âItâs time to look at things from a new perspective.â
âA lot of time has passed,â Rosie agreed coolly, âbut my perspective remains the same. I lost my brother, my father and our baby in the space of a week, and youâ¦â The anger turned to pain for an instant, but she tossed her head, seeming to shake it off. Being angry at him was apparently more comfortable than hurting. âYou left me.â
âYou drove me away,â Matt corrected.
âI had lostâ¦three of the most important people in my life!â Her voice rose. âDid you expect me to be the same perky little debutante you married?â
âOf course not. I just wanted you to remember that I was there to offer support, comfort, a way back. But you didnât want to come back.â
Dear Reader,
Iâm a great lover of Christmas and all the warm and cozy rituals that surround it. This story incorporates them, but against a backdrop of old grief, the threat of danger and a husband and wife who loved each other more than anything until tragedy drove a wedge between them.
Even against those odds, love conquers all. And when this happens at Christmas, emotions are heightened and the joy is even greater.
Read all about it!
Happy holidays!
Muriel Jensen
In loving memory of my brother, Matthew Charbonneau,
called home much too soon. I will always remember kitchen chairs lined up in a row as we played Rocky Jones, Space Ranger; Necco Wafers candies used for Holy Communion when we played Mass; and, when I was eight and he was twelve, flying down the Dean Street hill on the handlebars of his bike in complete confidence that he would get us safely to the bottom. Love you, Mattie.
ROSIE DEMARCO SAT opposite Jackie Whitcomb at a table for four in the Breakfast Barnâs meeting room. The restaurant was the heartbeat of Maple Hill in western Massachusetts. In this first week of December, a waitress and two busboys were hanging paper snowflakes from the light fixtures.
Also at their table were Molly Bowers, a florist, and Adam Bello, who owned Bello Automobile Agency.
âSo thatâs about it, Jackie.â Rosie pushed away her half-empty plate and consulted her notes one more time. âMaple Hillâs Industrial Growth Committee is officially reactivated, and all because Molly and Adam and I were at the same table at the fall festival dinner and got to talking about the health of business in this town. Molly has served on the committee before, but this is Adamâs first time.â
Adam smiled enthusiastically. He was young and personable. âWe could use a little clean industry here to bring in jobs and give us more to depend on than tourism.â
Jackie, Maple Hillâs mayor and a descendant of one of the townâs founding families, was a lively redhead with a genuine devotion to the community. She spread her hands, her smile taking in everyone at the table. âThatâs great news. And you think Tolliver Textiles is willing to try us again?â
Rosie nodded. The company had been considering a move to Maple Hill from Boston two years ago, but circumstances had conspired to defeat the plan.
âI spoke to the new president of the company yesterday,â Rosie told her. âTheyâd moved to a temporary space in an old mill on the Charles River when the last deal fell apart. Heâs anxious to get out of there, but we both agreed that the holiday season is a bad time to talk about it. Everyone is too busy. Heâs coming to Maple Hill right after the new year to talk to us in person.â
âAnd we have a new location for him to consider,â Molly said. She was a full-figured blonde in her mid-fifties who, not surprisingly, always smelled of flowers. âThere wonât be any environmental surprises like the last time when we discovered a heron rookery that was missed on the impact statement. I wish Dennis Sorrento could join us again, but heâs had a few health problems and heâs trying to scale back.â
Dennis was a pharmacist whoâd been an important part of the committeeâs first incarnation.
âThatâs too bad,â Jackie replied. âBut you sound as though you have a good handle on what youâre doing, Rosie. Maple Hill has a reputation for sound business while maintaining its beautiful surroundings. Just keep that in mind.â
Rosie nodded. âHaleyâs joined the committee, but she canât meet with us until January. She has her hands full with the special holiday-shopping edition. A good thing for the publisher of the Maple Hill Mirror, but not necessarily for the wife of a busy lawyer and the mother of a toddler.â
Jackie rolled her eyes. âMy niece is a wild child.â Jackie was Haley Megrathâs sister-in-law, and little Henriettaâs aunt and godmother.
âIâve seen her in action.â Rosie reached into her purse for her wallet. âBut my point was that with Haley on board, weâll be secure in the knowledge that our every move will be monitored.â Haley was famous for taking on anything or anyone she considered a threat to Maple Hill financially, ecologically or in any way at all.