Page 5 of Clued in to Love
Darby was torn. She peeled off a section of orange, barely noticing the tangy citrus flavor on her tongue. The thing she wanted to do most this holiday season was hide on her couch under a layer of blankets and let the season pass as quickly as possible. It’s what she’d done the last couple of years. But was it fair to Jim’s memory to pretend like Passport to the Holidays wasn’t happening?
Fifty thousand dollars in prize money was almost unfathomable. She could picture Jim’s broad grin and bright cheeks bursting with amazement that his idea had turned into an event that drew the entire community together. The thought made the heaviness in her chest spread throughout her limbs.
She opened her email, noting that the shaking in her hands had subsided a bit. Hilary had sent her the flier the Chamber had designed for the event. Not only had the prize money expanded over the years, but so had the technology. There was an app, interactive roles people could sign on to play, and even bonus mini-stamps that participants would receive via text.
Darby finished her sandwich. She had anotherMacbethlesson to teach. She blew out a long breath and made a decision that surprised her. Before she could talk herself out of it, she typed a short response agreeing to make an appearance at the kickoff event. She explained she wasn’t ready to commit to being involved in all ten days of Passport to the Holidays, but she would at least cut the ribbon and get the festivities started.
“For Jim,” she said under her breath. “I can do that much for Jim.”
THREE
HILARY
“Where are the giant snowflakes?” Hilary shouted over the sound of the snow blower. “We need those hung in the gazebo now!” She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her fleece vest, wishing she had listened to Ben’s suggestion to bring hand warmers with her. The tips of her fingers had already started to numb, and it wasn’t even noon. They had at least another five hours of setup ahead of them.
Maybe more, she thought as she studied the park. A crew was blowing snow off the bridge that led to the gazebo and amphitheater. She wasn’t sure it was doing much good. Snow dumped from charcoal skies in fat wet flakes that splattered like gooey marshmallows the instant they hit the ground. A steady east wind kicked more snow into the air. It was probably futile to try and keep the pathway clear, but she couldn’t risk having someone slip on the icy bridge. There were going to be hundreds of people gathering outside right here, regardless of what kind of weather Mother Nature sent their way, to kick off the annual Passport to the Holidays.
Tomorrow’s event was the first of its kind. If everything went according to plan, Hilary hoped it would become a new tradition. When she’d been hired as president of the Chamberof Commerce, she had inherited Passport to the Holidays, which had been going strong for over a decade. Everyone loved the seasonal event, but Hilary knew it could be so much more. There was a huge opportunity to turn ten days of touring around town collecting stamps in passports into a holiday spectacular. That’s what Hilary had pitched when she’d landed the job. Now she had to pull it off.
Her vision wasn’t for the weak of heart. The kickoff party marked the start of a full schedule of events, including a starlight parade, breakfast with Santa, and a snowball dance. Perhaps in hindsight, Hilary could have considered adding an extra event or two this year and scaling up slowly. Instead, she had gone all in, and it was too late to change that now.
She rubbed her hands together for friction and yanked her hat over her braids. At some point, she was going to need a coffee run.
“Hilary, where do you want the peppermint candy poles?” Samesh asked. He was dressed in a puffy coat, stocking hat, leather gloves, and snow boots, all necessary gear to survive Bend’s frigid winters. “I told the team to line them up along the entrance but wanted to double-check with you first.”
“Yep, that’s great.” She wiggled her fingers, hoping to get more blood flowing to her extremities. “If possible, I’d like the poles to create a semicircle around the gazebo. We’ll string lights between each of them to enclose the space.”
Samesh made a note on his clipboard. “Got it.”
“Thanks so much for your help on this. I don’t think I quite realized how much work this would be. And to think, originally, I thought we could start setting up tomorrow. I’m glad you suggested getting an early start.”
He pointed to the parks department logo on his snow jacket. “That’s my job. We’re both new to this, so we’ll figure it out.”
Hilary jumped down from the gazebo. She needed to check on lighting and sound. “How are you liking Bend so far? You’ve been here, what? A month?”
Samesh nodded. “Five weeks. It’s good. Work has been keeping me busy. I don’t think I’ve slept much with Passport to the Holidays and preparing the parks for winter, but there’s time for that later, right?” He grinned, though he didn’t exactly sound like he meant it, but she spotted the DJ pulling into the parking lot.
“Let me know if you have any other questions, okay?” Hilary’s mind was on the next task on her list, though she felt guilty about cutting off their conversation. Samesh had been great to work with thus far. He was easy-going and readily jumped in to help on any project, but there was a pervasive eagerness about him that made Hilary acutely aware of just how unhappy she’d been the past few months.
Samesh had confessed that his move to Bend was motivated by reconnecting with his long-lost college girlfriend. Hilary hadn’t heard if he’d been successful yet. But the positive energy he radiated reminded her that she had been doing a pretty good job of avoiding feeling anything since the twins left for college. Being around Samesh made it nearly impossible to escape the low-level sadness that threatened to overwhelm her.
Ben constantly wanted to talk about the twins. He would send her pics of their posts on social media via text. Their dinner conversations revolved around these daily updates. Hilary tried to remind him that she could see what they were posting, too, but it didn’t seem to matter. Ben was trying to pretend like they weren’t three hundred miles away. Hilary couldn’t pretend.
Nothing about motherhood had prepared her for this phase. The leaving. The emptiness in the house, in her chest. The only thing keeping her upright was this job. And now Passport to the Holidays. If she could continue to throw herself into her workand stay busy, she just might be able to avoid having a complete holiday meltdown.
She cleared her throat as the DJ approached. They reviewed the set list, and she showed him where to begin setting up his equipment.
The park began to come to life with Hilary’s vision for a festive holiday kickoff party. She hadn’t needed to bring in extra Christmas trees. Instead, all the native pines had been wrapped in colorful twinkle lights and topped with blue and white snowflakes. The same snowflake lights would be hung from the gazebo rafters and on the antique lampposts along the riverfront pathway. Hilary’s designs for the gazebo were turning out even better than she had imagined. Park and chamber staff were draping it with red velvet fabric and kitting it out to resemble the inside of Santa and Mrs. Claus’s Christmas cottage, complete with a fake fireplace and a table filled with real cookies and hot cocoa.
In years past, participants had been encouraged to pick up a passport at the Chamber of Commerce or any businesses featured on the holiday map. This year Hilary’s team would be handing out passports to everyone in attendance. There would be caroling, free cookies and cocoa, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and a speech by the mayor. She had also invited Darby Reynolds to speak. While he was chamber president, Darby’s husband, Jim, had come up with the idea of Passport to the Holidays. Hilary wanted to honor his legacy tonight as she took the event in a new direction for the future. After her last email exchange with Darby, Hilary wasn’t convinced she would show.
“Hey, Hilary, there’s a delivery for you.” One of her staffers interrupted her thoughts.
Hilary glanced at her phone. She wasn’t expecting any other deliveries until later in the afternoon. She went to see what had arrived.
Her staffer handed her a steaming hot latte and a brown paper sack.
“Wow, thanks. You got me coffee?”
