The Christmas Hope(38)
“I’ll do what I can,” Rory said, hanging up the phone. It was a long shot but fortunately, both Meghan and Nathan believed in them.
SEVEN
These are the hardest times, especially when those who are younger than you take their leave, and there are times when I forget and permit myself to think that I am in the midst of death. But this is not so. It is life that surrounds me. Life. Life that is meant to be lived, its riches to be extracted. No, the Lord’s promise is not for those who give up, but for those who forge ahead …
—Leonora Wood
I heard something in the kitchen at 6:30. I tried to move but my neck was stiff. Girl jumped to the floor and wagged her tail, pacing back and forth between the bed and the door. I managed to sit up and rolled my neck around. Emily was still sound asleep. I looked down at myself. I’d never slept in my clothes so much in my life! I was a mess. I opened the door and Girl bolted down the stairs. Mark was in the kitchen lining the island with shopping bags. He looked at me and his face said it all. He didn’t know if I was coming or going. “Is she sleeping?” he asked, whispering.
I told him she was. He pulled something out of a department store bag and held it up. “Do you think she’ll like this? She kept talking about queens and kings and I just thought she might. I don’t know.” It was a princess dress like the one in the catalog. It even came with a tiara and a pair of pink sequined plastic shoes. I couldn’t believe he’d bought it. He hadn’t seen the picture.
“She’ll go crazy over it,” I said. He started rummaging through other bags and pulled out a baby doll with two different sets of clothes and a stroller, an Easy Bake oven, a puzzle, and Magic Markers and paints. His face was beaming.
“What do you think?”
I was amazed. “When did you do all this?”
“On my way in to work last night. Will she like it?”
I couldn’t find the right words. “What little girl wouldn’t?” He scooped all the gifts into his arms and began to rummage through our hall closet. I knew what he was looking for. I picked up the roll of wrapping paper Roy had left for me and handed it to him. “Roy left this for us.”
Mark took his project into the den and closed the door. “Don’t let her come in here,” he said, opening the door a crack. Mark was excited about Christmas. I felt a rush of energy jolt through me. It was Christmas Eve! I had to get busy. I headed for the stairs when the phone rang.
“Hello, Mom,” I said, knowing it was her.
“I bought a turkey days ago,” she said. “What else can we do to help?”
“How long have you been waiting to call?”
“All night long, thank you for asking. Now are you going to tell me anything or am I going to have to play twenty questions?”
I laughed. “Emily’s still sleeping and I haven’t showered in two days. How do you and Dad feel about coming over here and helping me get some things prepared?”
“What are you making?”
“I have no idea.”
I could hear her mumbling something to Dad. “I’ve got ingredients for fudge, pecan pie, and enough stuff to make a small batch of English toffee. I’ve also got sweet potatoes, broccoli, veggies for a green salad, corn, yeast for rolls, and potatoes. How’s that sound?”
“So basically you have everything for a Christmas meal?”
“Basically.” We hung up and I ran for my Palm Pilot. I had to call Greta and Hal and invite them for Christmas before it was too late. The phone rang and rang and I groaned. Maybe they’d gone out of town to see their kids. A cracklyvoiced Hal answered.
“I’m sorry to bother you this early,” I said. “But we really want you to come over tomorrow for Christmas.”
“Hold on,” he yelled into the receiver.
“Why’d you answer the phone in the first place?” Greta said, taking it from him. “Sorry, he can’t hear anything without his hearing aids. Who’s calling?”
“It’s Patti,” I said, catching myself because I was still yelling into the phone. “We really want you to come over for Christmas to watch Emily open her gifts and to eat with us. Can you do it?”
“Oh, we’d love it. Thank you so much. I have some things for her and I found something that Tracy bought for her.” We talked over our plans and Greta asked again and again if she could bring anything but I declined. I just wanted them to enjoy the day with Emily. I hung up the phone and ran up the stairs for a shower. I jumped in and lathered my hair. I felt a small sensation fluttering in my heart. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was exactly but it felt like excitement. Despite the sadness and pain I wanted Emily to love Christmas so she would never dread it the way I did. I wanted to make this Christmas as special as I could for her … and for Mark and me. I turned the water off and stepped out of the shower when I realized I hadn’t sprayed down the walls or run the squeegee over the glass doors. Tomorrow, I thought, reaching for my towel. I dried my hair and put makeup on, taking extra time to do it well. I convinced myself that I didn’t want Emily’s memories to be those of spending Christmas with a hag, but deep down I knew I wanted to look pretty. For the first time in years I wanted to look as if I were alive.