“Mistletoe. Authentic mistletoe. This time Joy assured me, and I was thinking... After my holiday overtime is through and Joy’s back at her job in France, I’ll be getting Molly and Jeremy for two weekends in January.”
“Right. I understand.” I nodded, ready to be patient. “You’d like to visit with them alone.”
“No, Clare. I was thinking this time you could join us. We could go ice skating or see a movie or drink frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity. What do you say? You think that’s a good plan?”
“No, Mike. I think that’s a great plan.”
“We’re on, then...”
“Oh yeah, we’re on.” I moved closer then. Much closer. Into the man’s lap, actually. “So when exactly were you planning on using that mistletoe?”
“I was waiting.”
“For what?”
He tapped his watch. “Midnight.”
I glanced at the clock on the wall. Both hands had just reached twelve. It was officially—
“Merry Christmas, Clare.”
“Merry Christmas, Mike.”
Then the mistletoe was above my head and the gift of love, at last, was right in front of me.
Dear Editor: I am 8 years old... tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?
—Virginia O’Hanlon,
115 West Ninety-fifth Street,
New York City
...Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. . . There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence... No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives, and he lives forever....
—Francis P. Church,
New York Sun, Sept. 21, 1897
Excerpted from one of the most reprinted newspaper editorials in history.
Afterword
The Traveling Santas may have been my own fictional invention for the plotline of this novel, but there are many worthy holiday charities that really do exist. Here are two I’d like to tell you about...
More than one hundred years ago, New York City postal clerks (in what was then known as the Money Order Division) dug into their own pockets to answer Santa’s mail and purchase food and toys for children who faced the unhappiness of an empty Christmas stocking. Over the years, as the letters increased, the post office opened the program to the public.
Now Operation Santa Claus is an annual program sponsored by the New York Post Office. Letters addressed merely to “Santa Claus” are delivered to the Operation Santa section, where they are opened by postal employees and made available between December 2 and 24 for the public to answer. In recent years, the program has expanded to U.S. post offices in California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.
To find out more about the U.S. Post Office’s Operation Santa Claus program and whether it’s expanded to a city near you, contact your local post office with questions. To find the physical address and phone number of your local post office, visit www.usps.com.
Until I wrote this book, I had no idea how or when the Salvation Army’s street-corner collectors began ringing their Santa bells and collecting change in their ubiquitous red kettles—as sure a sign of the holiday season in New York as the lighting of Rockefeller Center’s Christmas tree.
According to the Salvation Army, the red kettle’s origin dates back to 1891 when one of their members named Joseph McFee was distraught because so many poor individuals in San Francisco were going hungry. He resolved to provide a free Christmas dinner for the poverty-stricken of the city, but where would he get the money to feed a thousand of the city’s poorest people on Christmas Day?
McFee found the solution in a past memory of his days in Liverpool, England. He recalled people throwing change into a large iron kettle to help the poor. Because the pot had been placed near a landing where boats came in, McFee put a pot just like it at the Oakland Ferry Landing at the foot of Market Street. He soon had the money he needed.
Six years later, the kettle idea spread to Boston and New York, then to other cities around the United States, Europe, and beyond. These days, according to the Salvation Army, they assist more than four and a half million people during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season.
The millions of dollars’ worth of change they collect is used to aid needy families, seniors, and the homeless. Donations provide Christmas dinners, clothing, and toys for families in need. Volunteers distribute gifts to shut-ins in hospitals and nursing homes, and shelters are open for sit-down dinners.
Now that you know the red kettle’s history and its role in helping so many in need, I hope you’ll join me in being a “Secret Santa” every time you pass one.
Recipes & Tips from The Village Blend
Visit Cleo Coyle’s virtual Village Blend at www.CoffeehouseMystery.com for coffee tips, coffee talk, and bonus recipes for—
* Clare’s Panettone-Inspired Coffee Cake
* Nonna’s Traditional Italian Struffoli (with step-by-step photos)
* Matteo’s Italian-Style Fried Shrimp with Garlic-Mayo Dip, and more...
As a holiday gift to my readers, I’ve expanded this section to serve as a handy little primer—essentially a mini-book—on coffeehouse terms and drinks, including recipes for making your own coffee syrups and Fa-la-la-la Lattes! In the second part of this section, you’ll find additional holiday recipes courtesy of Holiday Grind’s cast.
(Photos for many of these recipes can be found at my Web site: www.CoffeehouseMystery.com.)
During my own Italian upbringing, food and drink were essential in celebrating the holidays. ’Tis the season for feasting. May you eat and drink with joy!
Happy Holidays!
Cleo Coyle
barista—A trained espresso bartender.
espresso—A concentrated coffee drink made by forcing a small amount of hot water under high pressure through a puck of finely ground coffee beans. Experimentation with creating an espresso machine began in the nineteenth century, but it wasn’t until the early twentieth century that the Italian inventor Luigi Bezzera resolved early problems with the device and patented it. The Italian company La Pavoni began manufacturing a slightly upgraded version, and the drink began following Italian immigrants, who popularized it in each country they settled. Throughout the twentieth century, engineers continued to improve the device’s design. The most significant improvement came in the 1940s from Giovanni Achille Gaggia. His lever-operated piston machine was able to consistently produce pressure high enough to create the signature crema—the creamy foam that today’s espresso drinkers now expect to see. Gaggia essentially invented the modern-day espresso.
Meanwhile, in 1933, a home method for making espresso coffee was invented by Alfonso Bialetti, an Italian engineer who ran his own metal and machine workshop. Although the result is not considered a “true” espresso with crema, Bialetti’s Moka Express stovetop pot nevertheless produces a bold cup that Italians have enjoyed for generations.
espresso blend—A blend of coffees, often from different regions, especially for use in an espresso machine. There is no definitive espresso blend. Creating coffee blends is a culinary skill, and roastmasters create their own unique blends.