Chapter 20
CHAPTER 20
A s the sun set over Captiva island, the excitement in the air was palpable. Only a few days earlier, the streets and restaurants were empty, and the usual sunset crowds had diminished considerably.
Now, Andy Rosse Lane was filled with islanders and tourists ready to celebrate the Christmas season with full enthusiasm.
Jacqui and Linda stood in front of their building and marveled at the Christmas decorations Joshua had put up for them.
Powell Water Sports was equally festive, with Christmas lights covering not only the building, but also the golf carts and kayaks.
The parade route, which included the road leading to the Key Lime Garden Inn, was lined with palm trees wrapped in twinkling lights, and festive decorations adorned every shop and restaurant along Andy Rosse Lane.
Instead of snowflake sweater and elf costumes, attendees donned Hawaiian shirts, Santa hats with sunglasses, and red and green flip-flops.
Byron Jameson was careful to stay out of sight until it was his time to arrive by a decorated fishing boat, complete with strings of lights and garlands, and a very large bag filled with carefully-wrapped gifts for the children.
Conch shell horns, bamboo clappers, ukuleles, steel drums and rain sticks added to the noise. Maggie joined in the fun by shaking jingle bells as she and Paolo approached Jacqui and Linda.
“I see you’re in the holiday spirit, Maggie,” Linda said, trying not to appear angry at her.
Maggie nodded. “I am. I’m usually the one who hates this stuff, but I’ve learned the only way to enjoy the occasion is not to fight the inevitable.”
“Your place looks nice, Jacqui. I love the white lights around the gallery…very elegant.”
“Thank you, Maggie. It’s much more fun having a business on the parade route. You must have had a blast doing this every year.”
“Oh, yes, Maggie is a regular Santa’s elf,” Chelsea said, as she and Steven joined them wearing elf hats with bells on the end.
“Ho, ho, ho,” Steven said.
“See what I mean? Good for you, Steven.”
“Who are you and what have you done with Maggie?” Chelsea teased.
“I’m really only here for the key lime pie. They’re handing slices out down near The Mucky Duck,” he said.
Maggie danced to the music. “We should start walking toward the water. They’re about to light the Christmas tree.”
“I’ll meet you down there. I’m waiting for Joshua,” Jacqui said.
One large float displayed hand-painted ornaments and unique seashell decorations. Another had a giant sandcastle decorated with mermaids and seahorses.
Kristin, Claire and Katie waved to Linda and her friends from the key lime pie table. When they reached her, Linda made the introductions.
“I’m so happy to finally meet you all. Linda has told me so much about your inn and the people who work there. It sounds wonderful,” Kristin said.
“It is and thank you. I haven’t been to your shop yet, but I hope to soon. I’m sure I can get a few Christmas presents for my family. My daughter Sarah and her kids are around here somewhere.”
“Mom!” Sarah called from somewhere in the crowd. “Over here!”
Maggie looked toward Sarah’s voice and saw Sophia on Trevor’s shoulders.
“Hey, you guys. I was just looking for you,” Maggie said.
“Grandma, Santa Claus coming,” Sophia said.
“Yes, I know. I bet you can’t wait. Do you think he has a present for you?”
Sophia nodded and Noah, who was eight, didn’t seem as excited.
Maggie put her hand over her mouth, trying to suppress a laugh. “Oh, my goodness. Do you see what I’m seeing?” she asked Chelsea.
“Is that Skipper Libby in an elf costume?” Chelsea asked.
“Oh, heavens, do you think he came up with that on his own, or did someone actually tell him that was a good idea?” Linda said.
“Where’s Grandma?” Sarah asked.
“She was still at the inn when we walked down here. She said she’d see us at The Mucky Duck, so I expect her to show up any minute.”
Since Maggie insisted Millie avoid Linda’s wild schemes, Millie kept her distance from Linda at the parade. Millie still considered Linda a friend, but when it came to Kristin and her ex-husband’s criminal activities, she decided to let Linda handle it alone. After Maggie’s lecture, Millie chose not to say anything to Linda, quietly stepping away and focusing on her work. It was the best way to stay out of trouble and keep her job.
As Millie prepared for the Christmas parade, she wondered how Linda would react to her. With any luck, Linda would be cordial and not cause a scene. Weaving in and out of the shops, Millie bought a Christmas ornament to give to Maggie for the Key Lime Garden Inn Christmas tree.
Michael Saccone stood at the podium and tapped the microphone.
“Hey everyone, we are about fifteen minutes away from the lighting of Captiva Island’s Christmas tree. So gather around, listen to a few Christmas carols, and I’ll let you know when it’s time to count down to the lighting.”
The crowd cheered.
As soon as Millie got close to the Christmas tree, she saw Maggie, Paolo, and their family. Maggie waved at her. “Come on, stand with us,” Maggie said.
Millie joined them, and Linda saw her and smiled, making Millie feel less nervous. Sarah and her family were eating key lime pie, and further away from the tree were tables set up with hot chocolate and various other festive foods. Maggie’s mother found them all and went directly for the hot chocolate.
“Hello Millie, did you have a nice Thanksgiving?” she asked.
Millie nodded. “I did, thank you. How about you?”
“It was great. I spent the day with my daughter and granddaughter, and their families. Other friends like Chelsea and Steven were there, Santa Claus too.”
“Santa? Maggie didn’t tell me Santa Claus was coming to her Thanksgiving dinner.”
Grandma Sarah laughed. “No silly. Byron Jameson. By the way, where’s Linda?”
“Here I am,” Linda said.
“Hey, Linda, I haven’t seen you in a while, how’ve you been?”
“Fine, thanks. Hello Millie.”
“Hello,” Millie said, and then filled her cup with hot chocolate.
“Smells delicious. I think I’ll have some of that,” Linda said.
The three women found space to sit at a picnic table. It was a good spot to see the Christmas tree and listen to the carolers sing.
Most in the crowd had flameless candles, making the entire street filled with white lights.
Looking over at Maggie and her friends, Grandma Sarah said, “I see your friend Kristin has joined Maggie and her family. Who are the other two women?”
“That’s Kristin’s sister Claire and her daughter Katie,” Millie answered.
“It’s nice to see them mingling with everyone,” Grandma Sarah said.
“Yes, especially after everything they’ve been through.”
Gasping, Millie choked on her hot chocolate.
“Are you okay?” Grandma Sarah asked.
Millie nodded and continued to cough. She looked over at Linda, who wasn’t pleased.
“It just went down the wrong way,” Millie said.
She continued to sip her hot chocolate and looked down at the ground, praying Linda was not about to do something terrible.
“What do you mean by everything they’ve gone through?” Grandma Sarah asked.
Millie was about to get up and leave, when Michael Saccone returned to the podium and was about to announce the countdown of the lighting of the Christmas tree.
The crowd joined him in counting down from ten.
Grandmas Sarah and Millie counted, “Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…one…Merry Christmas!” Michael yelled out and the crowd went wild.
When they settled down, the carolers began singing Silent Night, and everyone joined them.
Millie was frantic. She kept thinking about what her next move should be, but without telling Maggie, there was little she could do to stop Linda.
“Okay everyone, I just heard that Santa Claus was almost here. Someone saw his boat and I think there was a really big bag with him. Do you think it’s filled with toys?” Michael asked the crowd.
Everyone yelled, “Yes!”
“Well I guess we should all walk to the water. Don’t run and listen to your parents. Let’s go.”
Maggie called out to her mother. “We’re going to the water. Are you coming?”
Grandma Sarah nodded. “Looks like I’ll have to leave you ladies. Great-grandmother duties, await. Nice to see you both.”
As soon as she got up to join the others, Millie laid into Linda.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“What? I’m sitting here enjoying my hot chocolate,” Linda answered.
“You know perfectly well that you were about to tell Maggie’s mother about Kristin’s situation. Maggie told you specifically not to include her in this. What is wrong with you?”
Linda tried to defend herself. “I did no such thing.”
“I’m going down to the water to see Santa. I can’t stomach this. You’d better watch yourself. If Maggie finds out that you told her mother…well, I can’t even imagine what will happen to you.”
“Are you threatening me?” Linda asked. “I thought we were friends.”
Mille sighed and closed her eyes, trying to regain some composure.
“If you tell Grandma Sarah about Kristin, you and I can forget about being friends.”
Millie stormed off to join the others at the water, and Linda sat alone, looking like someone had burst her balloon.
Sarah and Trevor laughed, watching the children receive their presents. The tradition brought joy to everyone, especially Byron.
“I don’t know who is having more fun, Byron or the kids,” Maggie said to Chelsea.
Chelsea laughed. “It’s wonderful to see. You did a good thing, Maggie.”
Maggie smiled and looked at Chelsea. “ We did a good thing.”
Noah, who seemed uncertain about the whole thing, ran to Trevor to show him his present.
“Wow, Noah, that’s the toy you’ve talked about for weeks now. That’s the cool thing about Santa. He knows, as long as you’ve been good, exactly what you want,” Trevor explained.
Sophia enjoyed throwing wrapping paper around, and Little Maggie helped her.
Calling the children’s names and passing out presents, Skipper Libby showed himself to be a good elf after all.
Grandma Sarah enjoyed watching her great-grandchildren and being with her family.
“You know two of my friends from the condo are here. I told them all about this parade, and they said they were going to check it out. I didn't see them, but I hoped they would come.”
“Mom, if you want to look around for them, go ahead. When we’re finished here, we’re going back to the house. Lexi’s been alone too much today. She’s bound to get in trouble. Paolo wanted to bring her but I told him to leave her back at the carriage house.”
“I thought she’d have a good time,” Paolo said. “I even got her a little elf sweater for the event.”
Maggie rolled her eyes. “You can put it on her at Christmas if you must.”
Crawford and Ciara met up with Maggie and her group. “Hey, Merry Christmas,” Ciara said.
“And to you. We saw Jacqui earlier, but she was waiting for Joshua. Are they with you?”
Crawford shook his head. “Not those two lovebirds. They’re off on their own somewhere. I don’t know if you noticed, but my son, Luke, is driving the Santa boat.”
Maggie took notice when Katie moved closer to the water to get a better look. At twenty-six, there was no chance she was interested in Byron. More than likely, she wanted to get a better look at Luke.
Maggie wasn’t the only one who noticed. Her mother, Claire, watched her daughter and then looked at Maggie and smiled.
“I think I’m going to look around for my friends,” Grandma Sarah said. “I’ll catch up with you back at the house.
Maggie nodded. “Have fun.”
Millie watched Maggie’s mother push through the crowd, all the while, keeping an eye on Linda St. James. As luck would have it, Linda headed up Andy Rosse Lane, and toward her home.
Having dodged this bullet, Millie wasn’t convinced Linda wouldn’t try again. She decided, regardless of Maggie’s warning, she would keep track of Linda’s activities. It was the only way to keep everyone safe.