LITMIR.BIZ

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good part of December.”

      “Where are you going?” asked Beth.

      “I’m off to Germany,” Dot said. “Arnie Amundsen and I are doing one of those Christmas cruises.”

      “You and Arnie?” Pat looked surprised.

      “Yep. I’m moving in on Muriel’s man,” Dot teased.

      Muriel was aware of all three of her daughters looking at her curiously. Arnie didn’t ask you? She smiled to show she was perfectly all right with this. Arnie needed a life.

      “When did you and Arnie become a couple?” Olivia asked, and she, too, shot a look in Muriel’s direction.

      “Since Arnie had an extra stateroom,” Dot said. “We’re just going as pals. There’s a whole group of us. It’s going to be a blast.”

      “Wow,” said Beth. “I’m jealous.”

      Muriel was not jealous. She forced her smile to stay in place.

      “By the time I get back, there’ll be no point in bothering with a tree,” Dot continued. “I’ll just come over and enjoy Muriel’s if I need a fix. I’ll bring my own punch, though. This needs booze.”

      “If you drink and drive, Tilda is bound to catch you,” Olivia told her.

      “That’d make the paper,” Pat joked. “Cop Locks Up Pain-in-the-Neck Mom for the Holidays.”

      “Hey, room service and no cleaning?” Dot retorted. “Sounds good to me.”

      Pat shook her head and returned her attention to Muriel. “Anyway, the tree is fabulous.”

      “Thank you. I’m glad I didn’t give up on poor Ugly Tree,” Muriel said. She was also glad that the conversation had moved on to a new topic.

      “I guess you just proved that anything can be made pretty if you put in the effort,” Pat said.

      Cass shook her head. “I don’t know. I’ve had some cakes that I had to completely give up on.”

      “But I bet they still tasted good,” Muriel said to her.

      “True,” Cass admitted.

      “I think a few little flaws can add charm,” said Stacy Thomas. “You wouldn’t believe how much fine china I sell in my shop even if it has a chip. The Royal Albert Old Country Roses pattern is always in demand.”

      “Do you think it’s the same with people?” Maddy Donaldson mused. “Because when it comes to charm, my mother-in-law still has a long way to go.”

      “I bet most of us have people in our lives who are a lot like Ugly Tree, maybe not so lovable sometimes,” Muriel said. “It can be hard to see anything good in them. But, really, don’t you think there’s something good in all of us?”

      “No,” Dot said, and Muriel frowned at her. Honestly, sometimes Dot could be so...irritating. What had Muriel subjected poor Arnie to?

      “I don’t know,” Sienna confessed. “I’m having a hard time seeing anything good in my neighbor. I think he might be the meanest man in Icicle Falls.”

      “Yes, but what made him that way?” Muriel countered. “Sometimes people go through hard times and it takes the shine off their smiles.”

      “He has no smile,” Sienna said.

      “I guess that’s when you’ve got to walk a mile in his snow boots,” put in Bailey, and Muriel beamed approvingly at her youngest daughter.

      “No, thanks,” Sienna said with a shudder.

      Olivia sighed. “All this talk of seeing the good in people has really convicted me of the bad attitude I’ve had lately.”

      “What are you talking about? You never have a bad attitude.” Dot scoffed. “You need bad-attitude lessons.”

      Olivia shook her head. “Not where some people are concerned.”

      “Oh,” Dot said slowly as realization dawned.

      Olivia didn’t have to say any more. Her close friends knew exactly to whom she was referring. Poor Olivia. Sadly, a woman had no control over who her children married. All she could do was hope and pray they used good sense when they picked. Fortunately for Muriel, all three of her daughters had.

      “I’m sure you’ll find something you can appreciate in your new family member. And under your tutelage, she’s bound to turn into a wonderful woman,” Muriel said in an effort to encourage her.

      Olivia sighed. “If only it was as easy to fix up a person as it is a tree.”

      “People often respond to how we see them,” Dot said, surprising Muriel with her insight. Dot was such a character that it was sometimes hard to remember that she had some depth to her. She was older than Muriel and she, too, had racked up a good share of life experiences. Like Muriel, she was a widow twice over.

      “Good point,” Pat said. “Maybe this holiday season we should all look for people who need a little extra love and reach out to them.”

      Dot rolled her eyes. “You sound like a greeting card commercial.”

      “Not a bad idea, though,” said Cecily.

      “Yeah,” Samantha agreed. “I can think of a certain supplier who could use some buttering up.”

      “I don’t think there’s enough butter in the whole state of Washington for Mr. Cratchett,” Sienna said with a frown.

      “I’m not sure we should be thinking in terms of buttering people up,” Muriel said.

      “Muriel’s right,” said Pat. “I’m talking about being kind simply for the sake of being kind, seeing the best in people no matter what.”

      When had all of Muriel’s friends gotten so wise? And why hadn’t she thought to suggest that? “I think it’s a lovely idea,” she said.

      “Although I’m not sure how easy it will be to execute, at least for me,” Pat said. “The only person I can think of is Harvey Wood, and it’s hard to see the good in a landlord who keeps raising your rent and never fixes anything in the building. If the toilet in the employee bathroom makes it through to the New Year, I’ll be amazed.”

      “Maybe if you give him some Sweet Dreams chocolates, he’ll get with the program and get you a new toilet,” said Dot.

      Pat raised an eyebrow. “Do you really believe that?”

      “No. Harvey’s a cheapskate.”

      “I know who we should work on showing kindness to,” Cecily said to her sister.

      Samantha looked at her warily. “Please don’t say who I think you’re going to say.”

      “Priscilla Castro?” Bailey guessed and snickered.

      “There’s an ugly tree,” Samantha muttered.

      “Who’s Priscilla Castro?” asked Sienna.

      “She runs the office at city hall. Every year she does her best to hold up permits for the chocolate festival,” Cecily explained. “I’m afraid she and Sam have been rivals ever since high school.”

      “She was a mean girl in high school,” Samantha added. “Nothing’s really changed.”

      “Except her name,” Bailey added. “Her friends used to call her Prissy. Everyone else called her Pissy. It kind of stuck.”

      “Pissy definitely suits her better,” Samantha said.

      “She hasn’t had much success in life,” Muriel reminded her daughters. “I’m sure that has a lot to do with it.”

      “I have my hands full working on my own success. I don’t have time to help

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