Christmas at Saltwater Cove: a Westcott Bay novella Read online

  Sandy smiled to herself – it was certainly the most unique way she’d ever seen Santa make an entrance.

  As soon as the ship docked, Santa walked down, patting his belly and shouting, “Merry Christmas!”

  Within moments, he was surrounded by children who took him by the hands and led him up the dock.

  “Where are they going?” asked Sandy.

  “Ah,” said Jade. “The historical society has a chair set up for Santa so the kids can get their pictures taken and tell him what they want for Christmas.”

  “All right Margie.” Sandy sighed. “You were right.”

  “About what?”

  “It was definitely worth making it here early so I could see that. It was adorable.”

  Margie smiled. “I’m glad to hear you say that.”

  “Where to now?” asked Sandy. “Is there caroling? Or ornament decorating? Or…”

  Sandy paused. At the end of the dock, just behind the crowd of children, a man stood waving. Was he looking at them?

  “Do you know that guy? He looks oddly familiar but I can’t place him…”

  “Isn’t that…” said Jade slowly.

  Margie cut her off. “Oh my gosh, would you look at that! If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that looks like Jack Pappas!”

  Sandy turned to her. “What? That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Wait,” said Jade. “Is he the guy we met last week, Mom? At that restaurant in Seattle and you said – ”

  Sandy cleared her throat. “Let me guess, your mom remembered him from high school?”

  “Yeah!” replied Jade.

  “Did she also tell you that he was my high school boyfriend?”

  “Hello Jack!” Margie called out, waving and walking toward him.

  Sandy wanted to say something to her, but she was already halfway down the dock.

  She let out a sigh.

  No, her sister hadn’t met her at the airport with a prank sign. She went and did something much more embarrassing – Margie went and found her high school boyfriend and somehow dragged him all the way to San Juan Island.

  Chapter 2

  Santa Claus, engulfed in a swarm of kids, steadily moved up the dock and onto the street. Jack stood watching and thinking of his own daughter; where had the time gone? He could close his eyes and see her in his mind’s eye, age six, excited about Santa like it was yesterday.

  And now she was married and having her own kid!

  He let out a sigh and gazed out onto the water. Such was life, always moving too fast for his tastes. Perhaps this trip was a mistake – instead of being alone at home on Christmas like he’d initially planned, he’d be alone and in a strange place. The thought of it hung on him like a weight.

  But before he got too lost in thought, something caught his eye – at the end of the dock, near Santa’s ship, was Margie and her daughter Jade. And as promised, Sandy was with them too.

  The weight pressing on his chest lifted and a smile spread across his face.

  When Jack had run into Margie last week in Seattle, he couldn’t believe his luck. He hadn’t seen her in over twenty years and she just appeared, as if by magic.

  “Jack! My daughter Jade showed me an article in the paper and I recognized you instantly! I can’t believe that this wonderful restaurant is yours! And we just had to come and see for ourselves.”

  He smiled. “Yes, Jade’s right. But after this week, it’s no longer going to be my restaurant.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” said Jade. She had the same delicate features of her mother, but her voice was much softer.

  “Right!” Margie continued. “You’ve sold it? Successful, and you’re famous too.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” he said with a laugh. “But the paper did a very nice write up about the restaurant. It’s really taken on a life of its own.”

  “Why did you decide to sell it? Do you have something else in the works?” asked Margie.

  “Not exactly. My daughter, Helen, moved out to Massachusetts. She’s married now, and expecting her first child this spring. I wanted to be closer to her, so – I’m moving!”

  “Oh how lovely! And how’s Susan?”

  “You have a good memory,” Jack replied. “Susan’s good. And actually – well, we’re not together anymore. We split up about two years ago.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  It was always awkward telling people about the divorce, but there was no nastiness between them. Nearly thirty years of marriage was still a success in his book. They’d just grown apart. “It’s quite all right.”

  Margie smiled. “And that’s exciting – moving across the country! Are you planning on spending Christmas with Helen?”

  He shook his head. “Not this year. She’s spending the holiday with her husband and in-laws – down in Florida. I’m actually on my own this Christmas.”

  “Well we can’t allow that,” Margie said, setting down her fork. “Listen, I just moved to San Juan Island. I have a little barn where I’m hosting a Christmas cookie contest in two weeks, and I just cannot find a caterer. And seeing that you’re not busy, what would you think of coming to the island for a little work vacation?”

  Jack chuckled. “Well that’s a very enticing offer, but – ”

  Margie continued. “Plus, the island has all kinds of lovely Christmas activities – I’m sure there are plenty of places to stay, too. Actually, I know a place. I could get you a deal. And, who knows, you could reconnect with some old friends?”

  He didn’t know what she meant by old friends, but he wasn’t interested in being the lonely guy on an island of happy people. “Oh – that’s very nice of you. I’ll think about it.”

  Margie’s stare on him was unbroken. “Did I mention that Sandy is coming to visit for the whole month of December?”

  Oh.

  Now she had his attention. He hadn’t spoken to Sandy since he went to college – and she dumped him.

  “Really? The whole month?”

  Jade giggled. “It’s a funny story. She got called into an emergency surgery, and then – ”

  “Did something happen to her?” asked Jack.

  “No, no – nothing bad happened,” Margie waved a hand. “It wasn’t her surgery. She’s a surgeon. A pediatric surgeon.”

  “Oh! I didn’t know that.” Jack was never able to find out much about Sandy after they’d broken up. He’d get the occasional news from his mom – that she was going to medical school, that she’d gotten married – but it seemed that Sandy never wanted to reconnect or catch up with him.

  “You know,” Margie went on, “she’s also divorced! Well – not as recently. It’s been about…oh, I guess seventeen years.”

  “Ah.” Jack rubbed the back of his neck. He knew what Margie was doing. She was never a subtle person, and it seemed that it wasn’t a skill she’d managed to refine in the past few decades. Not that he wasn’t flattered, but…

  He cleared his throat. “Well, I’m sure that – ”

  “Oh come on Jack, just think about it.” Margie said with a smile. “The island could be a great getaway for you. And I really need someone to make appetizers for my party. It wouldn’t be anything too cumbersome. I’ll be the talk of the island, having a famous chef from Seattle catering my party. You’d be doing me a huge favor!”

  “Well…” Jack knew that if he stayed at their table any longer, there was no telling what he might agree to. “I don’t want to take up any more of your time here – but let me get your phone number and maybe we can talk about it later?”

  Margie clapped her hands together. “Deal.”

  Initially, he had no intention of going to San Juan Island for Christmas and fully planned on making up an excuse as to why he couldn’t come.

  But after he thought about it, he realized that he had nothing to lose. He had nowhere to go, and no one to see. It was his first Christmas alone and he was really dreading it.

  At least Margie was a frie
ndly face. And it would be nice to see Sandy – just to talk to her again and catch up. Truth be told, though, it made him feel nervous.

  It was odd. It even made him a little…giddy? Over the years, he often wondered what happened to her. When she’d broken up with him, it destroyed him. He spent the first year of college trying to win her back, but she had none of it. Once Sandy made up her mind about something, it was final.

  And now, over thirty years later, there she was, standing at the end of the dock. He couldn’t help himself – he stood there, waving like an idiot.

  Margie was the first to meet him. “I’m so glad you made it! I’m hoping that you found a nice place to stay?”

  Jack nodded, tearing his eyes away from Sandy. “I did actually, thank you. I even have a great kitchen for cooking.”

  “Great!” Margie turned around. “Oh, there you are! You two are so slow today.”

  “Hi Jade, it’s nice to see you again,” said Jack.

  “It’s nice to see you too.”

  He turned to Sandy, who was studying him with a bemused smile.

  He couldn’t believe it. She looked the same. A bit older, sure, but still her. Even the flat look that she was giving him made him feel like he’d time traveled – like he’d just seen her yesterday.

  “How are you, Sandy?”

  “I’m very well. How are you?”

  He took in a deep breath. The melancholy that was rapidly engulfing him only moments before was now being washed away. Maybe it was all the sugar? “Good. No – great! I’ve had three cups of hot cocoa and half a dozen cookies.”

  Margie laughed. “You know that we have regular food on the island, right?”

  He nodded. “Yes, I do. I was just walking around, enjoying the lights and all of the festivities. I guess I just got a little carried away.”

  “Well,” Margie clasped her hands together. “How about you two go ahead and get a table for dinner? After Santa is done hearing what the kids want for Christmas, he comes and dines with everyone. Jade and I will join you in just a bit – we have to…find my fiancé Hank.”

  “Oh?” said Sandy.

  Margie waved a hand, already walking away. “Yes, I’m sure he’s around here somewhere. We’ll be back really soon! Go get some real food!”

  Jack waited until Margie was out of earshot to say, “Well, I’m sorry about all of this, but she’s your sister.”

  Sandy burst into laughter.

  Jack smiled to himself – her laugh was exactly like he remembered. Forceful, loud, and gone in an instant. Like her.

  “No, I’m sorry,” Sandy said. “I had no idea that she was going to – ”

  “You don’t have to apologize.” He shook his head. “Trust me – she really twisted my arm to get me to come to the island. Normally I would try to keep some sort of dignity and not do as I’m told, but she’s very convincing.”

  “She is,” Sandy replied.

  “Also, I can never miss a chance to make myself sick with enormous cookies,” he continued. “I’m perfectly content with getting a table by myself if you’d like to rejoin them.”

  Sandy studied him for a moment. “No – we should probably get something to eat now. I’m sure you’re about to crash from all that sugar.”

  He laughed. “You’re probably right. And we can’t miss dinner with Santa – it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

  “It really is,” she said with a smile, turning to walk up the street.

  As painful and obvious as Margie’s matchmaking was, Jack was glad he’d survived it. He was happy just to see Sandy again. Maybe this trip wasn’t a mistake after all.

  Chapter 3

  They got to the restaurant and the hostess offered either a table with a view of the water, or one that would be close to Santa.

  “But I have to warn you,” she said, “Santa won’t be here for at least another hour or two.”

  “We’ll take the table with the view, please,” said Sandy. She dropped her voice, adding, “And I’ll deal with the wrath of my sister if she complains.”

  “That only seems fair,” Jack replied, waiting so that she could walk ahead of him to the table.

  Sandy had to hand it to Margie – she hadn’t seen this coming at all. She wasn’t even sure how Margie had managed to find Jack – she’d have to ask her about it later.

  Not that it really mattered – Sandy had no interest in a love affair. She’d tried her hand at love a few times and it never worked out.

  To be polite, she’d chat with Jack for a bit; it’d be nice to catch up. Plus, if she did anything less, Margie wouldn’t give her a moment’s peace for the entirety of her visit. At least with this dinner she could make a quick exit when things started to get boring.

  They took their seats and were handed single-paged menus. Sandy frowned. “It looks like they have a special menu just for tonight. Ho–ho–hot cross buns? Candy cane salad? That can’t be right.”

  Jack rubbed his chin. “I think it says that the candy canes come on the side. And look! The pork chop platter comes with a marshmallow snowman.”

  “Oh good, you’ll get to keep your sugar high through dinner. I think I’m going to get the North Pole soup and half reindeer-flavored ham sandwich.”

  “Excellent choice,” he said. “I am going to order the gingerbread mansion.”

  Sandy picked up her menu again. “You’re kidding! Is that really on there?”

  “No, unfortunately not. But I will get the pork chop just so I can see that snowman.”

  Their waitress checked back in with them and they placed their orders. Sandy also asked for a cup of coffee. She had to decline the additions of a peppermint spoon, a solid chocolate Santa, and marshmallows.

  “Well aren’t you picky,” Jack said after the waitress left.

  She laughed. “It’s not every day that there are more options than cream and sugar.”

  “Won’t that keep you up all night? Having coffee this late?”

  “No, I doubt it’ll have any effect at all,” Sandy said. “I drink a lot of coffee.”

  He sat back. “That’s right – Margie told me that you’re a surgeon? Forgive me that I didn’t know, but I never found a way to keep in touch.”

  “It’s okay, I didn’t either.”

  The truth was a bit more complicated than that. She could have stayed in touch with him if she wanted to. But it was too hard. She knew herself, even then – it would have been too easy for him to convince her to give their relationship another try.

  And Jack, though he didn’t look it now, was always a mischief-maker. Her mom used to call him a “free spirit.” Together they had a lot of fun, but Jack was a little too free, and Sandy was too willing to go along with his schemes.

  No matter how much she loved him, he was trouble and she knew that he’d hold her back – or rather, they’d hold each other back. She needed to cut all contact if she wanted to move on and do anything with her life.

  And when he went away to school, that was exactly what she did.

  “What made you want to go into medicine?”

  “Oh. It’s been a while since anyone asked me that.” Sandy let out a sigh and sat back. “Do you remember Betty Cruise?”

  He nodded. “I think so. She was your little neighbor?”

  “Right. I used to babysit her all the time after you left for college. At the time I was still trying to figure out what to do with my life, and I spent a lot of time hanging around the house or babysitting. One day I was out doing some shopping when I came across a horrible car crash in town.”

  “I remember hearing about this,” he said.

  She nodded. “It was Betty and her dad, and their car was hit so hard that it flipped over, stuck on its roof. It morphed into such a horribly twisted pile of metal that I was sure they couldn’t have survived. I went home and cried my eyes out.”

  “I thought that they made it?”

  “They did,” Sandy said with a smile. “Somehow, they got to the h
ospital in time and there was a surgery team ready for them. I couldn’t believe it when I heard the news; I had to go to the hospital to see for myself. It truly seemed like a miracle to see Betty sitting up in bed when I got there, eating ice cream.”

  Jack crossed his arms. “Don’t make me cry.”

  “I won’t.” Sandy held up a hand. “I’m not trying to get mushy on you. But I spent almost two years adrift after graduating high school. I sort of…wandered around from job to job with no idea of what I wanted to do. Until that day. That was the moment I decided that I was going to be a surgeon.”

  “Wow. That’s amazing. And it’s so much cooler than what I did.”

  That made Sandy laugh. “You started a restaurant – that’s pretty cool.”

  He shook his head. “Yes, but it’s not where I really started. I went to school and graduated with a degree in history. I got married, we found out that we were pregnant with our daughter Helen, and I needed to find a stable job.”

  Sandy accepted her coffee from the waitress, wrapping her hands around the mug. It was almost too hot to hold, but she didn’t want to let go if she could stand it – it made this little table feel even more cozy.

  She leaned forward to make sure that she heard every word of the story. “Jack Pappas in a stable job? I don’t believe it.”

  “Well hang onto your hat. The next thing I knew, I got a job at an insurance company.”

  “No!” Sandy said with a groan. “You?”

  “It’s true,” he said. “I was an insurance salesman. For over twenty-five years.”

  She set down her mug. “I honestly can’t believe it. Motorcycle riding, leather jacket wearing Jack Pappas grew up to be an insurance salesman?”

  “Hey now, I can still ride a motorcycle.”

  Sandy laughed. “I’m sure you can. And it’s a perfectly respectable job. I just – I don’t know, I thought that you would become a professional skydiver or deep-sea welder or something.”

  “I thought so too. But now that I have you here, I’ve been meaning to ask you – what kind of life insurance policy do you have? Did you know that – ”