Christmas Forever

“We video message with Papa Roy all the time,” Chantelle told her. “Can we? Can we? Can we?”

Patricia nodded. “Of course. If that’s what you want.”

She looked genuinely touched, Emily thought, that Chantelle would want to keep in contact with her.

“And,” Emily added, “Please do think about coming for Christmas. We would love to have you.”

“I don’t want to get in the way,” Patricia said.

Daniel piped up then. “You wouldn’t be in the way,” he said. “We have no bookings at the moment. If you want a bit of your own space we could even put you in the carriage house.”

“Well,” Patricia said, looking like she was trying to hide her touched expression. “I will certainly consider it.”

Her cab arrived then, coming down the long drive, its tires crunching on the gravel. Daniel picked up Patricia’s case and carried it down the porch steps. The rest of the family followed. Even Mogsy and Rain came out to see her off, wagging their tails in unison as they peered through the posts.

Daniel put the case in the trunk, then hugged Patricia goodbye. Chantelle clung to her.

“I love you Nana Patty,” she exclaimed. “Please come back soon.”

“I will darling,” Patricia said, stroking her head. “It won’t be long at all.”

Then it was Emily’s turn. She hugged her mother, feeling herself filled with gratitude and appreciation. It may have taken years to get to this point – and the horrible, sobering shock of Roy’s illness – but it seemed like things were finally changing for the better between them.

“Please stay in touch,” Emily said to her mom.

“I will,” Patricia replied. “I promise.”

They released one another and Patricia climbed into the cab. Emily joined her family, feeling Daniel’s arm reach around her shoulders and Chantelle’s hands clinging onto her. She cradled her bump with one hand, and waved goodbye to her mom with the other. They stayed there until the cab had disappeared out of sight.

As they turned back to head into the inn, Emily heard the phone start to ring. She went over to the reception desk and answered it. It was Amy’s voice on the other end.

“Em, I just saw the bulletin outside the town hall,” she said.

Emily was still struggling to wrap her head around the fact that Amy was a Sunset Harbor resident, that she paid attention to the goings on of their little town.

“What bulletin?” Emily asked.

“Raven’s inn! The meeting is tomorrow. The one they postponed until after Thanksgiving.”

“Tomorrow?” Emily exclaimed. “That’s a bit short notice! And hardly much of a postponement!”

“I know. What do you think it means that it’s so soon?”

“I can only assume that means the zoning board came to a quick and unanimous decision,” Emily told her, recalling the process of getting her own inn licence.

“A unanimous yes or a unanimous no?”

“We’ll find out soon enough.”

Amy sounded incredibly stressed about the whole thing, which Emily found a little odd considering she was the one who’d be most affected by the outcome.

“We have to go to the meeting,” she said brusquely. “Can you clear your calendar?”

“Maybe. I’m not sure why I need to though. I already said my piece.”

She could hear the impatience in Amy’s voice. “Emily, you have to go. You have to shoot it down! If Raven opens an inn in Sunset Harbor your business will struggle.”

“You should have more faith in me,” Emily told her. “I don’t mind competition.”

“Well you should,” Amy told her. “Especially coming from Raven Kingsley. She’ll crush you.”

Emily thought of the moments she’d spent with Raven. They hadn’t bonded, as such, but they were on friendly terms. Raven had helped her when Daniel was in his boating accident, and she’d even come to the town Thanksgiving dinner Emily had thrown. She perceived Raven’s inn as friendly competition.

“What makes you say that?” Emily said, shaking her head. “Raven’s just like any other business owner. She wants to work hard and make a success of herself. I know she’s been a bit of a vulture in the past, but she wants to settle here. Her husband left her and she just wants the kids to be in one place for some stability.”

“I think you’re being naive,” Amy said. “A leopard doesn’t change its spots.”

“Amy, my mother just drank hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows and chopped and helped saw down a Christmas tree. Leopards, like dragons, can, indeed, change their spots.”

But Amy wasn’t backing down. “Raven will drive you out of business then head to the next town. It’s what she does. She’s got a history of doing it, destroying local areas with her big, flashy hotels. It’s all corporate, soulless. The last thing the town needs. And she has so many of them, she makes the room prices dirt cheap to start with. Even if she runs a loss for the first five years she’ll do it, just so she can eliminate the competition!”

Emily couldn’t reconcile the Raven Amy was talking about and the one she’d become acquaintances with. But hearing what Amy had to say was starting to rattle her.

“Just come to the meeting,” Amy said.

“Okay,” Emily said.

As she placed the receiver down, she wondered whether Amy was right. Maybe Raven was as ruthless as all that. But if Emily didn’t have the inn, what would become of her? Of her family? Suddenly, she felt as if the ground beneath her was becoming unstable. What if the dream life she was living turned out to be temporary after all…?

Chapter Three

The next day after dropping Chantelle at school, Daniel drove Emily to Harry and Amy’s house before heading off to work. When Emily rang the doorbell, Amy answered, beaming from ear to ear.

“Ready?” Emily asked.

Amy’s grin only widened. “You bet!”

Today Amy was having a bonanza shopping day, with appointments booked at potential wedding venues and several house viewings with real estate agents. And since Harry was working in the restaurant all day, Emily was on hand to offer support and words of wisdom. She was, of course, thrilled to be helping.

They got into Amy’s white Chrysler and set off.

“Where’s the first viewing?” Emily asked from the passenger seat.

“Eastern Road,” Amy said, as she looked over her steering wheel for traffic. Seeing none, she turned onto the main street.

“Ooh,” Emily said. “That’s a nice part of town. The other side of the harbor to me, but still close.”

“Especially in comparison to New York,” Amy joked. “There’s a brochure in the glove compartment. Take a look.”