Christmas All Around Us ; The Perfect Time for Love ; Playing for Keeps Read online

  Rachel felt her chest tighten slightly at the mention of Claire's name. Gail and Claire had the kind of harmonious relationship that almost made Rachel believe that happily ever after fairytale stories were actually possible. Watching the two of them together always made Rachel feel an acute absence in her own life. She shook her head at the thought. "Go south on Richmond Ave. for about a mile," Rachel instructed changing the subject.

  The cab of the truck fell silent for a while as Julie focused on driving. Little flecks of snow were just beginning to hit the windshield. No doubt by this time tomorrow -- or the next day -- the streets would be covered in white. Yet another reason Rachel was looking forward to getting out of Philly before the end of the week.

  Rachel stared out the window at the festively decorated storefronts. "Trapped in a snow globe," she mumbled to herself.

  "What?" Julie asked pleasantly.

  "Oh, nothing," Rachel said not wanting to bring the mood down with her negative comments about the holiday season. 'Take a left at Maple. Then go a mile down to Wilson."

  Following instructions, Julie eased up to the next intersection and made the turn. A moment later she reached over and turned on the radio. As Christmas music swelled around them, Rachel stifled a defeated sigh. It was impossible to escape the holiday.

  "How long has Misty been taking dance lessons?" Rachel asked trying to distract herself from the irritatingly jovial music. Rachel had been to dinner a few times at Gail and Claire's house but she hadn't really interacted much with their little girl. Kids weren't really Rachel's thing, and she was pretty sure Misty sensed that.

  "I think she started taking tap about a year ago," Julie answered. "She's absolutely adorable and really seems to love dance but," Julie paused for a moment. "She's got to be one of the most intense kids I've ever met. Definitely what my mother would call an old soul."

  Julie let out a snort of laughter that filled the cab and for some ridiculous reason made Rachel giggle too. She wondered if Julie's cheery disposition was something she'd developed working with kids or if it was just a natural part of the woman's personality.

  Two turns later, Julie pulled her pickup truck into the parking lot of the warehouse that housed Gail's workshop.

  "Park your car in front," Rachel suggested. "There's a loading dock around the side of the building but in this cold weather the door will be closed."

  "Gail?" Rachel called out as the two women walked into the store's display room.

  Rachel looked around, surprised that there was no one behind the counter. Usually, if Gail was in the back working on a piece, her assistant stayed upfront to deal with any customers.

  "Business must be going pretty well," Julie remarked as she held up a bright red SOLD tag attached to a trifold room divider sitting near the front door.

  Rachel wasn't surprised. There were plenty of items in the store that would make great Christmas gifts for those who were into the holiday. As Rachel reached for the customer bell sitting on the counter, her eyes fell on a beautifully carved rectangular box. She ran her fingers over the ornate top and then opened the box to find a hand-carved pen and pencil set laying on a bed of deep blue velvet. Rachel made a mental note to ask Gail about the item later.

  "Gail?" she called out again as she tapped the bell on the counter. The ring echoed through the room but there was still no answer. "That's strange," Rachel said perplexed by her friend's absence. Then she heard something that sent chills down her spine.

  "Help!" a soft voice called out from the workshop in the back.

  Rachel and Julie turned to each other with wide-eyes and then dash through the door leading to the workshop.

  "Gail!" they both called out as they ran.

  What they found in the workshop made both of them stop in their tracks.

  "Oh, my god!" Rachel exclaimed as she hurried over to her friend.

  Gail was lying on the floor with one of her legs pinned under an avalanche of short fat tree stumps.

  "It's not as bad as it looks," she said trying to laugh a little but instead she winced in pain.

  Before Rachel could give the instruction Julie had already dialed 911. "The address is 4-5-7-3 Wilson St.," Julie said reading from the slip of paper she'd retrieved from the back pocket of her jeans. "Please hurry!"

  As they waited for the paramedics to arrive Rachel struggled against the temptation to lift some of the stumps off of her friend's leg.

  "I don't want to cause any more damage," she explained to Gail. "I think you should just try to stay still until the paramedics get here."

  "I have no intention of moving a muscle," Gail said with more humor than Rachel thought possible given the situation. "In fact, if there was a way for me not to breathe I wouldn't do that either."

  Rachel tried to laugh with her friend but the sight of her twisted leg under the tree stumps made that difficult.

  "Claire is going to kill me," Gail continued.

  "Do you want me to call her?"

  "No!" Gail almost shouted and then shook her head. "Her sister Stacy broke her arm last week and Claire flew to Ohio to help her finish the Christmas orders at her bakery. She'll be back here on Sunday," Gail shook her head. "To take care of the newest invalid in her life."

  Less than three minutes passed before they heard sirens in the distance. Then a swarm of paramedics buzzed into the workshop. The rescue workers removed the tree stumps and then quickly immobilized Gail's leg, neck, and back. Then they gently lifted her onto a gurney.

  "We're going to take her to Memorial General," one of the EMT's said. "Does one of you want to ride along with her?"

  Before Rachel could speak Gail shouted out.

  "Misty!" she said in a voice suddenly filled with more concern than she'd expressed over her own situation. "She's at tap class. I was going to pick her up as soon as Tammy came to get the table for the auction."

  Rachel could hear the panic seeping into Gail's voice.

  "Don't worry," Julie said as she quickly stepped to Gail's side and took her hand. "I'll call the studio and tell them I'm on the way to pick her up."

  Rachel watched as a wave of calm fell over Gail's face.

  "Thank you, Julie," she slurred. The pain medication the EMT's had given her was obviously beginning to kick in. "Blueberries. Tell her blueberries," she said as they lifted Gail into the ambulance.

  Rachel looked at Julie and shrugged her shoulders. "Blueberries?"

  "I don't know," Julie giggled.

  "You'd be surprised what people say once the meds hit their bloodstream," the EMT said as she adjusted the dial connected to the tube in Gail's arm. After that, she extended her hand to help Rachel into the back of the ambulance and closed the doors.

  As they drove away, Rachel watched Julie through the small rectangular ambulance window. "Thank you," she mouthed as she watched Julie get smaller in the distance. I'm so glad you were here to help, she thought just before Julie vanished from sight.

  Chapter 2

  Julie stood in the viewing room with a group of parents watching the class of young students tap along -- rather non-rhythmically -- to a version of Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. Wendy, the tap dance teacher, did her best to keep them in a straight line and prevent the future Fred and Gingers from stepping on each other's feet or knocking one another down.

  "And five, six, seven, eight!" Wendy called out and clapped trying to get them back on beat.

  It didn't do much good but the smiles on their young faces let Julie know that it didn't really matter. They were having fun even if they were making a noisy mess.

  "Is Misty's mom okay?" Connie, the dance instructor who'd answered the phone when Julie called earlier, asked whispering in Julie's ear.

  "I don't know yet," Julie said looking at her phone to see if maybe Rachel had texted any news. "I'm pretty sure she suffered at least a broken leg though." Julie shuttered as an image of Gail laying under all those tree stumps flashed through her mind.

  "That's so sad," Con
nie said shaking her head. "And so close to Christmas too."

  The dance room door opened and a stampede of metal taps against linoleum jolted Julie from her somber train of thought. Everywhere around her little bodies were running toward caregivers with outstretched arms. Julie scanned the crowd looking for Misty. She spotted the little girl standing near the doorway. Her eyes were darting around the room obviously searching for her mother. Julie squared her shoulders and plastered a big smile on her face -- attempting to cover any of the worry she was feeling before greeting the child.

  "Hi Misty! My name is Julie. Do you remember me?"

  The little girl's hazel eyes scanned Julie's face like lasers. "Yes," she said confidently. "You teach ballet."

  "That's right," Wendy said. "And your mommy asked Julie to pick you up and take you to her. Is that okay?"

  Saucer-sized eyes looked up at Julie. Somehow in her five-year-old wisdom, she registered that something was wrong.

  "What's the safe-word?" she asked taking a step back. She clutched her tap shoes to her chest like a shield.

  Julie looked at Wendy who just shrugged her shoulders.

  For a moment panic set in. A safe-word? In the rush to get Gail the medical care she needed Julie hadn't even thought to ask about a safe word. She looked down at the little girl standing in front of her. The defiant expression on Misty's face made it clear she wasn't going to move from the spot where she was planted without the right answer to her question.

  Suddenly a lightbulb went on in Julie's mind. She leaned down close to Misty's ear and whispered.

  "Blueberries."

  At the utterance, relief washed over Misty's tiny face. "Okay," she said. "I need my shoes."

  Wendy grabbed Misty's tennis shoes from the cubby-hole where they were stored during class and helped her lace them up while Julie put Misty's tap shoes into her book bag.

  "Bye, Misty," Wendy said waving at the little dancer. "See you after Christmas."

  "Okay," Misty waved enthusiastically as she tapped a much quieter -- but still awkward -- cadence as she and Julie walked toward the door.

  Julie had driven all of two blocks when Misty asked the question Julie had been uselessly hoping wouldn't come up.

  "Where's my mommy?"

  Julie looked over at the young passenger tethered into the car seat next to her. It wasn't the ideal position but since Julie's truck didn't have a second row it was her only option. At least the dance studio had a car seat she could borrow. They kept it around for the odd occasions when parents forgot to put one in the car or in case of emergency pick-ups just like this one.

  Julie took a deep breath. Just tell her the truth, she said to herself. If there was one thing she'd learned after working with kids for the past four years it was that they could smell a lie a mile off.

  "Your mommy had a little accident at work," Julie said trying to keep her voice light. "She had to go to the hospital so they could help her get better. That's where I'm taking you now."

  "Will she have to get a shot?" Misty asked in a serious tone. Her tightly wrinkled expression made her look like a little old lady and if the situation had been different Julie would have laughed.

  "I'm not sure, Sweetie. But whatever they have to do I'm sure it will make your mommy feel better."

  "When I had to get a shot Mommy G. gave me a sucker." Misty looked up at Julie wide-eyed. It was a declaration that had a silent request attached to it.

  At the next traffic light, Julie dug into her bag. It's got to be down here somewhere, she thought to herself as she searched. When her fingers touched the cylindrical object she smiled.

  "Will this be good enough?" she asked Misty handing her the candy cane she found in her purse.

  Misty clapped her hands together and then took the candy from her. "Yes. This will make Mommy G. feel much better!" she exclaimed.

  Julie let out a sigh of relief. Hopefully, that thought would keep Misty calm for the rest of the trip.

  Julie parked the car and she and Misty hurried into the hospital's emergency room door. Before they reached the information desk Rachel called out to them from a seat in the waiting room.

  "Julie," she said waving the pair toward her.

  Julie wanted to ask how Gail was doing but the nervous look on Rachel's face stopped her from speaking.

  "Look Misty," Julie said creating a distraction. "There are some picture books over there. Why don't you go pick one out for us to look at while I talk to Rachel?"

  "Okay," Misty said softly and then turned to walk over to the small library of books in the corner. She was still clutching the candy cane Julie had given her in the car as if it was the most important thing in her possession.

  "They had to take Gail into surgery," Rachel whispered once Misty was a safe distance away. She glanced in the little girl's direction and let out a sigh. "They're going to put pins in her leg to hold the bone together but other than that she's going to be okay."

  Julie grimaced at the news about Gail's surgery but she was glad to hear that Misty's mom was going to recover from her injuries.

  "There's one more thing," Rachel continued. She looked over at Misty again then back at Julie. "Gail is going to be in the hospital for several days and even though Claire wanted to fly home immediately she really can't leave her sister one-handed. Gail asked me if I could look after Misty until she gets out of the hospital."

  Rachel glanced over at Misty and a worried look spread over her face.

  "I don't mind doing it -- especially in this situation -- but I'm not exactly a kid person. I mean I like kids and all. I just don't have much experience looking after them. I was wondering since you have experience with kids and Misty kind of knows you..."

  Rachel was speaking in an uncharacteristically fast pace but Julie had already said yes internally before Rachel even got the question out.

  "Would you be willing to help me? I know you probably have work and stuff but maybe you could stop by and give me a hand when you're not busy?"

  Rachel looked like she was holding her breath waiting for Julie's response but there was no need. The request actually flattered Julie -- and admittedly made her a little excited about spending more time with Rachel.

  "Of course, I can help with Misty," she said. "And the dance studio is closed until after New Year's so I don't have any classes to teach. The only other thing on my calendar is the Rainbow Christmas Gala and my family's Christmas Eve party." Julie paused. For some reason, she suddenly felt bolder than she had a few hours ago. "Maybe we could go to the gala together?"

  It was admittedly an odd time to ask the woman on a date but Julie just blurted it out without thinking. Now she was the one holding her breath as she waited for Rachel's response.

  "Yeah, that would be great," Rachel said with more enthusiasm than Julie had expected. "After a few days of looking after a five-year-old, we may both need an adult night out."

  Julie smiled calmly but her heart was pounding a mile a minute. She said yes, was all she could think. The words were pounding in her ears like a drum. I asked her out, and she said yes!

  ❤️❤️❤️

  As soon as Julie said yes to helping her with Misty, Rachel felt the tension that had been gripping her neck melt out of her shoulders. Now at least she wouldn't be in this situation alone, she thought with an exhale as she glanced over at the woman sitting across from her.