“Totally amazing,” Ralphie mumbled in a silly voice.
“I heard that, you twerp!”
“Alright you two...peace,” Candy pleaded. She picked up her warm coffee cup and rose to her feet. “I think a trip to the library would be nice.”
“Well...you're, like, the boss and all.” Sandy frowned.
“Honey, you can stay here if you want. No one is ever going to force you to do something you don't want to do,” Candy promised in a sincere voice.
“I'll sit here with her,” Betty told Candy. “Peppermint's stew is hitting hard. I think it would do me good to sit for a minute and just enjoy my coffee.”
“Same here,” Marty spoke up. He was sitting next to Sandy and across from Betty, snug as a bug in a rug. “Sandy is right. The fire Peppermint started is creating a very relaxed atmosphere. I'm not in the mood to get lost in the library again.”
“Well, I am.” Peppermint tipped Marty a wink. “See you in a while,” he said and then walked out of the dining room carrying an old coffee cup his wife had bought him. Blizzard and Snowball followed.
“Wait for me!” Ralphie chased after Peppermint.
“We'll be back later,” Candy promised. She walked out of the dining room with Chris at her side. “Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked, stepping into a long hallway. The walls of the hallway, like the dining room, were lined with iron candle holders shaped like lions. Each candle holder held a red candle. No candles were lit, but in Candy's mind, she saw each candle glowing with the beauty and heart of Christmas.
“Aunt Betty and Marty seem to have taken a liking to each other.” Chris smiled as he moved down the hallway with Candy.
“I know. Wouldn't it be great if they hit it off?”
“Well, we'll see what happens. Aunt Betty just lost her husband. While it's true the guy turned out to be a jerk, at one time in her life, she loved the man very much,” Chris spoke in a relaxed voice. He wasn't in any rush to get to the library. Walking down the romantic hallway with Candy felt...nice.
“I don't think Betty will be expecting Marty to ask her to marry him anytime soon, Chris...but oh, it would be so wonderful for Betty to find love again.” Candy reached the end of the hallway. “We're back at the main staircase. We have to take a right and go down that hallway.”
“You're learning.” Chris smiled again and then followed Candy's direction. “Candy, I don’t mean to change the subject from Aunt Betty, but I'm curious about something but hesitant to ask.”
“You want to know how I feel about winning the lottery, right?” Candy stopped walking once she reached another long, romantic hallway that, yes, hummed with the heart of Christmas but, for the moment, seemed to be full of poetic whispers.
“Yes.” Chris nodded. He looked into Candy's beautiful eyes. “Here you stand, a woman who won the biggest lottery America has ever had, and you act as if nothing grand happened. Most people in your position would buy a mansion and then fly off to spend a few years in Europe.”
“Is that what you would have done?” Candy asked. Chris' handsome face, in Candy's heart, made her think of a young Santa Claus preparing to don an outfit that would bring joy to every child worldwide.
“Well...no.” Chris laughed some. He took a sip of coffee from his coffee mug. The Folgers coffee tasted delicious. “I guess I would have worked on my farm some and maybe bought a new truck.”
“Is that all?” Candy pressed.
“Well...maybe I would have bought myself a new pair of boots and a snow shovel.” Chris smiled. “I guess I've never been the type of guy who focused on money too much. I've always been happy with what God gave me. I can see you're the same way.”
“I am.” Candy nodded. “Chris, when I won the lottery, I knew God had allowed me to win for a reason. I didn't win the lottery for myself but for the toys and the children. I'm here to keep the toys alive and build a Christmas Toy Island that will keep the heart of Christmas alive inside the imaginations of all little boys and girls. We live in such a horrible world where children are denied the joy of being children.”
“Yes, sadly, I know what you mean.” Chris glanced down the hallway. Peppermint and Ralphie were already in the library. Good. Chris wanted to be alone with Candy. “All too often we see children being forced to grow up before it's time.”
“It's very tragic,” Candy agreed in a sorrowful voice and then added, “Every time I bring a teddy bear to life, I feel like a little girl again on Christmas Eve. The feeling is so wonderful. I guess that's why money never meant anything to me. The gifts God gives our hearts can't be bought with money, and even though turning this island into the North Pole, in a sense, is going to cost money, the children who come here will receive so many beautiful gifts for free.”
“Candy, if Santa Claus was real and did have a wife, you would be her,” Chris spoke in a gentle, sincere voice that warmed Candy's heart.
“Yes, I've been told that a time or two.” Candy blushed some. “I...guess we better get to the library.”
“Why?” Chris asked. “It's nice just standing here talking to you. Why? Because...well, Candy, I feel the same way as you do. At first, when Aunt Betty contacted me about the job, I wasn't too sure. I admit I needed some work, but when I arrived on this island and truly stepped back and soaked in what you and Aunt Betty wanted to do, I felt my heart enter a place I hadn’t been to since I was a little boy.”
“What place?”
Chris took a slow sip of coffee as his eyes wandered away to a snowy Christmas Eve night that had long passed. “When I was nine years old, many Christmases ago, I stayed up all night waiting for Santa Claus. I was living on my farm with my parents then. I remember a heavy snowstorm had hit that night, and I was worried Santa Claus might not make it through to the farmhouse. I remember cuddling up in front of the fireplace and staring at the Christmas tree, all the Christmas lights on the tree, the tinsel, and the decorations while the fire in the fireplace burned. The living room was so quiet, and only the sound of the winter winds filled the living room.”
As Chris talked, Candy's imagination took her into the living room, holding a precious nine-year-old little boy who was waiting for Santa Claus. “Sounds really wonderful.”
