Pam was not expecting his response. “Yeah, a secret.”
“Oh,” she said filling, her mouth with the last bite of her bread and looking away disappointed.
“You’re upset that I’m not telling all my progress, aren’t you?” John said.
“I suppose I am. Sort of got involved from the get-go, and hoped to see you through to the end of this memory challenge – if that’s what you’re secret is all about. If not, I apologize. It’s none of my business, anyway.”
“I recognized her,” he finally muttered. “Somewhere behind one of those locked doors my mind her face is clear. She never confirmed it for me. Got me wondering why she’s being so secretive and watching me like a hawk.” He jumped from his seat. “Be right back.”
In a few minutes, he returned, dragging the woman with him. “Pam, this is Cassie, with no last name.” He turned to the embarrassed woman. “And this is my dearest friend in Cedar Springs, Dr. Pamela Legend.”
Pam stood and held out her hand in greeting. Cassie barely touched hers, and the woman appeared uncomfortable. But in the brief contact, Pam had felt a chill, like someone walked over her grave.
“I talked her into joining us.”
Cassie held a cup of hot chocolate and slid onto a third chair at the table. Now the threesome silently scrutinized one another, the atmosphere steaming with awkwardness.
“Cassie, I need to compliment you on your baking skills and thank you for the wonderful asset you’ve become to my friend’s café. Your treats are the talk of the town.” Cassie’s face lit up.
The woman blushed. “Christmas recipes are my specialty. I may lose popularity after this weekend – that is if I stay.”
“You just arrived,” Pam said. “Why would you consider leaving already? Even our forgetful John here is debating staying on.”
A shocked expression covered Cassie’s face. “No,” she blurted out without thinking. Her tone softened as she tried to smooth over her initial response. “Not that I have any say over what John does with his life. Me, I’m free to go wherever the wind takes me.”
“Is that a personal choice, or does your career dictate you move around?” Pam asked.
“Oh, a little of both. You might say it’s my destiny.” Cassie looked Pam straight in the eye for the first time. “What about you, dear? Have you always lived here?”
“No. I spent my childhood in the south. My parents are both dead, so I moved here for a change of scenery.”
Cassie gasped. Pam suspected her tone was not merely concern for a stranger, but had nothing to base her impression on. “Dead! I am sorry to hear that – I think.”
What? Did she hear that last part right? Cassie had mumbled it and Pam was not in the mood, or up for the challenge, to decipher her meaning. She now understood how Cassie might have angered John earlier. That lady needed to work on her people-skills.
John covered Pam’s hand with his, and she felt his empathy soar through her. “Not to worry, Cassie. I suppose that makes us both alone in the world. Two lonely hearts…”
The woman came to life. “Yes, and I happen to know a matchmaker who specializes in lonely hearts all year long – but especially at Christmas.”
Pam grinned. “Christmas gives one the feeling that miracles abound.”
Cassie glanced at John. “This summer event in particular.”
Pam looked at Cassie’s hand and saw it shook, even while she gripped the mug with fierce intensity and stared at John with a strange emphasis.
“I need to go. I should not be here.” This time Cassie cast a sideways glance at Pam. “Though I don’t know how it can hurt anymore. The rules are all changing.” She shuffled to her feet and gripped the table. “I apologize. Please enjoy your meal. I will pray that you both fulfill your destiny.”
Pam watched after her. Something about the way she spoke those final words took residence in her heart but left her filled with confusion how it would unfold in her life. Instead of returning to the kitchen, Cassie left the building. Pam turned toward John to see a broad smile spread across his face.
“Challenged the woman to a confrontation. She didn’t want to come over and visit with us, but I won her over. I think I seem to possess the power of persuasion with the opposite sex. What do you think?”
Pam laughed. “And in the time it takes for a frown to turn to a smile, the teaser has returned to torment me.”
He became solemn. “My intentions, dear lady, were never to torment. But, I must admit, the tease flows from my mouth naturally.”
“I don’t mind. Keeps me on my toes.” Pam nodded toward the door. “Wonder where she’s off to, and if Denise knows her employee just walked out the door.”
“What employee?” Denise said as she overheard Pam’s remark while talking to patrons at another table nearby.
“Cassie, the baker. She came over and spoke to us, but we think she left befuddled.”
“That’s her normal state,” Denise said. “A different sort she is. But she is all about Christmas, and that’s what I need from my workers. So, I put up with her oddities. I don’t mind her taking a break. She rarely does. Such dedication is scarce.”
“Somehow the woman inspired John this morning to research Christmas Legends – all of them. We spent hours rummaging through books. As a result, we are well-versed in the history of Christmas, both Christian and folklore.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. In the end, people always tend to see things Cassie’s way. A gift she comes by magically. She always leaves me befuddled on how she persuades me to do her bidding. I usually have a mind of my own and
