Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
One Year Later
I t was no surprise that posters for Silver Bells lined downtown Willow Creek. Walking through that magical winter wonderland with a big cup of tea and her best friend and sister beside her, Sophie felt her heart balloon at the sight of Natalie and Brent holding hands and looking at one another out of the corner of their eyes. Silver Bells had already broken ticket sale records in its first few weeks, and Natalie and Brent's careers were off to the races. They were still together; there was a rumor they were engaged. Some gossip channels said they'd gotten married in Vegas.
Sophie had lost touch with Natalie, unfortunately. But she'd seen her at the premiere, where Natalie had yelped and thrown her arms around her. "That film changed our lives!" she'd cried.
It was hard to believe it was a year ago.
"It's been so fun working on Magical Christmas Land ," Cindy was saying now, glancing at Sophie from beneath her big puffy hat. "The director is so good, and Randy and I have a great system in place. We've missed you, though."
Sophie stopped at the corner and peered down at the current setup for the film Cindy was talking about. Like always, Willow Creek welcomed Christmas film sets all winter long, and, like last year, Mayor Bob Ackey had demanded that Willow Creek residents were hired for on-set jobs. Now that Culinary Tastings had ballooned in operations the past year, Randy and Sophie had worked tirelessly on a manageable schedule for their staff—one that allowed them to cater for the multiple weddings, baby showers, retirement parties, birthday parties, and so on they'd been hired for, plus the film.
"You look tan, Sis," Cindy said, nudging her. "Bali did wonders for you!"
Sophie laughed. "It was wonderful. It really was. And surprisingly, it was relatively easy to work with Randy on Culinary Tastings' stuff from there. I even tried out a few recipes with Bali ingredients. Randy's on board to incorporate them into our menus."
Randy was the perfect business partner. To every idea I had, he said, "Let's try it!"
I tried to do the same.
"He said you guys had crazy video chats about the business while you were out there. You were, what? Twelve hours ahead?" Cindy asked.
"Something like that. But you know how it was this year. The business was growing like crazy, and we wanted to be really strategic." Sophie smiled. "Gosh, it's good to be back."
"We need you! It's time for the Christmas Festival again!" Cindy smiled. "Oh, and I forgot to mention! Culinary Tastings was named 'Best New Business' of the year! That's cause for celebration!"
"I'm ready to party," Sophie said. "It's been a heck of a year."
It had been two months since Sophie was in Willow Creek. Only two months. But everyone at the Christmas Festival planning meeting welcomed her back as though she'd been away for years.
"Guys, I still live here!" Sophie cried.
"Only part-time," Mrs. Reynolds said disapprovingly as she cut Sophie a slice of cake.
Sophie rolled her eyes and smiled.
"First, she's in LA. Then she's in Bali, wherever that is," Johnny, the postman, said. "We can't keep up!"
"But I'll be here all winter long," Sophie promised them. "And Derek will be here, too!"
Mrs. Reynolds clasped her hands. "You're still together!?"
Sophie laughed. "Is that such a surprise?"
Mrs. Reynolds looked panicked. "No, dear. No. It's just—"
"We don't like sharing you," Cindy said, coming up beside her.
Across the room, Randy was on his phone, chatting with Fiona, who was back at home, very pregnant with their first child. "I'll be home in an hour," he told her adoringly. "We just have to square away a few details. Yes, I already told Sophie you said hi." He turned to look at Sophie and wink.
Just as ever, the committee turned to Sophie as their director of the Christmas Festival. Sophie fell into it easily, offering brand-new ideas for this year and also complimenting Randy on his "inventive new plans" for food stalls, including a taco truck and a place where you could make your own hot cocoa mug with whipped cream and candies.
"It's going to get messy, but the kids will love it," Randy affirmed.
"Everyone will love it!" Sophie said. She clicked her pen and gazed across the sea of faces; this group of people she loved dearly. Why did they trust her so much? Maybe they knew that no matter where she went, how far, or for how long, she'd always return for the Christmas Festival.
After the Christmas Festival planning meeting, Cindy walked Sophie home and peppered her with more questions about her travels. "Annie has an ear infection," she explained as they walked up the front steps, "or else I'd beg you to let me stay over for a sleepover so we can really catch up."
"We have time!" Sophie wrapped her arms around Cindy and held her tightly. Her heart pounded. "I can't believe how much I missed you!"
Cindy pulled back and touched her hair. "You look happier and more beautiful than I've seen you in years. Don't feel guilty about doing what you want."
"Remember what you said on the Ferris wheel?" Sophie said. "You told me to help everyone else love me better. You told me to say what I want."
Cindy raised her chin. "You actually listened to me?"
"Sometimes, my little sister is wise," Sophie said. "Who would have thought?"
Cindy cackled and jumped down the steps. She hollered over her shoulder, "Love you! Sleep well."
Sophie echoed her love.
That night, Sophie talked to Derek on the phone. He was still in Bali, wrapping everything up on the film.
"I'm exhausted," he said. "I just want to climb in bed with you and sleep for the rest of December."
"Just get here as soon as you can!" Sophie said. "We can sleep from Christmas Day to New Year's Eve."
Derek chuckled, then lowered his voice. "Did you tell Cindy?"
Sophie's heart leaped. "Not yet. I want to wait till you're here."
She could feel Derek's smile from the opposite end of the earth.
"I'll be there the last night of the festival," Derek assured her. "I'll kiss you by the Christmas tree."
Sophie closed her eyes, remembering a year of thousands of kisses, late nights of wonderful conversations, beautiful dinners and breakfasts and lunches and snacks, big plans for the future, and—of course—therapy, which Derek had gone to both by himself and with her. Derek was working through his grief. And despite his assertion that he wanted to do it alone, he'd thanked her many times for "being patient with him."
"You love me so well," Sophie had said so often. "I'm just trying to love you—and everything you were in the past—as well as I can. I want to honor every story of your life. And I want to honor Georgia, too."
She wasn't afraid of saying her name. Derek liked that, too.
The final night of the Christmas Festival—a full year after she and Derek had gotten together—Sophie found herself with her mother, father, Cindy, Vic, Annie, and Peter at the chili stand, eating buckets of five-bean chili and watching Randy's band from a distance. Everyone knew that Derek was on his way; he'd texted from the airport to say he'd landed. It meant that everyone was jittery with expectation.
They weren't used to him yet. But Sophie knew they would be. He wasn't going anywhere.
Joe was overly chatty about his recent trip to LA, where he'd met up with Mike, Isaac, and Beck. "They showed me this crazy-cool karaoke spot in West Hollywood," he explained as he swiped through photos. "Mike is so funny. He sang Madonna at the top of his lungs and brought down the house."
Sophie laughed, peering down at the faces of her favorite sound guys, who'd adopted her father as their dear friend. Sometimes they still texted Sophie, teasing her about Derek and asking her how she was. It meant a lot to Sophie. It meant their connection was just as strong as she'd thought.
Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice. "Hi, Masters family!" Jeremy was coming through the crowd with Stacy Rogers on his arm. The rumor was they'd started dating in early summer and gotten serious quickly. Sophie had always liked Stacy. They'd gone to high school together, and she'd played tennis and remembered everyone's birthdays. Now, Stacy carried a big bucket of popcorn and smiled dreamily at Jeremy. When she realized who Jeremy was talking to, she waved, too. Her smile didn't waver.
Sophie had a hunch that Jeremy had told her about their failed romance. He'd wanted to start again; he'd wanted to do better.
It pleased Sophie that he was.
Jeremy and Stacy wandered away and got onto the Ferris wheel. Peter was begging to go on, but Vic told him he was still too little. "Next year, buddy," he said, picking him up.
Sophie's heart swelled.
"Where is that handsome director of yours?" Joe asked, looking at his watch.
Sophie looked at her phone for some sign of him. Instead, she had a message from Cara, Derek's assistant.
CARA: Derek told me he's staying in Willow Creek till summer? Can you confirm?
Sophie winced. Cara wouldn't be happy about that.
But Cara still didn't understand. Not fully.
She would soon. Maybe she wouldn't be thrilled about it. But Derek had worked almost tirelessly for over a year. Didn't he deserve a break?
"I'm here! I'm here!" Derek's voice came through the crowd, and the Masters family twisted around to see him coming. He wore a dark green winter coat, dark brown boots, jeans, and a Christmas sweater—a far cry from the blacks he'd adorned almost exclusively last year. Sophie wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. Again, she heard that familiar, sturdy heartbeat. Again, she smelled his unique scent of sandalwood and cologne.
When she pulled back, Derek reached out to shake Vic's and her father's hands and hug her mother and Cindy. His eyes glinted with tears.
"I'm back at the Willow Creek Christmas Festival!" he cried. "It's the festival that started it all!"
Cindy laughed gently and looked from Sophie back to Derek.
Suddenly, she looked stricken. Her jaw dropped. "Wait a minute."
Sophie's smile burst. It was like Cindy just figured it out.
"There's something up," Cindy blurted.
Mary and Joe gaped at Cindy and then at one another.
"Seriously," Cindy said, snapping her fingers. "I've known my sister forever. And I know she's keeping a secret. They both are!" Her eyes were illuminated with Christmas lights, and all around them was the sound of carnival games and laughter.
Suddenly, Derek burst into laughter. Sophie joined a second later. Their laughter felt uproarious and free and beautiful.
"How do you know?" Sophie asked Cindy, shaking her head as tears came down her cheeks. "How can you possibly tell?"
"Tell what?" Mary cried out.
Sophie took Derek's hand. "Should you tell them? Or should I?"
Derek winked. "You do the honors."
Sophie turned to her parents and sister. She felt on the brink of the rest of her life.
"I'm pregnant," she said. "Derek and I are staying in Willow Creek next year to have the baby."
Suddenly, her entire family swarmed around her and Derek, drawing them close. Sophie's eyes spilled tears, and Cindy was weeping, too. Joe was crying out to everyone, "My daughter's having a baby!"
But there, beneath the group hug, Sophie and Derek continued to hold hands tightly. She knew Derek would never let go. Not for anything.