The Happiest Season (22 page)

“Oh, yes, honey.  I’m fine.”  She abruptly sneezed and
remembered Rickey had apparently been playing with a kitten.  “Into the
bathtub, young man,” she said, struggling to hold herself together. 

“Ah, mama,” he groaned.

“No arguments,” she asserted. 

He rose and slowly climbed the stairs.  She let Pocomo into
the house and then turned off all the lights.  It was early yet, but she hadn’t
been lying to John when she’d told him she had a busy week ahead.  Might as
well get to bed early, she thought.  She was going to need all the rest she
could get.  Christmas was exactly one week away, and there was still so much to
do.

She hadn’t wrapped any gifts yet, nor had she done her
shopping for Christmas dinner.  She remembered that she’d accepted John’s
invitation to join him on Christmas Eve, and that she had also asked him to
join her and Rickey for Christmas day.

How was she going to get out of those engagements?  Once
again, the happiest season of all had become rife with complications. 

*** 

“Did you talk to John?” Gloria asked. 

She and Maggie were sitting in the break room at work,
enjoying their afternoon tea.  Both women were looking forward to the end of
the work day.

“I sort of talked to him,” Maggie responded.

“Do you feel better then?”

Maggie shook her head.  “I don’t feel anything,” she said
with a shrug.  “I just can’t deal with much more right now.  First and
foremost, I need to get Rickey and me through the holiday and…”

“
Maggie
!” Gloria chided, “Christmas isn’t to be
endured
. 
It’s to be
enjoyed
.  It’s the time to celebrate the birth of Christ. 
It’s the season of joy and hope.”

Gloria didn’t miss the flicker of pain on her friend’s
face.  “I know you lost your husband during this time of year, but you have to
try not to associate the season with loss.  For Rickey’s sake…” she urged.

“I know you’re right,” Maggie said.  “I really do want this
to be a wonderful holiday for him.  I know I didn’t handle myself very well
during the past two holidays, but…”

“It’s understandable,” Gloria was quick to assure her, since
it wasn’t her intent to make Maggie feel bad.  “But it is time to turn it around—to
take your life back—to take your holiday back.”

“So you’ve said,” Maggie smiled.

“I do tend to say a lot,” Gloria admitted.

“But you do mean well,” Maggie acknowledged with a chuckle.

Gloria raised a finger.  “If you decide you’re not going to
spend Christmas day with John, I want your promise you’ll come over to my
house.”

“I don’t want to intrude.”

“You won’t be!” Gloria cried.  “We always have a crowd. 
Friends and family alike.  It’s always a good time.  For dessert, we have a
birthday cake for Jesus.  We all sing happy birthday to Him.  He’s the reason
for the season, after all.”

Maggie smiled.  “All right.  We’ll be there…”

“Hey, if it happens you and John manage to work things out,
bring him too,” she said.  “The more the merrier.”

“We’ll see…”

John replayed the message from Maggie.  “John, I apologize,
but I’m afraid Rickey and I won’t be able to get together with you for the
holidays.  I want to thank you for … offering, but… something … has come up. 
We hope you have a wonderful holiday.”

He sat down in the chair in his small bedroom.  When he’d seen
the blinking light, indicating a message waiting, he’d somehow sensed it was
Maggie cancelling.

Of course, it didn’t take a mind reader to figure out that
she wasn’t interested in seeing him any longer.  He’d called her twice during
the past week, inviting her and Rickey to meet him for dinner, but she hadn’t
taken his calls.  He’d left messages and she, in turn, had left messages,
declining his offers, but she had been careful to leave them while he was
working, so the two couldn’t actually speak.  She’d made it abundantly clear
she wasn’t interested in him in any way, shape, or form.

With a sigh, he rose from the chair and picked up the duty
belt he’d draped over the back of the chair.  As he was clasping the belt, his
phone rang.  He eagerly crossed the small room to view the caller ID.  It was
Kim. 

Kim
.  The source of his problems.

He ignored the ringing phone and walked downstairs.  He
considered packing a lunch, but remembered that the swing shift was having a
potluck.  He hadn’t made anything to contribute, but found a plate of homemade
cookies a friend’s wife had given him.  They weren’t nearly as good as Maggie’s
cookies, but would have to do.  

He finished readying for work, grabbed the plate of cookies,
and headed for his patrol car.  As was true for the start of many holiday
weekends, his call load was hectic and unrelenting.  He was kept busy until
dinner time, and barely had time to grab a quick bite at the potluck, before he
was dispatched again.

Call after call came his way, and he finally found a moment
to grab a cup of coffee at a convenience store.  He climbed back into his car,
only to receive yet another call.  By late evening, he was exhausted, but there
was no end in sight.

On some level, he was grateful for the hectic pace, since
otherwise, he would have been dwelling on his problems.  Namely, the fact that
Maggie was still unwilling to speak to him.

He’d known her and her son such a short time, but he felt a
gaping hole in the fabric of his life.  He’d grown attached so quickly, that
his heart felt as if it were breaking in two.

He contemplated calling Kim and asking her what she’d said
to Maggie, but he had no interest in speaking to her, or giving her the satisfaction
of knowing that she’d been successful in her interloping efforts. 

When dispatch alerted him to another call, he activated his
emergency lights and siren and headed directly to what turned out to be a
domestic disturbance.  Thankfully, he was able to calm the situation quickly
and get on his way.

As he pulled away from the home, he happened a glance at a
nearby home.  He spotted Gloria on the porch, awaiting a group of people who
were exiting their vehicles.

For whatever reason, he pulled in behind one of the cars. 
He climbed out of the car and gave Gloria a wave.  She spotted him at the same
moment.

“John!  Hello!  Can you come in for a minute?  We’re having
a Christmas Eve, eve, get together!”

He nodded and gestured for her to give him a moment.  He
leaned back into the car and notified dispatch that he was taking a break from
service.  After locking the car door, he strode up to the porch, where Gloria
waited for him.  An older man stood beside her.

“John, this is my husband, Dan.  Dan, John.”

The two men shook hands.  “Are you hungry, Officer?” Dan
asked.  “We have a pretty good spread in the kitchen.”

John smiled his gratitude.  “I could probably eat
something,” he said.  “Thank you for the invitation.”

He followed the couple into the house, which was decked out
in holiday decorations.  Gloria quickly introduced him to a crowd of family
members and friends.  He smiled a greeting, and soon found himself at a table
in the kitchen, with a huge plate of delectable foods in front of him.  He was
actually grateful he hadn’t had a chance to eat much earlier, since this spread
looked far more appetizing.

Dan and Gloria joined him at the table, and the group
visited for a while, until Dan was called away by one of his grandchildren.

“So…  How’ve you been, John?” Gloria asked, giving him a
speculative look.

He met her gaze and gave a humorless laugh.  “You want the
truth?”

She nodded.

“I’m…”  He sighed.  “Not so good.  I, uh…”

“You’re wondering what went wrong between you and Maggie,”
she interjected.

He nodded and laid down his fork.  His sincere eyes bore
into hers.  “Gloria, I don’t know…  I mean, I met Maggie and it was like…”  He
perked up and smiled at the memory.  “It was as if I met the woman of my
dreams.”  He gave a self-deprecating laugh.  “I know I sound like a nut, but it
was as if I was supposed to meet her and Rickey.”

Gloria nodded and smiled.  “I think you’re exactly right.  I
think the same is true of Maggie—that the two of you were supposed to meet.”

“But something went wrong,” he said.  “Well, I know what
went wrong, or have some idea, anyway.  I got a call from my ex, and she told
me she had spoken to Maggie.  I can only imagine the things she might have
said.”

“She wants you back.”  It was a statement, not a question.

“Yeah, I guess so.  And for the life of me, I can’t imagine
why.  She left me for someone else.  And I have to be honest, she hurt me, and
for several months there, I would have taken her back.  But…”

“Meeting Maggie changed that,” Gloria supplied.

He nodded.  “Seeing Maggie—how she lives her life—how she
loves her son—”  He smiled sheepishly.  “It was as if I saw the world through
different eyes.  I saw clearly what I wanted and had wanted all along—a woman
who would be a partner in every sense of the word.”

Gloria’s face glowed with satisfaction.  She’d known all
along that John cared deeply for Maggie.  That he, in fact, loved her.

“Tell her,” she urged.

“I want to.  I intended to.  But she won’t speak to me.  We
were supposed to spend both Christmas Eve and Christmas day together, but she
cancelled.”

“She’s scared,” Gloria mused, and grimaced when she realized
she’d spoken the words aloud.  “Look, John, Maggie is a very private person,
and I know I shouldn’t be discussing this with you.  It’s not my place.  I can
tell you, though, that I know she cares about you too.”

He smiled with relief.  “I thought she might.  But I also
know she’s had reservations from the beginning.  Understandable,” he added. 
“She has a little boy to think about, and he’s been through a lot, losing his
father.  I understand Maggie needs time, and I’m good with that.  I just wish
she’d let me tell her.”  He made a worried face.  “I also hope she’ll let me
address anything Kim might have said that isn’t true.”

Gloria grappled with whether to tell him what she knew, but
opted to plunge ahead and just say it.  “John, your ex told Maggie, among other
things, that you have a son.  Do you?”

His eyes widened in disbelief, but then he remembered, Kim
had seen him with Rickey in the home improvement store and later, at the
nursery, and had jumped to all sorts of conclusions.  “Oh, wow,” he said.  “No,
I don’t have a child.”

Gloria nodded, her eyes flooding with relief.  “I wonder why
your ex would say such a thing…”

“I think I know…” he began, but was interrupted by a
telephone ringing nearby.

Gloria smiled apologetically as she turned in her chair to
check the caller ID on the phone behind her.  Her eyes widened.  It was Maggie.

“It’s Maggie now,” she mouthed.

He nodded, and felt his pulse begin to race.  He wanted
desperately to speak to her—to make her understand that his ex hadn’t been
honest with her.  It pained him to think she’d portrayed him as a liar.  He
never wanted Maggie to think he didn’t care deeply about her.

“What do you mean, he’s missing?” Gloria asked, as she rose
from the chair.  “Rickey is missing?”  She clutched her chest.

John felt as if he’d sustained a physical blow.  Rickey was
missing?

He pushed back from the table and watched Gloria’s face, his
shocked features registering abject horror.  “Gloria, can I talk to her?”

She thrust the phone at him.  “I’m going to look for him!”

She made as if to leave, but John gently grasped her arm. 
“Hold up, Gloria,” he said softly, and then spoke into the phone.  “Maggie,
it’s John.  Tell me, what’s happening?”

When she began speaking, he heard the terror in her voice. 
She could barely manage to speak.  “I … I went to check on him…  He went to bed
about an … hour ago.  But when I went into his room … he wasn’t … there.”

“Maggie, take a deep breath.”  He paused briefly.  “Okay,
good.  Could he be hiding?  You know, playing around?”

He listened intently, and then resumed speaking.  “Okay. 
You’re sure he’s not in the house…”  Suddenly, it hit him.  He suspected he
knew where Rickey might be.  “Maggie, listen.  I think Rickey may have gone to
the nativity scene.”

He was silent for several seconds, listening.  “Something
tells me he’s there.” … “No, no.  Let me go.” …  He gave a resigned sigh. 
“Okay, give me a five minute head start, and head over there.  I don’t want you
there alone.”

He hung up and stared at the receiver in his hand.  Gloria
took it from him.  “You’re going to the nativity scene then?”

He nodded.    

“Please call me the instant you know something.”