Windblown silvery strands of hair blinded Savannah Brady. The blustery October breeze propelled her through the brass, revolving doors and into Howardson’s Emporium, Boston’s only family-owned department store, a haven of tradition and value.
Like a witch at her cauldron beckoning the unsuspecting victim, the store’s Halloween sale promised to lure all of the local office folks en masse into its retail clutches, as the bell in the store’s clocktower tolled the lunch hour.
Savannah laughed at her silly analogy, brushing the fly-away hair from her eyes. She was happy to be a Howardson’s Halloween victim, and along with her fellow prey, she joined the lunch time throngs and excitedly entered the main foyer of Howardson’s. Savannah quickly met her fate as she was immediately assailed by dangling skeletal limbs hanging from the ceiling with bright orange 75% off decals stuck to bursting eyeball sockets and exposed bony elbows and kneecaps. Halloween was still a week away, but the merchandise was marked so low because the store was shipping out the muted autumnal tones of Halloween and ushering in the bright lights of Christmas. As Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade-sized inflated haunted houses fell flopping down upon the hardwood floors, majestic evergreen trees were erected like skyscrapers. Howardson employees teetered on twenty-foot ladders stringing multi-colored sets of lights. Garland and ribbons the color of frosty ice and diamonds were threaded through the life-like branches of the Christmas trees.
Because of her strict budget, Savannah wasn’t purchasing anything; she loved to browse a good sale. She rounded the corner of one of the many discount aisles, she came upon a huge jack-o’-lantern on sale for five dollars. It was very festive, with its big black triangle eyes and mouth forming into a happy grin. It would look adorable in her front bay window, but right now she was not going to part even with five dollars, as that meant five dollars less in her Christmas stash of cash that was enabling Savannah to have the Christmas-movie Christmas she had been dreaming about since earlier in the year. All traditional Christmas plans were dashed when Patrick, her son, relocated to Switzerland for work. Savannah’s husband of three decades had died of a brain aneurysm two years before, so now, without her husband and son with her, the thought of spending both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day alone was unbearable.
Savannah knew the only solution was to not be at home. She had seen a beautifully photographed flyer in her office kitchen that promised a storybook Christmas experience at The Blue Spruce Inn, located in the heart of the White Mountains in New Hampshire. A storybook Christmas was exactly what Savannah needed this year.
Our Christmas package includes a festively decorated room with trees adorned with antique ornaments and sparkling fairy lights. Sleep in the comfort of a queen-sized bed wrapped in Egyptian cotton flannel sheets topped with a hand-sewn quilt. A Christmas Eve supper will be served with mulled wine and fresh cider from our friendly local vineyards and orchards, and the evening concludes with hot cocoa and cookies before a roaring fire as one of Santa’s elves reads The Night Before Christmas.
Awaken to a traditional Christmas brunch and open presents under the blue spruce Christmas tree on the grounds of the Inn. But it doesn’t end there. Join us for a sleigh ride through the charming town of Brightmore, where Victorian carolers will serenade you along the snowy trails, or stroll along the frosty grounds with the Inn’s specially trained golden retrievers who will guide you through our very own winter wonderland. A traditional turkey dinner will be served, followed by a viewing of the 1948 classic It’s a Wonderful Life. Your enchanted Christmas awaits at The Blue Spruce Inn.
Savannah was now one payment away from her Blue Spruce Inn Christmas, and the bright orange pumpkin would not be taking up residence in her bay window this Halloween.
“You’ll go home with someone else. I’m sure of it.” She gave the jack-o’-lantern an affectionate tap and a wink and silently congratulated herself.
To paraphrase one of my favorite patriots, five dollars saved is five dollars earned towards my enchanted Christmas, she thought with a smile as she wandered from the Halloween aisle.
Savannah decided to take the escalator to the second floor for more sale perusing. She spied an elfin-like woman at the top of the escalator. Her slicked-back shiny black hair was pulled into a tight bun, and she had the shimmery thin complexion of an older woman. Her heavily mascaraed lashes, framed by cat-eye shaped glasses, made her blue eyes pop like Fourth of July firecrackers. Her movements were graceful as a ballerina’s as she tied a beautiful red velvet scarf around the thick shaggy neck of a stuffed brown moose. Howardson’s annual Christmas display was officially under construction, and the moose seemed like the ultimate Christmas present. The woman looked at Savannah, gave her a salute, and danced behind a huge silver aluminum tree.
The holiday spirit wrapped around Savannah like the Blue Spruce Inn quilt promised, and she decided to walk through what would become the legendary Howardson’s Christmas display. Each year the store presented a different theme, and memories of visiting with her son, flooded her mind.
She recalled when Patrick was eight, and Howardson’s featured a Superhero Christmas that included all of Patrick’s favorites dressed in holiday costumes—Spiderman wearing a huge Santa hat, Wonder Woman with her lasso of thick green velvet, and Patrick’s favorite, the Hulk, wearing a way-too-small red vest and large black Santa boots. She still had the picture from that Christmas with Patrick and his Superheroes and pulled out her phone to send herself an email to remind her to dig it out when she got home. I’ll scan it to him, Savannah thought, adding that into her email so she wouldn’t forget.
Savannah then approached what would be the formal entrance to the Christmas display and read the placard in front of a giant snowman that announced:
Howardson’s Emporium Annual Christmas Extravaganza
The Enchanted Land of Claus
Official Opening
Saturday, November 16 at Noon
Holiday cookies and beverages will be served
Experience Howardson’s Christmas Magic Come to Life as we promise our customers the most magical season in Howardson’s history!
Under the new management of
Mr. Matthew Buck, Creative Director of Special Events and
Miss Fern Rhodes, Special Events Costume Designer
Two oversized, colorful lollipops stood on each side of the snowman, the welcoming sentinels to this Enchanted Land of Claus. Savannah then glanced at her watch.
Darn, I only have fifteen more minutes, she thought as she continued to be mesmerized by the employees dressed in red vests with name tags declaring them Enchanted Land of Claus staff. As busy as they were shuffling trees, stuffed life-size reindeer and foxes, Savannah thought they looked happy being a part of such a cherished Christmas tradition. Howardson’s Emporium was a dying breed—privately owned and not a big box store where everything was made to break. No, Howardson’s carried the best of the best; English Spode tea sets, Irish crystal decanters, along with linen tablecloths and shiny silver napkin holders. When a special gift was needed, the perfect present was always found at Howardson’s.
“Oh, excuse me, Ma’am.” One of the red-vested elves bumped into Savannah while pushing an extraordinarily large green chair.
“Hey, Leo, watch where ya goin’,” said an older man on the other side of the chair. He, as well, was in a red vest with a name tag that said FRED, The Enchanted Land of Claus Workshop Elder.
“I know, again, I’m so sorry, Ma’am.” Savannah saw his name tag said LEO, The Enchanted Land of Claus Workshop Apprentice.
“No worries, Leo,” she smiled. ”I probably shouldn’t be here anyway.”
She saw the young man’s face redden at the mention of his name, and he turned to Fred and shouted, ”C’mon Fred, a little more push!” He turned and smiled at Savannah, who gave him the thumbs up. The chair was a small mountain of bright green velvet, which had to be the throne upon which Santa would sit and listen to endless children’s Christmas wishes. Savannah remembered the last time Patrick sat upon Santa’s knee. He was ten and at the age where the reality of Santa was becoming blurred and constantly questioned.
Please, just one more time, Patrick, she remembered thinking as she watched her little boy under the spell of that wonderment that only happens when a child is sitting upon the lap of Santa. It is as if they cannot believe they have come face to face with the great guardian of the North Pole, caretaker of elves and reindeer, especially Rudolph, and toy maker extraordinaire. Santa was the rock star of every child’s fantasy, and it was time to meet him face to face once again. Whatever doubt Patrick had earlier in the day about the reality of Santa Claus quickly vanished, and he excitedly rambled to patient St. Nick about video games and basketball shoes.
Thank you. Savannah silently gave thanks as her happy son hopped from Santa’s knee bounding toward her, grabbing her hand and leading her to the cocoa stand to discuss what Santa would be leaving for her well-behaved child under their Christmas tree. As a mother, there was nothing more important to Savannah, than to make sure Patrick believed in the magic of Christmas.
Savannah strolled through the store, mentally wandering further down her own Christmas memory lane, to one of her own visits with Santa at Howardson’s over forty years before. Through the years, it became a family legend. As it occurred, it was not funny at all, but utterly embarrassing to a well-behaved girl eagerly waiting for her annual visit with Santa Claus.
Nine-year-old Savannah was spending the weekend at her Uncle Guy and Aunt Louise’s house the week before Christmas. Uncle Guy and Aunt Louise lived a couple of towns over from Savannah’s family. They had six children, all much older than Savannah except for her youngest cousins Terri and Ricky, who were always referred to by her aunt and uncle as their ”precious little surprises.” Savannah had no idea what they meant by that, as it was always accompanied by lots of loud laughing and hugging, with Aunt Louise turning a deep shade of Christmas red with her saying ”Oh, Guy, knock that off,” and hitting him on the shoulder.
They were a boisterous family, nothing at all like the quiet of Savannah’s house where it was just Savannah, her mother, and father. Even with the three older cousins gone and on their own, three were still at home: Colleen who was 17 and pretty much paid no attention to her two younger siblings: Terri, six months younger than Savannah; and Ricky, six, whom they lovingly referred to as the Tiny Terror. Ricky was thin and wiry and as fast as a gazelle running from a predator. He was always getting into trouble like climbing on top of the roof when his parents were out to dinner or running around the neighborhood in just his underwear. As long as Ricky was the center of attention, and his antics certainly made him so, he was happy. Savannah overheard her aunt talking to her uncle one day about Ricky’s exploits, and she chalked it up to being the youngest of six and that was ”how he gets all of our attention—by acting out and doing kooky things—and it works. You have to admit to that, Guy.”
Work it did, and Aunt Louise and Uncle Guy thought he was adorable and never punished him for his shenanigans.
“I don’t know why we are even bringing Ricky,” Terri had complained on the day Uncle Guy was taking little Savannah, Terri and Ricky to see Santa, and the three children were dressed in their holiday finery. Savannah wore her favorite red and black plaid dress and shiny black patent leather shoes with red tights. Terri was dressed similarly but with green tights and red leather Mary Janes. Even Ricky was dressed for the occasion with a clean pair of slacks, and a white Oxford shirt with a festive red and green striped tie.
“Okay kids, picture time!” Uncle Guy meticulously took his camera from the bright yellow box and attached the flash bulb to the top. He had Savannah stand on the left side of the tree, with Terri on the right, and smack dab in the middle of them both he sat down Ricky.
“Okay kids, on the count of three, everyone smile and say Christmas tree! Ready? One, two…”
“Christmas tree!” shouted Ricky, as Terri gave him a smack on his shoulder. Savannah watched as her little cousin grinned up at his sister like a possessed Halloween ghoul, showing a mouthful of gums.
The flash bulb exploded as Uncle Guy clicked the shutter, and the brightness would leave the subjects of the photo seeing the dazzling flash for hours.
Uncle Guy looked at his watch.
“No time for another one. Maybe later. We have to hit the road!”
They all piled into the back of Uncle Guy’s beloved green and brown Chevrolet station wagon, with Ricky again sitting in the middle of the two girls, his non-stop fidgeting seriously irritating Terri.
“If you can’t sit still in the car, how in the world are you going to sit on Santa’s lap?”
Terri was beyond agitated with her little brother in the tight space in the rear of the station wagon. Ricky’s little fists were in constant motion, punching his sister on the arm. When Terri swatted him away, he turned his attention to Savannah.
“Savannah,” he said, jabbing her in the arm like a boxer,”I’m glad you’re here. You’re a lot nicer to me than she is.”
Ricky turned to his sister and stuck out his blue-coated tongue.
“You need to stop chewing that blue bubble gum,” Terri bossily said. ”Pretty soon the dye is going to start moving from your tongue to your face.”
“Dad!” shrieked Ricky, ”Terri says I’m going to die before I see Santa!”
“Kids, cut it out,” was all Uncle Guy could muster as he steered the car into the already crowded parking lot at Howardson’s.
“Boy, we just got lucky!” Uncle Guy exclaimed to the three clamoring children in the back of the station wagon. As he was pulling into the packed lot, a car pulled out of a spot, and Uncle Guy expertly maneuvered the station wagon into what seemed like the only empty space.
“C’mon, kids,” he commanded as the three hopped out of the wagon and they made their way into Howardson’s. Savannah felt her heart beat quicker with every step that took her closer to Howardson’s, and to Santa.
“Wow!” exclaimed Ricky, upon entering Santa’s workshop. It was located on the first floor, behind the large silver and black escalators.
SANTA’S CANDY LAND
Loved By Kids Of All Ages!
In the center of the sentences were two candy canes tied together with sprigs of holly and berries.
“That’s such a pretty sign,” Savannah said, turning to Terri, who was on her tiptoes trying to peer over the heads of what seemed like hundreds of people in front of them.
“Well, kids, the line is long, but lots to see,” said Uncle Guy, as they inched down the path of red velvet, leading to the ultimate destination of Santa’s throne. The path leading to Santa was cordoned off by thick ropes of green velvet, and on the other side of those ropes were scenes of Christmas from various periods throughout the years. Savannah and Terri became enthralled with the life-like mannequins of boys and girls dressed in Victorian garb. The first scene was of a boy looking skyward, dressed in a gray woolen coat. He was standing in front of a storefront which had the words ‘Howardson’s Apothecary’ frosted across the window. The windowsill was adorned with cut glass bottles containing green and blue liquid, with wooden stoppers plugged in the bottles’ top openings. The boy had a rectangular wooden basket strung over his neck with the words Apples 5 cents painted on the front of the basket. It was lined with hay with several bright red apples nestled carefully inside. Cottony mounds of snow covered the boy’s worn leather boots, but Savannah didn’t think the boy looked cold at all—he had a friendly smile, and she felt as if he was offering the apples just to her.
“I can’t see, I can’t see!” Ricky shouted, as he started to push between Savannah and Terri.
“Stop your shoving, Ricky!” scolded Terri, as she grabbed on to the back of her brother’s jacket.
“Dad!” screamed Terri, desperately trying to hold onto her squirming brother.
Savannah saw that Terri was losing her grip and she managed to grab the cuff of his coat, but he was too fast. Ricky, who was as smart as he was quick, crouched down like a panther ready to pounce and easily escaped the grips of Terri and Savannah and disappeared into the crowd of legs and feet.
“Dad!” Terri shouted, turning toward her father, who was entranced by a Victorian family encircling a huge, brightly lit Christmas tree.
“Dad! Ricky ran ahead. You need to get him!”
“What?” Uncle Guy was brought back to the present by Terri’s hysterical screams.
A security officer miraculously appeared and offered to escort Uncle Guy to the front of the line to find Ricky.
“But I have two girls here…” Savannah could hear the panic in her uncle’s voice of not knowing what to do.
“You go get your boy; I’ll watch the girls.”
Savannah turned at the sound of a musical and angelic voice. A woman dressed in a gray coat with a fur collar and cuffs stood behind her. Shiny crystal buttons resembling oversized snowflakes shimmered with her every breath. Savannah thought it was the most beautiful coat she had ever seen. Her own mother, who was very elegant, didn’t even have one like it, and she made a mental note to discuss this with her father for her mother’s next birthday gift.
“Oh, that’s so kind of you. Thank you. Girls, please behave. I should be back in a jiffy.”
The security guard unlatched the velvet rope, and Uncle Guy stepped onto the side with the displays, looking out of place in his modern-day suit and coat as the Victorian characters celebrated a calm Christmas.
“Are you girls enjoying the Christmas village? It certainly is nice to look at while we wait to see Santa,” asked the musical voice.
“We are now that Ricky’s gone,” said Terri, turning to the woman and smiling her gap-tooth smile.
Savannah laughed at her cousin’s comment and turned to smile at the woman. She had her hands on the shoulders of two boys who looked to be around Savannah’s and Terri’s ages. One was taller, with light brown wavy hair and brown eyes, and the other was smaller with darker hair and grayish blue eyes. The smaller boy looked distracted as if he was trying to conceal something within his hands. The boys were dressed identically wearing their best Sunday coats with scally caps perfectly perched upon their heads.
“I hope your dad can find him,” the taller boy said, sounding very serious, as if what Ricky did was something that he, himself, would never do.
“He will. Ricky’s always taking off like that, and Dad always finds him,” Terri said matter-of-factly, barely turning around to look at the boy. She had her hand on the velvet rope and was fascinated by it.
“Savannah, feel how soft this is!”
“Oh, it’s so pretty,” Savannah said, running her hand along the thick velvet.
“I wish I could take it home. Don’t you think it would make a nice belt for my red dress?”
Terri slid her hand back and forth across the rope, her hand moving along the rope as the line inched forward.
“We’re getting there!” Savannah excitedly said as she thought she could see Santa’s throne if she stood on her tiptoes.
“Ouch!” cried Terri. Savannah flattened her feet and looked at her cousin who was tugging on her arm.
“My finger is stuck!”
Savannah bent to see where Terri’s index finger had disappeared. She could see that it was caught in the end of the rope that contained a latch. It had a little hook under it and Savannah pressed on it, but the latch refused to open.
“Oh, it hurts!” screamed Terri, and Savannah watched her cousin’s finger quickly turn a sickening shade of purple.
“Honey, stay calm,” said the lady in gray. ”Security will be here, and they’ll get your finger out. It will be okay.”
The woman’s calming words seemed to take effect as Terri nodded in agreement.
“Can you wiggle your finger?” asked Savannah, holding onto her frightened cousin.
“A—a little,” Terri whimpered.
“I can get it out.” Just then the smaller boy with the lady in gray stepped forward and examined the rope. Savannah watched as he took the thing he was fidgeting with earlier and stuck it into a tiny screw near the clasp and worked it steadily, suddenly loosening the screw as Terri’s swollen finger was released from its death grip.
“Okay, everyone, move aside!” Two burly security officers arrived on the scene—one with large wire cutters that looked like they belonged in a horror movie and the other carrying a huge bag of ice.
“Wow! They were going to cut her finger off, Mom!” the taller boy exclaimed.
“They were going to do no such thing, Mitchell,” said the lady in gray. ”They were simply going to cut the brass and her finger would have slipped right out, but Matty beat them to it.”
One of the officers took Terri’s hand and gave it a look. He removed some ice from the bag and wrapped it in a paper towel.
“Here, you go, sweetie. Just keep this on your finger and the swelling will go right down.” The officer turned to the lady in gray.
“Your little girl will be just fine,” he said, and went along to his next order of business.
“Thank you, officer,” said the lady in gray. She looked at Terri’s finger, and the color was already back to its normal flesh tone. Savannah noticed that the lady in gray gave the younger boy who saved Terri’s finger from a gory amputation a stern look. She didn’t seem mad, but there was something in her eyes in which she was silently communicating with the boy. Savannah knew that look. She was the recipient of that same look many times from her own mother when she had done something that she should not have.
“That didn’t take long,” said the woman, patting Terri on the shoulder. ”Are you okay now?” she kindly asked.
“She is, thanks to him,” Savannah said, nodding toward the smaller boy. Savannah wanted to make sure the boy didn’t get into trouble later at home.
“What’s in your hand?” asked Savannah, pointing to the boy’s coat sleeve. She had just seen him quickly slip whatever it was up into his sleeve.
The boy looked at his mother and Savannah noticed what pretty grayish-blue eyes he had.
“Grandpa Max gave it to me yesterday. It’s a long car ride and I didn’t know if we might need to change a tire or something, so I brought it with me.”
“Good thing you did, Matty, or that girl would have had her finger cut off for sure!” Mitchell chimed in, giving Savannah the feeling that he almost wished that happened.
“My finger!” screamed Terri, holding it close to her chest as if she was holding one of her precious baby dolls as she dropped the ice on the floor.
“Your finger is fine, dear,” the lady in gray said gently, retrieving the ice. ”Oh, look who is here!” she exclaimed as she put the ice back on Terri’s finger.
“I got him!” Uncle Guy triumphantly walked through the crowd, carrying Ricky as if he were a prize won at an amusement park. He was perched on top of Uncle Guy’s shoulders, holding the biggest multicolored lollipop Savannah had ever seen.
He gets a lollipop for running away? Savannah thought, becoming just the slightest bit angry and a little jealous, as she loved lollipops. Ricky misbehaves, Terri almost loses a finger, and he gets the most spectacular lollipop ever made? The unfairness of it all made Savannah want to cry.
“The jolly old elf himself caught him. Just coming back from feeding the reindeer, and Ricky jumped right up into his arms. Tell everyone what he told you, Ricky.”
Uncle Guy lifted Ricky from his shoulders and put him next to Savannah, with that beautiful lollipop right in her face.
“Daddy, my finger…” whimpered Terri, holding up her hand to her father’s oblivious face.
“Here,” said Ricky, reaching into the deep pockets of his father’s overcoat. He handed Terri a lollipop just like his. He reached in again and handed one to Savannah.
“Santa said that if I’m good and I give my sister and cousin a lollipop, then he might give me an extra Christmas wish.”
Savannah watched her little cousin turn his attention to the Christmas displays and to his oversized lollipop.
“Thank you, Ricky,” Savannah said in barely a whisper, absolutely mesmerized by the lollipop. It had to be the size of a saucer, with swirls of Christmas red and green along with yellow, blue and pink, all melded onto a thick white stick. Savannah thought it was the most beautiful piece of candy ever made, and she was torn as to whether to rip the wrapper right off and eat it or keep it in its present and perfect state forever.
She turned to Terri to ask if she was going to eat hers, but she didn’t have to, as her cousin had torn into it with both hands and began licking her lollipop in utter happiness, totally forgetting about her bruised finger.
“Oh, my apologies, I nearly forgot!” interrupted Uncle Guy. He was intently listening to the lady in gray explain about Terri’s finger, when he reached into those bottomless coat pockets and pulled out two more lollipops and handed them to the boys with the lady in gray.
“I thought I saw two boys with you, and I explained to Santa that they were keeping the girls company and Santa said they should have lollipops, too.”
All remained peaceful for the remainder of the day, with Uncle Guy chatting amiably to the lady in gray as they made the trek closer to Santa. Ricky was quietly working on his lollipop, as was Terri, but Savannah decided to keep hers wrapped. It was just too beautiful and there were many other exhibits to look at before they reached Santa, and she turned her attention toward the joyous and happy displays of Howardson’s Merry Christmases of the past, happily clutching her lollipop.
The years passed, and Savannah rarely saw her cousins, as they all had grown up and their lives had taken different directions. Ricky, now known as Rick, lived in Denver and was the senior partner at the city's biggest law firm, and Terri was an occupational therapist in Tampa. The cousins’ annual Christmas cards however never failed to mention Ricky’s escapades that day, and Savannah recalled that Christmas, fondly, especially the lollipop, which she finally devoured on Christmas Day.
Ghosts of Christmases past, she thought, watching the lights on the tree near Santa’s chair sparkle a pretty blue and white.
“Watch out for that tree!”
Savannah was quickly brought back to the present as one of the elves was about to lose his grip on a tree laden with too many ornaments. A fellow elf quickly flew into action and righted the tree and proceeded to take some decorations from it, placing them lovingly onto a nearby tree that desperately needed additional glamour.
She watched the elves, reminiscent of busy birds feathering their nests, climb high onto ladders into the artificial trees, bedecking them with strands of tinsel and garland, wreaths the size of the moon and spectacular ornaments in every shade of the Christmas color wheel.
Savannah watched as the winter wonderland was erected right before her eyes. In a few short weeks she would be living her own winter wonderland at The Blue Spruce Inn, and she could already taste the cider and roast turkey as she turned toward the escalator to head back to the dull world of her insurance company office. Halloween, however, still beckoned, and Savannah decided to take one last stroll through the sale aisles, looking once again at the happy jack-o’-lantern and absolutely deciding to leave it for someone else’s bay window. She felt as if his big black triangle eyes were pleading with her to take him home.
“Oh, don’t look at me that way, buddy. We were just not meant to be.”
Suddenly, the hair on Savannah’s neck pricked up, and she had the strangest feeling that she was being watched, and not by the pumpkin. She turned abruptly but was only met by the eye sockets of the dangling skeleton she passed when she first entered the store. Only shoppers lolled about her, filling their carts with Halloween treasures.
“Too much Halloween,” she said, shivering, making her way to the ever-revolving front doors of Howardson’s.