Page 38 of Candy Canes & Caroling

“Use my rec center,” I said without hesitation. “Since we don’t have anyone living in the apartments yet, I couldn’t decide if I should decorate for Christmas, but I really want to! Please, say you’ll do it, and then I can make the place festive!”

Indigo looked at Ivy and Audrey with a raised brow before she pinned it on me. “Is that legal? Like, can you have gatherings there?”

I glanced at Heather, who shrugged. “As far as the housing foundation goes, you absolutely can. The insurance is in place, so nothing is stopping you in that regard. I would guess you’d need to make sure your permit for gatherings is up to date, which it should be, and that you don’t exceed the fire code.”

“Fire code is two and a quarter,” I said, already knowing the information from planning the sleep-out event.

Indigo laughed and shook her head. “I don’t want over two hundred people at my wedding reception.”

“Besides,” Heather said. “Between the event on Friday and a booking for a wedding reception, it shows the council that the community will use New Beginnings if they move things along. Neither event is technically what the place was intended for, but if it can be used by the community as a whole, that extends its reach. I like the idea if Indigo and Lance do. I’m happy to run it past Cameron and the rest of the housing board just to be sure.”

“Would you?” Indigo asked with excitement. “We would love to have the reception sooner rather than later, and I’d love to showcase New Beginnings at the same time if we can. I moved in with Lance out of desperation, but I had planned to transition into those apartments in January. Imagine if we hadn’t fallen in love and gotten married. I’d still be waiting!”

“A lot of people are still waiting,” I said with a frown. “We’re extremely frustrated that they’re paying us to do a job that we can’t do. We can’t even do intake paperwork yet because we don’t know how many apartments will be accessible.”

“We do know how many,” Heather said with frustration. “We don’t know when they’re going to give us the go ahead. That’s the difference. This should be done and open by now, but oh no, can’t help anyone who might be in a different place in life than you are.” Her eye roll punctuated the end of the sentence.

“Agreed,” Audrey said. “That’s why I’m hoping the two siding with Mr. Stick in the Mud come to the event on Friday. If they do, and we can flip their view on what you’re doing there, then it doesn’t matter if ole Henry votes no at the next meeting. It’s a done deal.”

“Like I said. Diabolical,” Becca said, starting to laugh. She turned to me. “Are you doing tours of New Beginnings? I know I’d love to tour it but I wasn’t sure if it was safe or allowed.”

“Yes, we plan to run tours on Friday night. We’re hoping Audrey gets those board members to show up, so even if they toured New Beginnings at the start of the project, a second tour will show them how much it has changed. I’ll help Irving clean and spruce everything up since his hand is still out of commission.”

“That’s very kind, dear,” Audrey said, patting my shoulder as everyone bit their lips to keep from smiling. “I’m sure Irving needs the help.”

“Friends help friends,” I said with a shrug. “He doesn’tneedmy help to clean his apartment. He takes care of his business handily, but he needs to get those stitches out sooner rather than later. We can’t risk it getting infected again.”

“He must be miserable,” Ivy said in agreement. “Did you hear that Pharmacist Richie asked me after the last business owners' meeting how to install a door opener on the building?”

“No!” I exclaimed, giving a small clap of approval. “That will be wonderful if he does!”

“Chuck wants to, but has to check with the owner of the building. He feels bad that he may have to put it on the back door, forcing those using it to walk down a hallway to get to the main pharmacy, but he doesn’t think it would work on the front door.”

“I’m sure anyone who needs it doesn’t mind using a different door. That’s quite common for safety, parking availability, and sidewalk accessibility. He shouldn’t feel bad about that. I’m glad he’s being proactive about it.”

Ivy crossed her fingers. “Me too. If we want to fill jobs in this community, we have to give them housing and start making everything accessible to everyone. It’s a nonstarter if we don’t.”

“Looks like we’ve covered our agenda then,” Audrey said. “Everyone knows what their jobs are going forward?” Heads nodded in agreement, and Audrey clapped her hands together before she stood. “Good, then let’s get to it, ladies! We have less than twenty-four hours to make this a night to remember for Bells Pass!”

Her enthusiasm was catchy, and we all filtered out of the booth, motivated to head out and do just that. As I pulled my coat and hat on, I was focused on the brown eyes of the guy waiting for me at home.

Home.

Was this home now? I wished it to be, but only time would tell if that wish could come true.

∞∞∞

After checking out the old salon area, Addie and Heather had just left the building. They were confident they could do two haircuts at a time, and Heather’s husband, Gabe, would organize those who want to shower. As a cop, he’s always involved in the community, and he wants people to meet and interact with him positively the first time. That way, they tend to remember he’s a decent guy when his job gets involved in their business.

I strolled down the hall to the community area while humming a Christmas carol. Irving might not like them, but the stores had been playing them for almost a month, and there was no avoiding it any longer, especially since Indigo’s reception was on the docket for approval. I couldn’t wait to deck the halls! I’d been looking forward to it for days, even if I had to do it alone. As soon as the sleep-out event was over, I’d get to work decorating the main gathering area and the hallways near our apartments and the office. I needed some Christmas cheer, especially since the latest update from Cliff was not what I wanted to hear. They still hadn’t found or captured Felding. What was the old saying, no good deed goes unpunished? Extremely accurate, I had learned.

The side doorbell rang and when I got to the door, I noticed Mayor Tottle standing on the other side. I pulled the door open and ushered him in. “Mayor Tottle, how nice to see you.”

“Good morning, Hazel. Please, call me Jack.”

“Jack? I thought your first name was Orlando?”

“It is, but can you imagine using a name like Orlando when you’re six?”

---