Merry's Christmas: Two Book Set (Amish) (3 page)

Catherine nodded softly. A moment of silence passed between them. “Are you still...?”

Daniel took time to run the question over in his mind. He wanted to be completely honest with her, even though it was hard to explain. “We got through the worst of it the first year, but then Christmas rolled around again the next year and nobody seemed ready to...” Daniel trailed off, searching for words. “Then same thing last year. It’s just, with losing their mom during the holidays, it’s been a while since the kids have felt like celebrating.”

Catherine took Daniel’s hand. She intertwined her fingers with his. “The kids. What about you?”

Again, Daniel took a moment, wanting to be sincere. He thought about what he couldn’t say, then gazed into Catherine’s eyes warmly and offered what he could. “Suffice it to say, I’m in the mood to celebrate now.”

Merry knelt down beside her bed. Rudy curled up lazily beside her. Her elbows sunk into the thin batted mattress, making it pop up on the sides. Her hands clasped at her chin, Merry looked up, in earnest.

“So...is it okay to admit that I’m just a teensy bit freaked? Me and Rudy, here, we’re cutting it kind of close. But I was wondering maybe, if—”

Merry’s eyes filled. They teared the way they always did when she talked to the only Dad she’d ever known, the one who knew her best of all, the only one she could turn to and say whatever it was, no matter how terribly she was doing.

“Lots of people worse off than me, I know,” Merry acknowledged respectfully. “I don’t mean to ask for extras. Really, I don’t. Just enough to get by. That’s all I want this year.”

The next morning, Merry made her way toward the train station. It was a new day, she encouraged herself, filled with new possibilities. She reminded herself that there really was an upside to living so close to the tracks, especially now that she needed public transportation.

“Spare some change?” a bag lady pleaded.

So in need herself, Merry passed the woman, then stopped and turned back. She dropped some of what little she had into the woman’s cup and wished her a Merry Christmas.

“Merry Christmas to you, too. God Bless you, Miss!” the woman waved cheerily, flashing a rotten-toothed grin.

If that woman who had nothing could find reason to smile, Merry resolved that she would, too.

Entering Strong Bank & Trust wasn’t quite as daunting for Merry the second time around. She had remembered to toss her coffee cup outside at the corner receptacle, and she navigated the heavy revolving door with quite a bit more ease. Spotting Daniel’s now familiar face where he sat behind a handsome mahogany desk, Merry took at seat in his waiting area. He was on a call, so she took the time to gather herself.

Things had been tight for Merry before, but never so dire that she’d had to ask for a loan. She pulled out her loan application and smoothed over the folds. There was her entire financial history, summed up in less than three pages. Showing this to a stranger was a little like walking down a hospital hallway, she thought, like wearing one of those thin cotton gowns that gapped disconcertingly in the back. 

Merry watched Daniel. She listened as he talked on the phone. Absently, he wound up a tiny, toy robot, then released it to march across his blotter.

Daniel shifted the phone on his ear. “Yes...The sooner you can run it the better...Tomorrow morning’s paper would be great...Yes, it’s—”

Merry watched as Daniel picked up a note. She listened as he read from it.

“It should read:
‘Help Wanted: Christmas Coordinator. Full Service shopper, decorator, and event planner for family. $7,500 salary, all expenses advanced.
’ That’s it.”

Merry’s jaw dropped. She tried not to betray the fact that she had been eavesdropping, but nothing in her could help it. Maybe she was meant to overhear this, she reasoned. Maybe this was the answer to her prayers. She listened intently as Daniel continued on the call.

“Right. Then, just go with the blind e-mail box for replies...Absolutely...Sounds good.”

Mouthing a quick
thank you
, Merry shoved her loan application into her bag and skidded up to Daniel’s desk. In fact, she got there so quickly that she had to put her hands down to slow her momentum and stop her from crashing right into it.

“Could I possibly persuade you to cancel that ad you just placed?” Merry gasped.

Daniel looked up. “Do I know you?” he asked.

“I’m Merry Hopper. M-E-R-R-Y as in Merry Christmas, which is perfect because I really, really want that job.” There. She’d said it with total conviction, knowing it was completely true.

Daniel smiled in a way that said he remembered her from their first encounter. “Merry. Oh, right. Aren’t you the one who—”

“—spilled coffee all over you? Yes,” she admitted. “That would be me. So, could I buy you a cup to actually drink this time?”

Life could change on a dime
, Merry thought. One moment she could be completely down and out and the next, before she could even get her balance, she could be whip-lashed into what seemed to be an absolute miracle.

Merry reflected upon how quickly it had happened. Not ten minutes before she’d been ready to mortgage her future. Now, she was sitting at an upscale café, living in the possibilities. Merry watched as Daniel ordered his coffee from an uptown waiter. It was a far cry from the place where she worked.

“Espresso. Black,” Daniel said. Then turning to Merry, he assured, “And this is my treat. Would you like anything?”

“Just to give your family the best Christmas ever,” she beamed.

The fancy waiter nodded, bowing almost imperceptibly as he left, the way no one ever bowed at the Downtown Diner.

Daniel turned to Merry. “So, it’s not huge...I have three children: twin girls, almost sixteen, a nine year-old son. There’s my mother, who helps out with meals and such since my wife passed.”

Immediately feeling for him, Merry interjected. “Oh, I’m sorry. So, your mother lives with you?”

“Practically. But no, she has very nice condo down the block.”

Merry smiled. “Must be great to have her so close.”

“Yes, well, she’d be very much included,” Daniel went on, maintaining a professional tone.  “May I ask, what kind of experience do you have for this kind of thing?”

Yikes
, Merry thought. There it was, that gulpy moment. There was the temptation to embellish. But if this was the miracle it seemed to be, Merry knew she would come by it honestly. “I don’t have any actual experience for this. So, none.”

Daniel looked at her quizzically, prompting her to continue.

“But that’s what makes me perfect for this job. I’ve been dreaming of throwing a family Christmas all my life. I just never had the family to do it for.”

Daniel sat back cautiously. “I take it you’re not bonded. I’d be setting up a dedicated account for my coordinator to draw upon for expenses.”

“Arthur, he runs the diner where I work. He’ll vouch for me,” Merry assured. “I never stole so much as a single penny in all my life.”

Shaking his head unconsciously, Daniel back-peddled. “Yes, well...”

“I won’t lie, Mr. Bell,” Merry promised. “I don’t just want this job. Truth is, I really, really need it.”

Daniel studied Merry for a moment, visibly torn by the decision.

As the waiter arrived with Daniel’s promised coffee, Merry rose and stuck out her right hand. She knew that the practice of shaking another person’s hand had fallen somewhat out of fashion, what with all the germs going around. Still, Merry responded to the urge to end things on a personal note. She knew she had little in terms of technical qualifications, but giving things a special touch was her forté. So, she shook the hand he extended warmly before turning to leave.

Merry stepped out into the brisk early December wind. She filled her lungs and left the café, quietly ecstatic. It wasn’t an immediate
yes
—not by a long shot—but it also hadn’t been an instant
no,
a fact that didn’t escape her relentlessly hoping heart. This, she encouraged herself, was a definite
maybe
. There was a whisper of a chance, and Merry knew it. She had gotten her foot barely into this door and the windows of possibility had blown open.

three
 

A
rthur hoisted a sack of bread flour onto his stock room shelf. Merry lingered nearby. In a way, Arthur enjoyed her attention. He knew Merry wasn’t standing there because she’d heard anything about the Christmas Coordinator position yet. He’d seen her squeak back into the diner moments before her lunch break was over. There had been no jubilant announcement about this pipe dream of a job she’d spoken of actually coming true.

Arthur decided that, for once, he wouldn’t make this easy for her, the way he usually did. Why should he? He was the one who’d been there for her all these years. He was the constant in her life. He would make her work for his attention for a change. He’d keep futzing around, unloading cans, and straightening shelves. He’d pretend to only halfway listen. It was hard not to let himself look at her, so he reminded himself that he shouldn’t. One glimpse of those sparkling green eyes or those dimples in her cheeks and his heart would turn completely to mush.

“Three weeks, Arthur,” Merry posed.

“At least four,” Arthur returned. “What goes up for Christmas must come down after.”

“Okay, four. And it’s not even full time. I can still work part time here.”

“If he even offers it. I say you’re outta your league, Merry.”

“Christmas
is
my league!” Merry enthused.

Finally, Arthur stopped what he was doing. He hazarded a glance in Merry’s general direction, fighting to maintain his resolve. He pointed out to the floor of his establishment. In an instant, he felt his ears turn scarlet, the way they always did whenever he got worked up over anything.

“Ever see them rich people in this diner?” he spat out. “No. They’re uptown in cafés and fancy schmancy restaurants charging more than you and me make all day.”

“Artie, this is my time,” Merry implored. “I know it. This is my Christmas. So, would you please just roll with me on this?”

Arthur mulled it over, hesitantly. He ran a tired hand through his thinning hair as Kiki stepped into the fray. He saw Kiki plant herself, put her hands on her hips, and burn him with the kind of look that only Kiki could give.

“You don’t let Merry do this, then I quit,” Kiki vowed. “Either way you’re way up a holiday creek.”

Arthur knew when he was outgunned. Merry had always been a good waitress, but Kiki was a great one. She’d been serving the Downtown Diner’s customers since the very beginning. He couldn’t afford to lose Kiki, not in this economy, and certainly not during the upcoming holiday rush. “All right, I give. Fine,” Arthur conceded. “So, get out there and get cracking!”

Merry gave Arthur an exuberant kiss on the cheek and scurried back out toward the restaurant’s service floor.

Arthur sighed dejectedly as she left. Everything in him wanted to read something more than the flush of excitement into Merry’s burst of affection, though he knew deep down that he shouldn’t.

Kiki softened. “Can’t lose what you don’t have.”

Arthur watched Merry from the kitchen. She was already back wiping the counter, charming his customers, obviously elated about the possibilities. “She don’t have that job yet,” he insisted to Kiki. “Think I want to see her crushed? Best she face up and get on with it.”

Kiki shook her head with a grin. She could reach him like no one else could.

“Artie, you’re something,” she teased. “You think you’re some kind of Oprah, don’t you? Well, maybe folks’ll start listening to all them pearls when you start listening to yourself.”

Catherine searched her purse as she exited Strong Bank & Trust with Daniel. She enjoyed having him back on her arm. It wasn’t that she’d felt threatened in any way when she’d seen him step out for coffee with Merry. From her vantage point at the top of the mezzanine stairs, Merry had seemed waifish at best. Her uniform and worn sensible shoes had done absolutely nothing for her appearance.

Just as soon as he’d returned, Daniel had been careful to explain to her that Merry had just wanted to talk to him about the Christmas Coordinator position, and that qualifications hadn’t so much been her strong suit.

It was a mercy interview, Catherine intuited. Even if it hadn’t been, she couldn’t imagine that there would be a problem. Still, something inside her hoped Daniel would go another way.

Catherine fished a ticket stub out of her bag. She handed it to the valet, then turned to Daniel. “If you’re looking for someone more seasoned to coordinate, I have a great service I’ve used. They’re very professional,” she promised. “They’d take care of everything, first class all the way.”

“Thanks, but...I’m still mulling it over,” Daniel replied. “She’s a little green, but...it might work out with the kids. I don’t know.”

Catherine was pleased to have come prepared. She went back into her designer clutch and found a business card. She extended it to Daniel as offhandedly as she could. “Well, here’s the service, in case. Ask for Philippe. Tell him you’re with me and he’ll clear his calendar.”

Daniel accepted the card with a smile. “I like the sound of that—saying I’m with you.” He put his arm around her waist, making her glad she’d worked so hard on it with her trainer.

“Do you, now?” she coyly replied.

Daniel maintained a pleasant, nonchalant air. “Perhaps it’s no surprise, but...I do have intentions toward you, Catherine.”

Catherine took it in, making her designs upon him every bit as clear. “Good to know.”

It had been easy for Merry to wait through the night. A man like Daniel wouldn’t be rash, she reasoned. He would probably sleep on the decision. Merry had said her prayers. She’d nodded off, blissful at the events of the day. For hours she’d slept soundly, that was, until she heard the slap of Mr. Grabinski’s newspaper being flung onto the stoop at 4:30 a.m.

For a long while, Merry resisted crawling out from beneath the covers. She tried to have faith that the best would come to be. But by five, she found herself padding down the stairs of the walk-up, dressed in her terry robe and slippers.

Carefully, Merry pulled out the classifieds and stood under the yellowed lantern by the door. She turned the pages and scanned the Help Wanted ads meticulously, searching for any sign of whether or not Daniel had gone ahead and posted his ad after meeting her.

There was nothing. Merry breathed relieved sigh.

By the time Merry got to the Downtown Diner later that morning, Skeeter was standing by the newspaper machine, counting what little change had been tossed into his cup. She liked the way his weathered face brightened whenever he saw her round the corner with a brown bag in her hand. Merry figured it was an even trade for the fact that Arthur always kept her fed when things slowed down at the diner. So, as often as she could, she brought a bag lunch for Skeeter. Inside, there would be his favorite tuna sandwich and some of those cheesy puffs that made his chocolate-brown fingers turn orange. A juice box would wash it all down to soothe his growling stomach.

“Hi, ya, Skeeter, “ Merry grinned. She handed him the sack. “God bless you.”

“He does,” Skeeter nodded. “Thank you, Sweetheart.”

As Merry entered the diner’s door, a little bell rang. A yellowed plastic Santa at the register leaned back mechanically, then bobbed up and down with a raspy sort of
ho-ho-ho
. She shot a look at Arthur.

Arthur glanced up from the grill. A sheepish curl formed on his lips. “Yeah, I figured it was time to coordinate a little Christmas around here, too.”

Relieved not to have to broach the subject, Merry seized the opportunity. “Did he call yet?”

“Nope,” Arthur replied. “But we got a bus load of blue hairs coming for a birthday party. So, get hopping, Hopper.”

Merry kicked into gear. “Be right back,” she promised before she spun right into Kiki, whose empty tray went flying. “Sorry!” she called, retrieving Kiki’s tray.

Arthur opened his mouth to comment, but Kiki intervened. “You hush, now.”

Arthur recoiled. “Who you telling—”

“Shoosh,” Kiki ordered as she accepted the tray back from Merry. “Just you think about it first with your smart self. What would Oprah do?”

It had been a long day for Merry. There had been no call about the Christmas Coordinator job, even a quick buzz just to check Arthur as a reference. Arthur hadn’t mentioned it. He didn’t have to. With each passing hour, it had become harder for Merry not to give into disappointment.

The diner was closed for the night. Business hours were over. Still, Merry dove to answer when the phone rang.

“Arthur’s.” Once again, Merry’s face fell. “No, Arthur’s as in the Downtown Diner...Okay, bye.” Merry sighed as she hung up, with a sheepish glance toward Arthur.

“You always got your job here,” Arthur reminded.

“Thanks. You know, just because I wanted that temp job doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate what I’ve got.”

Suddenly, the phone rang again. Merry started for it, but Arthur put up a hand to stop her. He picked it up himself.

“Arthur’s...Yeah, you got him.”

Merry caught her breath. Her fading ember of hope burst back into flame.

Arthur shooed Merry away. “Yeah, she told me you might call.”

Arthur’s look said it all. It was the call Merry had been waiting for all day.

“She’s a good girl,” Arthur continued. “Hate to give her up, but...Couldn’t do better if you ask me...Well, hang on. Lemme check.” Arthur put the phone on hold and turned to Merry. “Mr. Moneybags wants to know if I can spare you, as soon as tomorrow.”

Merry silently pleaded.

“How am I supposed to say no to you?” Arthur groused.

True to her name, Merry hopped up and down. “Oh, thank you! Thank you!”

“All right, already,” he bellowed. “So, pick up the phone, before I come to my senses.”

There were times in Merry’s life when she could hardly imagine that she was awake, that a turn life had taken really was happening. That’s how it was for Merry the next morning. She looked around, wanting to drink in every detail of it.

The early December air was crisp; the sky was a brilliant blue. It offset stately elms lining an affluent street Merry had never even dreamed to explore. Iron fences led to tony brownstones, each with its own stairway, leading up to individual doorways.
Here I am
, she thought, marveling that it was true. She glanced heavenward with a smile, knowing it was the answer to her prayer.