Tidings of Joy: Based on a Hallmark Channel original movie Page 12

  She turned to a clean page in her notebook and picked up her pen. Pacing the room, she jotted down interesting things she’d already seen in town. Things that hadn’t been mentioned in the other articles she’d read.

  An hour later, she was taking a self-guided tour of Evergreen. She toured that adorable little church and learned that last year David had been the one to figure out the mystery about why the church bells had no longer rung. At the noon hour, the bells rang. They swung inside the tower independently, sending three distinct sounds out across the town.

  Katie learned the church was quite the attraction during the summer. People came from all over to get married here. She could see why. With its original handcrafted stained-glass windows, bell tower and history of lasting marriages, the church was like a storybook place.

  She spent time at the railroad depot too. The renovated train really had once been the main source of transportation into this town, and still all these years later, there was only one paved road that led in and out of Evergreen.

  That night she shuffled through her notes, looking for connecting points that might make an interesting story. She fell asleep in a puddle of papers, but her dreams had been vivid, a mixed-up conglomeration of her childhood and all the things she’d seen and learned today. At one point, she was hand-painting pews in the church. Funny how dreams could be such a mishmash that made total sense while you’re in the dream and none once you woke up.

  And that’s where she was right now. By morning light, all those dreams that had seemed like a fairy tale now seemed like a Picasso. Something was there, but it sure was hard to make sense of it.

  She sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed.

  A soft tap came at the door, followed by Megan’s voice. “Excuse me, Katie?”

  Katie slid off the bed and opened the door. “Hi. Good morning.”

  “I’m heading over to watch them open the second box on the advent calendar. Would you like to walk over with me?”

  “Yes. I would love that. Can I take a quick minute to change into something warmer?”

  “Absolutely. I’ll meet you downstairs,” Megan said.

  With her hand on the edge of the door, Katie leaned out. “Megan. Thank you so much for checking on me. I’ll be right down.”

  “No worries. Who would want to miss this?”

  Indeed.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Katie and Megan arrived at the mural just in time to find everyone already gathered around in anticipation of the second box being opened.

  It was eye-opening to realize how many of the people standing around her she could name, aside from Megan. Hannah and Elliott. Michelle and David. Nick and Nan. Carol and Joe. Ezra. Lisa. Even Henry had driven in for the big moment. And Ben. She hated where things had landed between them. There’d been something special happening. A physical, emotional tug of something promising like she’d never experienced before.

  She noticed Elliott edge closer to Hannah. “It’s chilly out here,” he said to the woman.

  “I was just thinking the same thing. But I’m so excited to see what’s in the next box, it’s keeping me warm.” Hannah pressed her lips together, not putting any more space between her and Elliott. Katie hoped they’d admit their feelings.

  I’m a hopeless romantic. They’d be so good together. If she found herself standing in front of a man who looked into her eyes the way Elliott looked into Hannah’s, she wouldn’t ignore it for even a second. Her mind drifted, her heart doing a grand jeté as she imagined herself in that situation.

  Elliott cleared his throat. “After this, do you want to come over to the shop? Megan said she could help us get the snow globe glass done.”

  Hannah’s long lashes lifted. “Oh, yeah. Count me in.”

  Katie watched the two of them, wishing Elliott would be brave enough to reach down and take Hannah’s hand in his. For a moment, she thought he might, but Michelle, dressed in a pretty cashmere coat, chose that second to get things going, and the Evergreenians broke into applause for her.

  “All right. Good morning, everyone,” Michelle said. “Thanks for coming out to see what is in our second box.”

  Ezra leaned over to Katie. “She’s doing an excellent job of Mayor-ing, don’t you think?”

  Katie noticed David smiling as he overheard Ezra’s compliment. “Like she was born for it,” Katie answered. Unable to keep her focus on the advent calendar, she snuck a glance over to where she’d seen Ben standing. He was looking right at her too. She made eye contact with a sheepish and apologetic smile. Ben acknowledged her, but only with a half smile back. It was more of a polite smile, not playful like when he’d seen her yesterday morning. Her heart sank, regretting the misunderstanding and missing the fun he’d added to her time here.

  Michelle had everyone else’s attention. “Now, I know it will be tough to choose who gets to open these boxes every day, but I have a plan for that.”

  Ezra folded his arms across his chest. It appeared difficult for him to let go of some of these activities. “Voting system. That’s what I’d do.”

  Michelle lifted a stovepipe hat into the air.

  Ezra looked baffled.

  “Nan has been kind enough to lend us this beautiful hat. The last original from the Evergreen Hat Factory. It seems quite fitting for such a historical moment as this. After all, how often does a town uncover a fifty-year-old time capsule?” She placed the tall hat on her head, then curtseyed. “So if you’re interested in participating, write your name down on a slip of paper and drop it into the hat sometime today. Every morning, we’ll meet here, and I’ll draw a different name from it.” She took off the hat and set it aside. “For now, I think we can all agree that the second box should be opened by the two people who kept the secret the longest. Nick and Nan.”

  By the applause, it seemed everyone in the crowd agreed.

  The two guilty secret-keepers joined Michelle in front of the time capsule. Nan placed a gentle hand on Nick’s Christmas tree tie. Applause rose, and Ben ran over to help them. He climbed the ladder all the way to the top to reach the box with the big red number two painted on it for them.

  Steadying himself by the frame, Ben carefully slid the box open and reached inside. He withdrew another red envelope and displayed it to everyone, the number two on the front in gold. Like a playful elf standing up on that ladder with his scarf hanging around his neck and that sprightly grin, he seemed to enjoy adding a little dramatic suspense to the process. He bent down, handing the envelope over to Nick and Nan. “Here you go. Number two.”

  Nan didn’t waste a second. She ripped opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. “Ah, I remember this one.” She read, “Dear Evergreen, usually by this time of year, the pond has frozen over and it’s time for skating. We know there won’t be enough for everyone, but may you all enjoy the skating. Inside this box are some Evergreen scarves to keep you all warm. Love, Mike and Marsha Strall.”

  Ben tossed a stack of scarves tied in a red ribbon down from the ladder, then modeled a long hand-knitted one. “There’s a pair of skates in here too.”

  Michelle interjected. “The Stralls owned the sporting goods store, but they’ve moved to Ohio.”

  Nan glanced up as she took the stack of scarves from Ben and began lifting the corner of each one, admiring the stack. “Yes. That was before you could buy everything online. They had all of their things made here locally.”

  A man stepped forward from the crowd and raised his hand. “I think I can explain this one. Oddly enough.” He was dressed in a fancy ski jacket with at least ten ski tags hanging from the zipper. “The Stralls were my grandparents, on my mom’s side. Years ago they sent me several boxes of skates and scarves to hang on to until someone from town asked for them. I thought it was a surprise donation or something. I guess it actually kind of is.”

  “You’ve got to be k
idding.”

  “Nope. They’re stacked up in my shed.”

  “A lot of planning went into this,” Michelle remarked.

  “Glad I was here when you opened the time capsule. I remember Grandpa talking about it when I was a kid. Do you think I can borrow Allie’s truck? I can take all the boxes down to the pond, and you can distribute them there.”

  “Absolutely,” Carol said. “I can make that happen.”

  Nan said, “I used to be quite the skater. I still have my skates too. They’re quite fancy, in fact. Blue with silver stars on them. Hannah blinged them for me when she was just about David’s age. She’s always been so artistic in every way.” Nan searched the crowd for Hannah. “Do you remember doing that for me, Hannah?”

  “I do!”

  “Katie, you should borrow them,” Nan said.

  “Oh, no. I’m not a skater.”

  “Just in case you change your mind then,” she said with a wink.

  Michelle clapped her hands. “Everyone, remember that the volunteer fire department is still clearing off the skating pond and making sure everything’s safe, so we’ll see everybody down there a little later on.”

  As the crowd dispersed, Katie was hoping to grab Ben and apologize about this morning, but he’d already taken off.

  “Hello, Katie. How are you enjoying Evergreen?” Nick stood there, his round cheeks slightly pink from the cold.

  She forced herself to turn her attention away from Ben. “Oh, hi, Nick. I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like this.”

  “Wait until you see the skating pond all set up. One of the most fun traditions we have in Evergreen. You really must give it a whirl. I just know Nan’s skates would be perfect for you.” Nick sailed off as Katie watched Ben walk away without another word.

  She’d never been much of a skater, but then, she’d never been anywhere like Evergreen. It’d been a long time since she’d even tried. Nick’s words danced in her mind. This time capsule advent calendar made the twelve days of Christmas look like slacker duty. And she was no slacker. An idea hit her, and it was better than a partridge in a pear tree.

  She rushed across the street and entered Daisy’s Country Store.

  “Hi, Katie,” Lisa said from behind the counter. “Good to see you again. Are you looking for something fun, or need something practical again?” She pretended to pout.

  “Nothing practical at all. I saw something the other day that would be just perfect for someone.” She turned and walked over to the decorated Christmas tree in the center of the store. “I see it from here.”

  “Great. Let me know if I can help.” Lisa turned to help a man who’d just approached the counter with his arm full of gift items.

  “I hope you can help me by wrapping these,” he said to Lisa.

  “Are you kidding? I am the best gift wrapper around. Wait until you see the fancy bows from wire ribbon that I’m going to make for you.”

  Katie loved how Lisa was so into her store and customers. She browsed through each of the decorated spaces in the store. Lisa had created the most inviting nooks filled with similar items to help customers match items to the people on their shopping list.

  Beside a robin-egg blue upholstered chair was a table covered in a rich brown satin tablecloth. Somehow that spring-colored combination felt so homey among all the Christmas decorations. The hand-lettered sign on the table read “Gifts for Mom.” Katie took her time, enjoying the chance to perhaps find something special for her mom. She was so hard to buy for. She had everything, and she was funny about certain things like clothes, so there was no sense in trying to buy her anything like that. But there were unusual items here. She picked up three small things. Together they’d be a wonderful gift.

  She paid for her purchases, then walked over to the arts center. She’d been meaning to check out the glassblowing ever since Elliott had mentioned it that day at the inn. Today would be the perfect time, since they’d be making the dome for the snow globe. Maybe she’d stumble into more details for her story too.

  The air nipped at her nose as she entered the arts center. She raced up the stairs, glad to rush inside and get warm. Near the door, a group of people were whip-stitching felt stockings together. A stack of completed ones were piled high at the end of the table. Two women sat behind fancy sewing machines, embroidering names on them one at a time.

  Katie passed by, wishing she’d thought to have one made with her name on it. She hadn’t ever hung a stocking by the fireplace in her apartment. Mom probably had the ones they’d used back when she was a kid. She could remember what they looked like—all four of them hung up from left to right: Dad, Mom, Bill, Katie. Red stockings with white cuffs and plaid toes and heels. Hers had a snowman juggling snowflakes on it. She wondered if she’d loved snowmen before the stocking or the stocking had made her love snowmen.

  The room warmed dramatically the closer she got to the fiery furnace, where the glassblowing was taking place. For some reason, she’d pictured the furnace being about the size of a grill, but this was more like a massive full-service brick pizza oven. Long metal tables filled with a plethora of odd tools made up workstations in front of it.

  “Hey, Katie,” Elliott said as he pushed a long pipe into the furnace. “We’re just getting started.”

  She wandered a little closer while staying out of the way of the equipment. “I hope you don’t mind if I just hang out and watch.”

  “Not at all. Just grab some protective goggles and enjoy.”

  Katie got a pair of goggles and put them on. They were so big on her face she felt a little like a ladybug. She walked over to admire a towering rack of red-and-green sparkle-laden glass ornaments that’d just come from the annealer and hung to finish the process.

  Everyone in this part of the center wore the big safety glasses that, combined with the furnace and all the strange tools, made her feel a little like she was in some kind of sci-fi movie.

  Katie took notes as Elliott explained each step to Hannah.

  “The furnace heats the glass to two thousand degrees, making it malleable.” He dipped one end of the blowpipe into the furnace and rolled it over the molten glass until a gob attached to it. “We call this gathering.”

  “It’s kind of intimidating,” Hannah said.

  “From here we move to the marver.”

  It looked like an old metal table to Katie, but apparently whatever it was made out of helped keep the temperature and shape of the glass. She walked over to where Megan was working on something else. “These decorations you’ve made, Megan. They’re so beautiful.” Katie opened her blue notebook.

  “Thank you.” Megan looked up but never stopped working. “Hot glass is like honey.” She rolled a metal pipe with a blazing gob of molten glass on the end across a steel worktable. “Coordination is key.” In a wide-legged stance, she shifted her weight almost like a lunge. “It’s like a dance between heat, gravity and centrifugal force.” Megan lifted the blowpipe, the gob of glass no longer a small gob but already taking on a distinct shape.

  “Where did you learn how to do this?”

  “My mother taught me. Also my sister, Barbara. She actually owns the inn. We’ve been making glass ornaments for years. I sell them down at Daisy’s.”

  “Okay,” Elliott said as he pulled a blowpipe out of the glory hole with Hannah standing by.

  Katie stepped out of the way, still jotting notes. This was absolutely fascinating. A hero glassblower would have to make it into one of her books someday.

  “Let’s do this.” Elliott placed the gob on the table just as Megan had done with hers. Hannah hovered close, one hand on his back as he shaped the glass. “Time to put the globe—”

  “—back in snow globe,” he and Hannah said at the same time.

  “Thank you for fixing this.”

  “See, it’s still sort of a tinke
r shop as much as it’s an arts center,” Elliott said. “I like the name.” His eyes were wide, hopeful.

  “I know. Thanks for keeping the name. It’s just so much more now. The more time I spend time here, the more I fall in love with all it has become. I admire what you’ve done. Thanks for carrying on our legacy along with it.”

  “It’s part of this town. It should always be.” Elliott guided Hannah as she spun the glass on the end of the stick. From behind her, his muscles gave her a steady place to rest as they moved the pipe and formed the shape.

  Katie wasn’t sure what Hannah was feeling at the moment, but to Katie it looked like a very physical process. “I’ve never seen this before. It’s absolutely mesmerizing,” she said to Megan.

  “Yeah. It is.” Megan walked over to help Elliott and Hannah.

  Both wearing protective glasses, they looked like two love bugs. Elliott helped Hannah take over, him guiding her diligent attempt to roll the pipe shaping the form.

  She leaned against him, and Elliott snuck a glance from over her shoulder. “Oh. You’re a natural at this.” Hannah concentrated on the work as he helped smooth her move by placing his hands on her elbows. “Great job.”

  She giggled nervously, never taking her eyes off the glass. “Well, I want it to be special, just like the snow globe always was.”

  Katie could see how important it was to Hannah. Not just a prop, but tradition. She felt bad for making light of the snow globe now. She hadn’t been fair to Ben.

  It was telling that since the snow globe broke there had been no less than a dozen people trying to help put all the pieces back together, be it by consoling Hannah for breaking it or the crafters trying to do the repairs. Actual magic or not, that snow globe meant something to this town, and really, wasn’t that what all magic started with, anyway? Believing?

  She regretted her snarky remarks to Ben. Sometimes sarcasm got her into trouble. She hadn’t meant to be mean, but she hadn’t been understanding of his ties to his hometown, either.