Trading Christmas - Debbie Macomber [62]
“I knew you’d love it,” Emily said.
“What I’d love to do is skate.” Not that she would in what Charles referred to as her “delicate” condition. She rubbed her stomach with one hand, gently reassuring her unborn child that she wouldn’t do anything so foolish when she was six months pregnant. In the other hand she held several shopping bags from Saks.
The two friends continued down the avenue, weaving in and out of the crowd. Emily, too, carried packages and bags.
“I still can’t imagine you living in New York City and actually loving it, especially after all those years in Leavenworth,” Faith said. She was happy for Emily and Ray, but she’d been astonished when Emily had announced last spring that she was moving across the country.
“What I discovered is that New York is just a collection of small communities. There’s Brooklyn and SoHo and the Village and Little Italy and Harlem and more.”
“What about teaching? Is that any different?”
Emily shook her head. “Children are children, and the kindergartners here are just like the ones in Leavenworth. Okay, so they might be a bit more sophisticated, but in many ways five-year-olds are the same everywhere.”
“What’s new with Ray?”
Emily’s lips turned up in a soft smile. “He works too hard. He brings his work home with him and spends far too many hours at the office, but according to everyone I’ve met, he’s better now than ever.”
“Better?”
Her friend blushed. “Happier.”
“That,” said Faith, “is what regular sex will do for you.”
“Faith.” Emily nudged her and laughed.
“It certainly worked with Charles.”
“If you’re going to talk about your love life, I don’t want to hear it.”
Faith enjoyed watching Emily blush. She’d never seen her this radiant. Life had certainly taken an interesting turn for them both, she reflected. Just a year earlier, they’d been lonely and depressed, facing the holidays alone. A mere twelve months later, each was married—and, to pile happiness on top of happiness, they were practically sisters now. Faith’s baby was due in March, and Charles was about as excited as a man could get at the prospect of becoming a father.
His mother was pretty pleased with herself, too. Faith and Emily had both come to love Bernice Brewster. She’d waited nearly seventy years for daughters, and she lavished her daughters-in-law with gifts and occasional bits of motherly wisdom and advice. Well, perhaps more than occasional, but Faith had no objection and she doubted Emily did, either.
“When will Heather get here?” Faith asked, looking forward to seeing her.
“Tomorrow afternoon. She’s taking the train down.”
“How is she?”
Emily rearranged her shopping bags. “Heather’s doing really well.”
“Did you ever find out what happened with Elijah and the ill-fated Florida trip? I know she didn’t want to talk about it for a while….”
Emily frowned. “Apparently he drank too much and he didn’t like to eat in real restaurants. His idea of fine dining was a hot dog at a roadside stand. In addition to all that, he apparently had a roving eye, which Heather didn’t approve of.”
“That girl always was high maintenance,” Faith teased. “What about her and Ben?”
“Who knows?” Emily said with a shrug. “She claims they’re just friends but they seem to spend a lot of time together. Ben’s going on to law school after graduation.”
“Good for him.”
“He might come down and spend Christmas with us, too.”
“You’ll have a houseful, with Heather and maybe Ben.” Despite the invitation to spend Christmas in New York at their apartment, Charles and Faith had booked a room at the Warwick Hotel. Bernice was due to arrive, as well. She, of course, would be staying at the Plaza.
Faith doubted there was anyplace more romantic than New York at Christmastime.
She and Emily walked into the Warwick and down the steps to the small lobby. Ray and Charles stood when they came into the room. Even now, after all these months, Faith’s heart