Everyone laughed at the comment and the exasperated facial expression that accompanied her cute little face.
“You can have one of mine,” Levi decided.
After the three kids—one much bigger than the others—finished unwrapping and eating candy, Noel held a quick huddle with the group to discuss the planogram she created to turn the candy shop into a Christmas wonderland.
Once the helpers understood their roles, Rainey fetched a couple of fifteen-foot extension ladders from the back room to add to the two ten-foot ladders on the floor from earlier.Mrs.Madelyn and the kids started wrapping multi-colored lights around the base of the Christmas tree while Noel and Chelsea strung white icicle lights from the lowest ceiling beams, interchanging the ladders to reach the desired points.
When the kids and Mrs.Madelyn made it as high up the tree as their arms would allow from floor level, Rainey circled the tree with lights until reaching the very top.While he worked on that, the kids hung ornaments and candy canes on all the low branches, and then Rainey did the same up the tree.Noel fussed at him when she caught him letting the children climb the ladder to add items, but he promised he would support them with his hands the whole time.
“Rainey’s a big, strong police officer, Mommy,” Levi stated while flexing his biceps.
Noel grinned and shook her head.Keaton did the same thing in previous years, and she imagined Levi and Laney brought up the idea this time around.
As traditional Christmas carols filled the store, the volume a bit higher than during business hours, Noel snuck peeks at the tree while she and Chelsea worked their way toward the back of the shop taking turns climbing and holding the ladders for each other.
“This is a workout,” Chelsea mentioned several times.
“I told you it was hard work.”
“I thought you were exaggerating,” she countered, playfully rolling her eyes.
Rainey paused his part of the Christmas tree project several times to help his wife and Noel reach spots beyond their limits.Mrs.Madelyn constantly reminded everyone to test each strand of lights before installing them, a comment Noel’s mother used to be in charge of making.Every time the clock sounded, the kids ran for their candy, and Rainey stopped, too, to unwrap treats with them.Noel gave him permission to pick whatever he wanted in the store as payment for helping.
“You might regret making that deal,” he surmised.
At nearly the exact time Levi topped the tree with the giant star, Noel and Chelsea hung the last strand of icicle lights.Rather than letting Levi and Laney argue about who got to put the star on, Noel asked if one wanted to perform that task and the other shut off all the lights in the store except for the Christmas ones.
“That’s when the magic really comes to life,” Mrs.Madelyn reported.
Laney quickly opted for the latter, and the timing seemed impeccable because as they worked and the clock hands circled, the sun sank below the horizon, and eventually darkness took over the view on the other side of the windows.
Everyone stood together and counted down from twenty-five.When Laney flipped the switch off at zero, a collective gasp floated through the air above where the ice cycle lights glistened like snow falling through the breath of winter.Each set of eyes in the room followed the strands from the front of the candy shop to the back where the brightly lit and decorated Christmas tree took center stage.The room glowed majestically thanks to the thousands of tiny bulbs flickering like a field of fireflies dancing in the night sky.Although the store required more light for enhanced displays and customer safety, the current illumination throughout the maze of aisles flowing around the barrels, baskets, and stands made walking through while basking in the beauty of the Christmas scene they created feasible.
A few years ago Noel’s father installed electrical lighting that allowed every hardwired light in the store to be dimmed and raised by the movement of a switch.Noel adjusted the small lever to where they would keep it set during business hours, but at nighttime all the lights except for the Christmas ones would be shut off, so people wandering the sidewalks would be drawn to the scene.Many stopped and cuffed their hands over the windows for peeks inside, especially the children.Noel’s family learned to keep extra window cleaner in stock for just that reason.
After finishing this first major step, Noel announced that it was almost time for the kids to fill the bins with Christmas candy under the direction of Mrs.Madelyn while she, Chelsea, and Rainey hung lighted wreaths on the walls and decorated the fireplace with green garland and Christmas trinkets to go along with the stockings.First, however, Noel retrieved from the refrigerator pre-made Christmas fruit bowls filled with red and green fruits, including strawberries, kiwi, raspberries, and pomegranate, as well as grapes and apple slices in both colors.She mixed in local honey which the shop sold year round.
Years of experience proved that this light dinner worked much better than leftovers after such a heavy Thanksgiving lunch.It didn’t take long for her to remember that the kids and adults needed extra napkins as fingers became sticky and little faces decorated with fruit juice lit up the room as brightly as the assortment of lights.
“This is so yummy,” Laney announced after sucking on a strawberry.
“The hot chocolate is the best,” Levi added.
“Chocolate and fruit work well together, so why not hot chocolate and fruit?”Chelsea queried pretty sure this marked the first time she tried the unexpected combination.
Rainey licked his fingers.“We need to make this an annual tradition,” he insisted.
“It is,” Levi and Laney answered simultaneously.
“Jinx,” they both shouted hurriedly, and everyone laughed out loud.
“What?”Rainey replied.“Why haven’t you invited me before?”he asked the kids.
“You’ve probably been busy arresting bad guys,” Levi assumed.
Another round of laughter filled the air as the Christmas lights continued to glow like stars in the night’s sky.
“Is my daddy a bad guy?”Laney asked Rainey.
