Mrs. Remillard smiled into her cup and nudged her husband. “Oh, I wasn’t gonna do him any harm. Just gonna teach him about providin’ all the necessary information before a serious competition takes place.”
“Mama,” Georgia laughed, exasperated but, as always, somewhat entertained by her mother’s ways. “Deck the Doors is for charity. And the theme has been decided since Thanksgiving:Happy Birthday, Jesus!It isn’t too complicated, seein’ how itistechnically for the youth and all.”
The Colonel bit his lip and put his arm around his wife. “She may be right, but you sure did a beautiful job on this door, my love.”
They all stepped back to look at the door her mother had designed. Covered in burlap that looked like it’d been sprayed with golden glitter, a nativity scene rested in the center of the door with a large star guiding the way to the baby Jesus resting in his mother’s arms. It was serene and beautiful—and decidedly NOT on theme.
“And what are you doin’ here so late, Georgia Snow? You were supposed to be helpin’ down the hall with the youth,” her mother chastised lightly. Ever since the dinner party incident, her mother seemed to question much of Georgia’s recent actions.
“I had to wait for Janie to get to the shop for her shift. She was late. And then I brought the fresh coffee and fixins’ to go with all the cookies.”
Georgia didn’t mention the fact that the past two days she’d received mysterious packages at her loft’s door that had also thrown her for a loop. The first gift she’d received two days prior, first thing in the morning. She’d found a bright peach-colored mug with a print of the state of Georgia and the wordhomewritten through the middle, stuffed full of cocoa and marshmallows.
The next morning, another gift. This time, a small bouquet of new sharpie markers resting in an old canning jar. With a ribbon tied neatly around it. Her heart and brain had momentarily fluttered and then jumped into hyperdrive.
Had she signed up for a Secret Santa and forgotten about it completely?!
In truth, Janiehadbeen late for her shift, but after she’d arrived, Georgia spent a small measure of time running through the local drug store buying random gifts: candy, nail polish, knickknacks, anything that could be given to her Secret Santa, if and when, she remembered who it was.
She fumbled with her fingers for a moment, thinking over the mystery crowding her thoughts. “Anyway, ummm… your door really does look good, Mama.”
“Mmmmmhmmm,” her mother hummed, suspiciously.
Taking that as her sign to go, Georgia slapped her legs and kissed her parents on their cheeks. “Well, I better get to it. That youth door isn’t gonna finish itself.”
When she turned around, she caught a glimpse of Lake down the hall, wrestling a balloon out of a teenager’s hands.
“I think your door is ‘bout done thanks to that fine young man,” Mrs. Remillard chimed. “He sure is helpin’ out a lot ‘round here.”
“Mmmhmmm,” Georgia agreed quietly, sounding more like her mama than she cared to admit.
She would not let herself be fooled so easily into trusting Lake and his sudden charitable activities. She looked at the door in question as Lake and one of the older teens put the finishing touches on a cluster of balloons arching over the entrance to the youth room. Laughter and loud music boomed from beyond the closed door, and she longed to join them. To be a part of their energy, nearly spilling out into the halls. She questioned how much time she should actually spend with the man guarding the entrance now, tangled in streamers and unaware of the small crowd of school girls gawking at him through the window in the door.
Georgia rolled her eyes, and before she knew it, she’d left her parents behind in favor of a leisurely stroll down the hall. Just window shopping. No motives in mind.
She passed a door decorated as a birthday cake, one that had taken the more literal, simple route with “Happy birthday Jesus!” written across the door, and another nativity scene, not so unlike her mother’s beloved door decor.
As she reached the threshold of the youth room, Ginny barreled through the double doors, nearly toppling over Lake as she came to an abrupt halt. She didn’t even give Georgia a second glance before offering her help with the decorating. “Hey Lake, do you need a hand with those streamers? I totally decorated for the school dance earlier this year, so I’m like, really good with streamers.” She peeked over her shoulder before he could even answer, and Georgia saw the mob of teenage girls giggling through the crack in the door, clearly cheering Ginny on from the sidelines.
Lake looked around him as if help might be waiting in the darkened corners of the hallway and found Georgia frozen before the doorstep.
He smirked, “Actually, your sister was just coming to help me out. Right, Peaches?” He turned his head a bit more to Georgia and narrowed his eyes at her with a look that said,You owe me.
“I don’t know. I have the soup kitchen in the city in a little over an hour. Where’s Evan? Heisthe youth pastor. Isn’t this sort of his bread and butter?”
“He had an appointment and then headed straight to the soup kitchen. I’m alone here, and I’m begging you.” His eyes widened as another group of girls peeked through the window and then threw themselves out of sight again. A burst of giggling could be heard beyond the door.
Georgia bit her lip and looked to the heavens like she really needed to calculate her ability to help.
“I’m just not sure I’ll have enough time for all those streamers, balloons,andthat giant paper mache cake. One of those, maybe. But all three? Forget about it.” She blew a loose hair out of her eyes and surveyed the door. “Not to mention traffic getting to the city this afternoon could very well be horrific, ya know? Whew. You’re askin’ a lot here,friend.”
Ginny chimed in, “Aren’t we taking the bus today, Georgie?”
Georgia waved her sister off, “Hush, you.”
She smiled her brightest smile at Lake. “It seems unlikely that I can help you with all that I’ve got going on today.” She looked around, her arms spread wide, as if he could take in the measure of her agenda with the gesture.
When Ginny realized her presence had barely been registered, she huffed a sigh and pushed back through the youth doors and the group of girls waiting for her return. A burst of laughter could be heard again through the cracked door, but Georgia didn’t let it deter her from her mission.
