Molly was pooped and her feet hurt. The last thing she
wanted was to go out. But when Arianna had called, she was insistent that Molly
go out to dinner with her and her new friend Sunny.
“You can
rest your feet at Horse and Cow,” she’d said.
So here
they were, in the popular pub that had been part of downtown Bremerton for
seventy years. It was small and noisy but offered plenty of atmosphere,
displaying all kinds of submarine memorabilia as a tribute to the city’s naval
history. And it served the best burgers in town.
With her
blond hair and happy smile, Sunny was well named. Molly was instantly charmed.
And felt
old next to these two, especially when Sunny talked about doing a repeat of
Christmas with a party in January. “It would be so much fun,” she enthused.
“And so
much work,” Molly said. This all sounded like a pain in the posterior to the
bushed postal worker.
“Not
necessarily. If we all pitched in,” Sunny argued.
“Of if we
went somewhere,” said Arianna. “Like up to the mountains.”
A whole day
driving up to the mountains, wandering around in the cold. “You two have fun. I
don’t ski.”
“Me,
neither,” said Sunny, “but I like to go inner tubing.”
“I’d
probably fall off,” Molly said, and Arianna frowned in disapproval over her
lack of enthusiasm. “Plus, it would take hours just getting there.”
“But your
granddaughter would love it,” said Arianna.
“Paisley’d
love going to a movie, too. And I can sit through that.” Their hamburgers
arrived, and Molly dug into hers.
“What if we
went somewhere nearby?” Sunny said. She snapped her fingers. “Ice-skating!”
“There’s no
rink here,” said Arianna.
“There is
in Edmonds. We catch the Kingston Ferry, and it’s only a quick ride away. I bet
Sophie would love it.”
“So would
Paisley,” said Arianna, looking at Molly.
“I wouldn’t
have to skate, would I?” Molly asked.
“You can
take pictures,” Arianna told her.
“I could do
that,” Molly said.
And, after
her holiday slacking, her daughter would be thrilled to see her doing more
activities with Paisley. Maybe Ava would come, too.
“It would
be a great Christmas do-over,” Sunny said, and chomped on a French fry.
“I’m all
about trying again,” said Arianna. “I need some holiday happiness. I have a
whole year worth of misery to make up for.”
“This could
be a good start,” Sunny said.
“Maybe it
will be enough to hold me through February,” Arianna said and frowned. “That’s
going to be a fun month, with Valentine’s Day to look forward to.”
Sunny
turned thoughtful. “What if you had something else to look forward to?”
“Christmas
in February?” Molly joked. Oh, no. She could tell by their expressions that the
other two were taking her seriously.
“Oh, yes!”
Sunny enthused. “Let’s leave our trees up and decorate them for V-Day.”
“Heck,
let’s leave them up in March and decorate them with shamrocks,” said Arianna.
“Let’s hire
leprechauns to come clean our houses and bring us energy drinks,” Molly said.
These two were getting out of control.
“What if
you could do Christmas all year?” Arianna mused. She turned to Molly. “I know
how people treat you at the post office during the holidays. Wouldn’t it be
nice to enjoy that holiday cheer without the stress of the Christmas rush?”
Actually,
it would. But she didn’t need twelve months of it, did she?
“Christmas
all year long—my step-kids would love it!” Sunny exclaimed. “What if we did
something different around the twenty-fifth of every month to celebrate
Christmas?”
It sounded
like work to Molly.
“I’m so
in,” Arianna said. “This last year has been miserable, and I’ve had enough of
that. I want to make my life worth living again.”
“A new one
is waiting,” said Sunny, who was obviously an optimist. “And I’m determined to
spread the love to my in-laws.”
“I could
stand to rediscover my joy,” Molly admitted. “But all year long?”
“Why not?
It would give us something to look forward to every month,” said Sunny.
“A new year
of new beginnings,” Arianna added with a smile.
“I’m all
about that,” Sunny said. “No matter what life throws at us we can keep our
stockings hung and fill our lives with good stuff.”
“Keep up
our trees and our spirits,” chimed in Arianna. She looked expectantly at Molly.
It all
sounded great, but Molly still hesitated. “Umm.”
“No grumpy
postal patrons involved. Good times with your granddaughter,” Arianna said.
Then she added the kicker. “You can make up for falling asleep during her
winter program.”
“Okay, I’m
in,” Molly relented. Maybe, if she had a whole year, she could even find time
to make those bonbons with Paisley.
“All right!
Here’s to twelve months of Christmas,” Sunny said, raising her glass of beer.
Arianna
raised her glass also. “Twelve months of Christmas. Better attitudes, better
times, cookies, presents …”
“And a
partridge in a pear tree,” Molly finished and raised her glass of Pepsi as
well. She had to be out of her mind to let these two talk her into this.
But maybe
she needed something fun to look forward to every month. Maybe she could
rediscover the enthusiasm she’d once felt for the holidays. For life. She’d
fallen into a rut. It was way past time to crawl out. She only hoped she’d have
the energy.
After
Arianna dropped her off, she texted Mia.
Molly: You will not believe what your daughter has
just suckered me into.
Mia: Neighborhood block party?
Molly: Worse!
Christmas all year long.
Mia: Sounds
charming. Ho, ho, ho.
Molly: I ho, ho, hope I survive it!
This was
going to be an interesting year.
~~~~~~~~~
Readers, would you be up for celebrating each month, all year long? What would that look like in your life?
Have you read Sheila Roberts yet? Or seen the television movies based on her books?
When do you start reading holiday books? Or, like me, do you read them all year long?
Two randomly chosen people who post a comment by 11:00 PM, September 15 will receive a print ARC of The Twelve Months of Christmas.
*U.S. only
*Must be 18
Sheila Roberts
Before launching
her author career, Sheila Roberts owned a singing telegram company, wrote music
and played in a band. Now Sheila is the USA Today bestselling
author of more than 50 novels, including ON STRIKE FOR CHRISTMAS, which was
made into a Lifetime Network movie. Also adapted for the small screen, Sheila’s
THE NINE LIVES OF CHRISTMAS is a perennial Hallmark channel favorite, and
CHRISTMAS ON CANDY CANE LANE debuted on The Great American Family Channel in
December. The author has sold more than three million copies of her novels. A
cancer survivor, she is a sunny extrovert who loves to entertain her
girlfriends and readers at author events and visit with book clubs. Sheila
resides in Washington state with her husband, not far from where THE TWELVE
MONTHS OF CHRISTMAS takes place. For more information about Sheila, visit www.sheilasplace.com.
Sheila’s author Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/funwithsheila
Sheila’s
Instagram author page: https://www.instagram.com/sheilarobertswriter/
Sheila’s TikTok
page https://www.tiktok.com/@sheilarobertswriter
Sheila’s
BookBub page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sheila-roberts
Sheila’s
Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/sheilaroberts
