Sheila Roberts - The Lodge on Holly Road

What will be, will be, she told herself. Meanwhile, she had a lot to be thankful for. Eric was here, helping her. And Brandon, her baby, would be coming home for Christmas. Both her boys at the lodge. It was going to be a perfect holiday. Well...almost perfect. As perfect as it could be without George.

Once at the Safeway, she got busy picking up the items on her grocery list. Her friends Pat Wilder and Ed York had come in to get some lunch at the deli and she stopped to visit with them for a few minutes. Honestly, those two acted more like infatuated teenagers every day, she thought as she made her way to the produce department.

She realized she was suddenly feeling slightly Scroogey herself. She could have blamed it on the grumpy Mr. Braxton but she knew the real reason. Still, it was better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

Probably better to quit hanging mistletoe around the lodge, too.

No, no. People needed to celebrate. Someone would make good use of that mistletoe, even if it wasn’t her. She made a quick detour to the baking aisle, grabbing some chocolate chips and more flour. When she got home she was going to bake cookies.

* * *

Eric had dinner with his mom, then left her finishing up a knitting project and enjoying some old Christmas movie on TV to go meet up with his pals for a pre-Christmas beer fest at Zelda’s, a favorite hangout for locals and tourists alike.

He found the place brim full of holiday cheer and people. A tree dressed up in pink ribbons and lights greeted visitors when they came in and the bar was decorated with silver tinsel and bells. The cocktail waitresses all wore Santa hats. So did half the customers.

Eric went over to the table where Bubba Swank and Rob Bohn were waiting for him. They hadn’t waited to order, however, and had both already made a dent in their beers. Bubba raised his in salute. “Merry Christmas. Got your shopping done?”

“Of course,” Eric replied. “Unlike you slobs, I don’t leave it till the last minute.”

“You also don’t have anybody but your mom to shop for,” Rob said.

His mom and his brother, but it didn’t take long to buy iTunes and Bavarian Brews gift cards. “Yeah? And who’ve you got to shop for besides Ivy?” Eric retorted. Rob and Ivy had a couple of kids, but Eric knew who bought the presents for them, as well as all the other people on their Christmas list.

“My parents,” Rob insisted. “And my brothers.”

“And you buy their presents? Not your wife?”

Rob was silent, and Bubba gave a snort.

“So, you going to Seattle to see Gina?” Eric asked Bubba.

“First Christmas with the girlfriend,” Rob put in. “I’m betting that’s a yes.”

Bubba frowned at his beer. “Actually, that’s a no.”

“Uh-oh,” said Eric.

“Uh, you still have the girlfriend, right?” asked Rob.

Bubba shook his head. “She broke up with me day before yesterday. By text.”

“Seriously?” Of course, breakups happened all the time, but Eric was surprised to hear about this one. Bubba was a nice guy, good-looking with a six-pack and the kind of strong jawline that seemed to draw women like a magnet. He owned a big place on Mountain View Drive and had a successful business. Plus he was a great guy. If Bubba couldn’t hang on to a woman, what hope was there for someone like Eric, who wasn’t exactly calendar-boy material and who worked running his mom’s lodge?

“That’s harsh, man,” Rob said. “How come?”

“She said she didn’t see it going anywhere.”

“Which meant she didn’t want to move,” Rob deduced.

Bubba nodded. “I think that’s about it.”

“I guess she doesn’t know what a gold mine Big Brats is. Did you tell her you’re a millionaire?”

Bubba shook his head again and took a long swig of beer. “Only a half millionaire. She can probably do better in Seattle.”

“I doubt it,” Rob said. “But that’s the problem when you get involved with tourists. They come up for some laughs and then they return to their real life. You were good enough to flirt with, hang out with this summer, but when it came right down to it...”

“I guess I should’ve known,” Bubba said with a shrug.

“Yeah, you should have,” Rob said. “Drink local and date local.”

“First you gotta find someone local,” Bubba said. “We can’t all meet a cute little cheerleader in high school and live happily ever after.”

Now Rob wasn’t looking quite so happy.

“Uh, you guys are okay, aren’t you?” Bubba asked.

Rob smiled but it seemed forced. “Sure. We’re okay.”

“Yeah?” Eric wasn’t buying it.

“Okay, we’ve got some shit going on. Well, I’ve got some shit going on.”

Rita Reyes was at their table now, ready to take Eric’s order. “Merry Christmas, Eric,” she said. “How are things at the lodge? Are you guys full up?”

“Not quite,” he said. “There’s still time to make a reservation for Christmas dinner.”

“Someday I’m gonna treat myself and do that. Your mom’s Christmas dinners are legendary. So, what can I get you?”

“Hale’s Mongoose.”

“I’ll have another,” Rob told her, and she nodded and hurried off. “There’s a fine-looking sugarplum,” he said, admiring the view as she threaded her way among the tables.

“Hello,” Bubba said, tapping him on the head. “Married man?”

Rob frowned.

“So, what’s going on with you two?” Eric asked, returning them to the subject at hand.

Rob contemplated his beer. “Sometimes I wonder if, aw, I don’t know. I think we got married too young.”

“Don’t tell me you’re thinking of leaving Ivy,” Eric said.

“I don’t know,” he said again. “Sometimes I feel like I missed out somehow.”

Eric couldn’t believe his ears. Rob and Ivy were the perfect couple. In fact, he’d envied his old high school buddy. Rob seemed to have the perfect life. He’d married into a great family, and Christmas Haus, the shop he and Ivy owned, was a gold mine. It was originally called Kringle Mart, and they’d recently changed the name and doubled their business. In addition to sitting on a gold mine, he was married to a pretty woman who was about as nice as they came. A perfect life, a perfect marriage. If Rob couldn’t make it, who could?

Lately, Eric had been feeling the pull toward marriage. It seemed as though all his friends were happily paired off, either married or in a serious relationship. Well, it had until tonight.

“You’re nuts if you leave,” he told Rob.

“Yeah, probably,” Rob agreed. “But I wish I’d stayed single like you, man. Your life is your own. You can do what you want. All of that, plus good home cooking.”

Who was he kidding? Eric’s life was tied up in running the lodge and watching over his mom. Yeah, the home cooking was great and there was nothing else he’d rather do than run the lodge, but living with your mom didn’t exactly make for a great sex life.

“Yeah, right,” he said. “My life’s so great, that’s why I’m hanging out with you two—who, by the way, are a real pair of downers.”

“Love can be a downer,” Rob said morosely.

Rita was back with their beers. Just in time because Rob had swilled all of his. He lifted up his glass. “Okay, guys, here’s to the new year. Let’s hope it gets better.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Eric said. And better for him would include a woman. He was getting tired of his bachelor existence, tired of things not working out. His younger brother didn’t seem to mind going through women like candy but Eric did. He was ready to settle down.

Except if someone in a practically perfect marriage like Rob could be discontented, if a nice guy like Bubba couldn’t hang on to a woman, what chance did he have? And where was he going to find Ms. Right? Date local, great idea. But he’d tried the local girls and nothing had come of it. He’d even expanded his search to nearby Wenatchee and that hadn’t panned out, either. Was he too picky?