Christmas in Evergreen Tidings of Joy - Nancy Naigle Page 0,76

Christmas Festival here in the town of Evergreen. With all the tradition, and this time capsule, I don’t know how we’ll ever top this.”

Heads bobbed, and people clapped.

“But we’ll try, right?”

Cheers filled town square.

“We’ll figure it out together.” Michelle picked up the snowman’s hat and reached in to pick the name of who’d have the honors to open the Christmas eve box. She laughed as she turned the slip of paper around to prove she wasn’t making it up, then read the name. “Well, it’s only fitting that our Christmas Eve pick should be…Hannah.”

“Yes!” Elliott threw a fist in the air. “Yay, Hannah!”

Hannah blushed, probably excited about being picked and by Elliott’s public display too.

Ben liked those two together. They seemed happy, and it’d been no surprise to anyone around here. There’d been that little something in their relationship that had seemed like more than friends for years. Funny it had taken them so long to realize it. Their joy touched him. He hoped he’d have that and more with Katie. They’d met and matched so quickly. Like it’d been in the works for years. How often did that really happen?

He missed her like crazy. He had a stack of possible jobs to apply for, even a couple in New Jersey, within commuting distance from the city. Anything to get him closer to Katie. He wished she was here to see this today.

Hannah stepped up to the calendar. “Well, is everyone ready?” She turned and opened the box marked twenty-four. Like the others, there was a red envelope, but instead of a crafty whimsical holiday something or other, Hannah struggled to lift the heavy metal box from the drawer. “What could this be? I might need some help. This thing weighs a ton.” But she managed to get it out of the drawer and onto the table. “It’s heavy.” The sturdy gray box had a bright red ribbon tied around it, with another envelope tucked beneath the bow. Only this envelope wasn’t red like all the others. It was green.

People whispered among themselves in anticipation of what might be in a box that looked more like a fireproof safe than a present.

Hannah opened the envelope and read, “Dear Evergreen. As the Mayor of Evergreen, I…” She stopped, glancing over at Michelle, who knew exactly what she was thinking. Hannah scanned the group in front of her, then directed her comment to the outgoing mayor. “Ezra, would you like to read this?”

“Me?” He looked up, excited to still be included.

“It seems only right that you do.”

“I don’t know.” He fumbled with the edges of his scarf.

Michelle marched right over and dragged him from the crowd. “Come on.”

Hannah handed him the letter.

“Written by the mayor?” Ezra’s eyebrows rose. “From fifty years ago?” He lowered the letter. “My grandfather was the mayor then! It must have been very cool to be the mayor throughout that blizzard and the creation of this time capsule.” He cleared his throat, taking the position in front of the time capsule with pride. “Ahem. As the mayor of Evergreen, I have been granted the honor of bestowing both of today’s gifts. In this box you will find savings bonds”—he gasped, his mouth open—“hopefully having now matured these fifty years.”

“Fifty years? That would add up to a lot,” Thomas said from the crowd.

Hannah opened the metal box and handed the stack of notes to Michelle. “Oh my gosh!”

“How much is there?” someone asked.

“It’s hard to say.” Michelle shook away her surprise. “But it looks like the town budget just went up considerably.”

Nan’s eyes lit up, her hand squeezing tighter around Ben’s arm.

Ben wondered if this too had been an act. He leaned down and whispered, “Nan? Did you know that about this?”

“I most certainly did not.”

Ezra read on even more enthusiastically. “Help the needy. Increase education. Keep the roads clear. Help our small businesses thrive. Welcome all travelers to Evergreen. As the old saying goes, when you have so much, you build a bigger table.” He leaned over to Michelle and stage whispered to her, “Maybe even build more than one road in and out of town. That’s what I’d do.”

Michelle saluted him. “Definitely!”

A cheer went up as the town enjoyed this last part of the time capsule.

Nan looked up at Ben and leaned against his shoulder. “Isn’t this wonderful?”

“It truly is.” This town had amazed him repeatedly. He was proud to have lived here. To have grown up with these values, and with a community that still came