Home for the Holidays (13 page)

Ethel produced a small, satisfied smile. “I’ll
never
tell.”

“Is he really as irritable as he looks?” Alice asked. She would have to deal with Max the next day, and from all the accounts that she had heard, she was not looking forward to it.

“I am not sure that he is.” Her older sister took a beaded apple ornament from one box and attached a wire hanger to it. “He does tend to be very gruff and gloomy, and to criticize Ted about his desire to be a professional photographer. I have yet to see much that has pleased him. However, I have the feeling there is a very deep-rooted sadness in him.”

“If he’s depressed why would he come on this tour?” Alice asked.

“I can’t say for certain, but …” Louise shrugged. “My thought is that he came because he is tired of being alone, but doesn’t know how to be anything else.”

“He’s missing his business and his money, more like,” Ethel said. “I told you.”

Jane returned without Lloyd.

“Our mayor insisted on making us his special-recipe hot chocolate,” she told her sisters and aunt. “I tried to argue him out of it for two seconds and then caved in. I think it was watching him get out the saucepan. I love men who aren’t afraid of pots.” She glanced at Ethel. “What’s this about money and why would anyone miss it?”

“I was talking about Max Ziglar and the way wealthy men behave.”

Jane nodded. “Big man, unhappy eyes.”

“He gave Louise a hard time today and he’s got too much money for his own good.” Ethel plucked an ornament hanger and hooked it to a gleaming blue glass bird. “Wealth makes you unhappy and dissatisfied with everything.”

“I don’t agree,” Louise said at once. “Look at the Holzmanns. They are quite wealthy and yet they are a generous, happy couple who genuinely care about the community.”

“Rachel and Joseph are exceptionally good people, I’ll grant you that,” Ethel said. “But this Ziglar man is never going to be like the Holzmanns.”

“You’re not giving him much of a chance, Aunt,” Jane said. “People can and do change, all the time.”

Alice did not want to jump to conclusions about Max, either. “He might improve on better acquaintance.”

“I ran into that group in town today,” their aunt told them. “Their driver had brought them from the Holzmanns’
to do some last-minute shopping in town, but that rich man didn’t want to stay.”

“Men usually don’t like to shop,” Alice said.

“I heard him tell that skinny woman that he wasn’t interested in buying gifts for anyone.” Ethel sniffed. “What sort of man says that at Christmastime?”

“Maybe there is no one in his life.” Always the champion of the underdog, Jane jumped to his defense. “He might not have a family, and lots of wealthy people have trouble making friends.”

“Ebenezer Scrooge had friends once,” their aunt said darkly. “Look at how he behaved.”

“He also found redemption,” Alice felt she had to point that out.

“Exactly, Alice. Max might just be depressed about being alone during the holidays and he’s dealing with it by being scrooge-ish.” Jane turned to her. “I think you should try to cheer him up. Treat him like one of your crankiest patients at the hospital.”

“Somehow I don’t think Mr. Ziglar is going to let me give him a foot rub,” Alice deadpanned.

Lloyd brought in a tray of steaming mugs. “Jane, I nearly got lost in your pantry. But if I ever do, I won’t starve for at least two years.”

Feeling suddenly chilled, Alice paused to pull on a sweater before she accepted one of the hot cups. “I should
adjust the thermostat, it seems like it’s getting colder in here.” She breathed in the dark, spicy scent of the drink before she tasted it. “My, this is very good, Mayor. Not like any hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted.”

“An old family specialty. I’ll give Jane the recipe, if she can guess what I put in it,” Lloyd teased.

“Let’s see now.” Jane carefully sampled hers. “Baker’s chocolate, milk, a touch of vanilla, cinnamon and …,” she took another sip before adding, “ground cloves?”

The mayor laughed. “You win.”

The front door opened, and Alice turned to see Fred and Vera Humbert walk in. They were smiling but looked very cold. “Did you happen to make enough for two more cups, Mayor?” Alice asked.

“Coming right up.” Lloyd went back to the kitchen.

The Humberts shed their snowy coats and handed over a parcel, as well as a Christmas gift basket filled with apple butter, spiced pears and Vera’s special homemade vanilla fudge as they greeted the sisters.

“Fred told me he was coming over to drop off some replacement Christmas bulbs Louise had ordered, and I thought I’d come along to bring our gift basket now, before the weather gets worse,” Vera said.

“Are we due for a storm?” Jane asked.

“There’s a blizzard in the works,” Fred told her. “The temperature’s been steadily dropping, and we’ve been getting
more wind than usual. All the animals are holed up in their trees and dens too.” The store owner was also an amateur prognosticator and often made predictions about the weather based on signs from nature.

Alice and her sisters had never really taken Fred’s weather predictions very seriously, until one summer day when he had correctly predicted a violent storm. While Fred was not always one hundred percent accurate with his forecasts, they tended to listen to him more carefully now.

“Will it be a dangerous storm, Fred?” Alice asked as Lloyd returned with hot chocolate for the Humberts.

“I don’t know about that, Alice,” he said, “but I believe we’ll definitely be seeing a heap of snow before Christmas arrives.”

“You said we’d be hit with four feet of snow at Christmas a few years back, Fred,” Lloyd reminded him. “That didn’t pan out.”

“True enough,” Fred agreed. “But this time the signs are much stronger. I haven’t seen a bird or squirrel or rabbit for two days, and animals always sense these things. I’d bet money on it this time, if I were a gambling man.”

“It won’t hurt to stock up on a few things, just in case,” Alice said.

“It’s a good thing you girls took time off,” Ethel said. “You don’t need guests to deal with along with a snowstorm.”

Chapter Nine

T
he next morning Alice left bright and early to meet the tour group at Town Hall, where she escorted them inside to meet the mayor.

Lloyd Tynan came out of his office accompanied by Fred Humbert, who greeted the group before going over to a ladder set up beneath an overhead light. Alice suspected that he had been drafted to install the new bulb that he carried since the mayor was not quite as nimble as his friend Fred.

“Before we go over to the house, I’d like to tell you a little about the history of Acorn Hill,” the mayor told the group and proceeded to show them through the Visitors Center. “And this year we have a special display, made by none other than our local hardware store owner—and lightbulb-changer extraordinaire—Fred Humbert.”

Fred smiled down from on high, then quietly turned his attention back to maintaining his balance.

Lloyd glanced over at Fred, who had begun his descent. “Fred,” he called out, “do you have a minute to show the folks what you’ve done for the holidays?”

Fred consulted his wristwatch. “I can spare a few minutes before I have to be at the store.”

Alice was surprised to see that Fred had set up two incredibly detailed model train layouts of different sizes.

It’s like I’ve been transformed into a giant
, she thought as she looked down on a model of snow-covered hills and a picturesque valley town.

The train set that Fred had assembled possessed the exact detailing that made it an authentic copy of the real thing. Allan Hansford experienced a moment of nostalgia for the trains that had traveled near his home in his youth.

Ted crouched down to take a photo of the layout. “Do you set up model trains at home, Mr. Humbert?”

“When my daughters were little, I’d always have a train layout of some kind set up for them,” Fred said as he bent to switch on something beneath the model. Tiny electric lights sparkled all over the model. “Alice, would you push the little blue button by the mailbag pole?”

Alice did so, and the entire model went into motion.

In the village, traffic and car lights blinked. Windows in the ceramic houses and shops lit up. A horse-drawn sleigh moved on a hidden track from town to a farmhouse, jingling bells all the way. The church’s tiny doors opened and the choral sounds of “O Come, All Ye Faithful” drifted
out. On a mirror serving as a frozen pond, little children skated figure eights around each other.

Fred scanned the rapt faces around the table and then grinned. “It’s not as impressive as the big layouts they have over at the model train museum, but I like to go for quality over size.”

“I wish my dad could see this,” Ted said as he changed positions to take another photo from a different angle. “You’d never get him out of this room.”

Fred seemed pleased to hear that. “After the holidays I was thinking of setting up the trains as a permanent display in my store. If you’re ever back in the area, you’re more than welcome to stop by with him any time.”

“You mentioned a museum, Mr. Humbert. Where is that, exactly?” Edwina asked.

“Well, ma’am, we’ve actually got two train museums in this region. The Train Collectors Association, of which I’m a member, operates the National Toy Train Museum. Then you have the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, which has more than a hundred full-size, antique locomotives and boxcars they’ve restored and preserved. Both of them are in Strasburg, just west of here.”

“Now I know where you sneak off to whenever Vera goes to the Amish markets,” Alice teased.

“Model train collectors like to congregate regularly,” he admitted. “It’s a hobby that encourages friendships, as we like to trade ideas and swap cars, tracks and so forth with one another. We can share it with our kids, too, which isn’t something you can do with a lot of grown-up hobbies.” When the bells from the Methodist church began to chime the hour, he glanced at his watch. “I hate to show off and run, but I do need to get to my store.”

Everyone thanked Fred and bid him good-bye as he struggled into his coat and left the lobby.

“Grown men, playing with toys,” Max grumbled, but even his eyes were drawn to the fine detailing.

“How long has your family lived in this region, Mayor?” Ted asked after he had taken several photos of the various other displays in the Visitors Center.

“I’m the third generation Tynan to grow up in this town and the fourth member of a Tynan family to be elected to the office of mayor.” Lloyd curled his hands around the edges of his jacket lapels and regarded the display with pride. “You could say the Tynan family has always had an interest in community leadership. We’ve certainly never been shy about stepping up to serve the people.”

“I would have thought a man like you would move to the big city, where the politics get really interesting,” Allan said.

“I do enjoy politics, but I’m just a small-town boy at heart, Allan. Here, before I forget.” Lloyd handed out town guidebooks to everyone. “These will help you get around if you’re out to do some shopping.”

Alice thought the mayor had come a long way from the man who once had insisted, “Acorn Hill has a life of its own away from the outside world and that’s the way we like it.”

“Is there anything else you folks need to know about the town before we head over to the house?” Lloyd asked.

“I can’t smoke at the hotel or in any of the restaurants or homes on the tour,” Max complained. “Is there anyplace I can have a cigar in peace?”

“You can always step outside to smoke, but I can’t guarantee the peace,” the mayor told him and nodded toward Alice. “My dear friend Miss Howard here will give you a good talking-to on what smoking does to your lungs and heart. She convinced me to give up my pipe many years ago.”

Alice tried to keep her expression smooth when Max swiveled to glare at her. She generally avoided confrontations over matters of health.

“I’m sure you know how bad it is for you, Max,” she said gently. “Also, breathing in secondhand smoke can create health problems for the people around you.”

“It always makes my allergies flare up,” Allan said.

“Smoke gives me a headache,” Edwina added.

“You can save the lectures. I’ve already heard them all.” Max patted the pocket in his jacket where he kept his cigars. “I can wait until I get home to smoke. I’ve waited this long.”

That could explain his irritability
, Alice thought. “Perhaps after a few more days of not smoking, you might not want to.”

As the minivan took the group from Town Hall to the mayor’s home, Alice gave Lloyd a ride in her car so they could discuss how to handle the tour.

“Ethel was over the other day, telling me to dust all my collection frames and whatnot, but my furniture and holiday decorations are pretty basic,” he told her. “I hope they won’t be disappointed.”

“You have a wonderful home,” Alice assured him. “If you could help me out with the finer details of its history and so forth, though, that would make the visit more special for the group.”

“I’d be happy to.” The mayor glanced at her. “Ethel mentioned that you and Louise are a little worried about Jane.”