Good Morning Darlings!

I know for some of us, the weather will absolutely not permit cozy socks right now. If you still want to participate in the photo share, maybe send us a photo of what they look like!

A few questions from last chapter: Yes, the whole gang is involved. FFN wouldn't allow us to list them all on the story. And yes, Rose is in desperate need of some Christmas magic, something Alice has in abundance!

Thank you so much to Fran for Beta work, and to Gemma and Pamela for pre-reading!

Chapter 2: A Magical Year

December 2, Thursday

Forks, Washington

Alice

"Miss Brandon! Look!"

I'm in the middle of storytime when one of the kids screams, pointing to our classroom windows. The class turns our collective attention to the windows where the gray clouds are filling the sky. It looks like it's about to rain, but we all know better.

Growing up in Forks, Washington, you learn to spot the difference between rain clouds and snow.

I eye the clouds and turn back to the class. "It looks like it might snow later," I tell them. They all turn to me. "But it won't be for a while yet. Shall we get back to our book?"

One of my students scrunches her nose. "How do you know?"

I give her a wide grin, tapping the side of my head. "I know things," I tease.

The kids take a minute to talk about possible snow, and I set the book on my lap, happy to listen to their conversation. When there is a natural lull, I pull the book up from my lap again. "Shall we?"

I continue reading, mentally making a note to pull out my favorite snow books. I doubt we'll get any today, but I know it's coming. Not every year in Forks is a white Christmas, and we haven't had snow in the last few but I have a feeling…

It's going to be one of those magical years.

We wrap up our story just before the bell is set to ring, dismissing school. While the children are gathered, I lead them through our goodbye song before we all stand to gather our things.

This is my second year teaching Kindergarten, and I love it more and more every day.

When the children have all left for the day, I set out to clean up my classroom. Down the hall, I can hear the first-grade teacher, Angela, chatting to another faculty member. I pull my phone out of my desk, ensuring I don't have any missed messages before turning on my favorite Christmas music station playing all the classics.

Jasper has been teasing me about listening to Christmas music since 12:01 on November first, but I don't care. I never get tired of Bing Crosby's Christmas.

Frosty the Snowman begins to play, and I sing along as I clean and set my classroom up for the next morning. After tomorrow, we'll only have two weeks of school before Winter Break. My kids have been hard at work making holiday gifts for their families, and I smile as I check them all for any glue spillage.

When I'm done tidying up and prepping activities for the next day, I return to my desk, pulling out my thick planner to make a list of all the things I need to bring from home.

"I swear, that thing has doubled in size."

I look up and smile at Angela's teasing tone. "Probably," I admit, tapping my planner. "Between holiday planning and wedding planning, I've got a lot to capture."

Angela grins and steps into my classroom. "How is it all going?"

I shrug. "Fine. We've set a date for our engagement party."

It's been only four days since Jasper proposed on my birthday. I knew we'd get married someday-Jasper and I are soulmates. I hadn't expected it on my birthday, though, and the surprise had been amazing.

I've been busy putting wedding plans into action ever since.

Thankfully, my tendency to plan everything has become an asset. Even though we aren't planning to get married for a few more months, almost all the details have already been sorted.

It's all come down to communicating with vendors.

Angela takes a seat next to my desk, looking over my to-do list. "I don't know how you manage it all," she says, shaking her head. "I'm exhausted after the school day. I barely have time to cook dinner, let alone take on the world."

I laugh, shrugging lightly. "I don't know. It's something I love doing, so I guess I just find the energy for it."

She nods, understanding.

We catch up on our days, exchanging stories about our students. Angela has the kids who were in my class last year, so I'm able to keep up with all her anecdotes about them.

A quarter to three, we both pack up, ready to head home.

"It looks like snow," Angela says, glancing up at the sky as we step into the staff parking lot. I smile.

"Not yet."

She looks over at me, offering a small smile. "One of your feelings?" she teases. We laugh as we both unlock our cars. "Have a good night, Alice."

I wave to her as she climbs in. I toss my purse on the passenger seat, and I'm about to climb in when my phone rings in my hand. I look down, grinning as I answer.

"Bella! How is my maid of honor?"

"Hey, Alice," she chuckles. "How are you?"

I settle into my car, transferring my phone to Bluetooth.

"Great. Just heading home. I still have a pile of Christmas cards to send out."

She hums. "Same here," she tells me. "Except, not the Christmas card part. I'm going home for a hot bath and a plate of cookies."

I smile. "Well, expect a Christmas card in the mail from me. I know you're going to be here, but it's better to get them in the mail."

Bella laughs.

"It does make checking the bills a little better," she teases. "Speaking of coming home, I just checked my work schedule. I can head to Forks sooner than I thought."

I let out a small shriek that I immediately try to silence because if it's too loud for me, it's definitely deafening to Bella on the phone. "Sorry," I giggle. "I'm just so excited to see you again."

She laughs. "Me too, Ali."

I sit in the parking lot while we chat and catch up, and when we end our call, I feel lighter than ever.

It's going to be one of those magical years.

Alice is off to finish off her Christmas Cards and so are we.

Which brings us to some really exciting news. We have Sycamore Christmas Cards we are just waiting to send out! If you would like to sign up for our Christmas Card list, please PM or message us on FB with an address where we can send the card! Don't worry, any private information will only be seen by the three of us and we intend on keeping it private!

Tomorrow, it's time to see a light! Can be outside, or inside, but let's see those lights twinkle!

See you loves then!