Christmas Forever

She noticed then that Amy and Chantelle were exchanging mischievous looks with one another.

“What’s going on?” she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

“Nothing,” Amy said in a tone that suggested the opposite.

“Can we show her?” Chantelle asked Amy.

“It’s up to you. You’re the one who wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Show me what?” Emily exclaimed.

But Chantelle and Amy were just talking to each other. She grew impatient.

“Guys, I want to know what the surprise is!” she cried.

“Okay,” Chantelle said. “Come with me.”

She took her hand and led her into the low-ceilinged corridor that opened out into the ballroom. But instead of walking straight along, she turned right, along the even smaller passageway that weaved all the way to the outhouses and garage. They stopped at one of the doors.

Emily frowned, curious.

“We weren’t sure where we could do this,” Chantelle told her. “Because we didn’t want to take one of the inn rooms. Then Amy suggested one on of the outhouses. So…” She paused for dramatic effects, then threw open the door.

Emily blinked, then gasped. The small room had been completely transformed. Instead of exposed brick walls, it had been plastered and painted yellow. Instead of the cement floor, vinyl had been laid down, and on top of that was a fluffy rug. The room was filled with lights – night lights and fairy lights and spinning musical lights that projected stars onto the walls.

“What is this?” Emily asked, stunned.

“It’s the playroom!” Chantelle exclaimed.

Amy spoke then. “We thought it would be nice for the girls to have a place to play away from the rest of the inn. Somewhere they’re allowed to make as much noise as they want without disturbing any of the guests. And somewhere to keep their toys so they don’t end up all over the place.”

Emily was so touched. The room was lovely. It just needed to be filled with toys now!

“I love it, thank you so much guys,” she said, hugging Amy and Chantelle in turn.

They went back into the living room so Emily could have a rest before the rest of the decorating commenced. Then, once she felt rejuvenated, they took on the mammoth task of decorating the ballroom.

“You know there’s something missing,” Emily said, once she’d strung up the last of the fairy lights.

“What’s that?” Chantelle asked.

“A Christmas tree!” Emily cried.

Chantelle’s eyes grew round and excited. “Of course. But we need more than one, don’t we? We need one for the ballroom and one for the hallway. And one for Trevor’s. And the spa. And the restaurant.”

“Sounds like you need a whole forest,” Amy joked.

“How about we all go tomorrow?” Emily suggested. “Yvonne was telling me about an amazing Christmas Tree farm out of town. It’s not the one we went to last year, it’s supposed to be really huge. We could make a day of it?”

“Can Nana Patty come too?” Chantelle asked.

Emily shook her head. “She’s leaving today,” she said.

Chantelle’s expression became downcast. Emily hated to see her sad.

“Why don’t you ask her?” she suggested.

Patricia had been surprising her recently. Maybe she’d stick around if they made it clear they wanted her too.

Chantelle bounded out the ballroom and down the corridor, to where Patricia was relaxing in the living room.

“Nana Patty!” Chantelle cried, her voice loud enough to carry all the way to where Emily was waddling through the house, trying to catch up to her. “Can you come Christmas tree shopping with us tomorrow?”

Emily entered the living room, just as Patricia was shaking her head.

“I have a flight booked to get me home,” Patricia said. “It’s leaving this evening.”

“Please,” Chantelle said. She got onto the couch beside Patricia and wrapped her arms around her neck. “I really, really want you to stay.”

Patricia looked stunned by the affection. She patted Chantelle’s arm and looked up at Emily standing in the doorway. Emily smiled, touched by the sweet scene, by how much love Chantelle had to give, even to those who had behaved in ways that ought to preclude it. Her capacity for forgiveness and kindness always inspired Emily.

“Well, I don’t want to be in the way,” Patricia said, speaking to Chantelle but directing her words at Emily.

“You’re not in the way,” Emily said. “We’ve loved having you here. And it’s not like the inn is busy at the moment. It’s the perfect time to stay. If you want.”

“Please!” Chantelle begged.

Finally, Patricia smiled. “Okay. I will stay and help you pick out a tree.”

Emily could tell that Patricia was touched to be invited, to be welcome in after all her bad behavior and the terrible fights they’d had. Emily felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude then, realizing that life could always change for the better. It seemed that one was never too old to feel Christmas cheer for the first time!

Chapter Two

Chantelle looked overjoyed when Emily and Daniel arrived to pick her up from school the next day, with Patricia sitting patiently in the back seat. She looked very out of place in the truck in her two-piece outfit and blazer combo but Chantelle didn’t seem to notice. She leaped into the backseat, beaming, her cheeks pink from the chilly weather.

“Christmas tree time!” she declared.

Daniel drove them. The weather still hadn’t fully turned yet, though it was much colder than it had been. There wasn’t even any frost, which was common at this time of year. Emily was grateful that the weather had held up so far. It meant that Evan, Clyde and Stu had been able to do their work on the island unimpeded.

The Christmas Tree farm was quite a way out of Sunset Harbor. They could, of course, just go to the depot at Ellsworth, but that was hardly a magical experience for Chantelle! So they went even further, to the one in Taunton Bay.

As they pulled down the small, bumpy, potholed road that lead to the farm, Emily could see the extra journey was well worth it. The Christmas Tree farm was enormous, and thanks to the sloping hillside that ran all the way down from the road to the lake, they had an amazing view of all the trees.

“It’s like a whole forest of Christmas,” Chantelle said, in awe.

Daniel pulled up into the makeshift lot, which was really just a patch of flattened ground, covered in hay to stop it becoming too muddy. There was a small wood-panelled house to one side, with a handmade sign proclaiming; Christmas Trees!

Emily looked over at Patricia in the backseat beside Chantelle. She was wearing her typical snooty expression, and peering out the window with a fearful expression for the dirty ground she was about to step on. But she held her tongue and Emily smiled to herself. That, in itself, felt like a small victory.