The Patricia Kiyono Christmas Collection (21 page)

A light tap on his shoulder had him turning
around. He smiled when he recognized his college roommate.

“
Loren, good to see you.”
The former football star had returned to his hometown to coach at
the local high school after injuries had cut short his career in
the pros. These days, Loren VanDoorn’s teams made the news every
fall for their prowess on the field.

“
Good to see you too,
buddy. I didn’t know you were in town.” Both men kept their voices
low, as Mabel Groendyke, the church organist, began the
prelude.

“
Just got in last
night.”

“
Will you have time to join
us for dinner sometime?”

“
Absolutely. I’ll be here a
few weeks at least.” He tilted his head slightly toward his mother,
and his friend nodded in understanding.

“
We’ll talk later,” Loren
whispered as he sat back.

As he settled into his own seat, he spied
the woman from the grocery store. She sat between two younger men —
her sons? There were several children with them, but no man her
age. One of the men leaned toward her and spoke something that
apparently didn’t sit well with her. She didn’t respond, but her
expression clearly showed what she thought. What happened to Joe,
or whoever it was she was talking to in the store?

The praise band led off with an
introduction, and the worship leader invited the congregation to
stand for the song service. Mike put away thoughts of the pretty
woman and joined in the familiar melodies. How long had it been
since he’d participated in a good old-fashioned hymn sing?

~~~~

Family dinners on
Sunday afternoons. Another pleasant tradition he’d
left behind when he’d moved away from West Michigan. He and his
mother, brother, sister-in-law, and the children sat around the
same oak table of his childhood. The food piled in the center was
simple but tasty, and he’d enjoyed every bite.

“
More roast beef, Mike?”
Kathy held the serving platter out to him. The huge roast still
covered half the platter, even after the six of them had helped
themselves to several servings.

Mike held his hands in front of him. “No
thanks. I couldn’t eat another bite. Your roast is the best—”
Glancing at his mother, he added, “Next to Mom’s.”

Loretta sat back and
laughed. “You dear, sweet boy. Trying to keep your mama from having
her feelings hurt. I haven’t cooked a meal in years, and I don’t
miss it a bit. I chop vegetables and stir or put things in the oven
when Kathy’s busy, but she’s the cook here, and I’m not ashamed to
admit it. So go ahead and praise the roast beef. You’re right,
it
is
the best
around.”

Kathy blushed and waved away the compliment.
“If I’m a good cook, it’s because I learned from you, Mom.” She
stood, gathering plates before heading to the kitchen. “And I used
your recipe for shortcakes to go with some strawberries I found at
Zylstra’s yesterday. Anyone want dessert?”

At the enthusiastic response, she turned
toward the kitchen. Mike stood and gathered the rest of the plates.
“I’ll help you, Kath. I need to stand up for a few minutes.”

He brought his pile of plates to the sink
and turned back for more, but Kathy caught his arm. “It’s so good
to see Mom laughing. I can’t remember the last time I saw her with
a smile on her face.”

“
Really? Matt said she’d
been reclusive, but he didn’t mention that she was
unhappy.”

“
I think the unhappiness
stems from not being with her friends. But she just won’t go
anywhere. Today is the first time she’s been out of the house in
weeks.”

Mike frowned. That wasn’t like his mother.
Loretta had been a pastor’s wife, like Kathy, and had been one of
the busiest women he’d ever known. She’d never neglected her
children but had her hand in most of the committees in her
husband’s church. To hear that she wasn’t leaving the house, not
even for church services, was a red flag.

“
What does she say is the
problem?”

“
She won’t say. Just says
she’s not feeling up to it. We’ve tried to make appointments for
her, but she won’t go to the doctor. Matt and I are at our wits’
end. Maybe she’ll open up to you. She respects you.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to disabuse
her of that notion, but Kathy’s son Jamie burst into the
kitchen.

“
Grandma wants to know if
she can have ice cream on her strawberry shortcake.”

Kathy opened the freezer
and pulled out a container. “Coming right up.” She handed the
carton to her son. “Take this into the dining room. Mike, you take
the bowls and spoons and I’ll bring the biscuits and strawberries.”
She gave Mike a look that said
We’ll talk
later.
He nodded. Yes, they’d definitely
talk.

Helen looked over
the list of work needed on her car and held back
the string of curses running through her mind. She’d seen the light
on her dashboard go on, so she’d brought her car to the gas station
on the edge of town. Joe had always been meticulous about caring
for their cars, and she knew if a light went on, something was
wrong. Well, that something wrong was going to cost almost two
thousand dollars to fix. Something the mechanic called a blown head
gasket. She had no idea what a head gasket was or how it had
managed to blow up, but it apparently was a major problem. Her
options, according to him, were to get it fixed or replace the
engine. Either option would put her out of a car for a few days.
What to do?

In times like this, she missed Joe the most.
She wasn’t one to waffle or wait for someone to rescue her, but
sometimes it would be so nice to have someone else to help her make
a decision.

But Joe was gone, and there was no use
stewing about it. She needed to make up her mind. She nearly took
her phone out of her purse to call Paul, but a voice inside her
made her put it back.

“
How soon can you get it
fixed?” she asked the mechanic.

The guy looked too young to be out of
school. First, he scratched his chin. Then he lifted his clipboard
and checked through the stack of papers on it. Finally he shrugged.
“Could be a week or more.”

Two weeks without a
car?
“Ah, can I get a loaner?”

“
Yeah. I think so. Lemme
check.” Helen expected him to walk over to the service counter, but
instead the boy leaned forward and looked past her. “Hey, Lonnie,”
he yelled across the garage. “Can you set this lady up with a
loaner? I gotta fix her engine.”

Great. Now everyone in the shop knows. By
suppertime everyone in Zutphen will have heard about my
transportation woes.

And Paul would be upset about her wasting
money. She appreciated all he did, but sometimes she wished he
would act more like a son and less like a parent toward her.

Lonnie yelled back. Apparently, anything
said in this garage was for public ears. “I think we got something
she can use. Send her over when you’re done.”

Half an hour and ten
signatures later, Helen drove out of the station lot with a late
model compact. It was smaller than her car, but newer. And since
Lonnie didn’t
loan
cars, she’d paid extra to
rent
one from him.

She headed for the high school. Time for
Wednesday night church activities, and tonight was the first
meeting for the Christmas pageant. She’d already written the parts
out and now she needed to find out who would be able to play
them.

Pulling in to her usual spot on the side of
the church, she parked and got out just as Nolan DeSmit pulled up
with his twin nephews, Jordan and Josh Longton.

“
Hey, Mrs. DeGroot. All
ready to put on another great pageant?” The tall, lean police
officer got out of his car and opened the back doors to let his
charges out.

“
I could always use more
boys in the pageant. They’re not as quick to volunteer as the
girls,” Helen moaned.

Nolan grinned. “Not unless there are some
pretty girls in the pageant,” he teased.

Helen smiled back. Nolan had played the part
of Joseph the year she started working on the pageant. He’d grown
into a handsome man, and a respected member of the community.

Nolan had always been a caretaker. He looked
out for his sister Peggy, and now he took care of the entire
community as a member of the county sheriff’s department. Since he
was dressed in casual clothing, he was apparently off duty as an
officer and on duty as Uncle Nolan. He let the pair out of the back
seat, but before they could dash into the church, he caught an arm
of each boy and waited for them to look him in the eye.

“
I’m not going to chase you
all over the school. First, you’re going to the pageant practice
with Mrs. Bennett and Miss Sophie. What are you going to remember
tonight, boys?” he asked.

“
Think before you do,” they
chorused.

“
And when Mrs. Bennett asks
you to do something, what are you going to do?”

“
Listen and do what she
says,” said Jordan.

“
And stay in my seat until
she says to get up,” added Josh.

“
Good. Now I’m going to
check with Mrs. Bennett after the practice and if she says you two
behaved yourselves, we’ll do something special this weekend while
your mom goes to her counseling session. If she says you were bad,
then you’re going to help me clean my garage.”

“
We’ll be good!” the boys
promised. They took off toward the door, but Nolan stopped them
with a whistle.

“
Slow down, you
two.”

The boys nodded and continued at a slightly
more sedate pace.

The scene reminded Helen of Joe with their
boys. He’d also been patient but firm. They knew what was expected
of them and understood what would happen if they failed to meet
those expectations.

If only her boys could show some patience
with their mother.

She knew her hopes had been in vain when
Paul set his plate next to hers and sat beside her. Wednesday night
dinner at church was another time she could count on seeing at
least some of her children. As soon as he said grace, he started in
on her.

“
So Lonnie tells me you
need some engine work done.”

She took her time answering, cutting her
chicken into tiny pieces. “Apparently so.” She braced herself for
the criticism she knew would come next.

“
Why did you take the car
to him for repair? You know his prices are high. And he told me he
rented you a car to use while he’s fixing it.”

“
I had no idea the car
needed major surgery, or whatever you call it. The dash light went
on and I went there to find out what it meant. Besides, I figured I
should consult Lonnie first, since he’s a neighbor and a member of
this church.”

“
That’s true, but you have
to watch your money. Once you found out what the problem was, you
could have taken it somewhere else for the repairs. If you’d called
me, I would have told you to take it to Holland or Hudsonville,
someplace where they wouldn’t charge you extra for a loaner. You’re
going to spend a lot more than you need to because of your
loyalties.”

She counted to herself as
she buttered her biscuit.
Take deep
breaths. Stay calm.

Paul apparently didn’t read that particular
bit of wisdom. “Well, Mom? What do you have to say for
yourself?”

Teeth clenched, she took a deep, slow
breath. Then she turned to her son, her expression bland. “It’s a
good thing I’ve got those thousands, isn’t it?

He rolled his eyes. “Mom—”

She held up her hand to stop the reprimand
she’d heard over and over since Joe had died. “I know, I know. I
have to live off the interest on that money, otherwise it won’t
last. I get it. But unless you want to drive me around, I need a
car. I needed to make a decision and I made it. I didn’t consult
you because I’m a big girl, and once in awhile, I ought to do
something on my own. I’ll have to tighten up even more to pay for
the repairs. If the money dries up, I’ll come and live in your
attic.”

“
You could save yourself a
lot of money if you’d downsize.”

“
All in good time. Right
now I’m happy where I am. I’m managing the maintenance on the house
and all the stuff your father used to do. I’ll move when I’m good
and ready.” Her appetite had disappeared, so she picked up her
plate and took it to the window of the kitchen.

Molly Dekker took her tray with a frown.
“Helen, you’ve hardly eaten anything! Aren’t you feeling well?”

“
I’m fine. I guess I wasn’t
as hungry as I thought. Guess I shouldn’t have had that snack this
afternoon.” She stalked out of the room toward the junior
department classroom. If she’d stayed with her son any longer, she
might have said something she’d regret later.

Helen checked the names of the students
signed up to participate in the Christmas pageant. Right now only a
half dozen girls wanted parts. Every year it got harder and harder
to convince the boys in the congregation to participate. More than
once, she’d had to recruit adults to fill in with major speaking
parts. Looked like she might have to resort to that again this
year.

Not for the first time, the thought of
putting on the pageant filled her with dread. Rather than
excitement, the idea of coming up with a script, guiding young ones
to speak and act onstage, dealing with costumes, lighting, sound,
and everything else put a sour taste in her mouth. She’d continued
with this responsibility for so long it had become her identity.
She was known as Mrs. DeGroot, the Christmas pageant lady and not
much else. Maybe it was time to find something else to fill her
time. But what?