Read This Holiday Magic Online
Authors: Celeste O. Norfleet
S
miling to herself, Janelle headed to her father's office. He wasn't there, so she grabbed a cup of hot tea from the kitchen then went upstairs. Noticing her father's bedroom light still on, she knocked. There was no answer. Peeking inside, she saw that he was asleep in the bed, surrounded by papers. She went in, moved his laptop and gathered the papers, putting them on his nightstand along with his reading glasses. Just as she turned to leave, she heard his voice. “Hey, hi, you're home,” Ben said huskily.
She turned back to him. “Yeah, I got in a few minutes ago. I knocked, but you were asleep. I just cleared the papers off the bed. I didn't mean to wake you.”
“That's okay. I'm glad you did,” he said, sitting upright against his pillows. “You look happy. You have a good day?”
“I am happy and it was a good day.” Janelle smiled contentedly. “No, actually it was a great day. It started off with a job offer from Meg at Johns Hopkins medical center.”
“A job offer from Johns Hopkins? That's fantastic. For years you talked about being a doctor at the hospital. You were so set on itâand look, you did it. I knew you could.”
She smiled proudly. “Yep, looks like it's gonna happen.”
“Congratulations, sweetheart. I'm so proud of you, baby.”
They hugged warmly. “Thanks, Dad. I'm excited about it.”
“When do you start?”
“Not until the beginning of the year. I still have to hand in my resignation at Medics International and do the paperwork.”
“Well, now...a job offer. You did have a good day.”
“Actually it got better. After my meeting with Meg, I ran into Tyson and Aneka. She had an asthmatic episode last night.”
“Is she okay?” he asked, concerned.
“Yes, she's fine. They were leaving when I was headed out. They invited me to join them to go see Santa.”
He chuckled. “Now, that's something I hadn't heard in a very long time.”
She nodded and sat on the side of the bed. “Yeah, it was a lot of fun. You know, I forgot what Christmas is like through the eyes of a child. I guess I get so caught up in helping children and trying to make them feel better that I forgot the simplicity of just being with them. She's a sweetheart.”
“Indeed. And there's nothing like seeing the holidays through the eyes of a little one. They bring a certain kind of joy that's unmatched by anything.” She nodded.
Ben hesitated. “So...you and Tyson again?” he asked.
“I don't know.” She shrugged. “There's so much water under the bridge for us. I wouldn't know where to start.”
“It looks like you already have. Do you still love him?”
She paused and thought a moment. “Do we ever really fall out of love with someone?” she said evasively, catching Ben's smile. “You're smiling. I thought you'd be the last person to want me and Tyson to be together again.”
He reached over and took her hand. “Sweetheart, I want you to be happy. Tyson makes you happy. I can see that now. The two of you have something special. You know, your mother told me something very important before she died, but I didn't listen.”
“What did she tell you?”
“She told me to relax and that things always work out as they should in the end.” He shook his head. “I'm sorry to say that I didn't always listen to that advice.”
“Why, what do you mean?”
“I mean with you and Tyson.”
“What about me and Tyson?” she questioned.
Ben nodded and took a deep breath as if to release a heavy burden he'd been carrying. “Two and a half years ago I told Tyson to leave.”
“You what? Dad...”
He nodded. “I told him to go back to the West Coast and to leave you to your future.”
“Dad, no.”
“Yes, I'm afraid so. The night he proposed and you accepted, he came to me. We talked. I told him that I wanted you to follow your dream and he was standing in the way of that. I told him that if he loved you he'd leave. I didn't even want him to say goodbye to you. To his credit, he put up a hell of a fight and an indisputable argument, but in the end I persuaded him that you needed to have your life and that meant being a doctor like you always wanted.”
“Dad...”
“I didn't have enough faith in his love and your heart. But then...”
“But then...what?” she asked.
“When I had the heart attack I called him to make things right. He came and he stayed. I tore his world apart and he came and stayed with me, like a son.”
“I don't know what to say.”
“I do. I'm sorry I interfered. I was doing what I thought best for you, but now I see that your mother was right, as always. Everything works out exactly as it should, especially love. I already asked Tyson to accept my apology, and now I'm asking you. I'm sorry I interfered.”
She nodded. “Apology accepted.” She kissed his cheek. “So how did the meeting with the bank go today? Good news?”
He shook his head. “I'm afraid not. We did everything we could think of, but it's not going to be enough.”
“Even with taking on a business partner?” she asked.
Ben shook his head. “No one wanted to take the risk. I'm afraid it's over.”
“Dad, I'm so sorry.”
“No worries. We have a big day tomorrow, lots to do and the kids are depending on us.”
“âTomorrow'?” she queried.
“Yes, for the Christmas Eve party. They're still some things to take care of...the caterer, the florist, things like that.”
“I'll take care of all that. You relax. I'm here to help, remember. Plus, I have a few ideas I think you're going to like.”
“Sounds good. We'll get started in the morning.”
She rose from the side of the bed and nodded. “Good night, Dad,” she whispered as he turned off the light.
Janelle walked back to her bedroom and closed the door. Her thoughts immediately went to her father's business and the people who worked for him. There was nothing anyone could do. Then she thought about Tyson. All this time she'd thought he had just walked out on her, but she'd been wrong.
She pulled out her laptop and video-called her sisters. When they logged in, she told them about the past few days and what her father had said.
“Wow,” Mia said.
“Yeah, wow,” Nya added.
“So, am I crazy or what? How can I fall in love with him in one day? I'm right back where I was two and a half years ago and the moral of the story is still the sameâdon't fall in love.”
“Honey, you never stopped loving him,” Nya said.
“That's true,” Mia agreed.
After a short period of reflection, Janelle conceded with a nod. “I know.” She sighed as she cupped her chin in the palm of her hand and stared at her sisters' images on the laptop screen. Then she smiled. Although she would have certainly preferred to be with them right now, the FaceTime program would have to do. “I'm sorry, guys. This isn't exactly what we were supposed to be talking about the day before Christmas Eve.”
“Sure it is,” Mia said. “We're sisters. It's what we do.”
“Okay, the way I see it, you have two choices. Be happy with him or be miserable without him. Now, I may be biased, but I'm rooting for you to be happy with him,” Nya told her.
“I second that,” Mia said. “Just enjoy being with him now.”
“Not thinking about it obviously didn't mean it wasn't going to happen. But it's inevitable. Tyson is leaving as soon as he's finished with Dad. And since nothing can be done about the business, that's going to be soon. He already has something lined up in New York. It's only a matter of time,” Janelle conceded.
“So, the question is, do you want to follow him?”
Janelle didn't need to think long about her answer. “I can't live my life on the road. I'm a doctor. I worked too hard and I love what I do. I don't want to give that up.”
“Of course not,” Nya agreed. “So, talk to him. Tell him how you feel, tell him you love him.”
Janelle shook her head. “Thanks, guys, but I don't think being together is ever going to be an option. I'll be here working at the hospital doing what I love and he'll be traveling all over the world doing what he loves. What kind of life is that? It's not as if I can ask him to stop working and stay here with me.”
“Why not?” Mia said.
“Yeah, why not?” Nya added. “David left Hollywood for Natalia, Spencer left Atlanta for Tatiana and Chase left Alaska for Nikita. So, it does happen. And I'm a firm believer that you can never say what a man in love won't do.” She smiled coyly.
“You got that right,” Mia agreed wholeheartedly.
Janelle smiled, daring for the first time to even consider hoping there might be a happily-ever-after ending with Tyson in her future. “Thanks.”
“No problem. You do what you need to do and let us know.”
“I will. Merry Christmas,” Janelle said to her sisters as she kissed her fingers and touched the screen.
Mia and Nya did the same. “Merry Christmas.”
Janelle ended the connection, took a quick shower, sipped her cooled tea and crawled into bed. She grabbed her laptop and checked the movie listings. One of her favorite holiday movies,
A Christmas Carol,
was just coming on. She reached over to turn off the lamp and settle back just as a message notification beeped. Thinking it was one of her sisters on FaceTime again, she logged on.
Tyson's smiling face appeared on the screen. “It's about time you showed up.”
She smiled. “Hey.”
“Is it too late to call?”
Her smile widened. “No, not at all. I was just getting ready for bed.” His brow arched with interest.
“Don't get any ideas,” she said.
He laughed. The rich, deep sound made her stomach flutter.
“I am a very patient man when I have to be. I just called to thank you again for everything you did today. We both appreciate it.”
“You're very welcome. Is that it?”
“Not quite. I miss you.”
She blushed openly. “I miss you, too,” she said as she leaned back against the pillows. “Is Aneka asleep?”
“Yeah, she passed out as soon as her head hit the pillow. She told me that she had a fun day and she'd remember it always.”
“It was my pleasure.” They both paused. Then she saw him frown in frustration. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“Believe it or not, I'm trying to put a dollhouse together.”
She chuckled. “How's that going?”
“It's not. I gave up twice already. This is my third attempt. Much to my chagrin, I can completely build and refurbish an actual building, but I can't put together this dollhouse. That amazes me.”
“Did you even look at the instructions?”
“I don't read instructions.” He snorted boastfully. “I'm a man.”
She started laughing. He smiled, then joined in. “So typical,” she said, shaking her head. “Okay, grab the instructions. I have a feeling we'd better start from the beginning.”
They spent the next hour and a half laughing and talking while Tyson put Aneka's dollhouse together. When it was done, he angled his laptop screen to show her the end result.
Janelle nodded her approval. “She's gonna love it,” she said.
“I hope so. I had it specially designed as a miniature model of our new house.”
“It's beautiful,” she said, feeling her heart tremble when he mentioned their new home. She wanted to know more, but she couldn't bring herself to ask. “It's getting late. I'd better let you go. Will I see you tomorrow?” she asked.
“Yes, of course. I'm looking forward to it.”
“Good night,” she said softly.
Neither disconnected the signal. They just looked at each other.
Finally, Tyson spoke. “I love you. Good night.”
She nodded and hung up. The movie she'd forgotten all about popped back up on her screen showing the ending credits. She closed her laptop just as it ended.
T
he dream Janelle had that night felt too real. In it she had lost everything and, like Ebenezer Scrooge in the movie, she had grown old with nothing and no one in her life. She woke Christmas Eve morning in a panic. The realization that her sisters were right was undeniable. She needed to tell Tyson how she felt. She loved him. She got up, got dressed and hurried out early. Soon after, she was ringing the doorbell at the town house.
Mrs. Ivers answered. “Good morning, Janelle. Come on in.”
“Good morning, Mrs. Ivers. How are you and how's your son?”
“I'm fine and, thank God, he's just bruised. It could have been a lot worse. Can you believe he had a car accident two weeks before starting college?”
“I'm glad to hear he'll be fine. Is Tyson here?”
“You just missed him. He's in D.C. all day,” she said just as the oven alarm rang. “Oh, there's the oven.” She headed to the kitchen, Janelle following.
“Janelle!” Aneka ran to her.
Janelle knelt and hugged her before Aneka took her hand and pulled her into the living room to see the Christmas tree and presents. There was wrapping paper and ribbon all over the coffee table. “This one is for you,” Aneka said, grabbing a shirt-size box wrapped in Santa-and-reindeer paper. “Me and Daddy picked it out special. But I can't tell you what it is. I promised.”
“I have a very special gift for you, too, but you'll have to wait until Christmas Day to open it.”
“Can I have it before me and Daddy go home?”
“You're going back home on Christmas Day?”
Janelle stilled as Aneka nodded and the affirmation hit herâTyson was leaving again. With nothing left to do for her father's business, it made sense. She looked around, seeing several pieces of luggage sitting by the stairs.
“Sorry about that,” Mrs. Ivers said, walking into the living room. “It's going to be a crazy, busy couple of days. I don't know why I waited to start wrapping gifts. Anyway, Tyson's not here, but if it's an emergency I canâ”
“No, it's not important. I'll catch up with him later.”
Mrs. Ivers nodded. “I'll let him know that you stopped by.”
“No need. I'm glad your son's better. I'll see you this evening, Mrs. Ivers.” Janelle said her goodbyes and quickly hurried out to the car. She sat a moment, collecting her thoughts. Telling Tyson she loved him was no longer an option. It was too late. He was leaving. She drove back to her father's home just in time to see him rushing out the front door. “Hi, Dad. You're leaving? Everything okay?”
“Yes. I just got a call from the bank. They're reviewing my application again. Looks like there might be a glimmer of hope.”
“I hope so. Good luck. Don't worry about the party. I'll take care of everything. Drive safe.” She watched him drive off, then went inside.
Thankfully, the rest of the morning was nonstop craziness and the perfect mental distraction. By ten o'clock there was a constant flow of deliveries, as well as caterers, florists and workmen. Janelle took care of the details and finalized the evening's events. Wanting the night to be really special for her father, she went into the attic and pulled out some of her mother's family decorations. They were the perfect finishing touch.
By late afternoon the Truman home was a spectacular holiday display and a magical winter wonderland. Large white lanterns filled with pine branches, glass balls and candles guided guests to the front door as huge white poinsettias brightened the entrance foyer and flowed throughout the house. Gingerbread houses, candy canes, holiday cookies and edible delights topped every table with a spectacular buffet feast centered in the dining room.
Dressed and smiling, Ben watched as Janelle walked down the front staircase to the foyer. He smiled and hugged her. “You look beautiful. I still can't believe how fantastic this place looks. You did an incredible job. I never took the time to really appreciate how truly remarkable you are. Your mother would be very proud of you. I'm very proud of you.”
Janelle beamed with delight as she straightened her father's bow tie. “Thanks, Dad. So, how did it go today with the bank?”
“They'll call me this evening with a final decision.”
“You'll get the loan.” She nodded, assuring him.
“Either way, let's just have a wonderful evening.”
The doorbell rang. “Ah, saved by the bell. It looks like we have our first guest of the evening.” Janelle stood by the stairs as Ben opened the front door. A tiny red coat rushed in excitedly. Ben knelt and scooped Aneka up, swinging her around. She giggled and laughed happily as she hugged Ben and talked nonstop about Santa coming to town. Janelle walked over, smiling, as Tyson appeared in the doorway a second later.
Ben set Aneka down, shook Tyson's hand and then hugged him. “We tried,” Ben said.
“There's always a Christmas miracle,” Tyson assured him.
Aneka tugged on Ben's jacket, wanting to see the Christmas tree and train set again. They went into the living room, leaving Tyson and Janelle in the foyer.
The realization that he would be leaving hit her again. She smiled solemnly. “Hi.”
He kissed her tenderly. “You look stunning, as always,” Tyson said after a rakish smile and a thorough examination.
“Thank you,” she said.
“I have something for you.” He pulled a mistletoe sprig from his jacket pocket and held it over her head. Just as he leaned down to kiss her, the doorbell rang. She smiled, shrugged and opened the door, welcoming more guests to the party. In no time the house was packed with family, friends and with children everywhere. Guests continued to arrive in a steady flow. They mingled, talked, laughed, ate, drank and enjoyed themselves. Ben was the perfect host and the life of the party. No one would have guessed that his business was hanging by a single thread.
At dusk the neighborhood luminaries had been lit. Everyone stepped outside to see Santa's runway as the illuminated glow curved and coiled along the sidewalks. The children played along the luminaries as the adults stood by, admiring the spectacular sight. Then to everyone's delight Santa came through, waving and wishing all a merry Christmas.
After a while everyone went back inside to hot chocolate and warm beverages and gathered in the conservatory to watch as the fireworks display began. With the children sitting up front, all eyes marveled at the spectacular night sky.
Janelle noticed her father wasn't there. She looked around, finally finding him in his office. He'd just hung up the phone.
“Dad, is everything okay?”
He turned and smiled. “Yes, everything is more than okay. The loan went through. The company's going to be okay.”
She hugged him. “Dad, that's great news. Congratulations.”
“I have to say, it didn't look good when I left this afternoon, but whatever Tyson did...”
“âTyson'? What do you mean?”
“He said he'd talk to them. Whatever he said worked. Looks like I have a new business partner. All I have to do is accept the offer. Ah, there's the man of the hour.”
Janelle turned to see Tyson standing in the office doorway. Ben walked over and they shook hands. “Thank you.”
Tyson nodded his agreement. “It was my pleasure.”
Ben nodded and turned to Janelle. “You two talk. There's a lot to say. I'm gonna celebrate a new beginning by watching the fireworks.” He walked out as Tyson entered.
“You've been avoiding me all night,” Tyson said.
“Is it that obvious?”
“Yes, it is.” He walked over to her. “Why?”
“To make it easier,” she said, feeling her heart breaking.
“I don't understand. Your dad's company is fine.”
She turned. The desperation of lost love, hurt and pain filled her eyes. “Yes, I know. You did another amazing job. So, I guess this is it. Thank you for helping my father and for staying around to say goodbye this time.”
“What?”
“Your work here is done. You're leaving,” she said. “I saw the luggage at the house this morning.”
“No, Janelle. The luggage is a gift for Mrs. Ivers's son. He's leaving for college.”
“But what about the job in New York? And your project?”
“New York was never an option. And you are my special project,” he said tenderly. “Janelle, I'm not leaving. There's no way I could walk away from you again. I love you. I've always loved you, now and forever. From the first moment I saw you. I can't picture the rest of my life without you.”
She looked into his eyes. The adoration in them reflected her love for him.
“Sweetheart, I can't do this without you. I can't exist without you. You're every breath I take. I need you in my life and I don't mean just as friends. You are my heart and I am yours. We are meant to be together. Say you love me. That's all I need. That's all I'll ever need.”
“I love you, Tyson,” she said. “I love you.”
An endless swell of love washed over them as they kissed. Then he pulled back. “Don't move. Wait here.” He ran out then a minute later returned with the box she had seen under his tree earlier. “This is for you.”
She opened it, seeing a different African wedding doll inside. She picked it up, smiling. “She's beautiful.” Then she looked closely and saw a ribbon around the doll's neck. On the ribbon was a ring. He untied the ring and took her hand. “Marry me, Janelle. Be my life.”
Janelle's heart filled with joy beyond belief. “Yes. Yes.”
He instantly took her in his arms and kissed her.
Ben, with Aneka by his side, peeked into the office. Janelle smiled happily. “Dad, we're getting married,” she said excitedly.
“Well, it's about time,” Ben said, walking over to shake Tyson's hand. “Welcome to the family. Looks like I have a new business partner and a son all in one.”
“Your business partner?” Janelle repeated, turning to Tyson.
Tyson nodded as he picked up Aneka. “Merry Christmas, little one,” he said.
“Merry Christmas,” she said, then reached out to Janelle and hugged her, too.
“Merry Christmas, sweetheart,” Janelle said.
They all went back to the conservatory to join their guests and watch the Christmas fireworks.
Tyson wrapped his arm around Janelle.
She was surrounded with love. It was the perfect Christmas...with many more to come.
* * * * *