“You would sit and sort through those buttons for hours with your mother.”
“I remember when Grandpa died and we took the buttons from his favorite sport coat and put them in here. They were leather. I thought they were the most precious things in the world.”
“I know. Those are the leather buttons I used on your scarf.”
Vanessa placed her hand on the fine details, her finger tracing the overlap of the leather pieces on the buttons. “I loved them as soon as you gave me that scarf, but I didn’t for a second…”
“I know. I should’ve given this to you a long time ago. It was just so hard for me to let go of. It was the only thing I asked your dad for. He thought I was an idiot. He had no idea how much the memories stuffed into that little tin meant.”
“Thank you, Anna.” She clutched the tin, then gave it a little shake. “I love the strength of that sound. One by one they are nothing but buttons. Light. Worthless. Together they sound like a symphony. Strong. Creative. Continually shifting to fill the space.”
“Like you. You’re doing a good thing here. You’ve changed so many ideas about your future in just a couple of weeks. The opportunities are endless.”
“It’s not entirely unselfish, you know.” Vanessa reached forAnna’s hand. “I can’t wait for us to both make our lives in this town.”
“And Mike and Misty?” Anna tilted her chin.
“Mike’s great. He’s a good man, and a wonderful father.”
Anna bobbed her head. “I always said there’s nothing sexier than a good father.”
“I think I finally understand what that means. It scares me at the same time, though. Do you think he has enough love for me too?”
“Loving a wife is different from loving a child, Vanessa. It’s not a contest. It’s not like he has to divide the love. There are adequate amounts for both. And Misty will refill your wells threefold over and over.”
“It’s terrifying. It’s like I just put my whole life on red, and the roulette wheel is spinning.”
Lilene came rushing over to Vanessa. “It’s time.”
“I’m ready,” Vanessa said.
“I’m sorry again for everything I said. I still feel horrible.”
Vanessa hugged Lilene. “Please don’t. Let’s step forward. I can’t wait to put the new Porter’s cookie on the map together.”
“I still can’t believe my cookies are going to be available across the country.”
“They’ll be famous,” Anna added.
Vanessa had spoken for five minutes straight. Not a peep from that stadium of people had interrupted her. Not one smart-aleck comment or doubt had been flung at her.
She looked to her left, where Mike and Misty, holding Scooter, stood at her side, and to the right, where Buck was flanked by Anna and Lilene.
“In closing,” she said, “I look forward to taking Porter’s into the future. A long and prosperous one that is agile so we can guarantee Fraser Hills will continue to foster the kind of hometown everyone wants to live in. We’re going to bring that small-town family feeling into everything we do. Own it. Share it.”
Bill Campbell was the first one to stand up and clap. It wasn’t even a second before others joined him.
She turned to Buck, her guardian angel in all of this. Who would have thought the old gray-haired man of few words could have set all of this into motion with one single hope?
In that Sam Elliott voice, Buck grabbed the microphone. “This town just got a Christmas miracle, with a new family at the helm.” He looked over toward his great-granddaughter, and then his grandson. “This is the best Christmas gift I’ve ever known.”
“Love you, Grandpa.”
Vanessa took the mic back from Buck. “Porter’s will reopen on January second. Until then, merry Christmas and here’s to an amazing new year… together.” She handed the microphone off to Lilene, and Mike grabbed her hand and whisked her behind the building, out of the way of all of the townsfolk heading home to celebrate.
“Thank you.”
“Stop. You don’t need to thank me.”
