Page 65 of Wrapped in You

Sounding brighter and more optimistic than she felt, Sophie invited everyone she could to the Willow Creek Christmas Festival. The festival ran from December 22nd to the 24th.Silver Bellswas going on a festival hiatus between December 21st and January 3rd, and some cast and crew members planned to head to California to spend time with family for the holidays. But a number of them—those without family, or those without much money—decided to stay.

Mike, Isaac, and Beck said they were "hunkering down for a holiday in Willow Creek."

"We want to experience every bit of it we can," Mike affirmed. "And your dad said we can't miss the Christmas Festival."

"Apparently, it's the best thing about this little town," Isaac said.

Sophie blushed and poured them cups of hot apple cider. "My father wouldn't lie!"

Just then, Derek cut past the catering table with the assistant director. Their heads were bent over a clipboard as they discussed something essential for the next scene.

Tears filled Sophie's eyes. She blinked them away.

One evening, a few days before the Christmas Festival, Sophie and Randy were stationed in the Culinary Tastings office, ticking off to-do list items, reading recipes, and discussing the months of January, February, and March. Together, they planned to hire catering teams for neighboring towns on either side of Willow Creek, and they already had several interviews lined up for the first week of January. Sophie tried not to let anxiety consume her. She tried to ride the wave of Randy's enthusiasm.

"This is everything I've ever wanted," she said as they finished the meeting and prepared to go home. But there was a hollowness to her voice that Randy didn't recognize.

"It's going to be great!" Randy cried.

Alongside the Christmas Festival, a few members of the Culinary Tastings crew were headed to the baby shower catering gig on December 23rd as well. It would be the first day of Sophie's career as an entrepreneur that her business would be making money in more than one location at a time. She wondered if this was how the McDonald's brothers had felt when they'd opened their second restaurant.

"It's a milestone," Randy affirmed.

But he wasn't the only one excited.

"It's a great next step!" Sophie's mother, Mary, said one morning over coffee, her hands in fists as she did a little dance in her chair.

"Our Sophie is killing it!" Mike cried out when she explained everything on set the next day. "Long live Culinary Tastings!"

But Sophie felt too spread out and scattered to fully appreciate it.

She felt like she was spinning and spinning, on the verge of losing track of the ground.

The morning of December 21st meant set up for the festival. Like every year, Sophie got up at dawn, made a hearty breakfast, and hurried downtown. It was at the intersection of Main Street and Fourth, precisely whereSilver Bellshad filmed during its first week, although Sophie tried to shove all thought of that from her mind. That time before she'd felt anything for Derek Brownlee. Several other crew members were already downtown, includingthe librarian Mrs. Reynolds and Johnny the postman, plus Vic, Cindy, and her mother, Mary.

"Grandpa volunteered to babysit," Cindy said, throwing her arms around Sophie.

Out of nowhere, Sophie thought she might burst into tears.

Ever since Derek kissed me, I haven't known what to do with myself.

Pull it together, Sophie.

After a few minutes, it was clear that everyone was looking to Sophie for instructions. Just like every year. She clambered onto a box to address everyone.

"Good morning, Willow Creek Christmas Festival committee!" she called, smiling at the group of twenty-five who'd come out to set up. "We have coffee and donuts from Val's Donut Shop over there"—she gestured toward the back of Vic's truck—"so help yourself and warm up before you get started. After that, we need to unload each of those big trucks over there." She winced as she pointed at the three massive trailers hooked to three separate trucks. "We have music stages, stalls for food and wine and beer, portable bonfire pits, bleachers, and..." She checked her phone to see what she was missing. "And, of course, the tents for the pony rides and baking competitions! The carnival will set up all the rides in a couple of hours. Like we discussed before, we opted out of the Hurly-Whirly this year. For obvious reasons."

Everyone laughed, remembering what had happened last year. Sick kids. Sick adults. Nobody wanted a stomachache like the Hurly-Whirly brought. Especially not when there was mulled wine and plenty of cheesy snacks around.

The Christmas Festival committee launched into setup. To pep everyone up, Sophie connected her phone to the speaker system and piped Christmas songs through downtown. The startlingly chilly air made the songs crystal clear.

Sophie, Vic, and Cindy hauled a massive tent from the back of a trailer and spread themselves out to set it up. Vic and Cindy were laughing with each other, looking like newlyweds. Sophie supposed, in a sense, they still were, although she knew how stressful having young children was. When the tent was up, Vic threw his arm around Cindy, and Sophie followed them to the back of his truck for donuts from Val's. Sophie opted for a cream-filled donut with a caramel glaze. When she bit into it, her mouth filled with cream, and she happily crunched at the sugar and gooey dough. Overhead, the sun was bright and chipper, although the air remained freezing cold.

It was surprising how easy the setup was. Before two that afternoon, Willow Creek's downtown was completely transformed. Grills were turned on; mulled wine was being heated in big metal vats; and Christmas music continued to play, this time from the DJ booth, where the town's favorite DJ stood bundled up, spinning records.

Sophie got back on the box from that morning, clapped her hands, and said, "Good job, team! It's time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the Christmas Festival! We did it again!"

For the first time, Sophie realized she was the director of the Christmas Festival, just as Derek was the director ofSilver Bells.

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