Chapter 16: Chapter 16
It was dark by the time Noelle got home from work, but then, it was almost always dark when she got home from work, whether it was the dead of winter like it was right now or the middle of summer when the sun stayed up until almost 9:00. Still, as she got out of her car and headed toward her apartment, it just seemed like she had missed out on most of the day. She loved her job but hated the fact that she was at the shelter for so long, she often missed out on the fun parts of life, especially this time of year.
A light snow had started falling not long after Brady had left the shelter. Though it had stopped, her feet crunched through a light dusting as she headed toward the stairs that led up to her apartment. She’d have to be careful in the morning in case it froze over.
Once upstairs, she unlocked her door, wondering why she ever even bothered to lock it in Holiday Hills, and pressed inside, flipping on the lights and dropping her bag in a chair by the door. A glance around her apartment left her sighing; she was almost as pathetic as the town. Her Christmas tree wasn’t even up yet, and she hadn’t set out more than a few of her decorations.
“It’s because I don’t have time for that,” she muttered to herself, headed to the small kitchen. The burger she’d had for lunch had been delicious, but she was definitely hungry now as that had been hours ago. She opened the refrigerator door, remembered that she hated to cook and a tiny oven, closed it, and opened the freezer. She’d have to settle for a microwave meal again.
Noelle hadn’t even gotten the frozen dinner out of the box when she heard steps outside of her door. Her mother’s voice announced her presence, but the fact that she was talking to someone gave her pause. Her stepdad rarely came over here and certainly wouldn’t this time of evening in the cold. Who was with her mom?
Her front door opened, and she heard her mother saying over her shoulder, “I’m sure she won’t mind.”
She turned to see her mom stomping her feet off on the mat outside of her door before coming on in, like she always did, which was fine, except for she was also bringing someone with her unannounced. Noelle’s eyebrows raised and her mouth dropped open as she saw Brady stepping into her living room behind her mother, an apologetic expression on his face.
“Hello, dear,” her mom said. “How was your day?”
“Good….” Noelle looked at the half-open box of frozen enchiladas in her hand and set it down on the counter, fighting the urge to tell her mother, while she didn’t mind if she came over without calling first and let herself in, she would’ve appreciated a little bit of a warning that she was bringing a guest--especially this one. A quick glance around the room told her that the apartment was slightly messy, but at least she hadn’t left her underwear on the floor. “Hi, Brady.”
“Hi, Noelle. So sorry to catch you off guard,” he said, giving her a half smile. “I’d just come by to talk to your mom about the holiday festivities, and she thought it would be a good idea to come get your take on it. But it looks like you’re getting ready to eat dinner, so I can come back another time.”
“No, that’s all right. She doesn’t mind,” Doris said, patting him on the shoulder and then taking off her own coat and tossing it over the back of a chair.
“I don’t mind,” Noelle found herself saying. She really didn’t mind that he was there. It was nice to see him. The fact that she probably looked and smelled as if she’d spent eleven hours with dozens of dogs and cats weighed on her mind, though.
Taking a seat at the bar between Noelle’s living room and kitchen, Doris said, “Brady spoke to my good friend Martha Davis today, and she said she’d be on board with this Christmas fair and all of that the two of you dreamt up if I agree to head it up.”
“That’s great!” Noelle said, stepping closer to them. Brady had his hands buried deep in his coat pockets, as if he wasn’t quite sure he was staying long enough to take his coat off. She wondered how she’d missed his truck outside. He must’ve parked on the street, further down, away from the drive.
“Yes, well, I need some more information before I commit to anything,” Doris said looking at her daughter out of the corner of her eye. “Brady has told me a bit, but I want to make sure you aren’t going to dump a bunch more on me at the last minute.”
“Mom!” Noelle said, shaking her head. “When have I ever done that?”
“Don’t make me list all of those homework assignments we had to scrounge around and finish at the last minute.” She made a clicking sound with her tongue.
Shaking her head, Noelle reminded her, “That was years ago, Mom. Really, we thought you’d be good at it because you love Christmas so much, you’ve got a lot of friends who would be willing to help you, and if anyone can get it done in a limited amount of time, it’s you.”
Doris looked flattered for a moment, but then her face morphed. “Let’s say I do take this project on. How will the two of you be willing to help?”
Noelle exchanged glances with Brady. When he spoke, she waited, glad to let him be the first one to answer. “Well, I’d help by making sure the board approves it, first of all,” Brady began. “We’d reach out to local churches and other civic groups who might be willing to help donate decorations, as well as put them up. They also might have crafters and artisans who would be interested in setting up booths at the craft fair. I would also see what needs to be done to shut the main strip down to traffic so that there would be plenty of space for booths.”
“I can help you keep track of who has rented which spaces,” Noelle added, once she saw Brady was starting to run out of steam. “We can organize the Christmas tree lighting, too. That can’t be too hard.”
Doris clucked. “Do you know an electrician? We’ll have to get someone to run the power out to the tree.”
“I’m sure we can find one,” Brady said quickly.
“Actually... “ Noelle began, tapping her chin, “we don’t need one. We can use battery operated lights.”
“Won’t that be expensive?” Doris asked. “And won’t they burn out quickly?”
“With the new LED lights, they’ll last for months, and I bet we can get enough donations of both lights and batteries that it won’t cost anything,” she replied.
“There’s a hardware store in town, isn’t there?” Brady asked.
“Yes, and the general store has both lights and batteries, too.” She smiled, confident that her idea would work. Her mother was good friends with the owners of Sully’s Hardware, and Gladys Warwick, who owned the Five and Dime General Store was a huge cat lover who always wanted to help the shelter but didn’t have time to volunteer herself.
Doris leaned on the counter. “Well, it sure seems like the two of you have this figured out,” she proclaimed. Noelle stifled a chuckle. She made it seem as if they were in cahoots, conspiring against her. “All right. I’ve got a great deal of planning to do,” Doris said, standing and heading back toward the door. “And you do, too. You know, you should go have dinner together. At the diner. Hash it out. See what other great ideas you can come up with.” She was putting on her coat, speaking like her word was the law, which for much of Noelle’s life, it had been. “Let me know what you come up with.”
“Oh, Mom, I’m sure Brady has other things he needs to do,” Noelle said, looking from her mother to Brady and then back again.
“No, he doesn’t,” Doris countered, all buttoned up. “And neither do you. Put that awful microwave meal back in the freezer and go have some of Georgie’s fine, homestyle cooking.”
“Do you want to come with us?” Brady asked, clearly confused by Doris’s endorsement of the restaurant.
“Oh, no thank you. We already ate. But you two go ahead. Tell Georgie I said hi.” She headed out the door then with a wave at Brady and a mischievous wink at her daughter that, thankfully, he didn’t see.
Noelle glanced at her frozen dinner. The diner did sound much better than what she was about to heat up for herself, but then, Brady had already had lunch with her. Why would he want to spend his dinner with her, too?
“Chances are, Rob and Kayla have already had dinner,” he said with a shrug. “I’d probably be heating something up in the microwave or putting together a sandwich. You wanna go grab something?”
Drawing in a deep breath, Noelle let it out slowly. “Are you sure? I mean… we had lunch together. I don’t want you to feel obligated just because my mother is a not-so-sneaky matchmaker who couldn’t hide her agenda with a large camouflage tent in the middle of the forest.”
Brady chuckled. “What? I hadn’t noticed.” Every word dripped of sarcasm. “I don’t feel obligated,” he assured her. “But if you’d like to come, I would definitely like the company.”
Feeling warmth radiate through her cheeks, Noelle averted her eyes for a second. Hearing the handsome newcomer say he wanted to spend time with her definitely had her feeling flushed. “Well, okay then,” she said. “Let me just put away my gourmet meal for another time and get my coat.”
He smiled at her, and she put her frozen meal back in the freezer and went over to the chair where she’d dropped her coat. Most of the time, it annoyed her when her mother stuck her nose in where it didn’t belong. She’d endured many an uncomfortable blind date because of Doris’s meddling, but this was one dinner she wouldn’t mind sitting through.