Sunshine Valley

The holidays

     Doing 3 community dinners back to back was exhausting. And Evie couldn’t imagine how Della felt. 

     Thanksgiving and Christmas, Evie reached out to some of her old friends from her past life to help. Few people in Sunshine Valley wanted to give up their holidays with their family to serve others. She, Della, and Dillon (representing the sheriff’s department) chose the day before Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. People were traveling or just didn’t bother. Povol had asked for volunteers from the shelter that wanted to help. Dillon had worked with the jailer to see if anyone in the county lockup wanted some community time. 

     She had asked at one of their planning meetings if ‘getting people involved, was always this hard’? Simultaneously they both said ‘yes’! Dillon went even farther to explain that in years past, they had just handed out boxed lunches because they couldn’t get enough people to volunteer to do the buffet style that Della was known for. Box lunches worked well during the height of Covid. Dillon had been hoping that since life was getting back to normal, that volunteers would pour forth, but it wasn’t happening. 

    Simon and Rebecca showed up to volunteer. Dillon and Della were amazed. They had never volunteered for both before. It was either or. Dillon tried to take it on faith that they had volunteered for both out of kindness. A nagging thought in the back of his head told him otherwise. 

     Dillon about died at Christmas when a tour bus pulled close to Coal Town and 15 teenagers filed out all wearing letterman jackets. He met Paul and Betty. Paul was a professor and coach at the school Evie had attended. The bus was filled with blankets, clothes, some toys and just random gifts adults might like. It was all he could do not to cry. Even after he found out that the students had to have 25 hours of community service to graduate and these were the stragglers that hadn’t fulfilled their commitment. It didn’t matter. His heart was overflowing. 

     Dillon worked Christmas Day so that the deputies who had small children didn’t have too. Evie spent the day with her dad. The day after Christmas, Dillon and Evie sat on his couch, he on one end facing her. She on the other end facing him. “I can’t believe you got all those volunteers for Christmas.”

     “I don’t know if we can make it happen every year.”

     He smiled, “I understand. I’ll take this one.” A frown filled is face. “Wasn’t it risky reaching back into your past?”

     “I met Paul and Betty through church. Doug never went to church with me. Or attended any church functions. Though Paul worked at the school I attended, I never met him until I started going to the same church.”

     “Thank you. I don’t think we could have done it without them.”

     “It was my pleasure. Oh,” she got up. “I got you something.” She presented him with the beautifully wrapped box. “Merry Christmas.”

     “The box is so purdy, I almost don’t want to open it.” He grinned, “but I’m gonna.” Inside the box was a “boot and glove warmer.”

     She smiled, “every-time you stick your hands or feet into warm articles, you will be reminded how much I love you.”

     He thought to himself, ‘that was the best Christmas present ever. She loved him.’ He knew it. But hearing her say it pushed all the right buttons. 

     All of the jewelry he had seen her wear was simple. Small earrings, unless it was a fun holiday. Cross neckless. A watch. Her engagement ring. But not much more. He had even been asking her dad for gift ideas. It needed to be special. He thought about all their shared childhood memories. Adult Evie was causing him to think and feel things that childhood Evie didn’t know existed. He was sick as he presented her with the small bag. She tore into it with the excitement of a child. Inside was a pair of silver earrings, shaped like a hot air balloon with 2 entwined hearts on the balloon part of the earrings. “Dillon,” she sighed. “They are beautiful.”

     “I love you,” he smiled. “Merry Christmas.”

Sunshine Valley