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Empire City Pizza And Aundrea’s Snickerdoodles

Carol handed her coat to Aundrea. “This place is so cozy.”

“It took a while to come together on a style.” She looked around. “Place was a serious man-cave when we got married.”

“I love that huge stone fireplace.”

She hung Carol’s coat on a peg. “I love watching him chop wood.”

“Is that where he is now?”

Aundrea sat down on the couch, inviting Carol to join her. “No, he and Paul are showing Mary Christmas around the farm.”

“What? Who?”

“She’s a colleague of Paul’s. He asked her to bring in some Empire City pizza in exchange for a batch of cookies.”

“Oh, I think he mentioned her. She’s the one who did the door thing at your bakery.”

“That’s right.”

“Mary Christmas? I wonder if I could talk her into—”

“No, don’t.” Aundrea shook her head. “Don’t even bring it up. Meirhe’s kind of prickly about it.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay. You just can’t get her started.”

“You’d think with a name like Mary Christmas, she’d be jollier.”

“It was a clerical mistake. Her real name sounds like that, so they typed it up as Mary Christmas and it just stuck. She looks like an elf, but she’s definitely not jolly.” Aundrea jumped at the sound of the knob rattling.

Paul entered, followed by a little girl with masses of chestnut curls and more freckles than Sarah had. Jeb came in behind them.

“‘Tis a lovely estate ye have, Jebediah.”

“Thanks. You’re welcome anytime you need some peace and quiet.”

“I may take ye up on that offer afore long, if Aundrea doesn’t mind.” She turned to the lady of the house.

“Not at all, Meirhe. We’d be glad to have you over.”

“Thank’ee both. ‘Twould be a lovely retreat.” Meirhe studied the rustic living room.

There was a knock at the door. Jeb opened it. “Hi, Sarah. You’re just in time to meet Mary Christmas.”

“Really?” She handed him a bottle of wine. “Oh, my gosh. What a treat.”

“The pleasure is certainly mine, Sarah darlin’. Paul told me how ye’ve been takin’ proper care o’ him.”

“He did?” Sarah blushed.

“Aye, and I appreciate the effort. He takes some lookin’ after. Warms me heart to know somebody is up to the job.”

‘Maybe she’ll forgive me after this.’ Carol smiled.

“Wait, if you’re here…”

Paul smiled. “That’s right, Sarah. Authentic, honest to gosh Empire City pizza.”

“‘Twas a pleasure to meet all o’ ye. I’ll be takin’ me treasure back to Sentinels Station.”

“Treasure?” Sarah squeaked.

“What did ye call them, Aundrea darlin’?”

“Snickerdoodles. Be sure to share them.”

Meirhe got a wicked grin. “Fat bloody chance.” She and her box of cookies vanished in a cascade of sparks and spinning golden medallions.

“She’s a bit abrupt.” Paul laughed. “At least she left the pizza. Who’s ready for a slice?”

“Doing alright?” Greg asked.

Ryan shrugged.

“I’ve got a couple extra copies of this Advent devotional if you want something positive to focus on.” He waved the book in his hand.

“Maybe so.” Ryan rubbed his eyes. “Better than sitting here spinning my gears.”

“How about some TV or a movie?”

“That doesn’t interest me too much.”

“We’ve got cards, puzzles, board games. If you just want to talk…”

“I don’t know.”

“What’s the matter? Seemed like you had a good day at work.”

“Tom O’Reilly was leaning on me, like always.”

“I didn’t know you knew the Chief.” Greg sat down beside him.

“Too well.” Ryan picked up the devotional booklet. “Guy’s been on me since I was a kid.”

“I’m sorry. If he’s harassing you, I can speak to Earl or Mayor Mercer about it.”

“Nah, he’s not a problem. I guess I don’t know why he’s got a problem with me.”

“You’ve got a record.”

“It’s more than that, Pastor. Feels like he hated me even before I started getting in trouble.”

“Somebody needs to have a talk with him. You’re getting your life back on track here, Ryan. We can’t have someone sabotaging it because he can’t let bygones be bygones.”

Ryan flipped through the booklet. “Old dog, new tricks.”

“It’s harassment, and it’s not right.”

“A lot of what I used to do isn’t right. I’m glad most people are giving me a chance around here. I figure someone’s bound to hold a grudge. That’s life. Right?”

“Kind of.” Greg took a deep breath. “It’s true. Some people are likely to hold a grudge. Some people you just can’t reach. But you definitely can’t reach them if you don’t try. It seems like somebody needs to check in with the Chief and try to maybe nip this in the bud.”

“I’ll be alright.”

Greg studied him. “Sure. Look, that has daily readings. Technically, Advent starts on Sunday the Third. This booklet has readings from Thanksgiving Day through Christmas Eve to help people get in the holiday spirit the right way. You know?”

“Sure, I get it. Huh. Got some word search pages in there, too.”

“You like those?” Greg smiled.

He shrugged. “Mom used to get me activity books to keep me quiet. Had all the different kinds of pages.”

“You liked the word search best?”

“Anything with patterns. Dot drawings, color by numbers, stuff like that.” He studied the booklet. “This will be nice. Thanks, Pastor.”

“That’s what I want for you, Ryan.”

He looked up.

“You’ve been through plenty of not so nice. Let’s keep focusing on nice. It’s long overdue. Wouldn’t you say?”

“Not sure I’ve earned that yet.”

“You think you should still be punished for everything that’s gone before?”

“I don’t know how I’ll ever get past that.” He hung his head. “I did my share of not so nice.”

Greg reached out. “Try to really concentrate on those readings. Okay? Advent is a time of preparation, Ryan.”

“For what?”

“The miracle that is Christmas. It’s more than Santa and presents and lights, Ryan. It’s the day the world changed forever. If you understand that, really understand and feel it deep down inside, maybe you’ll be able to forgive yourself.”

“How do you know?”

“Because God already has. If He can, why can’t you?”