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Mari stood on the temporary stage in front of the small ballroom doors. They’d been pulled open but the curtains still hid the trees from view but that didn’t stop the crowd from craning their necks to get a better look.
“First of all, I want to thank you all for coming tonight. It’s a great turnout and if I didn’t know better, I’d say the whole town is here.” A deafening roar of applause drowned her out. She waited for silence, a smile of pleasure on her face. “Without further ado, I’d like to invite our esteemed mayor up to announce the winner of the great Cherry Lake Christmas Tree Gala Auction. Clover, over to you.” Mari held out the microphone to Clover and stood down from the stage.
“Thank you, Mari. Firstly, I’d like to say thank you. You’ve done an incredible job getting this all organized so fast and so beautifully.” Wolf whistles drowned out the applause. “Now, I’d like to invite the fabulous tree decorators to draw the curtains and show us what they’ve got.”
Butterflies now beating their wings up her throat, Dakota slipped her hand through Rachel’s and together they walked over to their trees. “One, two, three.” With a flourish, they pulled back the curtains, displaying their works of art to the public.
“Dakota. Psst, Dakota.” Mari caught her attention. “Lights, love.”
“Oh.” Dakota blushed, she’d forgotten to hit the display button that would set her angels alight. She fumbled in her purse, pulled out the remote control and hit the switch.
Gasps of delight came from the people watching as her ornaments came alive with their own inner light stream. Her angels looked ready for flight and a sense of relief welled in her throat, damping down the butterflies.
“Houston, I think we have a problem.” Rach nudged her and Dakota looked up at her tree topper. It remained dark.
Dakota hit the switch again, pointed it at the tree topper and jammed her finger on the button. Nothing happened. Her stomach plummeted and the collective sighs of disappointment only made it worse for her.
“Honey, can I do anything?” Her father stepped over to her, his hand out for the controls.
“Oh, Dad. It’s not working. I spent so much time making her and she’s a failure.”
He pressed the switch, turned the controls over, flicked open the battery casing. He rolled them around, pushed the button again before agreeing with her. “I’m so sorry, love. You seem to have a major problem and I don’t know how to fix it.” He hugged her.
Dakota shrugged her shoulders. “Oh well, can’t do anything about it I guess.” She turned to the crowd. “Sorry to let you down, folks. The topper is a no go.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Dakota, and it’s such an amazing decoration too. Let’s get underway with the announcements, shall we?” Clover held up three gold envelopes. “I have three place getters here. The auction will be later in the evening once everyone has eaten dessert and is in a more relaxed mood. We want you to make sure your bids are very generous and what better way than after the delicious sweets that are on offer tonight?” A snigger of appreciation wavered over the crowd.
“Third place tonight goes to...” she slipped her finger under the tab of the envelope and pulled out a card. “Third place goes to Daniel and Lila Dixon. Congratulations.”
“Second place goes to,” Clover repeated the process of opening the envelope, drawing out the anticipation. “Second place goes to, Dakota Moore. Congratulations Dakota.”
“Really? I don’t deserve it.” She fluttered her hands in front of her and pointed to her failed tree topper.
Her father gave her a nudge. “Honey, after all the work that went into that tree, you deserve it and more. Your angels are a hit even if the big girl failed to perform on the night.” He rubbed his chin, stared at the dark topper. “Hmm, I want to take her off and figure out what’s going on. Gotta be something simple.”
“Thanks, Dad.” She accepted the applause and the card Clover handed to her before walking back to stand with her family wishing Adam were here to help her get over the disappointment.
“And, now folks, the winner of the first annual Christmas tree auction is...drum roll please. Rachel Smyth. Huge congratulations, Rachel. Superb job.”
Cameras flashed as Rachel posed for photos in front of her winning tree.
“She deserves it. It’s a brilliant job, so classy looking too.” Dakota clapped loud for her friend.
“Right, excuse me please. I must make sure that the staff are on point for the rest of the dinner service. Keep an eye on Noah for me please, Dad.” Mari wiggled her fingers and disappeared to get the next part of the evening underway.
The captain’s voice came over the speaker. “Folks, if we don’t get the okay to land this time around, I’m afraid we’ll be heading back to Seattle. The weather has turned for the worst and we’re in a rotating order with another plane for landing. It’s not looking good.” A collective groan filled the cabin and Adam wondered what else could go wrong today. He closed his eyes and sent up a silent prayer.
Fifteen minutes later he bounded down the steps of the plane and ran through the airport, headed for the carpark and his car. Adam threw his bag on the seat and grabbed his phone. Dakota didn’t pick up and he cursed. It would be a slow drive back to Cherry Lake and it looked as though he was going to miss the auction because of the delays. He slammed his palm on the steering wheel, waited for a break in the traffic exiting the airport and fed into the line of flickering lights heading off through the bleak night.
Adam pulled into his driveway, threw the car into park and ran for the back door. He’d already set his clothes out for the evening and changed faster than he’d ever done before. With his tie in his hand, he ran back to the car, glanced up at the eerie sky as he slid into the seat and slammed the door.
The auction would almost be over by now. His phone pinged with a message and he paused to read it, smiled and thumbed the keys, as he sent a reply. More relaxed now, he put the car into drive and made his way into town.
