Twinkle, Twinkle Christmas Star
by
Deanna Polito-Laughinghouse
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2011 by Deanna Polito-Laughinghouse.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to characters, places, or incidents are entirely coincidental.
Published by Emerging Edge Publishing
www.emergingedgepublishing.com
Book cover art by Gina Louise
Edited by Natasha Brooks
Questions for the publisher may be directed to:
EmergingEdge_Publishing@yahoo.com
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher
Bible references from: King James version of the Holy Bible.
Acknowledgments
Without God, all of this would not be possible. Thank You Lord!
I would like to thank all of my family and friends for their support as I wrote Twinkle, Twinkle Christmas Star.
A big thank you to my husband and son who put up with me saying, "I am going to write, please do not bother me for a while" and my sister Gina who drew up all of my art and got it done in lightning speed! Thank you all so much!
To three of my top cheerleaders, supporters, and sounding boards: Kells Bells, Sammie "Sopapilla" and Chris "Free Chicken", thank you guys!
I would also like to thank my publisher, editor and the one who gave me a chance, Natasha with Emerging Edge Publishing. You are the best!
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Twinkle, Twinkle Christmas Star
Chapter 3 Black Friday Shopping
Chapter 6 Random! I Am Not Random!
Chapter 11 The Beginning Of A New Life
Chapter 24 Janine On: The Wedding
Delicious Recipes From The Story
Chapter 1
Twinkle, Twinkle Christmas Star
As Crissy looked up into the sky, she decided to make a prayer on what she called her Christmas star. “I’m at rock bottom, there is nowhere for me to go but up from here.” So, she looked up and made her prayer. “I pray my life would change and never be the same again!”
The week before Thanksgiving, 2008:
It was a brisk November morning in Holly Berry, North Carolina. Crissy opened her eyes to look at her red numbered alarm clock. It was 4:30am! It was way too early for Crissy to get out of bed. She did not need to get up until 7am. Crissy decided to get up early so she sat up, slipped on her fuzzy, pink bunny slippers, wrapped up in her matching fuzzy, pink robe and slowly found her way to the bathroom. Just as she finished washing her hands the phone rang. “Who is calling me so early in the morning?” Crissy thought out loud. She walked quickly over to her phone and answered it with a quick, “Hello.” “Hi, Crissy, it’s mommy! Thanksgiving is next Thursday and we would like you to come for a visit, we have someone very special we would like you to meet.” Just as her Mother finished the sentence, Crissy heard a loud beeping noise. Crissy sprung up in her bed and realized it was all a dream. It was now 7am and time for her to get up.
Crissy slipped on her fuzzy, pink bunny slippers and matching robe and walked over to her bathroom. “What a strange dream. It seemed so real,” Crissy spoke to herself. Just as Crissy spoke those words out of her mouth, her phone rang. Crissy slowly turned her head and looked at her phone as if it were an alien from another planet.
She walked cautiously over to it, on her tiptoes as if she did not want it to hear her creeping over to answer. “Hhhheeelllooooo,” Crissy sang softly, as if scared for the person on the other end to answer her. “Hi, Crissy, it’s mommy! Thanksgiving is next Thursday and we just wanted to be sure you are planning to come for a visit.” Crissy held the phone in front of her face and looked at it like it was the strangest thing she had ever seen. “Okaaayyy,” she answered her mother. “We have someone very special we would like you to meet. Crissy, are you there?” “I’m here, mom. I will come.” “Crissy, are you alright?” “Yes, mom. I will leave on the Tuesday before and I will be at your house between 5 and 6pm that evening. See you then.” Crissy did not even wait for her mother to answer; she hung up the phone quickly, as if it were on fire.
“God, are you up there? This is so strange. Is this you? Are you answering my Christmas star prayer I made last night?”
It had been years since Crissy spoke with God. She still went to Church faithfully every Sunday. But, as far as communicating with God on a personal level, it had been years. This interesting turn of events made Crissy’s faith grow. She felt like He still listened to her and that He still wanted to help her.
Crissy then took a shower and got ready for work. Even though Crissy worked from her home, she still carried on as if she had to go into the office.
It assured her she would not slip into a pattern of laying around in her pajamas all day. Crissy wrote a column in her local newspaper entitled, “What’s Happening Around Town.” She wrote daily for her column was printed daily. Crissy wrote several articles each day, to guarantee she had generic extras for the times when she went out of town or needed to take a day off.
Living in Holly Berry for so many years, Crissy knew of the upcoming events and that made it easy for her to write some articles ahead of time. Crissy stepped into the kitchen after she was dressed and made a pot of coffee. As she waited for it to brew, she lit a fire in the fireplace and sat and watched it burn. Her mind drifted to the unusual event that morning. The dream had really taken her off her guard, for she could not explain it. Crissy liked to be in control of her life. She liked to know what was going to happen and when it was going to happen. This explains why she had not totally turned her life over to God. If she did, He would be in control instead of her and she did not like that idea.
Crissy was 32 and single. She was engaged in 1998, but it did not work out. Crissy was seriously dedicated to the relationship, but Joe was not. They were together for six years. Joe would not commit to setting a date for the wedding. One morning, Crissy woke up and realized she was wasting her time. After work that day, she collected Joe’s personal items that she had acquired at her apartment and brought them over to his. He was not there, so she left them sitting on his front porch. He never even called her. She knew she made the right decision.
Crissy had been giving a lot of thought to moving away and possibly starting a new life somewhere else. She had been living in the same apartment for over ten years now. She made good money writing for the paper and was able to save a substantial amount. Her savings would be plenty for a down payment on a new house. Crissy felt it was time to buy a house and settle down. She just needed to find Mr. Right. Or maybe it was time to let God find her Mr. Right; she had not been able to find him on her own in the last thirty-two years!
The week went by pretty quickly for Crissy. She was ready to go and visit her parents and sisters in the North Carolina mountain town of Triple Creek. She finished packing her bags on Monday night and planned to get up early to write her last article for the Thanksgiving week and email it into her boss before leaving town. After packing, Crissy headed up to bed. Her level of excitement kept her from falling asleep right away. Crissy’s thoughts about whom she was going to meet kept her mind busy. She was also thinking about moving back home near her family and friends. She could write her column from there or possibly write one for the town of Triple Creek. Crissy decided to pray: “Dear God, thank you for this day and this trip to spend time with my family and friends. Thank you Lord that you have a plan for my life. I pray you show me what it is. Help me to put you first and set my own ideas and desires aside for yours. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.” Crissy fell asleep.
At 7am her alarm sounded as usual. Crissy was looking forward to writing her article so she could get on the road. It seemed as if she worked at warp speed. Her article was complete by 9am. And it was good! “Wow, thanks God,” Crissy said out loud.
Crissy got in her car and decided to say a prayer for a safe trip. She then, buckled her seat belt and backed out of her driveway. As soon as she got onto I-40, she called her Mother to let her know she was able to leave earlier than she had anticipated and she would be there in just about five hours.
As Crissy drove, she decided to get out some of her Praise and Worship CD’s and listened to them. It had been some time since she popped those into the CD player. Crissy felt so peaceful. She sang along and was having a great time. Before she knew it, she was there! As Crissy pulled into the driveway of her parent’s home, she laid on the horn. Her mom sprang outside the front door, with a smile as big as Texas on her face. Crissy felt warm inside. She was so happy to be home. “Home, I feel at home. Is this a sign from you God? Am I home? Is it time to move back?” Crissy decided she would talk to her mom and dad about moving back and they could all pray about it together.
Crissy and her mom, Cindy, sat down for a cup of hot tea after Crissy got all of her things settled into the guest room. Just as they sat down on the couch to talk, the doorbell rang. “Oh, there is someone special I want you to meet and here she is.” Cindy went to answer the door. Crissy could hear the voice of a woman and a man. Must be some new friends of mom and dad’s, Crissy thought.
About 30 seconds after the door closed, in came walking a woman about 5 feet tall. She had long brown hair and dark brown eyes. She had beautiful, soft skin and her smile lit up her face with a warm glow. “Crissy, this is my special friend Nina. She is the new Pastor at our Church. Nina, this is my wonderful daughter, Crissy, the writer.” “Hello, Crissy, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. Your mother has told me so many wonderful things about you, I feel like I know you so well.” “Oh, thank you, Pastor Nina, it’s so nice to meet you too!” Just after the introductions, in walked an athletic looking man. He was a quite handsome man. Crissy thought he looked a little young for Pastor Nina, but who was she to judge. Crissy’s mom walked closer to Crissy, “Crissy this is Jason Liles. This is the first time we have met. He is Pastor Nina’s nephew and he is in town for Thanksgiving.” Crissy could not speak. She seemed to have gotten her words lost in his dark brown eyes. Jason walked over to Crissy and took her hand, “Pleased to meet you Crissy”. Crissy just stood there and smiled. That was all she could do.
Cindy went to make more tea. Everyone sat down in the living room to talk. Just as they sat down on the couches and chairs, Crissy’s dad walked in with another man. Crissy’s dad, Lou, introduced Crissy to Nina’s husband, James. Lou and James sat down to join in with the conversation.
Cindy started things off, “So, Jason how long will you be in town and where will you be going back home to?” “I will be in town until Sunday. Then, I will be returning to Whitefish, Montana.”
Crissy finally found some words to speak, “Wow, it must be so cold up there this time of year.” “It is, I’m thinking about moving somewhere warmer. I am actually still praying about it.” “That’s so funny, I am praying about the same thing.” Cindy looked at Crissy with a puzzled look on her face.
After a couple of hours of chitchat, Jason and his family left for home. Now, Crissy had a chance to talk about moving with her mother and father. As soon as the door closed, Cindy turned to Crissy, “What is this talk about you moving? Is everything OK? What is going on?” Crissy told her mom and dad everything. Crissy told them all about the dream she had and about the prayer she prayed on what she called her Christmas star. Crissy shared, how since she prayed that prayer just one week ago, her communications with God have greatly improved. She also told them how alone she was feeling and how she was thinking about moving home again. They all held hands and uplifted the situation to God. After they prayed, Crissy went to bed and fell asleep quicker than she ever did at her apartment. God’s peace engulfed her and she felt like she was lying in His arms, like a baby does with her mother.
Crissy woke up to the smell of her mother’s sweet cinnamon rolls and fresh brewed coffee. As Crissy rolled out of bed and into her slippers, Junior, the family Golden Retriever ran in and jumped onto the bed. Crissy tickled his belly and patted his head. She then wrapped herself up in her warm robe and strolled down the stairs. “Ah, she lives,” stated her mother. “Why, what time is it mom?” Crissy had slept until 10am! That was very unusual for her. Normally, even if she did not have to get up for work, she slept no later than 7:30am. Crissy felt different that morning. She felt light and full of peace and joy. She felt like she had no pressures of life holding her down and like she was walking on clouds. It was such a great feeling.
As they ate warm cinnamon rolls and drank their caramel flavored coffee, Crissy and her mom talked about going shopping. “Cris, I’m going to be doing a lot of baking today. Would you like to help me? I have to go shopping for some ingredients first, though.”
Crissy decided to go shopping with her mom. She went upstairs and slipped into her most comfy sweat pants and fleece sweat shirt. She did not even shower, nor did she feel like she had to. She felt so free!
Three hours of baking had flown by. Just as Crissy and Cindy decided to sit for another cup of coffee, the doorbell rang. “I’m not expecting anyone, are you Cris?” “No, mom. Who can it be?” Cindy went to open the door. She peered through the peephole and after she did, she stepped back and smiled at Crissy. “What is it mom?’ Cindy opened the door. “Hello, how are you today?” she sang. Crissy still could not see whom she was talking to. Actually, she did not hear anyone either. Crissy wondered if her mom was losing her mind. Was she talking to the wind?
Just as Crissy got up to walk over to the door, Jason stepped in. “Please forgive my interruption. I have a favor to ask of you, Crissy. My Aunt Nina has put me in charge of assembling and decorating the family Christmas tree. I have never done this before in my life. I know no one else in town, so I came here to see if you would be so kind as to help me. I need your help.”
“Sure, I will help out,” Crissy put on her sneakers and her coat. She grabbed her purse and made sure her cell phone was inside and out the door they went.
Jason drove Crissy over to his Aunt Nina’s house in his green, Ford, F150 truck. After they pulled into the driveway, he stepped out of the truck and walked over to let Crissy out from her side. Jason opened her door and lent her his hand to help her down. How sweet, a real gentleman. Jason put the key into the lock on the front door. He turned the doorknob to let them in. Crissy burst out into a fit of laughter after laying her eyes on the Christmas tree. “What happened to it?” she managed to get out.
The tree was huge; it was at least nine feet tall. It was taken straight out of the box and plopped into the stand. It was obviously the wrong stand for that tree. It was a rotating stand and the tree was definitely too heavy for it. As the stand rotated around, the tree leaned to the side. It was so lopsided, that the angel, that appeared to have once sat on top of the tree, now hung down the side with her head facing the floor. All of the branches shot straight up towards the ceiling and the lights were bunched up in small ball like clusters all over the tree. It looked like he decided to come and get her just in time!
Crissy took off her coat and Jason hung it up in the coat closet for her. “OK, Jay, lets get started.” “That is so funny that you called me, Jay; that is what my family calls me too.” “Hmmmm,” Crissy stated and then she got to working on fixing this disabled Christmas tree. After they got it disassembled and began to re-assemble, Crissy began to ask Jason some questions. “So, Jay, what do you do for a living?” “I was in the Navy and served during the Desert Storm, Gulf War. I was injured so, I receive benefits and disability payments from the government. Aside from that, I am a basketball coach for a 1st and 2nd grade boys’ league back home.” “Oh my, how were you injured?” Jason lifted up the bottom of his right pant leg and showed her his artificial foot that was attached to his artificial leg. “I get around just fine now, I am used to it and to me it feels just as my natural leg felt. I walk, run, play ball and do everything I did before the accident.” Crissy really looked up to Jason now. She had so much respect for him. The fact that he served the country during a war and was a war Veteran really touched her heart. Actually, it filled her heart with love for this man. Crissy’s eyes began to swell with tears as her heart swelled with love.
Jason just smiled at her, as if he knew what she was feeling toward him at the moment. Hours later, Crissy and Jason finished decorating the tree. They had talked to each other the entire time. They talked about everything from their favorite foods to their relationships with God. They had a lot in common.
As Jason drove Crissy home, she thought about how much she would enjoy spending more time with Jason. They listened to Praise and Worship music on the way back to Crissy’s parents' house and actually sang along to the songs together. It was such a peaceful and joyous drive.
As they pulled into Crissy’s driveway, she invited him in for a cup of coffee or hot chocolate. “Oh, hot chocolate sounds wonderful about now. Would you happen to have a cookie to go along with it?” “Oh, we have cookies,” Crissy stated with a smile. As they were walking through the front door, the smell of fresh baked cookies came wafting out of the house. Upon entering the kitchen, they saw hundreds of freshly baked cookies lined up on the kitchen counters, island and table. Jason felt like he entered into cookie heaven! “Will this be enough cookies for you, my friend?” Crissy asked. Jason just smiled at her. “Come in and have a seat, I will make us some hot chocolate.” Jason did just that.
He took off his coat and hung it on the back of one of the kitchen chairs, then, he sat in the chair. Jason enjoyed watching Crissy move her way around the kitchen. She looked like she was walking on the clouds. He found himself sitting there with a big, goofy grin on his face. Crissy brought two big, steaming mugs of hot chocolate over to the kitchen table and cleared a little space of cookies in front of each of them. After she sat down the mugs, she went to the cabinet and got out a small plate. She went around the kitchen and put two of each different kind of cookies on the plate.
Jason saw what she was doing, so he cleared a spot on the table to make room for the plate. Crissy sat down and they sat in comfortable silence, the kind you have when you sit in the same room with your mom or dad and nobody says a word. They cleared their plates of cookies and emptied their cups of hot chocolate. “Ah, that was so good and it hit the spot. Thanks Cris.” “You're welcome, I’m glad I could help.” “Hey, Cris, I really enjoy spending time with you. Would you like to go out for dinner or catch a movie with me tonight or tomorrow night?” “Jason, I would love to. How about we plan for tomorrow night, after the Thanksgiving feast? Hey, how about instead of going to the theater, you come over here and we can watch a movie on my dad’s big screen TV, downstairs? It would definitely be more comfortable and free!” Jason thought that was a wonderful idea, this way if they wanted to talk, they could do so without disturbing anyone. “It’s a date,” Jason shouted.
Chapter 2
Thanksgiving Day
Cindy set her alarm clock for 4am. She needed to get up early to get the turkey started in the oven. They would have a lot of company today, more than usual.
Crissy heard her mom going through pots and pans in the kitchen. Actually, the noise was so loud it appeared she awoke the neighbors as well. Crissy slipped on her pink fuzzy slippers and her robe and slowly made her way down the stairs into the kitchen. “Good morning, Mom. Can I help you with something?” “Good morning dear, I’m so sorry I woke you. I took one roasting pan out of the cabinet and then there was an avalanche. Everything came falling out at me.” Well, that explained all the noise. “How come you have such a huge bird, mom?” “Well, we are having sixteen people over for dinner today,” Cindy stated. “Mom, that’s not right, we only have thirteen of us.” Cindy looked at Crissy like she left her brain up in the bedroom.
“Why do you look at me like that mom?” As it turned out, Cindy forgot to tell Crissy that they were having extra guests over for dinner. In their family they did have thirteen, but this year they were going to have three additional guests.
Cindy had everything under control. Crissy went upstairs and took a hot bath. When she came downstairs, all dressed and ready for the day, she took a seat next to her dad on the couch and together they watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. Crissy looked forward to this every year. It was the child in her. She enjoyed seeing all of the new floats and all of the children’s smiling faces as they passed by. Crissy felt a longing to start her own family that morning. It was a longing like never before. She had often thought about getting married and having children. But this morning was different. The desire was so much stronger in her heart.
At 12 noon, the doorbell rang. Standing there were Crissy’s three sisters and each of their families. Crissy was so happy to see them, but she was particularly excited to see all of her nieces and nephews. Crissy gave them hugs and kisses like never before. Her desire for her own children seemed to intensify immensely over the past couple of days.
Everyone sat down in the living room, Cindy included. They all drank hot chocolate and talked about all the new things in their lives. Some had new jobs, others had just moved into new homes and Crissy’s sister, Ramona, announced a new baby on the way! It was a great time of catching up. At 1pm, the doorbell rang again. Cindy got up and walked over to the front door and answered it. Crissy still did not know who they were expecting to join them for dinner. To her surprise, Nina came walking through the front door, followed by her husband. Crissy sat in anticipation, hoping to see Jason in tow. The front door closed and Jason was nowhere to be seen.
Crissy felt a wave of disappointment swell up inside her. She calmly excused herself from the group and walked up the steps and into her bathroom. As Crissy looked at herself in the mirror, she spoke to herself, “What is going on with me, God. Why am I having all of these strange emotions and feelings lately?” After a few minutes, Crissy dried her tears with a tissue and decided to sit for a few minutes and wait for her Rudolf red nose to simmer down to the color of her flesh again.
As Crissy walked back down the steps, she sat on the couch in the living room, once again. Ramona gave her a strange glare. Crissy and Ramona always had a strong connection with one another. That being said, Ramona could tell that Crissy was not quite right. She said it with her glare, rather than call attention to it in front of the entire group. Crissy just smiled at her with a smile that looked as if it were just painted on and not really being felt from her heart.
Cindy rang the dinner bell and called the group to the table to eat. Crissy walked into the kitchen, her eyes on the floor. She did not even look up as she pulled out her chair and sat down. Lou offered up a prayer of thanks, and with her eyes closed, Crissy heard an extra voice echoed in the Amen. As she looked up from the table, there he was! Jason had apparently snuck in while she was up in the bathroom. He drove his car separately from his Aunt and Uncle, due to his movie plans with Crissy. Crissy now wore a smile, from one ear to the other. Ramona could tell that this one was for real and the rest was history. Ramona could read her sister like a book. This man was someone very special to Crissy, she could just tell.
There was not too much chitchat going on over dinner, except the occasional, can you please pass this or that. Jason could not take his eyes of Crissy though. It was so obvious; the entire table took notice to it. There were a lot giggles and snickers among the family and friends over the looks being sent between Jason and Crissy. They did not even seem to care. It was as if they were in their own world. No, their own Universe!
After dinner, the men headed into the living room to watch football and the ladies chose to stay in the kitchen and talk as they cleaned things up. Ramona pulled Crissy aside and asked her, “ What was that all about? Are you and Jason seeing one another?” Crissy tuned three shades of red. She felt her blood rush into her face as she looked down at the kitchen floor. “Well, maybe,” Crissy answered. “OK, Cris, what is going on here? Just shoot me straight, OK?” Crissy began to unload all of her emotions onto Ramona. She told her how she and Jason met, when they met and all the feelings she was having towards him already.
Ramona smiled as she stood and listened to Crissy. “You’re in love,” Ramona stated, a little too loud. Everyone in the kitchen turned and looked at Crissy. All she could do was smile as she fidgeted with her fingers. Crissy laughed a nervous laugh and gave Ramona the evil eye. “Sorry,” Ramona whispered. Sure, now she chooses to whisper.
Nina walked over to Crissy. “Crissy, my dear, as I was in prayer last night, I had a knowing in my Spirit about you and Jason. I can sense a drawing together of the two of you.” Crissy’s heart began to leap in her chest. Once again, there were no words, all Crissy could do was smile at her.
Some time later, the group sat down for dessert. There was a smorgasbord of items displayed. There were pies: pumpkin, cherry, pecan, sweet potato, blueberry and apple. There were cookies: chocolate chip, peanut butter, snickerdoodles, butter and butterscotch. They had cakes, bars and candies as well. This was another meal in itself! The aroma of fresh brewed coffee filled the house. A sweet tooth’s dream!
After dessert Jason finally had a chance to talk with Crissy alone. As the group departed from the kitchen, Jason sweetly took hold of Crissy’s arm and guided her into the hallway. “So, are we still on for our movie night tonight?” Crissy smiled, as she looked deep into his dark brown eyes. For a moment, she got lost there and forgot she had to answer his question. “We are still on if you are feeling up to it,” she managed to answer. “Oh, Cris, I would not miss spending time with you for the world.”
It was 7:30pm, and time for seconds. As the group gathered around in the kitchen for an evening snack, Jason and Crissy slipped away to watch their movie. Crissy wanted Jason to enjoy the movie, so she made some suggestions she though he might enjoy. She recommended, you know, manly man movies. That was not what Jason was in the mood for; he chose the movie Hitch, with Will Smith. Crissy was happy, this was a much more interesting movie for her.
Crissy got everything all set up. After the movie started, she grabbed a big, purple fleece blanket and snuggled up to Jason on the couch. It just felt right to her. Jason put his arm around her shoulders and they sat in a comfortable silence as they watched the movie. They had planned on talking and getting to know one another better, but the silence was much more comforting. Crissy laid her head on Jason’s shoulder and enjoyed the peace she felt running through her very soul.
Crissy heard a loud noise and it jolted her. She had fallen asleep! She looked over at Jason and it appeared he had done the same. The movie was half way through, for the fourth time. It just continued to play over and over as they slept. Crissy looked at her watch, it said it was 2am! “Wow!” Crissy said, “We fell asleep for some time. And that was the best sleep I have ever had.”
Jason slowly stood up and kissed Crissy on her forehead. “I must get going, this looks bad enough,” he said, then smirked at her with a crooked smile.
Crissy walked Jason to the door. As he stepped outside, he turned and gave her a hug. Crissy squeezed him back. He walked to his car and she closed the front door. As she turned around, there was her mom and dad, sitting quietly on the couch. They stared at her and smiled. No words were exchanged; Crissy smiled back and walked up the stairs, curled up in her bed and went to sleep.
Chapter 3
Black Friday Shopping
Crissy stumbled out of bed as her alarm went off at 3:30am! I must be nuts. It was a tradition for Cindy and her daughters; Crissy, Ramona, Christa and Renee to all go shopping together on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.
Crissy started the water for her shower; she needed one since she fell asleep in her makeup from the day before. After it was warm, she slowly stepped into the tub. The warm water woke her up and rejuvenated her. She took a quick shower, as they needed to be out the door by 3:50am! Crissy slipped on her comfy jeans and a big, purple sweatshirt. She pulled her hair up in a messy bun, put on some make-up, unhooked her cell phone from the charger and put it in her purse. Crissy smelled the warm comforting smell of fresh coffee trickling up the stairs. Yes, mom read my mind. Crissy crept down the steps, careful not to wake her dad on her way into the kitchen. There was Cindy, drinking her umpteenth cup of coffee, looking wired. “Here you go, Cris, I made yours to go. We need to head out now and meet the girls at Kohl’s.” Crissy slipped on her shoes and coat, took the cup from her mom and they were on their way.
Black Friday shopping was always such a challenge when you go shopping with four other women. Yet, they did it year after year after year. The first stop this year was Kohl’s department store. They opened the doors at 4am. The girls were in the line at 3:56am. They made it just in time. If Cindy was not at the first store BEFORE the doors opened, she would be very upset. At 4:04am, the doors opened. It was like someone opened up the floodgates! People were running into the store from all angles! There was the line that they were in, then, there were people waiting on the other side of the doors, making up their own line! As the REAL line began to move into the store, the people who had formed their own line began to run in as well.
Oh, No! What turmoil this created. People started shouting, “You’re cutting the line! Get at the end of the line!” There was such a ruckus, that the store manager phoned the police department! Apparently, they were close because they arrived in seconds. The police kept things under control and kept people in one line and one line only. And this was just the beginning.
It was a cold morning. The thermometer on the car read, 29 degrees. As the line moved from outside to inside the store, it became nice and warm. Then, suddenly hot! Crissy found herself breaking out in a sweat! Crissy pulled her shopping list out of her purse. As she did, out fell her phone. As she picked it up, she decided to take a quick glance at the clock. She opened the phone to see the time and as she did, she saw she had received a text message. It was from Jason! It read: Have fun shopping…thinking of you.
Crissy felt her heart swell and tears form in her eyes. She slowly placed the phone back into her purse and decided to remove her coat, which at this point felt like an electric blanket turned up to ten! People were bumping into her left and right. Crissy already had enough shopping and she was just getting started.
Cindy ran to the house wares department, in search of a food processor on sale for half price. Ramona and Renee ran over to the shoe department and Christa walked over to the children’s section, she was NOT running anywhere this early in the morning. Crissy was in the same state of mind as Christa as she walked over to the men’s department to pick out something special for her dad and maybe Jason.
No matter how Crissy tried to cool off, it was just not working. She decided to step outside for a minute. Bad move! There was such a line to get in this morning, that the store manager had to have people continue to wait outside as to not exceed the stores customer limit. Great! As Crissy waited in the line to get back into the store, she decided to shoot Jason a quick text message in return. She typed: Got ur message, it was sweet. Thnx.
Crissy had not gotten used to the whole text message thing, so it took her ten minutes just to type that! Before she knew it, she was back inside and felt pretty cool.
As Crissy was shopping, she saw her mom, running by with a cart FULL of stuff. Her face was red, from being so hot and she was NOT smiling anymore. Not far behind her, were Ramona and Renee, they were yelling, “Mom, wait up, we did not mean to take the last of the white towels. You can have one.” Crissy smiled and continued shopping. Cindy kept a STRICT time limit on the girls. They only had thirty-five minutes to shop at Kohl’s, that gave them fifteen minutes to wait in line so that they could drive to K-Mart and be there, waiting in that line before the store opened.
Crissy found the perfect gift for her dad. It was a UNC jacket. She also found a Christmas ornament to match the jacket. As she browsed through the ornaments, she found the perfect one for Jason. It was a Christmas tree and it was horribly decorated. She thought of the way he decorated the tree for his Aunt and Uncle. It was PERFECT! He would always remember her when he looked at it, even if he decided to move across the country to a warmer climate.
As Crissy stood in line to pay, she stared at the tree ornament and suddenly got sad. What if she never saw Jason again after this Thanksgiving holiday weekend? What if he went back to Montana and she never saw him again?
Crissy was jolted from her thoughts when she heard her mother shriek. Then, Cindy yelled, “It’s time to go! We have to get to K-mart before they open!” Thankfully, Crissy was next in line to check out. Renee, Christa and Ramona were all in separate lines and were checking out as Cindy shrieked. One thing about her family, they always brought a smile to Crissy’s face.
As they all got their treasures packed away in the trunks of their cars, shoppers were still piling into Kohl’s. Crissy got into the car with Cindy. She was in a mad dash to K-mart. Crissy chose to stay quiet.
As they drove to K-Mart in their mini-caravan, Crissy did not have time to think about Jason. It began to snow! The beauty of the flakes falling from the sky kept Crissy’s mind working. She thought about how God made the earth so beautiful, if people would just take a moment to see it.
Cindy whipped the car into the K-Mart parking lot. The doors had just opened. Oh, no. The mad dash was about to be ON! Cindy practically slid into an open parking space, she un-clicked her seat belt, opened the door and that was the last Crissy and the girls saw of her. Cindy ran to get into the line. Crissy stomach began to growl. She looked across the street and saw a McDonalds then she looked around as if she were a thief about to swipe.
Crissy wanted to be sure her mother did not see her. She decided to skip K-Mart, and feed her growling stomach instead. The place was deserted. Crissy stepped up to the register and ordered an egg and cheese biscuit and a large coffee. Instrumental Christmas music delighted her ears as she took her tray and sat at an empty booth. Oh, the quiet. Crissy knew that they had forty minutes in K-Mart, so she took her time eating and enjoyed the peace and quiet.
The snow was still falling gently to the ground but it did not appear to be sticking to the roads. That was a good thing, because nothing would stop Cindy from shopping today. Crissy finished her biscuit, wadded up the wrapper and placed it into the bag. She removed the lid from her coffee to allow it to cool so she could finish drinking it before she had to leave. She did not want evidence of her deserting her family. Although, seeing her arrive to the car without any bags was a sure give-a-way.
Time was up. It was time to go to the car. Crissy got there before Cindy. Cindy was in such a rush to get out of the car, she forgot to lock it. So, Crissy got right in. Perfect! No one even knew she did not have any bags from K-Mart. Two down and the mall to go.
The trunk of the SUV swung open and Crissy heard Cindy yelling across the parking lot. “Yes, over to the mall. Quick get in, let's go!” Cindy hollered over to the girls. And they were off. Cindy got into the car, buckled her seat belt and slammed the SUV into reverse. The roads must be getting slick, because the car seemed to skid backwards. Oh, just great. The lead in Cindy’s foot must have gotten heavy because her foot fell onto the acceleration pedal like it weighed 500 pounds. Watch out people, here we come!
Thankfully, all they had to do was cross the street and they were at the mall. They arrived within seconds and so did everyone else in town. The parking lot was jam-packed and it was only minutes before 6am. The look on Cindy’s face was priceless. She had a look of such determination. Crissy knew better than to speak. Cindy slammed her foot on the gas and Crissy’s head jolted backwards into the headrest. “I see a spot!” Cindy screamed.
As Cindy went to whip into the spot, she slammed on the brakes just as quick. “What! Who is out driving one of those!” Cindy screeched. Crissy, still clueless as to what was happening, opened her eyes as she rubbed her neck. As the car was pushed into reverse, she saw a motorcycle was parked in the spot.
Crissy decided to silently pray for her mother.
After about five minutes of driving around the mall, they finally parked. You would think that Cindy would be getting tired and slowing down a bit. Nope. She slung off her seat belt and jetted from the car. She disappeared into Macy’s. Thankfully, there was no time limit on mall shopping. It was their final destination of the day.
Crissy had several items she needed to purchase from the mall. It seemed to be less crowded than the other stores were. Crissy was grateful for that. It was warm, but not hot and no one was hitting into her.
The sound of Christmas music tickled Crissy’s ears. She found herself smiling as she shopped. Crissy strolled into Bath and Body Works and found Ramona in there as well. Crissy went and bumped into her pretty hard. “Oh, excuse me Mrs.” she said to Ramona. Hearing it was Crissy, Ramona smiled and looked up. “Mom is nuts,” Ramona stated.
The girls found some really good deals on bath salts and lotions. It was a good day.
Before they knew it, four hours had passed by. Everyone had agreed to meet at the food court at 10am for a bite to eat.
Surprisingly, they all had a taste for Chick-Fil-A. They found themselves conjugated in front. Chicken it was.
After everyone bought their food, they found a place to sit down and eat. They found a quiet table in the corner by the window. As they talked about deals they found, they figured out that they were all finished shopping so they decided they would all go back to Cindy’s house for coffee and cookies. “Do you have any peanut butter cookies left, Mom?” The girls spoke in unison. “Oh, yes, plenty,” Cindy shouted!
Chapter 4
The Saturday After
What a productive day Crissy had on Friday. All of that shopping wiped her out. After they returned to the house for coffee and peanut butter cookies, Crissy fell asleep for most of the day! It was 5pm when she finally woke up! Crissy had a small plate of leftovers from Thanksgiving and went back to bed.
Saturday morning, she awoke bright and early, feeling quite refreshed. Crissy rolled out of bed at 7am when she heard her cell phone vibrating in her purse. She never even took it out to charge it the night before. Thankfully, it still had ¾ of its charge. As she glanced down at the screen, she saw she had three text messages that needed to be read. They were all from Jason. He was concerned because he did not hear from Crissy since early the previous morning. Crissy decided to call him. He deserved a call rather than a text.
“Jason, hi, it's Crissy.” “Hey there, are you alright?” Jason inquired. Crissy told him about the shopping excursion and how she slept for most of the day Friday. Jason asked Crissy if she would like to go with him for lunch. Crissy agreed.
Jason pulled into the driveway at 11:45am, to pick her up for lunch. They were going to eat Italian. They both had enough turkey and dressing to last them until Christmas. Knowing that Jason was very punctual, Crissy had on her shoes and coat. As Jason rang the doorbell, she picked up her purse from the couch and walked over to open the door. There he stood, looking as handsome as ever.
He wore a pair of dark blue jeans and a white t-shirt under a light blue button down shirt that was unbuttoned. Over his shirts, he wore a black leather jacket that also lay unbuttoned. He smelled like a sweet, cinnamon roll. The smell of his cologne was so sweet to her nose; it made her smile at its scent.
Crissy felt refreshed, yet empty inside. She felt sad that their time together would soon come to an end on Sunday. Crissy had decided to move back home. She had to return to Holly Berry to tie up some loose ends with work. She had already given her landlord her 30-day notice and she had yet to pack up her apartment. She was happy about moving back home, but sad about being without Jason.
As Jason walked Crissy to his truck, he could sense something was not right with her.
“What is the matter, Cris?” Jason asked after he sat in the drivers seat of the truck. Before he started it up, he waited for her answer.
“Well, to be honest, I’m sad. I have had such a wonderful weekend…spending time with you, and I do not want to see it end.” Jason was shocked. He was having the same feelings toward Crissy.
“Cris, I have to admit, I feel the same about you. I plan to come back for Christmas and until then we can email and phone one another to keep in touch.” It made Crissy happy to know that he was feeling the same way towards her. Is this the man you have for me, God?
Crissy agreed that that would be great, if they could keep in touch. Another concern she had on her heart was where he would be moving. He said he wanted to move to a warmer climate, did that mean was he going to move across the country to California? Crissy would just have to wait and see.
Jason and Crissy arrived at Amore’s restaurant. Jason opened the door for Crissy and asked the host if they could sit somewhere quiet. They sat at a small table for two, which was quaintly placed in the back corner of the room.
“Thank you, this is perfect,” Jason spoke to the host. Jason pulled out Crissy’s chair and gently pushed it in as she sat down. Chivalry is something Crissy had grown to love about Jason.
Jason and Crissy sat and chatted playfully with each other. They joked and picked on one another. Jason picked on Crissy about her mom and how crazy she had gotten about her shopping on Friday. Crissy could not think of the last time she spent time with a man and had as much fun. The server arrived to take their orders. After he sat down a basket of bread and butter Crissy ordered a coke and Eggplant Parmesan. It was to be served over a generous portion of pasta. Jason ordered himself a coke as well and a Chicken Marsala dish, also served over pasta.