Two

Downtown Normal was truly beautiful in falling snow. I had never lived here before during the winter and the scenery didn’t disappoint. In Kentucky, we had all four seasons. I’d have to say that fall happened to be one of my favorites, with all the changing colors Mother Nature offered deep inside the forests of Daniel Boone National Park.

The shops downtown were all different shapes and size. Some were cute chippy buildings and some were quiet large, but none of them had big signs. They all had small, wooden, hand painted signs. There was The Smelly Dog Groomer, Cookie Crumble Bakery, Normal Diner, the Normal Library, Sweet Smell Flower Shop, The Trails Coffee Shop, Grassel’s Gas Station, Deter’s Feed-N-Seed, and the Tough Nickel Thrift Shop, to name a few.

“It looks like Abby has gone into Sweet Smell.” Dottie drew her finger along Abby’s footsteps in the snow and pointed into the window of the flower shop as we passed by.

“She is probably telling them all about Nadine White.” I shook my head and looked both ways before Dottie and I crossed the one-way street along that side of the median to cross to the other side of Main Street.

Main Street was split in two, right down the middle, with a one-way street  on each side. In the middle were a small amphitheater, covered shelter, and several picnic tables scattered around the tall trees. During the warmer seasons, it was a wonderful place to have lunch while visiting downtown or to see plays put on by the community theater. A lot of tourists liked to come down here and have family reunions in the shelter. In the winter, it was turned into a tree lot, with twinkling Christmas lights scattered around the perimeter of the entire area.

There were a few vendors and local artists set up that were allowed to sell what they made. Crafts were a big thing around here, especially anything monogrammed. It was definitely a great place to Christmas shop for someone because you were guaranteed to find something unique.

Dottie snuffed out her cigarette as we hurried across the streets and into the Thrifty Nickel. It was a neat shop owned by Buck. He’d kept the old building exactly how it was built, with exposed brick on all walls and a large open space with tall ceilings. There was an upstairs full of clothing and a back room with thrift store items, but I was more interested in the blow-up snowman he’d displayed in the front window.

Dottie and I made sure to shake the snow off our coats and boots near the door. We didn’t want to get Buck’s hardwood floors or his oriental rugs wet. While she moseyed around to look at the big antique furniture and expensive items, I checked out all the Christmas things he had until I found Buck to ask about the snowman.

Buck was tall and slender with coal black hair. He was in his late sixties and was very knowledgeable about the history of not only Normal, but of all the items in his shop.

“Mae West. How’s your first Christmas season in Normal?” Buck trotted down the steps. He had a stack of long johns in his hands.

“Surprising.” It was a word I’d found myself using a lot when people asked about Happy Trails over the last couple of weeks. “I never figured anyone would want to stay at a campground during winter. Especially with the big snowstorms we are projected to get.”

He folded and stacked the long johns into a tobacco basket he used for display near the front of the shop.

“I think it’s that people love to gather and enjoy each other. At least, I hope that’s what the campground offers. Which brings me to why I’m here.” I gestured over to the snowman. “I have a special camper coming. . .”

“That writer woman?” He asked, interrupting me. I guess the look on my face asked him how he knew. “Abby came in here like a jumping bean she’s so excited. Looking for a perfect gift for the woman. I had an old leather-bound book that she’s going to turn into some sort of flower vase. She mumbled about going on over to Sweet Smell Flower Shop to get this woman’s favorite flowers or something.”

“Oh, boy.” Abby was further gone than I had thought. “Abby is her biggest fan.”

“I gathered that.” He adjusted the pile of long johns and rubbed his hands together. “What about the snowman?”

“According to Abby, Nadine White - that’s the author - loves blow-up snowmen. I was wondering if I could either buy it or rent it from you to put in front of the camper she’s staying in over the Christmas holiday.” I had to admit it was super cute.

It wasn’t too big or too small. It was the perfect size for the camper she was renting.

“I also need some lights to go on the outside along with one of those multi-colored camper flag banners you sell.” I might as well go all out, which Abby said Nadine would love. “I do want to show her the hospitality Happy Trails and Normal have to offer. Maybe she’ll set her next book in a town like ours.” I fluttered my lashes, knowing Buck was a sucker for a southern gal.

My insides began to flutter. Was I climbing aboard Abby’s wagon and getting a little excited too?

“Oh, alright.” He shook a finger at me. “Just because I like you, Mae West.”

I stood near the window watching Buck make his way into the winter wonderland display he’d made. The snowman wasn’t easy to get out of the window, but Buck forged ahead. I heard the snowman’s fan turn off, followed by the sound of the round, white guy deflating.

A knock on the glass made me jump and look up. Bobby Ray Bond, my foster brother from when I was a kid who’d recently found me in Normal, was waving from the sidewalk. He was dressed in a pair of thick mechanic’s overalls, a knit blue cap, and a pair of snow boots.

I waved him in.

“May-bell-ine, what on earth are you doing out in this weather?” He scolded me, raking off his cap. What was left of his thinning, brown hair stuck up due to the static electricity from the hat. His brown eyes bore into me. “I don’t think it’s fittin’ for you to be out when there’s a storm coming.”

“I’m fine, Bobby Ray. I lived through all the people milling about New York City all those years. A little snow isn’t going to bother me.” I reminded him that he was no longer my protector even though he was the one who’d paid for me to get out of Kentucky the minute I turned eighteen.

I mean the exact minute after, which was in the middle of the night. He’d given me enough money to get me to New York and I’d made all the arrangements. I hadn’t looked back either. At least not until my ex and all that mess and his leaving me with the campground. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I’d actually found myself in love with being back in Kentucky.

I can’t say I was exactly thrilled when Bobby Ray showed up at Happy Trails looking for a job and a place to live, only because I didn’t want to relive my past. It was in the past and I didn’t like to live there. Bobby Ray had embraced the new me and I’d felt like we’d moved past the foster family days.

“Okay. If you say so. I’ve got to get back to work.” He slipped his hat back on his head. “I’ll see you, Buck,” Bobby Ray called out before he headed out the door and walked down Main Street towards Grassel’s Gas Station where he worked.

Bobby Ray was a great mechanic and it was just his luck that Joel Grassel had been looking for a good mechanic. I told him to look no further than Bobby Ray. He was the finest around. In Normal everybody brought their cars to him and he’d done right well for himself. He was a full-time resident there along with me, Dottie, and Henry, my maintenance man, Ty Randal and a few others. Other than that, the rest of the campers were intended to be rented for short periods of time. There were some bungalows nestled in the back of the campground, only they didn’t have heat, so those weren’t rentable for the winter.

“Here you go.” Buck handed me the snowman all neatly folded like he’d done the stack of long johns. The blower for the snowman, a box of outside lights, and the banner were all stacked on top of the deflated snowman. “ You just need to plug it in. The amps on the camper should be fine. It doesn’t take up too much electricity.”

He was talking about all the hookups and electricity required for the campers. Some of them required more since they were bigger and had more electric items, but the one Nadine’s agent had rented was a simple camper with not many amenities.

“You’re the best, Buck.” I took the snowman. “I can have it back to you after the New Year.”

“Nah, you keep it. But I do want to come to Christmas Dinner at the Campground.” He smiled. “I’ve got nowhere to be, so I figured I’d just show up there.”

“You got it. We’ve got some good food planned.” Each month I had a themed party at the campground.

It was originally for the campers’ enjoyment, but they had gotten bigger and bigger since the citizens of Normal had gotten involved and I’d invited them. Happy Trails had needed a lot of work when I moved here. It was broken and rundown. Nothing worked. With the help of many of the local businesses and donations, we were able to get it up and running again. There was a year long wait for a reservation now.

We were booked solid for the month of December, and I knew the Normal Diner would be closed on Christmas Day. It was the perfect time to host a Christmas Day lunch for anyone who wanted to come, but with the impending weather, I was hoping we would have electricity.

“Did you see Dottie upstairs?” I asked Buck, wondering where she’d disappeared to.

“Yep. She was trying on some new clothes I just received from an estate sale. I haven’t even gone through all of it yet. But she helped herself,” he said right before she appeared at the top of the steps.

“How much?” She had a plastic bag full of pink sponge curlers.

“Free. I don’t think anyone wants used hair curlers but you.” He laughed, shook his head, and pushed his hands down into the front pocket of his jeans. “I swear, Dottie Swaggert.”

“Let’s get out of here before the snow really starts to fall and we can’t get this snowman up in time.” I was more worried about getting the decorations up in time than the snow. “But first, I’m going to grab a small tree from the tree lot.”

I’d bought a small Ford to get me around since I’d parked my RV at Happy Trails. It was sorta a pain in the neck to move once you got situated. I had to take everything down, put it away, and secure it in order to drive it, so when Joel Grassel had a car I could buy, I jumped at the chance. I had a golf cart to use around the campground, but not in the snow.

 The little Christmas fir we picked out for the outside of Nadine’s camper fit perfectly on top of the Ford.

There weren’t many big highways around Normal. We were located in the middle of Daniel Boone National Park and Forest, which meant the roads were maintained by the county. This was a good thing since the National Guard was in charge and they kept the roads clear as best they could.

“It sure is coming down, Mae.” Dottie drummed her fingers along the door. “You be careful.”

“Don’t you worry. I’ll get you back in no time to get those new curlers in your hair.” I joked, but kept my hands steady on the wheel. One slick spot and we’d no doubt hit a tree. “It looks like they’re going to have to make a few passes on this road.”

I looked in the rearview mirror at the snow covering my tire tracks faster than my wheels could make them.

Dottie reached over and turned on the radio. The latest weather update was just coming on.

“The Bluegrass Airport is going to be shutting down in two hours. If you are on your way to the airport, be sure to check the status on any and all flights leaving out of or flying into the airport,” the woman said. “The snow is falling at a more rapid pace than we’d initially anticipated.”

I took it slow as I turned right into the campground’s entrance and under the Happy Trails Campground sign. The entrance was a long and windy gravel road that took you deeper into the park before you entered the clearing where the cute and cozy campground was located.

“I wonder if our famous camper is here?” Dottie asked a good question. She’d put her hands in her pocket and pulled out her cigarette case. “I’ll be happy to get in my house.”

“Did I make you nervous?” I laughed and drove further into the campground, passing the office building on the left and the storage units on the right before turning right onto the road that circled around the lake in the middle.

“You don’t make me nervous.” She had her door open before I could even stop the car in front of her camper. “This weather makes me cranky and achy.”

“Alright. Be on the lookout for our famous guest,” I told her. “Also, can you send a call out to Henry to meet me down at her camper, so I can get some help putting all this up?”

“Sure will!” She hollered and looked up at the sky. The snow was really coming down now. “You better hurry up or you’re going to turn into a snowman.”