Christmas in Bayberry

“But it’s what I needed to hear. If I’m—if we’re—going to save this company, I need to realize that things can’t go on the way they’ve been done for years. Change is coming whether I like it or not.”

“Change isn’t all bad.”

And with that he walked away, leaving Kate alone with her thoughts. The dance hadn’t changed at all since she’d moved to Bayberry. She wondered how her aunt would feel about it—how the town would feel about it.

The rest of the day, thoughts of the dance plagued her.

Change was coming.

But would people be willing to accept those changes?

By evening, Kate was ready to take the first step. She headed for Fred’s place. A knock on the door, and Wes’s mother opened it and greeted her with a warm smile. She stepped inside, finding a smallish Christmas tree in the corner of the living room. It was trimmed with red and white ornaments. The fireplace crackled as flames danced upon the logs.

Her aunt was in the kitchen at the stove. Fred was nowhere to be seen, but she knew he wouldn’t have gone far. The aromas of homemade chicken soup and bread wafted through the house, making Kate’s mouth water. In the background, “White Christmas” played. Kate smiled. It was most definitely Christmastime. She just hoped her aunt felt like singing after their talk.

“Aunt Penney, can we talk?”

“Sure. But it’ll have to be here. I’m making a chocolate cake for dessert. Fred’s favorite.” Aunt Penney moved to the kitchen island with a big mixing bowl. “What do you have on your mind?”

Kate’s gaze moved to Wes’s mother, who was standing at the counter, chopping vegetables for what appeared to be a salad. “Maybe now isn’t the time.”

“It’s fine. Martha doesn’t mind. Do you?”

“Not at all. But I can step out of the room if it’d be easier.”

Then, realizing she was making a big production out of this, Kate said, “No, please stay.” She slipped off her coat and turned back to her aunt. “How would you feel if I made some changes to the Candlelight Dance?”

Aunt Penney reached for the flour. “What kind of changes?”

“Well, Wes and I were talking—”

“You and Wes were working on this, as in together?” Aunt Penney raised an eyebrow.

Was that a bad thing? She wasn’t quite sure from the tone of her aunt’s voice. After all, Aunt Penney was the one who’d hired him to give an unbiased review of the company.

“I’ve been asking him questions.”

Aunt Penney resumed gathering ingredients for the cake. “What sort of questions?”

And then, realizing her aunt might be worried about confidentiality, Kate said, “Don’t worry. He hasn’t said a word about the report he’s working on for you. These were other questions about how I could change things to help the company.”

At some point, Martha had gravitated over to the island. And now they were all huddled together. It felt strangely normal, even though Martha was new to her.

“I hope my son was helpful.” Martha wiped her hands on a towel.

“He’s been very helpful. More than I ever could have imagined.” And then Kate told them about the supplier contracts and the new quotes.

“That’s wonderful,” Martha said. “It’ll save the company so much money.”

Aunt Penney didn’t say a word.

Kate eyed her aunt, watching for her reaction. “Aunt Penney, are you okay with changing suppliers after using the same ones for so many years?”

Her aunt sighed. “The truth is, I should have been more diligent. If I had, the company might not be in the state it is now. You’re doing the right thing. You’re doing what I should have done. And I thank you. Tomorrow morning, come to my office and we can go over those quotes.”

When her aunt sent her a reassuring smile, Kate knew her aunt meant it. And the worry she’d been feeling about all of these big changes rolled away. She pulled out her phone and made a note on her calendar. “Now I won’t forget.”

“But I don’t understand,” Aunt Penney continued. “What does this have to do with the dance?”