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“Yes. I’d love to be your MOH. Oh, thank you, Molly. I’m going to cry!”
“Don’t cry,” Molly said.
"Don’t cry,” Mason repeated. “Crying women scare me. How about we get to that shopping instead?”
They spent the next hour wandering up Cottonwood Street and down Pinion checking out the vendor booths. Lori bought a necklace for her mother from a jewelry vendor and a sterling silver dog charm for her mentor, Nic Callahan, Eternity Springs’ veterinarian. Molly bought some scented lotion to give as a thank-you gift to Lori’s mom, Sarah, while Mason loitered in the booth where a vendor sold classic comic books. At thevistas art gallerybooth, Mason gestured toward a display of wood carvings. “That eagle looks almost real.”
“Our friend Sage represents some wonderful artists,” Lori said. “And she’s super-talented herself. Let’s go inside the gallery. I want to show you a sculpture on display.”
Ten minutes later, Mason whipped out his credit card and finished his Christmas shopping by purchasing a painting by a Colorado artist for his parents. Molly watched his excitement over having found the perfect gift, and again, her spirits took a dip.
She had to buy separate Christmas gifts for her separated parents. She had to make separate phone calls about her engagement. She’d have to make a trip to West Texas and one to New York to show off her new bling. She hated this!
Stop it,she silently chided herself as she left Vistas with Mason and Lori.Deal with it. Don’t let them steal your joy. Not today.Doing so was silly. It wasn’t like Mom and Dad separated yesterday. They’d been apart for years now. She should be used to it.
She’d never be used to it.
As the town’s church bells pealed five o’clock, Molly lifted her face toward the sunny sky and soaked in the warmth. She recognized that she was being oversensitive about the whole parent thing today. Still, since she’d watched Lori joking around with her mother the night before, unsettling emotions had churned in Molly’s heart.
She spied the Angel’s Rest booth up ahead and, ready for a distraction, focused on it like a lifeline. Celeste had three large plastic storage boxes lying open with stacks of plastic Bubble Wrap and tissue paper ready for use. She was dressed in denim Capri pants, a gold polo shirt sporting the Angel’s Rest logo, and white sneakers. Her sun visor had angels’ wings embroidered across the headband. Though she was old enough to be Lori’s grandmother, Celeste was one of the most extraordinary women that Molly had ever met.
Also, she discovered Celeste had a heavenly voice as the older woman segued from singing “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” to “Angels We Have Heard on High.” Then, noting the college students’ arrival, Celeste winked and altered the lyrics. “Sweetly singing to all the tourists.”
In the booth next to Celeste’s representing the Reese family business, The Trading Post grocery store, Sarah Reese stacked her home-baked gingerbread men into a cookie tin. Lori’s mom chimed in with a slightly out-of-tune version of a song from the Rudolph Christmas cartoon. “Who brings in the silver and gold, silver and gold, so that I can pay my insurance at the end of the month.”
“Joy to the World,” Celeste trilled.
“Y’all are so lame,” Lori teased, swiping a cookie from her mother’s tin. “Loveable, but lame.”
Sarah slapped her daughter’s hand. “Brat.”
“Sorry we’re late, Ms. Blessing,” Mason said to Celeste. “I stopped to buy my parents’ Christmas gift at the gallery booth up the street.”
“Not a problem. I had shoppers here until just a minute ago. Three lovely ladies from Tennessee bought six angel figurines, three angel ornaments, two angel tree toppers, and an angel-themed Christmas tree skirt.”
“I thought they might buy everything you had left, Celeste,” Sarah said, offering cookies to Mason and Molly. “You don’t have much to pack up as it is.”
“Nor do you,” Celeste replied, beaming. “I think we can officially declare ourChristmas in Augustevent a success. I really think you should consider opening a bakery here in town.”
“There go the waistlines of Eternity Springs,” Lori quipped as she, Mason, and Molly set down their purchases and got to work.
In addition to the items offered for sale, each vendor booth included signs, display racks, and tables. Celeste turned Mason loose with a screwdriver to disassemble items in both the Angel’s Rest booth and that of the Trading Post. Lori and Molly were tasked with wrapping fragile items in pieces of packaging film and storing them in plastic tubs. While they worked, the conversation turned to previous town festivals. Lori and her mother shared a story of a baking disaster during Lori’s childhood.
The mother-daughter banter turned Molly’s thoughts toward her own mother. Once upon a time, she and her mom shared a similarly easy and affectionate relationship. Now, not so much. The days of laughing together while Mom attempted to teach Molly Fumble-finger how to knit, for instance, were long gone. She picked up an angel figurine and carefully wrapped it in Bubble Wrap.
“Molly, dear, what’s wrong?” Celeste asked a few minutes later.
“You’re crying,” Sarah observed, her tone concerned.
I am? Well, perfect.
Mason winced. “Aw, Molly.”
“Nothing’s wrong,” Molly said, swiping her cheeks with the back of her hand. She set the figurine carefully into a storage tub and added, “I’m emotional. Mason and I just got engaged.”
Even as she blinked back fresh moisture, she held up her left hand, wiggled her fingers, and tried her best to smile. The diamond flashed in the sunlight. Sarah moved forward to wrap her arms around Molly and said, “Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
