CHAPTER FIVE
Addison retreated to her room and checked her email. The good news was she had an email from her travel agent that all her Barbados plans could be shifted and rearranged such that she could still take the trip, but as she sat and stared at her tablet, she knew she wasn’t going. How could she leave now that she owned a business here and had to consider an offer that, if accepted, would make her among the least popular people in the area? Addison dashed off a note to her travel agent thanking her, but letting her know she was putting the trip on hold for now because of “complications”.
She also saw a text on her phone from her brother William that the whole family was meeting for breakfast at 8:00 tomorrow morning and they hoped she could come. Three siblings, three in-laws and 15 kids of various ages. All together, all at once. This was more people than she would interact with in a week back home since her travel blog confined her to her home office for large parts of most days. Her friends were good friends, but even though she had lived in Atlanta for ten years now, they were still limited in number. She loved her family. It was just such a different life she led now in Atlanta, and she felt overwhelmed by the thought of the chaos.
Needing to think and knowing she thought best while walking, she put on a jacket and headed towards the downtown again, hopeful of a longer stroll than the one that was interrupted by spilled coffee this morning. Wow, that was less than 12 hours ago. A lot had happened already today.
Addison walked past the county courthouse, which was adorned with Christmas lights outlining the building and every window in the place. The lawn held life size nutcrackers and a manger scene that had been part of the town’s decorations since she was a little girl, probably long before. Somehow, the snow had continued to fall but lightly, just enough to dust everything in a blanket of white. She felt the cold permeating her jacket, but kept walking; she strolled past the local radio station, which normally played country music but at this time of year shifted to an all Christmas music format. The current radio offering was also piped over a speaker above the station’s front door, so she heard the silky smooth voice of Bing Crosby singing “White Christmas” as she passed. All these things seemed the same to her as they were years ago.
But when she reached the town square, she started seeing differences. Millie’s, which had the greatest pancakes on the planet next to April’s, was boarded up and dark, and the Hallmark store next to it, where she and her grandma had shopped for a new Christmas ornament for her tree each year, was also abandoned with a “For Rent” sign in the window. For a Friday night at 6:30, there were surprisingly few people on the streets, too. No kids stared into the windows of the Little Hands toy shop, as she and her brothers and sister always did, because it too had closed down. Addison wondered what the future held for the little town that had held so much joy for her 20 years ago.
As she walked back towards the Adrouine House, she passed the courthouse again and saw another familiar sight, this time one that made her smile. The Holly Trolley was still running! It took you on a 30 minute tour of the town, passing the best decorated homes while everyone on the trolley joined in to sing Christmas carols together. Addison checked her watch and saw she had time for a ride before she was to go to meet Brett and Abby, so she bought a ticket and sat down. The trolley soon departed and Addison found one tradition that hadn’t changed. The trolley was only half full, but you couldn’t tell from the loud and joyful singing. It even seemed to her that the houses that went all out in decorating for Christmas were still the same as when she was a girl.
After she left the trolley, she walked to Brett’s house and as soon as she walked in the door, she got a big hug from Abby, who led her into their living room and sat next to her on the couch. Brett soon joined them with three cups of hot chocolate, and Abby picked up one of them with both hands and carefully handed it to Addison. She smiled when she saw “Best. Kid. Ever.” on the side.
They talked for an hour until it was time for Abby to go to bed. As Brett brought her back to tuck her in, Addison walked around the little home, and saw on the fireplace mantle a picture of Brett, a little baby she assumed was Abby, and a woman – blonde, tall, and bursting with happiness.
“She never liked that picture, but Abby does, so she makes me keep it out,” Brett said as he walked up alongside Addison.
“Her mom, obviously?”
“Yeah, that’s her.”
“So-“
“What happened? Well, I was born here, but I had big plans, big dreams, and they weren’t going to be fulfilled here. So I went to school out East and settled in Boston afterwards. That’s where I met Kate and things happened fast, We got married, and we were both working 80 hour weeks when she got pregnant. She put her career on hold to stay home with Abby, at least for a couple years, but then she got sick. Abby was not quite two when she passed away. Anyway, I just didn’t want it anymore after that, so we moved back here about four years ago and that’s pretty much our story.”
“So you still have family here?” Addison asked as she and Brett walked back to the couch and sat down.
“No, my parents both passed away in their 60’s and I was an only child, as were both my folks, so it’s just me and Abby as far as family goes. I know she wishes she had a bunch of sisters and cousins and aunts and a grandma, but that wasn’t the Lord’s plan for us.”
“Abby should come to breakfast with me tomorrow if she wants to see what being in a big family is like.”
“Lots of siblings?”
“Only three, but they were fruitful and multiplied, so the nieces and nephews bankrupt me every Christmas,” Addison said with a laugh.
“Abby and I don’t really know what that’s like, but I think we’d take the craziness, especially this time of year. But what about you? I know about Atlanta and your travel business. You must be on the road all the time.”
“I wish, The beauty and the curse of the internet is I can research all these great places and tell people about them without actually visiting most of them. It’s a living, but I’m pretty much a homebody.”
“Is there a guy back there?”
“Nobody special. It’s not like I work in a big office with loads of people my age, but I try to get out into the real world as much as I can.”
They both paused and Addison looked at the mantle clock, saw it was 9:30 and said, “I better go. I have breakfast with the crew tomorrow and I’m guessing you have to work early, too.”
They both stood and Brett got her coat and helped her put it on. “Thanks for coming over. I know Abby appreciates some female companionship.”
“Thanks for having me. Maybe I’ll see you at the coffee shop tomorrow morning for decaf coffee,” she said with a smile before she turned and walked down his front steps.”
“That was decaf!” Brett said and watched her walk away.
CHAPTER SIX
The next morning, Addison met up with her two brothers and their families for breakfast at Sammy’s on the Square. Berlin and her crew had to leave early that morning for a Christmas pageant one of her daughters was in at her school, so the gathering was reduced to “only” 15 people, including ten children. She wondered how her brothers and sisters-in-law managed, but she saw them flit from child to child while still carrying on conversations with other adults like it was nothing. Addison loved the hugs and hearing about what her nieces and nephews had been doing at school, but was ready for a little quiet time when breakfast was over. Before they left, they asked her about her plans, hoping she could join them all on Christmas Day; Addison said she’d try, unsure what that meant. She said her goodbye’s and watched them all load into various vehicles for the drive back to Chicago.
She walked to The Coffee Mill and saw Brett behind the counter again when she entered. The place was much less busy than yesterday with only three people sitting at tables enjoying their coffee. Addison ordered hers and sat, and Brett pulled up a chair as well.
“I heard a rumor this morning that a certain lady whose grandma just passed away might be the owner of the Santa Cruise. Anybody you might know?”
There were just no secrets in a small town, Addison was learning. “Yes, it’s true. I don’t know what it means, but it’s true.”
“Well, to me it means that you need to go on a cruise tonight and check out your new boat. I’m working the second and third tours, so why don’t you come down at 8:30 and join me.”
“OK, I might do that. I do have to get back home soon, but I guess I can stay through tomorrow anyway.”
Just then, a customer walked in and Brett rose from his chair to take their order. “Great, I’ll see you tonight then.”
She finished her coffee and got up to leave, waved goodbye to Brett and headed back outside. Just as was through the door, she heard someone yell “Addy!” and knew right away who it had to be, since she had only made one friend in Celebration so far who called her that. Abby came running out from behind the counter, where Addison hadn’t even been able to see her, and rushed towards her, practically leaving her feet as she launched into a hug.
“Helping your dad out?” Addison asked.
“Yes, he makes me work Saturdays with him,” she said with an exaggerated glumness. “But maybe, if you wanted to, maybe we could go watch the ice skaters in the park while he’s working. It’s not busy anyway, so I think he can handle it without me.”
Brett had walked over to them and heard Abby, so Addison looked up at him. “Would that be ok? I don’t want to put you in a tough spot here though,” she said with a smile and a wink.
“I don’t know, we could get busy and I might need help-“
“Daddy, please!”
“If it’s ok with Ms. Taylor, I guess it’s ok.”
Abby turned to Addison with big eyes and Addison melted, “Get your coat!”
Abby ran to the coat rack and got her grey and white jacket and was back in seconds. The girls headed out, with Abby leading the way.
The same light, huge snowflakes that had been falling the past two days were now lazily drifting to the ground again, giving a fresh layer of whiteness to everything. As they walked, swinging arms back and forth, Abby asked, “Do you have any brothers and sisters?”
“I have two brothers and a sister, and they have 15 kids between them. Fifteen, can you believe that?”
“Wow, they’re so lucky. I don’t have any sisters or brothers,” she said with genuine glumness this time. “Wait, do you have any kids?”
“No, I don’t. Maybe one day, though.”
“I want to be a mommy one day, too, and have a lot of kids, so we can have big parties on birthdays and Christmas. It’s just me and daddy now, because my mommy is in heaven with Jesus.”
Addison’s heart nearly broke in two. “Abby, I’m so sorry. One day you’ll see your mommy again and you can show her how good a hugger you are.”
Abby’s mood shifted quickly when they got to the skating rink and saw the skaters. She quickly identified the best one on the ice, a young girl who switched back and forth between skating forwards and backwards and did twirls and jumps that were as graceful as Addison had ever seen. Addison’s eyes went back and forth between the skaters and Abby. What a perfect little girl, she thought.
After a time watching the skaters, Addison thought it was best to get Abby back to Brett, so they walked back to The Coffee Mill, hugged and said goodbye. She spent the rest of the day walking, thinking and getting warm by the fire in the Adrouine House.
CHAPTER SEVEN
At around 8:15 that evening, she walked to the water and bought her ticket for the Santa Cruise.
Seeing the large boat at night was a different experience than during the day. The railing around the upper level was decorated in light, as she had seen earlier, but she saw the interspersed pattern of green and white lights now that they were lit. Besides the wreaths that encircled the lower level, there were white icicles draped over the railing too, and on the side of the boat, a giant wreath of lights, green with red at the top shaped like a ribbon, stretched across the full height of the boat. As she walked on the plankway and boarded the boat, she saw equally beautiful decorations on board, but only enough people to fill about a third of the boat.
As she made her way up the aisle, she saw Brett standing at the front of the boat. He was dressed as a captain should be, with a white shirt with gold and blue bars on each shoulder and a white captain’s hat on his head. He waved and walked toward her and somewhat unexpectedly gave her a short hug.
“Thanks for taking Abby out this morning. She really likes you.”
“I really like her, too.”
“We’re about to leave so why don’t you sit here, it’ll give you a great view of the sights and you won’t miss any of my expert commentary.”.
She smiled and sat and Brett picked up the microphone, welcomed everyone on board and asked them to take their seats. Within a few moments, the boat started moving and soon the first lights appeared on the shore just ahead.
A manger scene, complete with Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus and animals all around, with a star directly overhead, shined brightly from the shore. Just past it was a giant gingerbread house complete with two candy canes forming an arched front door, and white icing all over it. Addison marveled at the creativeness of people who were able to turn strands of light into such things of beauty.
Just like on the Holly Trolley, people began singing Christmas carols whenever the boat left one display on its way to another. The lights, singing and, of course, the hot chocolate made Addison feel enveloped by Christmas, more than she had been in a long, long time.
Brett was incredible as the master of ceremonies, talking just enough but letting the lights, singing and conversation on the boat be the real focus. After about 35 minutes, he let everyone know they were approaching the last display, Santa Claus with a “Ho, Ho, Ho” next to him.
When the boat docked, everyone left except Addison, who waited for Brett. They walked off together and made their way over to a chiminea just off the water’s edge. All alone, they stood and warmed by the fire for a moment in silence.
“Well, what’d you think of the ride?” Brett asked.
“Amazing. There’s something about this season – you can get on a boat or a bus with total strangers and pretty soon everyone is singing and smiling and you get lost in it, in a beautiful, good way.”
“I’ve always loved this ride and this boat. Growing up here, every year I can remember we went, my mom and my dad and me. Being an only child and not having any relatives around, it was one of my chances to celebrate with a bunch of people, even if a lot of them were strangers.”
“Abby said something to me today. I think she feels that way, too.”
“Yeah, I know she does. She doesn’t talk to me about it much, but I know how she feels.” Brett looked up at the clear night sky and then continued, “I know this is just a tiny part of most people’s Christmas, but for some, like me and Abby, it matters. This cruise, the Holly Trolley, they’re important to the people who live here and the ones that visit, too. I know the town is having tough times; you’d have to be blind not to see it. But there has to be a way. If people just gave this place a chance again, they’d see there’s still magic here.”
“Magic is what people are looking for,” she said, looking back to the boat.
Brett cast his eyes down from the skies to Addison, “What about you? What are you looking for?” Addison looked back towards him and saw him looking directly at her. She held his gaze for a moment and then they each moved towards the other until they were just inches apart.
Rushing in came Abby, who ran up to Addison and wrapped her arms around her legs from behind. Addison turned and picked the little girl up and hugged her.
“How’d you get here, little girl?” Brett asked. “Where is Ms. Wilson?”
“Right here,” they heard and turned to see a woman approaching. “She asked if she could come down here and see you both and I thought it would be okay. I hope we weren’t interrupting anything,” she said with a slight smile.
Addison and Brett looked at each other and Brett replied, “No, our cruise just ended and we were warming up a bit by the fire. But it’s late, so we better be getting home, Abby.”
Addison hugged Abby again and said to Brett, “Thanks for the cruise. I really enjoyed it.”
“Good to hear since you’re the new boss.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Brett and Abby walked Addison back to the Adrouine House and when she got there, a letter was waiting. The offer. Nelson Davies had dropped it off a few hours ago and surprisingly, it remained unopened despite the obvious level of curiosity on Don’s face when he handed it to her. She took the letter and retreated to her room.
It was a generous offer. More money than she would make in years through her travel blog. There wasn’t much to digest, just a single page, but she read it three times anyway. Nelson had also left a handwritten note in the envelope asking if they could meet in the morning to discuss it. She called his cell number and suggested they meet at Sammy’s, wanting some distance both from the Adrouine House and especially The Coffee Mill and Brett. They agreed to meet at 7:30 the next morning.
She spent a restless night thinking about practicalities and magic, about realities and dreams, about Abby and about Brett. She got up and got ready for her meeting with Nelson Davies uncertain what the right answer was for her, and for Celebration.
Upon entering Sammy’s she saw Nelson at a table in the corner. She sat and they chatted and then ordered coffee. Once the waitress had brought it and left their table, Nelson dived in.
“So, Ms. Taylor, do you have any questions on my offer?”
Allison pulled the offer from her coat and sat it on the table. “Not really. It’s a lot of money. I’m just not sure whether it’s what I want now.”
“Let me help you think this through. It seems to me your alternatives are you can sell the boat to me, make a lot of money, and go back to Atlanta without having to worry about any of this. Or, you can keep the boat, hope to squeak by and not lose too much on the cruise business.”
“But what about this town and the people, the ones who live here and the ones who come here for a little Christmas spirit? If I sell the boat, I take that away from them because nobody is going to replace it with a new boat now, not in these conditions.”
Nelson scratched his forehead with his left hand and then said, “You have heart Addison, I’ll give you that. But I don’t think you can save this town all by yourself.”
Addison then felt a hand on her left shoulder and turned to see Brett and Abby. “What are you doing here?” she said quickly.
“It’s my day off so we thought we’d grab breakfast.” He looked over at Nelson Davies, and extended his hand, “Brett.”
Nelson Davies took his hand, shook it and replied, “Nelson, Nelson Davies.”
“Well, sorry to bother you. Enjoy your breakfast,” Brett said and moved to a table two down with Abby.
After he had walked away, Addison caught her breath, looked back at Nelson, “I need some time to think.”
“That’s fine. You have my number and I’ll be here until tomorrow. I’d like to get this settled before Christmas if possible, so please call if you have any questions for me.”
With that, they both stood and left the table and restaurant. A moment later, a waitress approached Brett and asked, “I saw you talking to the lady at that table over there. Do you know her?”
“Yeah, that’s Addison Taylor. Why?”
“She left this paper on the table when she left. It looks like something important.”
She handed Nelson’s offer to Brett and he scanned it quickly. Then he stood and said, “Abby, c’mon, we’re leaving,” and took the paper with him as they left the restaurant.
A few minutes later, Addison came back into the restaurant and hurriedly approached the table she and Nelson had been seated at. She scanned the table and then walked quickly to the waitress and asked if she had seen a piece of paper she left in the table.
“I did and I gave it to Brett to give to you since it looked like you knew each other. I hope that was ok.”
Addison stood processing the news and then turned and ran out of the restaurant.
“I’m sorry…” the waitress called to her.
Addison rushed to Brett’s house and knocked on the door but no one answered. She stopped by The Coffee Mill, but he wasn’t there either. Finally, she found him, alone, standing on the water’s edge looking at the Geneva Queen.
“Brett, I’ve been looking all over for you-“
“So much for magic, huh? Look I get it, you don’t live here, you don’t owe this town or me anything. I guess I just hoped that you’d be different, that you’d focus on something other than money and think about what this town was and how it could be again if people could just see it and feel it somehow.”
“Let me explain, I haven’t made-“
“Here’s your offer. I’ll tell Abby you had to go back home,” Brett said and walked away.
Addison stood with the paper in her hand, watching him leave before she turned towards the boat. “If only people could just see it…”
CHAPTER NINE
A few hours later, Addison called Nelson Davies. “If it’s just the price, Ms. Taylor, I’m sure we can work something out,” Nelson said.
“Thank you Nelson, but it’s not the money. You made a very good offer, but I’ve decided to go another direction.”
“Well, I have to be honest and tell you I’m disappointed, but good luck, Ms. Taylor. If you change your mind, I’d be open to buying that beautiful boat in the future.”
“Thank you, Nelson. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas to you, too.”
Addison hung up the phone and left the Adrouine House in a hurry. She walked through the usual falling fluffy snow to the front stairs at Brett’s house, climbed them and knocked on the door. Abby opened the door and broke into a huge smile upon seeing Addison there.
“Addy!” She screamed and launched herself into a hug with her. “Daddy said you went home. I was so sad.”
“I’m still here, Abby. Is your dad home?”
Brett swung the door open wider, looked at Addison and said simply, “Hello Addison.”
“Can we talk?”
Brett looked down at Abby. “You go back inside and give us some privacy, little girl.”
Abby released Addison from their hug and gripped the door, slowly closing it while looking through the crack until the last second. When the door had closed, Addison looked at Brett and said, “Brett, I’m sorry about that situation with Mr. Davies. He approached me about buying the boat the same day I found out about my grandma leaving it to me in her will, and I had no idea what I was going to do then, so I let him make an offer.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“There is magic in this town, Brett. It’s like something out of a Hallmark Christmas movie. I felt it when I was a little girl and I felt it again over the last few days. I know people want what’s here, they just don’t know it’s here. But we’re going to change that,” she said.
“How? And who’s ‘we’? I thought you were selling out and going home.”
Addison took a quick breath in and out. “I called Nelson Davies this afternoon and told him I was turning his offer down. And I also posted the first in a series of articles to my travel blog about the magic of Celebration. I have over 800,000 followers on my blog, and if just a few of them make the trip here, it will make a huge difference for the town. We have a whole year before the next season, but I think the response we get will let us make a case to the snow sculpture contest to keep its competition here. And I know we can get other businesses interested once they see the response to the pieces I’ll post.”
Brett stood expressionless and silent, so Addison continued, “And I think if I’m really going to do a good job at this, I’m going to need to spend a lot of time here to really get to know the area and the people. Especially certain people, like you and Abby.”
Brett broke into a huge smile and stepped towards Addison. He wrapped both arms around her and looked into her eyes before saying, “You would do all that for this little town?”
“For this town and Abby…”
“That’s it?” he asked.
She leaned into him and kissed him. “I guess for you, too.”
She kissed him again and then watched the door fly open and Abby run out and hug both of them. Addison knelt down to her and said, “How would you like to go to Chicago with me tomorrow? There is a huge family Christmas party I have to go to, but I’m sure there is room for one more.”
Abby turned excitedly to Brett, but then back to Addison and said, “Sorry, I can’t leave my daddy alone on Christmas.”
Addison smiled and looked at Brett. “How about it? Feel like making the drive and jumping into the madness with us?”
Brett looked at them both. “Full speed ahead.”
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