A Christmas Visitor

by Thomas Kinkade

  Betty took the sheet and looked it over. “No problem. This looks very do-able.”

  Molly leaned over and impulsively hugged her. “I don’t know what I would have done without you this week, Betty. How can I ever make it up to you?”

  Betty laughed softly and hugged her back. “Just stay married, will you?”

  Molly nodded and sniffed. “Okay, if you say so.” She picked up her purse and set off for the party. “I’ll check in with you later.”

  “Yes, make sure you do. Drive carefully,” Betty added.

  Molly waved and went out to her car.

  The Woodruff house was in the village, less than a half mile from her shop. Even with traffic moving slowly on the snowy streets, Molly was there in five minutes. She pulled into the driveway and parked behind her catering van. She saw Rita dressed in her uniform, emptying out the van. “How’s it going?” Molly asked her.

  “So far so good.”

  The front door opened and Mrs. Woodruff waved to her. “Hi, Molly, come on in. Everything looks very nice.”

  Molly was pleased to hear that. She didn’t need any problems today. Betty had given her the right advice. She needed to get home and take care of herself—and wait for her husband.

  “Be right there,” Molly called back.

  She was halfway up the walk when she suddenly felt her feet fly out from under her. For a split second, her arms flailed as she tried desperately to regain her balance. Then with a yelp of alarm, she landed flat on her back. Mrs. Woodruff ran out the door and Rita ran from the driveway.

  “Molly, are you all right?” Mrs. Woodruff knelt down next to her. Rita was on her other side.

  Molly felt stunned. She couldn’t talk at first. She felt a searing pain in her ankle. She started to sit up and the slight motion made her leg feel even worse. She bit down on her lip to keep from crying out.

  “My ankle…I think it’s broken.”

  “Just stay right there, dear. We’ve called nine one one. An ambulance will be here in a minute…”

  Molly nodded. Then she felt a sudden cramp in her abdomen that made her curl up in pain.

  “Oh…no.” She sighed and bit her lower lip. What had she done? The baby…Please, God, let my baby be all right. Please. I’ll do anything. I can’t believe I’ve been so…so stupid.

  She felt tears fill her eyes and she started to cry. The hot tears slipped down her cold cheeks.

  Mrs. Woodruff took her hand. “Let me call your husband, dear. How can I reach him?”

  “He’s been in Connecticut. He should be on his way back by now,” she managed. She recited Matt’s cell phone number. “I hope you can reach him.”

  “I’ve called Betty,” Rita said. “She’s on her way.”

  Betty arrived just as the ambulance pulled up. She rushed to Molly’s side and hugged her. “I’m coming to the hospital with you, don’t worry.”

  Moments later, Molly was rolled away on a stretcher and loaded in the ambulance.

  Flat on her back and strapped to the stretcher, Molly stared up at the ceiling of the ambulance, wondering how she had ended up here? Simple, she was just too stubborn. She wouldn’t listen to anyone.

  What if she had harmed the baby? Would she ever forgive herself?

  She closed her eyes and started to sob again. My poor little baby. I’m so sorry, she said inside her head. I’ve been so stupid and careless. I love you so.…

  Oh, God. Please don’t let anything be wrong…please?

  Miraculously, she fell asleep.

  BETTY SAT WITH MOLLY IN THE ER AND HELPED HER deal with the doctors. Fortunately, Molly’s pregnancy gave her some priority with the triage nurse, and they didn’t have to sit for hours, waiting for attention.

  “The ankle isn’t the big problem. I would say it’s broken and you’ll need a cast. We’ll get to that. I’m more concerned about the cramping. You need to have a sonogram, right away,” the admitting doctor told her. “This way we can see what’s going on.”

  Her leg hurt something fierce, but Molly barely noticed. She was desperate to find out about her baby.

  The doctor glanced at her chart a moment. “Is your husband here?”

  “He’s been out of town,” Betty answered for her. “He’s on his way back right now.”

  Mrs. Woodruff had reached Matt on the first try, and Betty had spoken to him after they reached the hospital while Molly was being admitted.

  “Sorry, but we can’t wait. We have to take care of this right away.”

  Molly nodded. “I understand.”

  “Do you want your friend to come in with you?”

  Molly glanced at Betty. “No, that’s all right. I can go alone.”

  She did want Betty in a way, but in another way, she knew that if Matt couldn’t be here with her, she had to face this on her own.

  Betty squeezed her hand just before the doctor rolled her away. “I’m praying for you and the baby,” Betty said quietly.

  “Thanks. I am, too,” Molly admitted.

  The room with the sonogram equipment was dimly lit. The technician, a woman about Molly’s age, rolled up Molly’s blouse and smeared cold gel over her stomach. She smiled kindly and tried to make small talk to put Molly at ease. But Molly was too nervous to respond.

  “First pregnancy?” the technician asked as she looked over Molly’s chart.

  “No, my third. I have two daughters. Teenagers, actually.”

  “How nice. Do you want me to tell you the sex of the child?”

  “I just want to know if the baby is all right.” Molly felt tears pressing at her eyes again, but she fought hard not to cry.

  “Yes, I’m sure you do,” the technician answered softly.

  Molly would have given anything to have Matt with her. She had been so awful to him. How could he still love her after some of the things she had said?

  “Are you ready to start, Mrs. Harding? This won’t take very long…”

  There was a sharp knock on the door, then it opened. Molly saw the doctor first, then Matt standing just behind him.

  “Dr. Harding, the patient’s husband,” the doctor said quickly to the technician.

  “Come right in, Dr. Harding. We’re just getting started.”

  Matt barely glanced at the technician. He walked quickly to Molly and tried to hug her, though it was difficult. “Oh…honey. What happened to you?”

  “I’m a complete idiot. That’s what happened.…Oh, Matt…I’m so sorry…” She started sobbing and couldn’t stop. “If anything’s happened to the baby…”

  “Shhh…” he soothed her. “Let’s just find out what’s going on, okay?”

  Molly nodded. She loved him so much. She didn’t even care anymore if he had gone off with Alex. She had been so awful, she couldn’t blame him. She just wanted the baby to be all right and everything to be all right between them again.

  Matt stepped aside and the technician started the test. Molly closed her eyes. She couldn’t bear to watch. She squeezed Matt’s hand, barely able to breathe as the technician examined the image on the screen. It seemed to be taking so long. Molly felt her heart speeding up, and she tried to take slow, deep breaths to calm herself.

  Finally, the technician started to describe what she saw.

  “I see the heartbeat. It looks strong. The baby is all right. You have nothing to worry about. The cramps are just a reaction from the fall. The placenta is lying a little low. You’ll have to stay off your feet awhile. But there’s been no harm.”

  “Thank God…” Matt’s head dropped on her shoulder, and she felt his body shake.

  He was crying. She reached her arms around him, crying, too.

  A few hours later, she found herself in a hospital room with a fresh cast on her leg. Her obstetrician had examined her and thought it best if Molly stayed overnight for observation.

  Matt sat by her side. “So, are you going to do what the doctor says this time? Bed rest? No working for a while?”

  Molly nodded. Ma
tt looked doubtful.

  “No, I really mean it, Matt. I’ve even asked Betty to be a partner in the business. She said yes, too. Isn’t that great?”

  “It is good news,” Matt admitted. “If it will really make you cut back on your workload and not take on double the business now.”

  “I will cut back, I promise. I had the scare of my life today,” she confessed. “I would have never forgiven myself if anything had happened to…to our baby.”

  Matt didn’t answer for a moment. “So, you want the baby now?”

  “I’ve always wanted the baby,” she said. “It’s just that you were always so darned cheerful and had an easy answer for all my problems. I felt like you weren’t really listening to me, like you didn’t really understand how this baby is going to change my life. Going to change our lives,” she corrected herself.

  He stared down at her, looking more sympathetic. “I think you’re right. I didn’t get it at first. I didn’t understand what you were so worked up about. But I understand better now.”

  “Maybe this fall was a good thing,” Molly said. “It made me see I was on the wrong track. I want to raise this child with you, Matt, not with an army of babysitters and nannies. We’re so lucky to have this chance.”

  “Yes, we are,” he agreed. “You don’t have to convince me of anything.”

  He took her hand and looked into her eyes. “While I was away, I had some time to think. If Alex Cole’s presence is that upsetting to you, I’ll end the partnership. Though there’s absolutely no reason for you to be jealous of her, Molly. Honestly.”

  That was a major concession, Molly realized. It meant Matt would have to shake up his practice and look for someone else. And he would have to tell Alex that the partnership he had offered her was over. Would he have even offered this concession if he were in love with Alex? Somehow Molly didn’t think so.

  “No,” Molly said. “You don’t have to end the partnership, not for me.”

  “How did you ever get the idea I was involved with Alex? She has a boyfriend. They’re very serious. In fact, they’re supposed to get engaged soon.”

  A boyfriend? That was news.

  “Where is this boyfriend?” Molly asked a bit suspiciously. “How come this is the first time I’m hearing about him?”

  “He’s in Africa, working for Doctors Without Borders. I suppose we’ll meet him soon. He was supposed to come for Christmas—and give her a ring—but unexpectedly he had to stay. She misses him very much,” he added.

  “Oh…so maybe she was upset about this boyfriend on Christmas Eve?” Molly asked.

  “Very upset. He called on her cell and she started crying afterward. I didn’t know what to do. I just gave her some tissues.”

  “And your shoulder, maybe?” Molly added.

  Matt looked surprised. Then he nodded, looking embarrassed. “Yes, and my shoulder. Maybe. For a minute. How did you guess that, Molly?”

  “I saw you two together, in the mudroom. I guess I got the wrong idea,” she confessed.

  “Is that what started all this? Why didn’t you just say something?”

  “I tried…but…” She sighed and shrugged. “I’m sorry I accused you…and for all the nasty things I said.”

  “I’m sorry you got so upset.…I guess you must really love me if you’re that jealous.”

  “Yeah, I guess I do. Did you ever doubt it?” She smiled at him. “Do me a favor? If any other gorgeous, brainy babes need to borrow a shoulder, have them check with me first.”

  Matt nodded. “Absolutely.”

  They heard a flurry of excitement in the hospital hallway. A nurse peeked into the room. “Here—to celebrate the New Year. It’s almost time.”

  She handed Matt a small bottle of ginger ale and two plastic glasses. He brought them over to Molly’s bedside.

  “Time to ring out the old and ring in the new.” He poured out the small bottle of soda into the two cups and handed her one.

  “Ginger ale. How appropriate. Did they know I was checking in?” Molly joked.

  “I guess this is the best we can do. I’ll make it up to you.”

  Molly smiled. “As long as I’m ringing in the New Year with you. I don’t care where we are.”

  Matt lifted his cup and looked into her eyes. “To the New Year, Molly. To all the love we’ve shared in our marriage and with our beautiful girls. And to our new baby and all the love that is yet to come.”

  “That was just perfect, sweetheart,” she said giving him a kiss. And she meant it, too.

  A perfect way to start off the year.

  MIRANDA THOUGHT SHE HAD TO BE THE ONLY PERSON IN the world working on New Year’s Eve. Except for firemen and policeman, and doctors and nurses in hospitals, perhaps.

  Her grandmother had gone to her get-together at Vera’s house, and Miranda had rented a movie. But the film hadn’t held her interest very long. She flipped through the channels on the TV, looking for something to watch. It was hard to avoid all the images of cozy couples, kissing and hugging as they anticipated midnight.

  She couldn’t help wondering what Adam was doing. Celebrating with his fiancée? Thankful to be back in his real life? Probably not sparing a thought about her.

  She clicked off the TV and went out to her studio, needing the distraction that only work could bring. She wasn’t sure how long she had been out there when a sound at the door startled her. She jumped in her seat and turned around.

  Had her grandmother come home early? She had said she might. Miranda knew that Sophie had been worried about leaving her alone.

  “Grandma? Is that you?”

  “No, Red Riding Hood, it’s the Wolf…”

  Adam swung open the door and stepped inside. Miranda felt her heart skip a beat, but she couldn’t move a muscle. He smiled at her, his eyes alight with the warmth that she had missed so much. She couldn’t stop staring at him.

  He looked the same, but different, wearing a soft leather jacket, jeans, and a thick blue sweater. She almost didn’t recognize him.

  He walked toward her. “I called the house. No one answered. I wasn’t even sure I would find you here. Why aren’t you at a party or something?”

  “Why aren’t you?”

  She still couldn’t believe it. She wondered for a moment if she was hallucinating. She had never expected to see him again.

  She stood up and faced him, feeling the impulse to throw her arms around him and hold him close.

  But, of course, she couldn’t. He was almost married.

  “We saw you on the news. They said your memory was returning.”

  He nodded. “Yes, I remember everything now.”

  “Wow. That’s amazing. So, tell me everything. What do you do for a living? How did you end up unconscious in the orchard? Do you remember how you got hit on the head?”

  “Okay, okay,” he said with a laugh. “Just give me a minute. I’ll answer all your questions, or as many as I can. I’m a cab driver, in Portland. That’s my day job, at least. I’ve been doing it these last three years while trying to make it as a writer. The day before I ended up here, I had an appointment in Boston, to meet my agent. I came down from Portland on the train. We met at the Charles Hotel, in the Regatta Bar. Hence the matchbook cover we found in my pocket. I left Boston late at night and the police figured I must have been mugged in one of the stations where I had to switch lines. The trauma of being attacked and a blow to the head caused my memory loss. I got on a train and blacked out. When I came to, I realized I had no wallet, no money or ID. I panicked. I remember standing between the cars, trying to get some air. I remember that the train stopped in the middle of nowhere. I heard the conductor coming and I just jumped off.”

  “You jumped off a train as it was passing the orchard…that’s how you ended up here?”

  “That’s why the police never found an abandoned car. I don’t own one. I drove an orange cab though. That’s why I remembered an orange car and the number fifty-three. It was the number of my cab.
And that’s why when Dr. Carter asked how I got to the orchard, I told him that I jumped. I know it sounds pretty bizarre, but I was totally disoriented and practically paranoid.”

  It did sound odd but Miranda supposed it was possible. Some of the trains that ran through the area were very old, with diesel engines and old-fashioned cars. It was possible to stand between the cars or even hop off.

  “That actually makes sense,” she mused. “The trains always stop near here—it’s an unmarked crossing. The conductor has to get out and check the crossing by sight.”

  “I remember jumping, landing on frozen earth. I was cold and scared out of my mind. I started walking. I didn’t recognize anything. There were no lights or houses. I saw the hill in your orchard and thought maybe if I got to the top, I could see lights or something. I guess I collapsed when I got to the top. That moment I still can’t remember.”

  “But didn’t people miss you?” Miranda asked. “Didn’t anyone start looking for you? I mean, besides Lisa?”

  “I have a married sister in Chicago and my mother lives in Florida now. I speak to them every few weeks. Even if they had called and left a message, they wouldn’t worry not hearing from me for a few days. Since I worked for a cab company and kept odd hours, no one thought much of the fact that I didn’t show up for work. They called me, of course. But they were more annoyed than worried about my absence. It’s not unusual at all for cabbies to just walk off a job without notice.”

  “So it was only Lisa then,” Miranda said.

  “Even Lisa didn’t notice I was gone. Not at first. Didn’t you wonder why it took her almost a month to find me? She was only two hours away in Portland.”

  “But why wasn’t she looking for you? You’re engaged, aren’t you?”

  “We were. But a few weeks before I got lost, she broke up with me, gave me back the ring. She said it just didn’t feel right. I think she met someone else she liked better but wouldn’t admit it. I was pretty devastated at the time. It may have even contributed to the memory loss. Maybe I just wanted to forget.”

  “Then why did she come looking for you and tell everyone you were still engaged?”

  “She told me that at first she just came to find me—to help out, as a friend. She knew that I didn’t have any family in the area, or anyone who would really miss me. Then once she started talking to the police, she had second thoughts about dumping me. She wanted to get back together, so she told everyone we were engaged. She hoped that by the time I remembered what had really happened, she would have won me over again.”