Chapter 23
Abby
Abby pulled her coat tighter around her to ward off the damp chill of the evening. Only a little past five and it already seemed as dark as midnight. Still, the twinkle lights and Christmas displays that were up all over town created a magical warmth that no foggy cold could penetrate.
“Hey, Abs! Over here!”
She looked around, searching for the source of the voice, and saw Ella and Gen standing at the far end of the town square, just to the side of the newly-constructed living nativity set.
She hurried over to the girls, surveying the wooden structures. “Dang,” she said. “I knew the guys were coming out here to put this up today. They did a great job. I can’t believe it went up so fast!”
“Well, the set is the least of everyone’s worries,” Gen said conspiratorially.
“Whoa. That sounds ominous. What’s going on?”
“Pastor Hargrove and his wife came down with a nasty flu bug,” Ella said.
Abby didn’t quite know how to respond to that. “Um. Wow. That sucks. Why is everyone worried about that, though?”
“They were supposed to be the Mary and Joseph,” Gen replied.
“Oh. Well, that doesn’t seem so complicated. I mean it’s not like there are lines to memorize or anything, right? You just stand there. It seems like anyone could fill in.”
“Yeah, that’s true. And there’s a schedule of volunteers who will be playing all the parts each night until Christmas. If it were any other night, yeah, they could just call in a substitute. But this is the opening night. It was supposed to be special.”
“Ah,” Abby said. “And how did you two get filled in on all this drama?”
“The coordinator’s been buzzing around for the past twenty minutes,” Gen said. “Troy and Jet just took her into the community center to make some calls. Troy had the key because he’s doing some updating on the kitchen.”
“In fact,” Ella said, her face brightening, “Why don’t we go in and join them? It’s freezing out here.”
“Yes!” Gen agreed immediately. In fact, she’d shouted the word before Ella had even finished spitting out the “freezing out here” justification.
Abby laughed. “Okay, well, yeah. Let’s go. And I think this might officially be the most excited anyone has ever been to walk through the doors of the community center.”
Gen shook her head. “Girl, you weren’t here for the Toddlers and Tiaras-style kiddie beauty pageant I had to do the event planning on a few years ago. We held the registration at the community center. And those moms were, let me tell ya, psyched to get their little rugrats signed onto that mess.”
Abby laughed, the sound mixing with Ella and Gen’s laughter, and she felt warm inside. She was so lucky, she realized. Gratitude washed over her in a sudden wave. She felt so thankful for her friends, her town…her life.
Maybe it was the Christmas season, she mused. Or maybe this whole thing with Jet was making her extra sentimental, turning her insides into piles of mushy goo. But whatever the reason, at that moment, she felt perfectly, one hundred percent content.
They pushed through the doors of the community center and heard a low buzz of voices coming from the back office area, traveling to them down the hallway that jutted off from the side of the foyer.
“Come on,” Gen said, “That must be them.”
The three women walked briskly down the hall. It was warm inside the building and Abby slid her gloves off her fingers as she walked, then pulled her coat off, as well.
When they stepped into the small back office, Troy and Jet were lounging on a small couch that sat along one wall while Mrs. Berg, the special events coordinator for the town, paced the room and spoke animatedly into her cell phone. She gestured wildly as the words tumbled out of her mouth. “Well, Gerald, I don’t think that’s good enough. No. You want to know why? Because Mary and Joseph weren’t in their seventies, that’s why. So, no, the mayor and his wife– while they do certainly qualify as local dignitaries– simply won’t do. And I am definitely not going to be accused of encouraging teen pregnancy, so Mary Ann Brock and Drake Garner are out, I don’t care if they are the Homecoming Queen and star quarterback.”
The woman’s eyes lighted on Abby, Gen, and Ella as they came into the room, and Abby waved at her. She’d known Mrs. Berg since she was a kid. They all had. She was a regular fixture in the Valentine Bay community.
Mrs. Berg’s eyes widened as she looked at Abby, and then her eyes flew to Jet. “Gerald, I’ll call you back,” she said hurriedly into the phone, and then swiped the red hang-up button with her thumb.
She pointed at Abby, her finger jutting into the space between them dramatically. “You!” she pronounced, and her sonorous voice filled the small space of the office.
“Me?” Abby stammered.
“Yes,” Mrs. Berg confirmed, then pointed at Jet. “And you.”
Jet sat up straighter. “Me?” he asked, echoing Abby’s question.
“Yes,” Mrs. Berg repeated. “You, and you.”
“What about us?” Abby asked.
“Well, I believe we’ve found our opening night Mary and Joseph. That’s what.”