Page 11 of Once Upon a Christmas Carol

“Took him years to get over it. He’s been pretty cool about marriage ever since.

He invested all his time and energy into his restaurant for a while.

Antonia thinks it was his therapy. Vittorio’s was quite a place.

Real popular. Great reviews. Tables by reservation only.

And he gave it all up to help his parents.

Although, to be fair, COVID hurt the restaurant’s business, so maybe it was good timing for a break.

I know he hopes to have another restaurant someday.

Hopefully right here in Miller’s Creek. I’d be his most loyal patron. ”

“Speaking of food, my stomach is starting to rumble,” Carol admitted. “And the idea of oatmeal with applesauce is appealing.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“I’ll get right to it.” She stood.

“I just hope I don’t get too used to being waited on by you.” Maria chuckled.

Carol forced a smile but felt concerned.

How would her aunt do on her own? She still didn’t know Carol was leaving today.

Mindful that the clock was ticking, Carol rechecked the weather forecast on her phone and then scanned the airline’s website.

The storm was predicted to worsen by evening, but she should be gone by then.

No flights had gone out so far, but several were scheduled for early afternoon.

Hers was still listed for an on-time departure.

She knew she should be relieved by this news as she read the oatmeal instructions.

It wasn’t like the instant packets she used at home.

She measured water and salt and poured them into a saucepan.

As she turned on the flame, she tried to imagine herself lazing in the Bahamas with Michigan and snowstorms far behind her.

She should have been excited by the idea.

Instead, she felt a heaviness at leaving Maria in the lurch like this.

As she got bowls out, she thought about Victor and how she’d enjoyed his company in the kitchen last night.

Not to mention his culinary skills. And he was intelligent and kind and had a good sense of humor too.

Of course, Maria’s hint hadn’t escaped her.

And why shouldn’t she want her only niece to marry her best friend’s son?

To a woman who confessed to enjoying Hallmark movies and rom-coms with happy endings, a match like that would be ideal, perhaps even “made in heaven.”

But why was Carol being so silly? Why go there?

Despite her aunt’s gloomy forecast for Victor and Victoria, Carol wasn’t convinced.

Victor seemed too sincere to date a girl “for convenience.” If he didn’t have genuine interest in Victoria, why would he stick with her so long?

Were good women in short supply around here?

She smiled to herself, trying to blow this all off.

She was thinking like a middle school girl.

She carefully measured the old-fashioned oats and poured them into the boiling water, just like the directions said.

She turned on the timer, hoping the oatmeal mixture wouldn’t stick to the pan or turn to glue.

What kind of numbskull couldn’t make oatmeal right?

She chopped walnuts and even found a jar of raisins in the cupboard.

Struggling to open the jar of applesauce, she imagined herself sitting outside her resort hotel, ordering whatever she liked from the menu and soaking in sunshine while someone else fixed her breakfast. She imagined being catered to, returning to a comfortable room where her bed was not only made but turned down with a chocolate on the pillow.

Just like in the brochure. She envisioned herself lounging by the pool or beach with a colorful, icy drink trimmed with a tiny paper parasol. Without a care in the world ...

Except that she did have a care. She cared about Maria.

They still hadn’t figured out if her arm was really broken.

She might need real help for a while. Carol couldn’t help but care.

And, as hard as it was to wrap her head around this, she cared about Victor too.

She even cared about his family. Which seemed ridiculous since she hadn’t even met Antonia and Larry.

Yet she already felt pulled in. How had this happened in just twenty-four hours?

It was like getting stuck here in Michigan had placed some kind of spell on her.

She shook her head sharply, as if to dislodge the thoughts spinning around in there, but the stove timer went off, and she knew it was time to dish up the oatmeal and set the table.

She paused to read Maria’s calendar by the door.

Counting the days until Christmas, she saw it was less than a week away.

Neatly penned in for the upcoming Saturday was “Habitat Fundraiser—Christmas Cotillion, 7:00 p.m.” Victor had mentioned that yesterday.

She scanned the calendar again, and saw “decorating for cotillion” penciled in for the two days before, reminding her that her aunt liked to help with that. Well, not this year.

Carol called out to Maria that breakfast was served, and soon they were both seated in the kitchen, bowing their heads while Maria asked a blessing.

They both got quiet while eating. Carol was still trying to sort out her conflicting feelings.

She’d only booked the Bahamas resort for a week, but already she’d lost one day.

Even if she could extend her stay, it would be inconvenient since she’d promised Marsha she’d return after Christmas to do the year-end inventory.

Being stuck in the design firm’s storage unit to count lamps and rugs and things sounded like a punishment right now.

Especially if her Bahamas visit was ruined.

Meanwhile, snowflakes were starting to fly outside the kitchen window again.

Perhaps she’d be stuck here longer after all.

Maybe that would be good. Or maybe she was just very confused.