Page 19 of Candy Cane Dreams
She laughed, then put a hand up as she turned toward the door.
She was still deep in thought about the things that they had talked about, and mulling over in her mind how easy her relationship with Jack seemed to be, and almost ran into a lady on the sidewalk.
"Excuse me," she said immediately, sidestepping neatly. At the same time, she realized that the lady must have been just as deep in thought, since she seemed equally surprised.
"Kate. You're out late," Marjorie McBride said, her eyes kind and crinkled, smiling at Kate in the narrow beam of light given off by the street light.
"I am. I was just talking to Jack about Lilly, mostly." She couldn't really say she had to add the "mostly" on, because it wouldn't have been honest to say that that was all they were doing.
"Oh, I'm so glad. The last guidance counselor was a nice lady, but... Lilly could use a little extra attention."
"And I intend to give her everything I can," Kate said, knowing that she'd already promised herself that in her heart. With every student she came in contact with, not just the one she was drawn to. "It may be a little extra, because Lilly seems special."
"I'm glad you see that. I think she is," Marjorie said, smiling fondly.
Lilly wasn't one of Marjorie's grandchildren, but that didn't seem to matter. Marjorie seemed to think just as fondly about her. If she'd ever met a nicer woman than Marjorie McBride, she couldn't remember. And Marjorie had been through a lot of hard times, losing her husband being just one of many. A recent diabetes diagnosis was another, according to Nelly.
"We've kind of taken Jack under our wing and try to include him in the family get-togethers. He's had a hard time of it." Marjorie smiled, but it was a tired smile. And Kate thought about her recent diabetes diagnosis. Was that all that was wrong withher? She thought Nelly had said that Marjorie mostly had that under control.
"He's very good at making candy, but it's not where his heart is."
Kate wanted to ask about that. Where was his heart?
But Marjorie held up a bag. "I needed to stop in at Olivia's shop and grab a couple of her handcrafted candles that she made for a friend of mine. I can get the box together and ship that off in the mail tomorrow. It's nice to check things off my list."
"This time of year, sometimes it's a long list," Kate said, wondering how Marjorie had time to think of friends, with all the family she had around. The woman was practically a saint.
"I don't think I've even started my Christmas shopping. I'm... probably scaling down a bit this year."
Because of finances. Not that she ever went totally crazy at Christmas time, but she did enjoy giving gifts. Still, trying to find a house and moving and dealing with the lease from her last job had definitely put her in a different position this year.
"There's always ways to help. It doesn't necessarily have to be expensive. I like supporting the small shops along our main street," Marjorie lifted a hand and indicated the shops around them, which were all soon closing. "This would be so dark and empty without them."
"I guess that's part of what living in a small town is. You support each other." That hadn't been the way it was in the city. She'd felt isolated and alone, even though she was far from either.
"But you have to nurture it. It's not something that just happens without a lot of work from everyone involved. But that's life, isn't it?" Marjorie said, with an almost inaudible sigh. "I'd better get going. It's past my bedtime."
Kate nodded. "Mine too." They started to walk away, and then Kate stopped. "Oh! If you hear of anyone renting out an apartment, not too expensive, please let me know."
"Absolutely. It didn't even occur to me that you might be looking. I will check a few sources and get back to you."
Of course she would. Marjorie would leave no stone unturned now that she knew. Kate didn't know why she hadn't asked her earlier, although a part of her felt guilty for putting more on the woman's shoulders, since she already seemed so tired.
"Thank you. And... Marjorie?"
"Yes?"
"Take care of yourself, okay? What you said about small towns is true. But there are just some people in a small town that make it what it is, and I have a feeling that you're one of those people."
Marjorie smiled, but it wasn't a triumphant smile. Instead, it was a kind, benevolent smile. "I have a feeling that you're one of those people too."
Marjorie turned and walked away, and didn't notice that Kate stood staring at her, her mouth open. Was she one of those people? She looked around and saw other people doing so much; she didn't really think about how she might look to others. But that was the reputation she wanted to have. One of kind consideration toward others, a positive attitude—not necessarily solving others' problems, and like she and Jack had been talking about, a way of looking at the world that saw the good in every situation, even if it seemed like a bad thing. Like being unable to find a house for rent that she could afford, and having to scale down Christmas.
Maybe, as Marjorie said, there were other things she could do.
Chapter Seven
"Remember last year when we didn't even know who the other was?" Nelly said as she and Roland walked through the back streets of Mistletoe Meadows after midnight, holding hands and enjoying the feeling of having accomplished something worthwhile, since they had just delivered five Christmas trees to houses that didn't have them.
