“It does look great,” Anna said. “But it wasn’t all me. I couldn’t have done any of this without all of you. Look what we accomplished together!”
They had constructed several interchangeable sets, each one on a rolling screen. There was the town exterior, which a group of high school students had painted to look just like Snow Falls; the interior of main character Elvira Scrooge’s bedroom, complete with an elaborately curtained four-poster bed on wheels that Kate had managed to have moved over to the theater; and then the seasonal-decoration-festooned sets that would be used for the visits from the Holiday Hosts: Hanukkah, Christmas, and Eid. There was a huge menorah Bruce and the rest of the crew had constructed, with soft glowing lightbulbs shaped like flames; an enormous Christmas tree from a tree farm on the outskirts of town, covered in beautiful decorations and lights; and a giant crescent moon for Ramadanthat would light up along with the menorah and Christmas tree lights at the end of the play. The ceiling above the stage had been transformed into a spectacular night sky, complete with twinkling strings of starry lights and one large star for Christmas. Plus all the costumes and accessories, which Anna and the volunteer crew had also been busy gathering, sourcing, and altering to perfection.
“There,” said Celine’s daughter, laying a vivid blue-and-gold robe across the table before them. “Chase Taylor’s costume is done. I can’t believe I’m saying that.” She pretended to swoon, then leaned against the table. “Do you think he’s coming back here today?”
Anna checked her watch. “It’s getting a bit late, so I doubt it,” she said, and felt the ache of disappointment in her chest. It was going to take time to sort through her feelings for Josh. “You should probably all get going. Get back to your loved ones for Christmas Eve. As Celine said, we’re very nearly done here, and all the little details can be taken care of when we meet here tomorrow a few hours before the play starts.”
But Anna found she wasn’t quite ready to leave. She continued to work once she was alone, and soon the stage’s transformation was complete, the various scenes perfect. Anna knew she had managed to bring to life what Maryam had been imagining when she wrote the play, and that seeing all this done would bring a smile to her friend’s face. Anna’s stomach growled. It was time for her to get going. She knew she could always count on findingiftarleftovers at the inn. She’d head back, get something to eat, then look for Maryam and find out what had happened between her and Saif—and tell her friend everything that had happened with Nick.
As she tidied up her workstation, Anna was startled by a voice behind her.
“Wow.”
She turned to see a young woman with dark curly hair, a puffy jacket, and an orange woolen toque, taking in her surroundings. “This place looks incredible.”
“Thanks.” She stepped down from the stage. “Can I help you?”
“Are you Anna? Chase Taylor sent me over to grab his costume. He’s stuck on set and said he still needed to try it on and make sure it fit for tomorrow, so...” She extended her hand. “Sorry. Hi, I’m Samantha. I’m the set design assistant forTwo Nights at Christmas. And I just have to tell you, this set is amazing! We were in here during location scouting, so I saw what this stage looked like before. Did you do this?”
“Well, I have a team of volunteers...”
“But the concept, this is yours?”
Anna tried to be humble when she said yes. Samantha was now looking at her with great interest. “Do you mind if I bring my boss by to see this sometime?”
“Of course. You’re welcome to come see the play tomorrow, if you’re still in town. I’m not sure how well everyone on the crew is doing with their plans to travel out of here in time for Christmas tomorrow—it sounds like commercial flights are really backed up. But if you need something to do...”
Samantha nodded. “Absolutely, travel is a mess.”
“Well, feel free to come to the show. Bring as many crew members as you want. We have tons of chairs.”
“Sure. I just might do that. A lot of us work so much that the crew is like family—so a bunch of us are just staying put, Ithink. And, of course, we’ll definitely want to come out and support Chase.” She reached out and took the costume from Anna. “Sometimes home is wherever your friends are, right?”
Anna found herself nodding. “That’s true.” She cleared her throat and looked down at the costume now in Samantha’s arms. “So, um, tell Chase...” She looked back up and shook her head. “Just let him know if it fits, he can keep it with him. And if it doesn’t, just come back for an adjustment tomorrow at least an hour before showtime.”
“Will do! Thanks, Anna. And great job!”
When Anna was alone again, she surveyed the stage. It really did look wonderful and had been one of the most fun and rewarding jobs she’d ever done in her life. Samantha had said she was a set design assistant—and oddly, up until that moment, Anna hadn’t even considered that that could be a career path anywhere outside of community theater. Perhaps if she really did show up to the pageant with her boss, Anna could ask them some questions about set design. She filed that away to think about later as she shut off lights and then locked the theater doors.
Outside, Snow Falls was as pretty as a picture on the front of a holiday card. Anna wandered slowly along Main Street, taking it all in, trying to imprint it in her memory. No set designer in the world could create what happened so naturally here. Snow Fallswasthe holidays—and Anna knew she was never going to forget it. She was glad she had decided to stay, even if she did feel a little lonely.Sometimes home is wherever your friends are, Samantha had said. Anna was going to try to remember that.
She continued to trudge along the snowy street toward theinn. Soon, Buon Natalie’s, the Italian restaurant that had been part of the movie set, came into view. She saw that the lights were on, but when she looked in the windows as she passed, she didn’t see anyone inside. Perhaps they were setting it up for another shoot, although Anna hoped the director ofTwo Nights at Christmashad finally decided to give the cast and crew a holiday break. She kept walking, increasing her pace because, despite how picturesque her trek through the town was, it was a cold night and she could feel her empty stomach grumbling beneath the winter jacket she had borrowed from the inn.
“Anna?”
She turned.
Josh was standing in the doorway of Buon Natalie’s, wearing an apron splattered with various stains. He was smiling shyly, looking a bit disheveled—and as handsome as ever. Her heart did a few somersaults.
“Hi,” she said, returning his shy smile.
“Heading anywhere important?”
“Just back to the inn to try to scrounge up something to eat.”
“Would you care to join me for dinner?”
“Oh... well...”
