Page 49 of A Bright Winter Season

Allison and the other cooks had been hard at work cooking for a couple of hours, and Julia, Vivian, Hazel, and Alexis had also prepared dishes earlier in the day for the event. There were dishes of mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato fries, ham, turkey, tuna casserole, seven-layer salad, miniature chicken fajitas, coleslaw, creamed corn, and egg rolls.

In addition to the savory foods, there were various cakes, cookies, and pies, some prepared by the staff of The Lighthouse Grill, and others by friends who had volunteered to contribute to the event. Noelle had baked a couple of gorgeous lemon meringue pies, and Dean kept looking at her as if he thought she was some kind of fairy princess.

“That’s the last of the kiddie artwork pieces,” Samantha said triumphantly, stepping back from the far left wall of the dining room, where she’d hung row after row of drawings that the children who had been coming to the pub had made. Most of them were adorably sloppy messes of color, but some of them were rather impressive crayon drawings of things like horses, houses, and snowmen.

“Looks fantastic, honey,” Hazel said, feeling proud of her daughter. “Great job!”

“Come and help me hang this mistletoe, Cooper!” Julia called with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “I think we should hang it right here over the fireplace.”

Cooper grinned at her. “Should I go get a ladder or do you want me to lift you up?”

Vivian laughed as she entered from the kitchen, carrying a streaming tray of pot stickers. “You’d better hurry up with that, I think I see people arriving.”

Sure enough, a moment later, a family of four stepped into the pub, chatting in excitement.

“Are we too early?” the father asked. “If you want, we can go wait in the car.”

“Of course not!” Vivian smiled at him. “The event doesn’t formally start for another fifteen minutes, but you’re more than welcome to make yourselves at home. We’re all family here.”

In another few minutes, more and more people started to arrive. Hazel felt swept up in the excitement of the event, and she felt delighted by how festive the pub looked. Christmas greenery and red ribbons and twinkling white lights added a charm to the already attractive restaurant. Faint Christmas music was playing over the speakers, and as the pub became filled with guests, a light snow began to fall outside.

Hazel worked with her family to make sure that everything ran smoothly. They cleared empty platters of food from the buffet table and brought out full ones, they restocked the clean dishes, and they went from table to table in the dining room taking dirty dishes from guests. There was plenty of work to be done, but for the most part, the Owens and their partners were able to relax and enjoy the evening.

Hazel felt a little nervous in the midst of her happiness, wondering if Jacob was going to show up. She hadn’t seen him since she’d told him that she didn’t want to date him, and she’d kept herself busy in order to stop herself from thinking about him. She had to admit to herself that now that there wasn’t anything left to do to prepare for the event, she was finding it harder not to wonder if he was going to attend.

I hope he does, she thought, even though her stomach flopped at the thought.We said we were going to stay friends. And he made all this possible by repairing the vents. He should be rewarded by getting to experience this party.

As she was coming back out of the kitchen bearing a fresh bowl of coleslaw, she saw Jacob. He appeared to have just stepped inside the pub, and he was looking around the room with a sweet smile on his face. He looked delighted by the festive atmosphere of the party, which was filled with the sounds of people talking and laughing and the sweet and savory aromas of food.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him. He looked so handsome, with his cheeks flushed from the cold and his eyes bright with eagerness. His hair was a little tousled from being under his hat, and she had a sudden urge to go to him and brush it back into place with her fingertips.

I’m still smitten with him, she thought, feeling her heart rate pick up.How on earth is it that the feelings I thought I’d put away are back?

He caught sight of her in the next moment and his smile widened. He crossed the room toward her, not looking at anyone but her.

“Hey.” He gave her a friendly sideways hug, being careful to avoid the bowl of coleslaw she was holding. “You look beautiful.”

“Oh, gosh.” She laughed breathlessly, looking down at the red sweater and jeans she was wearing. “I wasn’t trying to look beautiful, just comfy.” Her cheeks felt flushed, and she wondered if she was blushing. She wished she wasn’t still acting awkward around him, and that she was able to maintain the casual, friendly demeanor that she’d had with him before she’d learned that he was single.

“It’s a nice sweater. It brings out your eyes. I mean—” He laughed. “Not that your eyes are red, obviously. It just—you look nice.” He smiled at her as if he was hoping she would smile back, but she found herself thinking about all the times her eyes had been red after crying about the fact that he was dating someone else. She cleared her throat awkwardly.

“It is a nice sweater, thanks. My mom knit it for me a few Christmases ago.”

Jacob gestured toward the food table. “Have you eaten yet?”

Hazel glanced over at the platters of food, and her stomach growled loudly. “No, not yet. I?—”

“Perfect. Would you eat with me?”

Hazel inhaled, about to make some excuse, but then she told herself that would be rude. After all, she’d told him that they could be friends, and eating dinner together at a party with lots of other people there wasn’t a date.

“Sure.” She smiled, still feeling skittish and unsure of how to behave. She found it hard to look him right in the face, especially because his eyes were sparkling and it made him look particularly handsome. “I have to set this coleslaw on the table anyway.”

After she placed the coleslaw on the buffet table, they went through the food line together, and some of Hazel’s discomfort disappeared as she and Jacob chatted about how incredible the food looked and smelled. She piled a modest amount of food onto her plate, knowing she would be going back for seconds later in the evening.

“This ham looks fantastic,” Jacob said. “I love ham.”

“I know,” Hazel said, and then stopped talking, wondering if it was weird that she remembered how much he liked ham. Was that the kind of detail that any friend would remember, or did she only remember that because she liked him and she’d unintentionally memorized all of his food preferences?

---