The Patricia Kiyono Christmas Collection (14 page)

“
It was lucky for both of
us. I needed a place to regroup and earn money for my next
move.”

Sam nodded. “Gonna go to California and do
the screenwriting thing, huh?”

“
Yeah. It’s what I’ve
always wanted to do. I think the cooking thing was just a
rebellion. Or a reaction from Nate going off without
me.”

“
Yeah, that was kinda puny
of him. Never did like the guy. He was way too full of himself. I
really wasn’t surprised when he took off.” As if just realizing who
he was talking to, he stopped his rant. “Well, ya gotta do what ya
gotta do. You’re not going out there to chase after him, are ya?”
He waited until Sophie shook her head. “Okay then. Go for it. I’ll
look forward to seeing your name on the credits at the ends of the
shows.”

He got up and retrieved his toddler
daughter, who was eating a plant.

Sam wasn’t known for
heart-to-heart talks, but Sophie thought about their conversation
as she dished out desserts. What was the real reason she wanted to
go to Los Angeles? She’d never thought about going until she and
Nate had made their plans to take Hollywood by storm. She’d always
liked to write, and her teachers had always praised her work, but
it hadn’t been a passion. She’d written little stories, even
published a few. But could she really make it as a screenwriter?
More importantly, did she really
want
to?

Or did she want to stay and see if there was
anything to the chemistry between her and a certain
photographer?

Enough of these
doubts.
She didn’t want to waste any more
of her life in her hometown. It was time to make some of her dreams
come true. She had a handful of scripts for her portfolio. Now she
needed to get them into the hands of people who would read them.
The first thing on tomorrow’s to-do list: submit scripts to more
agents.

~~~~

Mitch picked up
a towel and dried dishes as his sister rinsed and
stacked them in the drying rack. He’d eaten more food in four hours
than he normally consumed in several days, and he needed to get up
and do something constructive. The rest of his family watched a
football game in the living room, and Angie and her cousins played
in her room.

“
So you’ve survived hosting
the fam for Thanksgiving dinner,” Becky began. “And you’re holding
up well. All you have to do is get through dessert, and we’ll all
be gone until the next time it’s your turn.”

“
Yeah. It’s been quite a
week. But I guess it’s worth it. It’s been nice having everyone
here at my place for a change. And the house does look better after
you and Deana and Mom did all that painting and
decorating.”

“
It was fun.”

“
Angie’s thrilled. She
wants to have friends here for a sleepover.” He shuddered. “I’m not
looking forward to that.”

“
You’ll be fine. I can come
over to help, or Mom. Or maybe the girl who helped Angie with her
room.” She turned toward him, her sharp eyes trained on him for any
hint of a reaction.

Mitch knew his sister was fishing for
information, but chose to ignore her line of questioning. He’d
definitely thought about asking Sophie for help, but it probably
wouldn’t be seen as proper in this conservative town for a single
female to spend the night at his house – even with a half dozen
young girls present.

“
Yeah, I suppose Mom would
enjoy that.” His hands stopped and he watched her as he delivered
his comeback. “She always looked forward to your sleepovers, didn’t
she?” He smirked when Becky’s cheeks darkened.

“
So, uh, have you heard
from your in-laws lately?”

“
Yes, I have.”

Becky’s hands froze. “They came over again?
After that scene on Monday?”

“
No, they haven’t been
here. I called Geoffrey.”

“
Sarah’s dad? He always
seemed nice. I could see that. He seemed pretty upset by what his
wife did.”

“
Yes, and he’s always been
good to Angie. So Angie asked me—”

“
Mitch, you have a guest.”
Rita Carson poked her head in the kitchen, a strained expression on
her face. Mitch set the towel down, took a deep breath, and
followed his mother out to the living room.

Geoffrey Billingsworth stood on the mat at
the front door, his hat in his hands. The Carson family surrounded
him, but no one uttered a word of welcome.

Mitch stepped forward, holding out his hand.
“Glad you could make it, Geoffrey. Hope the roads around the lake
didn’t cause a problem.”

Though the trip from Chicago to West
Michigan took a few hours in good weather, the highway’s proximity
to Lake Michigan caused it to freeze over, often becoming
treacherous during the holidays.

Geoffrey took Mitch’s hand and shook it. “No
problems at all, Mitch. Actually, I never went back to Chicago.
I’ve been in Grand Rapids since — since Monday.”

He stopped when Angie and her cousins
entered the living room. Seeing the new arrival, Angie ran to
Geoffrey, her arms outstretched. “Poppy, you came! Daddy said you
didn’t have any company for Thanksgiving so I told him to invite
you here. We have lotsa company.” She waved her hand, indicating
her aunts and uncles.

Geoffrey reached down and picked up his
granddaughter. “Pumpkin, I’m glad I came, too. Thank you so much
for inviting me.” He squeezed her tight, and there was no mistaking
the love in his heart. He looked around at Mitch’s family, his eyes
pleading for understanding.

“
I know I’m probably the
last person you folks want to see right now, but I promise you — I
had absolutely no knowledge of the things Melinda had done. She
took Sarah’s death hard — we all did — but trying to replace her
daughter with Angie was inexcusable, especially when it compromised
our granddaughter’s safety. When I think about what might have
happened if that secretary hadn’t had the good sense to check her
records before sending her off with that man…” He shuddered and
squeezed Angie even tighter.

With a sigh, he put Angie down and
continued. “I’m done with Melinda. We haven’t been close in a long
time, and now… I’m just through with her highbrow, back-stabbing
ways. I paid the private investigator a visit and encouraged him to
name Melinda as his client. She needs to learn she’s not above the
law.”

Rita stepped forward. “Well, Geoffrey, it’s
Thanksgiving, and we’re not going to think about all that nastiness
right now. You’re just in time for dessert. Have a seat.”

Mitch’s brother brought an extra chair in
from the dining room, and generous slices of Rita’s homemade
pumpkin pie were distributed. Soon, the Carson home was once again
filled with laughter and a closeness shared only by family.

Mitch
sat back in his chair, relieved his holiday hosting
obligations were nearly finished. Things had gone surprisingly
well, other than the confrontation with Melinda earlier in the
week.
He enjoyed being with his mother and
siblings. But something inside him wished a certain green-eyed
blonde could be part of the family celebration.

S
ophie gunned the
car into the parking
spot before anyone else could take it. She’d known the mall would
be busy the week after Thanksgiving, but she was prepared for the
crowds. Tonight, in addition to the shoppers, there would be
hundreds of kids, all coming to the annual Santa’s Workshop. From
Black Friday until Christmas Eve, children could watch as elves put
together small toys and wrapped them in the workshop set up in the
center of the mall. For a price, students could take home one of
the wrapped packages.

Joanie had caught a terrible cold, and Dave
was needed to care for both her and the baby, so Sophie had offered
to take Joey to the mall. She had some shopping she wanted to do
herself and was glad for the excuse to drive into Grand Rapids.
Since it was a school night, they left as soon as Joey got out of
school and planned to eat supper at the mall’s food court.

Joey skipped along beside her. “What do you
think I’ll get from Santa’s Workshop, Aunt Sophie?”

“
I have no idea, Joey.
We’ll find out on Christmas morning.”

The boy stopped in his tracks. “Do you think
Mom will really make me wait that long to open it?”

Sophie laughed. “I don’t know. But if we
don’t go inside and get in line, you won’t have a present to
open!”

Christmas shopping always put Sophie in a
cheerful frame of mind. She wasn’t sure if it was the colorful
decorations, the music, or the message of hope and joy, but her
step became lighter as she passed through the mall doors. Knowing
how eager Joey was, they went straight to the Workshop in the
center of the mall before doing any shopping. They heard Santa’s
booming “Ho, ho, ho!” long before they saw any sign of the
elves.

“
Come on, Aunt Sophie!”
Joey cried as he hurried to the edge of the platform where an elf
dressed little teddy bears in various outfits. Frowning in
distaste, he moved on to the next elf and watched him paint wooden
trains. The next elf put together toy drums, and the next put
together some little cars. Joey walked slowly along the sides,
taking it all in. Santa strolled among the elves, barking out
directions in his jolly voice and overseeing their
workmanship.

They finally made their way toward the end
of the platform where wrapped gifts were stacked high. Sophie
handed her money to the elf at the register.

“
Do you need a boy gift or
a girl gift?”

“
Boy gift,
please.”

The elf handed her a blue voucher. “Here you
go. Show that to the Elf at the very end.”

“
Thank you.” They got in
another line for the presents. The tall elf handing out the gifts
reminded Sophie of someone… but it couldn’t be. That high-pitched,
nasal voice didn’t belong to—

“
Sophie?” The elf’s hands
paused as he held a package out to Joey.

“
Nate?” Familiar blue eyes
stared back at her. Eyes that had held hers as he’d promised they
would work together to make their dreams come true. Eyes she hadn’t
seen in seven years.

The elf blinked, and the moment was gone,
though she noticed the ears beneath their points had started to
turn red.

“
Here you go, young man,”
he said in his squeaky elf voice. “Have a Merry Christmas.” He
looked up at Sophie. “And if you’re good to your mommy, you’ll
probably get more good presents.”

“
Thank you,” Joey replied.
“Come on, Aunt Sophie.
” He stepped away
from the platform and another child hopped up. Sophie followed her
nephew in a daze. Had Nathaniel Vosman, AKA Nate Vos, really
returned? Was the great thespian really working as an elf in
Santa’s Workshop? Her mind spun.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts, she
didn’t hear her name being called until Joey tugged on her arm.

“
Aunt Sophie, There’s Angie
Carson and her dad.”

Sophie blinked and focused on a bundle of
energy hurtling toward her.

“
Miss Sophie!” Angie
called, dragging her dad behind her. “Are you shopping for clothes,
too?”

“
Well no, not really. I
brought Joey to Santa’s workshop.” She noticed the identically
wrapped bundle under Mitch’s arm. “I see you’ve been there,
too.”

“
Yeah, it was fun,” Angie
agreed. “But now I need a new dress for the Christmas pageant, and
Daddy doesn’t know how to look for them. Can you help
us?”

“
Sweetie, Miss Sophie’s
probably busy—”

“
But Daddy, Sophie’s a
girl. She knows where to find dresses that don’t cost a-a arm and a
leg, like the ones in that store we went to. Maybe if Joey needs
something for a boy, we can trade.”

“
I don’t know—” Sophie
began.

“
Hey, that’s a good idea,”
Joey interrupted. “Aunt Sophie, you can go look for a dress with
Angie, and Mr. Carson can take me to the arcade.” He leaned toward
Mitch and added in a stage whisper, “Aunt Sophie doesn’t know much
about the arcade games.”

“
Please, Miss Sophie? Daddy
will take care of Joey if you shop with me.”

“
Well, I suppose I could do
that. Do you need shoes and tights and a dress coat?”

“
I’m not sure my budget
could handle a new coat right now, but if you could get her set
with a dress and whatever she needs to go with it, I’d be in your
debt.” He named a budget and suggested that they meet in the food
court. “Here’s my cell phone number. Call me when you’re
ready.”

Sophie took Angie to a department store she
knew carried children’s clothing at reasonable prices. Within an
hour, they found a dress and all the accessories she needed. She
learned Angie was a savvy shopper who knew exactly what she liked
and what she didn’t like. And she’d been ingrained with a sense of
style. She must have inherited that from her mother and
grandmother. Sarah Lester had always looked polished when appearing
on the news, and Melinda was a fashion paragon. Nana Billingsworth
might not approve of the outfit Angie had picked out, but she would
certainly fit in with the other little girls in the Zutphen
Community Church.

She called Mitch to let them know they were
finished, and the four of them met in the food court for a light
supper before making the drive home. Joey happily shared the news
that he had beat Mitch in his favorite arcade game, and Angie
proudly showed off her dress to her father. Sophie produced the
receipts for Angie’s purchases, and insisted Mitch subtract what he
spent for Joey’s arcade games.