Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
" T hank you all for coming. I know we all have important things to do, so I'll try to keep this brief." Marjorie McBride stood in front of a small circle of chairs, where the members of the town Christmas festival meeting were seated.
Kate sat beside Marjorie as her helper and had her laptop open, intending to take notes.
She tried not to allow her gaze to stray toward Jack, who sat almost directly across from her.
He looked especially handsome this evening with his hair combed back.
Although cut short, there were a few errant ends that curled up, giving him a slightly boyish look.
It softened the angles of his face and made him more endearing.
"So we have all the previous years' blueprints to go by, but of course we would like to do something a little bit new and different this year.
" Marjorie smiled at Kate. "Kate, I know you're new here, but I thought you had an excellent idea, and I was wondering if you'd like to stand and present it to the group?
" Marjorie looked back around at the rest of the group.
"We need to come up with a theme first, before we can think about what kind of decorations we want to do.
We also need to pass it on to the vendors and store owners who will be involved, so they can play into the theme if they would like. "
Kate stood, smiling at Marjorie and feeling slightly encouraged by her support.
Not that the townspeople had been hostile in any way to her.
Quite the contrary. As she had worked with Jack for the last almost week, people had been very, very friendly.
She'd had the same kind of reception at the school as well.
Still, she was very conscious of her position as a newcomer.
Sometimes newcomer ideas were not well tolerated.
"Thank you all for your attention. When Marjorie and I were discussing this, I suggested a Mistletoe Meadows heritage theme to showcase our local businesses and the history that our town has.
Also, there's tons of history with anything Christmas, and I thought we could maybe bring that all together.
" It was a short description, but in her experience, the shorter these types of meetings were, the better.
People were busy, and it was easier to get people to volunteer if they didn't think they were going to be spending half of their Christmas season sitting in a meeting, trying to figure things out.
"I thought that was a lovely idea," Marjorie said. Again, Kate felt encouraged by her presence, even though Marjorie seemed a little unsteady on her feet, and her shoulders drooped as though she were tired. There also seemed to be tightened lines around her face and deep shadows around her eyes.
Her daughter, Terry, was the town doctor, and Kate was sure that Terry had her finger on the pulse of whatever was ailing her.
Unless, of course, she was busy with her pregnancy, about to welcome a new baby into the world.
That had a tendency to take a person's full attention, as Kate well knew.
Not that she had children of her own, but she'd seen it over and over again with kids in her care at school.
When a mother was expecting, that mother seemed to think about everything in terms of babies and bottles and diapers and all the preparations that went with them, not to mention the uncomfortableness of pregnancy and the lack of sleep. She could go on and on.
So maybe she shouldn't say anything about Marjorie. But she didn't know to whom or what she should even say. Just that the woman looked tired? Everyone did around the holidays, didn't they?
As the meeting progressed, the other committee members seemed to be really enthused about her idea, and they came up with a lot of ideas, not just with decorations for the festival, but advertising as well, which was exceptionally important, and they needed to get on that immediately.
They all had some ideas for Jack too, whose shop would be the featured shop, and they wanted to make sure that there was plenty of visibility for him.
The shop owners took turns being featured, and everyone knew that it was in their best interest to do their best for him, so that when it was their turn, the whole town pitched in again.
"Well, I think that about wraps it up," Marjorie said, although now she leaned on the podium rather than stood behind it.
She opened her mouth to say something else, but then, almost so quickly Kate missed it, she simply fell to the floor.
There was a collective gasp in the room before several of the men rushed forward, including her son Gilbert, and Amy and Jones, her daughter and son-in-law. All three of them were at the meeting and were at Marjorie's side in an instant.
Kate stood back, ready to do something if needed, but having absolutely no idea what to do to help Marjorie, other than pull her phone out and dial 911. She had it in her hand when Jones looked up, saw her holding her phone, and said, "Please dial 911."
Perfect timing. She did so, and seconds later, she was able to tell them that an ambulance had been dispatched and was on its way.
Not long after that, Terry burst into the room.
"Mom?" she said, as she moved forward toward the cluster of people, although probably not able to actually see her mother amid the crowd.
They parted for her to get through, and Kate stepped back as well.
"I think I'm fine," Marjorie said, although her voice sounded weak.
"Mother. Please stay right there. Is there an ambulance on the way?" Terry said, already kneeling beside her mother.
There were murmurs of assent, and Kate said, "I just spoke with the dispatcher. They said five minutes."
"All right. Thank you for loosening her clothing. Did she hit anything when she fell? Could there be a back injury?"
"Terry, I'm fine. My legs work just fine, my back doesn't hurt at all, and I need to finish this meeting!"
"Mom?" Roland and Nelly burst into the building and hurried forward toward the cluster of people.
"She collapsed just a few minutes ago, and an ambulance has already been called. But she's talking and said she could move everything just fine." Kate gave them an update, and they stopped in front of her, unable to reach their mother through the cluster of other people.
"Thank goodness. I have been concerned about her for a while. She just doesn't seem like herself," Roland said. "I've been chalking it up to her new diabetes diagnosis, but..."
"We're concerned it might be something more serious," Nelly said low, so only Kate could hear.
Kate nodded. She had a feeling it was a little bit more than diabetes too, unless Marjorie wasn't managing it very well, which, considering how dependable and responsible Marjorie was, she couldn't imagine that was the case.
"All right. Everyone, please step back," two uniformed emergency workers said as they stepped into the building, rolling a gurney between them.
The crowd parted, and Kate stepped back as well. She hated to just stand there doing nothing, but she wanted to be available in case someone needed her.
"Kate! I need to talk to Kate!" Marjorie's voice rang out over the murmur of other low voices.
"I'm right here, Miss Marjorie," Kate said, stepping forward and touching Marjorie so that her eyes were drawn to Kate.
"I need you to take over as head of the committee. I don't want the Christmas festival to suffer just because something happened to me."
"I will take over until you're able to do it again. But I'm not going to be the head of the committee if this is just a small issue."
"I think there might be something more seriously wrong with her. I know it will ease her mind if you'll just go ahead and run the committee until she's able to get back." Terry spoke low and seriously, but her affection for her mother was clear.
"I'll do whatever I need to do. But the position is always open for you to step back in, okay?" Kate said, lifting her brows at Marjorie.
Marjorie nodded, and then she looked at the medical professionals. "Now you can take me away. But be careful—I don't want to arrive at the hospital looking like I've been through a windstorm."
The crowd laughed as Marjorie patted her hair.
Kate stepped back as the EMTs wheeled Marjorie out, her children following in a large group.
Finally, the door was shut, with fewer people left than they'd begun with.
"All right, everyone, I think we were pretty much done anyway. If you have any questions or have any great ideas, please feel free to make sure you call or text me." She gave her phone number and noticed several people writing it down.
"I heard Marjorie putting you in charge. Should we check in with you until further notice?" Jack spoke from across the circle.
"Yes. Please. I think for now we shouldn't be bothering Marjorie, although once she's well enough, we definitely need to include her.
Someone who's been as involved as she has will feel left out and perhaps a little lonely if she's suddenly dropped from the committee entirely.
" She couldn't imagine being Marjorie, who was used to immersing herself in everything, and now all of a sudden needed to take it easy. No wonder she was struggling.
"That's very considerate of you," Olivia said, and the others nodded approvingly. It was obvious that Marjorie was a well-loved member of the community.
"Before we go, I think it would be a good idea for us to pray for Marjorie," Kate said.
She wasn't used to taking a stand and being a spiritual leader, but it seemed like the right thing to do.
After all, everyone at the meeting attended church regularly, and it was good for Christians to pray together.
Her announcement was met with resounding approval, and she looked at Jack.
He gave a slightly perceptible nod, and she said, "If Jack would stand and pray for us and also dismiss the meeting, please?"
He nodded again and stood.
His prayer was short but heartfelt, and soon the meeting had adjourned.
Kate felt like it had been a whirlwind. She'd started the meeting thinking she was just going to give Marjorie a hand, and now she ended it with the weight of the town Christmas festival on her shoulders, which did not feel strong enough to handle it all.
But she would have to, because there was no one else.
She could step up and do it, and once more, despite her difficult financial situation, she was grateful that her job didn't start officially until after the holidays.
It was perfect timing, because it gave her plenty of time to work on whatever she needed to work on.
God had known all along that she was going to need that time, and she loved the way He had worked things out.
She spoke with all the committee members and felt like everyone had a handle on what they needed to do. It had been a productive meeting, even if it had not gone quite the way she had anticipated.
"You did a wonderful job. And I know you're going to be fine as the head of the committee." She turned to see Jack standing behind her, as the last of the other committee members walked out the door.
"I don't know if I feel up to the task. In fact, I feel rather intimidated."
"If you felt confident, I might be a little concerned. It's always good to have a little bit of insecurity. That drives us to be better and keeps us from being overconfident and arrogant."
"I suppose you're right. But I would feel a little better if I had someone like Marjorie to learn under before I had to take it over myself."
"I'm sure you're going to be fine. It's probably better this way.
This way you don't have preconceived notions about how you have to do it, but you can feel free to let your creativity loose, without unconsciously trying to stick to the way we've always done it.
" He paused for a minute and then gave her a little smile.
"Weren't we just talking about how it doesn't matter how things actually go—we can be happy and joyful no matter what? "
"You're right. This is not really what I was thinking when I was talking to you about that, but I guess God's timing is perfect. And you're looking on the bright side, seeing the most positive spin, and I appreciate that."
She appreciated the fact that he challenged her to live the way she said she believed, and not just allow her to talk the talk, but pushed her to walk the walk as well.
"You know, I had really been thinking about that since you and I talked a few days ago in the shop that night."
"Yeah?" she said, as Jack shifted on his feet.
"I had been allowing my thoughts to go in a negative direction, and it kept me from being content where I was.
It's true that I'll always love farming, but it's also true that I really do enjoy making candy.
I just... resented the fact that I didn't have a choice about it, instead of looking at all the positive benefits and keeping my mind focused on those. "
"There's so much that we can do right around us. It's silly for any of us to be so down about our own circumstances when we could be looking around at people we could help."
They stood there for a moment, and then they both seemed to realize it was getting late.
"I better go. Do you want me to walk you to your car?"
Kate's eyes widened. She wasn't expecting that.
Jack almost looked like he wanted to take it back. Or maybe it was her imagination. He put a hand up.
"Never mind. I guess it's just gentlemanly chivalry that comes out every once in a while. I know you're perfectly capable of walking to your own car. And it's not that late."
"Mistletoe Meadows is perfectly safe."
"It sure is. You did a great job tonight. I'm glad you're in charge. Thank you."
"Good night, Jack," she said, wondering what made him change his mind.
Was it her? Did he want to be nice, and so therefore forced himself to do a little bit more than what he normally would?
Or was he just not interested in her the way she seemed to be interested in him, since her eyes couldn't help but go to him anytime they were in the same room together?
Whatever it was, she ended up watching him walk out, turning just before he closed the door, in case he looked back. But as far as she knew, he didn't.