Christmas Angel

by Regina Duke

  Laura glanced at the wall clock. “Sorry I took so long. I love solving problems.”

  Jed smiled. “So I noticed. I added that to your ‘Skills’ section. Do I have to take this monster back to the store?”

  “Oh, no. Everything’s fine. You have some old software that won’t work with the new operating system. Everything wants to be updated. I hope you don’t mind, but I installed the free updates for you. The tricky part will be making your office system software work properly with the new OS.”

  Jed looked hopeful. “Can you do that for me?”

  Laura shrugged. “It’s four o’clock. It’ll take longer than an hour.”

  “Monday morning then? You can consider this your first temp job.”

  Austin and his little friend were getting cranky. The woman came out to the coffee station and lifted the cookie plate. “Mr. Angel? Is it okay if Austin has a cookie? Bridget won’t get dinner until six.”

  “Cookies are fine. Say, Daniela, you’ve been having a rough time with this new computer, right?”

  She nodded.

  “This is Laura. She’s going to work with us next week, showing us all the new stuff and getting everything ready for after the New Year.”

  Daniela’s face lit up. “That’s wonderful! Does this mean I can take Thursday off?”

  “Of course,” said Jed. “I can handle Christmas Eve alone. We’ll learn as much as we can with Laura the first part of the week. Bring Bridget with you. I’ll make sure the kids have games to keep them occupied.” He turned to Laura. “School’s out for Christmas break and Daniela’s after-school babysitter is going to visit relatives.”

  Laura sipped her soda. The cold bubbles reminded her how thirsty she was. She realized she hadn’t had lunch, either.

  And it looked like Jed was checking her out as she stretched.

  But there was that darned wedding band.

  Oh, well, as a boss, he seemed pleasant, and he was certainly easy on the eyes.

  “I guess I’ll be going then,” she said.

  “Let me give you a couple of forms to fill out so we can hit the ground running Monday morning. And if you don’t mind,” he lowered his voice, “would you take Austin’s letter? So I can tell him I mailed it?”

  “Of course.” Laura smiled. “I’d be happy to.”

  A shadow flitted across Jed’s face.

  Laura couldn’t quite decipher it. Sadness? Irritation?

  Jed said, “He asks for the same thing, Christmas, birthdays, always the same.” He shook it off and took a breath. “Oh, say. Since you’re a new employee, would you be interested in filling a couple of requests from the tree? I mean, if I wasn’t offering you a job, I wouldn’t think of having you take one, but I’d be glad to reimburse you if you could do some of the shopping.”

  “The tree?”

  Jed led her over to the Christmas tree. “It’s for the kids of my clients. A lot of them are looking at a limited Christmas. The parents are working, but often their temp positions don’t pay what they were making before. Many get hired on as full-time employees, once their temp bosses get to know them. But until then, things are tight. So I have paper angels on the tree where the kids can make their Christmas wishes.”

  “That’s a wonderful idea,” said Laura. She remembered her own meager Christmases as a child. Her mother worked as a waitress in a coffee shop and her dad, well, he would make appearances at Thanksgiving sometimes to eat with them, but he never showed up at Christmas or birthdays. She collected herself. “I’d love to take some.”

  “I’ll do these three if you’ll do those two. How’s that? The gifts don’t have to be expensive, and if the child asks for something impossible, just pick out something you think they’d enjoy. It’s all coming from Santa,” he whispered, as little Austin and Bridget ran through the room, fueled by their Christmas cookies.

  Laura nodded. “I understand. This will be fun.”

  Jed hesitated before speaking.

  Laura knew that look. “You want to ask me something?”

  “Ummm, well, Austin and I were going to dinner at Denny’s because it’s so kid friendly. Would you like to join us? I might be able to upgrade to a pizza place?”

  Laura dropped her gaze to the floor. “Is that wise? I mean, I’ll be working for you starting Monday.”

  “Oh. Right.” His disappointment was palpable. “Sorry about that.” He handed her an I-9 and a W-4. “We’ll see you Monday, then. That second phone number is my cell, in case you have a question or an emergency come Monday morning.”

  “Thanks.” Laura smiled appreciatively. He really was a nice guy. “I’m looking forward to it.”

  On her way back to her apartment, she found herself singing a Christmas carol. Maybe this day wasn’t a total disaster after all.

  CHAPTER 3

  Laura was so relieved that she had a job to go to Monday, she decided to celebrate when she got home. She set the poinsettia on her IKEA table and sat in front of it with a can of Pepsi. She popped the tab and lifted the can in a salute.

  “Merry Christmas, Laura Snow.” She took a sip. “Things could be worse.” She looked around her drab apartment. No pets, no goldfish, nothing alive. Not even any photos of any living thing, because when she’d moved here a year ago to take that new career-making job, she never got around to unpacking any memorabilia. In fact, she still had boxes of it against the wall in her bedroom.

  She sighed sadly.

  “My life sucks.”

  She spread her employment paperwork on the table and stared at it, unmoving. Plenty of time to do that.

  She pulled out her smart phone and checked her Facebook page. She started to post about losing her job, but decided against it. She was very cautious about what she posted, because she’d seen way too many coworkers go down in flames over some stupid remark or rant they’d written. Did they think their bosses didn’t have Facebook accounts? These days, human resource departments kept one person busy almost all the time checking out potential employees on Facebook.

  No, she’d keep her mouth shut. Maybe next week, if the position at Angel Temps worked out, she’d say something positive about her new job. Of course she wouldn’t say it was a temp position. No need to share that.

  Her mind filled with an image of Jedediah Angel. What a handsome man. If he was as good a boss as he was good looking, things should work out very well. And because he’d offered her work on the spot, she was feeling very generous about the gift requests he’d asked her to fill. She pulled them out of her purse and balanced them against the poinsettia pot. Very festive. She opened one. A child’s hand had written, “Please Santa, bring daddy a job. Love, Tina.”

  “Aw, that is so sweet,” said Laura. “Don’t worry, little Tina. Jed will find him a job, and I get to pick out the doll of your dreams.” She smiled at the thought of shopping for toys. She’d already shipped off everything to her nieces and nephews, and the tiny bar that separated the kitchen cubicle from her IKEA table had looked bare ever since. Only one small gift remained, wrapped in bright colors. It was supposed to ship with the rest, a shiny little car to go with her nephew’s fold-out play garage with working lift and a doll mechanic. Action figure mechanic, she corrected herself. If it’s for a boy, she couldn’t call it a doll. She’d send it Monday. It might still arrive in time.

  She reached out for the other paper angel and opened it. Did this childish scrawl look familiar? She read, “Santa, I want a new mommy. Austin.” Could that be Jed’s Austin?

  Little Austin’s letter to Santa was still tucked in her purse. Yes, the handwriting looked similar. Clever of Jed to request that she mail it for the boy. He’d said his son had been asking for the same thing over and over. How many Austins could make requests on the same gift tree? It wasn’t a common name.

  One way to find out. She slipped the letter out of the envelope and read:

  Dear Santa,

  I am fine. How are you?

  For Xmas please send me a new momm
y.

  Love,

  Austin

  The bottom half of the paper was filled with Austin’s drawings. Candy canes and a reindeer floated around a rudimentary Christmas tree. At least, she assumed it was a reindeer. Her little nieces and nephews produced similar drawings in the Christmas cards they sent, and they were close to Austin’s age.

  Laura blinked at the letter and read it half a dozen times. A new mommy? Was something wrong with the one he had?

  Then she realized that Jed was a single parent. Wedding band or no, he was either divorced or widowed. That had to be it. She wondered which it was.

  She decided he wasn’t divorced, because divorced men were usually too bitter to flirt, in her experience. Oh, they weren’t too bitter to date. But there was a quality to his interest in her that didn’t match up with what she’d experienced from previously married men.

  If he was a widow, his loss must have occurred at least a year ago, because he said Austin asked for the same thing every Christmas and birthday. That implied two Christmases at least.

  She leaned back in her chair and gazed into the air, sipping her Pepsi. Jed’s invitation floated in her mind. Dinner at Denny’s was sounding really good.

  She picked up her phone, scanned the employment paperwork for Jed’s cell, and punched in his number.

  CHAPTER 4

  Jedediah began turning out the office lights. Before he unplugged the tree, he tucked the last remaining gift requests into his pocket.

  Daniela was stuffing little Bridget’s arms into a pink jacket. “Have a nice weekend, Mr. Angel.”

  “You, too, Daniela. Looks like you’ll have a much easier time with the new computer next week, thanks to Laura.”

  “I can hardly wait.”

  Jed wondered if she was being sarcastic, but her smile seemed genuine.

  “You like her, don’t you? She wanted to go to dinner with you, but she saw your ring. I told you women would notice it.”

  Jed rubbed a thumb over his wedding band. “I just can’t take it off,” he said. “It would be like abandoning Mary.”

  “No, it would be like saying goodbye for real,” said Daniela softly. “Don’t worry. I understand. But you need to tell Miss Laura that you aren’t married. I’m sure she wanted to go with you.” She tapped the side of her head with one finger. “Women know these things.”

  Jed smiled. “And I appreciate your willingness to share. Are you bringing Christmas cookies again next week?” He looked hopeful.

  “Oh, yes. Don’t worry. I’ll be baking all weekend.”

  “Sounds heavenly. Take care.”

  The parking lot was dark. He watched as she and Bridget walked to her car.

  Austin tugged at his pants leg. “Daddy, I’m hungry.”

  “You just ate two cookies.”

  Austin grinned mischievously and tugged again. “Daddy, I’m bored.”

  “That’s more like it. Honesty is the best policy. Come on, let’s go.” He swooped Austin up in his arms and used one hand to lock the office door as they left. He took a deep breath. The night air was cold and crisp. Frost had already formed on the windshield. Jed tucked his son into the car seat in the back of his SUV. While he straightened out the straps, Austin pulled a cookie out of his jacket pocket. It was in pieces, but the thick icing kept it from crumbling completely.

  “Hey, enough cookies,” said Jed.

  Austin stuffed the cookie in his mouth with both hands, laughing.

  “Little stinker.”

  He’d no sooner gotten his son secured in his car seat than his cell phone rang. He frowned at the unfamiliar number, but decided he’d take it anyway. Maybe someone thought the office was open until six.

  “Hello?”

  Distracted, he heard Austin wheezing and turned to check on him.

  “Um, hi, it’s me, Laura.”

  Austin was turning red. The wheezing had stopped, and now he was struggling to inhale.

  Alarmed, Jed blurted, “I’ll call you back!” He dropped the phone on the seat and unfastened his son. He tried all the usual parental remedies, finger in the mouth to clear the throat, even holding the boy upside down and thumping his back. Just as panic set in, his last thwack dislodged something and the cookie came flying out.

  With his first deep breath, Austin broke into a wailing cry.

  Jed turned him upright and held him snugly. “You’re all right, you’re okay. Come on, Daddy’s going to make sure.”

  Still holding his son, he got behind the wheel and drove like a madman to the hospital three blocks away. By the time he got Austin into the ER, the boy was breathing well enough to voice his discontent.

  “No doctor, Daddy. I’ll be good.”

  “You’re always good,” said Jed. “Daddy just wants to make sure.” He caught the attention of a nurse behind the counter and explained what had happened. “I can pay,” he said up front. “I just want to make sure his air passage is clear.”

  She looked sympathetic. “We’re not too busy at the moment. Have a seat. It should only be half an hour or so, if nothing more urgent comes in.”

  Jed suddenly realized he’d promised to call Laura back. He hit the return call button and a moment later she picked up.

  “Hi, Jed. Is everything all right?”

  “We had a little choking emergency and I’ve got Austin at the ER. They’re going to make sure he’s okay.”

  “Where are you?”

  “Saints. I guess dinner will have to wait for another evening.”

  “No problem. See you Monday.”

  Feeling like he’d lost something he never quite had, Jed ended the call. Austin clung to him and whimpered.

  Fifteen minutes later they were still waiting to be called. By now, Austin appeared to be fine. Jed decided he might as well take him home. He went up to the nurse’s station and told her they were leaving. Then he headed for the door.

  Laura Snow was coming in, looking rushed and concerned.

  “Is he okay?” she asked.

  Jed felt a rush of genuine pleasure. “See for yourself? He wants to finish his puzzle before we leave.”

  Laura closed her eyes with undisguised relief. “Oh, thank God. My sister’s kids have done the same thing. Choked on stuff. It’s so nerve-wracking. I thought I’d take a chance on catching you while you were still here.” She made a wry face. “Since my dinner date canceled.”

  Jed grinned. “That was very thoughtful.”

  “And this,” she said, “might make Austin feel better.” She pulled the small wrapped gift out of her coat pocket and held it up.

  Austin squealed with delight. “For me?”

  Jed felt the tension drain away as Austin forgot all about his trauma at the sight of the gift.

  “You’re amazing,” he said to Laura.

  “Nope. Just the best auntie on the planet, that’s all.”

  Jed scooped up his son and they left together.

  CHAPTER 5

  As Laura arrived at Angel Temps Monday morning, she was still smiling from the lovely Friday evening she’d spent with Jed and Austin. Silly, really, because never in her life had she considered popcorn in front of a Disney Channel movie to be a great date. But Austin made her miss her nieces and nephews even more, and watching him fall asleep propped against his dad’s arm filled her with maternal longings she thought she’d given up on.

  After they’d put him to bed, she and Jed talked for a long time. They also did something she hadn’t done since high school. They sat on his sofa and necked like teenagers. Things were heated enough that they had to keep coming up for air.

  “I’m sorry,” panted Jed. “These feelings are so unexpected.”

  “Mine, too. I blame the Disney Channel. They show the hottest movies.”

  Jed laughed. “So, sarcasm comes with the package, I see.”

  Laura wagged her eyebrows at him.

  Several seconds later, they realized they were staring silently into each other’s eyes.

&nb
sp; Jed cleared his throat. “I should take you out for dinner, dancing, something.”

  “Popcorn counts as dinner,” said Laura. “We did dinner and a movie.”

  Jed touched her cheek tenderly. “You’re going to hate me, but we should stop. Austin might wake up. And we have to get up early and hit the road. I promised his maternal grandfather we’d be there for his seventy-first birthday. Darn! Why did I do that?”

  Laura laughed. She took a deep breath. “How about coffee and conversation, then? At the dining table. If I sit next to you, I can’t stop touching you.”

  “Good idea.”

  Once they were settled at the dining room table, Jed poured fresh coffee and opened a box of Christmas cookies.

  “I didn’t think you’d be interested in me because I thought you were married,” said Laura, reaching out to touch his ring finger.

  “Daniela told me you’d noticed the ring. I forget all about it.” He turned it on his finger. “It just felt like taking it off would be putting her away. Does that make sense?”

  “Perfect sense. And it’s very sweet. Oh, do you know that Austin asked for a new mommy in his letter to Santa? And on one of the angels from the tree? That’s what clued me in. That’s why I called you to take you up on your dinner offer.”

  Jed nodded. “I’m not surprised. He said he understood when he didn’t get a new mommy for his birthday, because he knew I was still too sad. But he thinks Santa can make this happen. I’m afraid he’s going to be so disappointed.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ve been through the Santa thing with my sister’s kids. I’ll have Santa write him back and explain everything.”

  “You’d do that? That’s wonderful. And thanks for the toy truck. Austin is sleeping with it right now.”

  They had talked until two a.m.

  Laura hadn’t fallen for a guy in a long time, and she knew if Jed had been in town, she would have wanted to spend every minute with him and Austin. But there was laundry to do, and toy shopping for the gift tree requests and other details to take care of. Life things. None of which seemed very important when compared to spending time with Jed and Austin.