There are 4 parts, each around 1500 words, that tell a totally self-indulgent story full of fluff, Christmas cookies, and the warmth of the season. Since it's Christmas Eve (Merry Christmas Eve, by the way!!), consider it my gift to you. I sincerely hope you have as much fun reading it as I had writing it.
And without further ado, here we go... enjoy part 1 of Silver Nights!
Sam was late. He knew it, and probably everyone else on the street did too. With the large tote bags he was carrying and the coat that dangled from only one arm, he might as well have plastered a sign on his forehead that read: I AM LATE FOR SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE GET OUT OF MY WAY.
Snow and slush had been pushed to the edges of the sidewalk, but he still made sure to step carefully even while he hurried. The line at Minnie’s Craft Supplies had been longer than he’d anticipated as the holidays approached. He darted around people like a fish moving upstream, nodding to each one who said, “Hey, Sam.” Frost River was on the large side of being a small town, but since Sam’s uncle employed half the locals, there weren’t many he didn’t know.
He was nodding to Mr. Friar, who ran the supermarket, when he misstepped and another body slammed into him. A large pine wreath, two tote bags of decor, and Sam's hat went flying across the sidewalk. Sam found himself sitting rather suddenly as his boots slipped out from under him, and staring into a pair of startled green eyes.
"Oh my goodness!" exclaimed the voice behind the eyes, a girl with bright gold hair and a lovely green coat. "I'm so sorry!" She tucked some of the hair behind her ear and started scrambling to pick up the wreath.
"Oh, no, please," Sam's voice finally decided to work, "it was my fault."
"Well, I wasn't exactly watching where I was going either." Her face flushed as she looped the wreath over her shoulder. "I really am sorry."
"It's no trouble, miss. No trouble at all." He smiled, fumbling blindly for his bags, which had somehow managed to stay upright. The girl gave him a small smile in return, snagging his hat as it tried to tumble away in the breeze.
"Here," she placed it on his head.
"Thank you." They stared at each other for a moment, then the girl cleared her throat.
"Well, sorry again." She stood, brushing off her knees and holding out her free hand to help him up. Sam grasped it, small but stronger than it looked, and realized that he remembered he was late, but couldn't for the life of him think what for. He could only think about the fact that this was a stranger.
"What's your name?" He asked, his voice soft.
She readjusted her greenery and said, "Lucy. I'm Lucy."
"Well, Miss Lucy, it's been a pleasure, ah… bumping into you." They laughed at the joke. “I’m Sam.”
"It was nice to bump into you, Sam.” She smiled fully, and his breath caught. “You should probably get going," she said, gesturing at his large bags. “Christmas decorating waits for no one."
"Oh… yes," he readjusted his hat. Part of him couldn't understand why the other part wanted nothing more in the world than to stay here, in this moment, with her and him and her wreath and his hat. But the part of him that wished for this to never end caught something in her eye that made him wonder if maybe, just maybe, she felt it too.
“Have a nice day Miss Lucy.”
“Same to you, Mister Sam.”
-
Jingle bells rattled as Sam pushed open the door to Nichols Delivery Services, which operated out of his uncle’s large Colonial-style home. The front entrance and parlor had been converted into an office with plush chairs and a large oak desk. The smooth harmonies of Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters echoed from the bluetooth-connected jukebox in the corner, crooning about the holidays in Hawaii.
Sam winced as he peeled off his coat. A green and bright Christmas sounded nice right about now.
“Gosh, what happened to you?” Micah stood from behind the desk so that Sam could take his normal post. Sam grimaced.
“An ice patch and I had a misunderstanding.” He hung his coat by the door and set his bags atop the desk. “Thanks for covering for me.”
“What are big brothers for?” Micah shrugged. “Need some ice for that?”
“Oh, haha.” Sam shoved him toward the back of the house. “Don’t you have something else to do?”
“Yes, believe it or not, I have a job of my own. Holler if you need help.”
And so Sam was alone with the jukebox and his own thoughts as he unpacked the bags. He bobbed his head in time to Amy Grant’s “Jingle Bell Rock” and popped into the kitchen to get some instant cocoa. Micah had stacked colorful plastic tubs of decor by the desk, and soon various ornaments and decorations soon littered the room as Sam laid out where he wanted everything to go. Decorating the office for Christmas was a very important duty, and he was honored to have been trusted with it. But he found himself distracted even while he debated whether to put the gold sparkly reindeer statue next to the left or right chair.
Lucy. What a perfectly perfect name. His grandmother's, actually. But the differences between Grandma Lucy and Green-coat Lucy were many.
He blinked those thoughts away. Right corner for the reindeer, with an oversized present next to it. This, he could control.
Several strings of lights had been taped up and plugged in when the door bells jingled and Sam looked up. Green-coat Lucy stood there, looking at him in surprise, with the wreath, now covered in sparkly baubles, in her arms.
"Hello again!" She said, cocking her head.
"Hello yourself!" He got down off the chair he’d been balancing on. "What brings you here?"
"I, uh, have an interview with Mr. Nichols?"
"Oh…" he rubbed his forehead as he laughed. "You're the new financial manager."
"I hope to be, anyway." She smiled. "I didn't know you worked here."
"Worse - my folks own the place."
"Sam Nichols, then."
He put his hands up in fake surrender. "Guilty as charged."
She held out the wreath. “Lucy James. I was told that bringing a decoration was a requirement for the interview.” Her voice held a smile.
“That sounds like Uncle George.” He took the wreath. “He’ll be impressed; he expected the candidates to show up with a cheap ornament at most.”
“Christmas deserves the best,” she shrugged. “Hopefully he isn’t less impressed when he learns that I used that to knock you over.” With a little wince, she gave him an apologetic look. “Sorry about that.”
“Hey, no worries.” Sam held the wreath up so it sparkled in the sunlight from the window. “You did a great job with this.”
“Thank you!” Her eyes lit up a little as she looked at her creation. “I had fun doing it.”
“You shouldn’t miss the Christmas festival.” He went to the bins to grab a wreath hanger while he talked. “Millie hosts the crafting booth every year, and you can make all sorts of things like more wreaths or tree toppers or whatever. Here, hold this.” He handed the wreath back to her as he hopped back up onto the chair. The hanger fit over the curtain rod and Lucy passed him the wreath.
“A little to the left,” she waved her hand until he had it straight, then gave him a thumbs-up. He stepped down and back and took in the view.
“Looks perfect.”
She gave him another small smile and glanced around the office.
“This whole place looks pretty perfect. Did you do this yourself?”
“Yeah, decoration duty was on me this year. I love it, though. Like you said, Christmas deserves the best.”
They grinned at each other before he snapped his fingers.
“The interview. You’re… here for the interview, let me get Uncle George.” Sam turned on his heel and hurried toward the stairs in the foyer.
“Sam!” Lucy called after him, and he skidded to a stop so he could turn around.
“Yeah?”
“I’d love to go to the Christmas festival. Maybe you could show me around.”
His brain froze for a second as he caught the twinkle in her green eyes, before he spluttered out, “Yeah… sure thing.”
~ Abby
