Chapter Two - Trudy

Trudy smiled so much that her cheeks began to ache as the group of happy carolers traversed the little town’s collection of homes.
 
Away from the town, where her inn was located, the nearest neighbors could hardly be seen on a rainy night.
 
But here in Trinity Falls village, the homes were closer together, and all of the neighbors seemed to know each other well. Half a block’s worth of residents would all spill out onto their porches at the first sign of the carolers. When a song was over, they cheered and clapped for the Cassidy clan and their hangers-on, and even for each other when someone on a porch joined in. 

Most decided not to take their performances on the road, but one other family with kids did join the group as they traveled across the street to the houses around the corner from Trinity Falls Elementary. 

By this point, Trudy was starting to really regret her choice of coat. She hadn’t really warmed up like she’d expected. In fact, the wind was picking up a bit, and Trudy was trying hard not to shiver. But Mateo was in ecstasy chatting with his new friends, and she wasn’t about to cut his night short for her own sake. 

“Here,” Professor Sullivan said gruffly, shrugging off his coat.

“Oh, Professor Sullivan, I couldn’t,” Trudy said, shaking her head hard. 

“First of all, it’s Ward,” he said. “And of course you can. I’m already sweating.”

The coat did look nice and warm. And the last thing she needed to do was catch a cold. Important new guests were arriving tomorrow, and they had booked the whole inn. 

“Thank you, Ward,” she said, taking it. 

The coat smelled delicious, just like his fresh aftershave, with a spicier hint that must have been his own masculine scent.

She tried not to think about that and to just soak in the lovely heat.

“So what brought you the Garcias tonight?” Ward asked politely.

“They were staying at the inn,” she began explaining.

“No, no,” he said. “I know why they invited you. I just wondered why you came. I never see you out and about anymore.”

That stung a little. 

“I guess I’ve gotten a little less adventurous since I lost Phillip,” she admitted. “And of course, it’s more work running things at the inn by myself. I have Chad, but he’s so young, and needs a lot of direction.”

“I can understand that,” Ward said kindly. “You and Phillip were very attached.”

He had ignored her reference to work and gone straight to the heart of the matter. In a way, it was a relief to talk to someone about it.

“I loved him since I was in school,” she admitted on a sigh. “We were two peas in a pod.”

“You sure were,” Ward said with a smile. “I remember seeing you two around town now and again, always arm in arm. And of course I would bump into him pretty often at the hardware store. He always mentioned you.”

“He did?” Trudy asked. It was a treat to hear new things about Phillip, and it happened so seldom these days.

“Oh, yes,” Ward chuckled. “He would tell me what you were getting up to with your cooking experiments. And he always told me how your library was coming along.”

“He really supported my hobbies,” she said dreamily. “I know a lot of husbands wouldn’t want their wives spending so much on books.  But we were never blessed with children to spend it on. And Phillip insisted the books were good for my soul.”

“Sounds like you two had a very good thing,” Ward said, nodding. 

“We did,” she said, feeling the familiar ache of missing him. 

“It doesn’t get any easier, does it?” Ward asked kindly. 

“Nope,” she said. “You just get used to it. Were you ever married?”

“For a short while, when I was younger,” Ward said, shaking his head. “It didn’t go so well. After that, the only girl I ever had eyes for was wildly in love with another man. And then I got caught up in work and hobbies and the time just seemed to pass.”

Trudy nodded. The time had passed for her, too. When she lost Phillip, one of her friends liked to tell her that she was still a young woman. 

But when you had already been married to the kindest, funniest man in the world, you didn’t go trying to win the lottery a second time. 

Now she was comfortably settled into a life alone with her memories. And that wasn’t such a bad thing. 

Up ahead, Alice was knocking on the next door, and the neighbors were all coming out to cheer. Trudy focused on the songs and the happy feeling of being among friends. 

Each of the old Victorian homes was beautifully decorated with colorful lights and pretty evergreen wreaths. A Christmas tree or menorah, sometimes both, glowed in nearly every single front window. With the blanket of snow on the ground, she felt as if she were truly walking in a winter wonderland. 

Alice even rang the bells of the apartments over the shops in the village. 

The sweet young schoolteacher from Trinity pre-school leaned out her window, her winsome expression turning warm and happy as she listened to the carolers. 

“Hi, Miss Cabrera,” Rumor yelled to her when they were finished.

“Hello, Rumor,” the young woman called back to her. “Merry Christmas. What a wonderful singer you are.”

Rumor giggled and jumped up and down a little. 

“Want to join us, dear?” Alice offered. 

“Oh, I’d love to,” Miss Cabrera called back. “But my family will be calling in a few minutes and I can’t miss it.”

“Oh, no, you don’t want to miss the Christmas call,” Alice agreed. 

Miss Cabrera leaned back in and waved before closing her window, still with a happy smile on her face.

“She’s a sweet young woman,” Alice said. “Shame to see her spend the holidays by herself.”

“By this time next year, she’ll have found herself a beau,” Grace decided. 

“Definitely,” Natalie agreed. “She’s so nice with the kids. If she doesn’t have a boyfriend by next year, we’ll drag her to Cassidy Farm for Christmas.”

“You can count on it,” Alice said, wrapping an arm around Natalie and giving her an approving squeeze. “We won’t even give her a chance to say no.”

Everyone laughed happily at the idea of stout, good-natured Alice Cassidy whisking Miss Cabrera away for a holiday gathering without giving her a moment to protest. 

And Trudy absolutely believed it would happen. Alice was not one to see a person left out at the holidays.

By Trudy’s estimation, Marta Garcia was shaping up to be just the same sort of woman. Marta had seen Trudy’s loneliness and included her in their celebrations, somehow without letting Trudy feel like a bother at all. 

She was determined to return the favor somehow. This night had been downright magical.

By the time they finished their circuit, she couldn’t believe two hours had passed. 

Ward had stayed by her side all night long. It would have almost felt like a date, except that of course they were with a big group, and the only time she had ever really opened up was when talking about Phillip. 

“Thank you so much, Trudy,” Mateo said, scampering up to her as they approached his house. “This was really fun.”

“It was my pleasure, Mateo,” Trudy told him honestly. “I’m so glad your parents said yes.”

They and the Cassidy crew all hugged their good-byes, with promises to get together again soon. 

Then Ward was offering her his hand again to climb the stairs to the house. 

“Mom, Dad, we had so much fun,” Mateo shouted. 

His parents came to the door, looking much more relaxed in their matching Christmas pajamas.

“Well, we got dinner all cleaned up, the rest of the cookies baked, and the beds made up,” Marta told Mateo, pulling him in for a hug. “We even set up the bathroom things.”

“Trudy, I’ll drive you home,” Mr. Garcia said. “Just give me a second to get changed. I forgot all about that fact that we brought you here with us.”

“I’ll drive her,” Ward said quickly. “It’s no trouble at all, and you folks need your rest.”

“That would be wonderful, Ward,” Mr. Garcia said with such relief that Trudy didn’t dare protest. 

“Thank you,” she told him instead.

“We’ll see you soon, Trudy,” Marta said, pulling her in for a warm hug. “Thank you again for making our Christmas so perfect.”

Tears prickled Trudy’s eyes, and she gave Marta an extra squeeze before letting go. 

Then Mateo was wrapping his wiry arms around her for a hug of his own. 

“Thank you, Trudy,” he said.

“Thank you, young man,” she told him. “I’m so happy we could spend the day together.”

“I know we’ll see you soon,” Mr. Garcia said with a warm smile. “Now that you know how to make tamales, I can put you to work next time we have a party.”

She laughed happily as she turned to go. Ward was already opening the door and offering her his hand on the stairs again.

“Which one is yours?” she asked him, indicating the cars. She needed a distraction from the idea that she was about to be alone with him for the fifteen-minute drive back to the inn.

“The red pick-up truck,” he said with a smile, pointing to a newer American model.

“It’s very pretty,” she told him approvingly. “Phillip had a red pick-up truck, too.”

“Oh, that truck had way more character than mine,” Ward laughed. “Mine looks like a toy in comparison.”

She smiled at the idea that Ward had known Phillip well enough to remember his antique red pick-up truck. 

He helped her in, and then walked around to his side. 

It was hard not to notice what a gentleman he was. 

But Trudy wasn’t interested in anything like that. She really wasn’t. She had a very busy life, and she certainly didn’t need the kind of drama that was in the movies and the romance books she read. 

He got into the car and gave her a wink before starting the engine, and she was surprised to find that she didn’t mind.

Somehow, it all made her feel like a young woman again, like there was some kind of shared joke between them, and also a bit like he was telling her to relax - that he would take care of her.

​Somewhere in her belly, a single butterfly fluttered its wings.

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