Page 13 of Jam and Jingle Bells
“He said it was too sophisticated to be kids, but clearly the work of a bunch of idiots because there are cameras all over the place. They’ll find them. In the meantime, I’m left with this mess.”
“It looks like you’ve already cleaned a lot of it,” I said, motioning at the window and the floor.
“I spent the night suctioning up water and vacuuming glass from all the nooks and crannies. Luckily, they used the wrong kind of bottle. It didn’t break fully, so the fire went out quickly. I was going out the back door when I heard the glass break. I was lucky I was here. It could have been so much worse.”
“How awful,” Heather said, doing a full-body shiver. “I feel terrible for you, Ellis.” She wrung her hands nervously, something she often did when she didn’t know what else to do.
“Did you sleep at all?” I asked, standing on one of the squares painted on the floor. It was painted to resemble a Christmas train car with wheels and a hitch. They were spread throughout the room in an adorable weaving pattern with a caboose at the end. The child laid their mat, decorated with Rudolph, Santa, Mrs. Claus, or an elf, on the marked square to do their exercises. It kept everything neat and orderly and it was easy for the kids to know where to be at all times. Looking around, I could see the entire place needed a good scrub down and then he’d be back in business.
“No.” He wiped his hand down his face and it shook with fatigue. “By the time the fire report was made I had to find someone who had plywood for the window and then get it back here and hung up. Other than sitting in a chair for an hour with my eyes closed, I haven’t been home.”
Heather raised her hand like she was still back in fourth grade. Maybe it was the atmosphere but it made us chuckle. “Aren’t you the guest tree lighter tonight?”
He hung his head. “I am, but I don’t know if I’ll make it now. I have to wait for the glass guy to come to replace the window at noon and then I’ll have to finish cleaning. I have a birthday party here tomorrow for a group of nine-year-old girls and I’ll be dead on my feet if I don’t sleep tonight.” He rubbed his chest absently and I worried he was going to have a heart attack if he didn’t get some rest.
“You’re already dead on your feet. Okay, here’s what we’re going to do,” I said, taking his arm in mine. I walked him to the back of the studio where I noticed an open door with a desk covered in papers. Most definitely his office. “You’re going to go home and sleep while we take care of getting the window replaced and finish the cleaning.”
He held up and I had to stop walking or risk falling over. “Oh, Addie, no. I can’t ask you to do that. You have your own business to run today. I’ll be okay. I’ll call Mayor Tottle. Maybe you can flip the switch instead of me tonight.”
“No way,” Heather said adamantly from where she stood by the caboose. “The newest business owner in Bells Pass is always the one to flip the switch on the tree every year, and it’s not going to be any different this year. You can go home and sleep for,” she checked the clock, “six hours, and still be at the park in time for the tree lighting.”
“Yup,” I agreed, tugging him along again. “In the meantime, my minions and I will get this place in tip-top shape and wait for the window guy to show up. The salon is closed today and we have nothing but time.”
“I don’t think they’ll do it if I’m not here. Besides, you and Heather can’t do all the work alone,” he sputtered.
“On the contrary,” Heather said, her lips crooked up in a smile, “the glass guy is my brother, Cameron, and by minions, she means them,” she said, pointing out the door at a group of worried women peering in the window. She addressed me next. “I’ll fill them in. You get him out.”
I gave her a thumbs up and dragged him to his office, took his coat down off the hook and slid it on his arms like a mom would her four-year-old. “You heard her. Get after it now and sleep.”
“Addie,” he said, pausing while he picked up his computer bag and his keys. “I really can’t ask—”
I put my finger to his lips. “You aren’t asking. I’m telling. There’s a difference. Trust us, we have your back here. We’re all business owners and this could have happened to any of us. You’ve got the place two-thirds of the way cleaned up. Let us finish while you get some sleep. We can reconvene at the park at four.”
I pushed him toward the back door, sure if he didn’t leave now, he would be smothered by some very well-meaning, but suffocating, old women.
He pushed the door open and nodded as he put his hand up to block the sun from his eyes. “Okay, but only because I trust you. My phone is on. If you need anything, call? My cell number is by the phone at the front desk.”
I shoved him through the door and let it close behind me, walking with him to his truck to make sure he got in. “I will, but I won’t. This is a simple clean-up, at least for those of us who aren’t exhausted. Are you sure you’re okay? You don’t look good.”
He swallowed and I noticed his pulse jumping in his neck. “I’m as okay as I can be, considering. You’re right though. I’m exhausted. I’ll meet you at the park unless you have a problem before that.”
I saluted and opened the truck door for him. He climbed in and turned the engine over. “Thanks, Addie.”
I smiled and squeezed his hand. “You’d do the same for me. Get home safely, Ellis,” I whispered before I closed the door and watched him drive away.
When I turned back to the door, I forced myself not to roll my eyes. Audrey was hanging out the door, her tongue wagging while she hung on our every word.
“Did you get everything squared away? Sorry I couldn’t come help out. Mason was working and I had Holly,” Melissa explained while we worked inside the coffee hut.
I patted her shoulder after we set the timers on the coffee pots so they would stay hot during the ceremony. The Nightingale Diner always provided coffee for the event, but no one ever came around during the ceremony, so Ivy insisted we lock it up and join the fun.
“It didn’t take long. With everyone’s help, we had the mess cleaned up by the time the new window arrived. I’m sure it was overwhelming for Ellis since he was there cleaning all night, but you know what they say …”
“Many hands make light work.”
“Of course, two of those many hands enjoyed following me around telling me what a nice boy Ellis was. Then she’d tell me how it was equally nice that I was helping him out, so he could be here tonight to light the tree.”
She snickered. “Let me guess. Audrey.”
