Page 32 of The Christmas Eve Delivery

“Interesting,” I said. I leaned forward to put the flier back on his desk. But I stopped as I noticed the names of the co-chairs of the little committee trying to coordinate all of this. I recognized the librarian’s name. I knew she was working on this type of thing, but I was shocked to see Lydia’s name.

The paper crumpled up as I clenched my fist. How dare she? What the hell did that woman think she was doing? She had no idea how much this would interfere with my project, and here I thought I was going to be doing her a favor when I revealed that I was the person going to buy up her inn from her. She had no idea the problems she was causing.

“I take it you hadn’t been aware of their little committee?” Donald White asked.

“Oh, I knew about that committee,” I said. “I’ve even met with them. I didn’t expect that they would have been savvy enough to seek historical registry grants. I was kind of relying on their naïveté regarding their choices.”

“What does this mean for your project?”

“It certainly is a bump in the road, but I don’t foresee that it will do anything more than delay the inevitable. The properties in question are held together by determination and denial. The second they realize how badly they’re riddled with termites and other pests, I’m sure gravity will pitch in and start pulling the buildings down naturally. I was actually in one of them during a snowstorm,” I casually admitted. “And parts of the structure were failing simply from old age. It was so full of gaps and holes in the structure that it howled every time the wind blew.

“If Brookdale had managed to maintain what it has, that would maybe be a different story. But it’s clear they are struggling as an entire town. My proposed resort would bring in jobs and revitalize the local economy in ways they are stubbornly unwilling to accept at this point in time.”

“You plan to go through with your plan on pursuing this?”

I stood up, accepting that Donald White had his doubts and therefore would not be investing.

“Brookdale is an untapped resource. Yes, I plan on pursuing this.”

17

LYDIA

“Thank you, everyone, for joining us this evening,” Mayor Dan started.

The community room at the library was filled with rows of folding chairs facing a line of tables with a panel of speakers. Mayor Dan, Evie, myself, and Mary from the post office sat in front of half the town.

And they were all staring at me. At least it felt like it.

If I didn’t make eye contact and I kept my focus on Dan, I could at least pretend they weren’t looking at me. I could pretend I was another interested party here to listen to what the mayor had to say. More people showed up for the newly formed Historical Society meeting than I would have expected.

I squirmed under all the scrutiny. It was uncomfortable at best, and downright anxiety inducing.

Could everyone tell I was pregnant? As far as I could see, my body hadn’t changed at all in the past few weeks. There was no baby bump. The only bumps on my body had been there for awhile. Maybe all this extra squish would help to hide things for a while.

My gut rumbled. I put my hand over my stomach, closed my eyes, and silently prayed that I wouldn’t be sick. I must have made some noise because Evie leaned in close.

“You okay?” she asked.

“I think I understand how the animals in the zoo feel,” I whispered.

“Or like a fish in a fish bowl?” She giggled.

I nudged her with my elbow. We were supposed to be serious. This meeting was serious. I bit my lip and tried to keep my mirth suppressed. The last thing I needed was more people staring at me.

“We received a rather lengthy communication from the developer who has been trying to buy up the properties. So we have confirmation as to their goals, and we have a better idea what we’re up against,” Dan said.

“What are we up against?” someone called out.

“What do you mean, developer? The nice young man who spoke to us didn’t mention anything like that.”

“Yes, he did, Martha. Hush and let the man talk.”

The crowd that had gathered was a vocal one. They were there to hear what Dan had to say, but it was clear they wanted to have their say too. The volume in the room started to grow louder as everyone tried talking over each other.

Dan held up both hands in hopes of settling everyone down. “You’ll have a chance to ask questions later. Everyone settle down.”

The voices continued to get louder.

---