Page 59 of Christmas Cove

The walkto town was short. The gravel road was as familiar to her now as though she’d lived there her whole life. It was a feeling, one of comfort, that she had experienced on multiple occasions since first arriving in town. Despite its initial lack of holly berries and glitter, she was fond of the place in a way she had never felt for the city she called home.

Before deciding to move the Cove, Mr. Janowitz had reassured her that she could work remotely, and that she only would need to come into the office a few times a year. Though, if her plan were going to work, she would require a more reliable internet connection than the one that the town currently offered.

America checked the time, though it didn’t matter anymore. There was both too little time, and all the time in the world now. The article would tell the truth about the Cove. The only way for readers to understand how special Christmas Cove is, is to show it through the eyes of the people who called it home. She included stories from Pa and Carol, things she had learned about while researching at the library, and some calls she’d made to other residents over the past few days.

One thing she was certain of, Christmas Cove wasn’t going anywhere, no matter what happened to the postal code or city name. Now that she had bought a house in town, she would stay and make things right with Leo, however long it took.

At Carol’s door, America knocked softly at first, and then rang the bell. Nerves coursed through her, and she tapped her foot on the threshold step, though she blamed her fidgeting on the cold and not on the tension in her muscles. The door opened and a bright-eyed, silver-haired Carol smiled out of the crack.

“America! Come in. Come in. You must be freezing out there.” She closed the door and unlatched the chain before opening the door all the way. “Leo said you had gone back to the big city.”

“I did, but did he tell you why?”

Carol took America’s coat and hung it over a kitchen chair. “He said you had work to get back to. He seemed sad. Maybe upset? Did you get into a tiff?”

“Carol, I’ve royally screwed this one up.”

America recounted the entire story. She told Carol that she had accused Leo of not even caring about the town, and how he had trusted her only for her to throw it back at him and break that trust.

“And now, I’ve learned that Elizabethtown’s mayor, was the one who requested the article, my article, about Christmas Cove, and not Leo who I had assumed was the person that originally contacted the magazine. I can’t know for sure what his angle was, but I doubt he wanted someone sweeping in here and bringing back Christmas like I did.”

“Could it be that he doesn’t want to take over our town at all? Perhaps this is exactly what he wanted.” Carol said and tapped her fingers against her lips as she pondered. “Doesn’t seem right though, does it?”

“Not at all. I imagine he wants the Cove for some benefit. I just don’t know what it is yet,” America said. She had gone over and over in her head about the mayor’s possible reasons. Money was likely involved somehow, but until she could dig more into the politics and scheming, the mystery would remain. “We may never know that man’s real reasons behind the article request. Although, I intend to find out. My suspicion is that he was hoping to embarrass the Cove and have a grand reopening of sorts under a new city banner, but that’s a stretch without more evidence.”

“I tend to agree with you,” Carol said. “But what can we do about it?”

“We need the people. Plain as that.” America took the woman’s hands in hers. “I really am sorry. I just wanted to help the Cove reclaim some of its Christmas cheer. Things got out of hand so fast.”

“You know, America. Christmas Cove is just a place—”

“I had thought that earlier, on my way back to town.”

“No, I don’t think you understand.” Carol poured a cup of coffee, even though America didn’t ask for one and Carol hadn’t inquired. “Christmas is something that lives in your heart. It’s a feeling. It’s knowing that you are loved—”

“It’s all this!” America pointed to the coffee in a red mug, and to the kitchen around them with a small Christmas tree tucked into one corner and holly berry placemats on the table.

Carol nodded. “You got so caught up in wanting to fix everything that you forgot to look around at what really needs fixing. This town, whether it is or isn’t one going forward, has been a place that generations of people remember for our Christmas spirit and summertime musings. They won’t love it less if it’s part of Elizabethtown, you know.”

America blew on the coffee and slurped. “Thank you. Not just for the coffee, but for the perspective. You’ve given me much to think about.”

“Now,” Carol beamed and slapped her own knee. “What are we going to do about you and Leo? I’ve never seen him look at anyone the way he looked at you at the Christmas tree lighting. There’s something there. I just know it. That man has never so much as hinted at finding love, and then, BAM! You show up and he’s a pool of joy and distress. I doubt he saw it coming any more than you did.”

Carol’s insight was frighteningly accurate. America had not been looking for love, but had found something she suspected could be the real thing. “Distress? If you mean that he’s confused about pursuing a relationship with someone he just met, and who turned his entire world upside down, then I know what you mean.”

“What’s your plan?” Carol asked, grinning. “You must have something in mind, since you came back here.”

What was she going to do? America had a wake of first dates behind her that she was certain hadn’t led to a second date because of her. No matter how good her intentions were, she knew now that she had gotten in her own way in all of her previous relationships. The truth was made clear back at the office when swoon-worthy Mark had ceased to thrill her in any measurable way.

It wasn’t infatuation, or an impressive resume, which had attracted her to Leo. From the beginning, she had fallen for his kindness and the way they laughed together. She wasn’t sure what love would feel like, but the fluttering in her belly, the way her pulse quickened whenever he looked at her, and the way she wanted to move mountains, or in this case move copious amounts of Christmas decorations, for him and with him, told her this was something different. Something special.

“I see you’re thinking about him,” Carol interrupted. “You should tell him.”

“How do you mean?” America said. “Was I thinking aloud? I do that sometimes.”

“No. But I know that look on your face. The one that says you’re calculating your feelings and it’s scary.” Carol brought her cup to the sink and turned on the water. She began washing her mug while she spoke. “I know that look well. I wore it once when I was a little younger than you are now. You’ll regret it forever if you don’t act on it.”

America wondered if Carol’s memory had something to do with the story that Edwin had told her about their date at the winter formal. “Do you still regret it?” she asked without adding specifics to the question.

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