Silver Bells. Mary Burton

      Hank looked up at the stunning woman towering over him. He wanted to reach out and grab her. The old Mandy would have smacked him for taking such liberties. He’d almost kissed her. And his heart and his eyes told him she would have been receptive to the kiss. This was a new Mandy. Maybe he should step back and not be so…pushy. Pushy? He cleared his throat. His voice sounded like a nest of frogs had settled in his throat. “Whatever is easiest. Let’s just talk.”

      “Great! Then it’s sticky buns, juice, and coffee.” As Amy prepared the coffee and turned on the oven, she threw questions at Hank. “So bring me up to date. Do you come home here to Apple Valley every Christmas? This is my first time back.” Was her voice too breathless, too giddy-sounding? Maybe she should be more cool, a little aloof, instead of this flighty person she’d suddenly become.

      As Hank talked, Amy set the table with her mother’s old dishes. Plain white crockery with huge red strawberries in the middle. Her mother had had a passion for strawberries for some reason. Everything in the kitchen had to do with strawberries: the cookie jar, the canister set, even the place mats were in the shape of strawberries.

      “I remember these dishes. Your mom always served us cookies and sandwiches on them. You always said if you had to eat something you didn’t like it made it okay because the dish was so pretty.”

      Amy stopped what she was doing. “You remember that!”

      “Well, yeah. I guess I considered it an important thing in my life at the time. I don’t have one bad memory of growing up here in Apple Valley. Ben doesn’t either. You never said good-bye,” Hank blurted.

      Amy turned around as she fiddled with the pot holder in her hand. “Flo…Flo whisked me out of here so fast I didn’t know what happened. I guess she thought I might…I don’t know what she thought. I used to cry myself to sleep. I wanted to come back so bad, but there was nothing to come back to.”

      “Do you like living in the land of perpetual sunshine?”

      “Yes and no. I really miss the change of seasons. I love autumn, and I even like winter. The holidays here in Apple Valley are my greatest memory. How about you?”

      “I live and work in New York. I’m an engineer, have my own business. I have nine employees, and we’re doing pretty well. New York isn’t that far away from Apple Valley. I came home once a month up until my parents died. Then Ben and Alice took over the house, and I came less and less. But I always came back for the holidays. Ben’s in Iraq. He’s a major in the army. He was supposed to be home by now, but they extended his stay over there. He’s getting out when his twenty years are up. He has another ten years to go. Alice is…upset. She was so sure Ben would be home for Christmas. The last time he saw the twins they had just been born. The Army allowed him to come home on compassionate leave just before Christmas, when they were born. They’re toddling around now, and they have teeth.” This last was said with so much amazement, Amy burst out laughing.

      Hank wanted to confide in Amy, to tell her about Alice’s great escape, but he decided against it because he didn’t want to be disloyal to his sister-in-law. He decided to change the subject. “Are you going to go to Mr. Carpenter’s funeral? I imagine the wake will be this evening. I’m going. I can pick you up if you want.” Assuming Mason would babysit. No need to tell Amy about that either, he thought.

      “I’d like that very much. I was going to order some flowers after I finished stringing the lights. Then you showed up…”

      “I guess I came on a little strong. I’m sorry. I’ve been…” He was going to say upset with the way things were going, but at the last second finished lamely with, “Upset with Albert’s death. He was special.”

      Amy poured coffee and removed the sticky buns from the oven. She let them cool as she poured juice into her mother’s old jelly glasses. She hated the tremor in her hands.

      “So tell me about you. What do you do in California?” There was horror in his voice when he said, “You aren’t married, are you?”

      Amy grinned. “Not even close. How about you?”

      “I got close, but she left me standing at the altar. Best thing that could have happened to me. ’Course I didn’t think that at the time.”

      Amy blinked, then she said, coolly, “You told me you would wait for me forever. Guess you didn’t mean it, huh?”

      Hank immediately picked up on the chill in Amy’s voice. “I know I meant it at the time. I think by the time I turned twenty-one, I realized you weren’t coming back to Apple Valley. I did try Googling you a while back. Nothing came up. I figured you got married, had a new name, and were living happily amid the orange blossoms and sunshine.” It sounded so stupid even to his own ears, he couldn’t imagine what she was thinking. He gulped at the hot coffee to cover his discomfort.

      Amy’s voice was still cool when she shoved one of the strawberry plates across the table along with two sticky buns and a napkin. “Guess you’re a bachelor then. I thought you would have a bunch of kids by now.”

      Hank frowned. “Why would you think that?” What the hell was going on here?

      Amy shrugged as she sat down. “Well, Ben is married. You’re twins. Twins usually do the same thing. I’m sorry, I guess I shouldn’t have said that. So, how do you like these sticky buns?”

      “Quite good.” They tasted like sawdust.

      “No kidding. I think they taste like cardboard.”

      They looked at each other across the table. They were kids again, sharing a joke. They burst out laughing at the same time. Hank spoke first. “I was going to say they tasted like sawdust, but I didn’t want to hurt your feelings. I missed you, Mandy. When you left I thought about you every day. Ben used to tease me, said I was in love with you. You know, puppy love.”

      “I was so crazy about you I couldn’t see straight. Back then I believed we would get married after we finished college. I think that’s why I was so upset when Flo took me away. I felt so lost and angry, but I was just a kid. I couldn’t do anything about it. Every day I used to run to the mailbox thinking you’d find out where I was and write me a letter. I wanted to write to you, but I guess I didn’t have the nerve. That might be more than you need or want to know.”

      “No, no, not at all. I was a mess myself after you left. My mom was good about it. She tried her best to explain what she thought happened. Even Ben did his best not to nag me, but he was getting off on it. You know how kids are.”

      “Yeah, I know how kids are. If you’re not busy after we string the lights, I can make you lunch, or, if you like, maybe we could go to Andolino’s for pizza. When I first got here I drove through town. Tony made the best pizza. I’ll buy.”

      “Well, that’s an offer I can’t turn down. Pizza it is, and let me tell you, Tony’s pizza has not changed; it’s every bit as good as it was back when we were kids. His sons run the parlor now. So, are you ready? I’ll meet you at Mr. Carpenter’s. I want to check on…on the twins.”

      “Okay, go ahead. I’ll clean up here and meet you on the porch. If you don’t mind, I want to stop and get a big wreath for Mr. Carpenter’s front door. We can order flowers at the same time. You okay with that?”

      Hank shrugged into his jacket. “Absolutely. I just need ten minutes. Damn, I’m glad you came home this year.” He was almost to the door when he turned around and came back. “Hey, if I want to ask you out, you know, dinner or something, should I call you up or what? I don’t have your phone number. I need a phone number. Those tin cans we used to string between the houses aren’t going to work. You know, a date.”

      A date with Hank Anders. That was the stuff dreams were made of. “Sure. It’s 310-200-9999. What’s yours?”

      She wanted his number. Suddenly he felt light-headed. Hank pulled his wallet out of his pocket and handed her one of his business cards. He felt a jolt of electricity racing up his arm when his fingers touched