“I’ll put them under the tree!” Wink cried.

The Shedders handed their carefully wrapped packages to Wink, who raced away to put them under the tree.

“Merry Christmas!” the Shedders cried.

“Merry Christmas!” Janice replied.

“Merry Christmas!” Andy replied.

Oscar walked away.

The quartet was silent as they returned to Mimi’s car. They remained silent until they were down in the town.

“Oscar didn’t seem to appreciate it,” Harriet said sadly.

“Oh, you never know with someone like him,” Christina hurried to assure the other woman. “He probably didn’t crack a smile when his first child was born.”

“Wink loved us, and Janice almost cried,” Mimi reminded them.

“Well, I hate him,” Harriet announced darkly. “He’s mean and he’s heartless.”

“I hate him, too,” Jacob said loyally.

They returned to Elsa’s house and divested themselves of their costumes. Jacob changed into street clothes in the bathroom, leaving the three women to change in the bedroom. They hung the capes tidily in the wardrobe filled with Christmas outfits. Mimi returned her extravagant hat to the hat cupboard, and Christina could tell she regretted having to leave it behind.

Maybe she’d make Mimi a fabulous hat for next Christmas. No, for Easter! That would be a fun project.

Elsa was waiting in the hallway. “Would you all like a little sip of sherry?” Seeing their faces, she added, “Or maybe a spiked eggnog?”

“No, thanks,” Mimi said. “We’ve all got to get home. We have to work tomorrow and I must say we’re exhausted. I don’t know how you carolers manage to sing all during the Stroll.”

“Oh, we’re used to it,” Elsa said, with a wave of her hand.

“Well, we’re very grateful for the loan of the costumes,” Christina told Elsa.

The other three chimed in. Elsa opened the door and the four left, returning to the cold outdoors. Christina had driven there in her own car, and Jacob had driven Harriet, so they all said goodbye and wished each other “Merry Christmas,” but their voices weren’t very merry at all.

As Christina waited for her Jeep to warm up, she said, “I hate him, too.”

She drove to her house, feeling absolutely dismal. The Shedders hadn’t succeeded in pleasing Oscar. Christina wondered if anything other than money made him smile.

Well, Wink did.

Back at her house, cozy in flannel pajamas, Christina collapsed on her bed just as her phone buzzed.

“How did it go?” Louise asked.

It brightened her mood to hear her friend’s voice. Louise consoled her for the discouraging evening, then went on to discuss her own Christmas chaos, and to ask if she’d heard that Bea Montgomery fell in the snow, broke an ankle, and was having surgery at Mass General.

“Poor Bea! This is turning into an absolutely calamitous Christmas season.”