Free One Week In December by Holly Chamberlin Page B

“What is it, exactly? I’m afraid I don’t have my glasses handy. . . .”
    â€œIt’s a nut bowl.” The man beamed. He was obviously proud of his creation.
    â€œA bowl for nuts,” Nora repeated. “And it’s made of pinecones. Well. How—original.”
    â€œOh, you can do just about anything with pinecones!” Mr. Pollen said with great enthusiasm. “In fact, I’m building myself a whole chest of drawers made of pinecones!”
    â€œYou don’t say? Did you hear that, Lily? A chest of drawers.”
    Lily could only nod. If she dared to open her mouth, she just knew she’d collapse with laughter.
    â€œWell,” Nora said, easing Mr. Pollen toward the kitchen door, “thank you for the lovely gift. And good luck with your project.”
    Mr. Pollen was almost out into the cold when he turned back. “I could make you a chest of drawers, too. Really, it would be no problem.”
    â€œWell, that’s a very kind offer, but I’m afraid we’re all set with our chests. Of drawers. Thank you, anyway.”
    Nora began to close the door on their guest, slowly but firmly.
    â€œAll right, then,” he said, “I’ll be on my way. Merry Christmas to you all!”
    When he was gone, Nora sat the pinecone nut bowl on the table. She thought it looked like some massive growth, like something a doctor might remove from a diseased body and then send on to a top-secret lab for further intensive study. She couldn’t help but shudder and wipe her hands down her apron.
    Lily stood next to her grandmother.
    â€œOh. My. God. What are we going to do with that thing? It’s disgusting!”
    â€œYes, it is, isn’t it?”
    â€œI half expected him to pull out an axe and chop us both to bits!”
    Nora reached for a dishcloth and draped it over Mr. Pollen’s gift. “Oh, Mr. Pollen is harmless,” she said. “Crazy, but harmless. Now his wife, may she rest in peace, she was the one you had to watch out for.”
    Lily laughed. “Oh, tell me what she was like!”
    Nora, too, began to laugh. “Well, locals called her Flying Hammer Hattie. That should tell you all you need to know. When her temper was up, you’d do best to duck.”
    â€œWhat’s so funny?”
    Becca stood in the doorway to the kitchen, frowning.
    Lily wiped tears of laughter from her eyes and turned toward her sister. “Oh, hey, Becca.”
    â€œHey.”
    Becca’s awkwardness was palpable. Nora had the feeling that Becca thought they had been laughing at her.
    â€œHow about a cup of coffee?” she offered briskly. “Or one of these oatmeal raisin cookies. They’re fresh out of the oven. The twins seemed to like them. Then again, eight-year-old boys aren’t particularly fussy about cookies, are they?”
    Becca took a small step back. “No, thanks, Grandma. I’ve got to check in with my office.”
    How, Nora wondered, did drinking a cup of coffee or eating a cookie interfere with checking in with one’s office? Didn’t everyone these days multitask? Or had she missed some recent change in the social order?
    â€œBut I thought nobody really does any work in the days before Christmas.” Lily took one of the cookies from the plate her grandmother offered.
    â€œI’m not nobody,” Becca snapped.
    There was a decidedly awkward silence, which Nora took it upon herself to break.
    â€œOf course not, dear. Nobody meant to imply any such thing.”
    â€œYes. Well, I’d better go.”
    And she did.
    â€œOh, yeah,” Lily said, reaching for another cookie. “Definitely something weird.”

9
    Olivia and James arrived at the Rowan house at about four that afternoon. It was already quite dark and, being December in Maine, quite cold. Becca, in the front hall with the others, shivered when Julie opened the door, and stepped back farther into the