The Patricia Kiyono Christmas Collection (36 page)

He’d choked back his tears. “I’m trying,
Mom.”

So his mother knew as well as he did that
Helen was the woman for him. How could he convince her of that?

You write for a magazine. A publication that
goes to several million homes each month and millions more online.
You have an audience. Use it!

He could do something for this town that had
accepted and embraced his brother and mother, and seemed to welcome
him. And it would keep him here for a while. Hopefully, long enough
to convince a certain lady that they belonged together.

Mike checked his
briefcase one last time before closing it. He
needed to have all his ducks in a row before pitching his idea to
the board. He’d had to call in more than a few favors to get on the
agenda for this meeting, and he’d better have everything ready. His
suitcase was packed and waited for him by the door. The weather
forecast for the next few days was good. Travel around Lake
Michigan could be treacherous in the wintertime, and they’d already
had one major snowfall. He needed to get to the meeting and back
before the pageant on Sunday. If he had to, he’d snowshoe back to
Zutphen before he’d disappoint Helen.

Satisfied that he had everything in order,
he closed his briefcase and stood. He had a three-hour drive ahead
of him — in good weather and light traffic — so he’d given himself
five hours to get there. He’d better get going.

He trudged out to the garage, thankful he’d
taken the snow blower and cleared the driveway the previous day.
Using the little snow blower had taken quite awhile, but it was
better than shoveling. Maybe now that Helen had more money each
month she could hire a snowplow service. Or maybe she’d let him
help pay for it.

The suitcase went in the trunk of the car
and the briefcase went in the passenger seat. He felt in his pocket
for his keys then remembered they were hanging on the hook inside
the door. Turning to go back inside, he nearly toppled over as a
hundred pounds of sobbing woman hit his chest.

Helen’s arms circled tightly around his
neck. She had no coat and nothing on her feet. He wrapped his arms
around her and tried to discern what she was saying through her
tears.

“
I’m sorry! Please don’t
go. Don’t leave me. If you have to go back to Chicago, take me with
you. I do want to marry you. I do love you, but I was afraid to
admit it. I’m a silly old woman who doesn’t know what she wants.
Please, please, give me another chance.”

The joy in his heart warmed him, and he held
her more tightly. “Sweetheart, you’re going to freeze out here.
Let’s go inside and talk.” Mindful of her lack of footwear, he
carried her back into the house, going through the kitchen and into
the living room. He set her in her recliner and wrapped an afghan
around her, then knelt in front of her. “Did you think I would just
take off for good without talking to you? I’ve never done that to a
landlord, and I wouldn’t do it to you. I wouldn’t be a very good
tenant if I did that. And you mean so much more to me than any
landlord.”

She wiped at her eyes with her sleeve and
sniffed. “I don’t know. You seemed awfully upset with me the other
day.”

“
I wasn’t upset with you. I
was disappointed because I thought I’d miscalculated, misunderstood
your feelings.”

“
You didn’t. I did. I was
going to tell you, but then I saw you putting your suitcase in your
car… I panicked.”

“
Yes, you did.” He got up
and perched on the arm of her recliner, setting his arm around her
shoulders. “Helen, I have a meeting I have to attend. I’m
presenting an idea for a new series of articles to the board. One
that features the best places to live. Starting with Zutphen. I
figure that will keep me here for a while, and maybe it will help
the town a little bit.”

The smile lighting her face wiped away any
trace of doubt lingering. “Oh, that’s wonderful!” She reached up to
hug him again, but he leaned in for a kiss. They clung tightly to
each other, and he held on, showing her with every touch, every
caress, how much he cherished her, and promising her the world.
Promising her he’d be there with her, supporting her, caring for
her, working with her.

When they came up for air, he groaned.
“Sweetheart, I’d love to continue this, but I’ve got to get to this
meeting to pitch my idea. The board is meeting at one o’clock,
which gives me enough time to get there, park, and get to the
boardroom. If I’m lucky I’ll have a minute to hang up my coat.”

Her tiny hands left the back of his head and
came down the sides of his neck then traveled down his chest. “Call
me and let me know how it goes?”

“
Sure. I thought I’d go to
my apartment tonight and pack up some more things and bring them
back here. But I’ll be back tomorrow. I can’t miss the
pageant!”

She rewarded him with a mock frown. “You’d
better not, mister!”

He leaned in for one more kiss then stepped
outside. Turning back around, he asked again. “So you’ll marry
me?”

She nodded.

“
When? We’re not getting
any younger, you know. I’d marry you today if I could.”

“
Whenever you
say.”

“
Really? Tomorrow? The day
after?”

She laughed. “If we can pull everything
together, yes.”

He made a quick stop in the apartment for
his keys then walked to his car, his heart a dozen times lighter
than it had been before. Turning back to the house, he smiled at
the vision of her in the doorway. Yes, he’d be back. Tomorrow.

As soon as he reached the highway, Mike
pressed the button to activate his blue tooth phone connection. He
gave the phone contact and waited impatiently for the answer.

“
Matt Sikkema.”

“
Hey, little brother. She
finally said yes.”

“
Really? That’s great.
Congratulations. When’s the big day?”

“
Sunday, if we can manage
it.”

“
Sunday is the
pageant.”

“
Right. We’ll be all
dressed up, and all our friends will be there.”

Matt’s laughter bubbled through the line.
“Good point. So what would you like me to do?”

“
Tell me what I need to do
to make it legal.”

“
You need a marriage
license. You can apply for it online now…”

By the time Mike reached the state line, the
brothers had ironed out most of the details. Kathy and Loretta had
been pressed into service to arrange the rest, along with Helen’s
sons and daughters-in-law.

His wedding was arranged. Now all he needed
was the bride.

As usual, most
of Zutphen gathered for the annual Christmas
Pageant presented by the children of Zutphen Community Church.
Since the new church still wasn’t complete, everyone filled the
seats in the high school auditorium.

Backstage, Matt patted his brother’s
shoulder. “Are you ready for this?”

“
I think so.”

“
Did you pick up the
license?”

“
Yes. It’s right here.
Thanks for getting all of Helen’s information for me. And I know
Kathy’s been busy making arrangements.”

“
It’s our pleasure. Nancy
is all set with the flowers and all the other decorations. Mabel
Groendyke took care of choosing the music, and the sound guy is all
set in the booth, ready to play the music as soon as you give him a
thumbs up.”

Everything is set… except one piece of the
puzzle.

He took his place on the side of the stage,
ready to go on. The butterflies in his stomach had nothing to do
with the pageant, though. Acting the part of a dad reading a story
aloud to his children was nothing next to the part he wanted to
play.

~~~~

Helen sat in
front of the stage, waiting for the lights to dim.
Pastor Sikkema had welcomed everyone and promised a fantastic
program. He’d announced this year’s program would be Helen’s last,
and asked her to stand so the congregation could thank her with
applause. She’d risen, embarrassed at the attention.

The younger children, under Joanie’s
direction, sat on risers off to the side of the stage. They would
provide the music. Two high-schoolers stayed with the children so
that Joanie could conduct.

As the lights dimmed, the actors took their
places. Mike entered the stage and took his place in the wing chair
placed off to the left, and the four students with speaking parts
sat on the floor in front of him. Helen’s heart beat faster, as it
did each time she saw the handsome man who’d entered her life so
unexpectedly and filled her heart with positive thoughts and
optimism. Thanks to him, she no longer thought of herself as just a
mom, just a grandmother, just… a pageant director. She was anything
she wanted to be, and more. And this wonderful man had asked her to
marry him. What had she done to deserve it?

The spotlight shone on the little family,
and Mike cleared his throat, making the speakers squeal. He gave a
start then opened his book. His script lay inside.

“
Everyone knows the story
about what happened in the stable on the night Jesus was born. But
what happened before that? Mary and Joseph had to travel from
Nazareth, where they lived, to Bethlehem. They had to travel eighty
miles by foot. If your parents drove that far, it would take them
an hour and a half if they drove fast. And this was rough land,
with lots of hills and rivers to cross. So the story I want to tell
you today is about The Journey to Bethlehem.”

At this point, the lights dimmed on the
modern family and rose on the middle of the stage, where actors
playing Mary and Joseph walked slowly across the stage. Another
light shone on the younger students, who stood on the risers and
sang a song Joanie had written about taking a long journey.

After the song, the spotlight returned to
the little family, and Mike continued his story. “There were all
sorts of dangers along the way for the little family. They traveled
with others, and they had to walk most of the way. How long do you
think it would take you to travel?”

Helen watched, transfixed, as the people on
the stage brought her words to life. Mary and Joseph seemed to be
taking their own journey: from the familiar to the place they
needed to be. To the unknown. To where they belonged.

She belonged with the man sitting on the
stage. The man who had shown her what she was capable of. Why had
she doubted it?

The final song ended, and the congregation
responded with a thunderous applause. Pastor Sikkema walked to the
center of the stage and acknowledged Helen and Joanie and thanked
the children for their participation. Helen sank back in her seat,
thankful the program was done, yet a little sad. The high school
students she’d recruited as stage crew came onto the stage and
started to move things away, and those with the younger students
ushered them off the stage. She didn’t pay much attention to what
was going on until she focused on the pastor’s words.

“
So I hope all of you will
stay for a little while. We have a very special event planned, and
we’d like you all to be present for it.”

Another event? What is he talking about? I
just want to go home and crash.

And then she looked more closely at the
stage. The scenery for the pageant and the risers had been moved
off and replaced with a white ivy covered trellis. Yards of white
tulle trailed out from the trellis to the ends of the stage, and
pots of poinsettia plants followed the trail. Paul and Jonathan had
taken off their costumes and stood on one side of the trellis.
Nancy and Bonnie stood on the other, each holding a long stemmed
red rose.

Mike appeared in front of her with a huge
bouquet of red roses. “Did you mean what you said the other
day?”

“
What-what I said?”
What did I say?

“
You said you’d marry me
any time, anywhere. Did you mean it?”

She nodded, and swallowed. “Yes.”

“
Then marry me now. Right
here, in front of our friends and family. I’ve got the marriage
license, and Matt is all ready with the vows. All you have to do is
join me up on the stage and repeat what he says. Are you all right
with that? If not, I can go up and make an announcement and ask
everyone to come back. But that means I’ll have to go to the
Seychelles by myself.”

She laughed then. “There is no way I’m
letting you go there alone. I’m not taking a chance on you finding
some bikini wearing bimbo!”

He chuckled. “That wouldn’t happen. But just
to ease your conscience, will you come up and join me onstage?” He
looked around at all the smiling faces in the auditorium. “I think
our families and the rest of the congregation are waiting for your
answer.”

She answered him by
standing and taking the bouquet. Together, they made their way up
to the stage, while Handel’s “Air” from
Water Music
played through the
speakers.

Helen couldn’t wait to start this new
journey.