Beach Blanket Santa

anyway. “Oh, I get it.” She nodded in slow understanding, studying Sarah in the mirror. “That’s like…getting-physical time, huh? You’re afraid.”
    “I most certainly am not afraid,” Sarah said, affronted. “I can…party with the best of them.”
    “I wasn’t talking party. I was talking dancing.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “Dirty dancing. You know, the two-to-tango kind. Lovers between the covers?”
    A picture of her and Matt under the huge down comforter flashed through her mind. She flushed, pushing the murky memory aside.
    “You have too much honeymoon on your mind,” she told Elaine.
    Elaine set down her glass, misty-eyed. “Yeah, maybe I do. Richard is such a tiger in the sack.”
    “Okay, up with you!” Sarah said, taking her friend by the elbow. “It’s almost time to march.”
    “Ooh, I love this part, don’t you?”
    “It’s special,” Sarah said with a warm smile.
    Elaine pulled her into her arms, and crinoline crunched. “You’re special.” She stifled a sob. “You’ve always been here for me. You’re such a good friend.”
    Sarah patted her back. “I love you too.”
    “I wish I could give you something for Christmas.”
    “You have. That beautiful bracelet.”
    Elaine pulled back from their embrace. “I gave one of those to all the girls. And you’re my maid of honor. I should have done something more.”
    “Just being here with you is enough.”
    “No, it’s not. What do you want?”
    “Want?”
    “Go on. Name it.”
    “Elaine, you’re getting married in eight minutes, I don’t think now is the—”
    “How about a vacation?” Elaine asked suddenly.
    “What do you mean?”
    “You love the beach.”
    “Like Hawaii?”
    “That’s a little hard to arrange last minute.”
    “I wasn’t asking you to!”
    Elaine’s face became alive with excitement. “Bring me my purse,” she said, pointing across the room.
    Sarah crossed to the small love seat that held it and returned with it to Elaine, perplexed.
    Elaine opened its clasp and extracted her key ring.
    “What are you doing?” Sarah asked.
    “Giving you my beach house,” Elaine said with a grin. “For the week.”
    Sarah loved the beach and adored Elaine’s cozy oceanfront cottage, but she couldn’t possibly accept it so last minute. She had family to see in Bethesda and other arrangements to take care of besides. “Oh, Elaine, that’s lovely, but—”
    Elaine removed one key from her ring, the one with the dangling fake sand dollar hanging on a chain. “You simply can’t refuse a gift from the bride. Especially on her wedding day.”
    Sarah thought of long walks on the beach…warm nights of reading by the fire… Elaine’s cottage was the perfect getaway. And after the hubbub involved in helping arrange this massive wedding, a peaceful retreat sounded good. Better than good, almost like heaven.
    “You don’t have to stay there for Christmas, silly. Just use it as long as you’d like. It’s my week, anyway. Otherwise it will go to waste.”

    Four hours later, Sarah saw the bridal bouquet hurtling in her direction like a rocket. Only this rocket had tiny jingling bells attached to its beautiful bright red ribbon. It had actually been Sarah’s idea to add this extra holiday touch to the already festive candlelit wedding. It was one week before Christmas, and the entire church had been bedecked in lush greenery, boughs of holly draped from the arm of every pew. Sarah met Elaine’s eyes in a panic as the flowers careened toward her. This was really happening. Elaine hadn’t even bothered with the pretense of tossing the thing over her shoulder. She’d just grinned and lobbed it straight at Sarah.
    Sarah swallowed hard as the musical menace closed in. Elaine’s earlier words rang in her ears. “You can’t drop it. That would be bad luck”. Sarah caught a glimpse of Jennifer standing in the wings and a sea of waving female arms outstretched. It was nearer now, just overhead and arching toward her. No! It was nose-diving to the floor! She had a split second to react and avert catastrophe. Sarah leapt skyward, and the weight of the flowers settled in her hands. There was a collective sigh from the guests, and then, after a split second of silence, a loud round of applause.
    Sarah’s cheeks burned. How she hated being the center of attention, particularly at moments like this. It was common knowledge she wasn’t seeing anyone, and folks would wonder why she’d stolen the