Page 82 of Meet Me at Christmas
They walked into the living room. Mr. Ferguson was the first to see them.
“Wow. You ladies look lovely,” he said, causing the others to turn.
Henry, wearing a tuxedo that emphasized his square jaw and made him nearly irresistible, met Stella’s stare, and then his gaze slipped down her dress and back up, their whole lives flashing in his eyes. He came over to her. “You look incredible.”
“Thank you. So do you. But should you see me before the wedding?”
“It’s close enough!” Waylon Evans cut into their conversation. He had more gray in his beard and eyebrows, but his burly grin and denim bibbed overalls were just the same. “Thisisthe weddin’. Let’s get this party started, shall we?”
Lily called over to Stella. “Did you ever get something blue?”
“I didn’t,” Stella replied.
Henry leaned into her ear. “Go get the necklace.”
“No, I decided I absolutely shouldn’t,” she replied, her lingering superstition over it taking hold. She’d considered it again while trying to fall asleep last night, but, given the pendant’s history, it felt too precarious. This time, everything would be right. She didn’t dare risk a single choice in her forever.
He widened his eyes at her, a mischievous look in them. “Yes, go get it.”
She shook her head, but he was insistent. Why, she had no idea.
“I have something I need to say, and I want you to be wearing the Christmas Diamond when I say it.”
Mateo and Lily were taking their places, and Mama had turned on a low hum of Christmas music.
Stella stared at him, trying to figure out what he was up to. She looked over at Mary Jo for any indication, but Henry’s sister just shrugged, clearly in the dark as well about Henry’s reasoning.
“Please, Stella. Go get the necklace.”
His urging was enough to make her forget about bad luck. “Okay,” she relented.
She went to the safe and took it out, then latched the pendant around her neck.Pop, if you can hear me, please don’t let this necklace be bad luck, she said to herself. His gentle laughter floated into her mind, which was a curious memory to have right then, but it did make her wonder if she was being silly thinking the necklace had any bearing on her current circumstances.
When she went back to the living room, Henry took her hand and called everyone to gather around. “I had something really interesting happen last night, and I feel compelled to tell you all.” He turned to Stella and Lily. “I dreamed of your pop.”
“What?” Stella said, her skin prickling.
“He was in his little fishing boat, bobbing in the water with the oars inside next to him. He smiled at me and said, ‘Tell them I’m here, and then look up the words “the Christmas Diamond and love.”’ I woke up right then and couldn’t go back to sleep. It was incredibly real. I remembered him so clearly, it was as if he was really there. I don’t know what came over me, but since it was the night before my big day with Stella, I felt sentimental. I got on my phone and searched for the Christmas Diamond, and I wrote down the first thing that came up. I need to read it to you.”
Mama stepped forward, wiping away a tear. “Is that all he said in the dream?”
Henry pulled a small slip of paper from his pocket and unfolded it. “I think he has more to say.” He smoothed out the paper and began to read. “‘When the Christmas Diamond was given in love, a new legend was born. The Christmas Diamond resides among the angels, who leave it with the people they want to connect with. The diamond carries a message from loved ones who have passed to remind their families that they are with them even when they aren’t seen. When worn, the Christmas Diamond is a sign that the loved one has come to meet them once more.’”
Stella considered how the legend wouldn’t have made any sense if her grandmother had bought the diamond and owned it for years, then simply passed it to her son. Unless, maybe her grandmother gave it to him before she died as a symbol that she’d always be with him, which sounded a lot like their grandmother. The fact that it had shown up right at their wedding, when they all needed to know Pop was there, made the message undeniable.
Mama covered her face with her hands, unsuccessfully attempting to keep her tears from falling. “He’s right here with us,” she said. “This is his Christmas gift. And he gets to seebothhis girls get married like he always dreamed.”
Stella glanced down at the diamond and wondered if it was a symbol of his blessing—a blessing he hadn’t been able to give her the first time around. A tenderness for these people, her family, filled the air as they stood together, gathered in love. Stella touched the diamond around her neck.Thank you, Pop.
“I see ya, kid,”Pop’s voice whispered, and a lump of happiness formed in her throat.
Waylon led everyone to the front porch. The heaters were on, warming the space. A few snowflakes had fallen onto the red runner leading up the stairs to the front door. The two couples stood under an arch of Christmas foliage with trees adorned with silver bells on each side. Lily and Stella held bouquets made of Fraser fir foliage and red berries.
As the snow fell lightly to the ground, the two couples said their vows, and Stella received the biggest Christmas gift of her life: she got her whole family back.
* * *
After changing into her jeans, unwrapping presents, and having a lively Christmas lunch with her family, Stella was unable to wait a single minute longer. She grabbed her computer and sat on the couch among the piles of torn wrapping paper and new presents, and started looking up moving companies to get her belongings from her apartment in New York to Leiper’s Fork. Her legs were across Henry’s lap while he bonded with Mr. Ferguson and Mateo, the three of them united in football banter, as she read through the different moving companies’ offerings and reviews. Luckily, with all her travel, she hadn’t collected a lot of personal items and didn’t have a lot to pack, but she wanted to move her things home as soon as possible.
