Dear Santa(10)

“Hey, I can sing,” Lindy insisted, “although only rarely on key.”

Peggy smiled. “Since we clearly weren’t going to make it as rock stars, we launched a neighborhood newspaper.”

    “A gossip tabloid is more like it,” Lindy clarified.

“We certainly didn’t lack for originality. Remember that Fourth of July when we decided to put on our own parade?” Peggy asked.

“Indeed, I do.” That idea had been one of their few successes. Peggy’s two older siblings had come along, and then Chad and his friends had joined the line with their bicycles. Peggy carried the American flag, waving it from side to side as Lindy beat a toy drum. Soon, several of the other neighborhood kids raced to become part of the fun. They didn’t have much of an audience, but none of that mattered.

“And remember when you decided to straighten my hair?” Peggy asked. Looking to Jayne, she explained, “Lindy used a flat iron and started my hair on fire.”

Lindy nearly snorted her latte, laughing. She’d felt dreadful afterward, and, thinking it would help, she chopped off nearly all of Peggy’s hair. Then she had Peggy cut her hair so they would look alike. Even at that early age, she knew she would never make it through beauty school.

After wiping the tears from her eyes, she asked, “You’re living here in Wenatchee?”

“Peggy is the editor and journalist for the local magazine Wenatchee Alive,” Jayne answered. “She does an excellent job, too.”

    “Oh my goodness, and to think you started your literary career with me as your assistant editor,” Lindy joked.

“Jayne makes me sound like I’m writing for The New York Times. It’s a local publication with a small but dedicated staff.

“What about you?” Peggy asked. “Don’t tell me you’re here in Wenatchee and it’s taken us this long to reconnect.”

Lindy shook her head. “Seattle. I’m home for Christmas.”

“How long will you be in town?”

“Nearly two weeks, unless I hear back on a proposal I submitted…That’s unlikely, though.”

“Two weeks. Perfect. Just think of the ruckus we can raise in that amount of time.”

“You should join us tonight,” Jayne said, looking to Peggy, who eagerly nodded agreement.

“What’s tonight?”

“Girls’ night out,” Jayne said.

“We’re heading for drinks at the Wine Press.”

“Is that a new place in town?” Lindy couldn’t remember hearing anything about a new restaurant while she was home last summer.

“It’s been around for a couple months now. It’s the ‘in’ place to go for fun.”

“And the wine choices are excellent,” Jayne added.

    “The owner features Washington State wines. It’s surprising how many good wines come from our state.”

General knowledge told her Washington was the largest wine-producing state outside of California. She wasn’t surprised to learn the Wine Press chose to highlight state wineries. It was smart to support the local economy.

“Do you have other plans?” Jayne asked, and seemed genuine in her wanting Lindy to join them.

“Nothing important. I’d love to meet your friends.”

“You’ll meet Chloe,” Peggy told her. “She’s a supervisor for Costco.”

They stayed and talked for another hour before agreeing to meet later for drinks and appetizers. While they were together, Peggy called and made reservations at the Wine Press for that evening at six o’clock.

Her mother was back by the time Lindy returned from her errands. She must have been smiling when she walked in the door, because her mother commented right away. “It looks like you had an entertaining afternoon.”

“You won’t believe who I ran into while I was out. Peggy Scranton! We were just talking about her, remember?”

“Peggy Scranton,” her mother repeated slowly. “That’s wonderful. The two of you were such good friends back in the day.”

“Peggy invited me to join her this evening with a couple of her other friends for a girls’ night out. Peggy’s single and so is Jayne, but Chloe’s married.” Lindy looked forward to spending time with Peggy’s friends. Working the long hours she had on the project for the Ferguson Group, she hadn’t been out with friends in ages. Although Lindy hadn’t spoken to Peggy in years, it was as if they’d never spent time apart. They both fell right back into the easy friendship they’d once shared.

    “I remember when you and Peggy were inseparable,” her mother said, interrupting Lindy’s musings.

“She was one of my best friends ever.”

That evening, as Lindy readied for meeting Peggy and her friends at the Wine Press, she paused long enough to open her nightstand. She removed the tablet with the letter she’d written Santa the night before. One of the things she’d asked Santa was to bring her a new best friend.

“Gotta say, Santa. You’re good. You’re really good.”





CHAPTER FIVE





When Lindy arrived, Peggy, Jayne, and Chloe were already seated. Peggy waved her over, and, following introductions, the server delivered a bottle of wine to their table. With the ease of someone accustomed to opening wine, he removed the cork and filled their glasses.