by Vivian Ward
“Don’t worry about whether you bought me anything. You’ve already given me the best present in my life: you and that sweet doll face who’s probably wondering when I’ll be there,” he laughed. “I’m going to jump off of here and get over there as soon as I can.”
I had just placed the ham in the oven when Dale knocked on the door. “Come in,” I yelled from the kitchen.
“Momma! It’s Dale!” Nevaeh exclaimed as her eyes widened, staring at the presents in his arms.
“Here, let me help you,” I offered, placing the gifts under the tree.
“I’ll be right back. I have to go back out for the dessert, but I wanted to bring the important stuff inside first.”
We had an excellent dinner, and afterward, we sat around sipping hot cocoa and coffee. Nevaeh couldn’t take her eyes off the brightly wrapped presents with big bows on top.
“Momma, could I open my present from Dale? Please, please, please?” she begged.
I looked at him and raised my eyebrows, asking if he cared. “Let’s see what he thinks.”
“Oh, go ahead!” he said as he retrieved a gift from under the tree. “Open this one.”
She tore into the package like a pro, after carefully removing the beautiful bow on top of the present. Her jaw dropped when she saw it was a Color Blaster.
Giddy with excitement, she yelled, “Look momma! Look! He got me a Color Blaster!”
“That’s awesome!” she exclaimed, giving her daughter a high-five.
“Would you like to open one of your presents tonight?” he asked me.
“If you want me to,” I said, snuggling up to him on the couch.
He reached under the tree and pulled out a square-shaped present, neatly wrapped with a ribbon tied around it. “I hope you like it.”
“I will because it’s from you,” I said as I carefully opened my gift.
I pulled out a cashmere sweater decorated with beautiful sequins. “Dale, this is so sweet,” I said as she nestled the sweater against my face.
“Thank you,” he said, kissing my forehead. “I thought maybe you could wear it to the benefit,” he said, hoping that I’d thought about it more and would accept.
“Actually, I was going to talk to you about that.”
He leaned in, waiting to hear my response.
“I think we’ll accept. It’s not something that I’m very proud of, but I thought a lot about it last night and I have to do it for her.”
“Do what?” Nevaeh asked.
“We’re going to have a benefit on your behalf and any money raised will help you and other children with your condition,” he explained to her.
“What’s a benefit?”
“Um, it’s kind of like the fundraisers that you have at school,” I explained, trying to relate it to something that she would understand. “You know how your class sold chocolate bars when your teacher was raising money for a class pet that you could all play with?”
Nevaeh nodded her head.
“Well, it’s kind of like that, only except the money will help pay for other little boys and girls who have the same thing you do. It will help pay for their testing, medicine and equipment that they might need.”
“And you’re going to do that for me?” Nevaeh asked Dale, shocked that she was so special to him.
“Absolutely! I have to tell you something, Nevaeh,” he knelt down before her. “You and your mommy mean the world to me. You’re such a big piece of my heart and I want to help you and other children with your condition in any way that I can. Do you wish to have a party next week?”
“Next week?” I asked, surprised it would be so soon.
“Yes, I thought we’d have a New Year’s Eve benefit. I can advertise on social media sites and have my assistant get in touch with some of our close friends and family. We can have some food catered, order a band and, of course, have our star guest at the party,” he said, turning his glance to Nevaeh.
“Can we? Can we mom? Huh? Please?” Nevaeh begged. She couldn’t wait to be the star guest at the big event.
I smiled before I finally agreed that we could. As the evening wore on, the three of us laid around watching classic Christmas programs on television until Nevaeh fell asleep.
“I feel so sorry for her,” Dale said once she was conked out on the sofa.
“I know. She can hardly get around at all. I take her for more testing next week; I just hope she doesn’t end up in a wheelchair before her tenth birthday.”
“Nah, that’s not going to happen,” he reassured me.
“I hope not, and I want to tell you how thankful I am that you’re doing this benefit for her. I know I was a pain in the ass about it at first and refused to go along with your little plan. But I did a lot of thinking and I decided that this was in her best interest. Sometimes it’s not all about me, it’s about her.”
“True,” he agreed. “I was wondering if it would be all right if I spent the night over here tonight. I have a lot more presents out in the car,” he confessed.
“You what?” I asked, confused and surprised.
“I know that you wanted her to have the best Christmas and you’ve been working so hard, but things just haven’t been working in your favor. I also wanted to make sure she had an awesome Christmas so I figured what could be better than two Santa’s?” he grinned.
“Of course you can spend the night, but you didn’t have to bring presents. I feel so sorry that I wasn’t able to get you anything,” I said again.
“Don’t worry about it. Really. You two are my presents. I couldn’t think of anything else in the world that I’d want more than you two. Now come help me carry in all of them,” he laughed as he joked around with me.
We tiptoed out the front door and out to his SUV. My eyes popped out of my head as I saw the entire hatchback filled to the rim with tons of presents.
“Oh, my God, Dale! You really didn’t have to do this!” I said as he lifted the trunk open.
“I know that I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. Here, take these and I’ll grab the bigger ones. After this trip, you just stand by the front door. I’ll bring them to you so you’re not out in this cold,” he said as the cold December wind whipped and cracked across his face.
We carefully placed each present under the tree until it was completely full. It was unbelievable how bare the tree had been only hours ago and now the presents were spilling out into the living room. We dozed off on the couch watching Christmas movies until they were loudly awakened by Nevaeh shrieking at the sight of all the presents that invaded their living room.
“Momma! He came! He actually came!” she shouted.
I opened my eyes, rubbing the sleep out of them as I nudged Dale, who was lightly snoring. “Dale, Santa came,” I announced, “Nevaeh’s ready to open her presents.”
His eyes popped open and a gleaming smiled spread across his face as he saw the excitement Nevaeh was trying to contain. Present after present, she tore into the wrapping paper with the speed of a Tasmanian devil. She was almost to the end of the presents when she became discouraged.
“What’s wrong baby?” I asked her.
“Nothing.”
“No, what’s wrong? You were so excited a few minutes ago. What happened?”
“He didn’t bring me the tablet I’d asked for.”
My heart sank, feeling as though I was the worst mom in the world. “Well baby, maybe he forgot it when he left the North Pole. Maybe I can get you one for your birthday,” I offered. Hopefully, by the time May rolled around, I can scrounge up fifty bucks.
“You still have some more presents,” Dale said, handing her another package.
Unenthusiastically, she unwrapped the next present as if she were bored to death with Christmas. With each passing present, she was tired of opening them. Her Christmas spirit was broken. I wish I wouldn’t have gotten her that other stuff. I should’ve just bought her the tablet. With only one present to go, Dale gave her the last package and announced, “L
ast one.”
She took the package and began joylessly tossing the wrapping paper to the side. Suddenly, she began tearing into it as she had with the very first present. I watched, confused as to why she was getting so excited.
“Momma! Look! Dale! Look! He didn’t forget it, momma! He didn’t!” she squealed.
“What?” I asked, confused.
“He did bring me a tablet! And it’s even purple, my favorite color!”
My jaw dropped. How could he have known? How would Dale had known that’s what Nevaeh wanted so badly? And did he really remember her favorite color or was it an accident that he just happened to buy a purple one? Either way, I was glad that he’d gotten her the tablet she so desperately wanted. I turned to him and mouthed the words, “Thank you” without making a sound. He nodded and smiled.
“Who’s ready for breakfast? I’m starving!” he called out.
“Me! I’m hungry!” Nevaeh said as she opened her tablet.
“I’ll make some cinnamon rolls while your mom helps you get that all setup,” he said as he walked into the kitchen.
On his way to the fridge, he peeked his head into the living where he spied Nevaeh and Kimberly working on her tablet, downloading the latest games and apps. It made him proud that he’d made her so happy. He reached for the can of cinnamon rolls and flipped them from his hand to his forearm and caught them mid-air as he made his way back over to the stove. Indeed, it was a good Christmas.
Chapter Eleven
The following week, Dale accompanied us to Nevaeh’s testing appointment. As we walked in and registered her, he told me to go sit with Nevaeh while he took care of things. Once I was an earshot away, he began talking to the receptionist behind the check-in desk.
§
“I know that Nevaeh already has a balance on her account. I’d like to pay that off and pay for all of her testings today as well, please.”
“Give me one moment while I look that up for you,” she said, looking over the top of her glasses while she pecked away at the keyboard.
The woman glanced at the screen, then to me and back at the screen. “Sir, are you sure you’d like to pay off the entire balance?”
“Yes, please.”
She did some more typing and finally said, “You do realize that with today’s testing, it will be several thousand dollars if you include all of her labs, right?”
“That’s fine,” I said, taking out my credit card.
“I’m sorry sir, but before we can accept your payment, we’ll need authorization from her mother to give you the exact balance. Is it okay if I call her over here?”
“Sure, I’ll do it for you,” I said and turned to the waiting area. “Kimberly, can you come here, please?”
She said something to Nevaeh before getting up and walking over to the counter.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“This man would like to pay your account balance, but we need your permission to give him the exact amount. Do I have your permission to do so?” the woman asked Kimberly.
“Yes, you have my permission.”
“Okay, sir that will be eight thousand, fifty-three dollars and twenty-nine cents, please.”
Kimberly almost fainted when she heard the balance. “Why is it so high? My last bill was only for a few thousand.”
“That bill,” the receptionist said while scanning the computer screen, “was only for the MRI and X-rays. It shows in the computer that we just mailed you a statement for the radiologist fee, the appointment, and her labs. The insurance did their part, the rest is your responsibility.”
“Oh, my,” Kimberly said, taken aback. “Dale, you don’t have to do this. It’s too much.”
I placed my hand on hers and said, “It’s fine. Let me do this for you.” He proceeded to give the receptionist his credit card and asked her to run the whole balance.
“Thank you, sir. Would you like a receipt?”
“Yes, please.”
The woman printed the receipt on the noisy printer and tore it from the serrated edge before handing it to me. “Thank you for your payment. You’ll be called back shortly.”
“Thank you, and Miss?” I grabbed her attention. “Please keep that credit card on file and bill any future expenses to it.”
The woman nodded and bid me a good day.
§
I was beside myself as I thought of how much he had just paid on Nevaeh’s medical bills. I couldn’t believe that the bill had gotten so high so quickly. That is outrageous. I should’ve stayed in school and became a damn doctor. As much as I hated to admit it, knowing that bill was no longer over my head lifted my spirits, almost enough to make me feel guilty for taking the money—almost. Maybe then I wouldn’t be in this situation, but at least now all this portion is paid for. As we waited to hear her name be called, Nevaeh remained quiet in her seat as she played with her new tablet.
“Nevaeh Harris,” the short, round redheaded woman called her name.
“I remember you!” Nevaeh told her as they headed back to the MRI room. “You were here last time I came in. Look what I got for Christmas!” she said, holding up her tablet.
“Wow! That’s nice! Oh, and it’s purple. I like purple too,” the woman said, making small talk as she prepared a gown for her.
Nevaeh looked at Dale and smiled, “He bought it for me,” she said, pointing at him.
“Well that was awfully nice of your daddy to do that,” the woman said.
She glanced down at the floor. It made her sad that she didn’t have a dad. “He’s not my daddy. Dale is my mom’s boyfriend.”
I could tell that it made Dale sad to hear her say that. There was no doubt in my mind that he didn’t love that little girl like his own. And my family was really beginning to accept him and welcome him into our family. I even wished, for a moment, that he was her dad and had been in her life from the very start.
“I’m sure he’s a great guy,” the woman said, praising Dale for being there for the little girl.
Nevaeh quickly agreed, “He is! He’s the best guy my mom’s ever met!”
We all began laughing. “Okay sweetie, I need you to slip into this—we’ll give you some privacy, and then it’ll be the same as last time, all right?”
“Okay,” she said.
This time, she wasn’t as scared or nervous. She bravely changed into the hospital issued gown and waited on the motorized table. Within a few moments, the technician appeared in the glass of the adjoining room and asked if she was ready to begin.
“Where’s my mommy and Dale?” she asked, still sitting on the table.
“They’re in the hallway. Do you want me to get them for you?”
“Yes,” she answered.
The attendant came out and asked us slipped into the room to encourage and support Nevaeh.
“What’s wrong baby? Do are you scared again?” I asked her.
“No, I just wanted a kiss and a hug before they got started. You don’t have to wait in here with me. I’m not scared anymore.”
After our hugs and kisses, we joined the radiologist in the adjoining glass room and talked to her as she traveled through the scanner. The technician turned off the microphone momentarily before telling me, “You’ve got one brave girl out there. I bet you’re a proud momma! She’s so tiny, yet so strong.”
“Thanks,” I replied. “I prayed to my dad and asked him to be with Nevaeh today and to help us make her better.”
Dale smiled down at me; he had no idea that I’d spoke to my father. I’d never mentioned it before.
The technician turned the microphone back on. “Are you still doing okay in there honey?” she called out to Nevaeh.
“Yes,” she replied, still holding very still to allow the images to remain clear while she spoke.
“Good, you’re almost finished. Just a few more minutes and then we’ll get you over to have you X-rays taken.”
When the scan was complete, the motorized table retracted from the unit a
nd slid Nevaeh out into the open room. The radiologist escorted us into the room with a wheelchair and hauled her over to X-ray. Once we were out of X-ray, we had to make one more pit stop along the way: the lab. Nevaeh hated needles and having her blood drawn, but she knew that it was necessary to find out more about her condition.
A few days later, Dale came over to pick us up to go to the benefit. He noticed that I was wearing the lovely cashmere sweater he had given me for Christmas and smiled as he commented on it.
