The next day, a handsome stranger came into my life and immediately stole my heart. It was meant to be. Isn’t love at first sight always meant to be?
It was necessary to keep him on a short leash for a while, but he didn’t seem to mind. The only one who really minded was Trixie. I think she worried that she wouldn’t be able to get away from the wannabe pianist who, despite all the time she put in practicing the piano, didn’t seem to be improving much. She could make Jingle Bells sound unrecognizable.
I found my new love at the Brewster SPCA. He came with the perfect name. His name is Spirit. It matches his spirited personality and the spirit of the season. He was born on Christmas Eve two years ago.
“You have a birthday coming up in just a few days, Spirit. What should we do to celebrate?” We were walking along the beach. Spirit was learning how to fetch, but the breeze blowing in from the Cape was making it difficult for him to catch the ball.
“Let’s go home,” I said. “I’m sure Mother must have stored some Christmas decorations around there somewhere. We can make the house look more festive for your birthday. We’ll get Stella to stop practicing her piano for a while and play some Christmas music. We’ll light a fire in the fireplace and Stella and I can drink hot chocolate while we decorate.
Stella was excited that we were going to put up a tree along with everything else.
“I know where Miss Claire stored all the decorations” she said.
We carried box after box down from the attic, and then went to buy our tree.
The old man selling the fresh cut trees helped us pick out the perfect one and his young helper put it in the back of Mother’s old truck.
We decorated the whole house and found a beautiful Nativity Scene for the front yard.
I was putting the finishing touches on the tree and Stella was in the Kitchen preparing a Christmas Eve feast when the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it!” Stella yelled from the kitchen, but I was already there. When I opened the door, I was surprised though maybe not pleasantly so.
“Hello, Kat,” Jack said. “I hope we’re not late.”
“Late for what?” I must have looked confused because I was.
Stella came running from the kitchen. “I invited Jack and the girls for dinner. We’re so happy you could make it aren’t we Kat?”
“Of course,” I said. “The more the merrier, right?”
Spirit ran up to the girls. He was excitedly wagging his tail. And then he turned to Jack and we could barely hear his low growl.
“Jack, girls, meet Spirit.”
Those 70ish Girls 