Dear Sophie,
I like a more natural Christmas look for my cottage—not so much glitter. Plus, I’m trying to teach my children that things don’t have to be shiny and from a store to be pretty. Where do I start?
Emma and Bella’s Mom in Tannenbaum, Arkansas
Dear Emma and Bella’s Mom,
Look outside. Collect pine, holly, nuts, and berries for decorating. Teach Emma and Bella how to string popcorn and cranberries, and make a paper-ring garland for the tree. Buy four or five colors of felt, and get out the button box. Help them sew hearts, stars, cottages, and angels for the tree.
Sophie
“Everything has changed so much,” said Claudine. “Not in the center of town, of course. I mean all the condos on the outskirts. Back then, I think there was only one stoplight between King Street and Tyson’s Corner! The house I lived in is still there. I’ve walked by a few times, but I haven’t gotten up the nerve to knock on the door yet.”
Nina cleared her throat. “Did you know anyone by the name of Horace?”
That got Claudine’s attention. Twiggy’s and Jonah’s, too.
“I did! Why do you ask?”
Nina turned the color of the cranberries. Clearly she hadn’t thought past asking the question.
I jumped in. “We have a friend, Horace Scroggins, who is in the hospital.”
“I heard about that. What a terrible accident.” Claudine dabbed a napkin on the corner of her mouth. “I was very excited when I heard his first name. There aren’t that many Horaces around. The name isn’t very popular anymore. But my Horace’s last name was Maccrindle. I’m sure he moved away long ago.”
“Has anyone heard how Scroggins is doing?” Jonah accepted a second helping of the pork.
A tuckered-out Kat leaned against his shoulder half-asleep. Oscar sat happily beside her with bright eyes, waiting for a morsel of food to come his way.
“Luis went to see him this morning,” said Liza. “They’re worried about his lack of progress.”
“Horace helped me find the location for Rocking Horse Toys. Such a nice guy. I’m hoping we can afford to buy the building one day.”
“Were you at his party?” asked Nina. “I don’t remember seeing you there.”
“This is the busy season for us. I don’t get much time off. We begged mom to move here to help us out. I don’t know what we would have done without her.”
“My husband died two years ago,” Claudine confided. “I knew it was time to sell that big old house. One day at work, I thought, Why am I still doing this? Going to work every day at a job I don’t even like. Meanwhile, my only child is halfway across the country!” Claudine’s shoulders lifted in a happy little movement. “I sold the house, quit my job, and moved here to be closer to Jonah and Twiggy. I need to find another place to live, though. That tiny apartment might be a little bit too close sometimes.”
Twiggy and Jonah protested, but Claudine smiled knowingly.
Alex hadn’t said much during dinner. He helped me clear the table while Jonah carried Kat up to bed. Twiggy went along to tuck her in, though I suspected Kat wouldn’t wake up. She’d had a long and horrific day.
“Coffee or tea with dessert? I have decaf.”
“Does Irish coffee go with an Austrian dessert?” asked Nina.
“I don’t see why not.”
Alex helped Nina take tall glass Irish coffee mugs off a high shelf. Meanwhile, I sprinkled powdered sugar over the Linzer torte, sliced it, and placed a piece for each of us on Spode Christmas tree dessert plates.
Jonah and Twiggy returned, laughing about Kat. For a few minutes, we were busy handing around Irish coffees and dessert plates.
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” played in the background. A lot of people in my neighborhood would be having the worst Christmas ever.
Now that Kat slept on the third floor, safely out of earshot, the conversation turned to Gwen again.
“Is it true that she was wrapped in Christmas paper?” Nina asked Alex.
“Far as I know. Sophie, Baxter, and Sugar are the only ones outside of the police who saw her.” Alex ate a piece of the torte. “Umm, this is good!”
I dredged up the horrid memory. “Pink wrapping paper with stars on it.” I tried a bite of the torte. The rich, nutty pastry melted in my mouth, punched up by the contrast of the sweet raspberry filling.
“Pink!” Nina set her coffee down with a clunk. “Natasha. It had to be Natasha. I can’t believe it. She finally flipped her lid!”
“I’m not following. Does Natasha have a thing for pink?” asked Alex.
“Natasha always has to do things differently. Never mind that red and green are traditional Christmas colors, she always has to use other colors. This year she and Gwen both decorated with orange and pink.”
“Pardon me,” said Liza, “but that’s tangerine and magenta.”
Everyone grinned.
Jonah sighed. “I saw that wrapping paper in her workroom. But anyone could have gotten in there. It’s not connected to Natasha and Mars’s house, so they don’t lock up. I usually go downstairs before we head to bed to make sure it’s locked.”
Alex didn’t say a word but he listened to Jonah, and I suspected that Jonah had just landed on Alex’s list of suspects.
We hadn’t finished our desserts when someone hammered on my front door. I rushed to answer it, lest the sound of the door knocker wake Kat.
Sugar burst into my house. “Where is Kat?”