The following story is dedicated with love to my dear friend and fellow author, Dawna Slater (DDSweet),
Authors' Christmas FanFiction Exchange 2022 #holidayficexchange.
Dawna requested a story be written, leaving the pairing as the author's choice.
She requested the Christmas Carol: O Holy Night.
She also requested the Christmas Themed Objects to be an Angel, an Ornament, and a Present
The Time Frame was to be left as the author's choice.
Dawna, I hope you enjoy your gift of words...
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A HOPE VALLEY CHRISTMAS
Chapter I
"Unexpected Changes"
"In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried unto my God: He heard my voice out of his temple, And my cry came before him, even into his ears."
Psalms 18:6*
. . .
An expectant air of festivity and busyness mingling with huge smatterings of profound and renewed hope, happily wafted over the little town of Hope Valley, as soft flurries of snow sleepily danced their way to the ground.
The wintry crisp air, a brief reprieve, was less cold than what was usual for this season, and thus felt like a precious gift to fully enjoy before the heavier onslaught of inclement weather that was sure to follow.
Even the sky above was richer, deeper, and brighter: the expanse shone in a beautiful shade of cerulean blue, lifting everyone's spirits simply by towering above them.
One couldn't look at a sky like that and doubt the presence of God. For today, He was everywhere, gifting His People beyond measure with many reasons for that aforementioned profound and renewed hope.
There was, of course, first and foremost, the celebration of the Christ Child's birth growing near, in this the Lord's Year of Nineteen Hundred and Eighteen, as the 25th of December was only eight short days away.
The gift of this Friday included the beginning of Holiday preparations being started in earnest, first as a collective effort together decorating the town, then later as families individually decorating each of their homes.
The fragrant scent of chestnuts roasting on a nearby fire at the end of Main Street couldn't possibly be missed. An unmistakable nutty, toasty goodness deliciously filled the entire block, which reeked with the news Christmas was near, just as though there had been a chorus of bells ringing, heralding its coming. A jovial old vendor proffered the delectable sweet buttery treat with a joyful, somewhat toothless, smile for anyone who had an extra penny to spare. And in the giving spirit of the Holidays, he filled their bag most generously, full to the brim, giving them more than enough to share, along with the friendly scriptural reminder: "But don't forget to be doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased!" Not only was that sound Christian advice straight from Hebrews, but the words also nudged his customers to sometimes add an extra penny to his coffers, although that wasn't the good man's intent at all! (*2)
Yes, the Spirit of Christmas was alive and well!
Lee and his team of stalwart men, with much consternation and difficulty, were in the laborious process of unloading and placing the huge town Christmas Tree, otherwise known as the 'Wishing Tree,' which was bigger than ever before at Rosemary's insistence, in the very center of the Main Street Square.
"Rosie, I told you this tree was much too big!" yelled a most frustrated Lee. "This monster is either going to break our backs, our equipment, or both! Not sure which goes first."
"You all are doing great, Sweetheart! This Tree is going to look perfectly majestic!" assured his wife, and with a wave of her arm, she turned her attention to what she considered were more pressing matters.
Which brought a round of laughter from his crew!
"Come on, Lee, it's going to look 'perfectly majestic!'" taunted his men.
"Gentlemen, I'm the one who gets the distinct pleasure of living with that beautiful Young Lady. Meaning, we're getting this monster of a tree upright and perfectly straight if it's the last thing we do! Got it?"
"Yes, Sir, Boss!"
Without a moment's hesitation, the sturdy lumberjacks began again, doing their best to move the gigantic specimen in front of them, this time with a renewed incentive for resolution...
Suddenly, the town's school children raced into town in an elated but chaotic onslaught!
In their own words, they were 'finally free,' happily out on their Christmas Break, so thrilled for their newfound freedom.
While the children had counted the minutes all morning long, their teacher had seemed even more distracted than usual, and to their supreme delight, she officially ended the morning's classes an hour earlier than expected, at 11 A.M.
Sadly, the pupils were even more relieved than usual to be out on this particular Christmas Break, as these last few months, there had been an undercurrent of tension in the classroom that had changed the way they felt about making the daily trek to the little one-room schoolhouse.
It was common knowledge throughout the little town, that the students' enthusiasm for school had waned considerably.
Somehow, the pupils' consensus was that learning was no longer fun, even for the top students, who were also finding it difficult to concentrate given their increasingly tense and unpredictable environment.
Many had complained to their parents that their teacher seemed somewhere else, not at all herself. And although the parents knew this to be the case even from their own adult conversations and interactions with her, they said nothing about that knowledge, instead encouraging their children, Allie included, to be patient, as hopefully, this too would pass.
Given all this, the young ones were now totally oblivious to their surroundings, celebrating wholeheartedly by playing in the snow with their boundless energy and enthusiasm. They chased after each other, joking, laughing, and racing, while impatiently waiting for enough snow to fall to manufacture a good old-fashioned snowball fight.
Until then, there were a variety of games being played to pass the time, from marbles and checkers on the cleared boardwalk to hopscotch marked in the snow and silly made-up relays in the less busy parts of the street...
Exhausted with being cooped up inside all morning, Constable Nathan Grant, humble, yet unwittingly resplendent in his red serge, leaned against his door frame and watched the picturesque scene before him from the Regional Mountie Office, holding a cup of steaming hot coffee in his hand.
How could one not feel inspired looking up at that beautiful sky? A sky his sister, Colleen, without doubt, would have been furiously painting in an effort to preserve its magnificence on canvas as future proof of its presence. Nathan wasn't an artist, and couldn't paint that well, at least, not at all like her, but he could write, and perhaps that's exactly what he would do tonight after Allie had gone to bed.
It warmed his soul to see Allie actually having fun! There hadn't been much of that in recent months. But he was determined to change that and give his daughter her best Christmas Break and Christmas Day ever.
The Constable's eyes soon moved to the women of the town, led by none other than Rosemary LeVeaux Coulter, as they busied themselves hurriedly placing the last-minute touches on what appeared to be exquisite Holiday decorations he knew they had secretly been working on for months.
Their unique, ornate decorations had never been seen before, and the extreme secrecy surrounding them created a new Holiday excitement and expectancy for the entire town, anxious to see the end result.
Three months ago, it had been Rosemary who had insisted all the town's old decorations had to be tossed, and replaced with new!
Of course, as always, Rosemary personally had raised the funding for the project, from the town businessmen and businesswomen, proudly goading and shaming them into contributions like no other!
She was also the self-appointed director of the major re-do. But the townspeople had learned a long time ago, she could direct like no other. If something needed to be done, Rosemary Coulter was the person to see it was done not only perfectly, but efficiently too!
And everyone in town knew it.
"Michael Hickam, that bunting is as crooked as a winding road. Up a little on the right…no, not your left, your right! And pull it taunt at the top. Lift it at least six inches higher. Higher…higher…two inches higher…that's it! Stop! Pull it tighter now…and keep it straight, too."
Nathan was ready to run and steady the poor man's ladder, but Bill walked out of his office and saw Mike's precarious position just in time to stabilize him.
"What are you doing, Rosemary? Trying to kill the poor guy?"
"Bill Avery, Mike, like the good citizen he is, volunteered his services. Would you like to take his place instead?"
"Not me; I have a Court Case," excused Bill as he pulled out the timepiece from his pocket with much aplomb and glanced at it for maximal impact. "Well, would you look at that? Starts in about ten minutes!"
"A Court Case? Bill Avery, it is Christmas, and I'll have you know preparing our town for the Lord's Birthday takes precedence over Court Cases and everything else, period! Can you please steady Hickam before he tears down the bunting he's already put up?"
"Yes, Ma'am! What's a broken leg or two? Wouldn't want to drop the bunting!" mocked Bill sardonically.
Thankfully, Rosemary didn't catch Bill's sarcastic attitude or biting words, nor his mock salute behind her back.
"Ladies, a few more Poinsettias on each end of the Boardwalk, both sides! Remember, group each collection of pots in odd numbers, never even! And, stagger the heights. Florence, please see that these larger wreaths go on each business door, bow at the top, and fluff both the bow and evergreen! Molly, please place the smaller wreaths in the center of each window. Make sure the ribbons are hanging at the exact same length. The ribbons will need fluffing, too, along with the wreaths! Lee has already had his men place the nails, so everything is ready for hanging, Ladies! Cat, will you oversee wrapping those banisters with the widest red velvet ribbon? Make sure the spacing is perfectly consistent between each set of spindles, please! Center one wrap-around between each two. Even an eighth of an inch will throw the look completely off. And after all the hard work we've done, we want everything to simply shine!"
Yes, the little town of Hope Valley was abuzz like never before...
The afternoon passed slowly for the decorators, especially with Mike Hickam making frequent visits inside the Café to warm up with Coffee, Hot Tea, and Hot Chocolate, which Rosemary had arranged to be complimentary and on the house, in appreciation for everyone's hard work.
Even the children happily volunteered to do odd jobs, just so they could get a free Hot Chocolate with Whipped Cream and added Marshmallows too!
"Everything is coming together very nicely, Ladies! We're right on schedule. Slow, but sure gets the job done!"
"Hey, what am I, chopped liver?" asked Hickam, starting to resent his endless list of difficult chores.
"Wonderful job, Mike, Lee, and all the Gentlemen. Our Wishing Tree is perfection! Looking very majestic, if I do say so myself. The best we've ever had!"
"It's the biggest we've ever had, but what about my bunting?" asked Mike, dejectedly.
Not hearing him, Rosemary had already started to assess the exact placement of the huge Christmas Tree to ensure it was perfectly and precisely straight!
"I think your bunting is beyond perfection, Mike," came a soft voice from behind him.
Mike glanced back to see Katie Yost watching from a short distance. Had she been watching him the whole time? Here she was, waiting like he was supposed to say something.
But as nerves took over, nothing would come out of his speechless mouth.
"Mike! Hop to it. Lots more bunting to do," ordered Rosemary, on her way back from the Tree. "No time to lollygag around!"
Mike turned in a daze, but red-faced, kept glancing back at Katie.
Finally, she smiled. Now, that, he could do. So, he smiled back broadly, then winked, not at all realizing that could totally be construed as flirting.
Poor Mike...
By now, the snow had begun to form drifts against the Boardwalk, enough to offer the perfect arsenal for forming snowballs.
Deciding to check the weather, Nathan, who had gone back inside to work on his daily reports, wandered back to the door with another cup of hot Coffee just as Robert threw the first onslaught, his fists packed full of precipitation.
The Constable couldn't help but proudly grin as he watched. Allie threw those balls back at Robert just like a Mountie. After all, he and her Uncle Gabe had been the ones to teach her!
But even with his daughter's expertise, the Constable could see the girls were badly outnumbered.
Setting down his Coffee, he grabbed his overcoat and gloves while leaving his Stetson behind, and headed out to the street where the fight was going on.
"You guys need to be careful and not hit those adults behind you," he reminded them in a most serious tone.
But as the guys looked behind them, the good Constable mounted a few balls of his own, and threw with a vengeance!
"Way to go, Dad!"
"Mountie Nathan can really throw," shouted Opal.
"Yay! Finally, we have a chance," agreed Emily.
"Oh no, Mr. Boo-chard," warned Anna in a low voice.
Sure enough, upon seeing Nathan join the girls, Lucas had donned his fancy coat, hat, scarf, and dress gloves and quickly joined the guys' side.
But even Allie knew it didn't matter how good the man could pack a snowball, he couldn't throw it worth a lick.
"Stay focused, girls!" she ordered. "We've got this!"
Nathan wanted the earth to swallow him, but he couldn't leave his daughter and her friends defenseless, so he stayed, hurriedly packing more snowballs.
By this time, the entire decorating committee had dropped what they were doing to gather and cheer their Mountie on. Unabashedly, they left no doubt whatsoever whose team they were on. A raucous round of cheers burst forth with each hit from the girl's side.
Nathan scored three direct hits to copious cheers, aiming for the boys' largest player, which was, of course, Lucas Bouchard.
But make no mistake, Lucas was aiming or trying to aim, as Allie would say, only for Nathan Grant, as though there was some sort of score to settle.
Lucas scored one hit out of three, but sadly for him, it wasn't Nathan who was hit.
Instead, the good Constable lithely ducked, and poor little Opal safely took the hit in his place!
Quite a few snowballs were still flying through the air, but soon everything quietened as the cheering crowd's eyes veered in another direction.
When the boys dropped their snowball-filled hands to their sides, Nathan turned to see why everyone appeared to be speechless and seemingly terrified.
His heart sank.
But the townspeople who had gathered along with the decorating committee as well as Lee's crew, decided to withhold judgment, seeing this as a possible opportunity.
For unknown to Elizabeth Thatcher Thornton, who was barreling toward them with all her might, the townspeople fiercely held a combined and profound hope along with a very detailed plan. Each adult citizen held the committee's secret plan dear and close to their hearts. And I might add they were committed to making their plan come true, no matter what it took.
For now, they'd simply be patient and wait for the teacher's attack because all of them, most of all Constable Grant, recognized that attack mode. He, more than anyone, had been on the receiving end of it. And at least once, if not more, it had been publicly, and embarrassingly in front of the whole town.
Unfortunately for Lucas, he had never been on the receiving end of this from anyone, much less his adoring fiancée.
In fact, he was relishing yet another attack on his nemesis, as he was sure that was exactly what was coming.
Instead, Elizabeth headed straight toward him.
Perhaps he was misreading her, and she simply wanted to see him. Maybe have an early dinner with him. Yes, surely, that was it! She was aggravated because he had gotten busy and hadn't called her after school.
But how was he to know she would dismiss her classes earlier than expected? She couldn't possibly hold him accountable for that!
And as Little Jack wasn't with her, she simply had to be coming for private time with the man she loved.
Not perceptive enough to be at all discerning of his intended, he even smugly walked toward her, reaching out to embrace her, claiming his ownership in front of the whole town, and in particular, the town's Constable!
A huge mistake.
"Lucas Bouchard!"
Her seething tone cut through the entire town, all that is, except the intended recipient.
Nathan recognized this voice. The school children recognized this voice. And they all knew not to ever want to be on the receiving end of it.
By this time, hearing all the commotion, the good Judge had joined the bevy of decorators with the rest of the town out on the Boardwalk.
"How dare you!" Elizabeth angrily spat out.
Lucas was still reaching out to her, having no idea what was happening, but everyone else was rapidly getting a clue, and wide-eyed, they couldn't believe what they were seeing and hearing.
"Oh, I'd pay big money for this," whispered Bill to Nathan.
"Hush, Bill!" muttered Nathan under his breath.
All the Constable wanted to do was make a beeline for his office, but he was hemmed in, surrounded now by both children and adults.
The town had grown so silent, you could hear a pin drop.
But that didn't deter Elizabeth Thatcher Thornton in the slightest.
"Elizabeth, perhaps we should go inside my office for privacy," suggested Lucas, finally getting a clue this was serious business, but still trying to take her hand.
"Your office! No, Lucas. I will not be going into your office ever again, and for what it's worth, I deeply regret having ever done so. How could you do this to me?"
"Do what?" he asked innocently.
"Do what? Are you that insensitive? My son is at home crying over that twig of a tree you left for him! Oh, I'll get you a nice Christmas Tree you said. You promised my child! He believed you! And, funny enough, that monumental heartbreak is not even why I'm here!"
"Oh, this is gonna be good," whispered Bill. "Has she finally gotten her brain back?"
"Bill," warned Nathan sharply, again under his breath.
"Sweetheart, what is wrong?" asked Lucas with all the empathy he had ever had to muster.
"Don't you 'Sweetheart' me! What is wrong?" she screeched incredulously.
Lucas looked at her blankly.
"What is wrong?" she repeated. "You changed the dedication to my book without my knowledge, and you published your version, not mine, without so much as a mention to me, much less approval? Oh, and my newly published book is now dedicated to you, the supposed love of my life, with no mention of my husband, the father of my child? How dare you?"
At that point, Elizabeth took off her huge diamond ring and flung it at a disbelieving Lucas, but he wasn't quite quick enough to catch it, causing it to land somewhere in the snow.
"I don't know what I was thinking! Or if I was even thinking at all! You, Lucas Bouchard, disgust me! Oh, and here are the cards you were teaching my three-year-old son to play!"
"Oh, I had that as my line," whispered Mollie to Florence.
"Elizabeth, he's almost four!" insisted Lucas, as if that made a profound difference.
The look she gave him could have slain.
In a complete furor, Elizabeth reached into her pocket and, with all her might, flung the deck of cards directly at Lucas, some hitting him with the others scattering all around him!
It was on that note, she turned on a dime and marched back to her rowhouse, with Lucas following a safe distance behind after frantically retrieving the diamond ring and safely pocketing it, while leaving the cards scattered across the road.
"Bravo!" noted Bill in a shocked whisper. "It's about time!"
The Judge started to clap, which was exactly what everyone else besides Nathan wanted to do, but they restrained themselves.
Each and every person was in total disbelief.
This breakup was what each one there, again besides Nathan, had prayed for, and even planned for. But never in a million years had they thought it would be this easy!
Their Elizabeth was back, and they hadn't even intervened, at least not yet!
"I can't believe it. The dear child saw the light without us having to do a thing," cried Florence.
"Oh, we still aren't completely out of the woods yet," warned Rosemary, who knew her friend all too well. "We stick to our plan no matter what!"
Nathan was sick and literally marched to his Office, closing the door firmly behind him, daring Bill to follow...
Standing and leaning his head back, with all 6 foot 3 inches of him pressed against the door, Nathan's heart felt like it was beating out of his chest.
"Calm down. This has nothing whatsoever to do with you. She is out of your league. She doesn't love you. She told you so. You are nothing to her but a friend when she needs one, and it happens to be convenient for her. You are a Mountie who is a constant reminder of her dead husband. You are nothing to her, Nathan Grant."
"Dad?" asked Allie softly through the door.
Panicked, Nathan sent up a quick prayer.
'Please don't let her have heard. Help me, Dear God! Calm me!'
Nathan ran his hands over his face and through his hair.
"Yes, Sweetheart, just a moment."
"Dad?" Nathan heard the worry in his daughter's voice and knew he couldn't wait.
He took three deep breaths, then turned and opened the door, and what he saw in Allie's eyes literally devastated him.
Those beautiful shimmering cocoa-colored eyes were full of hope once again.
He wrapped his daughter in his arms and kissed the top of her head.
"Are you alright, Dad?"
"I will be, Allie. I will eventually be fine."
"Dad, everyone says she loves you, and this proves it!"
"Allie, I need you to sit down and listen to me."
He helped Allie to one of the chairs in front of his desk, positioning them both so they could sit face-to-face.
'Please give me the words, Dear God!' he prayed again silently.
"Allie, I promised you the best Christmas Break and best Christmas Day ever. And that's exactly what I'm going to give you," Nathan paused, taking her hands.
"Remember when I told you Mrs. Thornton didn't reject you?"
"Yes," but he could still see the pain on her face.
"Sweetheart, she didn't reject you at all. She loves you. Very much. But the truth is, she rejected me. She doesn't love me in that way, Allie. Not in the way I loved her. So, whatever happens between her and Mr. Bouchard doesn't change that. I'm just her friend, Allie, that's all."
Allie started crying, and he knelt in front of her.
"But, Dad, you're a million times better than anybody else. And even though you told me not to say it, you know who I mean."
"Allie, sometimes adult things are hard, and they don't work out the way we want, but in the long run, things turn out for the best. Do you understand?"
"I'm trying to. But this is really hard, Dad."
"Yes, it is hard, Sweetie! I'll be perfectly honest and tell you something as your father, I probably shouldn't. It's really hard for me too."
Allie flung her arms around her Dad and just sobbed.
Nathan just let her cry, rubbing circles continuously over her back the whole time.
When her crying started to subside, and she began to sniffle, he took out his handkerchief and wiped her tears.
"Now, Allie, we've both cried our hurts away. And all that is in the past. What I want us to focus on is having the best Christmas ever, you and me, just like I promised. Can you do that? We go find our tree tomorrow!" he added hopefully.
Allie nodded through her tears.
"I'll really try, Dad, I promise."
Nathan got up and wet a cloth, then came back and wiped his daughter's face.
"Allie, you are the best daughter in the world. I love you so very much!"
"I know you do! And I love you that much back!"
"Ready to go back out and play some more before it gets too cold?"
"Dad, can I help Auntie Rosie put up the decorations instead? I don't want to listen to the kids talk about all this."
"I'm so sorry you have to listen to gossip like that. But I think Auntie Rosie would really appreciate your help! Allie, you choose dinner for tonight. What would you like? I'll get everything we need on our way home."
"Can we roast a chicken and make Grandma's dumplings?"
Nathan chuckled.
"That's always your favorite, isn't it?"
She giggled.
"Always!"
"It's a deal, Allison Rose!"
He kissed her goodbye and patted her shoulders while pulling her scarf snugly around her as she went outside.
But as soon as he waved goodbye and locked the door behind her, he quickly turned and collapsed in his chair.
Grieving, he folded his arms on his desk, hid his face, and irrevocably sobbed…
. . .
*1. Psalms 18:6, The Holy Bible, King James Version, Public Domain
*2. Hebrews 13:16, The Holy Bible, World English Bible, Public Domain