Chapter Twenty-six
Caroline woke up the next morning, full of energy. The ceremony was at five o’clock and she had so much to do. First, she wanted to read Nina’s last letter to Anne. She ordered scrambled eggs from room service and took a quick shower. Then she got dressed and sat down to read.
My dearest Anne,
It is finally January! Macy’s and Saks have taken down their Christmas windows and replaced them with sales on coats and sweaters. I have a closet full of winter clothes so I don’t need anything. I promised I’d make this my final letter and tell you the rest of the story.
At first, I was furious with Teddy. But what happened wasn’t his fault. He had no idea that a photographer had followed Margaret to Vermont. There was nothing any of us could do. The photos ran with a feature in the New York Post. Teddy’s mother was so embarrassed, she fled New York and didn’t return for months. I admit, the turn of events made me secretly happy. I had nothing against Dolly as a person, but her interference almost ruined our relationship. Teddy and I stayed in Vermont. I was fired from Women’s World Monthly and Teddy resigned from Palmolive. Margaret’s job was on the line too, but I swore that it was all my idea and she didn’t know my true identity. There was no point in us all being out of work.
Teddy and I didn’t get the marriage annulled. At first, we were going to do it when we returned to Manhattan. But the longer we were together, the more I realized I loved him. Yes, he had made mistakes, but none of us were perfect. And he made me happy.
Vermont that spring was glorious. We rented a cottage near to town. The trees blossomed, and the grass was a bright emerald green. One day, Teddy mentioned that the farm a few doors down was for sale and we should buy it. I thought it was a crazy idea, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. I could write anywhere, and Teddy loved having cows and sheep.
We pooled our savings and bought the farm. In the beginning, the locals were leery of us and about what I had done. But I guess they thought that all New Yorkers were a bit crazy. And we made sure to give back to the community. I mentored girls at the high school who were interested in journalism, and Teddy taught a class in business and advertising. We hosted an annual Christmas party and donated our milk and cheeses to local charities.
We tried to have children, but they never came. I didn’t mind too much. Teddy and I had each other, and that was enough.
My agent tried selling my next book, but I had been backlisted in the publishing world. So, I wrote romances under a pseudonym. They didn’t pay much, but they satisfied my creative outlet. Over the years, the romance field changed, and my publisher eventually dropped me.
A few years ago, Teddy got sick, and last year he died. I knew it was time to come back to New York. It would have been too difficult to live on the farm without him. And I was lonely.
That’s how I ended up in your office, Anne. I’m so glad you agreed to represent me. Now, I’ll hunker down and write the novel that I promised you.
I know the question you’ll ask, when you read these letters. I am a writer after all, my job is imagining people’s reactions to things. And I can give you my answer.
No, I don’t regret any of it. I may not have had the brilliant literary career I imagined for myself, but for over forty years I had love. And I made someone else happy. If we can improve even just two people’s lives—our own and the person’s we love—that’s a successful life.
You have so much in your life—your wonderful career, a lovely home, those beautiful daughters. You’re very lucky, cherish all of it.
Happy New Year, dear Anne! I’m putting the seal on this envelope and I’m getting to work.
Regards,
Nina
Caroline put the letter on top of the stack. She thought she understood why her mother had kept the letters. Nina had been the opposite of Anne. She had given up her career for love. Did that mean that Anne regretted her own choices? Did she wish she had stayed with Michael all those years ago?
Caroline wished she could ask her. But there was nothing she could do. And it didn’t matter now. Caroline had to figure out her own future by herself.
She took the letters to the front desk and asked the man behind the counter to scan them and send them to her email. Then she went to the Limelight Hotel to see Nick. She had to tell him that she needed the manuscript sooner than they had planned.
Nick wasn’t in the little office. His laptop was gone and the coffee cup that usually stood beside it was missing. Instead, there was an envelope with Caroline’s name.
Caroline opened it and read the letter.
Dear Caroline,
There’s something I have to tell you. I could have just sent an email but I didn’t want you to get it and try to stop me.
Savannah and I are eloping. Then we’re driving to Lake Tahoe in California. Savannah knows someone there who runs a ski resort. We’ll work there during the winter and then we’ll figure out what to do next.
I promise I’ll finish the revisions once we get settled. It might take a couple of weeks longer, but I won’t let you down.
I’m sure you think I’m crazy. Savannah left before, what’s to stop her from disappearing again? I could say that we’re both older and wiser, but I don’t know if that’s true. All I know is that I’m in love with her. When Savannah is around, I feel differently about everything, I can’t let that feeling go.
I’m grateful for your belief in me and my book. It changed the way I see myself. I have a lot to give Savannah and I have a lot to offer the world. You’re not only a great editor, you’re a good person. You made me a better man.
I’ll email you the pages as soon as they’re done. Happy New Year, Caroline!
Sincerely,
Nick
Caroline folded the letter and slipped it back in the envelope. How would she explain to Claudia that she wouldn’t have the manuscript until the end of January?
She pulled out her cell phone to call Nick, but then she put it back. There was no point in telling him Claudia’s ultimatum. Her career was not his responsibility. Nick was a talented writer. If Claudia didn’t buy the book, another publisher would. And she couldn’t stop him because she thought he might get hurt. He was in love with Savannah, nothing was going to change his mind.
Caroline walked down Main Street to the Aspen Inn. She saw Lily entering the souvenir shop behind Santa’s Little Red Mailbox.
Caroline ran in after her.
“Caroline?” Lily turned around. “What are you doing here?”
“I saw you walk inside,” Caroline said. “We’re leaving tomorrow. I wanted to come and say goodbye, but I was afraid Max would be there.”
“Uncle Max and I are leaving too. Uncle Max is coming to stay in California. He said it’s because he needs a week of sunshine at the beach, but it’s because he got into a fight with Grandma. I heard them arguing in the kitchen.”
“Arguing about what?” Caroline asked.
Lily glanced around, as if she was afraid someone was listening. She moved closer.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I came downstairs to get some pumpkin bread,” she said. “Grandma was saying that if you love someone you don’t let them go. Uncle Max argued that you’d made yourself perfectly clear. Then he said it was none of Grandma’s business and he was going to California to hang out with me when my mom is working.”
“They were arguing about me?” Caroline said in surprise.
“I told you that code three is extreme. Sometimes when people come out of a code three, they don’t know what they’re saying,” Lily said anxiously. “I’m sure Uncle Max isn’t really angry at you.”
“He should be,” Caroline sighed. “I said some things that were unforgivable.”
“Almost everything can be forgiven. That’s why there’s Christmas,” Lily offered logically. “You have to give things time.”
“Max is leaving tomorrow and so am I,” Caroline said. “We might not see each other again.”
“Do you want to see Uncle Max again?”
Caroline glanced around the store at the Christmas trees decorated with colored ornaments. At the toys and boxes of candy. Christmas was about forgiveness, but it was also about miracles. It was a miracle that she had met her father. It was a miracle that she found Nick’s manuscript and that it made her excited about her career again. And it was a miracle that she had met and fallen in love with Max in such a short amount of time.
She thought about the courage it had taken her mother to face her cancer, and the courage that Daphne needed to marry Luke so soon after they met. Caroline needed that kind of courage now.
“I guess I do.” Caroline nodded. “Perhaps I can come back to the house with you.”
Lily picked out four envelopes.
“That’s a great idea. I just need to buy these envelopes to put in Santa’s Little Red Mailbox.” Lily took out a little purse.
“I’ll buy them for you and get some of my own.” Caroline added a few more envelopes to the pile. “Then we’ll walk together.”
Max was sitting at the kitchen counter when they arrived. He looked up from the list he was writing.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. There were circles under his eyes, but he still looked handsome. He wore a gray V-neck sweater and blue jeans.
“I ran into Lily at the souvenir shop,” Caroline said nervously. Her hands were clammy and it was hard to swallow. “Lily said you were going to California tomorrow.”
Max grunted a reply. He stood up and poured a cup of coffee from the coffeepot. “I didn’t think I’d see you again.”
“I wasn’t going to try to see you,” Caroline began. “You made yourself pretty clear, but the thing is…” She took a deep breath. “You were right about everything.”
Max was about to say something but Caroline didn’t let him interrupt her. This was her only chance and she had to say exactly what she was feeling.
“Yesterday I waited in front of Santa’s Little Red Mailbox for my mother’s lover to show up. He was half an hour late and I was about to leave when he appeared. I’m so glad I waited. Not only was he the love of my mother’s life, he’s my father. Thirty years ago, she didn’t have the courage to make the relationship work, she was too afraid of missing out on having a career. I know her career brought her joy, and I can’t ask her if she felt that she had made a mistake. But I spent the last twenty-four hours asking myself what I wanted. I do want to be successful at my job, but it isn’t the only thing I want. I’m falling for you and I don’t want to give that up. I’m willing to work part-time from Aspen if that’s what it takes.”
Max didn’t say anything. Caroline glanced anxiously at her hands. It was too late. Max had already made up his mind about her and he wasn’t interested in a relationship anymore.
Finally, he walked over to her and kissed her. It was a long, sweet kiss.
“I’m falling in love with you too, Caroline,” Max said. “I wouldn’t have let you go.”
“You wouldn’t?” Caroline said in surprise.
Max picked up the piece of paper.
“I was writing out a list of reasons we should be together,” he said with a smile. “The writers’ conference in Aspen is looking for speakers for next summer, my mother put your name up to be on a panel. And Luke’s going to start selling my rye whiskey at his restaurant in Hudson. So, I already have a reason to come to New York. I was going to leave the list with the concierge.”
Caroline gulped away a tear.
“You should bring Lily to New York. We can take her to the New York Public Library and the Museum of Natural History,” she suggested.
Max kissed her again and Caroline kissed him back.
“I have to get ready for the wedding!” she exclaimed. Her eyes were moist with tears. “My father is going to be there. I can’t wait for you to meet him.”
When Caroline arrived at the little church, Daphne was sitting in the anteroom. Her veil was spread out on the desk, next to a box containing their mother’s turquoise earrings.
“I left a note with the concierge,” Daphne said. She wore a striped turtleneck sweater and white jeans. “I was afraid something happened to you.”
“I feel terrible that I’m late,” Caroline apologized. “I had some things to take care of that couldn’t wait.”
“Did one of them involve Max?” Daphne asked.
Caroline flushed. “How did you know?”
“You have that glow.” Daphne stood up and hugged her.
“It’s not just Max,” Caroline said. She told Daphne about Santa’s Little Red Mailbox and finding her father.
“I asked him to come to the wedding, I hope that’s all right.”
“It’s the best thing I’ve ever heard.” Daphne’s eyes were round with disbelief. “I can’t wait to meet him. And I know Luke will be thrilled.”
Caroline walked over to where Daphne’s wedding dress hung by the window.
“Last Christmas I never would have believed that this year we’d be in Aspen and you’d be getting married.” Caroline ran her fingers over the pink crepe.
“Mom would have loved it, Christmas was her favorite time of the year.” Daphne joined her. She grinned impishly. “The only thing she would have liked better would have been a double wedding.”
“I’ve only just started this relationship thing,” Caroline laughed. “First I intend to be thoroughly spoiled with trips together and romantic dinner dates.”
“And make sure Max celebrates all the important events.” Daphne ticked them off on her fingers. “Valentine’s Day and your birthday and the anniversary of the day you met.”
“I intend to spoil him too.” Caroline nodded emphatically. “I’ve never done things for a guy before. Maybe you can teach me how to cook.”
“I’d be happy to.” Daphne beamed.
There was the sound of footsteps in the church.
Caroline peered out. Luke stood at the altar, looking handsome in a navy-blue tuxedo and yellow tie. Eric, his best man, stood beside him.
Max and Lily were in the front row, and a tall man sat in the back. It was Michael, Caroline’s father.
“Everyone is here.” Caroline turned back to Daphne. She took the dress from the hanger. “It’s time to dress the bride.”