Merry's Christmas: Two Book Set (Amish) (10 page)

At the Downtown Diner, Merry counted tips as Kiki closed out the register. It had been a good night.

“And how long did this dancing lesson go on?” Kiki inquired.

“Two, three minutes,” Merry smiled. “Even though it still doesn’t seem like he wants to take Catherine to that Ball. Afterward, he said he might go another way with her gift.”

Kiki closed the cash drawer. “So, next, float something more businessy for her. See if he latches onto that. Any more love notes yet?”

“Just the one I’m working on,” Merry glowed. “I’ll leave it in the drawer tomorrow night.”

Just then, Merry’s cell phone rang. To her delight, a look at the screen confirmed that it was Daniel. Purposefully, she walked away from Arthur’s earshot to answer. “Hey, Daniel...all right...Uh-huh...Yeah. I got it...Sure. See you there.” With that, Merry hung up. She returned wordlessly and started to wipe the counter, covering her excitement as much as she could.

“Oh, no,” Kiki insisted. “No, no. What did he say?”

Merry played it down. “No biggie.”

Kiki put on her sassy-pants voice. “Then why your eyes popping half out your head?”

Merry glanced to the kitchen to see if Arthur was listening. He was. Caught, Arthur resumed cleaning the grill.

Under her breath, Merry whispered to Kiki. “He just... The things he says... This could be going somewhere.”

Kiki reared back, thrilled. “You have got it bad.”

“I’m supposed to meet him downtown at noon tomorrow,” Merry enthused. “He wants to take me shopping.”

Kiki’s mouth dropped open. “He. Mr. Ritzy Bank man, taking you shopping? That’s what he’s paying you to do!”

Merry leaned in. “Which is why I think it has nothing to do with the job and everything to do with what he said is happening between us.”

“Where’s he taking you?” Kiki probed.

“I dunno,” Merry replied. “He just said it’d be our secret till Christmas.”

Long after her normal bedtime, Merry sat, curled up on her bed, writing a draft of a note. Rudy purred lazily at her side.

“Okay, how does this sound, Rudy?” Merry held the paper up and read aloud: “
Dearest Daniel
...” She stopped, hesitant about her choice. “Should I say dearest? He did. Maybe I... Ah, I know...” Merry scribbled in a change, then resumed the recitation:

My dear Daniel,

I can hardly even write those words or wrap my head around the idea that this could possibly be. But it is, and you are, all part of the wonder that is this Christmas. You’ve been so brave to take the lead, to say so much more than I’ve been able to, but now I want you to see my answer plainly—right here, in my hand. My heart is yours, Daniel.

Merry stroked Rudy’s back. “That’s it, boy, isn’t it?” Her eyes shining with hope, she reached for a small shopping bag and pulled out a tiny, wind-up kangaroo. “Look what I found. It’s a hopper. Like me,” she explained to Rudy. “I’m saving this for his Christmas.”  Merry set the toy aside and gazed contentedly at her note to Daniel. “This, he’ll get tomorrow.”

nine

E
xcited at the prospect of shopping with Daniel, Merry had arrived early. As she sat waiting on a bench, she looked around at the uptown retail district. There were ritzy boutiques, high-end eateries, and posh gift shops that the well-to-do frequented. It was so far out of Merry’s economic stratum that she’d never even window-shopped there before. She’d always been far more of a discount store type, but this was the place where Daniel had invited her to meet him, just a few blocks from Strong Bank & Trust.

Mid-day traffic rumbled by as Merry read over her card to Daniel, confirming to herself that she’d said everything she wanted so much to say to him. She reminded herself that, since he had sent her two notes, the ball was in her court to reply.

Suddenly, Daniel rounded the corner on foot. Merry quickly stowed her note for later, gathered her bags, and rose to greet him.

“There you are,” Daniel called out. “Sorry I’m a little late, but—”

“No, it’s fine,” Merry insisted, showing him one of her parcels. “I just picked up a few doodads at the market along the way.”

Daniel beamed at Merry. It seemed to her that he was every bit as energized about the excursion as she was.

“So, here we are,” he acknowledged.

Merry nodded. “Yes. Here we are.”

“You’ll have to forgive me if I’m a bit nervous about this,” Daniel started. “I guess we haven’t known each other that long. I mean, it feels like we practically just met, but we’re not kids anymore and... Well, sometimes you just have to go for it.”

Merry took Daniel’s words to heart. It was true that they hadn’t known each other very long, but something undeniable was growing between them. She leaned toward him reassuringly. “You do have to go for it sometimes, and—don’t you think a surprise, right out of the blue—isn’t that the best part of Christmas?”

“It is,” Daniel agreed. “But in this case, at least everyone else will be surprised and...I just thought it would be better if you were with me. If you could tell me what you like...that would really help take the worries out of choosing.” Daniel gestured toward the corner.

As Merry turned, he briefly guided her with a genteel hand on her back. It had just been a momentary brush, but the memory of his touch lingered. Even through her woolen coat, it had warmed her through and through.

As Daniel’s destination became clear, Merry’s heart skipped a beat. This was to be no casual gift, she realized. Daniel planned to shop with her for jewelry.

Everything inside the opulent jewelry store glimmered. Precious gemstones set in gold and platinum rested on velvet inside gleaming glass cases. Fine silver services were polished to perfection. Merry looked around, overwhelmed as Daniel approached a dark-suited salesperson. Clearly, only the wealthy frequented this place.

“That one. There—first from the left on the second row,” Daniel directed.

The salesperson bowed his head respectfully as he unlocked the case. “Excellent, Sir. Just a moment.”

Daniel motioned Merry over as the salesperson pulled out an exquisite ring and handed it to Daniel. A princess cut diamond flanked by radiant sapphires shone in an elegant platinum setting. “I saw this yesterday afternoon,” Daniel said, “And I just had to be sure.”

Merry watched, stunned as Daniel held the ring up toward the plate glass window. Prisms of light danced on the many facets of the diamond. Merry swallowed hard. Had it been a bracelet or earrings, she might have reacted differently, but clearly, this was an engagement ring.

Despite everything that seemed to have been happening between them, and as much as Merry wished she could believe otherwise, something told her that she must have completely misunderstood. It was far too much, and far too soon. Merry’s heart sank as she realized the crushing truth:

This gift was for Catherine.

With everything in her, Merry fought the tears that threatened. The last thing she wanted Daniel to see was how distraught she was, or how mortified she felt at having read more into his notes than he seemed to have intended.

“Well... What do you think? Will she like it?” Daniel asked. He handed the ring to Merry for a closer look.

Merry gazed at the ring, doing her best to form a response, to find some honest way to be happy for him. She couldn’t say how broken-hearted she was. She couldn’t speak to his now-obvious interest in Catherine. She could only focus her answer on the ring itself. “Daniel, it’s...it’s completely stunning. She’ll love it,” Merry said. “It’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen.”

“Would you mind trying it on for her?” Daniel inquired.

Reflexively, Merry handed the ring back to Daniel. “No... No, I couldn’t. “

“Sure. That’s why I called you,” Daniel protested. “I’m dying to see how it would look.”

Before she could stop him, Daniel took her left hand in his. He slid the ring onto Merry’s finger. It was almost more than she could bear. Merry gazed at the ring on her hand, both dazzled and devastated. “We’ll probably have to get it sized,” she noted.

“It fits you amazingly,” Daniel observed. “I wonder how close you are to Catherine’s size.”

Through her pain, Merry willed a bittersweet smile. “I don’t know,” she said. “My hand versus Catherine’s—it probably doesn’t compare.”

Merry approached Joan’s pottery shop on foot, barely holding it together. She had no idea who else to turn to at that moment, no one who would understand like Daniel’s mother.

As she opened the door, she saw Joan, gliding through a class of senior women as they beat the air bubbles out of balls of clay, slamming them against a canvas-covered table. Merry’s eyes brimmed at just the sight of Joan. “Could I come in?”

Joan turned from her pottery students. “Sure, we were....” Joan immediately read the distress on Merry’s face. “Merry, what’s wrong?”

The quiver on Merry’s lips quickly gave way to open sobs. Joan rushed to her side. “Baby, what is it?”

“He’s buying the china!” Merry blurted, tears coursing down her cheeks.

Joan embraced Merry, patting her back as she wept. The women in Joan’s class couldn’t help but notice, so Joan attempted an explanation.

“She’s a purist.”

With that, Joan guided Merry out back. She grabbed a wad of tissue along the way and handed it to Merry. “There you go.”

Merry wiped her face. She blew her reddened nose. “Thanks for letting me come here. I didn’t know where else to—”

“You can come here anytime,” Joan assured.

“No matter what dishes he buys?”

“No matter what,” Joan replied. “Always. You hear me?”

Merry stepped away, out of the class’s earshot. “I really thought we were connecting, but I...I must have read him all wrong,” she rued. “Guess I just got caught up in this ridiculous hope that he could actually love me, that I could somehow be part of this family.”

Joan took Merry’s face in her hands and looked her square in the eyes. “You
are
part of this family,” she insisted. “Just a couple of weeks and... Look at this.” Joan showed Merry a shelf of freshly thrown plates, drying on a nearby rack.

Merry looked on, amazed. “You made those?”

“That’s right. I made them because of you,” Joan replied. “And there’s a piece of you in every one they’ll eat off, every single Christmas from now on. China or no china, Merry, you’ve already put your fingerprints all over us.”

The faintest kind of hope broke through Merry’s tears. “I have?”

Joan nodded. “We’ve needed you, Merry. We still need you. Whether my blind-as-a-bat son can see it or not.”

Later that afternoon, Tara and Ollie led a blindfolded Merry up the attic stairs.

“Are you taking me where I think you’re taking me?” Merry inquired.

Ollie replied in his deepest belly-shaking voice. “Ho, ho, ho! Might be someplace secret!”

Tara whipped around to her brother. “Shhh! Hayden will hear.”

Feeling her way toward the landing at the top, Merry tripped, and then righted herself.

Ceremoniously, Tara reached to untie Merry’s blindfold. “And now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for,” Tara announced with a signal to Ollie. “Cue the silent drum roll.”

Ollie beat his leg like an imaginary drum, then hit an air cymbal. “Ching!”

Tara adopted a dramatic air, “Presenting...” Then she ripped off Merry’s blindfold and flicked on the lights.

Merry scanned the completely redecorated attic, agape. Tara had done absolute wonders. “It’s like...a Christmas miracle!” Merry exclaimed.

Tara shrugged with wry confidence. “Not exactly my taste, but I think the cave-dweller will like it.”

That evening, the Bells served up dinner off the stove as Merry gathered her things to head to the diner for a couple of hours work.

Joan ladled a hearty chili into the family’s waiting bowls. “You sure you can’t stay, Merry?”

“Gramma made brownies for dessert,” Ollie enthused.

“Come on, Merry. Stay,” Tara coaxed. “Why not?”

Daniel picked up an extra bowl and offered it to Merry. “Please. There’s plenty.”

Merry put up a polite hand of refusal. Staying for dinner would be too hard for her on this particular night. “Thanks, but Friday nights are busy at the diner and I promised Arthur—”

“Ooh, Arthur,” Hayden teased. “Who is this Arthur?”

Merry shook her head, “Oh, no. No, no. He’s...”

Merry could feel Daniel watching as she exchanged an awkward glance with Joan. Tara gave Ollie an “
I dunno
” shrug.

Daniel smiled inquisitively, “Merry, have you been keeping something from us? Mom, what do you know?”

Feigning sincerity, Hayden pretended to swoon. “Is he super-duper dreamy?”

“No, really,” Merry defended. “He’s just my other boss.”

“Oooh...workplace romance,” Hayden toyed. “Scandalous!”

“Guys!” Merry blurted. “I’m not interested in Arthur.”

A hopeful look crossed Ollie’s face. “So, who are you interested in?”

Suddenly, the teasing stopped as everyone waited for an answer to Ollie’s question. Merry shot a panicky look at Joan as Tara smacked Ollie upside the head.

Joan grabbed some tongs, “Ollie, dear, don’t you want some salad?”

Grateful for the reprieve, Merry backed toward the door. “You know what? I’m just going to go. But I will see you all bright and early, dressed and ready for a little hunting expedition. You, too, Daniel. Remember, this is a whole family deal.”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Daniel replied. “I invited Catherine, too. I hope that’s okay.”

Merry polled the family’s faces. Hayden rolled her eyes. Tara grimaced. Ollie gagged. Even Joan’s expression was lackluster. With everything she had, Merry willed herself to muster support. “As they say, the more the merrier.”

Daniel turned to his kids. “I know you’re all just getting to know Catherine, but give it a little time,” he assured. “She’ll fit right in.”

When it had rained overnight, Merry had been a little concerned about the outing she’d planned, but the showers had given way to the brightest of blue skies by Saturday morning. How long it had been since the family had gone anywhere together, Merry didn’t know, but from the sounds of things, it seemed as if it’d been a very long while. At any rate, there was no shortage of animated chatter in the Range Rover as Daniel drove them out of town to their destination: a large hillside Christmas tree farm.