“He’s different now. He volunteers at the shelter, and he came home to be with his family. He’s funny, caring, and kind, and… And then… I don’t know…”
“And then he had to sendforgive mecandy through your sister?” She took another bite of her peanut and then dug a hand into Georgia’s candy bag. “What’s he thinking, though? This isn’t even good candy. It’sonce a yearI’ll grab this from the gas station on a whimcandy, at best.”
Before Georgia could offer an explanation, Sadie approached their table with a tray of lattes. “Excuse me, I just thought y’all would…”
Caroline grabbed the tray from her hands like a pro and slid the chair between them out from the table. “Sit.”
Sadie obliged and took a long sip of her own coffee, looking between the two sisters.
Georgia began to spill everything that had taken place between her and Lake in high school and in the past few weeks since his return to town. As she recounted their conversation from the night before, Caroline and Sadie exchanged knowing glances and, in one accord, tapped their circus peanuts against each other before looking back at Georgia.
Sadie spoke up first, “Can I just say, first of all, wow! Lakeland Lovett is…”
“We know,” the sisters said in unison.
Sadie waved them off and continued, “And also, Georgia, if you don’t mind me sayin’, he is kind of right, isn’t he? I mean, you can’t earn the Lord’s love or favor. That’s all Jesus to begin with. You can’t do nothin’ but accept His grace and thank the good Lord for dying when you were the one who really deserved the punishment. But you, Georgia, do and do and DO so much… I wonder if maybe Lake’s got your number. If maybe you’ve been workin’ so hard in the hopes that you might get somethin’ in return. Just look at your calendar for the month. You’ve got cookie decorating, youth volunteering, soup kitchen, the Winter Formal at the high school, the Best in Snow Show…” She continued uninterrupted, both sisters sitting stunned at Sadie’s sudden verbosity and previously unforeseen wisdom, “Like, aren’t you tired, girl?”
Exhausted, Georgia let out a deep sigh. Tears filled her eyes.
She nodded but said nothing.
The girls put their hands on the table, and Georgia willingly accepted their quiet offering and placed her hands in their open palms.
Caroline squeezed her sister’s fingers. “Maybe you should take some time to pray and to think about what the Lord is really asking of you. And what that will look like in the future. Not because Lake is… Lake… whatever he is to you, but because he cared enough to bring up some really hard stuff. I know you handled Dad’s heart attack differently than the rest of us.” She squeezed her sister's hand again. “You came home so that Dakota and I could leave.”
“No…” Georgia began.
“I know it, Georgie. And I’m so thankful you gave me that gift. I never had to worry about Mama and Daddy, or Dakota and Ginny, because I knew you were here taking care of everything. Of everyone. But I’m so sorry I didn’t see how much you took on. How much pressure you put on yourself. I never questioned why you were actually still here.”
Georgia studied the genuine concern on her sister’s face and the uncritical caring on Sadie’s. And she felt, even more so than the night before, the inner conviction of her heart.
“I… I love it here, and I love you and our family. But I think Lake may have been right…”
Georgia looked around the coffee shop and knew, without hesitation, that she had done the right thing by coming home three years before and helping her parents when they needed her, but she was missing something. If she was honest with herself, she knew she hadn't been using the gifts God had given her, but had instead worked herself to the bone in the hopes that it would mean something in the end.
That her faithfulness would pay off in her father’s good health.
In her siblings’ happiness.
In her mother’s peace of mind.
And ultimately, that God would see her work and count it to her as righteousness, worthy of blessings and favor. She didn’t delight in that work as a gift of God. Not truly. She saw it as a duty to earn her own righteousness.
She squeezed the girls’ hands again, letting tears flow freely, and then silently thanked God for their honesty—and for Lake’s.
When her shift ended that day, the shop left in the semi-capable hands of Ginny and Dakota, Georgia set out into Sugartree on a new mission. Her first stop took her just a few stores down from Good Start to the town director’s office.
Stepping into Lana Peters’ office, Georgia found the room lined from floor to ceiling with Santa dolls, nutcrackers, large plastic light-up statues, stuffed miniatures, and even a strangely thin, life-size form of a Santa standing in a corner. It looked as though it once belonged on a black and white movie set and should have been burned or buried after. Georgia was sureGaunt Santawould haunt her dreams for Christmases to come.
She tiptoed around the sea of Santas and found Mrs. Peters huddled over her desk, busy with what Georgia assumed must’ve been important city business, as she’d barely noticed her entrance to the office. Georgia cleared her throat, “Um… hi, Mrs. Peters.”
Mrs. Peters, clearly unaware of Georgia's presence, jumped from her seat and swiped what Georgia could now see was a Santa coloring book and colored pencils across the desk. The paper Santa rendition, colored in bright hues of pinks, greens, and blues, lay face up on the floor. Guilty and sad. Georgia had to bite her lip to keep her amusement at bay.
“Oh, Georgia!” Mrs. Peters patted her tousled hair, held in place by a reindeer antler headband, and pushed a pair of bright red glasses up her slim nose. “I… I didn’t see you, dear. Do come in.” She gestured to a chair across from her cluttered desk. “Please, have a seat.”
Georgia scooted into the seat, cushioned by a Santa pillow at her back, and avoided eye contact with the coloring-sheet Santa still staring back at her from the floor.
“What can I do for you, Georgia?” Mrs. Peters asked. Georgia imagined she was close in age to her mom, and Mrs. Peters had always talked to her in a similar way. Whether Southern hospitality or just a grace-filled tone, she had a welcoming demeanor.
