Page 22 of A Christmas Duet

“Every store in town competes?” Hailey asked, wanting to change the subject away from the local gossip, as enlightening as it was.

“Absolutely. That trophy has been around for more than fifty years. Whoever wins displays it in the shop window the entire year. It’s a matter of civic pride.”

Hailey noticed there hadn’t been a tree in front of Cantor Store, though. “Why not there?” she asked, pointing toward Cantor’s.

Again, the woman looked surprised, as if this was something Hailey should already know. “Because as the town mayor, Thelma is the one who announces the winner. It wouldn’t look good if she awarded her store the trophy, which she would probably win, given she owns the biggest store in town.”

That was an interesting piece of news. Thelma ruled Podunk.

“You plan to attend the event tomorrow, right?”

“I was hoping to.”

“Great, then we can count on your vote.”

“You can,” Hailey assured her. It was plain that thehair salon was keen to collect the top prize, and Hailey did find their tree the most clever and charming of the trees she’d seen.

Elizabeth finished her lunch break and went back inside. After Elizabeth left, Hailey continued down the street until she reached the park. Weaving her way among vendors, she noticed a group of young teens busy putting up lights around the gazebo.

Hailey watched them for a few minutes. From bits of conversation, she realized this was the local scout troop. As a Girl Scout, she’d enjoyed selling the cookies. It’d been fun. Her mom, along with a couple other mothers, set up a card table in front of the Albertson’s grocery store and helped steer customers their way. With their parents’ help, her troop never failed to meet their quota.

Good times, good memories. Even at age ten, Hailey had been actively writing songs in her head. After all these years, she still remembered a silly ditty she’d written, one of her first creations.

Yummy cookies

The kind Girl Scouts sell

Toasted coconut, Thin Mints, caramel, and chocolate

Treats everyone likes

Bye-bye fornow

Silly. Amateurish, but oh how proud she’d been of that song.

Not wanting to disturb anyone, Hailey left the park, which was abuzz with activity, and walked back to where she’d parked her car. She was about to leave when she caught sight of Jay, talking to another man who she remembered Thelma had called Larry.

Jay noticed Hailey at the same time and waved.

She waved back and was pleasantly surprised when he broke off the conversation with the other man and approached her. “Hey,” he said, smiling.

“Hey.”

“Mom said you’d stopped by.”

“Yeah, I was in sore need of a few staples. I hope you like spaghetti.”

“One of my favorites.”

She didn’t mention that the sauce would come from a jar and the salad was prepackaged. No need to disillusion him about the dinner being homecooked from a favorite family recipe. “And when you come, be sure and bring your guitar.”

“I wouldn’t think of leaving without it,” he assured her. “See you later.”

“Later,” she echoed.

As Hailey drove back to the cabin, her smile was so big, her jaw hurt. She wasn’t sure what she’d expectedwhen she’d decided to spend her holidays alone. Meeting Jay was a huge bonus. This time away was turning out better than she’d ever imagined.

Meeting Jay confirmed what she instinctively had known all along. Nothing Zach said would change her mind, no matter how much her mother longed to see them reunited. Hailey had moved on, and going back and picking up the pieces of where they’d left off wasn’t worthy of considering. It was too late for them. She deserved better.

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