Trading Christmas: When Christmas Comes / The Forgetful Bride. Debbie Macomber

“Oh, all right,” he muttered, surrendering to guilt. He hadn’t intended to be unfriendly—it was just that he’d had about as much of this peace and goodwill business as a man could swallow.

       The children gleefully tracked through the house, bringing in his groceries and placing them in the kitchen. They looked pleased when they’d finished. Everyone, that is, except the youngest—Sarah, wasn’t it?

       “I think someone tried to eat your coat,” the little girl said.

       “A goat did.”

       “Must’ve been Clara Belle,” her oldest brother put in. “She’s Ronny’s 4-H project. He said that goat would latch on to anything. I guess he was right.”

       Charles grunted agreement and got out his wallet to pay the youngsters.

       “You don’t have to pay us,” the boy said. “We were just being neighborly.”

       That “neighborly” nonsense again. Charles wanted to argue, but they were out the door before he had a chance to object.

       Once Charles had a chance to unpack his groceries and eat, he felt almost human again. He opened the curtains and looked out the window, chuckling at the Kennedy kids’ anatomically correct snowman. He wondered what his mother would’ve said had he used the carrot for anything other than the nose.

       It was dark now, and the lights were fast appearing, so Charles shut the curtains again. He considered returning to work. Instead he yawned and decided to take a shower in the downstairs bathroom. He thought he heard something when he got under the spray, but when he listened intently, everything was silent.

       Then the sound came again. Troubled now, he turned off the water and yanked a towel from the rack. Wrapping it around his waist, he opened the bathroom door and peered out. He was just about to ask if anyone was there when he heard a female voice.

       “Emily? Where are you?” the voice shouted.

       Charles gasped and quickly closed the door. He dressed as fast as possible, which was difficult because he was still wet. Zipping up his pants, he stepped out of the bathroom, hair dripping, and came face to face with—Santa Claus.

       Both men shouted in alarm.

       “Who the hell are you?” Santa cried.

       “What are you doing in my house?” Charles demanded.

       “Faith!” Santa shouted.

       A woman rounded the corner and dashed into the hallway—then stopped dead in her tracks. Her mouth fell open.

       “Who are you?” Charles shrieked.

       “Faith Kerrigan. What have you done with my friend?”

       “If you mean Emily Springer, she’s in Boston.”

      “What?” For a moment it looked as if she was about to collapse.

       Immediately six elves appeared, all in pointed hats and shoes, crowding the hallway.

       Santa and six elves? Charles had taken as much as a Christmas-hating individual could stand. “What the hell is going on here?” he yelled, his patience gone.

       “I…I flew in from the Bay area to surprise my friend for Christmas. She didn’t say anything about going to Boston.”

       “We traded houses for two weeks.”

       “Oh…no.” Faith slouched against the wall.

       All six of the elves rushed forward to comfort her. Santa looked like he wanted to punch Charles out.

       Charles ran his hand down his face. “Apparently there’s been…a misunderstanding.”

       “Apparently,” Faith cried as if that was the understatement of the century.

       The doorbell chimed, and when Charles went to answer it, the Kennedy kids rushed past him and over to Faith. Their arms went around her waist and they all started to chatter at once, telling her about Heather not coming home and Emily going to Boston.

       Adding to the mass confusion were the six elves, who seemed to be arguing among themselves about which one of them would have the privilege of bashing in Charles’s nose.

       Charles’s head started to swim. He raised his arms and shouted in his loudest voice, “Everyone out!”

       The room instantly went silent. “Out?” Faith cried. “We don’t have anywhere to go. There isn’t a hotel room between here and Spokane with a vacancy now.”

       Charles slumped onto the arm of the sofa and pressed his hand against his forehead.

       “Where do you expect us to go?” Faith asked. Her voice was just short of hysterical. “I’ve only had a few hours’ sleep and my friends changed their plans to drive me to Leavenworth and the van broke down and now—this.”

       “All right, all right.” Charles decided he could bear it for one night as long as everyone left by morning.

       The small group looked expectantly at him. “You can spend the night—but just tonight. Tomorrow morning, all of you are out of here. Is that understood?”

       “Perfectly,” Faith answered on their behalf.

       Not a one of them looked grateful enough. “Count your blessings,” Charles snapped.

       Really, he had no other choice—besides kicking them out into the cold.

       “Thank you,” Faith whispered, looking pale and shaken.

       Charles glared at the mixed ensemble of characters. Santa, elves, kids and a surprisingly attractive woman stared back at him. “Remember, tomorrow morning you’re gone. All of you.”

       Faith nodded and led Santa and his elves up the stairs.

       “Good.” First thing in the morning, all these people would be out of this house and out of his life.

       Or so Charles hoped. He didn’t have the energy to wonder why the tall guy and the six short ones were all in Christmas costume.

      Ten

      Early in the evening, Emily and Ray left the condominium. Although it was dark, Ray insisted on showing her the waterfront area. They walked for what seemed like miles, talking and laughing. Ray was a wonderful tour guide, showing her Paul Revere’s house and the site of the Boston Tea Party. Both were favorites of his brother’s, he pointed out, telling her proudly of Charles’s accomplishments as a historian. From the harbor they strolled through St. Stephen’s Church and Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, which began in 1659 and was the city’s second-oldest graveyard. They strolled from one site to the next. Time flew, and when Emily glanced at her watch, she was astonished to discover it was almost eight-thirty.

       On Hanover Street, they stopped for dinner at one of Ray’s favorite Italian restaurants. The waiter seated them at a corner table and even before handing them menus, he delivered a large piece of cheese and a crusty loaf of warm bread with olive oil for dipping.

       “Have I completely worn you out?” Ray asked, smiling over at Emily. He started to peruse the wine list, which had been set in front of him.

       Yes, she was tired, but it was a nice kind of tired. “No, quite the contrary. Oh, Ray, thank you so much.”

       He looked up, obviously surprised.

       “A few hours ago, I was feeling utterly sorry for myself. I was staying in one of the most historic cities in our country and all I could think about was how miserable I felt. And right outside my door was all this.” She made a wide sweeping gesture with her arm. “I can’t thank you enough for opening my eyes to Boston.”

       He smiled again—and again she was struck by what a fine-looking man he was.

       “The pleasure was all mine,” he told her softly.