Christmas in Icicle Falls

by Sheila Roberts

  “He’ll be okay.” Which was more than she could say for her relationship with Tim.

  “I’ll come keep you company.”

  “No need. My cousin’s on her way.”

  “Oh.” He was silent a moment, digesting this. Then he asked, “Are you sure you wouldn’t like me to come there?”

  “No, I’m fine. Look, I need to go,” she said in clipped tones.

  “Of course. Take care.”

  She intended to. She was going to take care not to let this go any further. She’d seen the writing on the wall. She and Leo would always come in second after his first family. She understood it, but she didn’t need that kind of life and neither did Leo.

  Rita arrived to hear the tail end of the call but made no comment. The nurse finished up and left and the two women took up positions on either side of Leo’s bed. He looked as helpless as Sienna felt.

  “My head hurts,” he announced.

  “I know.” She took his hand and squeezed it. “You’ll feel better soon. And look who’s here, Tía Rita.”

  “Hey, Leo,” Rita said and laid a hand on his arm. “Looks like you had a big adventure.”

  “You got to ride in an ambulance,” Sienna added. “Pretty cool, huh?”

  “I want to go home,” Leo said.

  “I know, but we have to stay here for a while. The doctor wants to make sure you’re all right.” Leo didn’t have the energy to protest beyond sticking out his lower lip. To cheer him up, Sienna grabbed the remote control and turned on the TV. She found a million-year-old cartoon about Frosty the Snowman and set that playing and the lower lip slipped back into place.

  Rita came around the bed and joined Sienna. Leaning with her back to Leo, she asked, “Who was that on the phone?”

  “No one important.”

  Rita cocked an eyebrow. “Was it Tim?”

  “Yes.”

  “No one important already? Just last night it sounded like things were going good with you two.”

  Sienna frowned. “That was last night.”

  “So, what happened? Come on, spill. I’m pulling teeth here.”

  “He was supposed to spend the day with us.”

  “I know. You told me.”

  “Well, he didn’t show up.”

  “So he was running late. That’s why you gave him the ice-storm treatment just now?”

  “It’s not going to work out,” Sienna said. “He’s got his kids and his ex.”

  “Ex, Sienna. That means she doesn’t count.”

  “She does enough to sucker him into doing things for her.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like dealing with a broken water heater.”

  “So he’s not hard-hearted. So sue him.” Sienna remained silent and Rita shook her head. “I think you’re crazy to let one little thing bug you.”

  “It’s not one little thing. It’s a sign.”

  “From God?” Rita scoffed.

  “I’ve got enough to deal with. I don’t need to add another unreliable man to that list.”

  Rita sighed. “Okay. Have it your way. But I think you’re making a mistake. You ought to give the guy more of a chance.”

  Maybe, but she wasn’t going to.

  Rita stayed another hour and then, at Sienna’s insistence, left to go spend the rest of the day with her husband and daughter. She’d been gone only a few minutes when Tim walked into the room, bringing flowers for Sienna and a Matchbox car for Leo. She wasn’t happy to see him.

  Leo was, though. “Hi, Tim,” he said. The greeting was lacking Leo’s usual energy but the happy expression on his face made up for that.

  “Hey there, buddy. I hear you had an accident.”

  “I don’t like sledding,” Leo informed him.

  “Sledding is fun,” Tim said. “It’s those trees that get in the way. Maybe we need to find a place for you to sled where there aren’t any trees. Meanwhile, though, I brought you a car.”

  “Thanks,” Leo said.

  “And something for your mom,” Tim added and held out the flowers to Sienna.

  She took them and laid them aside. “Could I talk to you?” Without waiting for an answer, she left the room, and he followed her out. The door was barely shut when she said, “Tim, what are you doing here?”

  “I thought you could use the company.”

  She shook her head. “I told you not to come. I’m fine on my own.”

  “We were going to spend the day together,” he reminded her.

  “Yeah. We were.”

  “Okay, I get it,” he said. “You’re mad.”

  Yes, she was. “Tim, this isn’t going to work. We need to stop this before we go any further.”

  “You can’t be serious.”

  “I am.”

  “Because I was late?”

  “Because you have an ex.”

  “So do you,” he reminded her.

  “Mine’s not in the picture,” she said.

  “Mine’s not either, not really.”

  Sienna shook her head. “After today, I find that hard to believe.”

  “Look. I went to drop the girls off and found that mess. No one was going to come out on Christmas Day. I’d have felt like a rat to just go off and leave. As it is, they won’t have any hot water. I figured I could take a few minutes to help, that’s all.”

  All very noble, but still...

  “If I’d known what was going on with you and Leo, I’d have been here in a heartbeat.”

  “Would you? Really?”

  “Yes. Sienna, I’m not psychic. I didn’t know anything was wrong. You didn’t call me, did you? I mean, there were no missed calls on my phone.”

  “No, I didn’t,” she admitted. “I was a little busy myself.”

  “Sienna, come on. Be reasonable.”

  She was being reasonable. “Oh, can’t you see? This isn’t going to work.” He needed to get the message so she could stop repeating herself, because every time she did, she got increasingly more depressed.

  “You don’t know that,” he said. “I like what we’ve started here. Don’t you? Let’s not give up so quick.”

  “I don’t need this kind of hassle in my life,” she insisted.

  “You’ve got hassle in your life with or without me. That’s why we’re here right now. Stuff happens.” She was still trying to come up with something to say to that when he continued, “Do you really want to give up after one bump in the road? I don’t. I don’t want to spend my life alone. Do you?”

  “Coming in second place isn’t much better than being alone.”

  “Don’t say that. Don’t think it. You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time. I thought you felt the same way, too.”

  “Maybe I’ve changed my mind,” she said hotly.

  “And maybe you haven’t.” He pulled her up against him and kissed her.

  Standing there in the hallway, with hospital staff walking past and the smell of antiseptic all around them—it was the most romantic kiss she’d ever had.

  And bittersweet. She pulled away. “I’m sorry, Tim. I can’t do it. I’ve been hurt too many times.”

  “What about your kid? Doesn’t he want a father?”

  That was a low blow. “Of course he does. But you already have children. Remember?”

  “You think I’m so small I can’t love another kid?”

  “I think you don’t know what you’d be getting into.”

  “Oh, and once I found out I’d cut and run. That’s the kind of man you think I am?”

  “I don’t know what kind of man you are,” she said. “That’s exactly my point!” Yes, he seemed wonderful. But seeming wonderful and being wonderful were two dif
ferent things. She turned to go back inside the room.

  “Sienna, wait.”

  She didn’t.

  “Where’s Tim?” Leo asked when she came back.

  “He’s gone.” And that was that.

  “I can’t get my car out,” he said, handing her the package.

  She took it. “I can do that. We don’t need Tim.”

  We don’t need any more heartache.

  It was a long night. Keeping Leo entertained and keeping her mother from panicking when she called to tell her about the accident left Sienna exhausted. Nonetheless, she found it impossible to sleep on the room’s pullout single bed. She tossed and turned, chased by worry and regrets. She was still awake when the new day dawned, bringing clear skies and sunshine. Her mood remained gray.

  The doctor had discharged Leo and she was waiting for the discharge nurse to come with the papers she needed to sign when Bob Cratchett entered the room.

  “It looks like you’re going to be okay,” he said to Leo. “So’s the tree you tried to take out, by the way. Here, something to make you feel better,” he said and dropped a giant candy cane onto the bed.

  Leo gaped at him, completely at a loss. Sienna could hardly blame him. This had to feel like having the bogeyman pop up at his bedside wanting to be friends.

  “What do you say?” Sienna prompted.

  Leo gulped and managed a weak “Thank you.”

  “What are you doing here?” Sienna asked Cratchett. And where’s the real Cratchett? He seemed to have disappeared lately.

  “What do you think? I came to take you home. You don’t have a car. Remember?”

  “I was going to call my cousin.”

  “Now you don’t need to. I’ve got a cab waiting.”

  Rescuing Leo the day before and now this. It was all so un-Cratchett-like. “A cab?”

  The famous Bob Cratchett frown returned. “That irritating nephew of mine took my keys and hid ’em somewhere, so I had to take a cab. Of course, it should have been him picking you up in the first place. You can thank Lila Zuckerman that I’m even here. She made me call him this morning. Otherwise I’d have assumed you had a ride.”

  “I would have,” she insisted. “There’s no need.”

  “Yes, yes,” he said, shushing her. He turned to Leo. “You ready to get out of here?”

  Leo managed a nod.

  “We have to wait for the discharge nurse,” Sienna told him.

  He shook his head. “Disorganized. Well, you get your things together. I’ll go find the nurse and hurry her along.”

  Scare her was probably more like it.

  “Look what Mr. Cratchett gave me,” Leo said in awe as Cratchett walked out the door.

  “That was very nice of him.” Mr. Cratchett had obviously been taken over by aliens. “Let’s put it in the bag with your things and you can have some of it as soon as we get home. Okay?”

  Leo said a wistful “Okay,” and handed over the treat.

  Cratchett returned a moment later with the discharge nurse and soon the paperwork was done and the nurse had Leo in a wheelchair and was pushing him down the hall, Sienna and Cratchett walking along beside.

  After their many unpleasant encounters, she felt awkward having Bob Cratchett escorting her and her son home. She felt even more awkward about thanking him for what he’d done, but she knew she needed to.

  “Thank you for helping us yesterday,” she said.

  He waved away her thanks. “I was at Lila’s waiting for her family to show and happened to see it all. There wasn’t anyone else around, so what was I going to do, let the boy lie there and freeze to death? And, speaking of being around, why isn’t my nephew doing this?”

  “I don’t know why you’d think he should be,” Sienna said stiffly as they all got on the elevator.

  “Because you two have been as thick as thieves lately.”

  “You’re wrong.”

  “So you’re not seeing each other?”

  When did Robert Cratchett get so nosy? “No.”

  “Well, why not? You need a man.”

  Sienna was aware of the nurse pretending not to hear them. Great. Now he wasn’t content with being rude and impatient with her. He had to move on to new territory and embarrass her.

  “No, I don’t,” she replied, sounding as snappish as a Cratchett in training. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

  He grunted and dropped the subject.

  But he picked it up again once they were in the taxi. “You know, Tim’s not a bad sort. I always liked him, even as a kid.”

  “I like Tim,” put in Leo.

  “Smart boy,” said Cratchett. “He seems to like you, too. Both of you. And I’ve got to admit, you’re a step above that dingbat he was married to,” he informed Sienna.

  “Gee, thanks. But I’m not in the market.”

  “Well, maybe you should be.” Then, surprisingly, Cratchett’s voice softened. “Everybody needs someone.”

  “Excuse me, Mr. Cratchett, but you’re a fine one to talk,” Sienna said irritably. Where did this old guy get off, anyway?

  He looked out the window at the snowy lawns. “Yeah, I’ve been pretty stupid most of my life. But a person doesn’t have to stay stupid.”

  “Thanks for the advice.” Not.

  “You should be grateful. I don’t give it very often.”

  “So why are you bothering now? You’ve never liked me. Since when do you care about who I do or don’t see?”

  “Since you started making a pest of yourself,” he growled. “You and your snow shoveling and your poison cookies and that candy. I figure I owe you,” he finished awkwardly.

  “You helped Leo. We’re even.” Now she was the one sounding cranky. Good grief.

  “I guess we are. And I guess my nephew will have to keep bumbling along on his own. Anyway, when people want to be stupid, there’s no stopping them.”

  The old guy was really beginning to bug her. “You should know, Mr. Cratchett. I think I liked you better when you were a recluse,” she couldn’t resist adding.

  He barked out a laugh. “That’s a good one, huh, Leo?”

  “That’s a good one,” Leo agreed, sure that if grumpy Mr. Cratchett was laughing, there must be something to laugh about.

  They were at the house now and, to her surprise, Tim was out front, shoveling her walk. “What’s he doing here?”

  “How should I know? I asked him to come shovel my walk. Guess he thought he should do yours, too. Okay, you two, get out so I can pay the cabbie. Turn your meter off,” he growled at the cabdriver. “You already made enough waiting for me at the hospital.”

  “Hey, buddy, how are you feeling?” Tim called as they came up the walk.

  “Good,” Leo said.

  “Tim, what are you doing here?” Sienna asked.

  “Uncle Bob wanted me to come over and shovel his front walk. And yours.”

  Cratchett had caught up with them. “What are you doing standing around in the cold? Let’s get this kid inside. Come on,” he added. Like an avalanche, he swept all before him, moving them into the house.

  They were getting Leo settled when Mrs. Zuckerman arrived with a plate of cookies. “How’s our Leo doing?” she asked, setting them down on the coffee table.

  “I rode in an ambulance,” Leo informed her.

  “You did, indeed,” she said.

  “Thank you for cleaning my carpet,” Sienna said to Mrs. Zuckerman.

  “That was mostly Robert,” she replied.

  Mr. Cratchett? Sienna looked at him in amazement and his cheeks turned russet.

  “I’m good for some things, you know,” he said.

  “Yes, you are,” Mrs. Zuckerman agreed and slipped her arms through his
.

  “Come on, Lila, these kids don’t need us hanging around. What do you say we go over to your place? You did save me some of those cookies, didn’t you?”

  “I did. You get better soon, Leo, then you can come over and play with Bandit,” she said, ruffling Leo’s hair. She gave Sienna a hug and then she and Cratchett were gone.

  Tim made no move to leave.

  “Can I have my candy cane now?” Leo asked.

  “Yes, you may,” she said. She broke off a piece for him and unwrapped it, all the while aware of Tim standing on the other side of the couch. She should tell him to leave. She should thank him for shoveling her walk. She should see a shrink.

  “So, Leo, looks like Santa brought you a train for Christmas,” Tim said.

  “Want to play with me?” Leo asked, and for the first time since the accident he had some energy in his voice.

  “No playing today,” Sienna told him. “The doctor wants you to take it easy.” That brought the lower lip back out. “But I’ll tell you what. You can watch Cars.”

  “Okay,” Leo said, and she put on the DVD.

  That took care of Leo. What to do about Tim? Her emotions were in a swirl and words were failing her.

  “Did my uncle talk to you?”

  “You mean did he lecture me? Yes, he did. Did you put him up to it?”

  “More like he put himself up to it. I have to admit, I whined a little. He was very supportive. He told me I’m an idiot and don’t know the first thing about women.”

  Sienna couldn’t help smiling.

  “I guess I don’t,” Tim said.

  Maybe they were a match, because she’d proved more than once that she didn’t know the first thing about men. What should she do?

  She should hang up her coat. She snagged it and Leo’s from the chair where she’d dropped their coats and hung them up in the closet, stalling for time.

  She turned to find Tim standing next to her. “Maybe you could teach me.”

  She should tell him to go home.

  “Do you still feel the same way you did yesterday?”

  Attracted? Miserable? Unsure?

  “Because if you do, then I’ll leave.”

  She bit her lip.

  He slipped his arms around her. “But I wish you wouldn’t give up on us so quick. I don’t want to.”