A Yuletide Wallop Read online

  “I’m not gonna have to teach you girls a lesson again, am I?” Gideon asked before the door even shut. No one was really sure of the whole story, but somehow Verny and Cookie had once spent twenty-four hours handcuffed to one another in their youth. It was Gideon’s handcuffs that had been around their wrists though.

  “No, definitely not,” and “Nope,” Verny and Cookie responded at the same time. Verny returned to her table and silverware while Cookie went behind the counter and made herself look busy. No one else in town had the same effect on them. To add an even more uncomfortable feeling to the room, Margie followed in after him. Josie let out a sigh of relief that everyone had finished gossiping about her before the poor woman came inside.

  “Hi, Margie,” Josie greeted her warmly. Gideon had held the door open for the woman to make it inside after him.

  “Hello, Josie,” Margie said with a smile. “I just saw you from outside and thought I might pop in for a hot cocoa. It’s so bitter out today,” she shivered. Josie wondered if Margie knew that she had seen the embrace between her and Al. She didn’t really think that something was going on, but it was still strange.

  “Hi, Boss,” Abel said standing to greet Gideon. He wasn’t a scary man, but a respected one. Well, maybe Verny and Cookie were a little afraid of him. Abel gave Margie a friendly nod. They had met before but were no more than acquaintances.

  “Abel,” Gideon nodded and sat down at the table. “Can I get a coffee, Josie?” He asked with a warm smile. The man had a soft spot for Josie, her father had been on the force with him when they were just starting out.

  “Refill for me, please,” Lightening asked tapping his mug.

  “Coming right up, and I’ll get that hot cocoa for you right away, Margie,” Josie nodded. Gideon was something of a father figure since her own father was killed in the line of duty. Nowadays there was hardly any crime in town, but back when they joined the force it was an entirely different story. “Anything to eat?”

  “No time, I’m afraid,” Gideon replied shaking his head. “I’m here to gather up Abel and head back to the station.”

  “Did something happen?” Cookie asked. Her nerves only overcome by her nosiness.

  “What’s going on?” Verny asked. They both defaulted to expecting the worst. Not that they wanted it to be the worst, just they craved a bit of excitement in their little town.

  “Nothing happened,” Gideon replied. They both sighed, though of relief or frustration, who knows? “We’ve got to go over logistics for the Winter Wonderland is all. Lots of extra traffic and parking to figure out. Plus the traffic light is out over on Pinewood Ave.”

  “The tree lighting is soon,” Josie added. Crowds brought trouble, whether it was criminal or logistical, they would have to be prepared.

  “That’s my favorite time of year,” Margie said thoughtfully. “The whole town comes together in a beautiful show of community. Everyone decorates so nicely. The town center turns into a true Winter Wonderland,” Margie grinned at the thought. She had lived in town her whole life and had seen it go through rough times and grow into the darling New England town it was. Margie knew to cherish it.

  “I love the tree lighting,” Cookie said dreamily. “It’s so romantic.” She gave Margie a little look, that either Margie ignored or didn’t see. Josie did though and wanted to smack Cookie for being so obvious. It was none of their business who or if Margie was seeing anyone, even if that person was Al.

  “Who do you have to be romantic with?” Verny asked Cookie, making her blush.

  “Not like you have anyone either,” she quipped back. Verny glowered at her but knew she had lost that one. Josie was grateful for Verny’s tact, she was able to steer the conversation away from Margie’s love life. Even though it ended up being at her own expense.

  “What are you doing for decorations this year, Josie?” Lightening asked.

  “Oh yes, Josie, what are you doing?” Margie asked. She decorated her house some, but as she got older, she couldn’t do as much as she had in her youth. She missed it.

  “If you need any help at all, you know us boys in blue will be there.” Gideon added. Abel nodded his agreement, though he wasn’t as enthusiastic. He had helped the year before, and it took the entire day, a few bruised fingers and almost falling off a ladder.

  “I think it’ll be alright just me this year,” Josie said bringing out the coffees and the hot cocoa. “I’m trying to go bit simpler this time around. Don’t want any more injuries on my account.” She said with a wink. Abel smiled at her gratefully. “Here’s your cocoa, Margie,” she said passing her a to go cup. Margie smiled gratefully and held the hot cup in her hands, smelling the delicious chocolaty drink.

  “I love the tree lighting,” Cookie said dreamily. “It’s so romantic.”

  “Who do you have to be romantic with?” Verny asked her, making her blush.

  “Not like you have anyone either,” She quipped back. Verny glowered at her but knew she had lost that one.

  “What are you doing for decorations this year, Josie?” Lightening asked.

  “If you need any help at all, you know us boys in blue will be there.” Gideon added. Abel nodded his agreement, though he wasn’t as enthusiastic. He had helped the year before, and it took the entire day, a few bruised fingers and almost falling off a ladder.

  “I think it’ll be alright just me this year,” Josie said bringing out the coffees. “I’m trying to go a bit simpler this time around. Don’t want any more injuries on my account.” She said with a wink. Abel smiled at her gratefully.

  “Bruises are not really injuries,” Gideon replied with a scoff, but didn’t press it any further. He knew that if Josie had made up her mind, it was as good as done already.

  “The town center should be nearly done, right?” Josie asked.

  “It’ll be finished tonight, for Santa’s Workshop to be open tomorrow,” Gideon replied with a nod. He liked when things went on schedule. “Will you be bringing Cici?” He asked Verny. Cici was her daughter.

  “I think fifteen is a little old to take a photo with Santa,” Verny replied with a chuckle. Gideon gave her a look, making her laughter stop.

  “You never told us what your decorations will be,” Cookie pointed out to Josie.

  “I want it to be a surprise!” Josie said, making everyone groan.

  “We’ll see it while you are working on it anyway,” Verny pointed out.

  “It’s a surprise,” Josie reiterated.

  “I for one, can’t wait to see it then,” Gideon said taking a sip of his coffee. Josie had poured it into a to-go mug and had gotten one for Abel as well.

  “I second that!” Margie said with a smile. She had the kind of smile that was given often and warmed an entire room.

  “Until then,” Gideon said lifting his coffee in farewell as he stood up from the table and left without another word.

  “Bye,” Abel said, pulling on his coat awkwardly while trying to keep up with Gideon.

  “See you later, marshmallow,” Cookie called after him as he left.

  “I should start heading out as well,” Margie said with a groan as she stood. “I’ve got more than one commission to get working on. Christmas is always my busy season.” Margie made hand woven blankets of all shapes, sizes and colors. It was like magic to watch her work. A few years back she’d learned how to advertise online and had made a living on commissions since then. She got more than a few from in town and tourists, but she even got some people from around the country to call with interest.

  “Good luck!” Josie said. “I still love my blanket,” she assured Margie. She had gotten one as a gift when she was in high school and it had remained her favorite blanket to curl up in since then.

  “Glad to hear it,” Margie replied before stretching. “Best be off then.” She shivered once more before Verny opened the door for her and let her out.

  “Do you think she has super powers?” Verny asked after the woman left.

&n
bsp; “No,” Cookie responded, screwing her face up in confusion. “Why would she have super powers?”

  “Because she came in right when we were talking about her,” Verny said as if it was obvious.

  “For your sake, I hope that she didn’t hear you and all your gossiping,” Josie chided. She watched as the woman walked away though, curious about who her mystery man might be if he existed at all.

  Chapter Three

  As Josie suspected, she was able to get all of her decorations up without the help that Gideon had offered. She did regret not accepting it, but only while she was up on the ladder, considering her great fear of heights. When she was young, she didn’t even like to go too high on a swing.

  “They look great, Josie!” Cookie shouted up to her while she was on the ladder. She only had a few more finishing touches and then it would be done.

  “I almost fell off!” Josie yelled back. She hadn’t known Cookie was there and it was a little more than startling to see her. Buttercup was sitting dutifully by her side, her tail wagging excitedly. She was already better trained than most dogs and she wasn’t even on a leash.

  “You did not, you’re just being dramatic,” Cookie replied, but she did grab a hold of the base of the ladder to steady it.

  “I really did,” Josie whined. She hadn’t even come close to falling, but the slight jump had made her nervous enough that she felt like she might at any moment. “I’m coming down now,” she sighed with relief as she finished putting up the last of the decorations.

  “I’m holding it steady,” Cookie said, trying to be reassuring. If it were Verny up there she might have wobbled the ladder a bit, but she wouldn’t do that to Josie.

  “This is really something,” Verny said, arriving just in time for the work to be done. “Even better than last year.” She sneered at Buttercup who jumped up to greet her. “Get off of me,” she groaned pushing the dog back. Buttercup whimpered upset, but sat back down.

  “Are you sure?” Josie asked. She felt like she might have gone too simple. Especially when looking at the other businesses surrounding hers. The candy shop a couple doors down had gone above and beyond. The entire exterior looked like a ginger bread house, complete with a new door facing with a candy look-a-like knob. They even had a ginger bread man and woman standing outside. She was still relatively proud of The Lucky Dill and didn’t begrudge the amount of work taking everything down would be for everyone else come January.

  “It’s really good work,” Verny assured her, pulling her into a side hug. Cookie joined on the other side, but Josie could have sworn that the pair glared at each other while doing so. They must not be quite over the broken wrist debacle. That fight restarted every time the story was retold. Verny insisted it was an accident and Cookie was certain it wasn’t. The dog that was inching ever closer to Verny’s feet wasn’t helping.

  “Worth the wait,” Cookie added. The Lucky Dill had been transformed into a present. It had taken almost two dozen rolls of wrapping paper, but Josie had managed to cover every inch of the deli, that wasn’t a window, with it. The paper was a festive alternation of sparkling red and green. She had even wrapped the door to match. Josie hadn’t wanted to cover all the windows. The Lucky Dill still had to look pleasant from the inside and a darkened room wasn’t where most people wanted to eat their food. Wrapping the door had been her compromise since half the surface was windows. In addition to the paper, she had gone onto the roof, and lowered a giant bow onto the building. It had to be special ordered and was at least double the size of the bows that you see on cars.

  “Did you see the candy store? Caroline really went all out, didn’t she?” Josie asked, biting her lip. She loved her design, but when compared, she knew it didn’t hold up. “Oh, I should have gone with the 12 Days of Christmas, I knew it,” She huffed.

  “No!” Verny protested. “The Lucky Dill looks elegant, and classy. The Sweet Shoppe looks garish and overdone,” she said. Verny would have added, that it looked garish and overdone, just like Caroline, but she didn’t want the woman to overhear her. Even though The Sweet Shoppe looked great, it made Josie feel a bit better.

  “Well, let’s get inside,” Cookie said, shivering from the cold. She looked down at Buttercup who stood, ready to go inside as well. “My cookies are going to be rock hard frozen if we stand out here any longer.” She bent down to pick up a large platter of cookies. There had to have been nearly a hundred, each of them was ginger bread and intricately decorated. Josie didn’t know where Cookie found the time.

  “You want one?” Cookie asked Josie. This time she didn’t object and took one as they settled inside.

  “These are amazing!” Josie exclaimed after taking a bite. She took another from the tray, knowing that even though there were so many, they were not going to last very long. “You should start a bakery, Cookie.”

  “Trying to get rid of me?” She joked, as she always did when this subject was brought up.

  “Yes, I sure am,” Verny replied without a moment’s thought. “I have been since we were fourteen.” Cookie stuck her tongue out at the woman.

  “You’ll be rid of me when you’re dead,” Cookie warned, or rather threatened.

  “What if you die first?” Verny asked. “At the rate things are going, I think that could certainly be arranged.”

  “If I die first, I’ll haunt you,” Cookie replied matter of factly. “In fact, you won’t even be rid of me if we are both dead, because then I’ll haunt your ghost.”

  “Am I to never have any peace?” Verny cried out dramatically.

  “Am I?” Josie asked. She didn’t often butt into Cookie and Verny’s arguments, but all the talk of death and ghosts had been unsettling to her.

  “Sorry,” Cookie replied quickly.

  “I’m sorry,” Verny said at the same time. Both felt instant guilt for making Josie upset. It wasn’t usually an easy thing to do. She was well known for being levelheaded, a perfect match for her eccentric employees.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Josie said petting Buttercup who had laid at her feet, sensing that she was upset. Josie smiled, always surprised by how intuitive animals were. Buttercup hadn’t been banished to the back room yet, since they weren’t open, Josie thought she might let her out for a while longer. waving her hands. “I think I’m just nervous about my decorations is all. The standards are too high in this town,” She complained. “Caroline’s store looks amazing.”

  “It’s been a town tradition for decades, people have just gotten really good at it,” Verny offered.

  “Most people also do the same decorations every year, you’re one of the few that switches it up,” Cookie said trying to be encouraging. The holidays were always a bit difficult for Josie, ever since she lost her father. It was better now that she was back home with Gideon and all her friends close by.

  “I guess that’s true,” Josie agreed. “I do like the element of surprise it gives.”

  “What do you say we get some coffee on and actually open this place up?” Verny said patting Josie on the back. She was all about picking yourself up and moving on with things. She didn’t like to dwell on things that couldn’t be changed.

  “Did I see Cici with a boy at the movies the other day?” Josie asked Verny while measuring out the coffee.

  “Is she dating?” Cookie asked with excitement. She knew how much Verny wouldn’t like the idea of Cici dating yet. Cookie delighted in the antics of Cici and the frustrations they gave Verny. Overall, Cici was a great kid, but she was every bit as stubborn and strong headed as her mother was.

  “She’s seeing a boy in her class. It’s new,” Verny said with an eye roll. “They’re not dating, but ‘hanging out’ or whatever they call it these days. It’s like they pre-date before they actually commit to dating.” She sounded overwhelmed by the concept.

  “You and I might have benefited from pre-dating,” Josie joked about her and Verny’s ex-husbands. “Perhaps our exes wouldn’t have made the cut.” Verny only scof
fed in response but didn’t disagree. The smell of coffee permeated the Lucky Dill, instantly calming it’s three inhabitants. Josie busied herself with prepping some of the ingredients for the day. Most everything was made to order, but it went faster if she chopped and shredded different sandwich elements before the day got busy.

  “Are you ladies open yet?” Al said peeking around the edge of the door opening it a small bit. “I know the sign isn’t turned yet, but the coffee smells amazing.”

  “We’re always open for you, Al,” Josie said with a bright smile.

  “Thank you,” he said coming inside. He made sure the door closed tightly behind him to make sure that no one followed. If they weren’t open, he didn’t want to bombard them with customers. “The place looks great, Josie, I love it.”

  “You do?” She asked with a grin. “I love your getup,” she commented. Al was dressed in a Santa costume. He had the hat on, white gloves, a wide black belt with a shiny buckle and black leather shoes. The suit was a deep red velvet, nicer than most you’d find on fake Santa’s. He’d been Santa for so many years it looked like he had gotten to the point where he invested in a suit of his own.

  “Thank you!” He grinned. He fit Santa better than any other mall Santa or fake Santa ever. Though he was quite a bit slimmer than what you might expect, he embodied the spirit perfectly. “I’m on my way to my first shift as Santa this year. Nothing better than that.”

  “You certainly make the best Santa, Al,” Cookie said with a big smile. “The other day we had a couple of other Santa’s in here, none of them can compare to you.” In truth, Cookie had seen one of the Santa’s from the back and had thought it was Al.

  “You are the best,” Verny agreed. It was true, he had the rosy cheeks and the jolly disposition. None of them could imagine seeing Al without a smile on his face. He also loved children and volunteered to read to them at the library on the weekends.

  “No one should compare Santas...we are all doing the same job,” Al said with a smile. He was always like that, not wanting to pit people against one another. “Who’s this little guy?” He asked leaning down to pet Buttercup.