A Christmas Kind of Perfect Read online

  Lila lowered her head and pressed her lips against her hands on the wheel. She couldn’t remember when she’d witnessed anything as natural or as beautiful. She began to question every move she made over the last two days and realized she repeated the same mistake. The one she regretted over and over again—leaving Conrad.

  She picked up the contents of her purse and reached for the gift Uncle Elmer gave her. She brought it close to her heart and hoped the gift inside wasn’t damaged. Uncle Elmer predicted the time to open it would reveal itself to her, and it was right in front of her.

  Lila tore at the wrapping paper and lifted the cover off the box. Peeling back the tissue paper, she revealed a miniature snow globe protected by a layer of bubble wrap. She sighed with relief. Nothing broken. With gentle nudging, she lifted it up, the box falling away to the side. Sparkly snow dust glittered inside and rested on the cedar shake roof of a small Cape Cod. The tiniest white picket fence protected the yard. It reminded her of the home she and Conrad talked about sharing one day, and Uncle Elmer’s advice not to forget the very first dreams of her life. Conrad had always talked about building the house for their family.

  The truth hit her so profoundly Lila sat motionless for a moment. She swallowed hard. Her throat as dry as one of her first attempts baking scones. Her fingers tightened around the globe. Aunt Cathy was right. God forgave her a long time ago. Now she must forgive herself and Conrad should do the same. Once they accomplished that, their lives would be whole again.

  Thump, thump, thump! Lila’s heart pounded in her ears. She placed the globe on the passenger seat next to her. If she could manage to get the vehicle out of the snow bank, she’d make her way back to Sister Bay. She must find Conrad before he proposed. She picked up her phone and tried Cathy. No service. Rats.

  She flipped on the hazard signals, zipped up her parka, and slipped on her hat and gloves. When she opened her door, a wall of snow hit her square in the face. Her eyes stung from the mix of sleet and snow. She wasn’t about to let weather deter her now. Determination and grit melded inside of her and propelled her feet forward. She’d figure out a way to get herself out of here and back to Sister Bay. She only hoped it wasn’t too late.

  29

  Lila knelt in the snow to check underneath the car. She placed her palms on the frozen ground and surveyed the damage. In all honesty, she wasn’t sure what looked good and what didn’t. Everything appeared OK except for the right front tire. It was buried in the snow. Oh, no. That wasn’t good. She remembered the advice her father had given her years ago. ‘When stuck in the snow, rock yourself out’. There was only one way to find out if his advice would work. She stomped through the snow back to the front of the vehicle and slid behind the wheel. She shifted into drive but hesitated. That utility pole was too close.

  She exhaled a frustrated sigh. She’d have to inch in reverse first. Wasn’t that how it was done? She couldn’t remember, so she slid the gear into reverse and moved her foot from the brake to the accelerator and gave it a jolt of gas. The tires grabbed hold bolting the vehicle backward. She screamed and slammed on the brakes and slipped the gear into park.

  She opened the door and stepped out into the storm again. She wrapped her arms around herself and viewed the results. The SUV was wedged deeper into the snowbank. Great. There was no getting out of this. She’d need someone to pull her out. Now what? She could walk until she found service for her phone. But she’d seen enough horror movies to remember that wasn’t smart. You were supposed to stay with the vehicle, not venture out alone in a snowstorm. She leaned against the bumper. How am I going to get out of here?

  A gust of wind caught hold of the snow and whipped it across her face. Her feet were like bricks as she trudged back to the vehicle and climbed inside. She shucked off her gloves, shivered, and rubbed her palms together to bring some warmth to them. Her eyes scanned the interior, hoping to find an answer. She caught sight of the snow globe and lifted it to her heart. She rubbed her thumb across the glass as if it held magical powers that could whisk her away and return her to Sister Bay like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Tears slid down her cheeks. She laid her head onto the headrest. “I tried to come back to you, Conrad. Forgive me.”

  A light coming from the road caught in her peripheral vision. Her heart jumped ten feet. She wiped away her tears. Yes! Yes! She couldn’t believe God’s provision. She got out of the car, forgetting to close the door behind her, and waved her arms. “Stop, please?” Was the truck slowing? It was so hard to tell. As difficult as it was, she forced her feet from the ground and continued jumping while shouting, “Help, help!” She was certain she must appear like a half-crazed woman in peril, but she was desperate to get back to Sister Bay.

  Shielding her eyes from the sleet that hit her face, she blinked hard. There was no way she’d let the driver pass her by. She’d run straight out into the road. Visibility was near impossible. Wait a minute. The approaching vehicle was a red truck.

  Conrad drove a red truck.

  The driver made a sharp turn onto the side of the road and parked. The door opened, and a large man stepped out and strode straight toward her as if he was in total command of the situation and the weather was an insignificant factor.

  Conrad! How was this possible? Lila wasn’t sure whether to laugh or to cry. He found her.

  Without saying a word, he opened up his arms for her like a mother bear.

  “Conrad.” She couldn’t run fast enough. Fighting the snow, she almost tripped over her own feet. Her arms clamped around him. There she was as safe as if she were sitting in Aunt Cathy’s kitchen drinking a cup of coffee.

  “Oh, Lila, Lila,” he breathed. “I’ve been tracking you down all morning.” He kissed her face over and over. “Are you all right? I didn’t want to call for fear you’d end up in a ditch and that’s exactly where I found you. You’re not hurt, are you?”

  Why would he be searching for her? She tilted her head to peer up at him. “I’m OK, but why were you out in the storm?”

  He took a step back, releasing his hold on her but kept her hands gripped firmly in his. “I’d be a fool to let the love of my life slip through my fingers again. It was all my fault for not going after you the first time.”

  Lila placed her hands on his face. “No, it wasn’t your fault. It was mine. I should have come home and back to you. I was a fool.”

  “I think it’s time we forgive ourselves and each other for what we did or didn’t do.”

  He raised her chin with his finger. Their eyes locked. “I always thought you’d come back to me, Lila.”

  Lila swallowed back the tears that wanted to burst from the five-year dam she kept them behind. “And I thought you’d come after me.”

  “Does this mean we forgive each other?” he asked.

  “I guess that’s up to us.”

  Conrad flashed her his infectious smile. “It’s time.”

  “It would be so wonderful to let it go,” Lila said.

  “I forgive you, Lila.” In Conrad eyes she recognized the same pain she’d been carrying all these years.

  “And I forgive you. But there’s one more important part to this. We need to forgive ourselves, too, so we can move forward.”

  “You’re right.”

  Lila fought back tears. “How could we be so blind?”

  Conrad gave a tilt of his head. “I think we needed to learn a lesson.”

  Lila widened her eyes like a surprised doe. “Conrad, where do we go from here? What about Suzanne?”

  Conrad shook his head. “It hasn’t been right between Suzanne and me for so long. Part of our relationship worked, but most of it didn’t. In the end, we both came to terms with that.”

  Lila covered her mouth with her hand. “I could sense something was wrong the other day when she and her mother stopped in Window Shopping.”

  Conrad rested his gaze on her with a softness that melted her heart. “For so many years, I tried denying my love for you, but I was never succe
ssful.”

  Lila wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. “Oh, Conrad, I’ve waited so long for those words. You’re my one and only love. It’s the reason all my past relationships failed because I was still in love with you.”

  He nodded. “We were still in love with each other. Our dreams are still waiting for us. I think it’s time we made them a reality.”

  Lila shrugged. “What am I going to do? I need to get to New York.”

  Conrad’s smile transformed into the grin she loved. She’d never have to miss it again.

  “I’m not sure I understand computers, but I got an earful the other day today from my sister Cassie. Correct me if I’m wrong, but can’t you write sitting on a pier with your feet in the water on a laptop as easy as you could behind a desk in Manhattan?”

  Lila let a slight giggle escape her. Conrad’s perceptions on her work were adorable. “You’re right about that part, but I still need to get to New York at some point and straighten things out with Andrea. I may even need a new editor.”

  “What do you say we’ll figure those things out together?” He retrieved something small from his oversized pocket. Despite the wind and the relentless snow, Conrad bent and knelt down on one knee. To Lila’s surprise, he revealed a blue velvet box in the palm of his hand. When he opened it, an emerald cut diamond ring caught a fleeting ray of sun before it disappeared behind a snow cloud. It sparkled with an undeniable brilliance like a bride on her father’s arm.

  “Ooh.” Lila brought her fingers to her lips. Her eyes filled with tears of absolute joy. It was breathtaking and spectacular and this moment in time took her by complete and utter surprise. A nervous laugh escaped her.

  “Lila Clark, you are the love of my life. I will love you forever, until my last breath. Will you marry me and make all of my dreams come true?”

  Lila exhaled. For a moment, time stopped. The man she’d loved forever asked her to marry him. Now she understood what her aunt and Melanie told her so many times—that she needed to put the past behind her and give her heart some breathing room. She’d followed the footsteps of God’s design for her life without even realizing it, and His plan was giving her hope and a brand-new future. Thank you, Lord, for leading me home. “Yes,” she breathed. “Yes, yes, Conrad, you’ve always been my only love. Absolutely nothing would make me happier. I will marry you.”

  Conrad rose and slid the ring on her finger. A perfect fit exactly like they were. He placed a gentle hand behind the nape of her neck and drew her toward him. He kissed her with all the passion of a man in love. Not that of a boyfriend of years ago, or a rekindled love of recent months together, but that of a man who found his soulmate.

  Lila inched closer as if he were a warming sun after a rain. She pressed into him, and the raging storm around them faded away. His lips on hers made sense of the world. She’d found him again—her prince. For the first time ever, she understood the scripture she was taught so many times: “…and the two shall become one.”

  “Let’s go home,” he whispered in her ear, “or we’ll be late for choir practice.”

  A smile spread across Lila’s face. “Sounds like heaven to me.”

  30

  Mr. Abbott lifted his baton and hit the edge of the music stand. Tap, tap, tap. The choir came to life like a wound-up toy under a Christmas tree. Lila straightened her shoulders. She peeked toward the tenor section of the choir. Conrad winked at her as if he expected her gaze. They shared a secret. Lila twisted the engagement ring around her finger and returned his smile. The ring, heavy with its oversized diamond, reminded Lila of her journey back to Conrad, her one true love.

  In unison and on cue, the sopranos sang the first lines of “Silent Night” a cappella. A hush, like clouds gathering on a summer day, spread across the congregation. Lila fought the urge to cry. Her aunt was sitting next to Conrad’s parents. In the years ahead, she’d always find comfort in her soft arms or strong advice. Melanie, Jack, and the twins took refuge in the back row, uncertain if one of the newest members of their family would decide to join the choir, invited or not.

  Lila’s call to Andrea earlier that day hadn’t been easy, but once Lila told her the news of the engagement everything changed. Lila reminded her of the wager they entered, and Andrea laughed through her tears. For the first time since everything changed, Lila wished she could be in two places at one time.

  When the service was over, Pastor Phelps invited the congregation downstairs for fellowship, tempting the audience with Christmas cookies, kringle pastries, and coffee. Conrad towered over most of the crowd. He found Lila in an instant. This was how life already changed. A shift in how they both moved through the world—no longer as individuals but as a pair according to God’s great design. They were blessed in finding one another again. Lila couldn’t stop thanking God for the best Christmas present she’d ever received.

  “Let’s catch them while they’re still together. My mother will draw fifty people around her in less than five minutes if we let her.” Conrad whispered in Lila’s ear and urged her toward a linen-clad table in the center of the room where both families were seated.

  Lila tossed her head back in a pleasant laugh. She’d been laughing a lot since Conrad’s proposal. The day when her life turned in a direction she never dreamed possible. “Aunt Cathy’s the same way. I must say, they are well-connected with the parish.”

  He placed a gentle hand on the small of her back and guided her through the crowd. Lila watched Conrad mouth, “Follow us,” as they passed Uncle Elmer and a short while later to Jack, who was doing his best to maneuver a double stroller.

  “It’s awfully nice to lay eyes on you both again, Lila.” Mrs. Hamilton sipped from her cup of coffee. She winked at Aunt Cathy, and this time, Lila didn’t miss it.

  Lila slipped her right hand over her left to conceal the ring. She refused to offer an explanation to Aunt Cathy when Conrad dropped her off at home yesterday. It was as if she and her aunt were on opposite sides of a debate team, but Lila managed to delay the answers to her questions and explained it would all be clear after the Christmas concert. The time to make good on that promise arrived.

  “Personally, I’ve waited long enough. I’d like to understand what’s going on,” Aunt Cathy appealed. She pushed aside her plate as if in protest, refusing to eat the almond kringle and Christmas cookies until she was satisfied.

  Lila shot Conrad a sideward glance followed by a snicker—dragging this out was becoming quite fun. Lila was reminded of how much she enjoyed stringing along her readers with tension throughout her books. Funny, that was the first time she’d thought about writing.

  Jack and Melanie sidled up to the table. After seating his wife, Jack pushed the stroller forward and backward in a smooth, well-practiced move that kept the babies satisfied. Melanie beamed at her husband’s newfound talent and nodded at Lila as if to confirm the transition.

  “Yes, we’re all present. What are you two hiding?” Melanie asked, giving credence to Cathy’s protest who followed Melanie’s question with a hmpf.

  Conrad cleared his throat.

  Lila wasn’t certain, but Conrad appeared nervous, almost fidgety. She rested her hand on his back and gave him a reassuring nod.

  “Something out of this world wonderful happened yesterday.” He peered at Lila and drew her toward him. “The love of my life has agreed to marry me.”

  Conrad raised Lila’s left hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed it.

  Aunt Cathy gasped. “So, that’s the big secret?”

  Mrs. Hamilton started clapping. “Glory be to heaven above.”

  The two women grabbed each other’s hands in the excitement. “We’ll be related.” Aunt Cathy gushed.

  “Congratulations, son.” Conrad’s father stood from the table and reached across to shake Conrad’s hand.

  Melanie was the first to grab Lila into a hug. “Come here, you.” She gave Lila an extra squeeze. “Let’s see if Conrad did a good job with that rock.”r />
  Lila welcomed her embrace and offered her hand to Melanie realizing they made it back to each other. Friends again, and this time, for life.

  Melanie held Lila’s engaged hand in her own. “It’s beautiful like you and Conrad are together. I’ve been praying for this all along. It was so obvious to everyone that you two fell in love again. I’m so happy for you both.”

  “Happy enough to be my matron-of-honor?” Lila brought her hands together as if in prayer.

  Melanie laid a hand on her chest. “Absolutely. Oh, Lila, I’d be honored.”

  “You and Aunt Cathy told me since I arrived that I was exactly where God wanted me. You were both right. It’s amazing.”

  Melanie rolled her eyes. “And you actually listened. I thought you were leaving and going back to New York.”

  “I did leave, but in my most desperate moment, God opened my eyes to His plan for me.”

  Melanie’s mouth gaped open. “OK, you need to fill me in on what happened out there.”

  A grin of a school girl spread across Lila’s face. She was so ecstatically happy. Her life completely changed course in a matter of hours. “How’s coffee on Monday at the store? I was toying with an idea for an after-Christmas sale and could use your insight. Mornings are usually quiet.”

  Melanie smiled and wiggled a finger back and forth. “Do you realize we’ve gone through a role reversal here?”

  “How does that shoe fit?” Lila asked.

  Before Melanie could answer Cathy interrupted. “I’m next,” she stood in line as if waiting for her number to be called at the meat counter.

  “She’s all yours. We’ll talk later,” Melanie whispered and walked toward Jack, who was in conversation with Conrad and his father.

  Aunt Cathy searched Lila’s eyes and then pulled her into a warm embrace. “Your love story reminds me of one of my favorite scriptures—‘For I know the plans I have for you…’ I believe you know the rest.”