The Christmas Secret

by Donna VanLiere

  “For heaven’s sake, Gloria! Start the car!”

  “How many times do I have to say someone will notice?”

  “At least let me have the snack bag again. Maybe I can store food away like a groundhog in hibernation and stay warm.”

  “Get down, get down!” Gloria whispered. She ducked in her seat and peered over the steering wheel. “That’s our guy. I’m sure of it.”

  Miriam stretched her neck up to see a man pulling a bag from his trunk. They watched as he pulled out another bag and left them sitting by the rear passenger door of Christine’s car before leaping into his running car and pulling away. Gloria and Miriam tumbled from the car and ran across the parking lot. “Why’d he leave them sitting here this time?” Gloria asked, wrapping her scarf tighter around her neck.

  “Maybe he was on to us,” Miriam said, pulling open one of the bags. She put her hand over her nose. “What is that smell?”

  Gloria opened the second bag and flinched. She reached in and pulled out a package of ground beef. “Smells like it went bad weeks ago,” she said, throwing it back into the bag.

  “Rubbish!” Miriam said, gagging. “We’ve been waiting around for a litterer!”

  Gloria picked up a bag and headed to the Dumpster at the far end of the parking lot. She looked at Miriam. “You bring that one.”

  Miriam covered her nose with her scarf. “I have a sensitive gag reflex.”

  Gloria glared at her and Miriam was certain smoke came out of her nostrils. “Pick up that bag.”

  Miriam picked the bag up and held it away from her. “You are a bully, Gloria Bailey.”

  The Dumpster lid clanged as Gloria lifted it open. She hurled her bag inside and then Miriam’s. They ran to the side of the Dumpster when they heard voices coming out the back door of Betty’s. Miriam covered her nose with her scarf and held her breath as Gloria watched Karen get into her car. Gloria pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed a number. Miriam removed her scarf and exhaled as she talked. “Who are you calling?” She quickly inhaled, shoving the scarf over her nose again.

  “We need to pick up Zach and Haley so we can see what’s going on.”

  My cell phone rang as I was leaving. Gloria said she and Miriam would bring the kids home from Glory’s Place. I grabbed my coat while we talked and waved at Spence as I headed for the back door. The restaurant phone rang and Spence yelled at me over the noise of the dishwasher and vacuum to answer it. I hung up with Gloria and picked up the restaurant phone, covering my other ear to hear the person on the line. “Betty’s,” I said, yelling over the noise of the kitchen.

  The person said something but I couldn’t hear. He was on a cell phone and between the bad connection and the noise of the kitchen I could only make out every other word. “What?”

  “Rosemary there . . . ?”

  “Rosemary’s not in,” I said, trying to move where I could hear.

  “Can I . . . her number?”

  “We can’t give personal numbers out,” I said.

  “Can . . . I . . . note?”

  “Sure.” I grabbed a napkin and dug for a pen in my purse.

  “Had . . . interview. Got it. I . . . really . . . talk to her.”

  “Okay. And who is this?” I never made out the name. “She’ll get it tomorrow,” I said, yelling over the noise of the vacuum that Lori pushed back and forth next to me. I hung up the phone and stepped around the corner. Spence was mopping the floor in front of the message board. Rosemary wouldn’t be in until tomorrow anyway. I shoved the napkin in my purse and headed to my car.

  Gloria held Miriam close to the Dumpster so the employees leaving Betty’s wouldn’t see them. “Where is Christine?” Miriam asked, gasping for air. She took another deep breath and covered her mouth, gagging.

  “You sound like a dog,” Gloria said. She held her finger to her lips when she saw Christine walk to her car and climb inside. “She must be looking at our gifts,” Gloria said.

  Miriam uncovered her mouth and exhaled loudly as she whispered, “What’s taking so long?” She inhaled and covered half her face.

  Gloria turned to look at her. “You are the most annoying person I’ve ever been on a stakeout with. Could you just breathe like a normal person?” The car moved across the parking lot and onto the road. Miriam exhaled like she’d just come up from the bottom of the sea. Gloria grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the car.

  Iran the bags to the back deck and shoved them inside the utility shed. My heart was still throbbing when Zach and Haley ran through the front door. “My half boyfriend wasn’t there tonight,” Haley said. “He had a job interview.”

  I wasn’t listening. I told the kids to run get their pajamas on and when the lights flipped on in the bedrooms I grabbed Gloria’s and Miriam’s hands. “A model airplane was left in my car,” I said, whispering. “Along with a game for Zach and a jewelry box and package of princess shoes for Haley.” They smiled and squeezed my hands, nodding. “The second bag had two little stuffed dogs, a card game, two kids’ movies, and an envelope with three hundred dollars cash.” I pulled the envelope from my apron pocket and showed it to them. Their faces fell. Zach and Haley popped into the room and Gloria and Miriam moved for the door.

  “How’s that spirit of Christmas coming along?” Gloria asked, hugging Zach good-bye.

  He shrugged. “Mom told me there won’t be any gifts this year. How’s yours?”

  Gloria’s eyes beamed. “Shooting out my fingertips!”

  Miriam sat in the car and stared at the house. “We’re not crazy, right?”

  “It depends on who you’re talking to,” Gloria said. “But we never took our eyes off that car.”

  Miriam turned to look at her. “So how’d those gifts get in there?”

  “When we took the garbage to the Dumpster.”

  “Are you suggesting that the refuse man was a distraction? On purpose?”

  Gloria rested her forehead on the steering wheel. “That’s the only time our backs were to that car.”

  “So we pick up the refuse and someone slips a bag in her car and vanishes into thin air?”

  Gloria shrugged. “There are some things I don’t think we’re supposed to know.”

  For once in their lives they drove home in silence.

  The bell above the florist shop door rang as Marshall pushed it open Wednesday morning. “Morning, Dwight!” Dwight stepped from behind the counter and walked to a refrigerated display at the other side of the store. “Marshall, this is the most beautiful bouquet this store has ever sold.”

  He pulled the vase of flowers from the case and Marshall smiled. “Wow, those are beautiful.”

  “They come with a beautiful price, too,” Dwight said. “I don’t think you’re ready for it.”

  Marshall took the bouquet from him. “It’s okay, whatever it is. A man is married to a woman like Linda only once.”

  Dwight moved to the cash register. “That’s what they tell me. Maybe wife number three will stick for me.”

  Marshall turned the bouquet to take a good look. “Remind me again of what’s in here.”

  Dwight pointed to each variety. “Lisianthus, peony, orchid, rose, lily of the valley, stephanotis, and of course hydrangea. Absolutely gorgeous.” He rang up the flowers and watched Marshall’s face. “You know, Marshall, people don’t come in here and pay a hundred and forty dollars for a bouquet. The least you could do is react.”

  “They are stunning and beautiful and the perfect anniversary gift. I would have paid double that.”

  “Now you tell me,” Dwight said, taking the money. “I need to wrap these.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  “Are you taking them to the store? I’d like people to see these amazing flowers as they are. Have someone take pictures.” He bundled them as if they were going on a ski trip and handed them to Marshall. He opened the door and a shot of cold air blew into the store. “Happy anniversary, Marshall.”

  My car’s motor mad
e a rer-rr-ing sound again that morning when I turned the key. I tried it again, hoping it would start as it had on previous days but after several attempts it wouldn’t do anything. The kids and I ran to Dolly’s door and rang the bell. She didn’t answer. Haley rang it again and I peered through the door. All the lights were off. “Okay, back in the house,” I said. Zach opened our door and I grabbed the phone to call Betty’s. Craig answered. “My car won’t start. I’ll take the bus in.”

  “The bus!” Haley screamed. “Hurray.” I wrapped a scarf around each of their necks and pulled their hats further down on their heads for the walk to the bus station.

  It was a fifteen-minute walk and when we approached the bus stop my feet were freezing. We waited for the stoplight to change so we could cross the street and I kept my head down out of the wind. “Hey, it’s Jason,” Haley said. I saw the bus coming and grabbed Haley’s hand so we could cross the road. “Zach, look!” She waved at a car beside us and I turned to look as it pulled away. “That was my half boyfriend, Mom. He must be back.”

  “Maybe he’s headed to Glory’s Place,” I said, leading them across the street to the bus stop. We jumped on the bus and Haley led us to seats across from an older man holding flowers. I tried to move my feet inside my tennis shoes. They were so cold. I rested the back of my head against the window. What was wrong with my car? How could I pay for it, Haley’s hospital bill, and a deposit on a place to live? The thought overwhelmed me and I closed my eyes.

  “Those are pretty,” Haley said.

  “Thank you,” the man said.

  “My mom loves those kind of flowers.” I opened my eyes to see her point to a hydrangea.

  “Those are my wife’s favorite, too,” the man said.

  “Are those for her?” Haley asked.

  “Yes. It’s our anniversary today.”

  “Congratulations,” I said. “How many years?”

  “This is number forty-four.”

  “Wow! That’s older than my mom,” Haley said.

  He laughed and I squeezed Haley’s leg, giving her a look to stop bothering him. “Do you have kids?” she asked, ignoring my signal.

  “Three. And I always thought my wife was beautiful but she was really, really, really beautiful when she had them.”

  “Why?” Haley asked.

  He shrugged. “Because there’s just something about a mother and her children.” He looked at me and smiled.

  “What does she look like?”

  He leaned toward her. “No offense to your mom but my wife is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Her eyes are as blue as the sky and when she was young her hair was as dark as night. It turned gray, of course, but then that ushered in a whole new era of beautiful. She never liked it. She didn’t care for the wrinkles either but I think they only added to her beauty.”

  I looked at him and couldn’t imagine a love that was long lasting or a man who would still be enamored with me after so many years together. What he was describing was how love was supposed to be. My eyes filled with tears and I turned my face before they fell. The bus stopped and the man stood. “It was nice meeting you,” he said.

  “Nice to meet you,” Haley said. He bent over and whispered something in her ear. She took the flowers and he walked off the bus.

  “Wait!” I said, trying to stand. The driver pulled away and I turned to look at Haley.

  “He said his wife would want you to have these,” she said, holding the flowers out to me.

  I turned to see out the window and tears streamed down my face as I watched the man walk into the cemetery.

  Jason closed the car door and walked across the grounds to Marshall. He had been a sophomore in college when his grandmother died. Was that only five years ago? “I drove to the store. I didn’t think you’d come here so early.”

  “That’s okay. What time did you get back?”

  “Midnight.”

  “Did you get the job?”

  Jason nodded. “Where’re the flowers? I thought you ordered some weeks ago.”

  “I gave them to a young mother on the bus.”

  “You gave them away?” Marshall nodded and Jason laughed. “They would have been too fancy for Grandma anyway so she would have liked that.”

  Marshall smiled looking at the tombstone. “That’s what I said.”

  . . .

  I was an hour late to work. I rushed through the back door to the front counter and set the flowers down. “My car won’t start. I’m sorry,” I said, to anyone who was listening.

  Karen picked up the coffeepot and noticed the flowers. “Gorgeous,” she said. “Where’d you get them?”

  I headed to the kitchen. “A man gave them to me on the bus.”

  “Which bus and what kind of man?!”

  I laughed and hung up my coat, grabbing an apron off the hook. Gloria and Miriam were eating at one of my tables. “What happened?” Gloria said, wiping her mouth.

  “Car wouldn’t start,” I said, filling her coffee.

  She dove for her purse. “Did you tow it?” I shook my head. “I know just the guy. He’s been working on my cars for years. Do you have AAA?” I shook my head again. “No bother. He’ll go to your place.” She started to dial the number. “His name is Jack Andrews.”

  “One of the mechanics who come in here?” She nodded. “I don’t think I can afford to get it fixed right now,” I said, whispering to her. “I need an apartment. . . .” She waved me out of her face and started talking to someone.

  “He won’t charge you,” Miriam said.

  “How can he not charge me?”

  “It’s his thing,” she said. “Just like this”—she waved her hands in front of Gloria—“is her thing.” I opened my mouth and Miriam stopped me. “Gloria has discovered over the years that most people aren’t looking for a handout. They’re just looking for a hand. So shut up and take the hand.” I tried to say something but she pointed behind me to a table.

  Clayton, Julie, and their kids sat in a booth and I grabbed a pot of coffee and two cups. Julie looked radiant in a green sweater and with a bright red scarf around her head. “Well, who picked out that beautiful scarf today?” I asked.

  “I did,” Ava said. “I thought she’d look like Mrs. Santa in it but she still looks like Mom.”

  Julie laughed and I set the cups on the table, filling them with coffee. “How are you?” I asked.

  “I think I look better than I feel,” she said, whispering to me. “But that’s okay.” She spoke louder so her kids could hear. “Christmas is two days away and I can hardly wait.” She smiled at Clayton and I knew she didn’t just say that for the kids’ sakes. I had a feeling that from now on every Christmas, birthday, sunrise, and rainy day would be a thing of beauty for her.

  Jason swung open the door and scanned the restaurant. I watched him walk to the counter and lean into the vase of flowers to see if they were real. He beamed when he saw me at the waitress station. “Hey! I’m so sorry I had to bolt town like that.” My face was blank. “They moved my interview.” What was he talking about? “Did you get my messages?” I shook my head and he threw his arms in the air. “I knew they were just going into a black hole. I called Sunday before you were open and left a message and then I called yesterday.”

  I put my tray on my hip. He left town! “You had a job interview?”

  He looked at his watch. “I have to get back to work but yes!”

  “Did you get it?”

  “Yeah.”

  I forced a smile. “Congratulations. When do you start?” I wanted to say, “Why don’t you find a job here?” Or, “Please don’t go” but I didn’t.

  He looked at me and smiled. “Will we ever get to have coffee?”

  Wilson’s was packed that day. Jason helped Matt in menswear for the better part of the morning and couldn’t keep up with the mess in the fitting rooms. He hauled a wad of pants and shirts out of an empty room and dumped them onto a counter to hang.

  “Hey, where you been?
”

  He turned to see Marcus standing behind him. “Hey, dude. How’s your shot coming along?”

  “Nothing but net,” Marcus said. “And Dalton can’t throw and none of the girls know how to do it, either. Where you been?”

  Jason slung a pair of pants over a hanger and hung it on the rack. “I had to go for a job interview.”

  “Where at?”

  “At a big firm that does accounting for lots of businesses.”

  Marcus slapped his head. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about! Will you still work at Glory’s Place and play basketball?”

  Jason hung another pair of pants. “No. It’s pretty far from here.”

  Marcus was quiet and looked around the department for his mom. “See you later.”

  Matt stepped beside Jason holding three ties. “Hey, a special shipment of these ties was due today. Could you see if they’re here? These are the last of them we have.”

  Jason ran down the stairs and into the shipping department. It was empty. He went through the swinging doors to the mailroom and stopped. “Hold it. Your name is . . . Tina?” She shook her head. “Tonya?” She raised her eyebrows. “Tammy?”

  “Close enough. Tamara.”

  He snapped his fingers. “Now I remember! I’m looking for a box of ties.” She pointed to a box on the opposite counter. “How’s it going down here?”

  “I like it,” she said, sorting through a stack of mail in her hands. “You’ve been gone.”

  “I had a job interview.”

  She slid envelopes into slots on the wall. “Did you get it?” He nodded. “And you’re bursting with excitement!” He laughed and leaned onto the counter. “Are you glad you got it?”

  “I thought I would be but I’m all messed up. Ever been like that?”

  “You don’t even want to go there with me!” She slid more mail into the slots and looked over her shoulder at him. “What’s the problem?”

  He watched her work and wondered why he would tell her anything but couldn’t think of any reason not to tell her everything. He had the sense that she knew far more than he did. “A girl. A woman.”