David closed his eyes before answering. “Yes. But I can’t stay long. I have a job at the church, so I need to be back.”
“You’re working at the church?” There was a pause. “This is David, right?”
“Yes, Mom. I’ll be there around four.” David hung up and climbed out of bed. He’d need to leave soon so he could grab gifts on his way to his parents’ house. He dressed and ate some breakfast, then headed out.
Just before he got inside New York City, he stopped at a dealer and traded in his old beat-up truck for a newer version. It hurt to drive away from the truck, but he wanted something no one would recognize.
Once he pulled into the parking lot of his favorite shopping center, David made sure his hat was down low and his scarf covered his mouth. The air was biting, so he fit right in with every other New Yorker on the street.
Shopping on Christmas Eve was a nightmare, but David had decided sometime during the night that he needed to visit his family, and he didn’t want to go empty-handed. It was fun picking out gifts for them, but the lines were long, and the customers were cranky. If he’d taken off his hat, he could have been served pretty quickly, but he didn't feel like calling attention to himself.
As David passed a window, he stopped to see a sculpture that sat in a glass case. It was a woman with her arms around two children. It brought tears to his eyes. He walked inside and had it wrapped up in layers of paper.
By the time he got back to his truck, David’s arms were full of gifts for family and for a few people in town as well. He loaded up the backseat and climbed in, headed for Sands Point. It took longer than normal because of the traffic, and he pulled in behind the other cars.
It looked like David’s dad had gone all out with Christmas lights again this year. Every tree and bush was cover in lights, and a large star sat on top of the house. David sifted through the gifts and pulled out the ones for his family. The door opened before he got to the step, and his mom squealed.
“You did come! Oh, David. I’m so happy. We have the whole family together again.” She hugged David and led him inside. “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”
“Sounds great. I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner.” David slipped off his shoes and took the gifts to the tree. When David turned, he found his mom standing there with tears in her eyes.
She held out her arms, and David walked into them. “I’m just glad you’re here. It’s been too long, sweetie.”
“I know. I'm sorry.” And he was. He shouldn't have blocked them out of his life. David pulled away and looked around. “You’ve repainted. It looks great.”
“Your dad gets so bored now that he’s retired. He’s always changing something. Speaking of which, you should go find him. He’s in the study.” His mom headed into the kitchen, and David went to find his dad.
He knocked on the door to the study and poked his head in. “Hey, Dad.”
“David. When Mom said you were coming, I didn't want to get my hopes up.” He stood and hugged David tightly. “It’s good to see you, son.”
“I’m glad to be here.”
His dad lifted up the newspaper on his desk. “I’ve been keeping up with you through the press. Well done with the party.”
“Thanks.” The pride in his dad’s voice felt good. He’d worked hard to keep up with the success his dad had as the president of the company.
“Who is this girl? She’s beautiful, David.” His dad motioned toward the picture of Lily.
David cleared his throat. “She owns a diner near my house. Beautiful, sweet, and very protective of her family.”
His dad sat back down in his chair. “I take it things aren’t going well?”
“No, she’s uncomfortable with getting help, and apparently, I overstepped my bounds.” David picked up the paperweight on the desk.
“Some people love money. Others are scared by it. Be patient. She’ll come back.” His dad winked. “Let’s go see if dinner’s ready.”
David sighed as he followed his dad to the dining room. If he was told to be patient one more time … He pasted a smile on his face as they sat down. David’s sister, Elayna, and her husband were already seated with their son between them. David’s other sister, Julie, walked in with a pot of potatoes, followed by his mom with the turkey.
Three other kids came running and sat down next to Julie. After his dad said grace over the food, the volume rose as everyone dished potatoes and turkey onto their plates. David stayed quiet as he listened to those around him.
Julie tried to bring up Lily, but thankfully, David’s dad stepped in and changed the subject. Julie narrowed her eyes, and David knew she’d mention it again later. He only hoped it was when it was just the two of them.
Once dinner was over, they sat down in the living room to open gifts. David watched as the nieces and nephew ripped through their presents and took them into a corner to play. He was glad he’d chosen trains for them. His mom loved the scarf he’d picked out, and his dad received a ship in a bottle to go on the shelf in his study. His sisters got tickets to three Broadway shows they’d been dying to see.
“I’m sorry you don’t have any gifts here, David. We had them all mailed to you.” His mom wrapped her scarf around her neck.
“It’s all right. I got them yesterday. I should’ve brought them with me.” He didn’t mention that he’d put them with Lily’s gifts and couldn’t bring himself to walk into that room. He stood. “I’d better take off. I need to be back at the church soon.”
His mom stood and followed him out to his truck. “Please come visit again soon, sweetie. Don’t stay away so long.”
David leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I won’t. I promise.”
“Merry Christmas. If you’d like to come back for pie tomorrow night, we’d love to have you.” She smiled as he opened his door.
“I’ll do my best. Love you, Mom.” He started the truck and drove away. He shouldn’t have stayed away so long.
The traffic was still bumper to bumper as he drove through New York, and even with taking whatever shortcut he could, he only barely made it before the service started.
He walked up to the tower and played O Holy Night, then watched as people gathered for the sermon. It was a beautiful night as the snow fell lightly, and the Christmas lights glowed from all the houses. David made his way downstairs and slipped into a pew in front of the chapel.
Reverend Smith delivered a beautiful sermon on the nativity, then the choir sang several Christmas hymns. They invited the congregation to join in before the meeting was over and people began to leave. David waited until most of the people were gone before he stood and headed for the backdoor. He stopped short when Lily walked in.
“Hi. Merry Christmas.” He smiled and moved to the side so she could get by.
She walked past, and Patrick looked back to smile at him. David waved and walked away. His heart beat rapidly as he left the church and drove home. Seeing Lily had thrown his peace into turmoil. Maybe going back to have dinner with his family on Christmas was a good idea. No chance of his heart breaking any more than it already was.
Chapter 10
Christmas Eve wasn’t quite as relaxing as Lily had hoped. She’d been able to sell the appliances to a few restaurants in the next town over, and heard she already had an offer on the diner, although she hadn’t heard much since then. Ann had helped Lily get a few house cleaning jobs that she’d be starting after Christmas.
With one last look at the diner that had been part of her life since she was a small girl, she locked the door and stepped away. Ann put her arm around Lily as they walked to the car.
“You okay?” Ann asked.
Lily shook her head. “I don’t know what hurts more. Losing the diner, or losing the one guy who was willing to fight for me.”
“I don’t think you lost him. Unless you absolutely want to. He’s a good guy, Lily. You really should give him a chance.” Ann pulled into the house. “Want to do Christmas Eve with us tonig
ht?”
“No, but thank you for the invitation. I promised the kids we’d make popcorn and watch a movie on TV. As long as the local channels come in. Then I think we’ll go to the sermon tonight. Not super exciting, but it works.” Lily opened the car door and climbed out. “Thanks again for all your help. I’ll see you tomorrow sometime.”
“See ya. Merry Christmas!” Ann pulled out of the driveway and around the corner.
Lily walked in to find Mary and Patrick coloring snowflakes cutouts. “When did you two get home? I thought you were playing at Seth’s.”
“They had to go to a party. We got here about an hour ago.” Mary held up her cutout. “We’re going to hang these up on our windows.”
“It’s perfect. I’ll go find the tape.” Lily took the snowflakes and hung them up in the front room. Patrick brought his and added it below Mary's. “Okay, ready for dinner? I bought some cheese so we can make fondue.”
The kids cheered and went to find the old fondue set that had been her mom’s. They put it together and poured in the cheese, then cut up pieces of meat and steamed some vegetables. Once everything was ready, they turned off all the lights and lit a few candles. It had been a Christmas tradition for as long as Lily could remember.
“Do you think Santa will come, Mom?” Patrick asked.
“That depends. Do you think you were a good boy this year?” Lily had dreaded their questions about Santa. After all the expenses had been paid, there was only enough for a little food for the next two days. After that, she had no idea how she was going to survive until she could find more than just the cleaning jobs.
“I was a good boy. And Mary was a good girl. So he should come, right?” Patrick dipped his meat into the cheese and swirled it around.
Mary rolled her eyes. “You were good most of the time. But you also threw that snowball at Mrs. Blakely when she wasn’t looking.”
“Did not! I was aiming at her son and missed.” Patrick glared.
Lily rubbed her forehead. “Even if it was an accident, you need to be more careful where you throw snowballs.”
Patrick sniffled and whispered, “I am careful.”
Lily checked the pot of fondue, looking for a distraction. “Oh, we’re out. Time for the chocolate.”
She stood and cleaned the pot, letting her tears fall as the water poured into the sink. When the pot was clean, she wiped her eyes and dried the dish.
Mary pulled out the chocolate that a neighbor had brought while Patrick grabbed the candies from other neighbors. They melted the chocolate and ate until they were too full to move. Lily soaked the bowl, and they went into the living room to watch a movie.
Lily jerked awake when the movie ended. She looked up at the clock, surprised that she’d missed the sermon. She shook Patrick and Mary awake.
“Hey, we need to go. I promised the pastor we’d come by tonight.” She hurried to find their coats, and bundled them up.
Patrick rubbed his eyes. “Do we have to walk?”
Lily bit her lip. “We have no choice. Let’s hurry. The exercise will warm us up.”
They walked to the church, enjoying the light snow that fell. It made the town she loved so much more picturesque. The congregation was thinning out as they reached the church, and Lily hoped it wasn’t too late to talk to the pastor.
Seeing David made her heart jump into her throat, and she didn’t know what to say as she passed by him. His smile was hopeful, but she just moved on, as much as she wanted to stop and say hi. She missed spending time with him.
Reverend Smith stood at the front and led them to his office. “I didn’t see you during my sermon.”
“I’m sorry. We fell asleep. I’m sure it was wonderful.” Lily smiled.
“Thank you. I’d like to think so.” The pastor motioned toward some papers. “I read through your request for assistance. Unfortunately, there’s not much we can do to help you with your home. We just don’t have enough coming in from tithes.”
It was incredibly disappointing, but Lily shouldn’t have expected much. She’d seen the small crowds that came in every week.
“It’s okay. I’ll find a way to pay. I always do.” She stood, and ushered the kids out of the office. She wanted to get outside before the tears came. It looked as though they’d have to find a different place to live. She just hoped the kids didn’t understand anything that had just happened.
Maybe it was better this way. They could make a fresh start somewhere else. They walked out into the snow.
“Race you two,” Lily called. She figured if they were running, they wouldn’t be able to ask questions.
Patrick giggled as he took off, and Mary ran to catch up. Lily watched from behind and laughed. She reached the house and filled the pot with water to make hot chocolate. The kids came from the other room, already wearing pajamas.
“Wow, you two were fast. Okay, drink up so you can find your stockings.” Lily knew it sounded halfhearted, but the kids didn’t seem to notice.
“We found them already. They’re by the fireplace.” Mary took a sip of her hot chocolate. “We couldn’t find the pins, so I just used tape.”
“Perfect.” Lily kissed their foreheads. “Let’s say our prayers, and then you can head to bed.”
Patrick said the prayer and asked for Santa to come that night and to make his mom happy again. He ended the prayer and gave Lily a hug before running to his bed. Mary kissed Lily’s cheek and walked behind Patrick.
Lily sat on the couch and watched the fire until the flame had died down. She went to her room and pulled out some of the candies she’d set aside from Ann and put them in each of the stockings.
It wasn’t much, but at least they had something. Lily went to bed and prayed that she'd find a way to make things work out for her little family. She would do her best to make Christmas as cheerful for her little ones as she could, and then deal with the rest after that.
* * *
“Mommy, wake up! He came! Santa came.” Patrick jumped on Lily’s bed, waking her up. His cheeks were red, and Lily noticed a chill to the air.
She’d forgotten to stoke the fire the night before. “I’ll be right there. I’m going to grab some firewood.”
“We used it.” Patrick shivered.
“What do you mean, you used it? I thought we had a few logs left.” Lily ran out to the porch, but he was right. The logs were gone. There were only a few scraps of bark left. She took them to the fireplace and got the fire going. “Bring me any paper or wood you can find.”
Patrick and Mary scrambled for paper, pencils, and paper towels to burn. Patrick dumped a few of his wood blocks into the fire, but Lily held him back from dumping the rest.
“No more. Just enough to make it until we leave for the church. They’ll have a heater there.” Never mind that Lily had no idea what she’d do after that. She could no longer use the space heaters because she couldn't afford the electricity, and she wasn't about to ask David for help. She changed into her warmest clothes and thought longingly of the coat David had let her borrow. When she went out into the living room, she found Patrick and Mary unwrapping gifts. “Where did you get those?”
Mary held up a book she’d gotten from school a few months before and beamed. “We’re just pretending to open presents.”
“Yep, look at what I got.” Patrick held up some blocks and an old truck that was missing a wheel.
Lily smiled, but she knew she was losing the fight to her tears. “That’s beautiful. Can you two play for a bit? I’m going to see if we can get some firewood from a neighbor.”
Mary jumped up. “We can come with you.”
“No, you just stay here next to the fire, okay? I’ll be right back.” Lily left the house and finally allowed herself to cry. She walked down the sidewalk, wiping away the tears. It wasn’t fair that her children had no Christmas. She’d prayed so hard for a way to help them, for a way to keep her diner going, and for so many other things. But nothing had happened. Debts still had to be
paid, and this morning, they had to burn toys just to have a fire in the fireplace.
Lily stopped when she heard a melody she’d heard so many times before. It was the church bells. She hadn’t expected them for another hour. Ave Maria was followed by Amazing Grace, and as she walked closer, a new melody started. A promise for a new beginning. When the church tower was in view, Lily stared up at the bells as they played I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.
David pulled down on the ropes and made each of the bells play the correct tune. When the song was done, he looked down and caught her eye. He waved and grinned.
And it struck Lily. That one man had answered every prayer she’d said. She had been so blinded by her pride, she’d missed it. She pushed her way into the church and ran through the chapel, throwing an apology at Reverend Smith as she kept going. She ran up the stairs and into David’s arms.
He held her tightly, not asking what was wrong, but just being there for her. When she finally pulled away, he wiped her tears.
“Merry Christmas to you too.” David laughed. “What are you doing up here? And where are the kids?”
“Oh, the kids. I left them … I’ll be back.” Lily tried to clear her head as she ran through the church.
“Lily, wait up,” David called.
Lily didn’t stop running until she was nearly home and needed to stop to catch her breath. She couldn’t believe she’d left her kids for that long. She burst through the door and found Mary and Patrick still by the fire, playing with the toys they’d unwrapped.
“There you are. Get your coats and come with me.” Lily bent over, still gasping for air.
“Where are we going?” Mary asked. She grabbed her coat off the couch and put it on.
Lily shook her head and held up a finger. “One sec.”
A knock came at the door, and Lily answered it. David stood there, holding a few gifts in his hands. She let him in, and couldn’t stop grinning.
“I tried to catch you so you wouldn’t have to run all the way home, but you were too fast. I had these in my car, but I didn’t know if you’d let me deliver them. When you came to the church, I thought maybe …” He looked between the kids and then at the fire. “Why is it so cold in here?”
A Christmas Worth Billions (Countdown to Christmas Book 4) Page 11
