I'll Be Home for Christmas (27 page)

Amy's alarm buzzed at six o'clock. A second later, the local radio station came to life with a rousing rendition of “Jingle Bells.” Then the announcement for Moss Farms invaded her bedroom. She pulled the covers over her head, but she could still hear the cheerful voice announcing the latest gift to go in the Christmas Stocking, a gift certificate to the China Buffet for a free dinner for two every week for a full year.

Amy swung her legs over the side of the bed. She smiled in spite of herself. Her PR campaign had taken off like a rocket. Instead of the television and radio announcers doing a countdown of days left till Christmas, they started the top of each hour by announcing the latest contribution to the Christmas Stocking. Estimates were running high as to the value of the contents. Fifty thousand dollars' worth of merchandise and gift certificates seemed to be the magic number. Amy thought it was much higher, because shops and business professionals dropped by with gift certificates on a daily basis. Just yesterday a local plastic surgeon stopped on his way to the office to drop off a gift certificate for a free face-lift. She'd giggled over that all morning, as did all of the Senior ladies.

Then there was the mystery gift that the announcers played up every day. A gift valued at ten thousand dollars. The different stations had call-in periods during which people called in trying to guess what the mystery gift was and who had donated it. So far no one had come close to guessing the mystery gift was a seven-day Carnival Cruise for a family of four.

Just three more days,
Amy thought as she lathered up under the shower. Three more days and she could sleep until the New Year. Then it was back to her own world in Philadelphia. Gus Moss would be returning to his life in California, and her mother and Sam would probably start “keeping company” once they wound down from this little adventure. And it
was
an adventure. Tillie was dressed and waiting by the front door with a cup of coffee and a Pop-tart. Amy wolfed it down and could have eaten another one. “Three more days, Mom!”

“Don't talk with your mouth full, Amy,” Tillie said in a motherly tone.

Amy looked up at her mother. No one had ever said that to her before. Then again, maybe she never talked to anyone with her mouth full. “Let's go. Time is money, Mom. Pastor Mulvaney is sending out three college kids from his choir to help me this morning. I've got kids coming this afternoon too. We have a great inventory now for all the people who stop by at the last minute.”

They quickly walked to the car and climbed in. Tillie settled herself behind the wheel and backed out of the driveway. “I'm going to miss you when you leave, Amy.”

“I'll come home more often, Mom. You know what, I think Sam is going to be taking up a lot of your time once Christmas is over.”

“I hope so. I really like him. We're comfortable together. You know, that old sock-and-shoe routine. He told me yesterday that he's making plans to take every single person who worked at the farm, their families, and even the schoolkids who volunteered on a cruise at the end of January. Just four days. He said the cruise line gave him a great deal. You and Gus are invited, of course.”

“Hmm,” was all Amy could think to say.

“I know this is none of my business, Amy, but I'm going to ask you anyway. Are you and Gus…are you going to stay in touch?”

That was the question Amy had been asking herself for days. She tried for a blasé attitude. “Don't know, Mom. California is across the country. I'm thinking, ‘out of sight, out of mind.'”

“Does that bother you?”

Amy was tempted to fib to her mother but couldn't. “Yes,” she mumbled over the rim of her coffee cup. “Oh, look, it's starting to snow.”

“Then do something about it,” her mother snapped. Amy looked over at her mother, who looked grim and determined.

“Just like that! Do something! Takes two to tango, Mom.”

Tillie took her eyes off the road for a moment. “Yes, just like that. Haven't you learned anything in the last two months? It's all about communication, giving off mixed signals, ignoring the obvious, being afraid to say what's on your mind and in your heart. Like Sam says, you snooze, you lose. I say, go for the gusto!”

“Is that what Sam says?” Amy drawled. “Gusto, eh?”

“Yes, that's what Sam says, and that's what I say. I can't believe I'm giving you relationship advice.”

“Yeah, me too. You're pretty hip these days, Mom.”

“I know. I want my cell phone back. I think I earned it.”

“I got you one for Christmas. It's purple. It takes pictures and everything. You can even text message. Play your cards right and I might throw in an iPod.”

Tillie turned on the right-turn signal and swerved into Moss Farms. She drove slowly over the old road and came to a stop at the top of the rise. “That's one kick-ass Christmas stocking, daughter! I like sitting here looking at it every morning. Did you ever call those people from
Money
magazine who called you?”

“Nope. I'm playing hard to get. C'mon, Mom, time to get to work. What's on the menu today?”

“Addy said she was making waffles for breakfast, corn chowder for lunch, and pepper steak for dinner. With buttered noodles. Does that work for you?”

“It does,” Amy said, hopping out of the car. She loved this time of the day, when she could sit next to Gus eating breakfast. They weren't too tired to talk about anything and everything, unlike at the close of the workday, when they were red-eye tired with only one thought—sleep.

“Morning, everyone,” Amy said cheerfully.

Gus looked around to see who “everyone” was. She must be referring to Cyrus and him. “Good morning to you, too, Miss Baran.”

“Three more days!” Amy said as she filled her plate with waffles from the warming oven. Gus poured coffee for her, and Cyrus dogged her steps, no doubt hoping for a sliver of bacon. She obliged.

“It will be over before you know it,” Gus said, trying to be as cheerful as Amy sounded. He knew he wasn't pulling it off. He was simply too damn tired to be cheerful at this hour of the morning.

“Are you and your dad going to put up a Christmas tree here in the house?”

“I don't think so. He didn't say anything about it. Are you and your mom putting up a tree?”

Amy eyed the man she secretly thought of as her destiny and laughed, a forced sound. “Not if I can help it. I don't want to see a pine tree of any kind until next year and maybe not even then. I think I turned into a grinch. It's snowing out. Looks like it might lead to some of the serious white stuff. You know, an accumulation.” Such a scintillating conversation.

Gus groaned. “Do you know what snow means, Amy?”

“Yeah, I have to shovel Mom's driveway.”

“No, it means all the procrastinators will be trooping out here to buy a tree in the snow. Snow means Christmas. People get the spirit the minute the snow starts to fall.”

“I can help with that, Gus. We have a good amount of inventory in the barn. For the most part, I think my end is done. I can't imagine selling 200-some wreaths and 125 grave blankets over the next few days. Tell me what you want me to do and I'm all yours.”

Gus jerked to attention. “Do you mean that?”

“Uh…well, yes. Just tell me what you want me to do. I can bale the trees. I can saw off the bottom branches and I can drill the holes. I don't have the upper-body strength to lift the trees.”

“Oh, I thought…what I mean is…”

Tillie's words rang in Amy's ears.
Then do something about it. Go for the gusto!
“You thought I meant I was all yours as in us, as in a team, as in a couple…. I did mean that. I meant the other part too. What are you going to do about it, Gus Moss?” she asked boldly. Surely that counted as going for the gusto.

Gus decided to take the high road. “What do you
want
me to do about it?”

Amy stood up and stomped her foot. “I want you to tell me whatever the hell you want to tell me. I'm too tired to play games. I like you. I am very attracted to you. You're a great kisser, and you said yourself you were a stand-up kind of guy. I see us as a couple. I can see myself married to you with a bunch of kids. Well?”

Cyrus barked so loud Amy thought her eardrums had ruptured.

Amy felt her eyes start to burn. So much for saying what was on her mind. She was going to strangle her mother as soon as she found her. She shrugged into her jacket. “Your silence tells me all I need to know. You can just kiss my…my…”

“Mouth? I'd be happy to oblige, but do you see that SUV out there with all those squealing kids? Jeez, they even brought the dog with them. I told you, it's a family thing the minute it starts to snow. I will kiss you later, and you said it all better than I ever could. Start thinking about moving out to the Golden State. Five kids, two dogs, a cat, a bird, and some hamsters. You okay with that?” Gus called over his shoulder as he rushed out the door. “I'll design us a house around you, Amy Baran.”

Amy stood rooted to the floor. “I think that was a proposal of sorts. Don't you, Cyrus? If so, I'll take it.” She wrapped her muffler around her neck and marched outside to greet the family with the squealing kids and barking dog.

“We want four trees,” Amy heard the father say. She watched as the mother rolled her eyes as she did her best to herd the six kids to the gift shop. “Don't forget the four wreaths and the four grave blankets.” Amy laughed. She knew immediately who was the boss of this rambunctious family. She continued to laugh as the dog chased Cyrus, trying to get his reindeer ears.

The rest of the day was no better. By four o'clock three inches of snow covered the ground. The trees were coated with it, which only made them heavier. At five o'clock, when Gus closed the gate at the entrance, Amy thought she would collapse. She knew if she closed her eyes even for a second she'd be out for the rest of the night.

While she waited for the Seniors to come in for supper, Amy drank three cups of black coffee, one after the other. She was so wired from all the caffeine she'd consumed that she thought she was going to explode. The minute Gus walked in the door, she eyeballed him and said, “So when are we getting married?”

“How about tomorrow?”

“I'm too tired.”

Gus laughed. “Did you just propose to me? I thought I was supposed to do the asking.”

“You did. This morning. I'm just…I'm just confirming it. I'm a detail kind of gal. You should know that about me.” Suddenly, Amy looked around and was stunned to see the room was full of Seniors, her mother, and Gus's father.

“We're getting married,” Gus said.

Everyone clapped. Even Amy.

“When?” the Seniors asked.

“New Year's Day,” Gus said.

Amy yawned. “Works for me,” she said before she slid to the floor and was out like a light.

“Looks like your daughter might be spending the night, Tillie. Guess I'll be driving you home after supper.”

Tillie smiled. What was the point in telling Sam she'd driven to the farm this morning? There were all kinds of being tired. She smiled up at Sam. “I'd really appreciate that, Sam. I was going to put my tree up tonight as a surprise for Amy. Maybe if you aren't too tired, you could help me.”

Gus sidled up to his father. “Go for it, Dad; that's the best offer you're ever going to get.” He bent over to pick up Amy. Cyrus barked as he slung the sleeping girl over his shoulder. She felt like a rag doll. The Seniors clapped again. Gus felt like a caveman as he made his way through the gauntlet of helpers to the living room.

Gus covered the sleeping girl and built up the fire. He was staring into the flames, his thoughts a million miles away, when one of the Seniors brought two plates of food, one for him and one for Cyrus.

Harvey Jenkins poked his head into the living room. “We're going to put a tree up for Sam if you don't mind, Gus. Is there anything special you want in the way of ornaments, or should we use some from the gift shop?”

“I have no idea where Mom kept the ornaments, Harvey. Just put some lights on the tree and use the ornaments from the shop. I appreciate it. You've all done so much already. This is above and beyond what any of us expected.”

“Can't have Christmas without a tree in your living room. We want to do it. We'll have it up in no time and be out of your way. You can sit here and enjoy it. It's snowing pretty heavy out there right now. Most of us are staying the night, because if it snows all night we won't be able to get back here. Sam said it was okay. We'll be upstairs if you need us. Later on, that is,” the old man said gruffly.

“Okay,” Gus said as he leaned back in his father's favorite chair. He was asleep the moment his eyes closed. He didn't open his eyes again until six o'clock the next morning. He could smell bacon and coffee, but it was the sight of the beautiful tree in the corner of the living room that made him suck in his breath. This was the tree he'd never had as a kid. All lit up with shiny ornaments and a ton of gaily wrapped packages nestled under it. He had to blink his eyes several times to ward off the tears. How beautiful, how awesome, how generous of the Seniors. He knew he would remember this moment for the rest of his life.

He turned around to see the Seniors watching him like a cluster of precocious squirrels, big smiles on their faces. “Does it look like the kind your Momma used to put up?” Addy asked.

Gus had no trouble with the lie he was about to tell. “Exactly,” he said, going over to hug each one of them. He loved how they fussed over him, patting him on the arm, on the back, then hugging him.

“Wake up Amy. I hope she likes it,” Harvey said.

“Hey, sleepy head, wake up,” Gus said, poking Amy on the arm.

Amy bolted upright. She looked around in a daze. “Did I sleep for three whole days? Is it Christmas? It's gorgeous. It takes my breath away. Oh, Gus, it's just beautiful.”