Chapter 7 #2
Her eyes widened. He actually seemed serious. “Is apologizing to me something you anticipate needing to do?”
“No, not at all,” he said right away. “But according to some folks — and most of the Internet, apparently — I’m fully capable of doing things I need to apologize for.” Emotion of some sort flashed through his eyes. “After all, isn’t that why we’re here right now? For my ‘apology tour?’”
Little Joshua climbed onto the sofa and crawled toward Daniel with an intent look.
Daniel gave the boy his full attention. “Glad you’re here, little man. If my publisher gets tough on me during this call, can I ask you to chime in and tell him to back off?”
Joshua didn’t reply at first, but then said, his voice filled with eagerness, “One two three!”
From the kitchen, Gabe said, “We’ll play more after the call, okay, buddy?”
“I tell you what,” Daniel said to Joshua. “As soon as the call ends, we’ll play One Two Three, okay?”
The boy’s face lit up.
Gabe returned to the living room with mugs of coffee, cream, and sugar on a tray, which he set on the coffee table.
“Joshua, your banana and juice are in the kitchen.” The boy clambered off the sofa and raced into the kitchen while Gabe set his phone on the coffee table. “Dialing now. I’ll get the pie.”
After a ring, a familiar voice with an English accent said, “Good afternoon, Gabriel!”
“Afternoon, Nigel,” Gabe said from the kitchen. “Can you hear me okay? You’re on speaker with Daniel and Penny.”
“I hear you perfectly,” Nigel said, his crisp voice coming through loud and clear. “Any troubles on your long journey north, Daniel? I hope the drive wasn’t too arduous?”
“All good,” Daniel said. “The drive was smooth.”
“Hmm,” Nigel said, not sounding convinced. “Well, what matters is that you reached that remote outpost safe and sound, without incident. Penny, thank you for joining Daniel and Gabriel today.”
“Of course.”
“Let’s review what’s already on the schedule. First up is tomorrow’s Wassail event. Gabriel, my team is busy lining up social media support. We’ll let you know as soon as we lock that down.”
“Great,” Gabe said as he returned with plates of apple pie for Penny and Daniel.
Penny brought the pie to her nose, loving the smell. “So, Nigel,” she said as she dug in for her first bite, “when you say you’re lining up social media support, what do you mean?”
“Video, mostly. We’re looking for a local who knows how to use their phone to shoot video.”
“You’re hiring someone to film Daniel at the Wassail event?”
“Oh, yes. Daniel has traveled to your charming hamlet to immerse himself in holiday activities and discover the true meaning of Christmas. The world needs to know that. Every activity he’s part of will be filmed.”
“I suppose I should have realized that social media would be part of your planning, but….”
“Are you worried about being filmed?”
“Well, not really, but….”
“Fear not,” he said. “My team will ensure that everyone who appears in the videos — you included — is shown in a positive light.”
“Thank you.”
“Now,” Nigel said, “next on the schedule, after the Wassail, is an afternoon of Christmas tree cutting at Abner’s Tree Farm, followed by tree decorating at the Heartsprings Valley Cafe. Gabriel, where are we on that?”
“At the cafe, Holly has cleared a space for a second tree.”
“And the tree farm?”
“You said your team was going to call Abner and let him know you’re coming.”
“Ah, yes, that’s right,” Nigel said. “I spoke with the fellow myself. Not very talkative, I must say. After offering him a detailed explanation of what we’re planning, all he said in reply was, and I quote, ‘You want a Christmas tree, we got one for you.’”
“Sounds like Abner.”
“Which brings us to the final event currently on the schedule — a book signing and press event at The Tattered Page.”
Penny swallowed a bite of pie and said, “We do readings and signings often, so the event won’t be anything out of the ordinary for us. If you let me know the day before how many reporters and cameras we can expect, I’ll make sure we have everything set up properly.”
“Thank you, Penny,” Nigel said. “We’ll be sure to do that.” After a brief pause, he added, “Daniel, you’re being rather quiet.”
All eyes swung to Daniel. He’d been leaning back on the sofa, listening intently, his expression hard to read. There seemed to be a reserve, a hesitation, in his manner.
“Everything you’re setting up sounds good,” he said. “As promised, I’m here to fulfill my part of the bargain.”
“And I’m grateful that you agreed to go north and participate in the holiday activities we’re arranging for you.”
“No pushback from me on any of that, promise.”
“Thank you,” Nigel replied. “Of course, your participation in these events, while essential, isn’t all that we’re asking of you.”
Daniel shifted on the couch. “I agree, that’s not all you’re asking of me. You also want me to learn more about the holiday and I’m fine with that, too. I’m here to learn. Bring on the learning.”
“Glad to hear. The final piece of the ask, of course, is for you to tell the world that —”
“That I’ve had a change of heart, that my eyes have been opened, that I’ve learned how wonderful Christmas is, that everything I wrote in the essay was completely wrong.”
“Exactly,” Nigel said.
As she watched their interplay, Penny realized that Daniel wasn’t coming across as impatient or anxious or irritated.
He didn’t appear to be overly resentful about being strong-armed into leaving New York and driving to a small town in northern New England to take part in activities he clearly had little interest in.
But neither, on the flip side, did he appear to be happy or excited. She had yet to see anything approaching a smile from him.
“As I said in New York,” he said, “what I’ll say after I immerse myself in Christmas is something I’ll figure out after I immerse myself in Christmas.”
Yes, definitely a vibe from this one. Direct and no-nonsense, like he knew who and what he was about. He was being polite, which was to his credit. But clearly he wasn’t enthused about being here.
It hit her: The feeling she was getting from Daniel Bedford was one of purpose. That was his vibe. He felt ready.
But ready for what?
If Daniel Bedford wasn’t here to get himself out of the mess he made, she found herself wondering, then why was he here?