Page 38 of The Best Christmas Choir Ever

“Welcome, ladies,” Heather said, filling tiny red-and-white popcorn bags. “How are we liking things?”

“Excellent as always,” Maggie said. “Though it would be better if Merla would sell me her mincemeat recipe.”

Charlie stood there awkwardly, looking anywhere but at Julian, wondering how rude it would be if she simply slipped away. But suddenly they were all tipping to the side as Gram staggered. Her arms flailed, knocking Heather’s giant bowl of popcorn clear off the table. It tumbled to the floor, kernels spilling free.

“Gram!” Charlie yelped as she and Julian simultaneously reached to steady her. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, fine. Fine!” Gram said a little breathlessly. “It’s just this buggered hip. Has a mind of its own.” She apologized to Heather. “Let me tell you, never get old.”

“No one ever cried over spilled popcorn,” Heather said with a smile. “There’s more in the kitchen.”

“You didn’t mention that your hip was bothering you,” Charlie murmured, trying to get Gram’s attention.

“Didn’t I?”

Behind Gram, Maggie and Harriet were suddenly very preoccupied shoving mincemeat tarts in their mouths.

Charlie frowned. Gram hadn’t mentioned her hip since before the move to Glendale. When had it started acting up again?

“I’m old,” Gram said, patting Charlie’s arm. “Things hurt unexpectedly at my age. But again, I’m so sorry, Heather. I’m sure Charlie would be more than happy to help you make some more popcorn. I’d do it, but you know…” She winced as she flexed her leg. “These old bones. Probably best I have a seat. Yes, definitely from the fall. You go be a doll and help Heather out with her popcorn. Perhaps Julian can show you to the kitchen. He seems to know his way around.”

“Oh, that would be a big help,” Heather said, looking between them.

“You’re sure you’re okay, Doris?” Julian asked.

Gram waved him off. “I’ve got Maggie and Harriet. They’ll help me putter into a chair.”

Maggie and Harriet scrambled to Gram’s sides, making a show of helping her limp away.

“We’ve got this,” Maggie called. “You two get popping or whatever it is you have to do.”

Get popping? Charlie grimaced.

“You’re sure I’m not putting you out?” Heather asked, drawing Charlie’s attention.

“Oh no,” Charlie said. “Happy to help.” She smiled despite herself. Gram was getting very good at offering her up for things.

“Okay, great,” Heather said. “I had a few volunteers on it, but they’ve been gone for ages. Julian, you know your way to the kitchen, don’t you?”

“Sure do,” he said, sounding less than enthusiastic. “Just this way.”

Charlie followed him back across the auditorium, wondering what she was supposed to say. “Sorry about her. Gram can be—”

“A handful?” he suggested.

She snorted. “As much as Maggie and Harriet apparently.”

“It’s okay. Glendale’s full of characters. I’m used to it. Though I do think those three together are going to spell trouble.”

He walked beside her, and the awkwardness seeped in along with something else. Something that threatened to strangle her. Damn that kiss! Charlie knew she should have pulled away the moment it happened, that she should have ended things right then and there. But he’d tugged her closer, wrapping his arms around her, holding her to him like a memory. And she’d tried to understand why it felt so right when everything else about the past now felt so wretched. Why did she want to kiss him again?

They turned down a hall, revealing a bank of offices. “I never realized this place was so big.”

“They won a grant about five years back,” Julian said, “and did a major expansion. Added a gym for sports. The industrial kitchen. Classrooms. Workspaces. It’s really become the hub of the town.”

When they entered the kitchen, they found the two other volunteers bent over in front of the microwave. They looked about five years younger than Gram.

“We’ve been sent to help,” Julian explained.