Page 76 of Meet Me at Christmas
After the local ballet school and baton twirlers, when the final float emerged, Mr. Ferguson looked absolutely perfect as Santa Claus sitting on his red velvet throne, waving his gloved hand with a long list of names of all the local children in his lap that trailed to the bottom of the float, curling at the end, the float pulled by horses dressed as reindeer.
“Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!” he bellowed, and all the kids cheered and danced in the street behind him. When he saw the three of them in the crowd, he winked. It couldn’t have been more perfect.
Feeling absolutely full of love, Stella grabbed Henry’s hand. He smiled down at her before they turned back to the confetti-strewn street while the crowd filled it, celebrating the holiday.We did it, Pop, she said into the air.Did you get to see it?
When the festivities began to wind down and everyone was heading toward their cars and homes, a beautiful red cardinal flew past them and landed in the center of the street. The red bird, perched there in the white and green confetti, was the picture of Christmas.
“Look,” she told Mama and Henry, pointing to it.
“Isn’t that lovely?” an old woman behind them said, leaning over Stella’s shoulder, clearly noticing it too.
“Yes,” Stella agreed.
“You know, it’s thought cardinals are our loved ones coming back to us,” said the woman.
Just then, the bird flew right toward them and then away.
Mama gasped and Henry squeezed Stella’s hand. Stella couldn’t help but wonder if Pop had been right there with them. In that moment, Stella realized that Leiper’s Fork was exactly where she needed to be.
Twenty-Four
The next afternoon, Stella ate her lunch while talking on the phone with Amy. Last night, after the parade, and after telling Henry that she would figure out how to stay in Leiper’s Fork, Stella had emailed her editor to let her know that she needed to make some changes. After receiving Stella’s email, she’d asked her to call—holiday or no holiday.
“We can’t lose you,” Amy said. “You’re the best of the best.”
“I don’t want to quit—I need the job. But I don’t want to travel like I have been. I’m happy here.” She ran her thumb over her old engagement ring. She had no idea how she’d make ends meet, where she’d live, or what would happen between her and Henry, but she knew Henry made her feel whole. She wanted to stay and see where life took them.
“Let me talk to Steven, but I don’t know what he’ll offer.”
“All right.”
Needing Pop right now, Stella ended the call and opened his letter. She read over his words:my version of heaven is with you, Lily, and your mother. She didn’t have a version of heaven on earth like Pop had. She’d been so focused on work that she hadn’t imagined one for herself. She wanted to feel the love of her perfect person while she had her family around her.
Speaking of family, she was really starting to worry about her sister. She’d been awfully quiet, and that wasn’t like her. What was going on? She picked up her phone and sent Lily another text. Then she stared at the screen, waiting for something—anything—to come through.
Nothing.
Today was Christmas Eve. What would this Christmas bring? While the new developments in her life gave Stella hope, there was still so much unsettled. However, the more she thought about it, the more she couldn’t get her mind off Henry. Even if nothing else worked out, he was the one shining light in her path. For some unknown reason, she’d been given a second chance, and now as an adult she knew the full weight of leaving.Pop,if I choose what makes me happy, the rest will follow, right? Can you send me some sign that I’m making the right decision?She looked around the room, sharpening her hearing for an answer right when the doorbell rang.
Stella went through the living room to answer it, and Mama met her in the entryway.
“Who could that be?” Mama asked.
Stella opened the door and gasped. “Lily!” She threw her arms around her sister, knocking the bags out of her hands. The man beside her scooped them up.
Lily giggled and wriggled free. She was tanned, her hair longer than usual and pulled back at the sides. “This is Mateo,” she said, giving the man a kiss on the cheek.
“Come in, come in.” Mama ushered them out of the cold and pulled Lily in for a hug, her eyes full of tears of joy. “My sweet girl. I didn’t think we’d see you this Christmas.”
“What do you mean? I told you on the phone we were coming.”
“We couldn’t hear a thing you were saying,” Stella told her. “The lines were broken and none of our texts went through.”
Lily gaped at Mateo. “Oh, no. I wanted to call you when we landed, but my phone had died and Mateo’s accidentally got packed in his checked bag. But I thought I was talking to you in Costa Rica. You couldn’t hear me?”
“No,” Mama said, taking their coats and hanging them by the door.
“So, you didn’t hear anything about what we have planned?”
