“I can help, too, Hannah! My mom lets me watch the oven sometimes,” Liam offered. He reached for another cookie.
“Thank you, Liam. That’s very sweet of you,” Hannah said with a smile before she gasped and headed straight for the door. “The oven! Oh my gosh! The oven! I’ll be back later, Molly! I need to check on a few caramel cakes!”
Molly and Liam both waved their goodbyes to Hannah while they both finished off their respective cookies.
“You want to do one last check before we open for the day?” Molly asked Liam, glancing around the shop. “Just to make sure we didn’t miss anything.”
“Yeah, one last check,” Liam said with a nod, moving towards the back of the store. “I’ll go check on the tinsel again!”
“You got it, buddy.” Molly clicked her tongue as she headed for the various light displays in the store’s windows. Her phone rang from her skirt pocket.
She glanced down at her caller ID, and then smiled to herself when Mr. Kerstman’s name came across the screen. “Hey, Santa Claus! How’s Florida? How’s the sand?”
“Beautiful and even more beautiful,” Mr. Kerstman replied. “And how’s the shop? How’s the snow?”
“We got another inch yesterday and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas,” Molly replied cheerfully. She narrowed her eyes at the phone. “But you didn't call me to ask about the snow. Did Mrs. Claus put you up to calling me? Do you have me on speaker?”
“Yes, darling, you’re on speaker. But he called you all on his own!” Mrs. Kerstman yelled across the phone. “I promise!”
Molly shook her head and tried not to laugh. They'd barely managed to get off the plane before calling two days ago. Since then, they'd called at least twice a day just to check in. Today was the earliest they'd called yet.
“I just wanted to give you a heads up about our son, Nicholas,” Mr. Kerstman said, clearing his throat. “He mig
ht be coming into town soon. Maybe not. He was just asking so many questions about the store. I suspect he’s interested in visiting.”
“Ooh, the mysterious Nicholas Kerstman finally comes to town,” Molly said. “It’s no problem at all, Mr. Kerstman. I’ll make sure your son enjoys his stay. Did you want me to fix up your house for him?”
“The house is already fixed. I always fix the house before leaving. It’s simply correct etiquette,” Mrs. Kerstman’s told her.
“I doubt he’ll be staying at our little house, anyway. Too much Christmas for him there, but I did want to, well, warn you.” Mr. Kerstman’s voice now took on an ominous air. “You’re so sweet, Molly. And our Nicholas, well, he’s a bit of a hmm...How would you describe our Nicholas, Suzanne?”
“He’s not a complete Scrooge, but he’s pretty close,” Mrs. Kerstman said. “He hates Christmas.”
“Your son hates Christmas?” Molly couldn’t hide her confusion. The Kerstmans were the most Christmas-loving people she knew. “How is that even possible?”
“Oh, he doesn’t hate-hate Christmas. Nicholas just isn’t the kind of person who appreciates the sentimental bits of the holiday season. He’s always been more of a facts and figures type.” Mr. Kerstman paused before he blew out a heavy breath. “Always sticks to his books and business, that one. Never has any time for wasting time.”
“He’s just like you, Howard, when you were younger. I always said he gets it from you.”
“Don't worry about it. I think I’ll be able to handle him.” Molly looked over at the lights in the display window, seeing customers start to gather outside. “Besides, he can’t be as difficult as a class full of sulking second graders on a test day.”
“You’re right. Nicholas can’t be as difficult. Because he’s much worse.” Mr. Kerstman snorted with a laugh after his own joke. “But if anyone can put the Christmas spirit into that boy, it’s you, Molly. I swear, if you can’t do it, no one can.”
“If you can’t do it, I give up,” Mrs. Kerstman agreed.
Molly smiled at the compliment. Christmas was definitely her thing.
“Alright, Mr. and Mrs. Kerstman. I have to go. It's time to open up shop,” Molly said. “Tell my parents I said hi! I’ll be sure to let you know if I see your son. Or if I don’t see your son. Whichever. Whatever.”
“We’ll talk to you later, Molly!”
Molly hung up the phone and stuffed it back into her skirt pocket. While she continued making her way through her opening checklist, she found herself thinking about the mysterious Nicholas Kerstman.
She’d always known that Mr. and Mrs. Kerstman had an older son, but she’d never seen him in town.
Not even once.
She’d heard his voice on the phone when Mrs. Kerstman took personal calls in the break room, so she was fairly sure the man did actually exist. From what Molly could gather, Mrs. Kerstman was always ecstatic to hear from her son, as if she didn’t get a chance to talk with him so often.