The Patricia Kiyono Christmas Collection (33 page)

“
You’ve been suffering in
silence for all this time just because you’re embarrassed?” Matt
asked. He didn’t raise his voice, but there was steel behind his
words. “If you’d been upfront with the doctors they could have done
tests to see what’s causing your gas problem and set it
right.”

“
I couldn’t see making
other people suffer.”

“
So you were going to just
suffer in silence and let us worry?” Mike demanded. “You always
taught us to think of other people. How do you think it made us
feel that you didn’t trust us enough to tell us what was wrong? I
was ready to drag you off to a shrink because I thought you had a
social problem.”

“
There’s nothing wrong with
my mind,” she snapped.

“
No, there’s not,” Mike
agreed. “But I’m sad that you didn’t think enough of us to trust us
with what was wrong. Did you think we would laugh at you? That we
would think less of you? I don’t know whether to be insulted or sad
about that.”

“
I just… I can’t…” Loretta
fumbled for words and finally sank in her chair, sobbing. Her sons
went to her, while Kathy and Helen went about opening windows.
Helen noticed several scented candles scattered about the apartment
and lit them using a lighter set next to one of them.

How ironic. Loretta’s medical problems
continued longer than they should have because she didn’t trust her
sons. Howard thinks I trust my sons too much. How do you know when
to trust and when to keep things to yourself?

Mike got out
of his car and walked up the drive toward the
house. Leaves in bright colors covered the lawn and driveway, and
he made a mental note to use the broom he’d found in the garage to
sweep the leaves off the drive. The yard rake was hung neatly next
to it, a testament to the pride Helen’s husband had taken in his
yard. Raking the yard would take some time, but it would be good
exercise, he supposed. He really needed to speak to her about
hiring a lawn service.

Funny how he’d come to
think about yard and lawn care now that he’d been in Zutphen for a
while. In Chicago he hadn’t had to think about it at all. While at
work downtown in the urban jungle, there was no lawn, except for
the small patches of green cared for by city workers. Home was in a
high-rise apartment building with small bits of grass taken care of
by others. But here, people took pride not only
inside
their homes, but the outside
area. Every time he’d cut Helen’s lawn, he’d seen other people
outside doing the same thing, and they’d often wave at each other.
Apparently it was another way residents bonded with each
other.

He knocked on the front door of Helen’s
house, a small bouquet of flowers clutched in his hand. When she
opened it, he couldn’t help staring at the disheveled woman who
stood in the doorway.

“
What’s wrong? Are you
sick?” he blurted.

She frowned. “No, why?” She ran a hand
through her hair and grimaced. “Oh. I guess I haven’t washed up
today. Too much to do.” She shook her head as if to shake the
mental cobwebs away. “You’re all dressed up. Are you going out of
town?”

“
I was going to see if you
wanted to have dinner with me. But if you’re busy, maybe I should
ask if I can help you.”

She laughed then, and relief washed over him
that she was healthy but just tired. “I’d love some help. This is
easy but tedious work. Come in.” She opened the door wider and
stepped back. She waved her arm over the dining room table, which
was covered with envelopes and various advertising materials. “I’m
stuffing envelopes for Paul. He had to cut back on his business
expenses and asked me to help him with this mailing. I had no idea
it would be this much work. I’ve been at this all day.”

He held the bouquet out to her. “Here. Looks
like you need these.”

Her quick intake of breath and the light in
her eyes made him glad he’d brought the flowers. “Oh, they’re
lovely! Let me put them in a vase.” She took them to the kitchen
sink, and he followed her.

“
Matt and I got them to
thank you for getting my mom to agree to go
with
us to see the doctor and to
agree to tests. She’s promised to be upfront with him about what
her problems are, including her embarrassing moments, and hopefully
we’ll find out exactly what’s happening. Matt and Kathy and I are
extremely thankful.” He rolled up his sleeves. “And now that you
have those, why don’t you let me help you finish the job
here.”

An hour later, Helen sealed the last
envelope and placed it in one of the boxes Paul had provided for
her. Ten other boxes sat stacked against the wall, and Helen placed
this one on top of them.

“
Tell me again why you’re
doing this,” Mike asked.

“
Paul said his envelope
stuffing service became too expensive and he had to quit using them
to save money. He was looking for a cheaper service, but then his
secretary left on maternity leave, so there was no one to do it. He
asked me if I could help him out, and I agreed. I had no idea he
had so many clients.”

A red flag waved in his mind. The mailing
didn’t include the type of things he would send to present clients.
They were advertisements from someone seeking new clients.

No use making accusations or upsetting her.
This is her son, and she’s not going to want me speaking ill of
him.

“
Well, his work is done.
Can you join me for dinner?”

Her eyes lit up. “Oh, that would be lovely.
I don’t think I’ve eaten since my bowl of cereal this morning!” She
looked down at herself and groaned with dismay. “But I’m such a
mess.”

“
I can wait while you
freshen up. I’ve got some phone calls to make.”

He waited until she’d closed the door to her
bedroom before he pulled out his cell phone. Finding the number he
needed, he dialed.

“
Woodland
Investigations.”

“
Harry, this is Mike
Sikkema. I’d like you to get some information on the financial
status of a consulting firm here in West Michigan…” He told his
friend what he suspected and why.

“
I’ll find out what I can.
Can you verify the spelling of the son’s name? And do you have an
address and the name of his firm?”

Mike glanced at the envelopes they had just
stuffed. The firm’s address was on the envelope. He took one out
and read it aloud.

“
Got it. I’ll let you know
what I find out.”

“
Thanks. I’d like to get at
the bottom of this.” He put his phone back in his pocket, only to
find Helen staring at him.

“
You want to get to the
bottom of what?”

“
It’s nothing.”

“
It involves Paul’s
business. I heard you reading the address to whoever you were
talking to.”

“
Just… checking out his
business recommendations. I might want to hire him
sometime.”

Her eyes narrowed, and she crossed her arms.
“Tell me what’s going on. You use the Internet a lot more than I
do, and even I know that you can find those types of things online.
You’re digging for something else. What is it?”

He sighed. “I want to find out why he feels
he needs to have his mother do all this work for him. If his
secretary is sick or on maternity leave, all he has to do is call a
temp agency and get someone to fill in. Why didn’t he do that?”

Her hands went down to her sides and played
with the hem of her blouse. “I-I don’t know. He said he was making
cutbacks in his office expenses.”

“
And yet he and his wife
dress to the nines, and they have memberships at the country club,
the health club, and who knows what else.”

“
Well, I’m sure he’ll drop
those, if he needs to. I’m happy to help him out if he needs it.”
She looked back up, determination shining from her eyes. “I trust
him. He’s my son.”

“
Of course you do. That’s
natural. But I care about you and I want to find out what’s going
on. Like why he can live in style while you have to watch every
penny.”

“
I’m not going to ask him
for money.”

“
No, but he has control
over yours.”

“
Michael! Are you accusing
my son of being dishonest?”

“
I’m not accusing him of
anything.”

“
But you’re looking into
his business.” She gasped and jabbed at the phone in his pocket.
“That was an investigator you were talking to, wasn’t it? You’re
going to have someone look into his business to see if he’s doing
something shady.”

“
No, I—”

“
I can’t believe you would
do this! You don’t even know Paul that well.”

I know him enough to see that he’s taking
advantage of you. Too bad I can’t tell you that.

He put his hands out in front of him,
warding her off. “You’re right, I was out of line. I’ll call Harry
and tell him to forget it.”

“
You do that. And you can
forget about dinner with me tonight. You can let yourself out. I’ll
just fix myself a sandwich.” She turned and stalked back into the
bedroom, slamming the door shut.

Shaking his head, he picked up his coat and
left.

On Thanksgiving
morning,
the DeGroot family arrived at the
high school auditorium for the church service. Helen followed Paul
and his family to their seats. She kept her gaze away from the
front row on the opposite side of the aisle where the Sikkema
family always sat. Keeping her eyes cast down, she pretended to
inspect the contents of her purse, but she saw nothing. She hadn’t
spoken to Mike since their heated conversation a few days earlier.
Her heart still hurt at the way it had ended. But his suspicions
had angered her. How dare he accuse Paul of mishandling her
money?

“
Mom, are you looking for
something?” Nancy whispered.

“
Ah. No, I… I honestly
can’t remember what I was looking for. You know how us old people
forget what we’re doing,” she improvised. “I guess I’ll just… pay
attention to what’s going on. Are you sure you don’t need anything
for dinner?”

“
Nope. I’m all set. Bonnie
and I have everything under control.”

Helen smiled weakly. “You certainly do.
Thanks so much for taking care of me.”

“
You’re so
welcome.”

The Bennett family filed into the row in
front of them, followed by Joanie’s sister Sophie. Mitch and Angie
Carson sat with them. Sophie leaned back and whispered, “Thanks
again for giving the theater such a great deal on the props. They
were perfect.”

The women ceased their conversation as
Pastor Sikkema took the podium and welcomed the small but happy
group. Helen sat back to listen.

“
I want to welcome you all
on this glorious fall morning. Thanks for leaving the hustle of
Thanksgiving preparation to join us in the type of celebration that
first started the holiday — giving thanks for the things God has
given us. Today I wanted to focus on one thing specifically: the
people who have been put into our lives at exactly the right time
when we need them.”

Helen’s mind immediately went to the
gentleman sitting across the aisle who had entered her life so
unexpectedly, when she’d been a lonely widow with no direction in
her life. Had Mike told his brother about their conversation last
weekend?

She listened intently as the pastor cited
helpful people in the scriptures who were in the right place when
people needed them — the Egyptian princess who found baby Moses in
the rushes, the little boy who fed the thousands with his basket of
fish and bread, and of course, the Samaritan who helped a broken
traveler. Each of these people appeared at just the right
moment.

“
Because of these people,
someone’s life was saved. That person probably gave thanks, and we
should, too. Not just to the person who came, but to the God who
sent him or her.”

She peeked across the aisle to where Mike
sat next to his mother, but brought her attention back to the
pulpit as the pastor wrapped up his message.

“
Even though each of these
people were heaven sent, none of them knew that what they were
doing would affect not only the lives of the people they helped,
but countless others. And the people they helped were thankful that
these people came into their lives when they did. So today, I’d
like to challenge you to thank someone who has come into your life
at just the right time. If you have to, seek them out and find
them. Let that person know how what they did helped you, even
changed you. You’ll be glad you did.”

After the closing prayer and hymn, the
congregation filed out. Helen sat frozen, thinking about what the
pastor had said, until Paul tapped her shoulder. “Mom, it’s time to
go. Did you need to talk to anyone? We can stay a few minutes for
coffee.”

“
Oh! Yes, Paul, I need to
speak to someone.” She rose and glanced across the aisle, but Mike
wasn’t there anymore. Had he already left? Well, eventually he’d be
back at his apartment. It wasn’t as if she wouldn’t have another
opportunity to talk to him, but it bothered her how they had left
things the other night. She’d accused him of some awful things,
called him some names when he was trying to protect her. But he
didn’t have children, so he didn’t understand that a parent’s love
for her child overrode all suspicions. Paul was a good man and he
wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.