Loving Annie

by Anna Huckabee

  “Go get Danny and we’ll carry these downstairs right now,” Annie said. She shoved the baby clothes out of the way. Behind them were three boxes marked ‘Christmas’ on the side. While she waited for Ava and Danny to return, Annie pulled the boxes forward and lifted them one by one.

  Danny tromped up the attic stairs behind Ava. “Miss Annie, Mrs. Norrington is at the back door. She wants to see you.”

  Annie handed Danny the lightest box and picked up the heaviest one. Ava carried the third. They set them on the floor in the front hall. Annie went to the kitchen to greet the next door neighbor.

  “Hello, Mrs. Norrington. How are you this cold afternoon?” Annie asked, smiling at the cranky old woman.

  Mrs. Norrington’s face was pulled into a perpetual frown. Annie had only met her once and she understood why the children were afraid of her.

  “I’m miserable. This cold makes my arthritis ache something awful.”

  “Would you like a cup of tea?” Annie refilled the pot and set it on the stove to heat. She wanted a cup, even if Mrs. Norrington didn’t.

  “Don’t mind if I do.” Mrs. Norrington sat at the table and waited in silence for the water to heat.

  Annie felt herself fighting not to squirm in discomfort under Mrs. Norrington’s scrutiny. She couldn’t fathom the reason for the visit and she couldn’t think of anything to talk about. Her mind strayed to the boxes of decorations she’d planned to sort this afternoon while Vivian and Darren slept. Instead, she sat here, in miserable silence, with a woman she barely knew.

  “Do you have plans with your family for Christmas?” Annie finally thought to ask.

  “Christmas is weeks away. I won’t make any plans yet. My son usually comes to visit with his family. His youngest son married in the summer and moved to California where they have jobs. I don’t know if my son will visit or not.”

  Annie was surprised at the length of the answer. She’d expected monosyllables. “We haven’t made plans yet, either.”

  “Yes. Well. It isn’t any of your business what plans this family makes, is it?”

  The teapot whistled before Annie could say anything. She jumped to move it before it woke the youngest two and prepared the pot of tea. She didn’t say anything while she poured them each a cup and set them on the table.

  “I’ve noticed you are staying the night with alarming frequency,” said Mrs. Norrington. “It isn’t proper. I’ve met your mother. She seems like a good Christian woman. I’m amazed she allows it.”

  “Mrs. Norrington…” Annie began.

  Ezra darted into the room. “Mama, Danny won’t let me be the pirate. He says I have to be the soldier. He won’t let me walk the plank.”

  “Ezra, I’m talking to Mrs. Norrington right now. You and Danny figure it out. Take turns. Maybe you can both be pirates and make each other walk the plank. Only don’t get hurt or jump off any furniture, okay?”

  Ezra’s face fell. “It isn’t as much fun if you pretend you’re walking off the plank on the floor. You can’t fall that way.”

  “Precisely,” said Annie. She pulled the boy into a hug. “Now go play and don’t fight.”

  “I thought you were their governess,” said Mrs. Norrington.

  “I was. I am. We finished school early this afternoon and I thought we’d start decorating for Christmas. They are almost caught up to where they should be in their studies so I felt they’d earned the afternoon off.”

  “He called you ‘Mama’. You’ve been staying the night here for the last couple weeks. Don’t think other people haven’t been noticing. It’s become quite the talk of the neighborhood.”

  Annie forced a smile and hoped it didn’t look strained. “Dr. Winslow and I were married at the beginning of the month, Mrs. Norrington. He needed someone here on a permanent basis for the children and we knew it wouldn’t be proper for me to stay if we weren’t married.”

  “Well I never!”

  Annie recoiled at the horror she saw on Mrs. Norrington’s face.

  “I thought he was more devoted to his wife than that. Here he is, running off with the first trollop who shows up after she dies!” Mrs. Norrington hadn’t touched her cup of tea. She shoved herself to her feet and made for the back door.

  Annie felt frozen in place. What had she done wrong? Was there anything wrong with Coren marrying again now that his wife had died? She’d been gone almost a year. Annie finally found her feet and her voice and followed Mrs. Norrington to the door.

  “Do you need help walking home? I can send Danny over with you.”

  “I’m an old woman, not an invalid,” Mrs. Norrington spat at Annie. She shoved her hands into her coat and stalked out the door before Annie could say anything else.

  Annie dropped into the kitchen chair. She took a long, fortifying gulp of tea.

  “Is she gone?” Coren’s voice came from the doorway.

  Annie almost jumped out of her skin. She gripped her chest and burst out laughing. “You startled me. I didn’t hear you come down the hall.”

  “That was intentional,” said Coren. He entered the kitchen and took the seat Mrs. Norrington had vacated. “I arrived home while she was visiting.”

  Annie snorted an unladylike laugh. “I’m not sure you’d call what just happened ‘visiting’. I think I was accosted.”

  “She does leave one reeling, doesn’t she? Sarah used to dread her visits.”

  “She didn’t like Sarah, either?”

  “She doesn’t like anyone. The only reason I ever let her stay with the children in the evening was because I had no other choice. Now I do.” He smiled significantly at Annie.

  “She didn’t touch that cup of tea, if you want it,” said Annie.

  Coren took a long sip. “The news will be all over the neighborhood by tomorrow morning.”

  “Better sooner than later, I suppose. I haven’t met many of the neighbors. Maybe we should plan our own visits so we can help shape public opinion of us.”

  “You mean, prove to them I’m not a cradle-robbing man who married a gold-digging woman?”

  Annie grinned at Coren. “I can hear her saying that! Yes. That’s exactly what I mean. Because, while you might be a cradle robber, I’m definitely not a gold digger.”

  And Coren laughed. A deep, rich sound. Annie loved it. She knew her surprise was written all over her face.

  “No, you aren’t a gold digger.” He sobered almost as fast as he’d started laughing. Still, the smile lingered behind his eyes, lending them a warmth Annie had never seen before.

  Coren finished his tea and stood to leave. “I’ll be in my office working on paperwork if you need me. I saw the Christmas decorations in the hall. Do you need help putting them up?”

  “I still need to look in the boxes and see what they contain. If you have to ask if I need help, I probably need it. Can you spare a few minutes after supper?”

  “Of course,” he said. “Are we getting a tree this year?”

  “Can we get a tree?”

  “I’ll see what I can find. I had a patient give us one last year. Maybe the same family will let us cut a small one on their property. I’ll ask. For you.”

  Annie felt herself flush with pleasure. “Thank you.” She watched his back as he walked up the hall. He’d thrown down a challenge — Annie wanted to hear him laugh again.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Dear Annie,

  Congratulations! I am so excited to hear you are married! I’m still not certain I understand all the details. But I hope you and your doctor are very happy. I know you are assuming a household that is already set up. You’ll need your own things to help it feel like your own home. I hope you enjoy the doilies and that they aren’t too dingy. If they are, a good washing should help. There’s so much dirt everywhere here. It’s in everything. I can never tell if things are truly clean or not. So you might want to wash them before you use them.

  All your talk of snow has made me homesick. How I wish it would snow here! I haven’t
seen snow in years! We’ve had a few flakes but not enough to do more than cover the ground and it melts as soon as the sun comes out. Everything is so dry.

  We have some good news of our own. We found out last week that Eric is going to be a big brother. Carl is hoping for a girl. I’m hoping for a bigger house. No, I don’t want to give birth to one. It would be nice to have one before the baby is born. Not that I’m ungrateful for the one we have. I just don’t know where we’re going to put another person, no matter how tiny they are to begin with. But right now we all must make do the best we can.

  Love,

  Emily

  P.S. Nellie Burke told me we could stay in their vacation home in Hollis whenever we visit. We’ve never visited. I know she’d be overjoyed for the house to get some use. It’s an easy drive from where you live. Let me know if you ever want a getaway for your new little family. The house would be perfect for you all and you’d be walking distance from the beach. Though you might want to wait until summer to enjoy it to the fullest. Hah!

  ∞

  Coren rarely drove anywhere these days. He could walk to see most of his patients. It saved gas and wear on his car.

  However, the day after they decorated for Christmas, he received a call from a patient he hadn’t seen in a long time. Julia Holme had been a friend of Coren’s grandmother. Her son, Eli had survived polio as a child. Coren had grown up visiting their small farm on the outskirts of town. He’d cared for Julia as she’d aged and Eli as he struggled with the after-effects of his childhood illness. He hadn’t seen them since Sarah died, but Eli had come to the funeral.

  His car coughed its way to a stop in front of the small house. Coren grabbed his bag and approached the house.

  “Dr. Winslow,” said a jovial voice from inside. “It’s been too long.” Eli pushed open the door to allow Coren to enter.

  “Yes, it has,” Coren said. He shook hands with the short, stocky man who’d greeted him. “How is your mom, Eli?

  “She’s resting. ‘Bout all she can do these days. She wanted to see you. We been wondering how you’re doing since Sarah died. That kind of loss is ‘bout unbearable.”

  Eli led the way into a warm living room. An elderly woman sat in an easy chair, bundled in blankets despite the warm room.

  “How are you, Mrs. Holme?” Coren asked, coming to the lady’s side.

  “I’m tired, doctor. Real tired. Eli helps me get around, but he’s doing more and more of it and I’m helping less.”

  Coren took her pulse and listened to her heart and lungs. “Everything sounds okay.”

  “Tell Eli, only thing wrong with me is I’m old.”

  “Mama, I’d feel bad if there was something else and I didn’t do anything to help.” Eli gripped his mother’s hand and sat next to her on a footstool.

  “I’m happy to come check. It puts my mind at ease, too,” said Coren.

  “How are those children of yours now they’ve lost their mother?” asked Mrs. Holme.

  “They’re better off than I am. I think they’ve already moved on.”

  “Don’t think that for a second,” she said. “They show it different than you.”

  “I got married again a few weeks ago,” Coren said. “They love my new wife.” Coren hesitated. He wanted them to understand how special Annie was. “She hasn’t tried to replace Sarah. She helps the children remember. Some of them have started calling her ‘mama’”

  “I’m happy for you!” said the old woman.

  Coren shook his head. “I married her so my children would have someone to look after them. I’m not sure she even likes me.”

  “She probably likes you more than she lets on. She’s waiting for you to take the lead.”

  Coren hadn’t considered this. He struggled to read Annie’s facial expressions or tone of voice. Sarah had been easy. They’d known each other all their lives. Most of the time, Coren felt like Annie was closing herself off from him.

  Mrs. Holme’s voice dragged him back to his present company. “Eli here was wondering about something else.”

  “I thought you might want a Christmas tree again this year, doc. We can hike out and see if there’s one that would fit in your living room.”

  “Thank you, Eli. I was going to ask if I could buy one from you.”

  “No need. We’d love to help make your house more festive for Christmas. It’s the least we could do for those kids and that new wife of yours.”

  Coren followed Eli into the woods, thankful he’d decided to wear his heavy boots. Eli’s limp had worsened over the years, despite the brace he wore on his bad leg. He leaned heavily on a walking stick as they hiked over brambles and fallen leaves on the path.

  “What about this one?” asked Coren. They’d reached a stand of pine trees. The one closest to Coren stood tall and narrow. Coren knew it would fit on top of the car and wouldn’t be too tall for the drawing room.

  “If that’s the one you like, we’ll cut it.” Eli hefted an axe in one hand and tried to manage the walking stick with the other.

  “Allow me,” said Coren. He took the axe. Eli pulled the top of the tree back to give Coren easier access to the trunk. A few good swings into the soft pine wood and the tree toppled the rest of the way on its own.

  They dragged it back to the house. Coren tied it to the top of the car. He poked his head into the hot living room before he left.

  “If you need anything, anything at all, call me and I’ll come. Any time of day or night. Okay, Mrs. Holme?”

  “I promise. Don’t be a stranger, young man. I wouldn’t mind meeting that new wife of yours.”

  Eli met Coren at the car. He handed him an oddly shaped bundle. “Mistletoe. Because it sounds like you need all the help you can get in the love department. Get that wife of yours under the mistletoe as often as you can this Christmas and see what happens.”

  Coren felt himself blush, but he laughed and took the mistletoe from Eli. “I’ll let the wife decide where to hang it. How about that?”

  “Whatever works.” Eli winked. “Merry Christmas, Doc. Thanks for checking on Mom.”

  “Anytime.”

  ∞

  The children were overjoyed when they saw Coren pull up to the house with the tree. They crowded around the car and tried to help untie it.

  “You found a Christmas tree!” Annie cried as she ran from the house. “I didn’t know if it would work out or not. I told the children not to get their hopes up.”

  “I need to take you to visit the Holmes. They’re the ones who gave us the tree. They want to meet you.”

  “I’d like that.” Annie’s cheeks were flushed, whether from the cold or excitement, Coren couldn’t tell. He wished he knew. But she looked lovely. Coren felt his own cheeks flush at his response to her looks.

  He handed Annie the bunch of mistletoe and she burst out laughing. “Did they send this, too?”

  Coren chuckled along with her. “They said we need all the help we can get.”

  Annie grew sober. “Yes. Well…” She let the word drift into nothing and turned back to the house.

  Had he offended her? Did she think they should avoid kissing under the mistletoe? Coren was at a loss to know what she was thinking.

  With Ava’s and Danny’s help, he got the tree off the car and into the house. Annie had a bucket set up and Coren rigged the tree to stand upright in the bucket, which Annie then filled with water.

  It only took them a few minutes to hang the decorations. Annie stepped back and admired the sparsely decorated tree.

  “It needs more stuff on it,” said Danny, frowning.

  “We’ll string popcorn and make paper chains for it,” said Annie, as if the nearly bare tree was nothing to worry about. “Everyone can make their own string. We could even make a string of buttons from the button box. You can put your favorites on it. Maybe we could paint some clay ornaments for it. Or make cookies to hang and we can eat them on Christmas.”

  She was an amazing woman. Instead of wor
rying because it didn’t look as festive as they wanted, she already had ideas to improve it. Coren felt that same lurch in his heart.

  “Mama hung the mistletoe, Papa,” said Ezra. “I helped her.” He pointed to the archway above Coren’s head.

  Annie met his eyes with a twinkle in her own. “And look who’s standing underneath it.”

  Coren tried to step into the room, but Ezra stopped him. “You have to kiss Mama now. She said it’s the rule.”

  “I can see where this might lead to arguments down the road,” Coren said as Annie approached.

  “Between us or between the children?” Annie asked, one eyebrow arched and her eyes filled with laughter.

  “The children of course. We might have to clarify the tradition.”

  “I like the tradition exactly how it is.” Annie’s eyes held a challenge. She was daring him to move, to stop her from kissing him.

  He found he didn’t want to.

  She caught his sweater, stood on her toes, and pressed her lips to his. They were warm and soft like he remembered from their wedding. Her hands slipped to his shoulders as she stepped closer to him. He caught her around the waist. He’d forgotten how wonderful it was to kiss a woman you loved.

  His breath caught at the thought and he stepped back, abruptly breaking the kiss. Surprise, then hurt flashed across Annie’s face. She forced a smile but it didn’t meet her eyes. All the children cheered.

  “See, Papa, I knew you’d love her, too,” said Vivian.

  Coren was reeling from the emotions tearing through his chest. There was no way he loved Annie. He barely knew her. His response to her was purely physical. What man could resist a beautiful woman who kissed him? He studied her face and watched her try to hide the hurt she felt because he’d jerked away from her. In those moments, he realized she was, indeed, a beautiful woman. Kind, gentle, patient. Traits he admired. Her dark hair and warm brown eyes helped, too.

  “I found some cocoa in the pantry that Aunt Kathryn must have left. Let’s go to the kitchen and I’ll fix everyone some hot cocoa. Then it will really begin to feel like Christmas around here.” Annie led the way from the room, followed by cheering children.