Bells, Rings & Angels' Wings

by Linda Randall Wisdom

  “Good night, Tyler.” She followed him to the door.

  “Libby? Tyler?” Cyn stood in her back door. “Why don’t you two come over for some cake and coffee?”

  “Sorry, Cyn, I have to get up early and try my miserable best to outdo you with decorations this year,” Tyler called back as he walked to his truck.

  “What about you, Libby?”

  She was sorely tempted to see her parents again, but she wasn’t sure she could handle the pain of acting as if they were virtual strangers.

  “I’m sorry, Cyn, but I’m pretty tired. Perhaps another time?” she called back.

  “I’ll hold both of you to that.”

  Cyn noticed Tyler still hadn’t gotten in his truck. She smiled at him and disappeared back into her house.

  Tyler looked up at Libby and blew her a kiss. “Can I call you tomorrow?”

  She grinned as she thought back to their dating days and some of their ridiculous jokes. “I’d rather you call me Libby, but it’s up to you.”

  He groaned. “And to think you’re a teacher.”

  Libby stood outside until Tyler backed down the driveway. Then she went inside, pulled off her coat and draped it over the back of a chair.

  She curled up on the couch and thought about her evening with Tyler. It had been fun. How many times had her husband suggested they go out for the evening? And how many times had she refused because she didn’t want to see anyone she knew? She’d shut herself up in the house because, in her mind, it was easier. She feared she would see people who would either accuse her of neglecting Sara or would comfort her when she didn’t want to give herself comfort. She sighed.

  “Poor Tyler. How did you put up with me during that time?”

  She pushed herself off the couch with the intention of changing into a nightgown and watching television. Before she did either, she took a peek out the front window in hopes of seeing either of the Bennetts. But the curtains were closed.

  Libby was alone again.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Libby found herself having breakfast by her Christmas tree, now decorated with shiny balls, little angels, twinkling lights and iridescent tinsel.

  She might have thought about shopping for tree decorations the day before, but Tyler had had another idea. He’d showed up with bags of decorations. While unpacking them, he’d requested a cup of coffee and suggested she warm up the muffins he’d brought with him.

  Libby knew it had been some time since she had enjoyed decorating so much. After they finished, Tyler kissed her on the forehead and reminded her it was a school night so she should get a good night’s sleep. She was reluctant to see him go, but knew it was best.

  When she arrived at the school, she found some of the workmen, including Tyler, carrying small trees into the building.

  “Gee, haven’t we done this before?” he whispered, winking at her as he carried a tree into her room. “You look like an elf,” he murmured on the way out, referring to the festive red-and-green sweater and matching skirt Matthias had whipped up for her that morning.

  “What shall we do with our tree?” she asked the class as they stood around it. Tyler had placed it on a small table.

  “Put glitter on it!”

  “Can we spray paint it?”

  “Make decorations!”

  “Will Santa leave presents under this tree, too?”

  “Will my presents be under this tree or my tree at home?”

  Libby took a deep breath.

  “We’ll put a special glitter on it. No, we can’t spray paint it. We will make decorations. Santa might leave something special under this tree, but you’ll find all your presents under your trees at home.”

  “Wow.” Josh looked suitably impressed with her answering all the questions in order. “Can we make any kind of decoration we want?”

  “As long as it looks like a Christmas decoration.” She knew him well enough to know she had to give him a specific answer or he would probably come up with something that worked better for Halloween.

  Libby had them sit at their tables and started some of them making colorful paper chains, while others were folding up pieces of white paper and cutting them out in the shapes of snowmen, angels and snowflakes. She walked around, assisting where necessary and admiring a finished product. She made sure her walk ended with Becca.

  The little girl was slowly but carefully cutting into folds of white paper.

  Libby looked at the one finished item.

  “Becca, this is very good,” she exclaimed, picking up the shape of an angel.

  She looked up and smiled. “Can I put gold glitter on her wings?”

  “Of course.” Libby sat in a tiny chair by her. “Becca?”

  The girl looked up from her task. “I wish I could have shown you King Tut Saturday, but he was mad at me again and he hid under Mrs. Robinson’s bed.”

  “I’m sure you will have a chance to show him to me some other time.” She lowered her voice. “Becca, you talked to me about my being a mother.”

  Becca’s gaze was solemn as she stared at her teacher. “Sometimes kids can’t have parents because their parents don’t want them,” she explained. “You should be a mommy, Miss Libby. Make a little girl happy.”

  Libby felt a chill all the way down to her bones. She started to touch Becca’s cheek, but held back at the last minute. The girl continued watching her with eyes that now seemed very very old.

  “Becca’s a good name, isn’t it?” the girl asked.

  Libby nodded, because she couldn’t say a word.

  “Children! I have a wonderful announcement to make.” Miss Regina entered the room with a bright smile on her face. “Miss Bonnie had a baby boy early this morning.”

  All the children jumped up and down and cheered.

  “She was real smart to have a boy instead of some dumb girl,” Josh said.

  “Well, it looks like we’ll have to make something special for Miss Bonnie, doesn’t it?” Libby announced. “Let’s finish the decorations we’re working on now, then we’ll make a very special card for her and her baby.”

  The entire class cheered and ran back to their chairs to finish up their projects.

  Libby laid a large piece of white cardboard on the floor and urged each child to decorate part of it in his or her own way. The theme, loosely, was babies and things babies liked to do. She sat on the floor helping when asked and making suggestions. Along with that, she also asked each child what could be done to help take care of a baby. She was surprised by some of their answers since many children already proved to be well informed on the subject.

  She sighed when she stopped to study Josh’s section.

  “Josh, are you drawing what I think you’re drawing?”

  He looked up. He knelt on the floor, where he had a corner of the cardboard to himself.

  “I’m just showin’ what babies do,” he protested, pointing to the drawing he’d started in pencil. “And you gotta admit they do it a lot. Do we have any more brown crayons?”

  “You cannot show that on the card,” she told him firmly. “Draw something else babies do. Playing in a playpen or crawling on the floor or something.”

  Josh looked puzzled for a few minutes as he thought about Libby’s suggestions. He suddenly brightened and leaned over to erase his drawing. Libby heaved a sigh of relief and moved on to one of the other children.

  It took them two hours to decorate the large poster board the way they wanted, but they were all happy with it.

  “A baby playing?” Libby pointed to Josh’s section where a baby wearing a black-and-white-striped playsuit was in a playpen that looked more like a prison cell.

  He nodded. “Cool, huh?”

  Libby couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh Josh, you are definitely one of a kind.” She picked up the poster board and set it out of the way so it wouldn’t be damaged. At the same time she instructed the children to put away the crayons. “I’ll take this over to Miss Bonnie tonight. I know she’l
l love what you made for her.”

  “Can we finish making stuff for the tree?” Blake asked.

  “After lunch we will.”

  Libby found herself watching Becca more and more as the day progressed. She puzzled over her words and could only come up with one conclusion. Except it was too incredible for her to believe.

  The snow from the weekend left a thin white blanket on the ground, so the children played games indoors. Libby sat on a bench watching them play Simon Says. As always, Becca stood at the back of the line, the last to play. As if she sensed Libby studying her, she turned and smiled. Her smile was filled with reassurance. She walked over to Libby and patted her hand.

  “Everything will be all right, Miss Libby,” she said in her whispery voice.

  Libby couldn’t take her eyes from her.

  “You look the way Sara would have at this age,” Libby said in a barely audible voice.

  “But I’m Becca,” she corrected.

  Libby nodded as if she understood. She thought she did, but she was afraid to voice what she thought.

  By the time the day was over, she felt as if she had been working nonstop for weeks, not just eight hours. She smiled and said goodbye to the children as each was picked up. Becca was one of the last.

  “Goodbye, Miss Libby.” The little girl touched her hand.

  She managed to smile. “Goodbye, Becca.”

  “You look exhausted,” Miss Regina said as she entered the room.

  Libby laughed. “I think I’m well past that stage. But the kids did so well today that it was worth all the energy I used up.”

  Miss Regina walked over to the poster-board card and studied it carefully.

  “How did I know Josh would put a baby in a prison cell?”

  “You should have seen what he first had the baby doing.” Libby went on to explain.

  Miss Regina helped her straighten up chairs against the tables.

  “I thought I’d take the children’s card over to the hospital tonight,” Libby said.

  “She’d appreciate that.” Miss Regina patted her shoulder. “She’s in room 310.”

  Libby nodded as she pulled on her coat, then picked up the large card.

  “Good night, Miss Regina.”

  “Good night, dear.”

  When Libby walked outside, she found Tyler’s pickup parked next to her car. He was leaning against her door and he cocked an eyebrow in question at the poster board she carried.

  “Homework?”

  “It’s a baby card for Bonnie. I’m taking it to her.”

  “Care if I come along? We could get some dinner afterward,” he suggested.

  “All right, but we’ll have to take my car so the card won’t get ruined.” She deactivated the door lock.

  Tyler didn’t hesitate climbing into the passenger seat.

  “Do you need directions to the hospital?” he asked after she’d settled in and started up the engine.

  “Yes, that would be helpful.” She knew exactly where it was, but she feigned ignorance.

  “This has to make Bonnie and Gary happy,” Tyler commented, once they were on the road. “They’ve wanted a baby for a long time.”

  Libby nodded, because at the moment it was difficult to speak.

  Tyler kept up light chatter throughout the drive. He talked about the work on the preschool building and what he heard Miss Regina had planned.

  Eventually, Libby parked in the hospital parking lot and just sat there for a moment.

  Tyler picked up one of her hands and found it cold to the touch.

  “You should have worn gloves.” He rubbed it briskly between his own and blew on the skin. He picked up her other hand and repeated the process. After he was done, held both hands between his and studied her set features. “You’re nervous about going in, aren’t you?”

  She took a deep breath and nodded. “But I’m going to do it.”

  “Do you mind if I go in with you?”

  “If you behave yourself,” she advised.

  “No scratching myself in improper places. No making animal noises to the baby.” He shrugged. “Okay, but you’re ruining all my fun.”

  She arched an eyebrow. “Come on, baby ape. Just be good.”

  Tyler carried the poster board in one hand and firmly grasped Libby’s with the other. She found his silent support comforting as they walked into the hospital.

  Libby made a quick stop in the gift shop to pick up a floral arrangement, then felt a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach as they crossed the lobby toward the elevators.

  “Third floor,” she said quietly when Tyler’s fingers hovered over the control panel in silent query.

  He kept hold of her hand as they stepped off the elevator. “So even if the baby looks like a little monkey I should still tell them he’s cute?”

  “Yes, you should.” She squeezed his hand back, knowing he was just trying to ease her anxieties. “I’m all right, Tyler.”

  “Never thought you weren’t.” He pulled her close and kissed her thoroughly. Libby’s eyes were glazed when he finished. “Okay, now you can go in.”

  She stumbled into the room with Tyler right behind her. Gary was seated on the side of the bed staring at the blanketed bundle in Bonnie’s arms. The couple looked up, then looked again when they noticed Libby’s escort.

  “Congratulations, Gary.” Tyler held out his hand. He peeked past the blanket. “Thank God the kid looks like Bonnie instead of you. He’ll have a chance of getting a girl when the time comes.”

  “As if any kid with your ugly puss would have a chance,” Gary retorted.

  “Maybe if we ignore them they’ll go outside and do whatever men do to show who’s tougher,” Bonnie told Libby.

  “Such as chew nails. This is from me.” Libby set the floral arrangement on the table, then had Tyler hold up the card. “And this is from the class.”

  “How sweet.” Bonnie’s eyes glistened with tears. “I can’t believe how crazy my hormones have been.”

  “New mothers are supposed to cry.” Libby handed her a tissue.

  Bonnie studied the card more fully. “I didn’t even have to see Josh’s name to know which drawing was his. I can’t imagine this was his first choice.”

  Libby rolled her eyes. “I made the mistake of telling them to draw babies and what they do. Josh’s excuse for what he started to draw was that babies did it a lot. I suggested something a little less graphic.”

  Gary leaned over, looked at the card and laughed.

  “I’m sure glad we had a boy, honey,” he told his wife. “I’d hate to think we could end up with Josh as a son-in-law.”

  Libby leaned over and gently folded back a corner of the blue blanket swaddling the baby. Her breath caught as she looked down at a tiny scrunched-up face with closed eyes and a rosebud mouth.

  “I kept counting all his fingers and toes,” Bonnie confessed, looking down with a tender smile. “I couldn’t believe we were so lucky.”

  Libby smiled even though she felt like crying. “I guess all new mothers say that,” she said huskily, keeping her trembling hands behind her back. She started when a warm hand grasped hers.

  “I never thought a baby could be that small,” Tyler commented. He wrapped a protective arm around Libby and grinned at Bonnie and Gary’s silent exchange of questions. “Hey, I may be a little dense at times, but I know a good thing when I see it. I wasn’t going to waste any time, either. Some guy who doesn’t deserve her might have gotten there first.” He dropped a kiss on top of Libby’s head. “We hate to admire and run, but you’ve probably had people in and out all day and more to come tonight. Plus Libby gets cranky if she isn’t fed every few hours.”

  Bonnie looked amused at Libby’s expression of outrage.

  “Thank you for coming. And for the flowers and card.”

  Libby leaned over and hugged Bonnie briefly. “I’m so glad for you.” She thanked heaven that her voice didn’t crack.

  By the time they l
eft the room, she felt ready to break down.

  “You’re doing fine, sweetheart,” Tyler murmured, taking her arm as they stood in front of the elevators.

  She gulped. “I knew it would be hard. I just didn’t think it would be this hard,” she whispered.

  “Come on, let’s get some food in you. I’ll tell you some terrible jokes. You might not feel better, but you won’t feel worse, either.”

  She laughed shakily at his teasing reassurance. “Oh, Tyler, if you only knew.”

  He swung her around as they exited the elevator. “Knew what?”

  She stepped up to him and framed his face with her hands.

  “If you only knew just how special you are,” she said before kissing him.

  The heat sparking between them would have increased in intensity if they hadn’t been conscious of standing in a hospital lobby. They reluctantly parted and started toward the exit doors, but Tyler kept hold of one of her hands.

  Libby skidded to a halt when Marie Bennett and her two sons came rushing into the hospital.

  “Marie?” Libby reached out to stop her.

  “Oh, Libby, hello.” Her smile was vacant, her eyes red from weeping.

  “Is something wrong?”

  Marie’s voice trembled. “My husband had a heart attack this afternoon.”

  Libby felt shock roll through her.

  “I don’t know how many times the doctor told him he had to watch his diet and get some exercise,” Marie said with tears rolling down her cheeks. “But he never listened.” She tried to smile and patted Libby’s arm. She smiled at Tyler.

  “Remind Nathan he won’t want to lose his place at the poker games down at the VFW,” Tyler told her. “You know how much he loves those poker games.”

  “I will.”

  Libby turned around and watched Marie and the two men head for the elevators.

  You forgot me! she cried silently, still watching them. She yearned to run after them, to rejoin her family. I need to see Daddy. Remember, Mom? How I’d nag him to watch what he ate and how we’d go for walks? Daddy has to get well!