Chapter 2
Chapter Two
So nice to meet you!” Kim Huntington said as she shook hands with Maddie near midday on Saturday.
“Nice to meet you, too,” Maddie said. “Leo should be here any minute.”
“No problem.” Kim waved a hand. “We’re early.”
When Maddie had called Kim to set up today’s get-together and Kim had discovered that Maddie worked at Sweet Art inside Merryweather Historical Village on Saturdays, she’d suggested they meet during Maddie’s lunch break.
They stood on the lip of the village’s central lawn, the brick of Sweet Art at their backs, watching Kim’s two daughters chase each other across the grass.
“I’ve been meaning to bring the girls here ever since the village put up their Christmas decorations.” Kim exuded both warmth and energy. “Don’t they look fabulous?”
“Fabulous,” Maddie agreed.
Kim, whose voice held a distinct southern accent, launched into a story about the O Holy Night Christmas Concert she’d attended at the village and the nativity donkey who’d snuffled through her purse in search of the apple she’d stashed there.
Kim had clothed her sturdy body in relatively fancy clothing for a weekend. Heels. Wide-legged jeans, a black-and-white print blouse, purple jacket. Her dark, glossy hair hung in a layered cut. Her makeup had been expertly applied, which filled Maddie with a burst of admiration.
Though Maddie herself didn’t wear a lot of makeup on a daily basis, she was somewhat in awe of those who could wield makeup brushes with the kind of skill Kim possessed.
“Do you enjoy working at Sweet Art?” Kim asked.
“I love it.”
“I bet you do! Notice I’m not even looking in the direction of your chocolate shop because if I do, I’ll gain five pounds.
” A rich chuckle. “I’ve only been in there a few times because those chocolates y’all make are too delicious.
My willpower’s not strong enough! How’s it possible that you can work there and stay so thin? ”
Free chocolate was a perk of Maddie’s employment at Sweet Art.
However, she hadn’t been born with an I-can-eat-anything-I-want-and-be-thin metabolism.
Like most humans, Maddie had to exercise and watch what she ate in order to stay in shape.
“I only let myself have two chocolates a day. One in the morning and one in the afternoon.”
“Are you the one who makes the chocolates?”
“No, Britt Bradford does. I’m convinced that she’s a chocolate genius.”
“Such a genius!”
“I handle everything else that keeps the shop running: I wait on customers and manage the website, the online orders, and the financial side of the business.”
“That’s awesome,” Kim said. “I think I met Britt and her family at a function once. There are three Bradford sisters, right?”
“Right. Britt’s the youngest. Then there’s Nora, who works at the Library on the Green Museum here in the Village.” Maddie nodded toward the museum. “Willow’s the oldest. She opened her own boutique in Shore Pine this past summer.”
Just then, she caught sight of Leo walking toward them, holding Charlie’s hand.
Both Leo and Charlie wore navy jackets over their jeans.
Maddie had woken this morning to her alarm clock and a breakfast of Cinnamon Chex.
Would that she’d woken up to those two. They were sweeter than Cinnamon Chex. Her heart contracted with longing.
“Did you dress Charlie like your mini-me on purpose?” she called as they neared.
“What?” Leo asked with genuine surprise. “No.” He glanced at Charlie, then down at himself. He gave her and Kim a sheepish smile. “It does look like I planned this, doesn’t it?”
“It looks adorable,” Kim insisted, before Maddie could.
Maddie introduced Leo and Charlie to Kim, then held her arms out to Charlie. “Morning, sweetheart.” He took a half-unsure, half-hopeful step in her direction. She gripped beneath his arms and swept him high into the air. Laughter tumbled from him.
“Again,” he said.
“Please,” Leo prompted.
“Please,” Charlie repeated.
Maddie swept Charlie up again, then snuck in a quick hug before depositing him on his feet.
Kim’s girls came to stand near their mom, panting slightly from all the running they’d been doing.
Both had long espresso-colored hair, olive skin, and dark, liquid eyes.
“These are my daughters.” Kim ran her hand down the braid of the taller one.
“Victoria’s eight.” She set her hand on the shoulder of the younger one. “Samantha’s six.”
“Nice to meet you,” Leo and Maddie said.
Samantha gave Maddie a timid smile, but Victoria peered at them with worried suspicion.
“Say hello please,” Kim instructed them.
“Hello,” they chorused.
“Can we play some more?” Victoria asked her mom.
“Sure. I brought a Frisbee, if you want it.” She extracted it from her purse, and the girls charged off.
Leo, Maddie, and Kim settled around one of The Pie Emporium’s outdoor wooden tables.
Even though this first day of December had dawned sunny and still, the chilly temperature had inspired most of The Pie Emporium’s patrons to enjoy their coffee and pie inside the shop’s small confines.
Only a middle-aged man reading the paper and wearing a parka also sat outside.
“We’re looking forward to partnering with you on Mission:Christmas,” Leo said to Kim as Charlie climbed onto his knee.
“I’m so grateful that you are! I don’t mind telling y’all, though, that I feel a little guilty about submitting an application for Mission:Christmas.
Until recently, I’ve always been fine—not wealthy or anything like that, mind you—but fine.
I’m usually the one helping others at Christmas.
” Her cheerful expression faltered, revealing the stress that lived beneath.
“Then I lost my job. If it was just me, I wouldn’t have considered Mission:Christmas.
But I adopted Victoria and Samantha nine months ago, and I couldn’t bear the thought of them having to make do with next to nothing on our first Christmas together. ”
“I’m very glad that you applied,” Maddie said.
The other Mission:Christmas families she’d been paired with in the past had taught her that sometimes, in order to receive God’s provision, you first had to be humble enough to ask for help.
“Leo and I will make sure that your first Christmas with your daughters is a memorable one for all three of you.”
“Memorable for the girls is more than enough. Please don’t buy anything for me. I left that section blank on the form.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, Kim,” Leo said, “but we’re going to have to buy you a few gifts at least.”
“Leo!” Kim exclaimed, good-naturedly scandalized. “Don’t get me anything.”
He met her attention head on. “You’re going to have to trust us, Kim.”
“The girls are the ones I’m concerned with,” Kim said.
Charlie climbed down and started playing with the pebbles that made up the surface of the nearby walkway.
“I’d love to know more about you and your family,” Maddie said.
“Well, I was raised in Georgia, and I’ve worked in hospital administration ever since I got my master’s degree.
I’ve lived in Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri.
Four years ago, I moved here to work at Valley View Medical Center.
Right around that same time, I started to hear the Lord calling me to adopt a child.
I was fifty-one years old at the time, and I’ve never been married.
I kind of raised my eyebrows up and said, ‘Lord, me? Are you sure?’” She laughed and slapped her hands together.
Leo grinned. “And was He sure?”
“He was,” Kim answered. “I spent months researching adoption, both domestic and international. I decided to adopt an older child out of the foster care system here in the United States.” The wind flipped a strand of her hair upside down, and she smoothed it back into place.
“When the caseworker told me about two sisters who needed a home, and I saw Victoria and Samantha’s picture, I just .
. . I knew they were meant to be my babies.
So I decided to take a leap of faith and become their mama. ”
The younger of the girls, Samantha, ran up. “Would it be okay if the little boy plays with us?” She motioned toward Charlie.
“It’s okay with me,” Kim said, “but you’ll need to ask his father.”
Samantha looked self-consciously at Leo.
“Sure.” Leo turned to Charlie. “The girls have invited you to play with them on the grass.”
Charlie mulled it over for a long second, his courage clearly battling against his fear, before approaching Samantha. “’Kay.”
“Continue to play right here on the grass where we can see you,” Kim said.
Charlie and Samantha walked side by side in Victoria’s direction.
“Since you’re a father,” Kim said to Leo, “I’m guessing you know how hard parenting is.”
“It’s incredibly hard.” Leo jerked open the snaps on his navy jacket, revealing a sage green sweater. Maddie might need to rethink her recent preference for his professor’s wardrobe.
“I talked with all of my friends who are parents before I adopted the girls,” Kim said.
“I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy.
Even so, all my life I imagined I’d make a terrific mother.
” Her eyes rounded with rueful honesty. “Well, motherhood’s more joyful and more challenging than I expected.
What I can’t get used to is the fact that I’m not as terrific a mother as I thought I’d be.
Please don’t think badly of me for admitting that. ”
“We don’t,” Maddie said.
“I’m not the father I imagined I’d be,” Leo told her. “I’m doing the best I can, but I’m fallible.”