C.J. Carmichael - Together by Christmas

Hopefully, she hadn’t forgotten anything, because if she had, she’d have to drive an extra two and a half hours southwest to Regina for replacements. Chatsworth’s isolation was one of the main reasons—other than her mother’s prodding for her to become a model or actress—that Miranda had left. Indeed, many of the young people raised there relocated after graduation. Now the prospect of spending two months in the small community brought on a claustrophobic anxiety she tried to ignore.

Her mother was waiting supper when she arrived at her destination on Friday night after several long days behind the wheel.

“You made it! I’ve been so worried. The weather reports say it’s snowing in Winnipeg.” Lovely as ever in a hand-knit sweater and stretch black jeans, Annie James offered her daughter a fragile hug and a peck on the cheek.

“Must have been after I passed through. I saw a few wispy clouds, but that was it.” She lugged her bags down the hall. “Same room?” she asked over her shoulder.

“Of course.”

“Same room” being a shrine to white French-provincial furniture, the best you could order from the Sears catalog. At least her mother had removed the canopy. Cleaning that thing year after year must have been hell.

Miranda settled her bags at the foot of the bed, then put her purse on the dresser, next to the phone her parents had given her for her thirteenth birthday. How many hours had she spent on that thing? Mostly talking to Chad….

She went to the washroom, and when she emerged, Annie was removing her green-bean casserole from the oven.

“You haven’t cooked this big meal for just the two of us?” A lentil casserole sat steaming on the table, next to the beans, a green salad and cauliflower.

“This is a special occasion. I even made brownies for dessert—low fat, unfortunately, thanks to my diet.”

“Sticking to it, are you? That’s great.” They discussed Annie’s health for a while, then moved on to Miranda’s work. Annie wasn’t very interested in the video on the Canadian artist Harry Palmer, which Miranda had just finished collaborating on with his son and the CBC. But Annie did have some input to offer on the upcoming project.

“You realize Warren’s book is going to be made into a movie?”

“You mentioned the possibility on the phone.”

“Well, I’ve been wondering. There might be a role for you.” Her mother’s eyes sparkled. “After we spoke, I took the book out of the library and read it. I could see you in the lead, playing Olena. You’re the right age and the description is you to a tee!”

“Oh, Mom.” Annie had never recovered from her disappointment when Miranda dropped modeling to study film at Concordia University in Montreal. While she’d accepted that Miranda was now too old for modeling, she frequently reminded her daughter it wasn’t too late for acting. In her opinion, her beautiful daughter belonged in front of a camera, not behind it.

“What’s the matter?”

“I talked to Warren’s agent about the film rights. Yes, they’ve been sold, but the screenplay hasn’t even been written yet. Warren insists that he wants to do it himself, and first he has to finish his current book.”

“All the better. You need to get your name in early. Just mention the idea to Warren when you interview him for that video of yours.”

“I have no acting experience.”

“You’ve taken several classes. And you did that commercial.”

“Right.” She ought to command about a million for a picture, based on those qualifications.

Her mother smiled, assuming that one word meant Miranda had agreed with everything she’d just said.

“So when are you planning to meet with Warren?”

“Tomorrow. You’ll have to help me figure out how to get to his farm.” Miranda had only an idea of the general direction.

“I’ll draw you a map. It’s not that hard, but it is far. About twelve miles from town, and at least two miles from the closest neighbors, the Brownings. Frankly, I can’t understand why any sane person with a choice would want to live on his own in such an isolated place.

“In fact,” Annie continued, “I’m not at all sure you should be going out to his farm to conduct your interviews. Couldn’t he drive into town?”

Miranda dug deep for patience. Something she suspected she was going to need a lot of this next little while.

“Mom, this video isn’t something I can accomplish in a couple of short interviews. I need to hang around him, see how he lives, how he works.”

Discovering what made Warren Addison tick would take time. But she had two months, and she’d succeed. The completed video would be her Christmas present to herself.

Vegetables were silently passed back and forth; Miranda topped up her mother’s wine from one of the bottles she’d stashed in the trunk of her Volkswagen.

“The Brownings had a baby boy last year,” Annie said finally. “Did I tell you?”

“Yes.” Miranda was glad for Gibson and Libby. They both had daughters from previous relationships. According to Chad, they wouldn’t necessarily stop at three, either.

“I don’t suppose you’ve heard about poor Chad and Bernie English.”

The piece of cauliflower in her mouth suddenly felt like a cork stuck in her throat. Miranda coughed, reached for her wineglass.

“Are you okay?”

Miranda waved a hand dismissively. “What about Chad and Bernie?”

“Oh, it’s just terrible. His poor mother is so upset. You know Dorothy belongs to my bridge group.”

“Mother. What happened?”

“Why, Bernie booted Chad out of the house.” Annie James looked as if Miranda was a little slow not to have figured this out on her own. “After Dorothy left last Wednesday, one of the ladies said she’d heard Chad had been cheating on Bernie.”

“Cheating?”

“No one knows who the woman is. At least not yet. I’m sure the truth will come out eventually.”

Miranda set down her fork, trying to absorb this news. Something major must have happened for Bernie to have kicked out Chad. But an affair? The very idea made Miranda sick. She could only imagine how much worse Bernie would feel.

And how could any of this be true? She’d e-mailed Chad the night before she’d left Toronto and had had a reply from him the following morning.

He hadn’t mentioned a word about any troubles with Bernie. Her mother had to have gotten this wrong. The bridge ladies must have been doing too much raising and doubling—and not with cards, either.

“That’s very hard to believe, Mom. Bernie and Chad have been married for years.”

“You think that’s any guarantee?” Her mother’s tone was sharp as she glanced at the sideboard, where they’d once kept their only family photograph.

“I suppose not. But—” Bernie and Chad? “Where’s he staying, then?”

“Chad? Not at his mother’s—you can be sure of that. Dorothy is furious with him.”

“But Chad is her son.” And she’d always doted on him over his two older sisters.

“Dorothy’s granddaughter’s well-being is at stake here, too,” Annie reminded her.

“Yes, of course. But if Chad isn’t staying with his mother…”

“He’s shacked up at the clubhouse on his golf course. According to Dorothy, he was spending most of his time there, anyway. Probably that’s where he and this other woman have their rendezvous….”

Miranda held back the temptation to roll her eyes at her mother’s leap in logic.

“He’s a grown man, Mom. Besides, do you have any proof that he’s been unfaithful?”

“Proof? This isn’t a court case, Miranda.”

Just as she’d thought. The rumors were baseless. If anything untoward was going on, Miranda would have picked it up in her regular e-mails with Chad, or heard something different in his voice during their more occasional phone calls.