No Place Like Home (Holiday Classics) (10 page)

When the snow turned orange again, they looked to their left to see three squat machines, their engines revving. “We aren’t going to die after all,” Joel said breathlessly. Once they were out of the car, the two doctors jumped up and down, their arms waving wildly. “Over here! Over here!” they shouted at the top of their lungs.

The Trips drove up to the stranded doctors, who looked like they might succumb to the cold any minute.

“Hop on,” Hannah shouted. “Hold on tight.”

“Oooh, I love it when you talk like that,” Zack shouted in return as he squirmed and wiggled until he was comfortably seated on the snowmobile.

They waited until Joel was seated behind Sara.

“I’ll take the lead. Same drill as before,” Sam bellowed as loudly as he could.

They were back in the barn in less than forty minutes and in the house in less than ten. Hannah and Sara stayed behind to clean up the snowmobiles and lock up the barn. Their intent was to delay a face-to-face meeting—sans goggles, scarves, and wool caps—with the two doctors as long as possible.

Cisco immediately sent the two doctors upstairs and trailed behind them. She handed them thick towels. “Stand under that shower until you’re warm. I’ll send up some hot tea with brandy in it. Sam will give you some warm clothes. We’re pretty informal around here on Christmas Eve. Aren’t those triplets something? I called the troopers, but they were too busy with road accidents to look for you. I’d say you owe those three your lives.”

“Those triplets are something, all right,” both doctors agreed, their teeth chattering.

“There’s one more small thing, gentleman. I have a favor to ask of you. It seems yesterday the Trips went out to chop down the…”

They listened intently. “We gotcha. Can we take our showers now?” Joel asked.

“Absolutely.” Cisco dusted her hands dramatically as she made her way to the first floor. She had the situation in hand.

The Trips were standing by the old-fashioned stove, their faces pink from the wind and stinging snow. Sonia was rubbing aloe on their faces as she clucked her tongue in sympathy.

Sam was eating up the attention.

The back door blew open at the same moment Freddie raced through the kitchen.

“We’re here!” Hattie shouted happily. “I didn’t think we were going to make it, but we managed to get behind a snowplow the last fifty miles, and here we are!” John and Henry hugged the Trips while they waited their turn to be greeted by Cisco.

Cisco held out her arms to her old friends, crying openly as they hugged each other. “I was so afraid you weren’t going to make it. I’ve been praying all afternoon for you to get here safe and sound. It must be thirty years since we had a snow like this in the valley. Everything is ready, but we’re missing one guest. Alice was my nurse at the hospital. I hope she makes it. You three are just what these new eyes need. Will you listen to me. I’m just babbling here because I’m so happy to
see
you all. John, Henry, come here and give me a hug. You are truly a sight for these old eyes. It’s just like old times, isn’t it?”

“He’s not here, is he?” Hattie whispered.

“No, Hattie, he isn’t here. It’s his loss is how I have to think of it. We have extra guests this year, so they can take his place when we start to pull the taffy. This sweet child is Sonia, a friend of Sam’s.”

“Hello, Sonia. It’s nice to meet you. Are you ready to help with the cooking? Let’s do it.

“Who needs an apron?” Hattie shouted. When no one responded, she said, “Okay, no aprons.” She turned to Cisco. “How do these young people cook today without smearing their clothes? I can’t cook without an apron. Is everything ready?”

“No, no! We have to wait for the guys, and someone has to get out the eggnog and cider,” Hannah said, her eyes on the doorway leading to the dining room.

Zack and Joel arrived right on cue. They smiled and didn’t bat an eye when they took their places next to Hannah and Sara.

Sara looked up at Joel, her eyes miserable. “I look…”

“Sara Cisco, I don’t care how you look right now. I really don’t. You saved my life. In the scheme of things, what’s a few bumps and bruises? Come on, I want to learn how to make taffy. Tell me what to do.”

Hannah, her eyes just as miserable, tried not to look at Zack. He cupped her chin in his hand. “I feel the same way Joel does, and I still want to marry you. You can wear a veil at the wedding.” Hannah smiled through her tears.

The candy cauldron was cast iron and twenty-six inches high. It took three people to carry it to the stove once all the ingredients were added to the pot.

“When we were kids, we had to stand on a chair to stir the taffy,” Sam said. “We all still have to stand on a stool so we can see down into the pot. We have to take turns stirring because the mixture gets thick and your arms get tired. We use this paddle. How old is it, Cisco?” he asked, pointing to a wooden paddle that was half as big as the paddle that belonged to his canoe.

“Decades old. It’s the one I started out with. My son…my son made it for me because I had such a hard time stirring the candy once it started to cook up. See, he carved his initials in the handle.”

Hattie stepped forward to cover the awkward moment. “I wish he was here,” Sara whispered in Hattie’s ear. Hattie nodded as she cleared the old table and rolled out sheets of waxed paper.

Hannah handed out cups of spiked eggnog just as the door opened to admit Ezra and Alice the nurse. Two small dogs raced into the kitchen behind Hugo. Freddie welcomed her guests and beelined into the living room to share her toys. “I found this lady stuck at the top of the hill. Sorry I’m late.”

“You’re just in time, Ezra. Would you like some eggnog?” Everyone greeted and hugged Alice.

“I really would, but the troopers called me to pick up a stranded motorist five miles up the road. Can you hold off till I get back? Shouldn’t take me more than an hour, maybe not even that since I have the plow on my truck.”

“All right, Ezra. Don’t dawdle now. When the candy’s done, it’s done. If the motorist can’t get to wherever he’s going, bring him here.”

The eggnog flowed, the kitchen rocked with laughter and good cheer as they all got in each other’s way. The dogs enjoyed the Christmas spirit as they romped through the house. The house smelled wonderful with the scent of fresh balsam from the giant tree that still waited to be decorated, and the sweet, tangy scent of the candy bubbling on the stove.

The Trips looked at one another, their silent message to each other: I wish Dad was here.

Jonathan Cisco wondered if he’d die in the swirling snow. He’d been walking for what seemed like hours. He suspected he’d been walking in circles, but it was hard to tell. In his entire life, he’d never been so cold or so tired. His grip on the shopping bag was so fierce he knew his hands were frozen to the handles. He also knew he would die before he would part with the bag.

Where the hell am I? How far from the cottage?
It could be miles, or he could be around the corner. He slipped and fell facedown in the snow. He wondered again if he was going to die. If he did, would they find his body? The spring thaw? If that happened, his children and his mother would never know how hard he’d tried to get home for Christmas. Maybe his mother would know since mothers were supposed to know everything. Margie always knew what he was thinking before he knew it himself.

He heard the sound before he actually saw the truck. It looked like a monster coming at him. He shouted, waved his hands, then fell facedown in the snow again. He heard a car door slam.
Maybe I’m already dead, and what I heard was the sound of the gates of heaven opening for me.
He struggled to his feet, then felt strong arms holding him upright.

“I gotcha, big fellow. Can you make it to my truck?”

“Yes, sir, I can make it. Where are we? I lost my bearings.”

“Well, we’re a piece down the road from my place. I live over the rise there. Name’s Ezra. Down below is the Cisco cottage, maybe half a mile or so. I’d like to take you to wherever you’re going, but people are waiting for me. Mrs. Cisco said I should bring you to her house. Where are you going, young fella?”

Jonathan started to laugh as he climbed into the truck. “I’m going to the same place you’re going. I’m Jonathan Cisco. How did my mother know I was out here?”

“Oh, she didn’t know,” the man said, steering the truck around an icy bend. “The troopers called that someone was stuck and asked me to go fetch the motorist. Your mother said I should bring you, meaning the stranded motorist, to her house. It’s Christmas, and the weather conditions aren’t going to get any better. You feeling a little warmer now?”

“Yes, thank you. I’ll make it up to you somehow, Ezra.”

“No need to be saying that. When you do a good deed, it comes back tenfold. I’m going to park the truck. You go and skedaddle into the house and make your mama happy. Them triplets are going to be mighty happy to see you.”

Jonathan stood outside in the cold and the snow, staring at the people milling around inside the kitchen. They were making candy.
I should be in there doing my share. Do I dare go in? Will they pitch me out?
He craned his neck to see if he recognized anyone. Hattie, John, Henry, his mother. A young guy with a god-awful-looking scarf around his neck, a bunch of young people. A pretty lady with soft brown hair wearing a bright red, reindeer sweater, two little dogs circling her feet. His eyes lingered on her a moment longer. Margie had had a sweater like that once. He shifted the shopping bag under his arm. His presents.

What would they do when he knocked on the door?

Well, there was only one way to find out. He walked up the shoveled path to the kitchen door and then backed away three times before he could bring himself to knock. His heart was beating so fast he thought he was going to black out.

The door opened. Cisco smiled and held out her arms. “Merry Christmas, son.”

He could barely get the words out as he hugged her until she cried for mercy. “Merry Christmas, Mom. I’m not too late, am I?”

“No. No, Jonathan, you’re right on time. Let me introduce you to everyone. This is Alice. She’s the nurse who took care of me when I had my cataracts done. Of course you know Hattie, John, and Henry. The man behind you is Ezra, my new neighbor.”

The Trips stared at their father, their eyes filled with tears. They ran to him, almost knocking him over. “You came! You really made it! You’re really here! We weren’t going to put the star on the tree because you always do that.” They hugged him, squeezed him, kissed him, their tears mingling with his.

“Candy’s ready!” Henry shouted. “To your places! Jonathan, you’re out of line!”

Jonathan shed his overcoat and hat, pushing up the sleeves of his sweater as he took his place in the line.

“Here it comes!” Henry said, as he, Sam, and John poured the candy onto the waxed paper. Hannah and Sara quickly worked the paddle from both ends, rolling the sticky candy back and forth. When they stepped back, Jonathan and Sam took the paddle and worked the candy across and down the table.

“Nice working with you again, Dad,” Sam said in a choked voice.

His arms were so tired, Jonathan didn’t think he could make his muscles work. But he’d die before he admitted it. “It’s almost ready!” he shouted gleefully.

“Your turn,” Sam said, handing the paddle to Zack and Joel.

“It’s not budging.” The doctors huffed and puffed.

“That means it’s ready. Everyone butter your hands, get in a line, and start to pull. Up, down, twist, then pull; up, down, twist, and pull,” Cisco said.

“This is like the Keystone Cops,” Hattie hissed in Cisco’s ear.

“Yes, it is. Next year the newcomers will have a better feel for it. All things considered, we’re doing rather well.”

Forty minutes later, the candy was a solid three-foot-long braid of chewy taffy.

“When do we get a piece of this?” Zack asked.

The Trips stared at him in horror.

“What? What did I say?”

“We don’t eat this. See that hole in the top! We put a string through it and hang it on a tree for the birds. All that butter and sugar will keep the birds warm when they nibble and lick at it.”

“Oh. Who does that? I mean, who hangs it on the tree?”

“I usually do that,” Jonathan said quietly. “If you’d like to do it this year, I’ll grant you the privilege. I’ve had enough snow to last me a long time.”

“We hang it on the old sycamore, so Cisco can see the birds from the kitchen window. Come on, put your jacket on and we can do it together,” Hannah said.

“I’m glad you’re tall enough to reach the branch,” Hannah said, her teeth chattering with cold.

Zack tied the string of taffy securely on the branch. “When I was a kid, being tall was a bummer. I used to slump, and my mom would whack me good. She’d say, ‘Zachary, stand tall!’ It was a hard whack, too. This really is a wonderful thing, hanging this taffy for the birds. Everything is wonderful, your family, you. Especially you. My mother always told me when I met the right girl, I’d know it. Stupid me, I act to cover up my feelings. I liked you the minute I saw you looking up at me.”