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Mandy
had only been to Barrymore’s Steakhouse once before, on an ill-fated date a
couple of years ago. Fact: still believing in Santa Claus at the age of
twenty-two made even the former high school chess-club champion feel cool by
comparison. He’d laughed at her. Then tried to backtrack. The evening had never
quite recovered, and she hadn’t gone out with him again.
She
wasn’t going to let that happen tonight.
If
Jake stayed around very long, it was just a matter of time before he heard
she’d seen Santa
Claus.
But like Cinderella with her conjured dress and pumpkin coach, Mandy wanted at
least one night of being normal. Of not trying to explain herself.
“That’ll
be all. Thanks.” Jake handed the menus back to the waiter, a thirtyish blond
man she didn’t recognize. It was the main reason she’d chosen this restaurant.
At any of the places on Evergreen Lane, someone on the staff was likely to be
an old classmate, or one of their siblings. It was a wonder that Mandy hadn’t
known the girl who took their order at the Pine ’n’ Dine this afternoon.
“So,
I promised you no shoptalk,” Jake said. “Tonight it’s your turn. Has Christmas
always been a big deal for you?”
“Always.”
If you only knew.
“I know some people get tired of it. I’ve just never been one of them.”
“Oh,
I think most people like Christmas. It’s just that for most people, once a year
is enough.”
“You
know, people say that to me all the time. But they still come into the store.”
A smile touched her lips. “You did.”
“You’ve
got me there.”
Jake
had changed into a crisp white shirt with a deep brown tie and a tweedy light
brown jacket. Almost like the kind of coat professors were supposed to wear,
except that he looked way too young to be a professor. He managed to look
dressy and casual at the same time. She knew he’d never been here before, but
there was something in the way he sat back from the table that gave the
impression of comfort.
Mandy
picked up her water glass. “Here’s what I see every day. Some customers are
like me. They love it right away. Then there are the ones like you. Their first
reaction is, ‘What the heck?’ But they come in a little farther, like they’re
trying to figure it out. They look around, they hear the music . . . and it
usually happens. They get that Christmas feeling.”
Jake’s
eyes glinted. “And they usually buy something.”
“Well,
usually. But that’s not the point.”
“Sure
it is. The store’s in business to make money.”
“Okay.
But what do the customers get out of it?”
When
he didn’t reply, she answered for him: “A little piece of Christmas.”
“You’re
right. If a business doesn’t supply a benefit, it doesn’t stay in business. But
for you, that little piece of Christmas is there twelve months a year. Doesn’t
it get . . .”
“Less
special? Not for me.” Mandy considered. “The way I see it, those other eleven
months out of the year—they’re mine. When the whole world isn’t surrounded by
Christmas, and people aren’t so busy getting stressed out about it, they come
into The North Pole and just enjoy it.
And I get to give them that.”
Jake
nodded. He seemed satisfied. Maybe even impressed. “You win.” He picked up his
glass of soda. “I’m not a total Scrooge, by the way.”
“Not
many people are. It’s just easy to lose sight of Christmas when you’re right in
the middle of it. What’s Christmas like for you?”
“Well,
it’s the one day of the year I know I won’t be working.”
Mandy
flinched. “Seriously?”
“Okay,
I’m exaggerating. It’s a couple of days. And I always spend it with my family.
It’s . . .” He shook his head with a smile. “Chaos. Complete and utter chaos.
My dad calls it the annual invasion.”
That
sounded better. “Relatives?”
He
nodded. “Two days before Christmas, everyone converges on my parents’ house.
And I mean everyone. There’s
me, my mom and dad, my older brother and his wife. They have a little girl,
Emily. That’s who the pinecone necklace is for. But then there are aunts,
uncles, cousins . . . and tons of food. My mom cooks a lot of it, but everyone
brings more. There are kids you haven’t seen for a year, so you’re trying to
keep everybody’s name straight, what grade they’re in, and who got their braces
off, and it doesn’t really matter because you can’t hear a thing.”
“It
sounds wonderful.”
“I
guess it is.” His gaze drifted past her, and Mandy knew he wasn’t seeing the
inside of the restaurant at all. “The only one who’s not making a racket is my
dad. He’ll sit in his armchair while everybody’s rushing around. He acts like
he thinks everybody else is nuts, but you can tell he loves it. But by the next
day, everybody clears out to go to their own homes. My brother and his family
usually stay a little later. It’s amazing how much quieter the house seems with
only six people in it.”
“And
Christmas Eve?”
“Really
quiet. Lots of last-minute preparations behind closed doors. Then usually we’ll
watch a movie. It’s kind of the calm after the chaos. Then in the morning, we
open presents and go out to breakfast. But the best part is all the buildup.”
Mandy
nodded. “That’s because when it comes, it’s over so fast.”
“Unless
you work at a Christmas store.”
“It
helps.”
Jake
picked up his drink. “What about you? What do you do for Christmas?”
“A
little quieter than that. The last couple of years, I’ve had dinner at Mrs.
Swanson’s. She’s the owner of the shop. This year I think I’m going to invite
her over instead. I’ve never cooked a turkey by myself before.”
He
frowned. “Where’s your family?”
Mandy
took in a deep, slow breath. “I lost my mom three years ago. Everybody else is
out of state.”
Jake
looked startled. He set down his glass. “She couldn’t have been very old. What
happened?”
“An
aneurysm. One of those things you don’t see coming. She was forty-seven.”
“What
about your father?”
“They
got divorced when I was eight.” She felt a tight smile cross her face. “He came
to the funeral.”
“I’m
sorry. I had no idea.”
“Of
course you didn’t. You just met me.” She shook her head. “But it’s okay. The
thing about my mom . . .” She stirred her iced tea with her straw, aware of
Jake’s eyes on her. “She did so much, and I just didn’t realize it. You don’t
think about those things when you’re a kid. She must have worked so hard. She
worked at the bank up here, so I was a latchkey kid, but when she got home, she
always had time for me. She made sure I knew I was important to her. We never
had a lot of extra, but we didn’t need much.”
She
didn’t go into the rest of it. After her mother died, Mandy found out just how
hard her mother had worked to make sure her daughter would be all right. The
house was paid off, so it was Mandy’s, free and clear. There had even been an
insurance policy for good measure. Not bad for a reluctantly single mother.
Mandy
tried to put her finger on what she wanted to say. “I wish I could have had her
longer. Of course. But . . . she left me with something. She made me want to
make other people happy. Maybe that’s what my job is really about.” Jake
studied her, his eyes quiet and direct. She just hoped he didn’t feel sorry for
her.
“I’ve
never met anyone like you,” he said finally. By the time they left the
restaurant, the sky was darkening, and a chill had crept into the air. Mandy
slipped her sweater on. As they walked toward the car’s parking spot alongside
the curb, Jake took her hand. Her fingers curled around his, and she was
surprised how comfortable it felt.
“Still
up for a movie?” he asked.
She
hesitated for an instant. “Sure.”
Tall
Pine Cineplex was the only theater in town. On a Saturday night, there was an
awfully good chance she might run into someone from her old school there, and
there was no telling where the conversation might go. She’d just have to think
on her feet.
Jake
stopped and turned her toward him just before they reached the car. “Mandy.”
She
hadn’t realized until now just how much taller he was; even in her heeled
boots, she needed to tilt her head back to look up at him.
His
eyes were fixed on hers in that direct stare she was beginning to know. Now he
seemed as close to being uncertain as she’d seen tonight. Somehow, Mandy found
that reassuring.
“There’s
something I’ve been wanting to do for a while,” he said. “And I’m hoping you
won’t mind.”
He
stepped down from the curb, taking his height down several inches. He still
stood taller than Mandy, but now his mouth was just slightly above hers. Jake
lifted his hand and ran a finger lightly down the side of her cheek. There was
no mistaking what he meant.
Mandy
thought of the way it felt when she jumped into the cold water of the Tall Pine
pond on a hot summer day.
I’m
not ready for this. . . .
Running
his fingers underneath her jawline, Jake tipped her chin up toward him. Her
heart was thrumming so loudly she was sure he could hear it.
I
haven’t had nearly enough practice at this. . . .
His
lips met hers lightly, and Mandy felt something inside melt. She closed her
eyes and drank in the warmth, the softness, the nearness. His other hand came
up to frame her face. The kiss was gentle, unhurried, and the street around
them felt unusually still. It was as if the world had paused.
Oh,
I could do a lot more of this.
Her
knees were shaking, so she brought her arms up around his waist and held on.
Why
had she thought she needed a sweater?
After
another long, melting moment, he lifted his head and smiled. “I hope you don’t
mind,” he repeated.
Mandy
didn’t trust her voice. She nodded. Then shook her head.
She
felt light as a feather, and she knew it was too good to be true. She might not
turn into a pumpkin at midnight, but this couldn’t last. A little voice in her
head nagged her: You know you can’t
keep this up, right?
She
brushed the little voice aside with, I
can try.
If you're looking for a story full of Christmas, look no further! "Do You Believe in Santa" is just the novel for you!
Right from the very beginning, a nice Christmas mood settles in with a guest appearance of the real Santa Claus!
More specifically, Mandy, a young girl, determined to see Santa, stays up all night waiting for him! When she suddenly sees the mysterious and calm aged man, she doesn't believe her eyes! And neither does her mother, or everyone else that finds out about this incident. And, that includes her whole town!
As a grown woman now, Mandy is known to everyone as Mandy Claus, the woman that still believes in Santa. She has devoted her life to Christmas, even working on a store that sells this time of year's ornaments, even in the middle of the summer! She has never had the chance to go out and socialize like the rest of the people her age, as the conversation tends to always revolve around her belief of meeting the real Santa when she was young.
Until Jake, who has come in order to determine whether his company would profit from building a hotel in this little town, shows up. He doesn't know anything about Mandy's past, and he is her first real chance of personal interaction without the burdens of her past!
This is a chance Mandy is very willing to take! But for how long is Jake going to stay in the town? Will the strict Town's Council accept his offer, or he will soon have to go and go back to working in his area?
A perfectly nice Christmas novel, that didn't lack the natural feel and the struggle a new relationship might go through!
Mandy is an adorable character, totally misunderstood and teased throughout her whole childhood for admitting she believed in Santa Claus!
The rest of her life wasn't exactly easy, as well, with the divorce of her parents and later the loss of her mother! All these events have forced her to take refuge in Christmas, with her being unable to put down the decorations even after the holidays have long passed!
She was a very real character! Just like Jake!
He was very professional and loved his job, in a way that bothered his previous girlfriends! But, I love the way he was willing to try and change this fact once he realized his attraction for Mandy!
The way the author wrote this story, it flowed so easily, with all the everyday struggles mingling with the festive Christmas spirit, making everything so sweet!
All in all, 5 stars for an amazing Christmas story,
that featured even the Santa himself! Just lovely!
