{"id":1063,"date":"2019-02-10T21:57:04","date_gmt":"2019-02-11T02:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/read.whitefire-publishing.com\/?p=1063"},"modified":"2020-06-01T09:06:58","modified_gmt":"2020-06-01T13:06:58","slug":"home-hearth-and-the-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whitefire-publishing.com\/read\/home-hearth-and-the-holidays\/","title":{"rendered":"Home, Hearth, and the Holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Home, Hearth, and the Holidays<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

by Melody Carlson<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With holidays approaching in the charming town of Appleton, and Daphne Ballinger\u2019s deadline to \u201cget hitched\u201d drawing closer, Daphne finds herself happily distracted with the unexpected tasks of \u201cmotherhood.\u201d Young Olive is enjoying the attention, but the clock is ticking and unless love comes her way, Daphne\u2019s delightful life will start unravelling by spring.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t

Chapter 1<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t

With Thanksgiving\nbehind her, Daphne Ballinger was almost ready to start\nthinking about Christmas. However, she was not as ready as her neighbor across\nthe street. Sabrina Fontaine had started putting up colorful lights two days before Thanksgiving. Daphne\u2019s new charge, seven-year-old\nMabel, thought it was wonderful, but Daphne felt it was a tad premature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She decided on\nFriday afternoon, though, that it wasn\u2019t too soon to start baking Christmas\ncookies. Her Aunt Dee had always made cutout cookies right after Thanksgiving.\nIt was a tradition she and Daphne had enjoyed for years while Daphne was\ngrowing up. They would bake dozens of them. Then they would layer them between\nwax paper and freeze them unfrosted. About week before Christmas they\u2019d get\nthem out and have a cookie decorating party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Daphne\nexplained the process to Mabel, they both donned aprons and went to work. To be\nhonest, part of Daphne\u2019s motivation was to distract Mabel from the fact that\nDaniel had relocated down the street that morning, back to his mother\u2019s\nslightly dilapidated house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see why\nUncle Daniel didn\u2019t want to stay here with us,\u201d Mabel said as Daphne poured\nsugar into the measuring cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaybe he needs\nmore space.\u201d Daphne watched as Mabel dumped it into the bowl, then handed her\nthe butter to put in. She didn\u2019t want Mabel to know that she\u2019d been secretly\nrelieved when Daniel announced he was going to stay at his mother\u2019s house. Not\nbecause Daniel Myers wasn\u2019t a nice guy and well-mannered houseguest, but simply\nbecause it had started to feel a bit awkward. For one thing, he was so good\nlooking. That in itself was a bit disconcerting. She just wasn\u2019t used to having\na tall, dark, and handsome marine pop around a corner in her house, greeting\nher with a hearty good morning! Especially when she\nwas still blurry eyed, in her bathrobe, with her red hair suffering from severe\nbed-head. Like this morning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOkay.\u201d Daphne\nhanded Mabel a brown egg. \u201cTry to get it into the bowl.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mabel cracked it so\nhard that it split in half, sending gooey egg down both sides of the bowl.\n\u201cOops.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daphne grabbed a\npaper towel to sop up the mess. \u201cIt\u2019s okay.\u201d She got out another egg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI liked having\nUncle Daniel in our house,\u201d Mabel said as Daphne picked up the egg carton. \u201cAnd\nI don\u2019t even care that he wakes me up sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d\nDaphne stopped from getting the next egg, staring at Mabel with concern. \u201cUh,\nwhy does he wake you up, sweetie?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI forgot.\u201d Mabel\ncovered her mouth with her hand. \u201cIt\u2019s a secret.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daphne set down the\negg carton, watching Mabel closely. \u201cWell, it\u2019s a secret I need to hear, Mabel.\nEspecially since Uncle Daniel has been staying in my house. Please, tell me why\nhe woke you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not his\nfault, Aunt Daphne. He just has really bad dreams. I heard him yelling the\nfirst night. It was weird.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can imagine.\u201d\nDaphne was surprised\u2014why hadn\u2019t she woken up too? \u201cDid it frighten you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt first. I went\nto see what was wrong, but it looked like he was asleep. I told him about it in\nthe morning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd what did Uncle\nDaniel say?\u201d Daphne wondered if the ex-marine might be struggling with a little\nPTSD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe told me he had\na bad dream. He said not to worry about it. And he asked me not to tell\nanyone.\u201d Mabel looked concerned. \u201cYou won\u2019t, will you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe secret is safe\nwith me.\u201d Daphne handed Mabel another egg. \u201cTry it again. More gently this\ntime.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With an intense\nexpression, Mabel gave the egg a careful crack before she dumped the\ncontents\u2014as well as some shell shards\u2014into the confines of the mixing bowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPerfect.\u201d Daphne\nextracted the eggshell pieces from the sugar and butter and handed her another\negg, watching as she cracked this one neatly into the bowl. \u201cNicely done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mabel wiped her\nfingers on the paper towel. \u201cIs Uncle Daniel going to stay in Appleton forever?\u201d Her question sounded hesitant. Was she perhaps\nfishing for information?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daphne handed her a\nteaspoon. \u201cI don\u2019t think he knows for sure yet.\u201d She suspected Mabel had\noverheard the adults\u2019 conversation this morning. Daphne had been surprised to\nhear that Daniel was interested in returning to the Marines and being based in\nNorth Carolina\u2014about a thousand miles from Appleton. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe showed me his\nfancy Marine uniform. He\u2019s going to wear it to Grandma\u2019s memorial next week.\nIt\u2019s really nice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUh huh.\u201d Daphne\npoured vanilla into the teaspoon, then watched as Mabel slowly poured it into\nthe bowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIs Uncle Daniel\nstill a marine?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot exactly. He\u2019s\nkind of on a break, but he could go back to the Marines if he wanted to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDoes he want to?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. I\ndon\u2019t think he knows for sure either. I\u2019m sure it\u2019ll take a while for him to\nfigure everything out.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou mean about me?\u201d Mabel tipped her head to one side with a quizzical look\nin her dark brown eyes. In many ways this little girl was much older than\nseven. \u201cDoes he have to figure out if he wants to keep me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, yes\u2026that\u2019s a\nvery big part of it. As you know, your grandmother planned for your uncle to\ncare for you. I already explained about her will making him your guardian.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mabel bit her lip\nas she set the teaspoon on the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd, really,\nsweetie, it\u2019s not for you to worry about these things. Everything is going to\nwork out just fine.\u201d Daphne smiled as she handed her the big wooden spoon,\nhoping to convey more confidence than she felt. This wasn\u2019t easy for any of\nthem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really do love\nUncle Daniel.\u201d Mabel struggled to stir the stiff ingredients. \u201cBut I love you\ntoo, Aunt Daphne.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daphne gave Mabel a\nsqueeze. \u201cAnd I love you too, Mabel. But just like your grandma, I want what\u2019s\nbest for you.\u201d She took the wooden spoon from her. \u201cHow about I get this\nsoftened up a little, then you can really stir it up.\u201d Daphne put her whole arm\ninto it, stirring vigorously in an attempt to distract herself from this\nuncomfortable conversation\u2026that she had known was coming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As they sifted dry\ningredients into a separate bowl, Mabel grew very quiet. Daphne wasn\u2019t sure if\nit was because she was concentrating on the measurements or something more. But\nby the time they had rolled out the cookie dough, cut a couple dozen Christmas\nshapes, and put the first batch into the oven, Mabel finally spoke up again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to be here\nwith you, Aunt Daphne,\u201d she declared as she reached\nfor the rolling pin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daphne made a stiff\nsmile. \u201cYou are here with me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI mean for\nalways.\u201d She looked up with misty eyes. \u201cI do love Uncle Daniel\u2026but I want to\nstay here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daphne pursed her\nlips, trying to think of an appropriate response. \u201cI want you to stay here with\nme too, Mabel. But it\u2019s not really our decision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a grownup\nthing.\u201d Daphne tried to think of a simple explanation for child custody laws\nand came up empty. \u201cBut I have been praying about it, Mabel. A lot. I\u2019ve been\nasking God to make sure you get to live in the place that\u2019s the very best for\nyou. But we don\u2019t really know where that is\u2026yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know the best\nplace.\u201d Mabel reached for the angel cookie cutter. \u201cAppleton is best.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have to agree\nwith you on that.\u201d Daphne picked up the tree-shaped cutter, sinking it into the\ndough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour house is the\nbest too. And my school is the best. I didn\u2019t used to like it, but now that I\nhave friends I like it a lot. And I like my teacher too. Miss Simmons is really\nnice.\u201d Mabel reached for a star shape now. \u201cAnd I love\nmy BFF Lola.\u201d She pointed to a lopsided angel on the cookie sheet. \u201cThat cookie\nis for Lola. See, I put an L on it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure she\u2019ll\nlike that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd I love you,\nAunt Daphne.\u201d She pointed at the cats sitting in the sunshine by the window.\n\u201cAnd I love Ethel and Lucy. And I love Sabrina and Tootsie. And I love going to\nchurch. And I love this house. And\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd you are just\nso full of love.\u201d Daphne laughed as she wiped a smudge of flower from Mabel\u2019s\nnose. \u201cIsn\u2019t it wonderful to have so much love to share? You\u2019re a blessed girl,\nMabel Myers.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mabel sighed happily\nas she peeled the star off the dough board, setting it onto the cookie sheet.\nDaphne wasn\u2019t sure these shapes would be very recognizable when they came out\nof the oven, but at least they were having fun. And it was good to see Mabel\nhappy\u2014despite the uncertainty of her situation. Although, from what Daphne\nknew, Mabel\u2019s situation had been fairly uncertain since birth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As she removed a\nsheet of cookies from the oven, Daphne recalled the first time she\u2019d met Mabel.\nBack in early October, she\u2019d spotted the scraggly little girl attempting to\nabduct one of the cats. When questioned, Mabel had claimed it was because she\nwas lonely and \u201cwanted a friend.\u201d And so Daphne had offered her friendship\u2014and\npumpkins. It was a perfect arrangement. But as they wheeled the wagon of\npumpkins down the street, Daphne had begun to understand what a poor lost waif\nthis child was. With a dad in prison, a mother who\u2019d died of an overdose, and a\ngrandmother with terminal cancer\u2026Mabel\u2019s sad little life had seemed almost\nhopeless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to pray\nfor God to let me stay here forever,\u201d Mabel declared as Daphne placed the hot\ncookies on a cooling rack. \u201cBecause this is the best place in the whole world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daphne suppressed a\nfeeling of guilty sadness as she put the next cookie sheet into the oven.\nPerhaps she\u2019d been mistaken to create such a comfy haven for Mabel. Turning the\nguest room into a little girl\u2019s dream room, getting her a whole new wardrobe,\nnew toys and activities. She\u2019d only done these things out of love, trying to\nmake up for the abundant losses in the child\u2019s life. But perhaps she\u2019d set\nMabel up for heartache. Especially if Daniel decided to relocate the little\ngirl to North Carolina. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s the\ndoorbell,\u201d Mabel called out. \u201cCan I get it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSure.\u201d Daphne\npeered out the window to see Lola on the front porch. Wearing a zebra-striped\nhelmet, she tugged on one of her blonde pigtails with a hopeful expression as\nher pink scooter leaned expectantly against the porch steps. As Daphne set\ncooled cookies on a plate, she could hear Mabel\u2019s happy shrieks reverberating\nthrough the big old house. She imagined the girls hugging, like they always\ndid, acting as if they hadn\u2019t seen each other for weeks instead of a couple of\ndays. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan I ride my\nscooter with Lola?\u201d Mabel asked with excitement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPut on your jacket\nand helmet.\u201d Daphne held out the plate of unfrosted cookies. \u201cMaybe you girls\nshould take some cookies along in case you get hungry while you\u2019re scooting\nabout.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They gratefully\nagreed, and Daphne used paper napkins to make two little bundles, helping them\nto tuck them into their jacket pockets. As the girls hurried outside, Daphne\nfollowed. From the front porch, she reminded Mabel of the scooter rules that\nthey\u2019d established after Sabrina had presented Mabel with the flashy purple\nscooter and matching helmet a week ago. \u201cTo help her get past losing her\ngrandmother,\u201d Sabrina had said apologetically to Daphne. \u201cI hope you don\u2019t\nmind.\u201d Of course, she didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd you can go all\nthe way around the block since Lola is with you. But no crossing any streets.\nAnd make sure you watch for cars backing out of driveways.\u201d She always felt\nlike a \u201creal mother\u201d when she said things like this\u2014and that felt nice. So\nnice, in fact, that it troubled her. After all, she was not a mother. She\nwasn\u2019t even an aunt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the girls took\noff down the sidewalk, Daphne remained on the porch, just watching\u2026and thinking\nabout what Mabel had confided to her. She wasn\u2019t too surprised that Daniel had\nnightmares. It seemed like many servicemen who\u2019d seen active duty suffered from\nsome sort of PTSD. Hopefully Daniel was getting help to deal with it. And it\nwas a relief that he\u2019d been honest with Mabel about it. Another good sign that\nhe was up for the task of parenting. It should\u2019ve been reassuring to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daphne could hear\nthe girls shriek as they reached the corner. Feeling concerned, she leaned over\nthe railing, peering down the street to see if someone had fallen, but it\nturned out to be a happy shriek, and now they were tearing around the corner.\nShe glanced across the street at Sabrina\u2019s elaborate Christmas decorations.\n\u201cI\u2019m pulling out all the stops,\u201d she\u2019d happily told Daphne yesterday. \u201cFor\nMabel and me\u2014it\u2019s our first Christmas in Appleton.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daphne sighed to\nthink it might also be Mabel\u2019s last Christmas here. Not that she planned to let\nMabel in on this. But Daphne wondered which of them would be hurting more if\nDaniel swooped Mabel off to North Carolina. Mabel would get a new home, a new\nschool, a new teacher, and before long she\u2019d probably find a new BFF as well.\nBut Daphne would never get another Mabel.<\/p>\n\n\n