Chapter 26
Elaine looked around the dining room of The Birchwood House and sighed with happiness. Candles were flickering, and garlands of evergreen had been strung across the China cabinets. Outside, snow dusted the lawn of The Birchwood House, faintly lit by a magnificent silver moon.
This Christmas celebration is going to be everything we hoped it could be, she thought, her heart fluttering with excitement. I’ve had so many wonderful Christmases in my life, but I think tonight is truly going to be the best one yet.
She felt a surge of pride and happiness as she reflected on all that she and her daughter and granddaughter had accomplished that year.
They’d started the hotel together and made it a haven of happiness and joy for all who came there.
Elaine thought about how lonely she used to be before Audrey and Michelle moved to Coral Sands, and she closed her eyes for a moment, letting her gratitude fill her.
She went over to the buffet table, which was placed underneath the dining room windows, to make sure that the trays of Christmas cookies hadn’t been disturbed by any of their littlest guests.
Of course there was no way to preserve the way the trays had been beautifully arranged once the party officially started, but she and the girls had spent a lot of time making the trays look just right, and she wanted all the details of the party to be in order before the guests started arriving.
Satisfied that the cookies still looked artfully arranged, she went over to the insulated beverage dispenser, which had been filled with hot cider that had been enhanced with spices and orange slices.
It let off a scrumptious aroma, and she smiled, thinking to herself that the smell of hot apple cider always made her think of Christmas.
There was another beverage dispenser filled with hot water for cocoa and tea, and three trays of clean mugs rested on the end of the buffet table.
Elaine decided that the dining room was perfectly festive, and she made her way to the kitchen next, where three beef and potato pies were cooking in the oven along with empanadas and egg rolls.
The delicious smells of the food filled the air, and the radio was on, playing cheerful Christmas carols.
Elaine hummed along to the carols as she checked on the food in the oven and then made her way out to the hallway, where the coffee makers were letting out their own nutty, rich aromas.
A few Christmas pies that Shep had dropped off earlier were displayed along with bunches of holly and berries on the hallway table, and Elaine bent down to sniff a chocolate peppermint pie, which she couldn’t wait to try a slice of.
Next to the pies and the stacks of little plates that had been set aside for them were wine bottles and wine glasses, as well as a bowl of Christmas punch and punch glasses.
“I think we’re all ready!”
Audrey stepped out of the parlor, wearing a beautiful burgundy dress and a sparkling diamond necklace that Evan had given her for her birthday. She looked radiant, and her cheeks were flushed with anticipation.
“I think so too.” Elaine gave her a big hug. “I’m so excited. You look beautiful, sweetheart.”
“So do you!” Audrey stepped back to admire her mother’s outfit. “That emerald green dress is one of my favorites. You look like the Christmas Queen, especially with those gold clips in your hair.”
“Oh, stop.” Elaine flushed and laughed, delighted by the compliment.
“People will be arriving any minute!” Michelle came thumping down the stairs, wearing a short black dress with tights and boots, which featured a rhinestone pattern reminiscent of snowflakes around the collar and wrists.
She’d pulled back her hair with a festive red ribbon and applied a daring red lipstick to match.
She scampered up to the front window and peered through it, looking across the yard. “Let’s get a fire lit in the parlor.”
“Perfect,” Elaine said. “Let the festivities commence.”
They’d just coaxed the fire in the parlor’s fireplace into a cheerful blaze when their first guests started to arrive.
“Hello!”
“Merry Christmas!”
“Gosh, it looks beautiful in here!”
Most of the hotel’s guests had been out and about around town, and they returned to the mansion one by one. The ones who had stayed upstairs in their cozy rooms wandered downstairs, smiling and remarking on how wonderful everything smelled.
Audrey, Elaine, and Michelle worked together, setting out the rest of the food and greeting their guests and friends. People kept spilling into the warmly lit, cozy hotel, lightly dusted in snow and smiling and laughing.
Elaine was sitting next to the Christmas tree in the parlor, enjoying a cup of punch and breathing deeply of all of the wonderful smells that wafted through the air, when the front door opened again and the guest she was most looking forward to seeing stepped inside.
“Shep!” she exclaimed eagerly, sitting up and setting down her punch glass. She hurried over to him, giving him a hug. The snowflakes on his coat melted against her cheek as he held her back tightly.
“Merry Christmas, sweetheart,” he whispered.
“Merry Christmas,” she whispered back.
For a while, Shep and Elaine lingered with the rest of the guests.
Audrey, Michelle, Harper, Penelope, and Evan started a game of charades in the kitchen, and Elaine knew that wasn’t Shep’s cup of tea, so she beckoned to him and together they slipped out to the parlor, which was quieter, since most of the guests were eating in the dining room or playing games in the kitchen—or, in the case of all the youngest guests, playing hide and seek around the big old house.
Shep and Elaine sat down between the roaring fire and the twinkling Christmas tree, and he pulled a small package from his suit coat pocket. It was wrapped somewhat clumsily but tied with a beautiful gold ribbon.
“Is this for me?” Elaine asked, her heart thumping. During all the many hours she’d spent looking for a gift for Shep, she hadn’t given any thought to the fact that he would also be buying her a Christmas gift. She was filled with excitement.
Shep nodded. “Open it,” he urged her.
Elaine opened the wrapping paper and inhaled when she saw a red velvet jewelry box. She opened it and tears filled her eyes when she saw a beautiful pearl necklace.
“This is gorgeous,” she breathed. “I absolutely love it.”
Shep didn’t say anything, but he smiled at her adoringly. She wondered if he’d remembered how much she liked pearls. He probably had. He was good at remembering little details about her—that was one of the first things that had clued her in to the fact that he had feelings for her.
“Would you put it on me?” she asked, feeling suddenly shy.
He nodded, and she held it up for him. Their fingertips brushed together as he took it, and then he placed it around her neck and clasped it gently.
“I didn’t put on a necklace tonight,” she said, laughing. “None of mine felt right. I’m so glad I didn’t—this necklace is perfect.” She touched the pearls lovingly.
“You look beautiful,” Shep told her.
She squeezed his hand, suddenly feeling nervous.
Now that she’d received Shep’s thoughtful, expensive present, she felt as though the crockpot she’d bought him wasn’t up to snuff.
She’d already experienced some doubts, starting the day after the purchase, and now she felt sure it wasn’t the right gift for him after all.
“I have something for you too,” she said hesitantly, standing up and going over to the Christmas tree, where Shep’s gift was resting, wrapped in gold and red paper and tied with a green ribbon. She picked it up and handed it to him.
“It’s big,” he said, laughing a little. “And heavy.”
Elaine winced. Shep seemed excited about the gift, and she had a sinking feeling that he wouldn’t be excited anymore in a few minutes.
“I bought it for you, and it felt right, and then the next day I started to think it wasn’t right after all.
I spent so much time trying to get you the perfect gift, and I couldn’t seem to find the right thing.
Then I found this, and I got excited, but I think I was so relieved to find something that was maybe right that I wasn’t thinking clearly.
I don’t think you’re really going to like it. ”
Shep chuckled. “Well, I’d still love to see it.”
“Okay.” Elaine winced. “You can open it.”
Still chuckling, Shep undid the ribbon surrounding the present and began to tear away at the wrapping paper gently. He lifted up the Grinch-themed crockpot and began to laugh.
“I get it,” he said. “A grumpy crockpot for a grumpy guy, huh?”
“Well, yes. I figured you’d think it was funny, and I know you needed a crockpot.
” Elaine spoke quickly, feeling nervous.
“But it’s not really that nice of a gift—I mean, it’s an antique, and a fully functional antique, but it’s used.
And you bought me this gorgeous pearl necklace and I bought you a silly cooking appliance!
” She sighed. “It’s just not good enough.
I’m so disappointed. I really wanted to find the perfect Christmas gift for you, and I never did. ”
Shep shook his head. “It absolutely is good enough. I love it. It’s thoughtful, and funny, and useful. And you know I love old things.”
“I do,” she said, brightening. “I think that’s why I got so excited about it in the first place. I was thrilled that I’d found you something old that you could use.”
“You were right.” He smiled. “A crockpot sounds very useful.”
“It really is. I could teach you all my favorite recipes sometime.”
“Sounds like a date.”
They beamed at each other for a moment, and then Shep said softly. “You are a gift in and of yourself, Elaine. This is the best Christmas I’ve had in such a long time, because I have you. Anything you give me as a present is just a bonus.”
“I feel the same,” she said, her eyes shining.
They shared a kiss, and Elaine felt as though all the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree were glowing inside her.
“Come on,” Shep said, standing up and pulling her to her feet. “Let’s go get some apple cider.”
“Sounds wonderful.”
He held out his arm and she took it, and he escorted her in style to the dining room.
* * *
Michelle gazed around the kitchen of The Birchwood House, thinking that it was proving to be a magical Christmas.
She and Audrey, Harper, Penelope, Evan and several other guests had just finished their third game of the night, and everyone had been having a wonderful time sipping wine and hot cocoa and munching on the delicious food.
The kitchen was cozily decorated with flickering candles and garlands of greenery, and through the big old windows, she could see the snowy lawn of the mansion.
Her heart swelled with an ache of happiness so intense she felt she might burst.
“What do you all say to singing some Christmas carols around the fire in the parlor?” Audrey suggested. “I’m down for another game later, but that last one was so intense, I think my brain needs a break.” She laughed.
“Sounds great to me.” Evan stood up and took Audrey’s hand.
The rest of their group followed, but Michelle lingered in the kitchen for a moment. She took a deep breath, reveling in the feeling of joy that seemed to be pervading the whole house.
As she stepped out into the hallway, the front door opened, letting in a gust of snow-scented wind and a young man wearing a leather jacket and a red scarf.
“Theo!” Michelle raced over to him, overjoyed to see him and even more overjoyed that she no longer felt that she needed to conceal her interest in him.
“Hey.” He grinned at her, and for a second, they stood there awkwardly before laughing and giving each other a big hug.
“Welcome to the party,” she said.
“Glad to be here.”
Michelle felt as though there were soap bubbles waltzing around in her core, iridescent and as light as air.
“I have a Christmas gift for you,” she blurted. “It’s under the Christmas tree. You want to open it?”
Theo’s eyes lit up, and he pulled a present out of his coat pocket. “I have one for you too.”
Michelle grinned and took his hand, leading him toward the Christmas tree. He stopped in the arched doorway that led into the parlor and pulled her toward him.
“What?” she asked, confused.
“Mistletoe,” he said, nodding his head upward.
“Oh.” She felt shy all of a sudden, but it didn’t matter, because Theo acted for her. He brought his lips to hers, and they shared a warm kiss.
A couple of people in the parlor whooped and cheered, and Michelle and Theo broke apart from the kiss, laughing.
“Come on,” she said, leading him toward the tree. “I’ll give you your gift.”
They sat in the corner behind the tree while others sang Christmas carols in front of the fire. Michelle gave Theo his gift—a few tools that he could use at his shop—and his eyes lit up when he saw them.
“Yours isn’t as nice,” he said regretfully, handing her the package, “but I figured this will help you with Killer.”
Michelle laughed and opened the gift, which was a beautiful pink retractable leash. “Oh, this will be great!” she said eagerly. “That way she can roam around more but I still won’t lose control of her. Thank you, Theo. This is really thoughtful.”
“Right back at you.” He held up his new tools, grinning.
They were drawing their heads together, and they might have gone in for another kiss, but at that moment Audrey and Evan came to sit down beside them on the couch, bearing mugs of hot apple cider for all four of them.
“Look at this party,” Audrey said with a contented sigh. “Everyone is here with their loved ones.” She turned to Michelle and gave her a not-so-subtle wink, implying that Michelle was also there with her “loved one.”
Evan slid his arm around Audrey’s waist. “I don’t ever want to not be with my loved one. That is, if she would ever consider making me her permanent couch-buddy.”
Michelle’s eyebrows lifted. It was clear to her that Evan was asking Audrey if she would ever remarry! She looked at her mother, hoping that Audrey understood the hint and would say yes.
“Oh, I definitely would,” Audrey said, blushing slightly.
“To our loved ones,” Evan said, raising his glass, his eyes shining. “And to Christmas!”
As they clinked their glasses together, Michelle glowed with happiness, thinking to herself that it could not have been a more wonderful holiday.