Open House in Camden Falls was one of Olivia’s favorite events of the year. She liked it as much as trick-or-treating on Main Street and the Memorial Day parade, in which once, dressed as a petunia, she had ridden on a float. On the night of Open House, all the stores in town stayed open late and served snacks and hot cider and coffee, and people bundled up to do their last-minute holiday shopping. Groups of carolers wove through the crowds singing Christmas songs, and everyone felt festive and merry.
Olivia’s family walked into town at just the hour when, on an ordinary day, Needle and Thread would be closing. In Olivia’s pocket was a piece of paper on which she had written her Christmas shopping list. Her parents didn’t need to do much shopping (their baskets were coming along nicely), but they said they couldn’t miss the annual event. “I’m glad I don’t have to work tonight,” added Mrs. Walter.
As they walked down Aiken Avenue, their breath forming misty puffs, the scent of pine needles and wood smoke in the frosty air, Olivia thought of Open House the year before. Flora and Ruby hadn’t lived next door then, and Olivia hadn’t known Nikki well or had any close friends, but how happy she had been that night. Her father still had his job at the computer company, and the thought, the horrible thought, of living somewhere other than Camden Falls had never entered Olivia’s mind.
Now it was almost all she could think about. And still she hadn’t mentioned it to Nikki or Ruby or Flora. She couldn’t. For one thing, she didn’t think she could bear to see the stunned looks which, she was certain, would cross the faces of her friends. For another, Olivia felt that if she talked about the possibility of moving, she would somehow make it actually happen.
So Olivia walked silently into town with a heavy heart, wondering if she would ever again enjoy life.
“We have to remember to look for Ruby and Lacey,” said Henry suddenly. “They get to wear costumes. Old-fashioned costumes.”
The carolers this year were members of the Camden Falls Children’s Chorus, and they were going to dress as children from nineteenth-century London.
“I get to wear a long coat and a velvet bonnet,” Ruby had said, “and carry a fur muff. Fake fur,” she had added hastily, knowing how Olivia felt about killing animals for their fur. “And on my feet, those little boot things with lots of buttons. They take a long time to fasten.”
The Walters turned onto Main Street and, despite her gloomy mood, Olivia brightened when she saw the twinkling stores and the crowds of people, smelled a heady mixture of cinnamon and apples and coffee and peppermint, and heard the high, clear voices of the Children’s Chorus.
“Wassail, wassail, all over the town! Our toast it is white and our ale it is brown …”
“Just like carolers in old London probably sang,” said Henry, who had watched A Christmas Carol on television the night before.
Other lilting voices drifted across the street. “Please bring us some figgy pudding, please bring it right here!”
“I wonder which group Ruby and Lacey are with,” said Olivia, standing on tiptoe and craning her neck.
“Olivia!” someone called then, and Olivia turned to find Nikki hurrying toward her.
“You came!” said Olivia.
Nikki grinned. “Tobias drove me. He’s going to pick me up later. Where’s Flora?”
“At the store, I think. Mom, Dad, can Nikki and Flora and I go shopping by ourselves? We promise to check in with Gigi every half hour.”
Permission was granted, and Olivia and Nikki ran to Needle and Thread.
“It’s your first Open House, Flora,” said Olivia.
“Mine, too,” said Nikki.
And laughing, feeling excitement swell up inside them, they left the store and joined the crowds on Main Street.
“Now — I have a shopping list,” said Olivia, sounding official.
“Me, too,” said Flora.
“I have a list in my head,” said Nikki. “But I don’t have much money, so I have to be very careful.”
None of them had much money as it turned out. But it didn’t matter. Shopping could always be finished another day. The fun of Open House was greeting friends, and looking for Ruby and Lacey, and seeing what treats each store was offering.
“You won’t need to eat dinner tonight,” Olivia said confidently to her friends. “Let’s go to Ma Grand-mère first. Last year they had cookies and gingerbread.”
And so the evening began. The girls ate cookies at Ma Grand-mère (which, Olivia thought, would be the perfect store for her parents to buy, what with the professional kitchen and all), sampled candy at Time and Again, and more candy at the hardware store, then drank hot chocolate at Frank’s Beans. At each store they consulted their lists (Nikki ran through her mental list) and looked for specials.
“I want to get some Playmobil stuff for Jack,” said Olivia, “but only if I can find it on sale.”
“I want to get some toys for Mae,” said Nikki, “but, unfortunately, I can only afford two of the things on her list for Santa.” (At this, Olivia and Flora exchanged smiles.) “Twister and the crayons. And maybe I could get some plastic barrettes or scrunchies for her hair. What I’ve been thinking is that we all know what’s on her list, but she hasn’t seen it since she gave it to Mom, so maybe she’s forgotten exactly what she asked for.” Nikki looked dubious. “I have this funny feeling, though, that she memorized the list.”
The girls came to the window of Bubble Gum and Flora said, “Oh, look! Pens. I want to find a special one for my aunt. She’s a writer, you know, so that should be a good gift for her. Hey, and they’re on sale.”
“And there’s a tiara that only costs two dollars and thirty-nine cents,” said Nikki. “Mae would like a tiara. I could get that instead of barrettes. She could play princess.”
The girls went inside, helped themselves to a tray of gingerbread men, and then Flora chose a beaded pen for her aunt and Nikki chose a silvery tiara studded with pink plastic jewels.
“There are Ruby and Lacey!” exclaimed Olivia as they left Bubble Gum. And sure enough, just several feet away was a group of velvet-clad carolers singing, “Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.”
Olivia, Nikki, and Flora listened until the song was finished, then waved to Ruby and Lacey, who removed their hands from their fake-fur muffs long enough to wave back.
“I guess it’s time to go to Needle and Thread again,” said Olivia, who had dutifully checked in with Gigi every half hour.
“Tobias is going to pick me up there soon,” said Nikki.
The girls paused for one more look at the glittering Christmas tree in the square, grabbed one last chocolate from the bowl at Time and Again (“I’m beginning to feel a little sick,” admitted Flora), and then returned to Needle and Thread, where Tobias was waiting.
As soon as he and Nikki left, Flora said to Olivia, “The surprise for the Shermans is going to be perfect, isn’t it?”
“Perfect!” agreed Olivia. “I keep wanting to tell Nikki not to worry so much about Mae’s gifts, but that would ruin everything. I don’t want to spoil the surprise.”
Olivia and Flora sprawled, groaning, on the couches at the front of the store. Presently, they were joined by Ruby, who said that the carolers had finished and were going home.
“Is there any food left?” Ruby wanted to know as she struggled with the fastenings on her boots.
Flora clutched her stomach. “How can you think of food?”
“I haven’t eaten anything,” said Ruby. “I’ve been singing all this time. I’m starving.”
Ruby sat down with a plate of the little sandwiches that Min and Gigi had been serving (Olivia and Flora had to turn their heads away), and the girls watched as the crowds thinned and, one by one, the stores on Main Street grew dark. Gigi and Min were saying good night to their last customer when Mrs. Grindle strode through the door and dropped onto the couch next to Ruby.
“Oh, my aching feet,” she said.
Ruby edged away from her and slid onto the other couch. Mrs. Grindle didn’t seem to notice.
“Hi, Gina,” called Min. “Long day?”
“I never,” Mrs. Grindle replied.
Gigi ushered the customer out the door, turned the lock, set the CLOSED sign in the window, and sat beside Mrs. Grindle. Min joined them.
“I’ve come to a decision,” said Mrs. Grindle briskly. She crossed her feet, then her arms.
“I bet her fingers and toes are crossed, too,” Olivia whispered to Flora.
“I have decided,” said Mrs. Grindle, “that after the holidays are over, I’m going to put Stuff ’n’ Nonsense up for sale.”
Olivia turned a shocked face to her friends. She didn’t like the Grinch, couldn’t stand her, but Stuff ’n’ Nonsense had been around since long before Olivia was born. It was part of Main Street, part of town, part of her life. And Olivia didn’t want one more thing in her life to change.
“Oh, no,” she whispered.