Miracles in the Making (2 page)

Noel worked his way from the hardwood floor where he’d been laying, grateful when she offered a hand to assist him. “You don’t look too concerned with the state of your displays.”

This time Candy laughed. “For one thing, they’re not the least bit
hurt;
for another thing, you
are
. Not to sound too cheerful but that bruise you earned yourself is going to take awhile to heal. Here, let me give you a hand.” On the verge of offering the same hand she had before, he stopped her short.

“No, no there’s no need. I will be just fine. Now, you said there was some work to be done.”

Once she saw him again standing on his feet, Candy gave the idea some genuine consideration. “No,” she decided after careful thought. “No need, not after that fall you just took.”

“You think I am not qualified, is that it Miss?” His eyes darkene with surprise—a purely mortal emotion that left him astonished. As his emotions quieted, he reconsidered what she said and wondered why he allowed his temper to take control. After all, she’d been attempting to be thoughtful to begin with. “I apologize, Miss…”

“Frost, Candy Frost,” the girl offered. Noel was fully aware of this by now, but he accepted the selfless gesture without note.

“I apologize, Miss Frost. You’ve shown me great kindness.”

“You can call me Candy if you like. All the children like to.”

In time with her words, the shiny silver bell attached to the front door gave a cheerful jingle, alerting of a customer. Candy raised her head.

“Hello, hello!” she greeted with her usual bright smile. The blonde girl who met her, appeared uncommonly hesitant, nonetheless she strolled into the store, already beginning her examination of the charming merchandise. “Violet, this is my friend. Would you like to meet him?” Candy offered, confident in the reason for the child’s wary actions. Distracted by two elves—one of white chocolate and one of milk, both decked in lively clothes—the girl was slow to lift her head. At length she set the pieces aside and turned the fullness of her attention in Candy and Noel’s direction. “Yes, I suppose that would be nice,” she conceded after a stretch. Many of the children, this delightful girl included, not only liked Candy but also they trusted her, as they would an aunt. About to introduce the pair, Candy opened her mouth to begin. For the first, time it struck her.

What is the man’s true name?
For assistance, she looked in his direction, hoping he would understand her silent plea. Noel nodded and complied. “Noel Street, it is wonderful to meet you. You have beautiful brown eyes.”

The girl smiled at his compliment. “I am Violet, Mister Street. It’s very nice to meet you.” A bit more reassured, the child turned her back and resumed her inspection of the candies.

Candy returned her attention to Noel, unaware that in her nervousness she’d picked a Santa from the shelf and was now tumbling the item back and forth in her right hand. Far more aware, Noel noted her agitated moves. Rather than comment, he pointed to her hands. For the first time, Candy saw her pointless motions and wondered, with some discomfiture just how long she’d been at the inane play. “You’d just as well have told me,” she observed to Noel.

Noel looked diverted. “Oh, but I did.”

“After I’d likely been embarrassing myself for only you know how long.”

This time he didn’t hide his beam. “You hadn’t been at it
too
long.”

“So considerate of you.” Candy’s eyes moved over the store. “You know, there is the display up there,” she explained. “At my height I can never quite reach it. If you could just rearrange it a little, that would certainly be nice.”

Noel chuckled. “Now you are searching.”

“Remind me not to ask twice.” Turning on her heel, Candy strode towards the front counter.

Standing at a complete loss, he did not respond. After a moment of silence, he admitted defeat and started up to where she stood. “Which shelf did you say?”

That night, on the way home, they stopped by her sister’s small town apartment. Her sister, who she hadn’t seen since she’d been swallowed by the rush of the Christmas season. Astonished when not one but two women answer the door, Candy leaned forward, giving both Lacy and Marie tight hugs. “I wasn’t expecting this. Are the two of you preparing for Christmas?”

Beckoning her sibling inside, Lacy spread her arms wide, indicating the bags tightly packed with all of their items. “You are coming along, are you not?” Marie inquired. “To the family cabin in a few days, I mean?”

Candy hung her purse from one chair. “I’d intended to do as much; can’t say for certain as I might have business to keep me this year. When I am more certain I will let the two of you know. For now, there is someone I’d like you to meet.”

Taking Noel by the elbow, Candy pulled him up close to her side. “Marie, Lacy, this is my friend Noel. Noel,” she added, “These are my sisters.”

The women exchanged a look that openly spoke of their inner thoughts, but rather than admit these contemplations both girls only smiled.

“Noel, how good to meet you,” Lacy greeted. Then to her sister she finished, “He will be coming along with you to one event or another, will he not? There are enough of them to consider.”

Rather than appear excited, Candy only stepped from one side to the other, eventually working out, “Uh, I think likely not.”

At this Lacy’s expression shifted. “Why, is he going to be busy?”

Candy looked to Noel. “I think we’ve got to be going,” she informed her siblings. “I simply thought you would like to meet him. Real fast—where are your boys, Lacy?”

Quick to take advantage of her inquiry, Lacy yelled towards the top floor, calling the twins to her side.

“No. It’s not necessary. If you will just give them a hug from me.”

Lacy brushed this aside. It simply isn’t the same.

Growing more uncomfortable with each moment that passed her, Candy watched the seven-year-old twins come flying at her down the stairs. Both tall as a post, they towered over her as it was.

“Jason, Kalen,” she said to the pair as she gave each one a squeeze. As she held to each boy, she slipped one hand into her pocket and, pulling from it a candy bar, dropped the piece into her nephew’s coat. A trick most of the family children had made her famous for, but their parents had given up stopping. Ruffling each one of the boys’ heads just enough to destroy their clean hair, she grabbed Noel by the arm and pulled him along with her out the front door. Over her shoulder she shouted, “I will see you when it grows closer to Christmas, Lacy, Marie.”

* * * *

Later that night, well settled in Candy’s apartment, Noel perched up at the kitchen divide and watched, impressed, as she cooked.
The girl had more talent then she let on, whether she knew it or not.
Steak, mashed potatoes, and a can of peaches later, they were sitting across from each other, nearly covering her small table from end to end. Even so, the meal was divine. Noel swallowed a bite of his potatoes, hot on his fork. “You know what you did for those boys, don’t you?”

Candy replied with a shining grin, “I do it for them all the time.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, what do their parents think of your tricks? Do they really know?”

She raised her hands innocently. “I’m not one hundred percent certain; but if they do, they clearly don’t care. The children enjoy it so much. Until I’m told otherwise, I will just keep on doing it. Who are you to tell me ‘no’?”

“I can’t say I was really trying.” He took another bite of his dinner, pausing for a short moment to chew. “This is very good food.”

Candy giggled at his remark. “You’re very good at that you know—using compliments as a smooth recovery that is. I’ve noticed you go that route quite often.”

“You noticed it? Bravo, that’s very observant of you.” Noel settled one hand on his hip, gently looking her over.

“Trying to find my faults, that way you have ammunition?”

“No, that way I have legitimate facts. The way matters stand, I have no ammunition, but I know you are mortal so you are not perfect.”

She put aside her dinner. “Am I supposed to say ‘thank you’?”

Her companion shook his head. “No, not to that, but to this maybe—you are without question a beautiful woman.”

She leaned back in her seat. At this time, she didn’t trust him enough to take such risks, but she was convinced he meant all of his words. The situation was becoming dangerous, the one thing she never imagined it could be.

Candy got to her feet. Snatching up her plate, she slid it into the sink. “I’m going out for a walk,” she announced. Never pausing to reach for her coat, she strode past the living room sofa and out the main door. Two steps into the hall, she drew to a halt and backed up into her apartment. To Noel, she said frankly, “You wish to go elsewhere, leave the key with the doorman in the main foyer. He would happily return it to me when I ask.” Leaving the conversation to hang, she resumed her prior stroll, shutting the door behind her.

* * * *

Noel didn’t attempt to follow. Instead, he looked to the cat he’d heard so much about. “Does she do this often?” he asked Pan.

The unusually large animal lifted his head from the pillow where he was sitting and replied with an easy, “Meow.”

Noel knew he verged on the edge of pure craziness, discussing his life with a cat. When the one woman on Earth who would talk to you took leave for the night, however, you worked with what options you had. After one last gentle pat on the cat’s head, he rose from his chair. All women loved flowers, this he knew. He’d find her some flowers and have them for her by the time she returned home. That ought to appeal to her senses. Noel certainly hoped he was right; he unquestionably could use her help. As Candy requested, he left the keys with the front doorman. This accomplished, he started for the closest flower shop he could find. Located somewhere close by Candy’s personal store, he knew he had seen one not so long ago. Surprised to find the store open when he arrived some twenty minutes later, he separated a handful of baby’s breath and pink roses from the rest of the gorgeous flowers. As he moved, each tiny piece seemed to whisper for him to take them home. Working with what little money he had, he bought the pretty fist full and started back toward the apartment. By the time he arrived, Candy had long since returned and waited inside. When he noted this, he smiled a little to himself. She hadn’t the slightest notion what she was about to be handed. Noel knocked on the door, waiting patiently as the knob turned. When she opened the portal, she all but tripped over the lip at her toe. Beckoning him to return inside she warily eyed the arrangement. “You never do cease to be short on tricks. Do you?”

Noel followed her gaze. Handing over the flowers, he told her, “It wasn’t meant to be some sort of trick. Do you like them?”

Taking a moment to gauge her options, she held the bouquet gently between her fingers, already knowing what she was going to say. As she pulled a clear glass vase from a cupboard and placed each flower into it, she shot him a look of uncertainty. “They are very lovely. I will say that. Thank you.”

“I’ll just take that as a ‘yes’.” He didn’t attempt to press her further, instead he withdrew from the room. When she found him, he was casually leaning against the window seat delicately carved into her living room. It was obvious to any who looked that the man had resumed his conversation with her odd cat. Candy looked to the flowers, now placed at the center of her petite kitchen table then returned her eyes to the man who brought them. He didn’t have to do it, why he need not have given a care. She thought of the last time she’d dared risk any emotion concerning a man.
He left me in pain and at a loss. How could I believe this would be any different?
That was
if
they grew closer then friends. Far from sure what she was doing, she lowered herself to the open seat next to Noel by the window. “Thank you,” she offered him without hesitation. “I mean for the arrangement. Look, I need a hand in the shop. As you can see, I have for some time. You are tall enough and it’s obvious that the kids like you. Would you like to help? I could give you a place to stay in the meanwhile and pay you to do the work. Well, what do you say?”

Noel tossed this idea over in his head, being mortal did have its low points—having to earn money being one of the first, but being so close to this woman all day.
Is this wise?
Noel shrugged, as it was he would be close by her all night.

“I could use the work,” he allowed after a moment.

“In that case, you can start tomorrow. You can follow me to work. You remember the way, don’t you?” Candy pleasantly asked.

“Yes, I believe I do,” he replied, startled to discover himself more confident in his own words then he would have thought. When his superiors sent him to live as a mortal again, it seemed like such a terrible curse. Yet now, though he couldn’t completely grasp what was happening, it felt slightly more like a relief. A relief, the last thing he would have expected. Noel lifted his face to the woman who had been the original cause of it all and struggled to come to terms with the new emotions he battled.

* * * *

The following morning, as she prepared for her day, she walked slowly across the room from one end to the next. Each time she passed by her bed she stopped just long enough to talk with her cat, to explain to him about life and express her feelings about her own. Noel leaned against the door frame, listening to their conversation. “He’s so very handsome!” he heard her whisper. “So very smart as well. He will make a fine worker. Pan, I still am not confident I can trust a man enough to be any more than friends. I hope he will not be offended. I mean, I am offering the man a job hardly knowing him personally yet. What do you think?”

Noel cleared his throat, assuring the sound was loud enough that she would unquestionably be able to hear it. True to his prediction, Candy perked her head up. “How long have you been sitting there?”

Noel flicked his wrist towards the big orange spot flooding the middle of her comforter. “Why don’t you just ask the animal? I’m sure he would happily tell you.”

“If he could speak any English. It’s enough he has to listen to me.”

“Couldn’t be getting too bored with it, still lying there isn’t he?” Noel shoved away from his resting post, starting towards her across the room.

Rather than back away as was her habit from the very first, Candy simply kept her ground. Unsure precisely how she ought to react, she remained unmoving. High above, the clouds twinkled with sympathetic laughter as the angels watched the display. Noel sensed their amusement and frowned at the response.

“Was it something I said?” She disregarded his most recent expression, opting to resume the activities requiring her attention.

The sound of her voice, light but firm, snapped Noel back to reality. He gave his head a stiff shake. “Are you still wanting my help?”

“If you are after the work. I hope you know I’ve a habit of walking. I don’t find rush hour to be particularly soothing. It’s your decision. I wouldn’t want you to feel pressed.”

Candy did not wait for his response, choosing to carry on with her business. She departed the room before he could openly answer.

* * * *

It was nearly four hours later before she crossed paths with Noel again. The bell rang on the shop door and the man came waltzing through, seemingly unaffected by her abrupt depart. Dressed in a sagging brown coat, tattered old green shirt, and a pair of torn blue jeans, he managed to be attractive, more so then most men would have appeared. How he managed to carry the outfit off in such a charming fashion was far beyond her knowledge. Not about to waste the time trying to discover the answer, Candy pushed the bizarre question to the back of her mind and resumed the business of attending her small customers. Over the top of one boy’s head, she pointed to a shelf near the front of the store. To Noel she noted, “That display there it could use rearranging. I can hardly reach. You can start there then check in with me. Tommy,” she said, redirecting her conversation, “Is that all you would like for now?”

“Yes ma’am,” the blonde smartly pronounced. “The Winter Wonder Fest is tonight. I’m attending that soon as it opens. I don’t want to be finished on sweets before I get started.”

Candy pictured the Wonder Fest. The trees and the rides, the lights and the food, every year the festival was sight.
Every year, as long as I can recall, I’ve attended this with my sisters and cousins.
She smiled and rumpled the boy’s neat hair. “You have yourself a good time.”

“Thank you Miss Candy!”

As he noted the road the conversation had taken, Noel paused in the midst of his task. The Wonder Fest of Chicago, it was a beautiful sight for sure. Never had a year passed that the charming festival hadn’t warmed the city with its clusters of lights and its towering trees. Noel didn’t know what path he’d chosen. In fact, he reacted long before he could change his mind. “You say you attend every year?”

Candy perked up her head and curved around one side of the counter. “Are you talking to me?”

“I don’t know anyone else here who claims to do such a thing. Well?”

This man, a great deal more charming then she would have thought possible, resumed his prior task. Candy had to laugh. The whole occasion sang of pure craziness. For a moment, she scratched her head. She nearly wanted to hit it.
“What on Earth am I doing?”
she whispered desperately at the back of her mind. “Yes, I do like to attend,” she agreed to Noel.