The two grinned at each other for a moment, then went back to washing the dishes. Katherine looked over at Miss Harriet and asked mischievously, “And will Mr. James be joining us for Christmas dinner?”

To Katherine’s surprise, Miss Harriet actually blushed. “No. He’s heading out a few days before Christmas to spend the holiday with his sister’s family.”

“I see…” Katherine said teasingly.

“Now, Katherine,” Miss Harriet said, “If you’re implying that Mr. James and I… well, we’re just good friends, and that is all.”

“Are you sure?” asked Katherine.

“Quite sure. I admit that I have been enjoying his friendship very much, but that is as far as it goes. Besides,” she continued, reaching for another saucer to dry, “I am content with my life. I have the shop, and with the shop I have my own little community of people to care about. I won’t say I never think about what might have been, but I’ve learned to live at peace with my singleness. It’s what God has allowed in His perfect plan for me.”

“And what if Mr. James is also part of God’s plan?” Katherine asked teasingly.

“Well, that would be a different matter.” Miss Harriet put down her dishcloth and looked Katherine in the eye. “But I’m not going to go spoiling a perfectly pleasant friendship by getting myself all wrapped up in what-ifs and maybes.”

“I’m sure he likes you more than you realize.”

“You can be as sure as you like, but as long as he’s content to be a friend, so am I, and that’s that. I won’t hear another word about it.”

Stunned by the firmness of Miss Harriet’s tone, Katherine nodded. “All right.” The two worked on in silence for a few minutes, then Katherine spoke up again. “I’m sorry, Miss Harriet. I really don’t mean to be a pest.”

Miss Harriet’s eyes softened, and she wrapped an arm around Katherine’s shoulders. “I know, dear. And I do appreciate that you care about my happiness. I am happy, though. Really, I am.”

“I know. I’ve always admired that about you. You seem to be happy no matter what happens.”

“It’s called joy, Dearie, and it can only come from being close to God and trusting His will.”

“Like what happened when my parents told me they were going away for Christmas, and I was still able to be happy for them?”

“Exactly. When we know that God is at work in an area of our lives, we can rest in His plan and timing, and be joyful in the knowledge that He is overseeing it all.”

* * * *

The next morning, Katherine went from table to table as usual. There was a hum of excitement in the air, and it seemed everyone was full of anticipation. Rosie caught Katherine by the sleeve as she hurried past, and exclaimed breathlessly,

“Did you hear about what happened to me?”

Katherine braced herself for a long melodrama and asked politely, “No, Rosie. What happened to you?”

“Well, you know it’s almost Christmas, and the mail has been full, I tell you, full of cards from all sorts of different places. I even got one from New Jersey.” She paused, waiting for Katherine to grasp the enormity of a Christmas card all the way from New Jersey.

“That’s very nice, Rosie. I—”

“Well, you’d never guess what was in one of the cards. It came yesterday,

“From New Jersey?” asked Katherine, slipping the question in when Rosie stopped to take a breath.

“Oh, no. Not in that one… although it was very nice, with sparkly gold around the edges, and— oh, yes, the other card. Well, it came yesterday in the mail.”

“I’ve heard that cards do come that way.” Said Katherine, in mock seriousness, causing Miss Harriet to raise her eyebrows at her in warning from across the room.

“Yes. So it came, and I got my letter opener—so elegant… it was a gift from the luncheon society, you know. Anyway, I took the letter opener and slit the top. There was a card inside, and when I opened it, what do you think was in the card?”

“I can’t imagine. What was in it?”

“A ticket. Yes, it was a plane ticket for the Monday before Christmas. Oh, dear me, that’s just a couple weeks away!”

“That is a nice surprise. Who was it from?” asked Katherine, now genuinely curious.

“My kids sent it. They live in Colorado and haven’t been out to see me this year, so they all decided to pool together and spring for a plane ticket.”

“That’s wonderful, Rosie! I’m sure you’re excited to see them.”

“Oh, my, yes. But even more so to see my sweet grandbabies.”

“I never knew you had grandchildren!” Katherine said in astonishment.

“That just shows how you can never really know about people. Did I tell you my latest theory?”

“The one about noses?”

“No, sweetheart. That one went out weeks ago. My newest theory is about something quite different…” Rosie beckoned for Katherine to lean closer and lowered her voice to a stage whisper. “I have a theory that your beautiful and charming employer has an admirer.”

Rosie nodded at the table where Mr. James was sitting. “I’ve been noticing how well they’ve been getting along lately.”

“Now Rosie, you stop that.” Katherine said firmly, keeping her voice low so no one else would hear. “Miss Harriet doesn’t have any admirers at present, and I won’t have you gossiping about her.” Then, to soften the blow, she leaned in again and whispered, “Don’t you think I’ve been noticing them, too? Just leave them be and you’ll see how nicely things turn out if we just let them alone.”

Rosie smirked and nodded, and Katherine could tell she had silenced the gossipy chatter on that topic—at least temporarily.

“All right then. Did you hear what the queen did last week?” And with that, Rosie was off into another long monologue about her beloved “royals”.

Katherine slipped away as soon as she could and walked over to Mrs. Penelope’s table, where the small elderly woman had sat staring at the same page of her book for quite some time.

“How are your tea and scones this morning, Mrs. Penelope?” asked Katherine gently. Mrs. Penelope was just as calm and composed as ever, but the sweet features of her wrinkled face seemed weighed down with sadness, and she had only nibbled at her scones. During Rosie’s soliloquy, Katherine had glanced over just in time to see a tear trickle discreetly down her cheek.

“They are just as delicious as ever, Katherine dear. I’m just… not very hungry for them today, I suppose.”

“Why, whatever’s wrong?” asked Katherine.

“Oh, nothing very dire, I suppose. It’s just…my family. They telephoned yesterday to tell me they would not be able to come see me this Christmas.”

“Oh, Mrs. Penelope. I’m so terribly sorry.” Katherine put her arm around the woman’s tiny shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. “You will let us know if there’s anything we can do to cheer you up, won’t you?”

Mrs. Penelope nodded, and a tear dropped onto her napkin, which rested neatly in her lap. “You’re very kind. Thank you. Just coming in and seeing you both each morning cheers me up some.”