Before Julie had a chance to go tell Lucy, she popped her head out of the kitchen. “Dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes.”
“Thanks, Lucy. Listen, do you mind setting an extra place tonight? We have a new guest who should be arriving soon.”
“Sure thing,” she said, smiling. Lucy never minded another person at the dinner table. She enjoyed meeting everyone and learning their stories.
“Let’s get this cleaned up. Why don’t you carefully carry the gingerbread house over to the credenza in the living room?”
Dylan looked at her quizzically. “The what?”
Julie laughed. “That long brown table with the sliding doors next to the fireplace. It’s called a credenza. We’ll display our work of art right there.”
“Ohhhh… Okay. Credenzer?”
“Credenza,” Julie said, stressing the A at the end.
Just as Dylan left with the house, she heard a knock at the front door. As she opened it, she saw Tina standing there, a nervous smile on her face. She had a simple black duffel bag in her hand and a brown paper bag in the other.
“Tina, so glad you made it! Did you have any trouble finding the place?”
“No, no trouble at all. Is it still okay if I stay here?”
“Absolutely. We’re excited to have you. My husband is upstairs getting your room ready, in fact.”
Dylan walked over to the door and stood beside Julie. She put her arm around his shoulders. “This is my son, Dylan.”
“Nice to meet you, Dylan,” she said, smiling. “You’re a very handsome young man.”
“Thanks,” Dylan said before darting off to the kitchen, most likely to sneak some early bites of chicken and dumplings out of Lucy’s pot.
“He’s a boy of few words,” Julie joked. “Come on in.”
Tina walked inside and looked around, her head turning from side to side as she took in the place. “Your tree is beautiful.”
“Thank you. We had a fun time putting it up. Please, drop your bag here on this chair.”
She set her bag down and continued looking around. “Is that a gingerbread house?”
“It sure is. Dylan and I just finished it, in fact.”
“Mind if I look?” she asked, softly.
“Of course. Make yourself at home.”
Tina walked over and looked at the house, a smile on her face. “My grandma did one of these with me when I was a kid. But this one looks so much better than mine did.”
Julie laughed. “Trust me, it looks nothing like the perfect one on the box. But we made some memories, and that’s what counts.”
Tina nodded. “Yeah, memories are most important.”
“Hi there!” Dawson said, coming down the stairs. “You must be our new guest. Tina, right?”
She nodded. “That’s right.”
“Welcome to The Inn At Seagrove,” he said, reaching out his hand.
“Thanks for having me here. I can pay you what I was paying the motel…”
Dawson waved his hand. “We wouldn’t dream of it. It’s Christmas time, and we’re honored to have you stay with us.”
Her eyes welled with tears. “I don’t know what to say. Nobody has ever been this nice to me.”
“Well, you’ve never been to Seagrove. All the nicest people live here,” Dawson said, winking at her. “Come on, let me show you your room. I think you’ll love the view of the ocean.”
Tina nodded and followed him, but not before Dawson took her bag from her hand. Ever the chivalrous southern man, Julie would never take him for granted. As she watched him disappear up the stairs with Tina following behind him, she had to wonder what life this woman had lived that would make her cry over the kindness of strangers.
* * *
“So, what’s the big news?” Janine asked. Colleen had come home from work very excited about something.
“Tucker is getting an amazing opportunity. He’s been working on it all week with Jamison O’Malley!”
“You mean the guy who owns the toy company?” Janine asked as she made herself a sandwich for dinner. She had never been a good cook, and not having her sister live there anymore had really cramped her style as far as her food choices went. Tonight’s menu was a turkey sandwich with mustard and a side of whatever chips she could find in the back of the pantry.
“The very same one!”
“Is he going to work for him?”
“No. Jamison actually wants to pick up his toy and make it one of the main ones they are going to market in the new year. We didn’t quite make the Christmas cut off, but they believe they can build an entire marketing campaign around it for next Christmas.”
“That’s great! I know Tucker must be excited.”
Colleen laughed. “Tucker is a nervous wreck. I’m excited!”
“Yes, Tucker tends to get nervous about these kinds of things. What an amazing accomplishment it would be to have his toy as one of the most popular ones next Christmas.”
“I know. Of course, he wishes that it would’ve been for this Christmas, but it’s okay. Any progress is good progress.”
Janine leaned against the counter and took a bite of her sandwich, washing it down with a big gulp of sweet tea. “William is nervous because he’s going to be in the Christmas boat parade.”
“I didn’t know there was a boat parade.”
“Yeah. The town council asked him to be a part of it. It’s going to be great for his business because he gets to have a big sign on the side of his boat as it moves through the marsh during the parade. But we need to go out and buy all the decorations for it. I think I talked him in to dressing up like Santa Claus and waving at the kids. I’m going to be an elf and throw candy.”
Colleen laughed. “Aunt Janine, I love you, but you don’t have a powerful arm. How in the world are you going to get candy from the boat all the way over to the side of the marsh where the kids would stand?”
“Let me show you what I got.” Janine put her sandwich back on the plate and trotted over to the living room. She reached into a large plastic bag and pulled out a long plastic thing that launched tennis balls for dogs.
“You’re going to throw the candy at the children like they’re dogs?”
Janine nodded her head. “Kids love candy. They don’t care how they get it.”
* * *
Dixie sat on the porch, the night air crisp against her skin. Even though it was December, she still couldn’t stop wearing her favorite pajamas. But they weren’t nearly thick enough. She’d have to move to her flannel PJs soon enough.
When she heard the door open, she was expecting to see Harry standing there. Instead, it was Carrie. For a moment, she looked as though she wanted to back up into the house and pretend she’d never opened the door, obviously having assumed the porch was empty. Instead, she found Dixie sitting there on the swing, her slippered feet pushing off the concrete front porch.
“Come on out. There’s plenty of room,” Dixie said, always trying to be the friendly host. Her mother had taught her to welcome everyone, especially the ones you really didn’t want to welcome. She had been a devout Christian woman, and the strength she’d shown over her lifetime was something Dixie still aspired to at her age.