Mary beamed. “There. That’s it. Hold on to that one.”
They worked for another twenty minutes like that. Mary moved him through the rest of the second verse the same way, finding the sign that wasn’t quite right, sharpening it, putting it back in place, then asking him about his face and his rhythm. By the end of the call, Ollie had a workable version of the second verse from start to finish and three new signs in his vocabulary that he hadn’t had an hour ago. Mary said they could meet again for the third verse.
“And Ollie,” she said, just before she signed off, “I want you to practice your name. Not just the sign. The being of it. Every time you do that O-happy, I want you to feel it all the way down to your toes. Can you do that for me?”
Ollie nodded. He made the sign once, slowly, looking into the camera at her.
She put her hand on her own chest, the same shape, mirroring him.
“I’ll see you all soon.” Mary waved goodbye and then the screen went dark.
“Jason brought apple cider doughnuts,” Mauve said. “I think you deserve one after that hard work.”
Ollie bounced on his toes and signed yes. Jason laughed as he retrieved the box and held it open for Ollie to peer into. Ollie took the smallest one with great seriousness.
“Same time Thursday?” Sarah asked.
“Same time Thursday,” Mauve answered.
Sarah gathered Ollie, who was clutching the doughnut in one hand and his coat in the other, and walked him to the door. At the threshold, he turned, made the O-happy sign at Jason and Mauve, and disappeared down the stairs with his mother.
Jason, feeling pleased with himself and Mary and most especially Ollie, turned to Mauve. “We get an A plus for this, don’t you think?”
She nodded, wiping her eyes. “It’s all too sweet. And you and Mary are rock stars for giving your time so generously. I can’t thank either of you enough.”
He pulled her to him. “I can think of a way.”
She tilted her head up, meeting his gaze with a pair of twinkling eyes. “Yeah?”
He kissed her. “Let’s make dinner at home and watch Christmas movies.”
“You had me at Christmas.”
“The scrooge is softening?” Jason asked, teasing.
“That’s what happens when the scrooge spends time with you.”
He tucked that away to think about later.
10
MAUVE
The advent calendar moved forward one door at a time. So did the week.
One afternoon Mauve and Jason came out of Clever Fox Books with three bags between them—a book on acting for Marcus, a spy novel for Cody, romance paperbacks for her mother, a cookbook for Millie. Snow caught on the wool of his coat. Carolers sang the Twelve Days from the square. Strangers recognized him on the sidewalk, and he never seemed to notice. At Treasure Chest Toys he worked from a list Grace had written out for him and chose eight gifts for the Hayes cousins' children, checking each name off as he went. In the corner where the baby dolls sat, Mauve let her hand rest on the handle of a toy carriage and then made herself walk away. Across the store, Jason was stroking the ears of a stuffed rabbit. He set it in the basket. Neither of them mentioned it.
On the twelfth, the whole town turned out for the tree lighting. Kris Olaffson worked the square in a Santa hat, handing out candy canes. People left wrapped gifts under the tree for families who needed them. Mayor Fontaine announced the Christmas Star winner. When the lights flickered on, thesquare broke into a roar of cheering. Another magical night in Sugarville Grove. At least for those without a hole in their heart.
One night they met Roan and Reese and the boys at the temporary rink. She hadn't gotten any better since the year before. But she enjoyed the Christmas music coming through the speakers and the sound of children’s laughter. Teenagers wove around them moving as if they were one body with six heads. Despite her lack of skill, she managed to skate the whole hour by holding on to Jason's arm and didn't fall once.
The next night was the ugly sweater party at Max and Charlie's. She’d chosen a grumpy cat in a Santa hat. His sweater had bells that were surprisingly loud. Not that she needed bells to find him in a room. She found him without them, every time. For now.
Other nights they stayed at her house, cooking together and snuggled on the couch under the tree lights, and he told her stories—botched auditions, the time he got fired from a serving job for dropping a two-hundred-dollar decanter of Bordeaux that bled into the carpet. She told him about her family. Not estranged exactly. Not in touch either. She missed her mother. She didn't say the rest.
Through all of it, the advent calendar moved forward one door at a time. She didn't let herself count what was left.
In the middleof the month, she headed to Reese’s. They’d not seen each other as often as they usually did because Mauve was busy with Jason. But Reese had texted earlier to see if she’d come by for a visit after she was done with work. She’d happily agreed, stopping on the way for a bottle of wine.
