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He led a bit on the very long, snowy road that led to his place frorandfather wrestled her suitcase out of the trunk It was a big suitcase, filled with gifts and warm clothes, and her skates The pond behind the house would be frozen over The suitcase had wheels, but her grandpa chose to carry it and Noelle knew better than to insult hi to help

When they walked in the back door into the back porch, the sh she irand

They shrugged out of jackets and boots, and left the suitcase there Noelle pulled off her grandfather’s toque and smoothed her hair in the mirror Her faintly freckled cheeks and nose were already pretty pink fro outside, but she knew herself to be an unreht as spaghetti, eyes that were neither brown nor blue but some muddy moss color in between, pixie-like features that could be made cute—not beautiful—with makeup, not that she bothered anymore

The dog had already settled in his bed by the wood heater when she got into the kitchen While her grandfather added wood to the heater, Noelle looked around with fondness

The kitchen was nothing like the far ht now It had old, cracked linoleu off cabinets and the counters were cluttered with everything froloves The ere abundant but old, glazed over with frost inside the panes

Aside frorandine pieces on the counter, and would have had soh of ho intensify within her

Her grandfather and grandmother had raised her when her parents had died in an automobile accident when she elve In all the world, this kitchen was the place she loved the most and felt the safest

“Tella seat at the old table The coffee had been brewing on the woodstove, and her grandfather plopped adown in front of her She took a sip, and her eyes nearly crossed it was so strong She reached hastily for the sugar pot

“Well, it really started when I atching the news one night” He took the seat across the table froarded her with such unabashed affection that it rew

“There was this story about this girl—not here, land or Vancouver—”

Both equally foreign places to her grandfather

“—as going to be all alone for Christ like I-Sell and all these people answered her, and she chose a family to have Christmas with”

Her grandfather was bea at her as if this fully explained the helicopter pad he was building in his cow pasture

“Go on”

“So I was on there anyway, trying to figure out how to put up a posting for ht that I missed Christmas the way it used to be”

“You andofby

“Even before that You know, TV was late co to these parts It was better without it And a whole lot better without the interstate”

No point telling hiain Noelle waited

“Don’t even getto the world”

“I won’t,” Noelle said, though in truth she kneouldn’t be long before she missed all her social uiltily spying on soh their prolific postings

“We used to have big gatherings at Christly “When I was a boy, on Christmas Day the whole community would show up at the old hall, and there would be a Christroaning under the weight of turkeys and hams and bowls of mashed spuds and pies Oh, the pies! The women would try to outdo themselves on pies

“People sang, and talked together They exchanged gifts with their neighbors Not much, you see, a homemade whistle, a flour sack, bleached white and e nice, like Bless This House If you knew a fao, youfat ham to take home”

Noelle’s sense of worry was gnawing at her again As lovely a picture as he was painting, her grandfather had never been like this Grandma had prettyand hitched up the old horses for the ! Until Grand He was pragmatic, not sentimental!

“So,” he said, “I got me an e people to an old-fashioned Christmas, if they wanted one”

“Here?” Noelle asked, stunned

“Well, sure Can you think of a better place?”

“Grandpa, you can’t invite strangers off the internet to your home!”

He folded his arot a stubborn look on it “Well, too late for your good advice, little miss Dear Abby, I already done it”

“People replied?”

“All kinds of them,” he said with satisfaction