Chapter 11
Waking up early wasn’t difficult at all because she hadn’t slept a wink.
She’d taken the train down into Manhattan, getting to the studio well in advance of the appointed time.
She had the prototype of the WonderHaus with her and Fliss met her at the studio, wearing a pair of leather leggings with a fluffy sweater and her military-style coat.
“How was your turkey day?”
“Different,” Cora said as they entered the building and were shown to the green room. “Don’t laugh, but I spent it with Nick Bari and his family.”
Fliss laughed. “Yeah, right.”
“No, really. He invited me over and I went. That’s the shocking part. I really hate holiday get-togethers, but this one was fun.”
“Fun with the lumberjack? Isn’t that what you called him.”
Cora flushed remembering how harsh she’d been about Nick when they’d first spoken about him.
But she’d changed. This week felt like it had lasted a year, with every day bringing another emergency or another trial she had to pass.
Yesterday had been relaxing and a reset and that ick feeling that sometimes came from doing all the traditional holiday events hadn’t been there.
Much of that she was sure came from Nick.
He’d rocked her world in the butler’s pantry but he’d also just made her feel a part of something.
She’d read somewhere that family is one you make yourself but she struggled to let anyone in.
Fliss was the closest thing she had to a friend and, to be honest, they rarely did anything that wasn’t in some way related to work.
“He’s not that bad,” she said.
Fliss laughed in a kind way, giving Cora a one-armed hug. “Tell me more. What’s his family even like?”
“Odd. I mean … nice, of course, but his mom is always trying to feed everyone. His dad has kind eyes and the same deep laugh that Nick does.” A warmth stole through her as she remembered the dinner table. “I did my usual talking-too-much thing but no one seemed to mind.”
“No one should mind. You’re smart and you have a lot to say,” Fliss said.
That hadn’t always been the case. Neither of her parents had wanted to hear from her.
She’d kept quiet for a lot of years, but when she hit high school, she realized that she wanted to be a different sort of woman.
Quiet and mousy wasn’t her thing. No judgment to anyone who preferred to be that way, but Cora had no longer been prepared to disappear after years of being shuttled between two homes and not fitting in with either new family.
“Thanks, Fliss.”
Cora’s segment on the show went really well.
The hosts both declared the dollhouse the must-have toy of the season and had already booked tickets to come to the festival in mid-December.
Cora rode that high all the way back to Pine Falls.
Getting off the train, her phone started blowing up with congrats messages from the board and order notifications through their website.
Nick
Nice job this morning.
Cora hearted his message.
Cora
Want to come and walk through the festival grounds with me?
Nick
Give me an hour and I’ll be there.
Using her office bathroom, she changed out of the outfit she’d worn for the TV show into a pair of cream-colored jeans, chunky hiking boots and a long red sweater with bows on it. She pulled her red wool coat on over it and then perched her knitted hat on her head so that her hair framed her face.
Blowing herself a kiss in the mirror, she grabbed her keys and drove over to the festival grounds where workers were putting the finishing touches on the tree.
She stood back to watch them, calling out advice when she saw an empty area.
Perhaps she should actually get her own tree this year.
For years she’d toyed with the idea of inviting the staff to her house for a party mid-way through the festival but never had because her own house was a Christmas-free zone and how would she explain that?
Except for that mistletoe that had appeared over her front door the night Nick kissed her and which was still there. She noted it each time she entered and left her home.
“Hiya.”
Nick wore his long red leather duster again, over jeans and boots, and this time she noticed that the leather was aged and worn and had some embroidering on the lapels. His beard looked freshly trimmed and she couldn’t help the snow globe in her tummy going crazy when she saw him.
He was starting to matter to her.
A man that wanted to be married was starting to matter to her.
The significance of that shook her to her core.
Don’t be stupid. This is temporary.
But that didn’t stop her pulse from quickening as he stood next to her, staring up at the tree. “This is a gorgeous tree. Have you thought about adding a paperchain to it?”
“No. Why would we?”
“So that everyone who visits could feel like they’re a part of the celebration.”
She was intrigued. Nick thought differently to her, and he liked the holiday which meant he had good ideas for how to make the most of it. “How?”
“You could have strips of paper that visitors to the festival could write their intention for the season or the new year on. Everyone would add a link to the chain garland and be part of the tree here.”
“Let me think about it. I’m not sure I have the staff to have someone working out here, and wouldn’t the paper get ruined by the snow?”
“Bari toys could staff it,” he offered, “and you let me worry about the paper. Think about it while you show me around. Has a lot changed since you fired me?”
She liked when he teased her, probably too much. That feeling of fear tried to take root but she shrugged it aside. At this moment, everything in her life was going well. For once she wanted to just enjoy it instead of waiting for the next bad thing to happen.
Cora seemed softer today and he liked it. She was probably as casual as she was ever going to get. He should be in the workshop, but Wils had reassured him that he had everything under control. Working on Cora was his most important task right now.
Santa’s Toy Village was enclosed in a large function space that had a facade of a castle in the style of the classic Bavarian fairy-tale ones.
“Really, Cora? This is your idea of Santa’s village?”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“There’s nothing magical about this place at all.”
“It’s a convention space, Nick. It’s not the actual North Pole.”
“Would you let me and my team redesign it?” he asked her. The vision in his head was a replica of his own village in Hearthvale—which was the actual North Pole.
“It has to be done by Sunday. So in a day and a half at most.”
“I like a challenge.”
“Is that why you’re hanging around me?” she asked, the words slipping out without thought.
“You certainly keep me on my toes,” he admitted. “So am I doing this?”
“I’m not sure. What exactly are you thinking?”
For a split second, he almost used his magic to show her what he envisioned for this space, but he stopped himself by stepping behind her and putting his hands on her shoulders.
“You enter through frosted gates that transport you to Santa’s village. The scent of pine and sugar cookies fills the air.”
“Okay, the food court can provide the cookie scent. But I’ve already got that.”
“I’m not through yet. There are pathways that wind between mini timbered houses with steep roofs, each one lit with a soft amber light that glows on the snow-dusted cobblestones.
Smoke curls lazily from the chimneys, giving the entire space a feeling of warmth and home.
Icicles hang from the eaves and twinkle along in the fairy lights that are strung through the village. ”
“That’s a lot of work. Are you sure you can do it?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at him.
“Definitely.” The world needed more magic in it and Cora needed it most of all.
Coming here every day would enhance the work he was doing to show her a different way to live and be.
He didn’t want to change who she was; he wanted to relax that wall she’d built around herself and show her that she could be part of a community instead of just observing it from the outside.
“The workers from the different toy shops will bustle along the paths, carrying parcels. In the center will be a giant Christmas tree with its branches heavy with ornaments that draw everyone’s eye.”
“If you can get a tree this late, I’ll be surprised, but I like it. It sounds enchanting. Maybe this is where we do your paperchain idea,” she suggested.
“That will work. We could do one of those wish trees as well. We used to have one—”
“We still do,” she said smartly. “It’s near the food court. I wanted it some place where everyone would congregate but it gets very crowded in here so it’s good to spread people out.”
“Is there a maximum number of people allowed?”
“Yes. I have staff members dressed as elves at the front who will monitor it,” she told him. “Want to see the food court? Are you going to redo that as well?”
“Probably.”
She led the way to the back. It looked like any old food court in a mall and devoid of magic.
“Maybe we could install a few fireplaces with comfy seating areas grouped around them?”
“Sure,” she said, partly to humor his grand ambitions.
“As long as you keep in mind the fact that you can’t have real fire in here and you only have a day and a half to pull this off and a limited budget.
It’d have to be electric. I think we have a few large fireplaces in storage if you want to use them. ”
“I do,” he said. “The wish trees are situated on both sides?”
“Yes. We usually try to fulfill as many of the wishes as we can from our budget, but it’s not always possible to get them all.”
“I’ll talk to the other vendors. I’m sure they’ll want to help,” Nick said.
“That involves a lot of paperwork and, believe it or not, trust. I prefer to make sure that we don’t promise more than we can actually deliver. Disappointment is the worst.”