Christmas at the Candied Apple Café

“But I’m glad I did,” Sofia said. “Thank you, Iona, for helping me with my cookies.”

“You’re welcome, sweetie,” Iona said. “I’ll leave you both to it, then.” “I’d better go find my mom and see if she needs me to do anything.”

There was something in her tone that made him wonder if there was more to Iona than long legs, business savvy, and an easy smile. Which was silly because he knew there was. But she’d seemed so carefree about the holidays until this moment.

“I hope your hotel problem is sorted out easily. “I’m sure I’ll see you both around,” Iona said, walking away from them. He heard Sofia sigh as Iona left.

“What’s the matter, imp?”

“I miss her. She’s fun.”

And fun was what had been in short supply for the two of them for a good long while.

***

The invitation to attend a party at a friend’s with offices across from Rockefeller Plaza, who was hosting a tree- lighting party, was something that he’d normally decline. But he’d had to spend the majority of the Saturday at the Common and since Jessie had the day off Sofia had to as well.

It had been a long day for them both and the tree lighting would be something festive before they had to head back home. Sofia had been inspired by her cookie decorating at the Santa Brunch and when the Common’s pastry chef had offered her some round sugar cookies and a colored icing to keep her entertained, she’d eagerly jumped at the chance.

She had made seven cookies all for her friends. She’d decorated them all to look like the friend she was gifting the cookie to. One of them had red hair, blue eyes, and a Santa cap on its head.

“Who is that one for?”

“Iona. Since she lives in our building I thought I’d drop it off to her.”

“We don’t know her apartment,” Mads pointed out.

“You can text her,” Sofia said.

“I’ll do that later. Do you want to go to a party tonight? We’d be able to see the tree lighting at Rockefeller Plaza,” he said.

“Sure,” she said. “What about my cookies?”

“We can go home and get changed first,” he said.

They went home and Sofia darted into her bedroom to get changed and Mads changed his sweater but then got distracted by texts from the duty manager that he had to respond to.

Sofia came back into the living room dressed in jeans and a thick sweater that had been one of the last things Gill had purchased for their daughter. It was getting a little short in the sleeves but Sofia didn’t want to give it up and Mads had found that he couldn’t make her.

“Grab your coat, Sof.” She did so, wrapping her scarf around her neck before she reached for her coat.

Mads took it from her and held it so she could slip her arms in easily and then stooped down in front of his daughter to fasten the coat and then adjust her scarf.

“We should invite Iona to join us,” Sofia said out of the blue.

He didn’t know how to react to that. Encouraging a friendship with someone he was doing business with didn’t seem like a wise idea. If they ran into her, that was one thing.

“I don’t think so,” he said.

She got that stubborn look on her face. “Why not?”

“I am in the middle of a business deal with her, so it’s probably best that we keep some distance from her.”

“Why?”

“If the deal goes south … don’t worry about it. That’s my job,” Mads said.

“Okay, Papa,” she said, going over to the hall table where a framed picture of Gill was, Sofia touched her fingers to her lips, kissed them and then touched Gill’s face. “Bye, Mama.”

Mads put his hand on his daughter’s back, holding open the door for her as they exited their apartment in a nice building on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The night had already started to darken and there was a light fall of snow beyond the windows of the lobby. The piped Christmas music was nearly drowned out by the sound of conversations and Sofia slipped her hand into his as they walked toward the doors.

He glanced around the lobby, telling himself he wasn’t looking for Iona but disappointed all the same that it was empty. Sofia sang along with the radio that his driver had on. The next song to come on was Michael Bublé’s version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”.

He glanced at Sofia, who had started singing, and then stopped and he knew he had to get to the bottom of this Santa thing. But how?

He started to sing along. His voice was rusty because it had been a long time since he’d done any singing, but he remembered Gill always loved Christmas carols. Sofia glanced over at him.

“Do you like this song?”

“I do. Remember, Mommy liked it too,” he said.

Sofia tipped her head to the side. “She loved singing.”

“Especially with you,” Mads added. It had been one of the things that Gill’s illness hadn’t been able to take from her.

As the song switched to the second verse, he started to sing again and Sofia joined in. When the song ended, she didn’t say anything but Mads felt … like he’d done the right thing. They arrived at the building where the party was and as they exited their car he noticed Iona was speaking to the security guard at the door.

Her red hair was down, hanging around her shoulders and she had on a camel-colored coat. She smiled when she noticed them.

“Hello, Erikssons,” Iona said. “What are you two doing tonight?”

“We are here for the tree lighting,” Sofia said.

“One of my frat brothers has an office in this building and invited us to a party tonight.”

“Who?” Iona asked.

“Jeff Miller,” Mads said.

“I’m going to the same party. His wife and I went to the Dalton School together. She and I go way back,” Iona said. The security guard cleared Iona and she stepped inside the lobby but waited for them.

It only took a minute for him and Sofia to be cleared by security. The three of them walked together to the elevators.

“I love the tree lighting. Two years ago, I went with my friends Hayley and Cici and we stood outside in the cold and it was so crowded. I decided to skip it last year, but Blaire’s party seems like it will be fun.”

Mads realized he was staring at Iona, but he had just realized how pretty she was. Earlier, he’d been concentrating on business, on work, that had been his salvation, but now that he had a moment in the elevator to just look at her, he couldn’t stop staring. Her skin sort of glistened and it was almost as if she’d channeled the magic of the season into her appearance somehow.

“We’ve never been to see it, but Sofia likes trees.”