The Cat of Christmas Past (14 page)

The church was packed as nervous parents waited for the Christmas play to begin. The rehearsals had gone smoothly, so I wasn’t sure why I was so nervous. I supposed my jitters had more to do with my anxiety over the outcome of the conversation going on down the hall than with the success of the play. Balthazar Pottage had come to Madrona Island after I’d visited him to explain everything I had discovered. He was hurt by what Belle had done to him, but he very much wanted to meet his son. Alex was hesitant at first, but eventually he’d agreed to speak to his father, with Father Kilian acting as a go-between.

Cody came up behind me as I peeked around the curtain at the crowd. “It looks like we have a full house.”

“Yeah, it’s a good turnout. I’m glad. The kids worked hard.”

My voice sounded flat to my own ears, but that was the most enthusiasm I could muster.

“It’s going to be okay, you know,” Cody said into my ear.

“I know. The kids are ready. It’ll be great.”

“That’s not what I meant,” he corrected me. “I know this whole thing has been a shock to both Alex and Balthazar Pottage, but my gut tells me they’ll get past what happened years ago and develop some sort of a relationship. It may not be what they would have had if Alex had grown up as Charles, but I could tell by the look on both their faces that they want things to work out between them.”

“I hope so,” I said, even though I was less certain than Cody sounded. “It doesn’t seem right that they wasted so many years apart. Although,” I added, “if Alex had grown up as Charles and Pottage had treated him the way he treated Belle, they might hate each other by now. At least they have a chance of establishing a relationship from a more mature perspective on both their parts. When I spoke to Pottage this afternoon I could tell he was a different man from the one I met that first day. He’s going to do as he promised with the apartment building, and he mentioned a couple of other wrongs he wanted to right before it was too late.”

“Ms. Cait, I think I might throw up,” Holly said from behind where Cody and I were standing.

“Are you nervous?” I asked as I turned around to look at the girl.

“Terrified.”

“Try to ignore the audience,” I suggested. “You did great in the dress rehearsal.”

“I can’t ignore the audience. My parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins are all out there. Not to mention my big brother, who will torture me for life if I mess up. Maybe someone else can do my part. I really think I might pass out.”

Cody took Holly by the shoulders and turned her so that she was facing him. “I used to get stage fright when I was younger too,” he informed her.

“You did?”

“I absolutely did. I even threw up on my teacher’s shoe during my first-grade talent show, but then I learned a trick.”

“What trick?”

“Find someone in the audience you trust and look at that person and only that person.”

“I trust you.”

“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to go out into the audience and sit in the front row. When it’s your turn to say your lines I want you to look at me and only me. Can you do that?”

Holly took a deep breath. “Yeah, I think I can.”

“Great. Now hurry back and slip into your costume. I’ll be right behind you. I want to talk to everyone before we begin.”

“You really do have a way with kids,” I said to Cody.

He shrugged. “I like them. They know it and generally trust me. You’re pretty good with them too, you know.”

“Maybe, but I don’t have the knack for smoothing things over the way you do. You’re going to be a fantastic dad one day.”

Cody smiled.

“Did Destiny show up with James?”

At Trinity’s insistence, Destiny had agreed to let James play the part of Baby Jesus. She was going to place him in the manger while the curtain was closed between scenes because she didn’t want anyone other than her carrying him.

“Yeah, she’s here,” Cody answered. “She assured me that he’d been fed and changed and will most likely sleep through the whole thing. She’s going to be waiting just offstage just in case.”

“She certainly has taken to this mothering thing,” I commented.

“Yeah, she really has. I think Destiny and James are going to be just fine.”

“I hope so.”

“By the way,” Cody informed me, “the guest list for tomorrow is up to twenty.”

“Twenty?”

“I guess word has gotten out that we’re having a Christmas Eve party. I hate to turn anyone away. Everyone who has asked to come would have been alone otherwise.”

“That’s fine,” I assured Cody. “I’ll just make a few additional appetizers. Maybe some sausage bread. Everyone loves that. How’s Mr. Parsons with the increase in the guest list?”

“He’s fine,” Cody said. “He tends to be a bit of a loner, with only a few close friends, but he seems downright excited about having a big shindig in his house this year. He even asked me to take him into town to buy new clothes to wear. I really think he’s enjoying all the attention.”

“That’s good.”

“Mr. Cody,” one of the cast members called out. “We’re ready for the power circle.”

“Okay. I’m on my way,” he said, then looked at me for a moment.

“Go ahead. I’ll be along in a minute.”

I continued to watch the crowd after Cody had gone. I hadn’t seen Father Kilian come in yet, which most likely meant Pottage and Alex were still talking. I hoped Father Kilian would convince them both to attend the play.

“Good turnout,” Tara said from behind me.

“Yeah. I hope the kids don’t freak out when they see how many people are out there.”

“They’ll be fine,” Tara insisted. “The worst part of performing is the anxiety beforehand. I’m sure that once the play gets going they’ll forget all about the audience.”

“I hope so.”

“All the kids in the play sing in the choir. They’re used to performing in front of a crowd.”

“That’s true.”

“Are you coming back to the choir room for Cody’s talk?” Tara asked.

“Yeah,” I said, though I continued to look out around the curtain. “I was watching for Father Kilian. I wanted to ask him how it went before the play got underway, but I haven’t seen him.”

“I’m sure you can catch him later,” Tara commented as she walked over and stood beside me.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

I was about to drop the drape and head toward the choir room, where Cody and Sister Mary were helping the kids with their costumes, when Tara stopped me.

“Look who just walked into the room.”

I turned back to the audience and watched as Alex came in with Balthazar Pottage and Father Kilian. All three men took seats near the back. I had to smile as I realized that maybe we had the Christmas miracle I’d been praying for.

“How’s the corn bread coming for the chicken and corn bread?” I asked Tara.

“Almost done.”

I’d assumed she would be spending Christmas Eve with Destiny and her family, but she’d informed me that the Paulsons had a houseful of relatives who had come to see the baby, so she’d just as soon attend the party at Mr. Parsons’s. Danny had decided to come as well, which led to Aiden and his girlfriend, Siobhan and Finn, and Cassie and my mother as additional guests. At last count the old ballroom was set up with tables to accommodate thirty.

Mr. Parsons seemed delighted. I was pretty sure that ballroom hadn’t been used in his lifetime. Fortunately, Tara, Danny, Finn, and Siobhan had all come over to help me cook and clean in preparation for what was quickly becoming the event of the season.

I would have enjoyed spending a quiet evening with Cody, but in spite of the fact that I was going to be exhausted by the time the party was over, I found myself pulled into the energy created when friends come together to share a special occasion. I was particularly thrilled when Balthazar Pottage agreed to attend with Alex and his aunt. Not only had Pottage donated a precooked ham and two precooked turkeys but he’d had a delivery service bring fresh flowers that must have cost a fortune at this time of year and boxes of candy to share.

“I saw you chatting with Mr. Pottage earlier,” Tara commented. “He must be pretty pleased with the way things turned out.”

“He’s ecstatic. He pulled me aside when he first got here and handed me a signed and notarized contract that states he’ll repair the apartment building and then gift it to the tenants, just like he promised.”

“I bet his attorney was thrilled to have to do that on Christmas Eve.”

“He probably wasn’t happy about it, but I have a feeling Pottage is one of his best clients. As far as I’m concerned, it could have waited until after the new year, but I think he wanted our agreement all wrapped up.”

I began peeling potatoes to go with the turkey.

“Do you think Alex and his father will stay in touch?” Tara asked.

“I think they will. Alex mentioned that Pottage plans to have the old house on the island renovated for Alex to stay in whenever he’s here.”

“That house is huge.”

“I think Pottage is hoping Alex will eventually move to the island and give him grandbabies to dote on.”

I sliced the potatoes and slid them into boiling water, then turned my attention to the fresh vegetables that needed to be washed and trimmed for cooking. I could hear the music from the stereo Cody had set up in the other room. There was something sort of perfect about Christmas carols on a snowy night. Danny had built a fire in the ballroom fireplace and Siobhan had lit about a hundred scented candles. It was going to be a magical evening.

“Is Ebenezer still with you?” Tara asked.

“Yeah, he’s at the cabin. I’m going to keep him until Pottage goes back to his island. He rented a room in town and plans to stay until after Alex returns to college so they can spend as much time together as possible.”

“That’s nice. Of course I kind of think we won’t have the benefit of Alex’s help next summer, as we’d hoped. Now that he’s heir to the Pottage millions I doubt he’ll be willing to work in a bookstore.”

Tara had a point, but I was so happy for both Alex and Balthazar Pottage that I didn’t care.

“Do you have any more of those stuffed mushrooms?” Cassie asked as she stepped into the kitchen. “They were a huge hit.”

“There’s are a couple of trays on the back counter,” Tara informed her. “How’s it going out there?”

“Good. Everyone is having a wonderful time. Cody wanted me to tell you that he and Finn went over to Francine’s to get some more folding chairs for the group from the church.”

“The group from the church?” I asked.

“Yeah, they came with Father Kilian. They were at the Christmas Eve service, and when Father Kilian found out they were going to be alone he called Cody to ask if we had room for a few more. Cody told him the more the merrier and then grabbed Finn to go for more chairs. I hope we have enough food.”

“We’ll have enough,” Tara assured her. “If it looks like we’re going to run short we’ll just have Father Kilian pray over it.”

“I think we might already have had our Christmas miracle,” I pointed out

“There’s always room for another miracle,” Tara reminded me.

“Let me help you with that,” I said to Cassie as she tried to juggle two trays of mushrooms and open the door.

I couldn’t help but feel a warmth in my heart as I walked through Mr. Parsons’s normally cold and empty house, which was now warm and filled with friends and neighbors. Mr. Parsons was smiling. Balthazar Pottage was smiling. The old mansion was truly filled with the love and joy of the season.

“I’m exhausted,” Cody said to me later that night, after we’d served over forty dinners. Fortunately, Tara, Siobhan, Finn, and Danny had stayed to help us clean up.

“Me too, but it was nice.”

“Very nice.”

“I heard Mr. Parsons say something about making it an annual tradition.”

“At least we have a year to plan the next one,” Cody commented.

We were curled up in my bed looking out the large window in my loft bedroom, which was framed in small red and green lights. Cody had his arm around me and we were propped up with extra pillows so that we could look out at the moon shining down on the glassy ocean. It had snowed off and on for most of the evening, but the clouds had parted to reveal a full moon just as we arrived back at the cabin.

“Did you hear that Pottage plans to fix up the old estate for Alex?” I asked.

“Mr. Parsons mentioned something about it. I guess he spoke to him about it this evening. He thinks it will be a good place for Alex to raise a family.”

“It would be an awesome place. It’s a huge estate right on the water. Any kid would be lucky to grown up there.”

“I guess his plan got Mr. Parsons to thinking,” Cody shared.

“Hmm” I murmured. I felt myself begin to drift off as I relaxed to the sound of Cody’s heart beating under my ear as my head rested on his chest.

“Mr. Parsons wants to leave me his house. He thinks it will make a wonderful place for the two of us to raise a family.”

Suddenly I was wide awake. I leaned up on one elbow and looked at Cody.

“He wants to leave you his house?” I clarified.

“He’s getting on in years and he doesn’t have a family. He told me that I’m the closest thing he’s ever had to a family and he very much wants to leave me the house and the land it sits on. I think he’s assuming, based on our current relationship, that it’s only a matter of time before the two of us fill the empty rooms with children of our own. So what do you think?”

I hesitated. “About the house or the children?”

“Both, actually.”

What did I think? I might not quite be ready to settle down and have kids, but I did love Cody and I did see us with a house full of offspring one day. Mr. Parsons’s house was not only huge but it was on a large piece of land right on the water. And best of all, the house was right next door to my Aunt Maggie.

I looked at Cody. He actually looked nervous about my answer.

I grinned. “I think Mr. Parsons is a very generous man and I would very much like to fill those rooms with little Wests one day.”

Cody smiled. “Really?”

“Really.”

Cody sat up just a bit. He reached into the drawer in the bed stand where he’d stashed his wallet and keys. He pulled out a small box, which he handed to me. “Merry Christmas.”

I looked at the box. “I said
someday
.”

“Don’t worry, it isn’t a ring. I know you aren’t ready for that and I’m willing to wait. It’s your Christmas gift. I was going to save it for the morning, but I want you to have it now.”

I opened the box and inside was a delicate necklace on a silver chain. It had two small hearts, entwined with a stone in the center of each.

“Our birthstones,” Cody informed me. “Ruby for me and emerald for you. I thought it fortunate that we were born in months that are represented by one red stone and one green. Very Christmassy.”

“It’s beautiful. Thank you so much.”

Cody took the necklace from the box and slipped it around my neck. His fingers sent chills down my spine as he fastened it.

“I’m afraid with all the investigating and last-minute dinner parties I never did get you a gift,” I confessed. “To be honest, I had no idea what you’d want.”

“I have a suggestion,” Cody whispered in my ear.

I smiled and snuggled back down under the covers. There was no doubt about it. We were going to be very late indeed to my mother’s in the morning.