‘Twas the Love Before Christmas

3. Catherine

Chapter three

Catherine

A fter getting out of bed, I went downstairs, fixed myself a hot cocoa, and returned to my bedroom, sitting in the window seat. I had done this frequently when I was in high school. I loved sitting in that window seat, staring outside, thinking and dreaming, no matter the season.

I remembered there was supposed to be a snowstorm last night, and a peek out the window confirmed it. It must have snowed after we returned home from the Christmas Tree lighting.

Our yard was covered in sparkly, white snow, a charming, untouched winter calm. Then I glanced over at Noah’s yard. That was a patchwork of snowy chaos. It looked like Wally had a playful adventure during the night – a trail of paw prints darting and looping around the otherwise undisturbed snow. Here and there were small piles and scattered clumps where he must have pounced and rolled.

A quiet chuckle escaped me as I pictured the playful frolic outside. There was no place for this in California, where I used to gaze out my apartment window at sparse palm trees swaying between towering buildings, the pavement below looking cold and unwelcoming. It was a far cry from the charm of freshly fallen snow and the unmistakable magic that always seemed to accompany this time of year.

It wasn’t the only reason, but one of many that had been in the back of my mind recently. Moving back to Indigo Lake had been a thought of no consequence for many years. With my wish to get back to writing and the need to start my entire career over, I was entertaining the thoughts more seriously.

But could I even get an apartment or a job from across the country?

My concentration on the picture in my mind and the quandaries that came with it was broken when I saw Noah and Wally come out of the back door of his parents’ house. Wally looked ready to frolic some more before their walk. Noah was bundled up and, from what I could see, half-asleep. He rubbed his eyes as he started to follow Wally around in the fresh snow as if they were both aware of the trail they were taking.

I laughed a little again at this scene. I couldn’t help but remember how Wally had knocked me over last night. It hadn’t been something I had expected, but Wally was perhaps one of the cutest dogs I’d ever seen. He seemed to have a smile on his face with his tongue hanging out. I hadn’t had a chance to interact with a Golden Shepherd before, and apparently, Wally had all the friendliness of his golden side and all the energy of the shepherd side.

I took a sip of my cocoa as they disappeared from my sight. Once they were gone, I got up out of the window seat. The Christmas Parade was tonight, and I was supposed to be looking for something to wear, not watching what Wally and Noah were doing from afar. No matter what kind of memories it stirred in me. That, and I was supposed to take our nativity set to the church.

That meant a trip into the attic – which I always dreaded. It got cold and drafty in the winter because the insulation hadn’t been properly installed. Since it had just snowed, I expected it to be cold in the attic. Mom said she had brought the nativity set down earlier. Instead, she grabbed a box with a white knit shawl with pearls embedded into the knitting and white pearl earrings that I recognized from Mom and Dad’s wedding photos. Mom said this box was about the same size and weight as our nativity set, so this would have to go back up to the attic when I searched for the nativity set. However, I would never understand how she didn’t simply open the box in the attic before bringing it downstairs.

The first thing I did, though, was finish my hot cocoa. The ladder was too narrow to justify bringing my drink up. Especially since I’d have a box in my hand. Once ready, I took the box and turned towards the attic.

I climbed the old ladder into the attic and gently pulled myself up. First came a wave of icy cold air, and I shivered. I should have put on a jacket, but that was all right. I wouldn’t be up here long. I turned on the light, which gave a weak, warm glow.

The attic had gotten more crowded since the last time I had been up here, two years ago. I had been looking for something else, the stockings, I think. I shook my head slightly. That wouldn’t help me find what I was looking for right now.

Upon getting into the attic, it didn’t take me long to find the nativity set. It was in a medium-sized box. Just the right size for a nativity that was homemade – created out of wood. It made me smile whenever we had pulled it out years ago when I was young. I just hoped it would make others smile, too. That was half the reason my parents were going to donate the set for a night for the celebration.

“Oh. What a surprise… that’s the dress I wore for the Winter Ball…” I said aloud as the red fabric caught my eye.

My beautiful, fiery red dress with a mermaid-style skirt was on a rack, covered in a clear wrap. Sequins decorated the entirety of the dress. This dress had meant the world to me as a high schooler. Why would Mom and Dad save it? Was it to be a keepsake for future generations, despite neither Chris nor me showing any inclination towards kids yet?

I left the attic with the box in my hand, careful to get down the ladder. I walked past my room and then headed down the stairs to the main floor. As I came down, however, I smelled cinnamon in the air. What was going on?

I followed the smell. It led me into the kitchen, where I found Mom making many cinnamon rolls. There were probably two dozen already done and frosted. Mom had a ball of dough rising by the oven and at least one dozen in the oven. Nothing really surprised me about all of this other than the number of cinnamon rolls.

“Why all the cinnamon rolls, Mom?”

My stomach started to growl as I asked the question, which only made my mom laugh as I asked.

“They’re for the live nativity, for everyone who’s going,” Mom said. “Don’t you worry. I’ll make sure that we have some left over. However, I do have a favor to ask of you. Would you take some of these next door to the West family?”

“That would be lovely. I can absolutely do that,” I replied.

Mom helped me box up half a dozen cinnamon rolls. We placed them in a glass container, and I made sure there was plenty of frosting. Melissa and Paul had always loved the frosting that Mom made.

“Be careful,” Mom said as I pulled my coat on. “There might be some ice on the ground. Just be sure you don’t slip.”

“I’ll be fine, Mom. I’m just going next door.”

With that, I walked out of the house. It didn’t take a long time to walk over, and I knocked on the door. It took a moment, but Melissa West opened the door.

“Oh, my dear Catherine! I wondered when you’d find your way over here to say hello. Come in, sweetheart,” Melissa said as she hugged me.

I was careful not to let the cinnamon rolls fall. However, I did return the hug with a smile. Melissa West always had given some of the best hugs.

With that, we walked into the house. It was nice and warm, and I could hear Paul puttering around in the kitchen. We entered the living room, and I set the cinnamon rolls on the coffee table.

“My mom sent me over with some cinnamon rolls,” I said. “They’re freshly made. I hope you enjoy them. There’s plenty of fresh frosting in there, too.”

“Hi, Catherine!” Paul called from the kitchen before Melissa could answer.

“Oh, that sounds absolutely lovely.”

She took the cinnamon rolls from the coffee table, and we walked into the kitchen. Paul gave me a bear hug –a large dad hug, too – when he saw me. I hugged back. They were great people, even discounting their being Noah’s parents.

“Why don’t you sit down for a cup of coffee? Enjoy some time with us. I’m sorry that you’ve missed Noah and Wally; he took the dog out for a walk, and with all of Wally’s energy, they need to be out for a while,” Melissa said.

“Coffee sounds great,” I replied.

“How are you doing, anyway?” Mark asked.

With that and a cup of coffee prepared by Melissa, I shared the news about how I was doing: the ups, the downs, and the fact that my relationship was no longer part of my life. I did feel something bittersweet about sharing that Alex and I had broken up, but I preferred to know that there was someone else out there for me. Someone who would give me the life I wanted.

But I didn’t go into much detail. Instead, I shifted the focus to this morning’s find.

“I found our nativity set for the live nativity. And I found the dress I wore to the Winter Ball my senior year of high school. Remember that, when Noah and I went together?”

“I do! Oh, what a beautiful dress it was. I recall your mother being so up in a tizzy about the capelet because you wanted to help but had no idea how to work a sewing machine,” Melissa said. “And Noah was so uptight about getting the right color flowers for the corsage.” She laughed.

“Indeed,” I said with a smile.

“It was such a shame that the two of you couldn’t work it all out,” Melissa said wistfully. “You never know…”

“Well, I have a lot to do,” I said as I got up. This was not a conversation I wanted to have. “I should go.”

“Well, thank you so much for coming by with the cinnamon rolls,” Melissa said.

“Of course! And tell Noah I missed seeing him.”

Melissa walked me out of the house, but it didn’t take too long. I was glad to see that they were happy.

I smiled a little as I left the house.

High school romances could mean a lot. Those memories of Noah and me were some of the fondest I had from that period of my life. Said a lot about what I remembered. The memories of Noah and me in high school brought back watching him playing different sports during the school year, dedicating some of my time to writing for the school newspaper, and even flashes of the journalism class we took together, though I’d always had my suspicions he had taken it simply to be close to me because he was not the best writer. Some things didn’t follow me out of high school, like an interest in photography cultivated by getting competitive with Noah for the newspaper’s lead photograph, and I partially wished I could go back to the simpler times. However, that was probably because it was a simpler time, and I had nothing, it seemed, to worry about.

I shook my head and pushed the memories away. Life moved on. And it was time for me to do the same.