Chapter 5

Chapter Five

“It’s time for Santa’s little helper to get her shopping on,” Marissa said as she walked into Clara’s glass studio and gallery. Since Marissa didn’t have to be into work until late afternoon, she’d spent her day baking, finishing up her Christmas cards, and was now tackling her holiday gift list. She’d been Santa’s most productive elf that day and was feeling really good about herself.

Clara looked up from the desk, her red face pinched with irritation. Her dark hair was pulled up into a haphazard bun, and she was wearing a yellow leather apron that had burn marks on it.

“What happened to you?” Marissa asked, hurrying over to the counter and scanning Clara’s body, looking for any signs that she’d gotten into a fight with her blow pipe. Other than a few leather burns, she seemed fine.

“My kiln is on the fritz. Can you believe it? It’s three weeks before Christmas, and my annealing kiln has given up the ghost. I’ll never get a new one in here before the holiday. All those orders I have waiting for me are going to disappear into thin air. Not to mention my private clients are going to be very disappointed.” She groaned and pressed her hand to her forehead. “Atlas was going to make Payton something special for Christmas. Can you believe that I had to tell the rock star Atlas Mazer that he’s going to have to go down to Fire on the River if he wants to follow through on that idea? Now he’ll likely take lessons there instead of here, and my delusions of becoming besties with him are shot. He’ll tell all of his fans where he made his gift, and they’ll be ordering from there instead of from me. And just when I was starting to think I might be able to trade in my beater car for something that has a working heater.”

Marissa raised her eyebrows and blinked at her. “Whoa. Slow down, Clara. You’re spiraling. I’m sure we can figure this out. Can’t you order a kiln with overnight shipping?”

“It’s not just shipping,” Clara said with a deep sigh. “Kilns are generally made to order. Especially the one I have. Even if they could do a rush order, it’s not going to get here in time.”

“We should make some calls,” Marissa said. “Find out if there’s one anywhere nearby that we can pick up.” She slipped behind the counter and tapped Clara’s computer to wake up the screen, and then she started googling.

The bell on the door chimed, but Marissa was too busy searching for local suppliers to pay any attention. Then she heard his voice.

“Atlas said you’re having a kiln problem.”

Marissa jerked her head up to find Danny standing in the store, wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. Both were smudged with clay, making it clear he’d just come from his studio.

Clara nodded glumly. “It shorted out today. I can’t get it to do anything. Three weeks before Christmas, and I’m out of production.”

“Do you mind if I take a look at it?” Danny asked. “I built two of mine. I might be able to fix it or rig something that will work until you can get it repaired.”

“Repaired?” Clara asked as if the notion hadn’t even occurred to her. “I never even considered that since it would take even longer for a repair than to order a new one. Besides, some of the bricks are chipped, and now that the wiring is bad, I figured I’d better just replace it.”

“You built kilns?” Marissa asked, shocked. He hadn’t exactly been the handiest guy when they were kids. Though he did make pottery for a living now, so clearly they’d both changed a lot.

“Yeah. It’s faster and, if you can get the materials, cheaper, too.” He turned his attention to Clara. “Mind if I take a look at it?”

“Oh, gosh. Not at all,” Clara gushed as she started to walk toward the door that led to her hot shop. “If you can fix it, I’ll cook for you for a month. Mow your lawn. Wash your car. You name it; I’ll do it. ”

He chuckled. “That won’t be necessary. I’m just happy to help.”

Marissa hurried after them, and as Danny started to poke around the kiln, she asked, “Why did Atlas call you to tell you Clara’s kiln was broken?”

“He didn’t call to tell me that,” Danny said, using the flashlight on his smart phone to get a better look at the wiring. “He called for something else and happened to mention it.”

“And you just came running?” Her tone was more accusatory than she’d intended, but she really didn’t understand why her ex was suddenly all up in Clara’s business.

“Something like that.” He glanced at Clara. “Do you have a screwdriver?”

“Sure.” She grabbed a small toolkit and handed it to him.

As Danny began taking the kiln apart, Clara walked over to Marissa and bumped her shoulder. “Stop antagonizing the only person who might be able to help me.”

“I was going to help!” Marissa frowned at her friend. “Remember me offering to call all the suppliers within driving distance?”

“Sure, I remember, but there are only like two in the state, so your chances were pretty slim.”

“At least I was going to try,” Marissa muttered.

“And I truly appreciate that.” Clara grabbed her arm and leaned in for a hug. “But if Danny can get me back up and running, he’ll be my own personal hero. ”

“Aha!” Danny called out. “I’ve found the issue.”

“What?” Clara ran over to him. “Can it be fixed?”

“Sure. It’s just a fuse in the controller. Once it’s changed, you should be back up and running.” He held up the offending part. “Let me run back to my studio to see if I have one. If not, you can get one overnighted.”

“Danny, I think the sugar plum fairies sent me my own Christmas miracle. Thank you!” Clara threw herself at him, hugging him with everything she had.

He chuckled awkwardly and met Marissa’s gaze. He had a bewildered look, and Marissa just shrugged. That was Clara. She never held back affection for those she cared about.

It was strange watching her best friend form a friendship with Danny. At one time, she’d known him better than she knew herself, and when he bolted from their life together, a hole had formed in her heart. And as far as she could tell, it still hadn’t healed.

It was a Danny-shaped hole, and watching him hug her best friend was really messing with her. She turned abruptly and walked back into the gallery. She had come in that afternoon specifically to purchase gifts for her staff. Every year, she got each of them an ornament from Clara’s, and then she went and got fresh apple pies from Felicity’s family farm, Apples and Spice and Everything Nice. After five years, it was a tradition now.

She walked over to the tree that was decorated with glass ball ornaments and inspected each one until she found three, all different, but each iridized with silver, blue, and purple swirls .

Marissa was on her way to the register when the most gorgeous snow globe caught her eye. Inside there was a scene of downtown Christmas Grove, and without even shaking it, the snow was continuously falling, blanketing the brick sidewalk. The base was a gorgeous Christmas red, complete with a ribbon of white glass that had been manipulated into a bow. Very carefully, she picked up the globe. It immediately started to play “Christmas Time is Here” by Vince Guaraldi. A very vivid memory of her and Danny decorating their first and last Christmas tree flashed in her mind. The song had come on, and instead of finishing putting up the garland, Danny had taken her in his arms, and they’d swayed to the music in the pale glow of the Christmas tree lights.

Tears stung her eyes as memories washed over her. She’d been at her happiest that year. Danny had surprised her with a weekend trip to Tahoe even though they were broke and barely had enough for the gas to get there and back. The owner of the coffee shop he worked at had a condo up there and had scheduled a delivery for new appliances. When he had a scheduling conflict and couldn’t make it up there, he’d offered the cabin to Danny if he’d just be there when the appliances were changed out. For an hour of their time, they’d had a wonderful three-day weekend in the snow.

And Danny had somehow budgeted enough so that they could stop at Candy Canes in Christmas Grove, both on the way up and the way back. That weekend was full of her fondest memories.

She blinked back the tears and took the snow globe up to the counter. It looked like this year, she was getting a present from Clara’s shop, too.

“Marissa? Are you all right?” Danny asked from right behind her, making her jump. She’d been so busy staring at her snow globe that she hadn’t even heard them come back into the gallery.

She spun, praying that her eyes weren’t red from her tears. “Yeah. Just getting my shopping done.” She averted her gaze, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. He always used to be able to see right through her.

He glanced at the counter where her wares were waiting and then back at her. “Great choice. I might need to get some of those for my tree.”

“You have a tree?” As soon as she heard the words come out of her mouth, she wanted to claw them back. Of course he had a tree. His cousin owned the local Christmas tree farm. It would be criminal if he was a bah humbug and never bothered to make his house festive.

“Actually, no, not yet. I’m heading up to Zach’s tomorrow to see if I can find one that will fit into my apartment.” He held up a part in his hand. “Right now, I need to see if I have one of these so Clara doesn’t miss any holiday business.” He headed for the door.

Marissa called after him. “It’s really nice of you to help her out. I appreciate it, and I know she does too.”

He glanced back at her. “Thanks, but I’m just being a good neighbor.” Danny stepped back and waved as he retreated through the front door.

Clara appeared from the hot shop, a smile lighting her face. “It looks like Danny Frost might save Christmas after all.” Her gaze landed on the items on the counter, and her expression softened. “I wondered if that globe was going to catch your eye.”

“You should have just sent me an invoice.” Marissa chuckled softly. “It’s just so lovely, Clara. Really, you’ve outdone yourself.”

Clara flushed with pleasure as she stepped behind the counter to ring up Marissa’s purchases. After wrapping everything up, she announced a total that was less than half of the retail price.

“That total isn’t right,” Marissa said, eyeing her friend. “Redo it.”

“It’s right,” she insisted, holding the paper bag out to Marissa.

“It’s not,” Marissa insisted. “I’m not going to let you shortchange yourself just because we’re friends.”

Clara raised one eyebrow. “Keep arguing and the total is going to go down.”

“Seriously? I’m just going to find a way to pay you back later,” Marissa said. “Two can play this game, you know.”

“Yep. I can’t even remember the last time I paid for a drink at Sleighed, so it seems we’re already even.” Clara put her finger over the point-of-sale system. “Now, are you going to pay, or am I going to discount this further?”

“You’re impossible.” Marissa shook her head at her and tapped her credit card on the screen.

The door swung open again, and Danny walked in, holding a small part in his hand. “I found one! Give me ten minutes and you’ll be good to go. ”

Clara let out a squeal and ran over to him. “You are my new favorite person!”

He grinned and the two of them disappeared into the hot shop again.

With her shopping bag in hand, Marissa followed and stood near the door as she listened to them talk about the holiday art and craft shows that were coming up.

“I’m sure you know about the one at the Christmas tree farm,” Clara said. “But what about the one during the tree lighting? Did you snag a table?”

“No. I wish I could have, but I wasn’t sure I’d have enough product. To be honest, I’m not even sure I’ll have enough to keep my shelves stocked anyway,” he said. “Business has been better than expected, and I just don’t have enough time between manning the shop and trying to create new work.”

“Well, that’s not the worst problem to have,” Clara said. “You need to hire some help.”

He chuckled. “I’d love to, but I can’t seem to find anyone with time. So for now, I’m burning the midnight oil.” Danny had gotten the part installed and was busy replacing the metal plate that housed the electronics. “Though I really would have liked to be part of that art show. If for nothing else than to introduce myself to the residents who haven’t had a chance to come into the shop.”

Clara brightened. “You can share my table.”

Marissa stared at her friend, open mouthed. She did remember that Danny was her ex, right? Why was she acting like he was her new best friend? Or worse, someone she was interested in. Marissa shook her head. There was no way Clara was contemplating dating him. She didn’t have a callous bone in her body. And Marissa knew that both of her friends would walk through traffic for her. She needed to get out of there before her imagination got any more active.

“I’m gonna take off,” Marissa called.

They both turned to look at her, and it was obvious to Marissa that neither of them had even known she was standing there.

“Let me walk you out,” Clara said.

“That’s not necessary. I’m headed over to Apples and Spice for pies. Do you need anything?”

“I’m good,” Clara said, glancing between her and Danny. “Now that my knight in shining armor has shown up.”

Marissa rolled her eyes, and instead of saying something she’d regret, she just waved and left.

When she got outside, she leaned against the building, trying to regain control of her emotions. Watching Danny acting like the boy she’d known all those years ago had made her feel as if she’d been gut punched. And it wasn’t because she seriously thought her friend was interested in him. It was because Clara was gaining a piece of him that she’d lost. One that she seriously doubted she could ever get back again. Not with their history.

And it hurt, more than she ever imagined after sixteen years.