Henry moved the sleigh behind the reindeer, and Vanessa waffled for another ten or so minutes on getting the exact positioning right. With the addition of the sleigh, she realized, the whole setupdidneed to be further away from the house in the blank space on the lawn, and she winced as Henry started moving the reindeer back to their original position.
“You’re a saint,” Vanessa said as he was finishing up. “Moving things around, adjusting everything until it’s exactly right. Most people would have told me to make up my mind after the first change,” she added with a laugh.
Henry paused, giving her a bemused look. “I learned a long time ago that the best things in life are worth taking the time to get right. Besides,” he added with a soft chuckle, “my late wife used to rearrange our furniture every other month. Sometimesmore often than that, if she was feeling restless or if the seasons were changing. I’ve got plenty of practice with this kind of thing.”
Vanessa blinked at him, shocked. She hadn’t had any idea that Henry was a widower; Mabel had never mentioned it to her, and she’d never heard anyone talking about it around town.
“You were married?” she asked gently, immediately regretting the surprise in her voice. It wasn’t that she was surprised that Henry had been married, anyone would be lucky to have him, but she was surprised she hadn’t heard about it before.
Henry nodded, rubbing a hand over his chin. “Thirty years,” he said simply. “Daisy and I were high school sweethearts.”
Vanessa felt her eyes mist as she looked at him. This sweet man deserved better than to have lost his wife much earlier than he should have. “Henry, I had no idea. I’m so sorry—how did she pass?”
Henry was quiet for a long moment, and Vanessa wondered if she’d overstepped, if the question was too personal or too painful to answer. But he spoke a moment later, and he didn’t sound upset that she’d asked.
“She had a weak heart,” he said, his gaze fixed off in the middle distance past the light display as he spoke. “Had it since she was a child. Doctors always warned her she probably would have a shorter life than most. We knew from the beginning our time together would be limited.”
“Oh, Henry,” Vanessa whispered, feeling tears prick at the corners of her eyes.
“But she was the love of my life,” he continued, his voice firm. “We had thirty great years together, and she made every day brighter just by being in it. I don’t regret a moment of it, and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Vanessa felt her heart go out to him as he spoke, and she blinked back tears, not wanting him to feel as if he needed to comfort her. Henry was sweet and kind and patient, and she wished things had gone differently for him and his wife. It made her want to drive straight to the diner and hug Jackson and never let go. She felt lucky all over again to still have the love of her life with her, and she couldn’t imagine him being gone. She couldn’t imagine trying to go about daily life any longer without him, let alone celebrating the holidays and making them special for others.
“I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been,” she said.
“It is,” Henry acknowledged. “But keeping busy and having things to care about helps. This kind of thing—” He gestured at the house. “It means a lot to me, being able to bring others joy like this. Daisy would have loved it. And I like being able to make others happy the way she did.”
“I appreciate it so much,” Vanessa said firmly. “I hope you know that. This is incredible, and it means the world to me.”
“Oh, I know.” Henry chuckled. “I’m glad I could help.”
As they stood there in the growing dark, Vanessa couldn’t help but think how wonderful it would be if Henry could find love again. He deserved it. He was such a quiet man, and kept to himself so much that she didn’t know him all that well, even though she’d lived in Fir Tree Grove for two years now. But she found herself developing a soft spot for him, after spending more time getting to know him as they’d worked on the house. She wished he could find a new start like Mabel had, a love to keep him company in his golden years as well.
“It’s getting dark,” Henry said, glancing at the sky where the first stars were beginning to appear. “I can turn on the lights, let you get a look at the full effect.”
“Absolutely,” Vanessa said, her pulse leaping with excitement, and she stepped back as Henry went to plug in and turn on the lights.
Henry walked over to what appeared to be a master control switch near the front porch. “Ready?” he asked.
“Ready,” Vanessa confirmed.
He flipped the switch, and instantly the entire yard was flooded with a bright, warm Christmas glow.
Vanessa gasped audibly, her hands flying to her mouth in amazement. The house, which had looked beautiful in the afternoon light, was absolutely magical in the darkness. Every part of the house was accented and outlined perfectly, making it look as if it was dripping with light. The trees twinkled and the snowflakes in the hedges glowed, the candy canes on the path glittered and the illuminated deer and twinkling garlands added a soft, rustic touch. The reindeer display, now illuminated against the dark sky, looked like it might actually take flight at any moment.
It all worked together perfectly. It looked utterly magical, and in that moment, Vanessa didn’t even care about how it stood up to the rest of the decorations on Birch Street, even though she was sure theirs was the best. It was everythingshecould have dreamed of and more, and that was all that mattered.
Her dream home with Jackson was perfect for their first Christmas as a married couple, and that was the most important thing of all.
“Henry,” she breathed, still staring. “This is absolutely beautiful. It’s even better than I could have imagined.”
“It’ll be even better when it’s fully dark,” Henry said with pride. “The best display on the street, if I do say so myself.”‘
“I can’t believe you did all this,” Vanessa said, turning to face him. “And on such short notice.”
“I enjoyed every minute of it,” Henry said with a smile. “I enjoyed having a project like this to work on. I know it means a lot to you both. I was happy to do it.”
They stood together in comfortable silence for a few more minutes, both of them taking in the full effect of the display. Vanessa noticed neighbors beginning to slow down as they drove past, some even pulling over to get a better look at the spectacular light show.
