1. Lily

1

LILY

L ily Hathaway stepped out from behind the counter of her toy shop, smiling as she spotted a pair of potential customers gazing in the window.

The beginning of the holiday season meant that Joyful Toys had been busier than usual all day. And while the other shops in the little village of Trinity Falls closed at around five, Lily liked to keep hers open a little longer. She generally used the few quiet moments once the afterschool crowd shuffled out to organize everything before one or two final customers inevitably stopped by on their way home from work.

Tonight, she had made sure each toy, book, and game was in its proper place, and looking irresistible. But it had stayed quiet for so long that she had been almost convinced no one else was coming.

Just as she was thinking about doing a quick inventory of the art section, a mother and daughter approached the big front window. They were gazing at the Christmas display from the sidewalk now, their eyes sparkling with wonder, and she was sure they would come in any minute.

A moment later, they stepped inside, sending the bells over the door jingling merrily.

“Welcome,” Lily said warmly. “If you’re looking for something special, I’m here to help.”

“Thank you—” the mother started to say.

“ Are you a princess? ” the daughter yelled, cutting her off.

Lily had to smile. She loved wearing pretty outfits, and she always dressed in all pink, all the time, for her own reasons. Today, she was wearing a pale pink dress with a dark pink cropped cardigan over it. The cardigan was adorned with sequin snowflakes that twinkled in the shop lights.

Everyone in Trinity Falls already knew about Lily’s obsession with pink. As far as she knew, her friends and neighbors viewed her style preference fondly. At least she hoped they did. After all, it had been her unique look since middle school.

But she hadn’t seen these two before, which meant that their family was probably new to town. Everyone knew everyone in the small town, and families with children were Lily’s specialty.

“No, no, that’s Miss Lily,” the mother said before Lily could reply. “Remember, your teacher said we should go to Miss Lily’s toy store to find something fun to take on the airplane?”

“Hi, Miss Lily,” the girl said shyly.

“Hi, there,” Lily said. “What’s your name? ”

“I’m Samantha,” the girl replied. “I’m in kindergarten.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Samantha,” Lily said, crouching to meet the girl’s eyes and shake her hand.

Samantha shook firmly, her eyes lighting up.

“So, you’re going on an airplane?” Lily asked her.

“We’re going to see my grandma in California,” Samantha said excitedly. “That’s really, really far away. It’s so far away that we have to get on four different airplanes.”

Lily made a mental note that if they were taking a flight with so many layovers the family was likely budget conscious. They would definitely need things to keep Samantha busy, but it would also be Lily’s mission to draw her attention to the more affordable choices without being too obvious about it.

“Wow,” Lily said. “I’ve never been on an airplane before. I’m so excited for you.”

Samantha smiled looking really happy.

“Now, are you the only kid on this trip?” she asked. “Or are we looking for fun stuff for more than just you?”

“My brother is a teenager,” Samantha said, rolling her eyes. “He only plays on his phone.”

“Okay,” Lily said straightening up, and trying not to laugh. “I think I have some ideas, then.”

“Thank you,” Samantha’s mother said.

“What about her?” Samantha breathed, eyeing a truly gorgeous doll in a large box. “She’s beautiful.”

The little girl wasn’t wrong. The doll wore a stunning winter coat, and her box also held a wardrobe of pretty outfits and a teddy bear just the right size for the doll. It was one of the most expensive items in the shop, and Lily’s budget thoughts were confirmed when she saw the mom’s expression as her eyes scanned the price tag.

“That’s a lovely doll,” Lily agreed. “But a doll probably isn’t a good choice for a big trip. Her clothes might get lost, and she won’t fit easily into your backpack. Plus, she sleeps too much to be good company on an airplane.”

For a moment, Samantha looked like she was going to cry.

“I keep a Favorite Toy list at the shop, though,” Lily continued quickly. “That way I know which toys children like best. If you want to, you can tell me which toy you liked best in the whole shop, and we can put it on my Favorite Toy list with your name next to it. Does that sound okay?”

“Yes,” Samantha said, perking right up. “I’ll put her on the list.”

“Absolutely,” Lily told her. “Now, this is my personal favorite thing we have in the shop for kids who are world travelers, like you, Samantha.”

She led the girl over to a magnetic drawing board with an attached pen and showed her how she could draw on the board and erase what she had drawn, as well as the hidden compartment with magnetic shapes in it. It was an amazingly versatile toy that kids of practically every age loved, and the price was very reasonable.

Samantha got right down on the floor to play with the sample board, and her mother mouthed the words thank you over her head.

Lily smiled and nodded, feeling a burst of happy pride. She loved her work, and always did her best to help.

“Do you have anything snuggly in that price range?” the mom whispered.

“Yes, something snuggly,” Samantha cried, hopping up.

“Absolutely,” Lily said heading back to the stuffed animal shelves and quickly grabbing what she had in mind so that Samantha wouldn’t go back there herself and choose a more expensive item. “I think I have the perfect thing. Here you go.”

She tossed Samantha a soft, snuggly green frog, making her best “ribbit” sound as she did. The little girl giggled as she caught it.

“Every princess needs a frog to kiss,” Lily said to Samantha, winking. “Now see if you can find his zipper.”

The bell over the door chimed again as Lily’s friend, Sarah, who owned a bookshop in town, came in just as Samantha and her mom bent over the frog. She waved to Lily and stepped to the side so as not to distract from Lily helping her customers.

The little girl made a triumphant noise as she found the zipper and unzipped the frog, revealing that his stuffing was actually a soft green blanket.

“That’s how he snuggles you back,” Lily told her. “If you get chilly on the plane, you’ll have your own blanket, if you decide to adopt him.”

Samantha was laughing with delight and her mother nodded to Lily, looking almost as happy as her daughter.

“Can I get both?” Samantha asked her mom hopefully.

“Yes,” her mother said. “I think we can do that, since we’re going on such a special trip.”

Samantha jumped up and down and her mom smiled at Lily as they headed to the counter.

“Do I get to put that big doll on the list?” Samantha remembered.

“You sure do,” Lily told her, pulling out the sparkly pink notebook where she kept her list and grabbed her pen with the pink feather plume from the plastic holder on the counter to jot down the info. “This is the doll, and you can just put your name right next to it.”

Samantha frowned in concentration as she wrote her own name, then handed the pen back proudly.

“Now, I have a job for you while your mom and I get your stuff rung up,” Lily told her. “Whenever someone buys toys at this time of year, my shop donates a toy to a child who is being helped by doctors in the hospital at Christmastime. You can choose one toy from that shelf and put it in the bin over there. Once you’ve done that, you can sign your name or draw a little picture on the big card.”

She walked over to make sure Samantha saw the shelf of stuffed animals, the bin, and the cup of markers by the oversized card she had made from poster board and hung on the wall.

“That’s truly lovely,” Samantha’s mom said as Lily rang her up.

“I had so much fun planning it,” Lily told her. “And the kids really love giving, especially during a time of year when they’re receiving so much.”

“We’ll definitely be coming back here,” the lady promised, accepting her bag and receipt. “I’m so glad Miss Nilsson told us to come.”

“Thank you so much for visiting,” Lily called from behind the counter, as the two headed out.

“Are you sure you’re not a princess?” Samantha asked her, stopping and turning back.

Her mother laughed, and didn’t turn around.

Lily grabbed a tiara covered in pink plastic diamonds that she kept under the counter and quickly slipped it on, winking at the amazed little girl as she waved goodbye to her.

“I don’t know how you do it,” Sarah said admiringly, stepping forward as the mother and daughter disappeared down the street.

“I love my job,” Lily said simply, putting the tiara back in its hiding spot.

“But how are you able to give away all those toys?” Sarah asked. “I saw what those two bought. Your margins can’t be high enough for that.”

“First of all,” Lily said. “You don’t get into the toy business to become a millionaire. And, secondly, it all evens out. Plenty of people come in here and buy so many expensive things, but each kid only puts one toy in the bin. Besides, this is something I want to do. It was part of my business plan from day one.”

“I hear you,” Sarah said, smiling. “And I know that cause is special to you.”

Sarah was one of the few people who Lily had talked to about the time she spent in the hospital as a child. Most of the kids who were in her class back then had forgotten by now. But it would always be a part of Lily—both her gratitude to the doctors and nurses who had saved her life, and her determination to help other kids who found themselves in the hospital, especially during the holidays.

“So, are you guys excited about your road trip?” Lily asked.

“Definitely,” Sarah replied with enthusiasm. “Maddy has books picked out to read for the journey, Sam is excited to see his cousins, Brody is ready for a break from the farm, and I can’t believe we’re going to stop in New York City on the way up. We’re going to see the big tree and ice skate at Rockefeller Center.”

“That sounds like so much fun,” Lily said, feeling genuinely happy for her friend. Sarah deserved all the good things in the world, and the mountains of upstate New York in wintertime would probably look like the beautiful Christmas cabin from the puzzle Lily currently had featured on an aisle-cap.

She and Sarah had bonded immediately when the other young woman came to check out the toy store with her kids on opening weekend. She had spoiled each of them with a toy, and then suggested that Lily start carrying some children’s books to go along with the toys.

Since Sarah ran a bookshop herself, just a few blocks away, and the library was basically between the two stores, Lily had been uncertain at first. But when Sarah came back the next day with a pair of coffees to share, and offered to loan Lily some stock so she could see how it went, Lily quickly realized what a great idea it was.

Now she had a spinning bookshelf with beautiful picture books and early chapter books, all of which were a hit with her customers. And she and Sarah referred plenty of shoppers to each other, whether they were outgrowing Lily’s book selections, or Sarah thought they might like some toys and games.

Best of all, they had formed a close friendship and now they got to see each other just about every day.

“What about you?” Sarah asked. “Any big plans for the holidays?”

“A nice peaceful Christmas with my parents,” Lily said with a big smile, even though for no reason she could put her finger on, she was feeling a little down about it this year.

“That sounds so nice,” Sarah told her. “It’s good to put your feet up once in a while. Listen, I’ve got to run, but I just wanted to drop this off, if you don’t mind putting it on your board. And do you have anything for me?”

Sarah handed Lily an announcement that mystery author V.C. Fountain would be doing a reading at her shop.

“No, but I really appreciate you putting up the donation sheet for the hospital program last week,” Lily told her.

“It’s my pleasure,” Sarah said. “Obviously.”

They embraced and Sarah hurried back out, probably anxious to get home for supper with her big, noisy family.

It was strange. Lily had always enjoyed the serenity of having her own place, and of course she loved her quiet Christmases with her parents. They had endured enough stress over the holidays when she was little that all any of them ever wanted now was to sip cocoa from the comfort of the oversized sofa and watch the same handful of holiday movies they watched every year, while trying to guess the contents of the stockings that hung from the mantel and the beautifully wrapped gifts under the twinkling tree.

But for some reason, hearing about trips to California and the mountains of upstate New York was making her feel a little wistful tonight.

Before she had a chance to examine her feelings, the bell over the door jingled again, and two little boys blasted in with their dad right behind them.

All three of them went straight for the train set Lily had put up last night, without so much as saying hello. The dad crouched beside the train table and listened to his boys gleefully pointing out every detail of the tiny town and all the little people, looking like he really wanted to play with the train set himself.

Lily stepped over and handed him the little remote that controlled the train, smiling to herself as his eyes widened, making him look even more like a bigger version of his boys.

“Whoa, Dad,” the older of the little boys breathed in wonder when his father pressed a button and sent the little train rumbling along the tracks.

There’s no place like home, she reminded herself. You have everything you’ve ever wanted right here.