said, opening it and pulling out a mint. “They’re just so good.”
“Me too,” Kit said. “So good.”
West watched as Dulcie unwrapped the candy carefully and placed it in Kit’s waiting hand. She unwrapped one for herself too, and they popped them in their mouths at the same time,
“Mmmmm,” Dulcie said, smiling.
And in that moment, West knew that the peppermint dissolving on her tongue had nothing on his melting heart.
Kit smiled back at her, looking decades younger. Ellen’s hand wrapped around West’s wrist and she squeezed. When he looked over, she had tears in her eyes.
“ Thank you ,” she mouthed .
“We want our movie,” Kit said after a moment.
“ Miracle on Thirty-Fourth Street ? ” Ellen offered.
“We like that one,” Kit said, nodding.
Ellen grabbed the remote from the coffee table and started the television up. The classic movie was already playing, and West wondered how often they watched it.
“Would you be able to stay a few more minutes?” Ellen asked softly. “She doesn’t get too many happy moments these days.”
“ Are you okay? ” West mouthed to Dulcie.
Dulcie nodded and smiled.
“We’ll be glad to stay,” he told Ellen.
“I’m going to wrap you two up some of my famous brownies to take home with you,” Ellen said.
“That sounds amazing,” West told her, earning himself a big smile.
He would have refused, but he knew Ellen would feel good doing something in return for what she viewed as a great kindness.
Honestly, West hadn’t felt this good about a house call in a while. And he could tell it made Dulcie happy to help out too—even though the situation was sad.
Ellen bustled off to the kitchen, and West kept watching Dulcie and Kit watch the movie. By the time Ellen was back with a foil-wrapped package, Kit had drifted off to sleep beside Dulcie, the hint of a smile still on her face.
“Isn’t that something?” Ellen whispered happily. “Thank you so much for this.”
“It was our pleasure,” West told her honestly.
Dulcie slipped out of her seat, then bent to gently tuck Kit’s blanket around her.
“Oh, thank you,” Ellen said, pulling Dulcie into a fierce hug. “You’re a wonderful young lady. I hope you know that. And you’ve got yourself a wonderful man there.”
“I’m glad you take such good care of your mom,” Dulcie told Ellen when they pulled back. “I hope she has a good day tomorrow.”
As they slipped out the front door and into the cold winter night again, West felt like his heart was too big for his chest. He opened Dulcie’s door for her and watched her slip into the car before heading over to his side and getting in.
“I know that was hard,” he said carefully after he closed his door.
She didn’t answer, and when he looked over he could see she was leaned against the window, tears sliding down her cheeks.
“I’m so sorry,” he told her. “I didn’t mean to make you?—”
“I miss my sister too,” she whispered.
“Oh, Dulcie,” he said, reaching over to grab her hand. “I’m so sorry.”
She squeezed his hand back hard, and they stayed that way for a long time, sitting with their sadness.