Susan Mallery - Christmas on 4th Street

The house was bright and warm. So far there weren’t any smells, but it was barely eleven in the morning. If they weren’t eating until five, the turkey wouldn’t have been in the oven very long.

Karen and Felicia stood together talking in the open kitchen. Felicia glanced up and saw Noelle, then hurried toward her.

“You’re here. Thank you for stopping at the store. I don’t know how it’s possible I forgot anything. I made lists and I checked them at least twice.”

“Just like Santa,” Gabriel murmured.

Noelle took in her friend’s slightly frantic expression and did her best not to smile. “It’s okay. I’m happy to help. Where are you in the meal preparation?”

She asked the question before realizing she was hardly an expert. Her lone Thanksgiving cooking experience had been two years ago—shortly after the death of her mother and grandmother. The meal had turned out, but she hadn’t really cared either way.

This was better, she told herself as she took the grocery bags from Gabriel and put them on the counter. This time she was happy and healthy and the meal wasn’t her responsibility.

“I read an article online,” Felicia began as she emptied the bag. “About a woman who does a just-in-case turkey the night before. At the time I remember thinking she was wasting a lot of time, but now I completely understand and I think she’s brilliant. I need a just-in-case turkey.”

Noelle moved next to her friend. “While I’m enjoying the meltdown, because you’re normally so unflappable, let’s be rational for a moment. Has anything happened to make you concerned the turkey won’t turn out?”

“No. It’s only been in an hour. It’s barely started cooking. I followed the directions precisely for cleaning it and then filling it with stuffing.” She turned to Karen. “You were with me, helping. Did it appear everything was in order?”

Gabriel’s mother nodded. “You need to take a breath. There’s no crisis.”

“I forgot whipping cream! Who forgets that? What if I forgot something else?”

Gideon walked into the kitchen and took Felicia in his arms. “Hey,” he said, staring into her green eyes. “I love you. Carter loves you. We have a home and a dog and family. It’s one dinner. Get over it.”

Noelle knew about Felicia and Gideon’s relationship, but she’d never had much of an opportunity to observe it firsthand. Now, as Felicia visibly relaxed in her lover’s arms, Noelle felt a twinge of envy. While she was happy for her friend, she wanted that kind of love for herself. The safety and sense of belonging. Life was short and it was important to hang on to whatever happiness was available.

Her gaze wandered to Gabriel and she sighed. While he was nice eye candy and a surprisingly efficient stock person, he wasn’t anyone she could have a long-term relationship with. He was leaving and she was staying. She had no sense of him wanting to connect in any way. He wasn’t close to his family and according to Ana Raquel and his mother, had nearly reached the age where an explanation on the question “Why aren’t you married?” was going to get awkward.

All reasons to remind herself that he was not good boyfriend material. Not that he’d been, you know, asking.

He turned and caught her studying him. One eyebrow rose in inquiry. The movement was oddly masculine and very sexy. It made her wonder if she was worrying about the wrong thing. So she wasn’t going to marry Gabriel. Big whoop. Maybe she could simply mention they could do the wild thing while he was in town.

Before Noelle could decide if she was being incredibly contemporary in her thinking or simply delusional, Felicia stepped out of Gideon’s embrace.

“You’re right,” she said firmly. “The dinner will be fine. I understand the safest temperature for our dinner, so no one will get food poisoning. Everything after that is simply a bonus.” She glanced at the clock. “We need to get to town or we’ll miss the parade.”

“I thought you were in charge of the festivals,” Karen said as they all moved toward the front of the house.

“I am, but this isn’t technically a festival, so I don’t have to worry about it. However, I will be dealing with the Christmas tree lighting on Saturday.”

Gabriel moved next to Noelle and held out her jacket. “Not a ‘holiday tree’ lighting?” he asked.

“No. Here in Fool’s Gold we’ve decided to throw political correctness to the wind and call it a Christmas tree. I know because there was a very vigorous discussion about that exact topic at the last business association meeting. We took a vote.”

He nodded slowly. “You voted for calling it a Christmas tree.”

“I did.”

The large group was sorted into two cars. Gideon stayed behind to watch the turkey. Noelle saw Felicia whisper something into his ear before they left. She suspected it had nothing to do with cooking.

The trip down the mountain didn’t take long. Felicia directed Norm to a parking lot a few blocks away from the parade route, and they walked the rest of the way. Noelle found herself next to Gabriel, which was nice. She told herself it was because he was tall and broad, so he could block the wind, but in truth, she liked speculating about him. And if that caused a tingle or two, all the better for her.

They stopped by several street carts and bought hot chocolate and popcorn. The sidewalks were crowded with families. Because it was Thanksgiving, there were fewer tourists than usual for a parade, but plenty of residents. It was as if most of the town had turned out to watch.

“Over there,” Felicia said, leading them to a viewing area by the Fox and Hound. The corner spot allowed them to see down two streets.

“Nice,” Norm told her. “You are good at logistics.”

Carter settled on the sidewalk. Karen sat next to him. Norm and Felicia were behind them. Noelle noticed that Gabriel did his best to keep his distance from his father.

She wondered about their relationship. Gabriel hadn’t said that much, but there was obviously tension. Despite the fact that Carter had showed up in Gideon’s life over the summer, Norm and Karen hadn’t come to meet him until a few days before. Felicia had been the one to invite them to visit for the holidays. What had happened to cause both sons to become, if not estranged, then at least disconnected from their parents?

Not a question to ask minutes before the parade started.

She sipped her hot chocolate, grateful for her coat and the sweater she wore beneath. The sky was blue, but the temperature couldn’t be much above freezing. She could see her breath.

Gabriel pointed across the street. “That guy is selling chestnuts,” he said. “Are you sure this town is real?”

“Mostly. I don’t think I like chestnuts. Now, if he had fudge, that would be a different story.”

“You eat chocolate?”

She glanced up at him. “I’m a fully functioning female, so yes. Why are you surprised?” She held out her to-go cup. “Hello, hot chocolate.”

“I thought you only ate healthy stuff.”

Because she was skinny, she thought, knowing that just over three years ago, she’d been curvy and completely happy with her body. Then she’d gotten sick. Weight had seemed to melt off her. It wasn’t exactly a diet she would have recommended to anyone.

In the past year, she’d gained back about a third of what she’d lost. It was slow going, but she was determined that she would see her curves again.

“I love chocolate,” she said firmly, and swallowed the last of her drink. Again, discussing the whys of her thinness wasn’t a subject for this second.

The sound of music drifted to them.

“It’s started,” Carter said, scrambling to his feet. Norm held out his hand to Karen as she stood. They all turned and looked up 4th Street, straining to see the beginning of the parade.