“Not yet. They’re still in my center desk drawer. Do I have to refrigerate them or anything? Or will it be all right if I leave them there until tomorrow?”

“They’ll be fine in the drawer. Absolutely.” Hannah gave him what she hoped was an innocent smile, her mind already working on a way to retrieve them before Mike had the chance to take the first bit. “I’m sorry you’re going to miss the buffet.”

Mike slipped his arm around her shoulder and gave her a little hug. “What do you mean? Just keep a chair warm for me. I’m going to drop Shawna Lee off at the airport and com straight back. Maybe there won’t be much food left by the time I get here, but there’s no way I’m going to miss my first Lade Eden Christmas party with you.”

<6>

Once Mike and Shawna Lee had left, each carrying a large frosted sugar cookie for the trip to the airport, Hannah went back to her greeting duties. She could hear the wind whistle every time the upstairs door opened to let in another group of hungry arrivals. If there were children in the group, they squealed in excitement as they spotted the miniature Christmas village in the lobby of the community center. The Jordan High shop class had made it as a holiday gift to the city of Lake Eden three years ago, and they kept making improvement and adding structures to the basic design. Last year George Baxter’s students had put in lights that twinkled from the windows. And this year, his senior boys had built three churches with stained glass windows that were exact replicas of the three churches in Lake Eden. Pam Baxter, George’s wife and the home economics teacher at Jordan High, had decided to help with the project. Her girls had made tiny wreaths for the doors and decorated the windows of the stores.

“Hi, Aunt Hannah,” a familiar voice called out.

“Hello, Tracey.” Hannah gave a big smile as her niece came down the stairs. Andrea and Bill’s daughter was dressed in a dark green velvet jumper with a white lace blouse for tonight’s festivities, and with her shining blonde hair tumbling down in a mass of natural curls, she looked just like a Christmas angel. “Where’s your mother?”

“She’s still talking to Mrs. Beeseman and Mr. Herman in the lobby. Aunt Lisa and Uncle Herb are there, too.”

“You didn’t want to stay and talk?”

Tracey shook her head. “It was boring, all about fur coats, and diamond rings, and some kind of drink.”

“A kind of drink?” Hannah was stymied. What did fur coats and diamonds rings have to do with a kind of drink? Unless … “Do you mean brandy?”

“That’s it! Anyway, Mommy said I could go downstairs and mingle until she got here.”

“Your mother told you to mingle?” Hannah wondered if her five-year-old niece knew what the word meant.

“Not like that exactly. She said to go talk to the people I know. But that’ mingle, isn’t it?”