Page 64 of When We Were More
As citizens walk by and check out each storefront, they can pop inside the stores for a holiday treat. There’s everything from homemade chocolates and candy apples at Suzanne’s Chocolate Chalet, to cookies with buttercream frosting and little glasses of warm cider at Ella’s Bakery. Even Lester gets in on the fun.
That’s where I come in.
Lester used to hand out suckers. Now, there’s nothing wrong with suckers, but I was sure we could do much better. When I moved here, we stepped up our game. We make hundreds of little butterscotch cupcakes and samples of butterscotch pudding. Sally and Ruthie make a batch of their candy and pretzel mix that they call reindeer poop. The kids love that one. To top it off, Lester supplies the town’s best hot chocolate.
The first year or two, Lester was a bit grumpy about changing up his annual routine. At least he likes to make us think he was, but I could see that smile teasing at the corner of his mouth my first time here. Year three, he made me a hot cocoa sample before the crowds showed up, and when I looked down into my mug, I saw that he had made a design—a Christmas tree. I don’t know where he learned it, or how he became a master at it, but sometime between my second and my third years here, Lester mastered creating Christmas trees and candy canes in the foam. The townsfolk loved it.
Last year, my fourth, he kicked it up a notch. He somehow mastered a snowman with a top hat. The kids absolutely went feral with excitement over it. I’m eager to see what he comes up with this year, as I’m not sure he can surpass last year’s design.
As the afternoon passes, I help Lester put the final touches on his storefront display. This year, he went with a Santa’sWorkshop theme. I adore seeing Lester getting into this. Everyone thinks he’s a big grump until they get to know him, then they realize that he has the biggest heart of about anybody in this town.
Time flies as Lester keeps giving me tasks—I suspect to keep me from thinking too much about the fact that Gram isn’t here this year—and suddenly it’s five-thirty.
We already have a line outside waiting to see the unveiling of Lester’s hot chocolate design this year. We let as many people as we can safely fit in the store, and they gather around the tables we set up.
Lester prepares two cups of hot chocolate, brings them over, and sets them down on the decorated table. Everybody is in awe.
“Mom! It’s a nutcracker,” a little girl tells her mother.
“A drummer boy, too,” her mom points out.
From there, the excitement continues, and the next two and a half hours fill up with laughing and celebrating with the wonderful people of our town. Needing a break, I tell Lester I’m getting some air and head outside. Ruthie follows me, and we sit on the rockers Lester keeps outside.
It’s a lovely winter night, and we’re cozy enough, thanks to a small, portable heater that sits between Ruthie and me. I take in the surrounding scene. The hardware shop is in the perfect location. It’s right across from the town square, with gorgeous views of the tall, old sycamore trees and evergreens that dot the landscape. When you add in the lit-up Christmas trees scattered along the lawn, the place lights up in a magical way.
“It’s beautiful here, Ruthie. I wish I could’ve grown up here full time.”
“Oh, Tillie girl, we all wished that, too. Every summer when you went back home, we were all a bunch of Debbie Downers for a solid two weeks. We missed the heck out of you.”
I look over at her and smile. Ruthie and I seem to take a special kind of joy in teasing each other, but every once in a while, these tender moments are dotted in there, making me remember how dear this woman is to me.
“Ruthie, that’s the sweetest thing you’ve said to me all year. You never told me that before. I knew Gram missed me, but I didn’t think everyone did.”
“Okay, now, don’t be fishing for compliments, girl. We all missed you. Hell, Lester got so grumpy that he put away the suckers for a month after you left every summer. He couldn’t see them without feeling sad that you weren’t in there with your grubby little hands picking one out each week.”
“He did not. And I wasn’t grubby.”
“Oh yes, he did. That man has loved you since you were a little girl. He couldn’t love you anymore if you were his own granddaughter. Also, yes, you were grubby.”
I get quiet for a moment. I didn’t get to know my grandpa—Gram’s husband—well because he died fairly young. I think I was six or seven when it happened. Therefore, I never got to form the relationship with him that I did with Gram. The fact that Lester might consider me a granddaughter touches my heart.
Before either of us can say anything else, we’re distracted by an adorable, sticky little four-year-old as he runs at Ruthie. He’s yelling: “Roofie. Roofie!” at the top of his little lungs. Despite being covered with the yuck from cotton candy and candy apples, Ruthie takes Shannon’s youngest in her arms and cradles the boy.
I look up and smile as Chase’s family—Shannon, Troy, and their other three children—walk faster to catch up with him. The kids appear happy, healthy, and like they’re having a wonderful time at our festivities. I’m thrilled I was able to talk Shannon into them checking it out.
My plan is to keep working on them until I can get them to move from Elladine over to Aron Falls. I’m aware that’s probably wishful thinking, but hey, when you finally have a friend who was born within thirty years of you, you want to live near her.
I watch Shannon and Troy approach, holding hands. She says something that makes him smile, and he leans down and kisses her temple. I’m elated for them. They were able to turn around the difficult time that almost cost them their marriage. Shannon says fighting their way through it has made their relationship stronger than it’s ever been.
I rise and hug Shannon as they approach, and Troy bends down and kisses me on the cheek.
“Hey, Tillie,” Shannon says cheerily. “You weren’t kidding about this festival. I’m pretty sure Chase isn’t going to sleep for four days. I don’t even want to think about all the sugar he’s managed to sneak into that little mouth of his before we caught him.”
“Well, he’s cute. People see him and they wanna give him all the sweets. If you didn’t want that to happen, you should’ve had ugly kids.” I grin, making Shannon and Troy laugh.
Troy is very handsome, and even though she struggles to see it, Shannon is gorgeous. There was no way these two weren’t going to make adorable kids.
Shannon, Troy, Ruthie, and I stay outside and chat for a few minutes while the kids go in to see Sally and Lester for some hot chocolate. Except Chase, who is snuggled up in Ruthie’s arms like he couldn’t be more content. I don’t know how it happened, but almost immediately upon first meeting Ruthie, she became Chase’s favorite person. I even think he prefers her over his parents sometimes.
