A Snow Globe Christmas Read online

  2

  It seemed like the entire staff of the hospital had crowded into the cafeteria for the Secret Santa gift giving event. Brett Taylor stood at the back of the room, leaning against the wall, trying to look relaxed, like football players and movie stars did. Brett only felt self-conscious. The confident onlooker wasn’t a look he’d ever managed to pull off. Giving up on trying to be cool, he stood upright and pushed his horn-rimmed glasses up his nose. They always slipped down, and it drove him crazy.

  He watched as people he barely knew received gifts from people they barely knew. His accountant’s brain rather approved of Secret Santa. It was a nice idea, that everyone gave just one gift, and that the donor was anonymous. It meant that people didn’t have to spend a fortune on silly, meaningless gifts for a bunch of people. They could spend a little bit more and get something worth having for just one person. But, though Mariner’s Hospital was quite small, it was large enough that people didn’t always have a chance to work together regularly. So too often people got gifts that held no relevance to their life either here at the hospital, or outside it.

  It was clear that whoever had gotten Brett’s name this year had been one of those who didn’t know him too well, though in their defense, they had tried. He’d been forced to smile and look delighted when he opened a gift containing a box set of Verdi operas. Brett loved music. In fact he adored it. He was a huge fan of almost all kinds of music–except opera. For him it was too dramatic, too overblown. Too loud.

  But, just the same, he was touched that someone had so clearly done their best to please him. He was sure they must have asked around and found out that he went to classical concerts and recitals and put two and two together to get five. It was an easy mistake to have made. He’d go and exchange them for something a little more to his taste. At least the giver had been kind enough to get a gift receipt!

  Dr. Gideon’s name had just been called and the stern-looking head of cardiology stepped forward to take his gift. He looked a little disgruntled by the small, slim package, clearly not expecting much from anything so small and insignificant. He ripped it open impatiently, and then Brett grinned as the crusty old cardiologist’s face lit up. “Well, whoever got me this is an excellent sleuth.” He waved the voucher up in the air in delight. “My wife may never forgive you, but, I will be grateful forever.”

  A few people in the cardiology department gathered around him, and everyone seemed amazed that someone had given such a serious man a voucher for an introductory diving experience. It was clear that Dr. Gideon was delighted, though.

  Only one person Brett knew in the hospital could possibly have known such a thing about the man, and right enough, when Brett looked over at Kelsey, she was blushing a little at the outright success of her gift. On seeing her pleasure, Brett couldn’t help smiling, too. She was so gorgeous when she was happy, though if he was honest, Brett thought she was perfect no matter what mood she was in.

  As more gifts were given, a few of the staff disappeared, back to their patients and their work. A few more arrived, having been relieved by those returning. As a member of the administrative team, heading up the finance department, Brett was one of the few people able to see the gift giving in its entirety. He watched Annie Coulson, Kelsey’s best friend, rip open one of those snazzy cosmetics cases that makeup artists used. It was bright pink and she was clearly delighted with it. He wondered if that was a gift someone had asked Kelsey for advice about and concluded it must have been since it was just too perfectly matched.

  Brett knew that a few of the staff had asked Kelsey’s advice on what to give. Despite having only worked here for just over two years, she knew many people no matter which department they were from. And more impressively, she seemed to know many people very well. Brett supposed it was because she often volunteered to work extra shifts on almost any unit that needed help. When people commented on her ability to understand people, Kelsey vowed it was just because she listened. She said everyone gives clues when they talked, but Brett had never known anyone quite like her. She always got it right.

  But the pile of brightly wrapped packages was dwindling, and still Kelsey hadn’t received a gift. Surely she hadn’t been forgotten? After all, she was one of the people who gave the most to make this event such a success and if anyone deserved a super special gift in was Kelsey.

  He’d never known anyone like her, and he wished he had the courage to tell her so. But, it was clear she had relegated Brett to the friend zone. He was glad to have even that much of her affection, but it didn’t stop him wishing that one day she would notice how much he cared, and how good for her he would be.

  “And that brings our gift giving to an end for another year,” Dr. Gideon announced. “I’d like to thank Kelsey, as always, for heading up the event committee. Thank you again to my Secret Santa for my insightful gift. Now, I may not see some of you again until the New Year and to all of you lucky enough to have that time off, I wish you a wonderful Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year. But, for those of us who will be here, I have arranged a small gathering on Christmas Eve when I will be making a little announcement. Whatever time you are on shift, you can stop by the conference room on the second floor for nibbles and so forth.”

  He paused and looked around him. People were smiling. Brett was pretty sure that his announcement would be that he would be taking over the running of the hospital in March when Dr. Klein retired. Brett was convinced that if he ran the entire hospital the way he had run the cardiology department they would be in good hands.

  “And for those of you here on Christmas Day, I’ve arranged for Carluccio’s to deliver a little Christmas dinner,” Dr. Gideon added, a look of delighted pleasure on his craggy face. Everyone gasped. Carluccio’s was one of the nicest restaurant in town. It was the sort of place people went to for special occasions only since it was expensive and quick reservations were hard to come by. It was a very generous gift indeed, and one that would no doubt reduce the sting of having to be away from family and friends for holiday celebrations.

  Brett glanced over at Kelsey again, and could see that she was trying to put on a brave face, to look pleased at the announcement, but it had clearly hurt her that she had been forgotten by her Secret Santa. Not wanting to see her hurt, Brett slipped out of the cafeteria and hurried to his office. He hadn’t intended to give Kelsey her gift until Christmas Eve, but he couldn’t bear for her to feel bad. He opened the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out the elaborately wrapped box inside.

  It was heavy. He pulled off the tag and hurried to write out a new one, disguising his handwriting as best he could. He wrote a quick message, having remembered something Kelsey had told him about her childhood, then signed it with a flourish. Praying he’d make it to the nurses station in the Emergency and Urgent Care Center before she did, he tucked it under his arm like a football and ran down the stairs, along the corridors, skidding around corners in his haste.

  Breathless, he shoved the gift onto the shelf under the urgent care center’s reception desk, having a sudden last-minute panic that Kelsey might guess it was from him, simply because of the message he’d written. But, he didn’t have time to change it now, as Annie and Kelsey had pushed the double doors open and were headed his way. Annie had her arm around Kelsey’s slender waist, and it was clear from Kelsey’s red eyes that she’d shed at least a few tears. Brett felt a surge of anger towards whoever it was who’d forgotten her. Kelsey of all people deserved better.

  “Hey Brett,” Annie said, a teasing tone in her voice. “What’s a pencil pusher like you doing down here where all the action is?” Brett didn’t doubt that Annie had worked out just how he felt about Kelsey a long time ago, but though she teased she was good enough not to be too overt about it.

  “I came to collect the audit, if it’s done?” Brett said quickly, making it look like he was rifling through the piles of files on the counter, trying to find the one he needed.

  Kelsey frowned. “That
darn thing had me going half crazy,” she said, reaching over the desk and picking up a blue file from a metal in tray by the computer. She handed it to Brett, and her fingers brushed against his briefly. He felt a shiver rush up his arm, making it feel as though the hairs on it were standing on end.

  “Are you okay?” he asked her, trying hard to ignore the peculiar sensations flooding through his body. After all, it was hardly her fault he over-reacted to her slightest touch. It wouldn’t be right for him to make things awkward between them.

  She smiled up at him a little wanly. “Sure. I’m fine.”

  “No, she’s not, Brett,” Annie said giving Kelsey a quick squeeze. “She got forgotten by her Secret Santa and I’m fuming. After everything she does for everyone in this place you’d think people would be a bit more considerate.”

  “Oh, it doesn’t matter. What if whoever got me is having a tough time, or simply forgot what day it was? Maybe they’re off sick.” Kelsey gave a smile and took a deep breath. It was so typical of her, to always look for the good in everyone. She never had a bad word to say about anyone.

  “It’s possible,” Brett said cautiously wanting to reassure Kelsey, but not anger Annie further. “And, remember Joe Abrams left since we did the draw. Maybe he got you and it slipped his mind to leave a gift behind?”

  “Of course,” Kelsey said, her smile was starting to seem more sincere. “I’d completely forgotten that Dr. Abrams had moved to Miami. That must be it.”

  Annie frowned. “Really? The man who’s his own biggest fan? Sounds just like him to forget to be a decent human being.”

  Brett fidgeted awkwardly. He wasn’t ever entirely sure how to take Annie. She could be serious as anything, but her humor was so dry that it was hard to make out if she was being straight up or joking.

  Kelsey frowned momentarily but didn’t remark on the comment. Instead she moved behind the desk and began leafing through the files on the counter. “Well, I don’t know about the two of you, but I have got a lot of work to do.” She picked up the files and was about to head off towards the patient bays with them when she stopped, her eyes focused on the shelf under the desk. Brett tried hard to suppress a smile. She’d seen the gift. Placing the files neatly back onto the counter, Kelsey crouched down to pick up the gift.

  “This wasn’t here before,” she said looking at the other side of the tag. “To Kelsey, everyone’s ray of sunshine, may your Christmas dreams come true. With love, Mrs. Claus.”

  “Oh, gag!” Annie put her fingers in her mouth and mimed that she was gagging on the saccharine sweet sentiment, but it was clear that she was delighted that her friend hadn’t been forgotten, after all. Kelsey ran her fingers over the wrapping, coiling the ribbons around the tips of her fingers, her eyes looking bright with unshed tears he prayed were one’s of happiness. It was just the sort of reaction he had hoped for.

  “Maybe Joe didn’t forget after all?” Brett posited. “You should open it. Pretty wrapping.”

  “Definitely pretty. Maybe he didn’t forget,” Annie said drily, giving Brett a strangely appraising look. He felt as though she could see right through him and he was sure that she knew that he was the one who had left the gift here for Kelsey to find, to cheer her up. He urged her with his eyes to not tell, then realized there was no way she’d know what he was trying to ask her. For all Annie’s many skills, as far as Brett knew she was not a mind reader.

  “Well, should I?” Kelsey asked. “It doesn’t strictly say it’s from my Secret Santa. You know, in my family we always talked about Mrs. Claus, rather than Santa. I think even when we were little we knew it was Mom who was busy making everything special for us and not some old man in a red suit. I don’t remember telling him about that, though.”

  “I do,” Annie said. “You told us all about it at the Christmas lasagna evening last year. I’m pretty sure Joe was sitting with us when you did.” Brett breathed a sigh of relief, but not for long, as Annie turned and gave him a searching look. “You remember that, don’t you?”

  “Maybe, I’m not sure. You know my memory. I can remember a string of numbers, but sometimes details of parties get by me.” He looked at Annie with a quick frown. “Now, are you going to open it, or not?”

  She grinned and began to carefully peel back the tape. It always amused him how careful she was. She didn’t want to rip even the tiniest bit of paper, and when she had unwrapped the gift, Brett knew that she would carefully fold up the wrapping paper and keep it. It was why he’d chosen the vibrant metallic red paper. He knew it was her favorite color, especially at Christmas time and that the shiny paper would match the decorations on her tree. Something told him she’d re-purpose it in some creative fashion.

  In so many ways, it broke Brett’s heart that she could be so easily pleased. The idea that the self-absorbed and arrogant surgical doctor, now newly-made department head at The University of Miami Hospital, could possibly have bought her a gift–especially when he’d had the perfect excuse not to do so—was almost laughable. Yet, it would at least save Brett having to explain why he’d gone to such lengths to ensure she never knew that Joe Abrams hadn’t given her a second thought before or after he left the Mariners. He was better off to keep his mouth shut, as he was sure that Kelsey would never see him as anything other than a friend.

  Having neatly folded the paper and put it to one side, Kelsey smiled as she hurried to open the lid and lift out the gift inside. It was wrapped in bubble wrap and a few of the bubbles popped loudly as she did so, causing a couple of passersby to jump and look round. Kelsey gave them an apologetic look, then peeled away the wrap, to reveal the snow globe inside. She twirled her wrist elegantly, to set the snow furling around the glass sphere and set it on the counter. “Oh, it’s so lovely,” she sighed with a nostalgic smile as she brought the glass sphere up to her eyeline to look at all the details of decorated Christmas tree inside.

  Brett had taken a lot of time when choosing it and had tried to picture the photographs of Kelsey and her family outside their house. The glittering tree stood in the big picture window behind them and she’d mentioned before how much she loved their Christmas trees. The snow globe had cost him a fortune, but it was worth it to see the look of absolute joy and delight on her face right now. He felt a lump form in his throat, as he tried to choke back his own emotional response to the moment.

  Brett often wondered if Kelsey knew how lovely she was and most of the time he was sure she didn’t. Especially now, she was radiant. The special and thoughtful gift had brought a blush to her cheeks and a sparkle to her eyes. He suddenly wished he could tell her that he’d been the one to give it to her and not the egotistical surgeon she thought it was.

  He’d fallen for her the very first moment he’d seen her, when she walked into the administrative offices for her interview. He’d prayed she’d be hired and had been delighted to see her when she walked into the conference room for her orientation session a few weeks later.

  “It’s the perfect Christmas tree. Just like the one we used to put up every year when I was a kid. Gosh, I’d love to spend my holidays there every year. I wonder how Joe knew how much I miss the snow.” She tilted her head to the side as she shook the snow globe again and watched the white flakes settle at the bottom one more time.

  Brett’s heart soared as he saw the tear in her eye and silently berated himself for allowing the credit for his gift go to another man. But he also saw that she did contemplate going home to Connecticut and never return. He had worried about this more than once. She truly missed the place where she had grown up, as well as her family and friends. Florida would never be the place she stayed and settled, no matter how much she professed to love it. Brett wondered how long he and Annie had before they lost her.

  3

  Kelsey didn’t stop beaming all afternoon. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d received a gift as perfect as the gorgeous snow globe with the beautifully decorated Christmas tree that was just like the one she recalled from
her childhood. It would look perfect right in the very center of her coffee table. Kelsey could hardly wait for her shift to come to an end so she could place it where it belonged, surrounded by pictures of her family playing and laughing around the real thing.

  When she finally made her way home cradling it in her arms, she couldn’t stop thinking about Joe’s generosity. She knew that Secret Santa was supposed to be anonymous, but she wanted him to know just how much she loved the gift, and the trouble he must have gone to, to get it for her. Dr. Joe Abrams had always been a bit of a patient favorite as he was handsome and could be very charming, but most of the nurses had dismissed him as being superficial and cold.

  Kelsey wondered if maybe they’d all misjudged him. She couldn’t deny that she’d be glad if they had. She’d secretly always harbored a little crush on the guy and was sure he couldn’t have really been as bad as he’d been painted.

  She fumbled in her pocket and pulled out a battered old phone and started scrolling through the numbers, figuring he probably hadn’t changed his number when he moved to Miami. She found it just as she reached her car. Clicking to unlock it, she opened the door and put her beloved snow globe onto the passenger seat. She patted it fondly as she dialed Joe’s number. He’d most likely be in surgery, but the least she could do was leave him a thank you message.

  As Kelsey had expected, it went straight to his voicemail. “Hey Joe, it’s Kelsey Patrick from Mariner’s. I really hope you’re loving the new job. I just called to thank you so much for leaving your Secret Santa gift before you left. You didn’t have to do that but it means a lot to me that you did. And I can’t tell you how much I love the snow globe. Take care of yourself, hope we’ll see you back again sometime soon.” She paused. “Oh, and if you’re free, don’t forget everyone’s coming to my house tonight for food and drinks. I know it would be a bit of a trek for you now, but you’re so welcome if you can make it.”