On a Snowy Night: The Christmas BasketThe Snow Bride

  “What?” Carley demanded.

  “It’s Thom.” Heaven help her, Noelle couldn’t keep from watching. The blonde’s hand lingered at the base of his neck; she was stroking his hair with all the tenderness of a longtime lover.

  “Not Thom Sutton? The son of the enemy?” Carley asked.

  Noelle nodded. Sad and shocking though it was, he obviously still had the power to hurt her. No, not hurt her—infuriate her!

  Carley reached for a kernel of popcorn and tossed it down.

  Noelle gasped, grabbing her sister’s hand. The last thing she wanted was to call attention to the balcony. “Don’t do that!”

  “Why not? He jilted you and now he’s here with another woman.” She hurled another kernel in his direction.

  Noelle glanced down and saw the blonde nibbling on his earlobe. That did it. She scooped out a handful of popcorn and threw it over the balcony railing. Noelle and her sister leaned back and smothered their giggles. A few minutes later, unable to resist, Noelle looked down again.

  “Oh, no,” Carley muttered under her breath as she sent a fresh shower of popcorn over the edge. She jerked back instantly.

  “What?” Noelle asked.

  “I think we’re in trouble. He just turned around and looked up here and I don’t think he’s pleased.”

  Fine, the management could throw her out of the theater if he complained. Noelle didn’t care.

  “I want to know about you and him,” Carley said. “I wasn’t even born when his mom and our mom had their big fight.”

  Noelle was reluctant to describe all this old history, but she supposed her sister had a right to know. “Well, Mom had just started selling real estate and was making new friends. She claims Mary was jealous of those friends, especially one whose name was Cheryl. Cheryl had been working at the agency for a while and was kind of showing Mom the ropes. She was holding an open house and wanted something elegant to set off the dining room. Mom knew that Mary had this exquisite silver tea service—the perfect thing. But Mom also knew that if she asked Mary to lend it to Cheryl, Mrs. Sutton would turn her down. Instead, Mom asked to borrow it for herself, which was a fib.”

  Carley frowned. “So that’s why Mrs. Sutton blamed Mom? Because Mom lied—I mean fibbed—and then the expensive silver tea service got stolen? Oh, I bet Mom was just sick about it.”

  “She felt awful. According to Mrs. Sutton, the tea service had belonged to her grandmother and was a family heirloom. It was irreplaceable.”

  “What did Mom do?”

  “She called the police and offered a reward for its return, but the tea service didn’t turn up. She went to every antique store in the area, looking for something similar. Finally there was nothing more she could do. She tried to repair the damage to the friendship, but Mrs. Sutton was angry—and really, you can’t blame her. She was hurt because Mom had misled her. They got into this big argument about it and everything escalated from there. Mrs. Sutton did some petty things and Mom retaliated. Next thing you know, a grudge developed that’s gone on to this day.”

  “Retaliated?” Carley asked. “How?”

  “When it became clear that Mrs. Sutton wasn’t going to forgive and forget, Mom tried another tactic. She thought she’d be funny.” Noelle smiled at the memory. “Mrs. Sutton got her hair cut, and Mom sent her flowers and a sympathy card. Then Mrs. Sutton ordered pizza with double anchovies and had it delivered to Mom. You know how Mom hates anchovies—and furthermore she had to pay for it.” She shook her head. “It’s sad, isn’t it? That a good friendship should fall apart for such a silly reason.”

  “Yeah,” Carley agreed. “They acted pretty childish.”

  “And my relationship with Thom was one of the casualties.”

  “When did you fall in love with him?” Carley wanted to know.

  “We became good friends when we were kids. For a long time, our families got along really well. We often went on picnics and outings together. Thom and I were the closest in age, and we were constant companions—until the argument.”

  “What happened after the argument?”

  “Mrs. Sutton sent Thom and his older sister to a private school, and I didn’t see him again for about six years. He came back to public school when we were sophomores. We didn’t have a lot in common anymore and hardly had anything to do with each other until we both were assigned to the same English class in our senior year.”

  “That was when you fell in love?” Carley’s voice rose wistfully.

  Noelle nodded, and the familiar pain tightened her stomach. “Apparently I fell harder than Thom.”

  Noelle carefully glanced down again. Talking about Thom and her romance—especially while she was sitting in this theater—brought up memories she’d prefer to forget. Why wouldn’t the stupid movie start? It was two minutes past the scheduled time.

  The boy who’d rung up the popcorn order marched down the side aisle toward Noelle and Carley. He wore a bored but determined look. “There’s been a complaint from the people down below about you throwing popcorn,” he said accusingly.

  Noelle could feel the heat build up in her cheeks. “I’m sorry—that was, uh, an accident.”

  The kid’s expression said he’d heard it all before. “Make sure it doesn’t happen again, okay?”

  “It won’t,” Noelle promised him.

  “Sorry,” Carley said in a small voice as the boy left.

  “It was my fault. I encouraged you.”

  “But I started it.”

  “You think you’re the one who invented throwing popcorn? Hey, I’ve got fifteen years on you.”

  “I want to fall in love one day, too,” Carley said, leaning back in her seat, which rocked slightly.

  “You will,” Noelle said, hoping her sister had better luck in that department than she’d had.

  The lights dimmed then and with a grand, sweeping motion the huge velvet curtain hanging over the screen slowly parted. Soon, they were watching previews for upcoming features. Noelle absently nibbled on popcorn and let her mind wander.

  Thom had changed if the blonde down below was the type of woman he found attractive. That shouldn’t surprise her, though. Time changed a lot of things in life. Some days, when she felt lonely and especially sorry for herself, she tried to imagine what would’ve happened if she had married Thom all those years ago. Getting married that young rarely worked out. They might’ve been divorced, she might’ve ended up a single mother, she might never have completed her education…. All kinds of difficult outcomes were possible. In all honesty, she told herself, it was for the best that they hadn’t run off together.

  Carley slid forward and peeked over the railing. Almost immediately she flopped back. “You wouldn’t believe what they’re doing now.”

  “Probably not.”

  “They’re—”

  Noelle gripped her sister’s elbow. “I don’t want to know.”

  Carley’s eyes were huge. “You don’t want me to tell you?”

  “No.”

  Her sister stared at her in utter amazement. “You really don’t care?”

  Noelle shook her head. That wasn’t the whole truth—or even part of it. But she didn’t want to know if Thom had his arm around the blonde or if he was kissing her—or anything else. It was a lot less painful to keep her head buried in a popcorn bucket. Forget Weight Watchers. Sometimes fat grams were the only source of comfort.

  “Are you going to confront him after the movie?” Carley asked excitedly.

  Noelle snickered. “Hardly.”

  “Why not?”

  “Just watch the movie,” she advised.

  Carley settled in her seat and and began to rock back and forth. Another time, the action might have annoyed Noelle, but just then she found it oddly comforting. She wanted a special someone to put his arm around her and gently rock her. To create a private world for the two of them, the way Thom had once done in this very theater, on this very balcony. He’d kissed her here and claimed her heart.
It’d been a pivotal moment in their fledgling romance. From that point onward, they knew—or at least Noelle had known. She was in love and willing to make whatever sacrifices love demanded.

  All too soon, the feature had ended and the lights came back on. “That was great,” Carley announced.

  Caught up in wistful memories, Noelle got to her feet, gathering her coat and purse. She took pains not to glance below, although her curiosity was almost overwhelming.

  “We meet again,” an all-too-familiar voice said from behind her.

  “Thom?” She turned to see him two rows back, with a four- or five-year-old boy at his side.

  Noelle’s reaction was instantaneous. She looked below and discovered the blond beauty with her male friend, who just happened not to be Thom Sutton. “I thought—”

  “You’re Thom?” Carley asked, glowering with righteous indignation.

  “Don’t tell me you’re Carley,” he returned, ignoring the girl’s outrage. “My goodness, you’ve grown into a regular beauty.”

  Carley’s anger died a quick death. “Do you really think so?”

  “I sure do. Oh, this is my nephew Cameron.”

  “Hello, Cameron,” Noelle said. “Did you enjoy the movie?”

  The boy nodded. “Yeah, but the best part was when the man came up and told you not to throw any more popcorn. Uncle Thom said you got in trouble.” The kid sounded far too smug for Noelle’s liking.

  So Thom had heard and seen the whole thing.

  Oh, great.

  Friday morning, Sarah dressed for her Christmas basket shopping adventure. She felt as though she was suiting up for an ordeal, some test or rite of passage. The hordes of shoppers were definitely going to try her patience; she’d finished her own shopping months ago and failed to see why people waited until the very last week. Well, the sooner she purchased the things on her half of the list, the better. With Christmas only five days away, she didn’t have a minute to waste.

  She wasn’t getting any help from her family—not that she’d really expected it. Jake was at work, and Noelle was driving Carley to her friend’s house and then meeting Kristen for lunch.

  She was on her own.

  Wanting to get the most for her buying dollar, Sarah drove to the biggest discount store in Rose. The Value-X parking lot was already filled. After driving around repeatedly, she finally found a space. She locked her car and hunched her shoulders against the wind as she hurried toward the building. The sound of the Salvation Army bell-ringer guided her to the front entrance. She paused long enough to stick a dollar bill in his bucket, then walked into the store.

  Sarah grabbed a cart and used the booster seat to prop up her purse. The list was in the side pocket of her bag, and she searched for the paper as she walked. She hadn’t gone more than a few feet from the entrance when she nearly collided with another woman obtaining a cart.

  “I’m sorry,” she said automatically. “I—” The words froze on her lips.

  “I should’ve known anyone that rude must be you,” Mary Sutton muttered sarcastically.

  Although her heart was pounding, Sarah made a relatively dignified escape and steered the cart around Mary. With purpose filling every step, she pushed her cart toward the toy department. Her list was gifts, which meant Mary had the grocery half. Hmph. It didn’t surprise her that Mary Sutton bought her family’s Christmas gifts at a discount store—or that she waited until the last minute.

  The first part of the list directed her to purchase gifts for two girls, ages six and seven. The younger girl had requested a doll. Having raised three daughters, Sarah knew that every little girl loved Barbie. This late in the season, she’d be fortunate to find the current Barbie.

  Almost right away she saw that the supplies were depleted, just as she’d suspected. But one lone Firefighter Barbie stood on the once-crowded shelf. Sarah reached for it at the precise moment someone else did.

  “I believe I was first,” she insisted. Far be it from her to allow some other person to deprive a poor little girl longing for a Barbie on Christmas morning.

  “I believe you’re wrong.”

  Mary Sutton. Sarah glared at her with such intensity that Mary must have realized she was not about to be dissuaded.

  “Fine,” Mary said after a moment and released her death grip on the Barbie.

  “Thank you.” Sarah could be gracious when called upon.

  With her nose so high in the air she was in danger of hitting a light fixture, Mary stomped off in the opposite direction. Feeling satisfied with herself, Sarah studied the list again and noticed the name of a three-year-old boy. A small riding toy would do nicely, she decided and headed for that section of the department.

  As she turned the corner she ran into Mary Sutton a third time. Mary stopped abruptly, her eyes narrowed. “Are you following me?” she demanded.

  “Following you?” Sarah faked a short, derisive laugh. “You’ve got to be joking. I have no desire to be within ten feet of you.”

  “Then I suggest you vacate this aisle.”

  “You can’t tell me where to shop or in what aisle!”

  “Wanna bet?” Mary leaned forward and, intentionally or not, her cart rammed Sarah’s.

  Refusing to allow such an outrage to go unanswered, Sarah retaliated by banging her cart into Mary’s.

  Mary pulled back and hit her again, harder this time.

  Soon they were throwing stuffed French poodles at each other, hurling them off the shelves. A German Shepherd sailed over Sarah’s head. That was when she reached for the Golden Retriever, the largest of the stuffed animals.

  “Ladies, ladies.” A man in a red jacket hurried toward them, his arms outstretched. His name badge read Michael and identified him as the store manager.

  “I’m so sorry, Michael,” Sarah said, pretending to recognize him. “This little, uh, misunderstanding got completely out of hand.”

  “You’re telling me!” Mary yelled.

  “This woman is following me.”

  “Oh, puh-leeze.” Mary groaned audibly. “This woman followed me.”

  “I don’t think it’s important to know who followed whom,” the manager said in a conciliatory voice. “But we need to—”

  “She took the last Barbie,” Mary broke in, pointing an accusing finger at Sarah. “I got it first—the doll was mine. Any jury in the land would rule in my favor. But I kindly offered it to her.”

  “Kindly, nothing. I had that Barbie and you know it!”

  “Ladies, please…” The manager stood between them in an effort to keep them apart.

  “There’s only so much of this I can take,” Mary said, sounding close to tears. “I’m here—”

  “It isn’t important why you’re here,” Sarah interrupted. She wasn’t about to let Mary Sutton come off looking like the injured party. The woman had purposely rammed her cart. “She assaulted me.”

  “I most certainly did not!”

  “You should check the front of my cart for damage, and if there is any, I suggest that you, as manager, charge this woman,” Sarah said.

  Two security officers arrived then, dressed in blue uniforms.

  “Officer, officer…”

  Mary turned soft and gentle. “Thank you for coming.”

  “Oh, give me a break,” Sarah muttered. “Is it within your power to arrest this woman?” she demanded.

  “Ladies,” the manager said, trying once more, it seemed, to appeal to their better natures. “This is the season of goodwill toward men—and women. Would it be possible for you to apologize to each other and go about your business?”

  Mary crossed her arms and looked away.

  Sarah gestured toward the other woman as if to say Mary’s action spoke for itself. “I believe you have your answer.”

  “Then you leave me no choice,” the manager said. “Officers, please escort these two ladies from the store.”

  “What?” Mary cried.

  “I beg your pardon?” Sarah said, hands on h
ips. “What is this about?”

  The larger of the two security guards answered. “You’re being kicked out of the store.”

  Sarah’s mouth fell open.

  The only person more shocked was Mary Sutton. “You’re evicting me from Value-X?”

  “You heard the manager, lady,” the second officer said. “Now, come this way.”

  “Could I pay for the Barbie doll first?” Sarah asked, clutching the package to her chest. “It’s for a little girl and it’s all she wants for Christmas.”

  “You should’ve thought of that before you threw the first poodle,” the manager said.

  “But—”

  Dramatically, he pointed toward the front doors. “Out.”

  Mortified to the marrow of her bones, Sarah turned, taking her cart with her. One wheel was now loose and it squeaked and squealed. Just when she figured things couldn’t get any worse, she discovered that a crowd had gathered in the aisle to witness her humiliation.

  “Merry Christmas,” she said with as much bravado as she could manage.

  The officer at her side raised his hand. “We’re asking that everyone return to their shopping. What happened here is over.”

  With her dignity intact but her pride in shreds, Sarah made her way to the parking lot, still accompanied by the officer.

  She could see the “About Town” headline already. Manager Expels Sarah McDowell From Value-X After Cat Fight. Although technically, she supposed, it should be Dog Fight.

  She had no doubt that Mary Sutton would use the power of the press to complete her embarrassment.

  NOELLE McDOWELL’S JOURNAL

  December 19

  11:30 p.m.

  I can’t believe it! Even now, when it’s long past time for bed, I’m wide-awake and so furious, any chance of falling asleep is impossible. I doubt if anyone could do a better job of looking like a world-class idiot. Right there in the theater, with my little sister at my side, I behaved like a juvenile.

  I’ve worked hard to be a positive influence on Carley. I take my role as oldest sister very seriously. Then I go and pull a stunt like this. Adding insult to injury is the fact that I then had to face Thom, knowing he was completely aware of what a fool I’d made of myself.