Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
T he next day was the annual meeting to plan the Christmas Festival. Like everything else in Willow Creek, the meeting itself was held at the convention center, and like everything else in Willow Creek (in the future, if all things went to plan), the meeting was catered by Culinary Tastings. Sophie, Randy, Fiona, and Tommy breezed through the crowd pre-meeting, passing out hot apple cider, hot cocoa, Christmas cookies, Christmas cakes, and little bowls of Christmas pudding. Sophie had known everyone in attendance since birth, including the owner of The Thirsty Bucket, Alan; the librarian, Mrs. Reynolds; the postman, Johnny; and so many others who built up the beautiful background of her life in Willow Creek.
"I hear things are going smoothly on set," Mrs. Reynolds said to Sophie, taking a Christmas cookie.
"Tell me," Johnny insisted. "How awful are those Hollywood types?"
"I heard the director has a heart of stone," Mrs. Reynolds said.
Sophie's smile fell slightly. "He isn't so bad when you get to know him. But he's a professional. He's not always so chatty and smiley."
"It wouldn't kill him to smile a little bit more!" Alan said, raising his eyebrows. But in his eyes, Sophie saw recognition of something. He'd seen Sophie and Derek chatting at the bar last night. He knew there was something between them.
Maybe he was the only one who knew.
But bartenders always had secrets. They watched stories unfold from behind the bar.
Just as he'd said he would, Randy put together a wonderful presentation for the Christmas Festival meeting, one that included a few necessary changes compared to last year. The rest of the Christmas Festival planning committee chimed in with their feedback, and the meeting finished with twenty minutes to spare.
"I love seeing the younger folks take over Willow Creek traditions," Mrs. Reynolds said as she hunted down another platter of cookies. "It reminds me that our town will go on and on, beyond my time, and into the future."
"It warms my heart too," Mrs. Smith, the elementary music teacher, said.
Sophie, Randy, Tommy, and Fiona cleaned up after everyone left and headed back to headquarters. Randy set himself up at the computer to go over the spreadsheets he'd made for the upcoming weeks of Christmas Festival planning and Silver Bells catering.
"And we got another request for catering," he said as Sophie sat beside him to assess. "Merlin Johnson wants us to cater his daughter's baby shower."
"What day?"
"It's next week," Randy said. "The twenty-third."
Sophie felt a swell of panic. "I don't know if I can make it."
"Relax," Randy ordered. "We have plenty of other staffers who can be there."
Sophie felt the anxiety on her shoulders ease—at least for a moment. "I have a spreadsheet in there somewhere for baby showers," she explained. "But this one should be Christmas-themed and baby-themed."
"We can manage that," Randy said with a laugh. His eyes glinted happily. It was clear taking on more responsibility suited him. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Do you have plans this weekend?"
Sophie shook her head. Usually, she only ever had plans with her parents and Cindy. This weekend, Cindy was stuck with sick kids, and her parents were hosting friends for dinner and cocktails.
"You should call someone from set!" Randy suggested. "You're friendly with Derek's assistant, right? Cara?"
Sophie exhaled all the air from her lungs. "Maybe."
"Those people are far from home," Randy reminded her. "I'm sure they'd love to hang out with everyone's favorite caterer."
Sophie looked down. She was suddenly embarrassed.
Randy knows I don't have many friends.
He knows Jeremy dumped me and left me with nothing but work.
"I love spending time alone," Sophie heard herself say instead.
"That's a rare gift," Randy told her because he always knew what to say. He got up to grab his coat.
Sophie could see Fiona in the kitchen, waiting for him.
She remembered when Jeremy used to wait for her too.
Should I call Jeremy instead? Should I ask him what he's been wanting to talk to me about?
"See you Monday!" Sophie called to Randy and Fiona as they headed out.
"Bye!" they returned happily.
Sophie remained in her office, cross-legged on the office chair, swirling around in circles like a little kid. When she stopped abruptly, her head spun.
Is this how I'm spending my Saturday night? she wondered.
It was pathetic.
Sophie grabbed her phone and bit hard on her lower lip. Calling up Cara was an easy answer for what to do tonight. They could have dinner, chat about this and that. Maybe Cara would tell Sophie more stories about the version of Derek that had existed before he'd lost his wife. The version of Derek who'd been optimistic and free and romantic and talented. But did that mean Sophie was less interested in Cara and more interested in what Cara could tell her about Derek? She didn't want to be manipulative.
Cara's phone rang only twice before she answered it. "Sophie, hey. I'm at the cabin with Derek."
Alarm bells rang in Sophie's head. She got up and paced, feeling breathless. "Hey! Hi!"
Why had she called again? Oh, yeah.
"I was wondering if you wanted to grab dinner tonight," Sophie said, speaking too quickly. "There's an adorable pizza place a few miles outside of town."
"Pizza? I can't remember the last time I had pizza!" Cara's laugh was joyous.
"You can invite Derek too," Sophie chirped. "I mean, I want to invite a few people from work. I know how far away from home you are. I don't want people to be, you know, in their cabins or hotel rooms, all alone, just waiting around for Monday."
"That's really sweet," Cara said. "Maybe I'll pass it along to the assistant directors as well?"
"That sounds great," Sophie said. Her stomach stirred with anguish. She didn't want to go to dinner with Cara and the assistant directors. She wanted to be alone in a beautiful snowy forest with Derek Brownlee. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and tell him it would be okay.
"Cool! Should we say eight o'clock for dinner?" Cara suggested.
"I'll make a reservation," Sophie assured her. "Five people? Six?"
"Three assistant directors, Derek, you, and me," Cara confirmed.
Sophie agreed and got off the phone. She pressed the heel of her hand on her forehead and let out a big sigh.
Just go to dinner, she told herself. Act normal. You'll be fine.
Maybe it was fate that brought Jeremy to the pizza restaurant that night.
Sophie arrived five minutes before eight and sat alone at the table set for six, waiting for the others to arrive. She spotted Jeremy in the corner, tapping his napkin over his lips with one hand and waving at her with his other.
He was there with his older brother, Mark. Because she'd grown up with him and gone on vacations with him and considered him a part of her family, Sophie had missed Mark over the years. When they'd run into one another since the breakup, they'd always made light small talk, and then Mark had always ruined it by saying: It's really a shame, what happened between you two. I'm pulling for him to change his mind.
Sophie smiled as her heart pounded. Jeremy started to get up from his table to come say hello, just as Derek and Cara entered the restaurant. Jeremy took one look at Derek and shriveled up, returning to his table in the corner. He then bent his head and spoke to his brother quickly. Was he explaining who Derek was?
Sophie got up, trying to fix her face from worries. She hugged Cara and waved at Derek from across the table.
"This place is quaint!" Cara cried, smiling as she looked around the cozy interior with its multiple Christmas trees, its family portraits, its tinsel, its mistletoe. The place smelled of baked dough and oregano and melted cheese. "My mouth is already watering. Tell me what's good here, Sophie. Better yet, just order for me? I'm worried that I'll freak out and just tell them I want a salad. I don't want a salad!"
Sophie laughed. She could feel Derek's eyes upon her. Tears sprung to her eyes.
Derek and Cara opened the menus and laughed at the prices.
"It's so cheap," Cara breathed. "I don't know if we should ever leave, Derek."
Derek eyed Sophie over his menu. "Have you had the potato, sausage, mushroom, onion?"
"I've had everything on the menu," Sophie admitted. "I've been coming here since I was a little kid. My parents have a framed photo of me in a highchair here with pizza sauce all over my face."
Cara scrunched up her face. "That's adorable! Maybe we should ask if we can film a scene in here for the movie, Derek. It fits the small-town feel so well."
"It reminds me of a pizza place I grew up with too," Derek offered.
Cara tilted her head. "Uh-oh. Derek never talks about growing up in Indiana. Ever."
"Indiana!" Sophie smiled. "What's it like there?"
"The people are just about as nice as they are here," Derek said. "Everybody knows your name wherever you go. And nobody ever thinks about leaving."
Cara's eyes widened. "I thought you were from Missouri."
"Nope," Derek said.
Cara turned to look at Sophie. "He talks about it so little that I didn't even know! And I've been his assistant for years!" She laughed and returned her attention to Derek. "What else are you keeping a secret from me?"
"My only other secret is I think we should order a bottle of wine for the table," Derek said.
Cara and Sophie laughed and flagged down the server. Derek ordered a bottle of Primitivo and asked for another few minutes with the menu.
"Where are the assistant directors?" Sophie asked.
"Good question," Cara said. She pulled her phone out of her bag and burrowed her face in it.
This left Sophie and Derek a moment to look at one another. It felt stolen; it felt like a secret. Sophie's cheeks were flushed.
"They aren't going to make it!" Cara said. "They're staying in cabins about a half hour from here. That snowfall that missed us this morning hit them pretty hard."
"They're snowed in?" Derek asked.
"It's romantic, isn't it?" Cara joked.
Sophie, Cara, and Derek ordered two massive pizzas to share: the sausage and mushroom one, plus a Greek-inspired one with black olives and feta and spiced lamb. Derek poured them glasses of wine and raised his glass to them.
"You've both been really patient with me this week," he said after a dramatic pause. "It's no surprise to me why everyone on set calls me Grinch."
Sophie was taken aback. How had he figured out his nickname? But Cara just laughed it off.
"I'm still resistant to all this Christmas spirit stuff, to say the least," Derek said, laughing nervously. "But I have to admit, I'm happy to be out of my cabin. I'm happy to be out at a restaurant with both of you." His eyes met Sophie's for a brief and intoxicating moment.
Sophie filled her mouth with wine and told herself: don't freak out. He's just being nice.
Derek was quiet for a little while. Cara and Sophie filled the space with an easy conversation about a few boutiques downtown and Cara's newly discovered favorite Willow Creek coffee shop. It felt as though Derek was brewing up something special; as though he was preparing to speak.
When he did, his words were enormous.
"I just want to say," he began, "that I don't want to carry this grief for the rest of my life."
Cara folded her lips with surprise. Sophie clutched her thighs nervously. It was clear he had more to say.
"I've used my grief as a crutch for too long," Derek offered. "But I'm well aware that that crutch affects everyone around me. If I'm ever going to be a real person again, I have to find a way to get rid of it. I have to find a way to walk out of this darkness. Maybe that means embracing Christmas. I don't know."
Cara reached across the table to touch his hand.
Sophie's heart pumped. She would have liked to touch his hand first. She would have liked to have been alone with him.
But Derek needed community. And Cara was a part of that community. Cara was his only friend.
It was likely that Derek hadn't said any of this to Cara before, though.
He'd said it because Sophie was there.
Derek bowed his head and laughed. "I'm sorry. I'm being ridiculous," he said.
"You're not," Cara and Sophie said in unison.
"We have to find a way to talk to each other," Cara said softly.
Derek raised his chin and looked from Cara to Sophie. He looked broken but grateful.
But suddenly, the pizzas arrived, still sizzling on their trays. The server was excited, saying, "I know two of you have never eaten here before, so we went all-out on the toppings. Enjoy!"
It was a feast. And over the next hour, Sophie, Cara, and Derek ate as much of the pizza as they could, boxed up the rest, and drove home through the dark, snowy night.