Silver Bells. Mary Burton
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She’d given a rousing performance or so said the critics. A movie producer had shown up at the door five days later and asked her if she’d be interested in an audition with a photo op. Flo had raised her eyebrows and hovered like a mother hen in case it was some kind of scam. It wasn’t. Flo continued to hover, saying college was a must. Amy had agreed, and the studio worked around her studies. Back then she did two movies a year, not little parts, not big parts, but big enough for her to get noticed. And then the plum of all plums, the lead in a Disney movie. Her career took off like a rocket. Flo still hovered until she convinced herself that Amy could take care of herself. The only thing Flo had objected to was the name change from Amanda Leigh to Amy Lee. But in the end, when her niece said she was okay with it, Flo stepped aside and continued on with her own career, which she had put on hold to take care of Amy.
Thanks to modern technology, aunt and niece stayed in touch daily. Time and scheduling permitting, they always managed at least one vacation a year together.
Amy closed her eyes again as she ran the last phone call with Flo through her mind. Flo had called just as she was getting out of bed. She’d flopped back onto the pillows, and they talked for almost an hour. The last thing she’d said to her aunt before breaking the connection was, “I don’t want to do this anymore, Flo. I want to go home. I am going home. Tomorrow as a matter of fact. I bought my ticket two weeks ago.”
“Just like that, you’re throwing it all away?” Flo had said.
“Well, not exactly. I have two more pictures on my contract, and I don’t have to report to the studio till April of next year. I don’t know if I’m burned out, or I just need to get out of the business. Come April, I might be more than ready to go back. I will honor the contract, so that’s not a problem. Before you can ask, I am financially secure. You know I never touched my inheritance. I’ve got fifty times that amount from my earnings, and it’s all invested wisely. I’m okay, so don’t worry about me.”
“Mandy, I just want you to be happy,” Flo said. She’d never once called her by her Hollywood name. “I want you to find a nice man, get married, have kids, get a couple of dogs, and be happy. It’s all I ever wanted for you. I’m just not sure you’re going to find happiness back in Pennsylvania.”
“We should have gone back, Flo.”
“Woulda, coulda, shoulda. I did what I thought was best. For you. So, you’re going to open up the house and…what…put down some roots?”
“I don’t know, Flo. Maybe I’m looking for something that doesn’t exist, and you’re right, if I had wanted to go back earlier, I would have made your life miserable until you took me. The best I can come up with is, I wasn’t ready to go back. I’m ready now, and I’m going. It would be nice if you could find a way to join me. Hint, hint.”
“Darling girl, I met a man! He has the soul of an angel, and don’t ask me how I know this. I just know it. He loves me, warts and all. He’s a simple man, never been out of Madrid. He lives on a farm. Owns the farm, actually. Never been on an airplane. I’ll ask him if he wants to spend Christmas with my movie star niece. He’s seen all your movies, by the way. He thinks you’re a nice-looking lass.”
Amy laughed. “You getting married?”
“The minute he asks me, I am, but he has to ask first. I have to run, Mandy, I have an appointment I can’t break. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Love you, Flo.”
“And I love you, too.”
Amy sighed. Flo had a boyfriend. At sixty-five, Flo had a boyfriend. Here she was, at thirty-three, without a prospect in sight. How weird was that?
Amy gathered up the sequined shoes that matched her gown. She walked out to the kitchen to see if the caterers had cleaned up thoroughly. The kitchen was spotless. She locked the back door and turned out the light. The great room had a master switch that turned off all the tree lights as well as the overhead lights. The outside lights were set on a timer that would turn everything off a little before dawn.
As she walked up the stairs to the second floor she found herself wondering if Hank Anders still lived back home. Her first boyfriend. The first boy who had ever given her a gift. Hank had been the first boy to kiss her. On the lips. She hadn’t had a chance to tell him good-bye. Where was he right now? What was he doing? If he still lived in Apple Valley, would he remember her? Not likely, thanks to Flo and her transformation from small-town girl to glamorous Hollywood star. She’d had her nose done, gotten braces, wore contacts, and her hair was a different color. Flo had seen to it that her past stayed in the past. She’d never been able to figure that out. As far as her bio went, she was born and raised in California. Went to UCLA. End of story.
Or was it the beginning?
Chapter Two
Henry Anders, also known as Cranky Hank Anders, hefted his oversize suitcase off the carousel and looked around for his sister-in-law, who had said she’d meet him in the baggage area. When he didn’t see her, he made his way to the closest EXIT sign. And then he saw her pushing a double stroller with the year-old twins, who were howling at the top of their lungs. He wondered if their high-pitched screams had anything to do with the way they were bundled up. Their mother looked just as frazzled as her offspring.
Alice Anders stopped in her tracks and threw out her arms. “Hank! I’m so glad to see you! I’m sorry I’m late. There was traffic, and my two bundles of joy here are overdue for a nap. I had to park a mile away. I’m sorry. I left hours ahead of time just so I wouldn’t be late, and what happens, I’m late! Ohhh, I’m just so glad you’re here. I was dreading going through the holidays without Ben. I had an e-mail from him this morning, and he warned me not to be late; that’s why I left early. He said you hate to wait around for people.”
Alice was a talker, he’d give her that. “No problem. Relax, Alice. I could just as easily have taken a cab or gotten a car service. I’m here, you’re here, that’s all that matters. The twins really grew since Easter. Ben said they’re walking now.” An anxious note crept into his voice when he said, “He’s okay, isn’t he?”
Alice shoved a lock of dark hair under the bright red wool hat she was wearing. “As right as someone who’s in Iraq can be. He said you’re the only one he trusts to step in for him at Christmas. He was supposed to come back in September, but they extended his tour. This will be our first Christmas apart.” Tears welled in her eyes as she gave the stroller a shove to get through the door Hank was holding open for her.
A blustery gust of wind whipped across the walkway. The twins howled louder. Alice dropped a light blanket over the top of the stroller to keep the wind at bay. One of the twins ripped it away, one pudgy fist shaking in frustration. The wind picked it up, and it was gone, just like that. Hank was about to chase it down when Alice stopped him. “It doesn’t matter, it was an old one. Like I said, I parked a mile away, so let’s get going. The sooner I get these two guys in the car, the sooner they’ll calm down.”
Hank didn’t know what to say. He was certainly no authority on kids, babies in particular, so he just walked along, dragging his suitcase. He wondered if the twins slept through the night. Probably not from the look of the dark circles under Alice’s eyes.
Out of the corner of his eye he watched his sister-in-law. Once she’d been slim and trim. Once she’d worn makeup and had a fashionable hairdo and she’d dressed in designer clothes. Today she was wearing a down coat of some sort that made her look forty pounds overweight. She was wearing jeans and sneakers, and her hair was up in a ponytail, the tail sticking out of the back of the bright red hat. Maybe marriage wasn’t all that wonderful. Maybe he was lucky after all, even though at the time he thought his world was coming to an end when his fiancée had left him standing at the altar on their wedding day. He looked down at the twins, who were trying to poke each other’s eyes out. Yeah, yeah, maybe he had dodged the bullet.
A twin himself, he wanted to tell Alice her nightmare was just beginning when he remembered some of the things he and Ben had done growing up. Always in trouble, always fighting,