For today's big, big giveaway I decided to review
2 books that I previously posted about
but couldn't review because I didn't have
the books yet - so here are...
"Finding Father Christmas"
&
"Engaging Father Christmas"
by
Robin Jones Gunn
2 books that I previously posted about
but couldn't review because I didn't have
the books yet - so here are...
"Finding Father Christmas"
&
"Engaging Father Christmas"
by
Robin Jones Gunn
MY REVIEW:
I love a good holiday story, something you can cuddle up with under a warm, fuzzy blanket with a cup of hot cocoa and get swept away with. Robin Jones Gunn has given us those with her Father Christmas books.
Finding Father Christmas starts with the mystery of who is Miranda's father? She has finally decided to try and find out, but all she has to go on is an old photograph with the name of the photographer on the back. She travels all the way to England to chase her dream of a father - will that clue be enough?
Engaging Father Christmas picks up one year later as Miranda is making a trip back to England to follow up with what she started in the first book. Can she be accepted? Does she really have a family? Has she finally come home for Christmas?
I finished these two books hoping against hope that just maybe someday Robin Jones Gunn will take us back to Miranda's world so we can check in on her again!
If you would like to check in on Miranda's world then leave me a comment (with your email address) and tell me your favorite Christmas tradition. I will draw for a winner on Dec. 3rd and you will get BOTH of these wonderful books sent to you from the publisher (maybe in time for Christmas!)!!!
I love a good holiday story, something you can cuddle up with under a warm, fuzzy blanket with a cup of hot cocoa and get swept away with. Robin Jones Gunn has given us those with her Father Christmas books.
Finding Father Christmas starts with the mystery of who is Miranda's father? She has finally decided to try and find out, but all she has to go on is an old photograph with the name of the photographer on the back. She travels all the way to England to chase her dream of a father - will that clue be enough?
Engaging Father Christmas picks up one year later as Miranda is making a trip back to England to follow up with what she started in the first book. Can she be accepted? Does she really have a family? Has she finally come home for Christmas?
I finished these two books hoping against hope that just maybe someday Robin Jones Gunn will take us back to Miranda's world so we can check in on her again!
If you would like to check in on Miranda's world then leave me a comment (with your email address) and tell me your favorite Christmas tradition. I will draw for a winner on Dec. 3rd and you will get BOTH of these wonderful books sent to you from the publisher (maybe in time for Christmas!)!!!
Product Details for Finding Father Christmas:
List Price: $13.99
Hardcover: 176 pages
Publisher: FaithWords (October 11, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446526290
ISBN-13: 978-0446526296
Product Details for Engaging Father Christmas:
List Price: $
Hardcover: 176 pages
Publisher: FaithWords (October 30, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446179469
ISBN-13: 978-0446179461
AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:
A string of merry silver bells jumped and jingled as the north wind shook the evergreen wreath on the heavy wooden door. Overhead a painted shingle swung from two metal arms, declaring this place of business to be the Tea Cosy.
As I peered inside through the thick-paned window, I could see a cheerful amber fire in the hearth. Tables were set for two with china cups neatly positioned on crimson tablecloths. Swags of green foliage trimmed the mantel. Dotted across the room, on the tables and on shelves, were a dozen red votive candles. Each tiny light flickered, sending out promises of warmth and cheer, inviting me to step inside.
Another more determined gust made a swoop down the lane, this time taking my breath with it into the darkness of the December night.
This trip was a mistake. A huge mistake. What was I thinking?
I knew the answer as it rode off on the mocking wind. The answer was, I wasn’t thinking. I was feeling.
Pure emotion last Friday nudged me to book the round-trip ticket to London. Blind passion convinced me that the answer to my twenty-year question would be revealed once I reached the Carlton Photography Studio on Bexley Lane.
Sadly, I was wrong. I had come all this way only to hit a dead end.
I took another look inside the teahouse and told myself to keep walking, back to the train station, back to the hotel in London where I had left my luggage. This exercise in futility was over. I might as well change my ticket and fly back to San Francisco in the morning.
My chilled and weary feet refused to obey. They wanted to go inside and be warmed by the fire. I couldn’t deny that my poor legs did deserve a little kindness after all I had put them through when I folded them into the last seat in coach class. The middle seat, by the lavatories, in the row that didn’t recline. A cup of tea at a moment like this might be the only blissful memory I would take with me from this fiasco.
Reaching for the oddly shaped metal latch on the door, I stepped inside and set the silver bells jingling again.
“Come in, come in, and know me better, friend!” The unexpected greeting came from a kilt-wearing man with a valiant face. His profoundly wide sideburns had the look of white lamb’s wool and softened the resoluteness in his jaw. “Have you brought the snowflakes with you, then?”
“The snowflakes?” I repeated.
“Aye! The snowflakes. It’s cold enough for snow, wouldn’t you say?”
I nodded my reluctant agreement, feeling my nose and cheeks going rosy in the small room’s warmth. I assumed the gentleman who opened the door was the proprietor. Looking around, I asked, “Is it okay if I take the table by the fire? All I’d like is a cup of tea.”
“I don’t see why not. Katharine!” He waited for a response and then tried again. “Katharine!”
No answer came.
“She must have gone upstairs. She’ll be back around.” His grin was engaging, his eyes clear. “I would put the kettle on for you myself, if it weren’t for the case of my being on my way out at the moment.”
“That’s okay. I don’t mind waiting.”
“Of course you don’t mind waiting. A young woman such as yourself has the time to wait, do you not? Whereas, for a person such as myself . . .” He leaned closer and with a wink confided in me, “I’m Christmas Present, you see. I can’t wait.”
What sort of “present” he supposed himself to be and to whom, I wasn’t sure.
With a nod, the man drew back the heavy door and strode into the frosty air.
From a set of narrow stairs a striking woman descended. She looked as surprised at my appearance as I was at hers. She wore a stunning red, floor-length evening dress. Around her neck hung a sparkling silver necklace, and dangling from under her dark hair were matching silver earrings. She stood tall with careful posture and tilted her head, waiting for me to speak.
“I wasn’t sure if you were still open.”
“Yes, on an ordinary day we would be open for another little while, until five thirty. . . .” Her voice drifted off.
“Five thirty,” I repeated, checking my watch. The time read 11:58. The exact time I’d adjusted it to when I had deplaned at Heathrow Airport late that morning. I tapped on the face of my watch as if that would make it run again. “I can see you have plans for the evening and that you’re ready to close. I’ll just—”
“Che-che-che.” The sound that came from her was the sort used to call a squirrel to come find the peanuts left for it on a park bench. It wasn’t a real word from a real language, but I understood the meaning. I was being invited to stay and not to run off.
“Take any seat you want. Would you like a scone with your tea or perhaps some rum cake?”
“Just the tea, thank you.”
I moved toward the fire and realized that a scone sounded pretty good. I hadn’t eaten anything since the undercooked breakfast omelet served on the plane.
“Actually, I would like to have a scone, too. If it’s not too much trouble.”
“No trouble at all.”
Her smile was tender, motherly. I guessed her to be in her midfifties or maybe older. She turned without any corners or edges to her motions. I soon heard the clinking of dishes as she prepared the necessary items in the kitchen.
Making my way to a steady looking table by the fire, I tried to tuck my large shoulder bag under the spindle leg of the chair. The stones along the front of the hearth were permanently blackened from what I imagined to be centuries of soot. The charm of the room increased as I sat down and felt the coziness of the close quarters. This was a place of serenity. A place where trust between friends had been established and kept for many years.
A sense of safety and comfort called to the deepest part of my spirit and begged me to set free a fountain of tears. But I capped them off. It was that same wellspring of emotion that had instigated this journey.
Settling back, I blinked and let the steady heat from the fire warm me. Katharine returned carrying a tray. The steaming pot of tea took center stage, wearing a chintzquilted dressing gown, gathered at the top.
Even the china teapots are treated to coziness here.
“I’ve warmed two scones for you, and this, of course, is your clotted cream. I’ve given you raspberry jam, but if you would prefer strawberry, I do have some.”
“No, this is fine. Perfect. Thank you.”
Katharine lifted the festooned teapot and poured the steaming liquid into my waiting china cup. I felt for a moment as if I had stumbled into an odd sort of parallel world to Narnia.
As a young child I had read C. S. Lewis’s Narnia tales a number of times. In the many hours alone, I had played out the fairy tales in my imagination, pretending I was Lucy, stepping through the wardrobe into an imaginary world.
Here, in the real country of Narnia’s author, I considered how similar my surroundings were to Lewis’s descriptions of that imaginary world. A warming fire welcomed me in from the cold. But instead of a fawn inviting me to tea, it had been a kilted clansman. Instead of Mrs. Beaver pouring a cup of cheer for me by the fire, it was a tall, unhurried woman in a red evening gown.
An unwelcome thought came and settled on me as clearly as if I had heard a whisper. Miranda, how much longer will you believe it is “always winter and never Christmas”?
Copyright © 2007 by Robin’s Ink, LLC
This article is used with the permission of Hachette Book Group and Robin Jones Gunn. All rights reserved.
As I peered inside through the thick-paned window, I could see a cheerful amber fire in the hearth. Tables were set for two with china cups neatly positioned on crimson tablecloths. Swags of green foliage trimmed the mantel. Dotted across the room, on the tables and on shelves, were a dozen red votive candles. Each tiny light flickered, sending out promises of warmth and cheer, inviting me to step inside.
Another more determined gust made a swoop down the lane, this time taking my breath with it into the darkness of the December night.
This trip was a mistake. A huge mistake. What was I thinking?
I knew the answer as it rode off on the mocking wind. The answer was, I wasn’t thinking. I was feeling.
Pure emotion last Friday nudged me to book the round-trip ticket to London. Blind passion convinced me that the answer to my twenty-year question would be revealed once I reached the Carlton Photography Studio on Bexley Lane.
Sadly, I was wrong. I had come all this way only to hit a dead end.
I took another look inside the teahouse and told myself to keep walking, back to the train station, back to the hotel in London where I had left my luggage. This exercise in futility was over. I might as well change my ticket and fly back to San Francisco in the morning.
My chilled and weary feet refused to obey. They wanted to go inside and be warmed by the fire. I couldn’t deny that my poor legs did deserve a little kindness after all I had put them through when I folded them into the last seat in coach class. The middle seat, by the lavatories, in the row that didn’t recline. A cup of tea at a moment like this might be the only blissful memory I would take with me from this fiasco.
Reaching for the oddly shaped metal latch on the door, I stepped inside and set the silver bells jingling again.
“Come in, come in, and know me better, friend!” The unexpected greeting came from a kilt-wearing man with a valiant face. His profoundly wide sideburns had the look of white lamb’s wool and softened the resoluteness in his jaw. “Have you brought the snowflakes with you, then?”
“The snowflakes?” I repeated.
“Aye! The snowflakes. It’s cold enough for snow, wouldn’t you say?”
I nodded my reluctant agreement, feeling my nose and cheeks going rosy in the small room’s warmth. I assumed the gentleman who opened the door was the proprietor. Looking around, I asked, “Is it okay if I take the table by the fire? All I’d like is a cup of tea.”
“I don’t see why not. Katharine!” He waited for a response and then tried again. “Katharine!”
No answer came.
“She must have gone upstairs. She’ll be back around.” His grin was engaging, his eyes clear. “I would put the kettle on for you myself, if it weren’t for the case of my being on my way out at the moment.”
“That’s okay. I don’t mind waiting.”
“Of course you don’t mind waiting. A young woman such as yourself has the time to wait, do you not? Whereas, for a person such as myself . . .” He leaned closer and with a wink confided in me, “I’m Christmas Present, you see. I can’t wait.”
What sort of “present” he supposed himself to be and to whom, I wasn’t sure.
With a nod, the man drew back the heavy door and strode into the frosty air.
From a set of narrow stairs a striking woman descended. She looked as surprised at my appearance as I was at hers. She wore a stunning red, floor-length evening dress. Around her neck hung a sparkling silver necklace, and dangling from under her dark hair were matching silver earrings. She stood tall with careful posture and tilted her head, waiting for me to speak.
“I wasn’t sure if you were still open.”
“Yes, on an ordinary day we would be open for another little while, until five thirty. . . .” Her voice drifted off.
“Five thirty,” I repeated, checking my watch. The time read 11:58. The exact time I’d adjusted it to when I had deplaned at Heathrow Airport late that morning. I tapped on the face of my watch as if that would make it run again. “I can see you have plans for the evening and that you’re ready to close. I’ll just—”
“Che-che-che.” The sound that came from her was the sort used to call a squirrel to come find the peanuts left for it on a park bench. It wasn’t a real word from a real language, but I understood the meaning. I was being invited to stay and not to run off.
“Take any seat you want. Would you like a scone with your tea or perhaps some rum cake?”
“Just the tea, thank you.”
I moved toward the fire and realized that a scone sounded pretty good. I hadn’t eaten anything since the undercooked breakfast omelet served on the plane.
“Actually, I would like to have a scone, too. If it’s not too much trouble.”
“No trouble at all.”
Her smile was tender, motherly. I guessed her to be in her midfifties or maybe older. She turned without any corners or edges to her motions. I soon heard the clinking of dishes as she prepared the necessary items in the kitchen.
Making my way to a steady looking table by the fire, I tried to tuck my large shoulder bag under the spindle leg of the chair. The stones along the front of the hearth were permanently blackened from what I imagined to be centuries of soot. The charm of the room increased as I sat down and felt the coziness of the close quarters. This was a place of serenity. A place where trust between friends had been established and kept for many years.
A sense of safety and comfort called to the deepest part of my spirit and begged me to set free a fountain of tears. But I capped them off. It was that same wellspring of emotion that had instigated this journey.
Settling back, I blinked and let the steady heat from the fire warm me. Katharine returned carrying a tray. The steaming pot of tea took center stage, wearing a chintzquilted dressing gown, gathered at the top.
Even the china teapots are treated to coziness here.
“I’ve warmed two scones for you, and this, of course, is your clotted cream. I’ve given you raspberry jam, but if you would prefer strawberry, I do have some.”
“No, this is fine. Perfect. Thank you.”
Katharine lifted the festooned teapot and poured the steaming liquid into my waiting china cup. I felt for a moment as if I had stumbled into an odd sort of parallel world to Narnia.
As a young child I had read C. S. Lewis’s Narnia tales a number of times. In the many hours alone, I had played out the fairy tales in my imagination, pretending I was Lucy, stepping through the wardrobe into an imaginary world.
Here, in the real country of Narnia’s author, I considered how similar my surroundings were to Lewis’s descriptions of that imaginary world. A warming fire welcomed me in from the cold. But instead of a fawn inviting me to tea, it had been a kilted clansman. Instead of Mrs. Beaver pouring a cup of cheer for me by the fire, it was a tall, unhurried woman in a red evening gown.
An unwelcome thought came and settled on me as clearly as if I had heard a whisper. Miranda, how much longer will you believe it is “always winter and never Christmas”?
Copyright © 2007 by Robin’s Ink, LLC
This article is used with the permission of Hachette Book Group and Robin Jones Gunn. All rights reserved.
Around me swarms of Londoners rushed by, intent on their destinations and sure of their plans. My destination was the small town of Carlton Heath, and my plans revolved around a certain Scotsman who was now officially late.
I tried to call Ian again. His voice mail picked up for the third time. “It’s me again,” I said to the phone. “I’m here at Paddington station and —”
Before I finished the message, my phone beeped, and the screen showed me it was Ian.
“Hi! I was just leaving you another message.” I brushed back my shoulder-length brown hair and stood a little straighter, just as I would have if Ian were standing in front of me.
“You made it to the station, then?”
“Yes. Although I was about to put on a pair of red rain boots and a tag on my coat that read, ‘Please look after this bear.’ ” I was pretty sure Ian would catch my reference to the original Paddington Bear in the floppy hat since that was what he had given to my niece, Julia, for Christmas last year.
“Don’t go hangin’ any tags on your coat,” Ian said with an unmistakable grin in his voice. “I’m nearly there. The shops were crammed this morning, and traffic is awful. I should have taken the tube, but I’m in a taxi now. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes tops. Maybe less if I get out and run the last few blocks.”
“Don’t run. I’ll wait. It’s only been, what? Seven weeks and three days since we were last together? What’s another fifteen minutes?”
“I’ll tell you what another fifteen minutes is. It’s just about the longest fifteen minutes of my life.”
“Mine too.” I felt my face warming.
“You’re at track five, then, as we planned?”
“Yes. Track five.”
“Good. No troubles coming in from the airport?”
“No. Everything went fine at Heathrow. The fog delayed my flight when we left San Francisco, but the pilot somehow managed to make up time in the air. We landed on schedule.”
“Let’s hope my cabbie can find the same tailwind your pilot did and deliver me to the station on schedule.”
I looked up at the large electronic schedule board overhead, just to make sure my watch was in sync with local time. “We have about twenty minutes before the 1:37 train leaves for Carlton Heath. I think we can still make it.”
“I have no doubt. Looks like we have a break in the traffic jam at the moment. Don’t go anywhere, Miranda. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“I’ll be here.”
I closed my phone and smiled. Whenever Ian said my name, with a rolling of the r, he promptly melted my heart. Every single time. His native Scottish accent had become distilled during the past decade as a result of his two years of grad school in Canada and working in an architect office with coworkers from around the world. But Ian knew how to put on the “heather in the highlands” lilt whenever he wanted. And I loved it, just as I loved everything about this indomitable man.
I looked around the landing between the train tracks for an open seat on one of the benches. Since none were available, I moved closer to the nearest bench just in case someone decided to leave.
Balancing my large, wheeled suitcase against a pole so it wouldn’t tip over, I carefully leaned my second bag next to the beast. This was my third trip to England since my visit last Christmas and the first time I had come with two suitcases. This time I needed an extra bag for all the gifts I had with me, wrapped and ready to go under the Christmas tree at the Whitcombe manor.
Last Christmas and for many Christmases before that, the only gift I bought and gave was the one expected for the exchange at the accounting office where I worked in downtown San Francisco. Up until last Christmas I had no family to speak of — no parents, no siblings, no roommate. I didn’t even have a cat. My life had fallen into a steady, predictable rhythm of work and weekends alone, which is probably why I found the courage to make that first trip to Carlton Heath last December. In those brief, snow-kissed, extraordinary few days, I was gifted with blood relatives, new friends, and sweetest of all, Ian.
Christmas shopping this year had been a new experience. While my coworkers complained about the crowds and hassle, I quietly reveled in the thought that I actually had someone — many someones — in my life to go gift hunting for.
I had a feeling some last-minute shopping was the reason Ian was late. He told me yesterday he had a final gift to pick up this morning on his way to the station. He hadn’t explained what the gift was or whom it was for. His silence on the matter led me to wonder as I wandered along a familiar path in my imagination. That path led straight to my heart, and along that path I saw nothing but hope for our future together — hope and maybe a little something shiny that came in a small box and fit on a certain rather available finger on my left hand.
Before my mind could sufficiently detour to the happy land of “What’s next?”, I heard someone call my name. It was a familiar male voice, but not Ian’s.
I looked into the passing stream of travelers, and there he stood, only a few feet away. Josh. The last person I ever expected to see again. Especially in England.
“Miranda, I thought that was you! Hey, how are you?” With a large travel bag strapped over his shoulder, Josh gave me an awkward, clunking and bumping sort of hug. His glasses smashed against the side of my head. He quickly introduced me as his “old girlfriend” to the three guys with him.
“What are you doing here?” He unstrapped the bag and dropped it at his feet.
One of the guys tagged his shoulder and said, “We’ll be at the sandwich stand over there.”
“Okay. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Josh turned back to me. “You look great. What’s been happening with you?”
“I’m good,” I said. “What about you? What are you doing here?” I was still too flustered at the unexpected encounter to jump right into a catch-up sort of conversation after the almost three-year gap.
“Just returned from a ski trip to Austria with a group from work. Incredible trip. I’m in a counseling practice now. Child psychologist. I don’t know if you knew that.”
“No. That’s great, Josh. I know that’s what you wanted to do.”
“Yes, it’s going well so far.” He seemed at ease. None of the stiltedness that had been there right after I broke up with him came across in his voice or demeanor.
“And what about you? What are you doing in England?”
Before I could put together an answer, Josh snapped his fingers. “Wait! Are you here because you’re looking for your birth father?”
“You remembered.” Once again he surprised me.
“Of course I remembered. You had that picture of some guy dressed as Father Christmas, and it had the name of the photography studio on the back. That was your only clue.”
I nodded.
“So? What happened?”
“I followed the clue last Christmas, and it led me here, to my birth father, just like you thought it would.”
“No way! Did it really?”
I nodded, knowing Josh would appreciate this next part of the story. “The man in the photo dressed like Father Christmas was my father. And the boy on his lap is my brother, or I guess I should say my half brother, Edward.”
“Incredible,” Josh said with a satisfied, Sherlock Holmes expression on his unshaven face. “What happened when you met him?”
I hesitated. Having not repeated this story to anyone since it all unfolded a year ago, I didn’t realize how much the answer to Josh’s question would catch in my spirit and feel sharply painful when it was spoken aloud.
“I didn’t meet him. He passed away a few years ago.”
“Oh.” Josh’s expression softened.
“You know, Josh, I always wanted to thank you for the way you urged me to follow that one small clue. I’ve wished more than once that I would have come to England when you first suggested it four years ago. He was still alive then. That’s what I should have done.”
“And I should have gone with you,” he said in a low voice.
“Why do you say that?”
Josh’s eyebrows furrowed, his counselor mode kicking in. “I felt you needed that piece in your life. By that I mean the paternal piece of your life puzzle. I didn’t like you being so alone in the world. I wish you could have met him.”
“I do, too, but I actually think things turned out better this way. It’s less complicated that I didn’t meet him while he was still alive.”
“Why do you say that?” Josh asked.
I hesitated before giving Josh the next piece of information. In an odd way, it felt as if he needed the final piece of the puzzle the same way I had.
“It’s less complicated this way because my father was . . .” I lowered my voice and looked at him so he could read the truth in my clear blue eyes. “My father was Sir James Whitcombe.”
Copyright © 2008 by Robin’s Ink, LLC.
This article is used with the permission of Hachette Book Group and Robin Jones Gunn. All rights reserved.
I tried to call Ian again. His voice mail picked up for the third time. “It’s me again,” I said to the phone. “I’m here at Paddington station and —”
Before I finished the message, my phone beeped, and the screen showed me it was Ian.
“Hi! I was just leaving you another message.” I brushed back my shoulder-length brown hair and stood a little straighter, just as I would have if Ian were standing in front of me.
“You made it to the station, then?”
“Yes. Although I was about to put on a pair of red rain boots and a tag on my coat that read, ‘Please look after this bear.’ ” I was pretty sure Ian would catch my reference to the original Paddington Bear in the floppy hat since that was what he had given to my niece, Julia, for Christmas last year.
“Don’t go hangin’ any tags on your coat,” Ian said with an unmistakable grin in his voice. “I’m nearly there. The shops were crammed this morning, and traffic is awful. I should have taken the tube, but I’m in a taxi now. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes tops. Maybe less if I get out and run the last few blocks.”
“Don’t run. I’ll wait. It’s only been, what? Seven weeks and three days since we were last together? What’s another fifteen minutes?”
“I’ll tell you what another fifteen minutes is. It’s just about the longest fifteen minutes of my life.”
“Mine too.” I felt my face warming.
“You’re at track five, then, as we planned?”
“Yes. Track five.”
“Good. No troubles coming in from the airport?”
“No. Everything went fine at Heathrow. The fog delayed my flight when we left San Francisco, but the pilot somehow managed to make up time in the air. We landed on schedule.”
“Let’s hope my cabbie can find the same tailwind your pilot did and deliver me to the station on schedule.”
I looked up at the large electronic schedule board overhead, just to make sure my watch was in sync with local time. “We have about twenty minutes before the 1:37 train leaves for Carlton Heath. I think we can still make it.”
“I have no doubt. Looks like we have a break in the traffic jam at the moment. Don’t go anywhere, Miranda. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“I’ll be here.”
I closed my phone and smiled. Whenever Ian said my name, with a rolling of the r, he promptly melted my heart. Every single time. His native Scottish accent had become distilled during the past decade as a result of his two years of grad school in Canada and working in an architect office with coworkers from around the world. But Ian knew how to put on the “heather in the highlands” lilt whenever he wanted. And I loved it, just as I loved everything about this indomitable man.
I looked around the landing between the train tracks for an open seat on one of the benches. Since none were available, I moved closer to the nearest bench just in case someone decided to leave.
Balancing my large, wheeled suitcase against a pole so it wouldn’t tip over, I carefully leaned my second bag next to the beast. This was my third trip to England since my visit last Christmas and the first time I had come with two suitcases. This time I needed an extra bag for all the gifts I had with me, wrapped and ready to go under the Christmas tree at the Whitcombe manor.
Last Christmas and for many Christmases before that, the only gift I bought and gave was the one expected for the exchange at the accounting office where I worked in downtown San Francisco. Up until last Christmas I had no family to speak of — no parents, no siblings, no roommate. I didn’t even have a cat. My life had fallen into a steady, predictable rhythm of work and weekends alone, which is probably why I found the courage to make that first trip to Carlton Heath last December. In those brief, snow-kissed, extraordinary few days, I was gifted with blood relatives, new friends, and sweetest of all, Ian.
Christmas shopping this year had been a new experience. While my coworkers complained about the crowds and hassle, I quietly reveled in the thought that I actually had someone — many someones — in my life to go gift hunting for.
I had a feeling some last-minute shopping was the reason Ian was late. He told me yesterday he had a final gift to pick up this morning on his way to the station. He hadn’t explained what the gift was or whom it was for. His silence on the matter led me to wonder as I wandered along a familiar path in my imagination. That path led straight to my heart, and along that path I saw nothing but hope for our future together — hope and maybe a little something shiny that came in a small box and fit on a certain rather available finger on my left hand.
Before my mind could sufficiently detour to the happy land of “What’s next?”, I heard someone call my name. It was a familiar male voice, but not Ian’s.
I looked into the passing stream of travelers, and there he stood, only a few feet away. Josh. The last person I ever expected to see again. Especially in England.
“Miranda, I thought that was you! Hey, how are you?” With a large travel bag strapped over his shoulder, Josh gave me an awkward, clunking and bumping sort of hug. His glasses smashed against the side of my head. He quickly introduced me as his “old girlfriend” to the three guys with him.
“What are you doing here?” He unstrapped the bag and dropped it at his feet.
One of the guys tagged his shoulder and said, “We’ll be at the sandwich stand over there.”
“Okay. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Josh turned back to me. “You look great. What’s been happening with you?”
“I’m good,” I said. “What about you? What are you doing here?” I was still too flustered at the unexpected encounter to jump right into a catch-up sort of conversation after the almost three-year gap.
“Just returned from a ski trip to Austria with a group from work. Incredible trip. I’m in a counseling practice now. Child psychologist. I don’t know if you knew that.”
“No. That’s great, Josh. I know that’s what you wanted to do.”
“Yes, it’s going well so far.” He seemed at ease. None of the stiltedness that had been there right after I broke up with him came across in his voice or demeanor.
“And what about you? What are you doing in England?”
Before I could put together an answer, Josh snapped his fingers. “Wait! Are you here because you’re looking for your birth father?”
“You remembered.” Once again he surprised me.
“Of course I remembered. You had that picture of some guy dressed as Father Christmas, and it had the name of the photography studio on the back. That was your only clue.”
I nodded.
“So? What happened?”
“I followed the clue last Christmas, and it led me here, to my birth father, just like you thought it would.”
“No way! Did it really?”
I nodded, knowing Josh would appreciate this next part of the story. “The man in the photo dressed like Father Christmas was my father. And the boy on his lap is my brother, or I guess I should say my half brother, Edward.”
“Incredible,” Josh said with a satisfied, Sherlock Holmes expression on his unshaven face. “What happened when you met him?”
I hesitated. Having not repeated this story to anyone since it all unfolded a year ago, I didn’t realize how much the answer to Josh’s question would catch in my spirit and feel sharply painful when it was spoken aloud.
“I didn’t meet him. He passed away a few years ago.”
“Oh.” Josh’s expression softened.
“You know, Josh, I always wanted to thank you for the way you urged me to follow that one small clue. I’ve wished more than once that I would have come to England when you first suggested it four years ago. He was still alive then. That’s what I should have done.”
“And I should have gone with you,” he said in a low voice.
“Why do you say that?”
Josh’s eyebrows furrowed, his counselor mode kicking in. “I felt you needed that piece in your life. By that I mean the paternal piece of your life puzzle. I didn’t like you being so alone in the world. I wish you could have met him.”
“I do, too, but I actually think things turned out better this way. It’s less complicated that I didn’t meet him while he was still alive.”
“Why do you say that?” Josh asked.
I hesitated before giving Josh the next piece of information. In an odd way, it felt as if he needed the final piece of the puzzle the same way I had.
“It’s less complicated this way because my father was . . .” I lowered my voice and looked at him so he could read the truth in my clear blue eyes. “My father was Sir James Whitcombe.”
Copyright © 2008 by Robin’s Ink, LLC.
This article is used with the permission of Hachette Book Group and Robin Jones Gunn. All rights reserved.
16 comments:
I have so many favorites! Christmas Eve service at church, riding around to look at the lights, my daughter and granddaughter here to open presents....It's just a wonderful season!
Hello, Our family goes to the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service and then meet at our home for snacks and family games! Please enter me in your delightful book giveaway drawing. Many thanks.....Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com
My favorite family tradition, is blessing others. We love to choose a child or more from the angel tree (or if we know of someone personally in need, we'll help them), and/or an elderly person from a nursing home, and bless them for Christmas. I love that my children think of others and their needs, and it has really made a difference in how we all perceive this day. Anything that gets them away from the "I wants" is a very good thing! :)
asyouwiiiiish@gmail.com
As our family has grown--and shrunk--we have had various traditions. When our two boys were very small we used to make sure we were with one set of Grandparents or the other every year. Then as the boys got past knee-high to moved out of the house we made a day of going to the hills, just 45 minutes from our house, to pick just the PERFECT Christmas tree. We'd take lunch, hot chocolate and snacks planning to spend the whole day. We looked SO forward to that day! Now the boys are gone, moved out and made homes of their own and we spend more time reflecting what the true meaning of Christmas is and don't get caught up in the gift-giving mode the world has made the holiday out to be. Our boys have not been home but once in the past 11 years for Christmas and we have not chosen to make a new tradition per se. But we are at peace with that. Hey, maybe that is our new tradition is to not do as the world does during this season but to continue to Worship the One it is all about in the first place. This year my folks are coming to spend a few days with us. Maybe this will turn out to be the beginning of a new tradition in our home.
I'd LOVE to win these books and read them during this time of year. Perhaps my husband will join me since we do read aloud to each other now and then.
Pam W
I've been wanmting to read these books. My favorite Holiday tradition is around the Christmas tree on Christmas morning with the family opening presents.
Theresa N
weceno(at)yahoo(dot)com
I loved both these books.
I would think carols in candlelight we do it each year the friday or sunday before christmas in the town square I love this time its always a good night.
please dont enter me and on a totaly different subject I just tagged you
ausjenny
Janna
I must say I love your book giveaways!
My favorite tradition is that we give each other 3 gifts in our family (me DH and the kiddos)
The 1st gift is something the other person will LOVE and represents GOLD.
The 2nd gift is something for the other person's BODY and it represents MYRRH.
The third gift is something to help the other person's SPIRITUAL WALK and it represents FRANKINCENSE.
Oh and my email address is sarahlscott@gmail.com
I have many favorite traditions, but I love going to church to hear the Christmas music, and being with friends and attending the Christmas Eve service.
I would LOVE to read these books!
Please enter me in the contest.
Thank you,
Becky C.
rec(at)hiwaay(dot)net
My favorite Christmas tradition is Christmas-caroling to our church's shut-ins with my family. We've done that since we were young, and we still love to do it!
Anna
writer_weaver at yahoo dot com
Thanks!
My favorite tradition is enjoying the popcorn balls that my grandma makes every year. Another that we have recently started where I teach is caroling and delivering goody baskets to the elderly and shut-ins in our community.
rcmjrobertson[at]sbcglobal[dot]net
One of our favorite traditions is
lighting our advent wreath and reading a story together. We have read all three Jotham's Journey books, so I'm not sure what we'll read next. The short story A Candle in the Forest will be one we read. It's a wonderful story.
le15307@msn.com
My favorite tradition is being Santa to my kids. I love the expressions on their faces. Would love to win these books.
j4fortner(at)att(dot)net
We started a new tradition this year of keeping the focus on Christ and away from all the "stuff"
We went with a much smaller tree and drastically reduced the ornaments :)
i recently became your friend on shoutlife....
could you contact me there?
One of my favorite Christmas traditions is decorating cookies together - I don't even eat them - I jsut like to decorate them! I also love Christmas eve when we make sure the stockigns are hung and the cookies are out then we snuggle up with the CHristmas lights on and read about the birth of baby Jesus.
Happy Holidays;
My favorite tradition is putting all the ornaments on the tree....each has such a memory moment attached and that heartens me.
Gayla Collins
gayla.c@bresnan.net
On a redraw the winner is...
hippmom
Congratulations!
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