A Down-Home Savannah Christmas

They walked in silence to the fountain in Lafayette Square. They could see the grand spires of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist glowing through the live oaks like twin apparitions. Elle stopped and pointed to them. “That’s so beautiful.” She shook her head. A resigned smile turned up the corners of her lips.

“I’m so sorry I was going on and on about my family like that, Daniel. I’ll stop now. I am not going to ruin this fabulous night you set up by complaining about the most recent war my mother and Gigi have waged.” She gestured, as if indicating a door. “This is the portion of the tour where Mom and Gigi exit and we continue.”

She smiled up at him and he wanted to photograph her with his mind to remember exactly how she looked at that moment.

“I never knew you were so easy to talk to,” she added.

He answered her with a kiss.

“You’re absolutely right,” she said. “When you look deeper, you see qualities you’ve never seen before.”

They continued across the square and stood in front of the Andrew Low House, home of the father-in-law of Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low.

“The architecture of this place combines Grecian details with elements of the Italian villa style and has one of Savannah’s most stunning ironwork balconies. Back in the day, you could tell how wealthy a man was by how much ironwork he had outside his house. It was expensive and a great way to flaunt deep pockets.”

As they walked, Daniel pointed out several more of his favorite spots, including the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low and Flannery O’Connor, more for the history than the architecture.

“I’ve been to a lot of those places when I was a kid on school field trips,” she said. “But it’s kind of sad that you can live right in the midst of so much history and stop seeing it.”

“I’m happy to reacquaint you,” he said, taking her hand.

“As long as there won’t be a pop quiz.”

“Never. You know how I was when it came to school.”

“That’s only because they didn’t tap into what moves you.”

You move me.

“It doesn’t matter that you didn’t go to college. It isn’t for everyone. You’re more successful than many who did. Daniel, you’re so smart and good at what you do.”

“You know I was never really into school. My grades and attendance record were bad and I had a couple of brushes with the law. None of that did me any favors. After my grandmother’s house burned, I left Savannah. I never graduated from Savannah Country Day. I ended up getting a GED.”

“You always were more interested in working than in textbooks, weren’t you?” she asked.

He nodded. “I used to skip school a lot so I could work. After my parents died and Aidan and I came to live with our grandmother, times were tight. Most of the contractors would pay me cash for day labor. They didn’t care how old I was if I showed up on time and was willing and able to work. At the time, money won out over algebra and English lit.”

“You were getting an education of a different type. Is that where you learned how to build houses?”

He nodded. “I learned the construction business and it ended up serving me pretty well.”

“It sure did,” she said as they stopped in front of the looming terracotta-colored Sorrel-Weed house.

She grimaced. “Tell me something good about this one.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“You know Sorrel-Weed is supposed to be one of the most haunted places in the country, if not the world, right? It was featured on a show about the most terrifying places in the Unites States.”

“Yeah, want to take the ghost tour?” He gestured to the people queuing up to have the daylights scared out of them.

“No. Absolutely not. I don’t do scary.”

“You were born in Savannah and you don’t do scary? You do know that the entire city is built over a graveyard, don’t you?”

She put her hands over her ears. “Lalalalalalala! I can’t hear you. I have never seen a ghost. I don’t want to see a ghost. I believe in happy.”

She shivered and crossed her arms in front of her.