Page 10 of The Healing of Christmas

“The hero and his princess?” Charlotte said with a soft smile. “I could never forget it.”

Rudy laughed. “Right. Of course. That story changed your life. I forgot.”

Charlotte took a long drink from her Dark and Stormy. Charlie couldn’t take his eyes away, and his heart raced. And then, for reasons Charlie would never understand, he asked, “Excuse me?”

Charlotte and Rudy turned and blinked at Charlie.

“Are you talking about one of the Victorian homes on Main Street? The one that looks so broken down?”

Charlotte’s face crumpled. “The Cherry Inn. Our grandfather opened it sixty-five years ago.”

“Do you have a photograph of what it used to look like?” Charlie’s heartbeat quickened. What was he doing?

Charlotte removed her phone from her purse and flicked through her photographs to find an old photograph of the inn in its former glory. It had been painted a soft lilac color, and it looked like something out of a book of fairy tales. On the front porch in the photograph, a middle-aged woman raised her hand to wave at whoever took the picture.

“That’s my Grandma Dee,” Charlotte said. “She must have been about fifty there. I’m nearly fifty now. Isn’t that strange?”

Charlie shifted on his stool. As he gazed at the woman in the photograph, dressed in eighties fashion, he was reminded of his own mother back in Chicago, waving to him from the window of their apartment building as he’d headed to school.

“You know what?” Charlie began, his mouth suddenly dry. “I’m actually a property developer.”

Charlotte looked at him with big eyes as though she were suddenly frightened of him.

“What does a property developer do?” Rudy asked.

Charlie wanted to laugh. In Manhattan, everyone knew what a property developer did. “Basically, I’m responsible for all sorts of building projects. I make it so new buildings are built, and old buildings are renovated.”

“And then, you turn them for a profit,” Charlotte said nervously.

“But in this case, I would just help you renovate,” Charlie said. “And then, you could do whatever you want.”

“But you’d want a fee,” Charlotte pointed out.

“Of course,” Rudy said, nodding.

“Nothing major,” Charlie said. “We could work that out after it’s done.”

Charlotte continued to look at him distrustfully. Charlie understood. Why would this Manhattanite swoop into White Plains and do a good deed like this for very little money? It didn’t make any sense.

But to explain his reasons to her, he’d have to reveal the devastation of his aching heart. And he never spoke about that to anyone.

He just wanted to do something good in the world. He wanted to work on a project that actually mattered— one that had nothing to do with Manhattan millionaires.

“We can talk about it,” Charlotte said, furrowing her brow. “But you can back out at any time.”

“We would understand if it was too much work,” Rudy assured him. “The inn means a lot to us. But it’s just our memories, you know? It’s hard to explain to an outsider.”

“Just let me take a look at the place,” Charlie urged. “Maybe it’s not as bad as you think it is. It’s hard to tell. Maybe it’s just a quick fix.”

ChapterFive

Christmas 1995

The front door of the Cherry Inn burst open before Charlotte had a chance to knock. Immediately, she was blown over with hugs from her cousin, Bethany, her Grandma Dee, her cousin, Rudy, her Aunt Tina, her Grandpa Hank, and finally, her mother, Louise, who wrapped her in an embrace so strong that Charlotte couldn’t breathe for a moment. When she was released, Louise placed her hands on either side of Charlotte’s face and whispered, “I missed you so much.”

It was true that Charlotte and Louise hadn’t seen one another in several months. This was a rarity for them; perhaps it was the longest they’d ever gone. Charlotte knew this was her fault. She’d run off to college in New York City and thrown herself completely into her creative writing and art classes. She’d decided she would make something of herself someday— that she’d write and illustrate her own children’s books and travel the world telling people her stories.

The secret she’d come to tell her mother burned within her. It took all her strength not to blurt it out now as Louise beckoned Charlotte inside and closed the door firmly behind her, securing them in the warmth of the Cherry Inn.

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