Merry Christmas, My Love

Jesse pointed to his youngest daughter. “I know you see my lovely daughter Priscilla every day, as well as Ellie.” He turned to her. “I invited Max for dinner so I could get to know him better. Right now he’s the top candidate for the Superintendent of Schools job.”

Ellie continued to stare at Max, the knife forgotten on the table. She’d just wished he could spend some time here to see how her uncle related to his family, and here he stood.

Jesse leaned across the table and put his index finger on her chin. “Ellie, close your mouth.”

She

snapped her mouth closed, and, head down, continued to peel carrots. Jesse gave Tori a brief kiss on the lips. “Darlin,’ I’d love to help you out here in the kitchen, but I think it’s time for man talk.” He winked at her and turned to Max. “It’s important to keep the ladies happy. Shall we go?” He led him down the hallway and soon the sound of his office door closing put an end to the male voices.

Her mind spun like a child’s top. Max had smiled and grinned. He’d brought flowers for Tori. But the most amazing change was his attire. He wore dark blue casual trousers and a long-sleeve pale blue cotton knit shirt. She’d never seen him without a stiff collar, tie, and jacket.

The blue of the shirt set off the startling blue of his eyes. She’d also never noticed how his eyes crinkled at the edges when he smiled. A gut-clenching smile. Her heart did the double-time thumping again, and her palms grew slippery holding the knife. Ridiculous. Max Colbert was the enemy. Better to remember it, and order her heart to beat normally. It paid no attention.

The table had been cleared of the dinner dishes, with only coffee cups and three of Tori’s pies left in the center of the table. Tori cut generous slices and passed them around. Jesse and Max had their heads together in deep conversation, and Ellie couldn’t keep her eyes off them.

Two strong men. One, the man she’d adored most of her life, and the other one she’d thought of as the enemy. After watching him all afternoon, she found it hard to remember that. He was funny, thoughtful, and relaxed. He listened intently when one of the children discussed something, giving them his undivided attention. He’d flattered Tori and showed respect to Jesse. And whenever he looked at her, her stomach dropped to her feet, and her mouth dried up.

“Mama, may I be excused?” Benjamin, the youngest at eleven, already had his pie stuffed in his mouth and ready to bolt from the chair.

“Yes. Be sure to start your homework right away.” She nodded at Priscilla, Paul, and Henry. “All of you may be excused. And I want homework finished within an hour.”

“Darlin’, where’s your pie?” Jesse looked at Tori’s empty place and dug into his pie.

“I’m not having any. I need to lose some of these pounds.” She sighed and looked pensively at the partial pies left on the table.

“No, you don’t. You go ahead and have some of that pie. I like those extra pounds. I’ve been telling you that for years.” He turned to Max. “She could never understand I like having enough woman to hold onto.”

Tori pulled one of the pies closer and cut a small piece. “Maybe just a little.” She sighed. “It’s just not fair. Jesse eats like a horse and never gains a pound.”

Jesse finished his pie and pushed back his chair, stretching his long legs under the table. “Tell me, Max, what makes you think you’d be a good Superintendent of Schools?”

Max straightened in his seat, put down his fork, and wiped his mouth with the napkin on his lap. “Well, Senator...” He stopped when Jesse held up a hand.

“Let’s stop this ‘Senator’ stuff, we’re already passed that.”

“Right.” Max attempted to adjust a tie not there. “I have a lot of good ideas on educating our children for the new century. Our students have to be ready to take over a world that changes constantly. It’s not the same workplace of twenty or thirty years ago.”

Jesse inclined his head. “What about higher education?”

Max nodded. “That is something I feel we definitely have to encourage our boys to think about. They’ll need all the education they can get.”

Ellie met Jesse’s gaze across the table.

“What about the girls?” Jesse crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes sharp and assessing.

“Girls?”

“Yes, girls. Like my Priscilla, who’s at the top of her class? Or for that matter, my wife who graduated from the Teachers College, as did Ellie.” He nodded in their direction.

Max paused. Then leaned forward. “I’ll be honest with you, sir. I never thought much about girls going to college before now. And I’ll admit my plans to encourage promising students to think about college was focused on the boys.”

Jesse shook his head at Ellie, who chomped at the bit to jump into the conversation. “Let him finish, Ellie. He’s being honest, and I like that.”

Max ran his fingers through his hair. “You’re right. Any plan to encourage bright students should encompass the girls as well. I will certainly have to rethink my whole plan.”

“The fact that you’re willing to reconsider makes a big difference.” Jesse turned to Ellie. “What’s your opinion on how Max runs the school and relates to the teachers.”

Ellie glanced quickly at Max across the table. Only a couple weeks ago she would have given Uncle Jesse a mouthful, even with Max present. He’d been stuffy, overbearing, narrow-minded, and pompous. He had rules and regulations for everything and wanted to control the lives of his teachers—especially the women—outside of school. Although that hadn’t really changed, he didn’t seem quite so overbearing lately. He’d agreed to let her continue with the Christmas Baskets project and even offered to drive her on the deliveries. He’d changed his mind about speaking with Mr. Ridley and comforted her at the church Christmas party.