Snow Angels (16 page)

“Honey?” Not wanting to startle her if she was sleeping, Andy tapped softly on the door to Kendra’s hospital room. “I’m back. And I brought you a visitor.”

Andy peeped around the edge of the door and then, seeing Kendra was awake, pushed it open a little wider so Thea could see, too.

Slowly, Kendra shifted herself higher on the pillow, careful not to jostle the slumbering bundle beside her, and smiled. “Come in,” she said softly. “Meet your sister.”

Wide-eyed, Thea approached Kendra’s bed and stared at the little face that peeped out from the nest of pink flannel. “She’s so tiny,” Thea whispered.

“Well, she came a little earlier than planned, but she still weighs six pounds. Big enough so she’ll be able to come home when I do. I’m just sorry we won’t be home for Christmas. I tried to talk the doc into releasing me in time, but she said no way.”

“That’s all right. We’ll just have Christmas here,” Thea said gamely, and then looked down and cooed, “Won’t we, Baby?”

“Would you like to hold her?” Thea looked up, her eyes a little uncertain.

“It’s okay,” Kendra assured her. “She’s not as fragile as she looks. After all, she’s a Loomis. Made of tough stuff, just like her big sister.”

With Kendra’s encouragement, Thea picked up the baby, leaning down to scoop her into her arms and holding her close as she settled into a chair next to Kendra’s bed.

“Hello, little girl,” Thea whispered. “I’m your sister. We’re going to have a lot of adventures together. I’m going to teach you how to build snowmen, and climb trees, and walk in high heels. And when you’re old enough, I’ll give you valuable advice about boys and dating. For openers, avoid boys who call themselves by their nicknames.”

The baby stirred at the sound of a new voice, wiggling inside her pink blanket, then opened her blue eyes briefly to rest on Thea’s face before yawning and closing them again.

“She looked at me!” Thea said with surprise.

“Guess she recognizes good advice when she hears it,” Kendra said.

“What are you going to call her?”

“We haven’t decided yet. We were hoping you might have some ideas.”

“Really?” Thea looked at Kendra, then at Andy, who was busying himself unloading a bag filled with Kendra’s toiletries, things he’d picked up at the house before going to the Lees to collect Thea. “You’re going to let me name her?”

“Not quite,” Andy said. “We’ve got veto power. Cassandra is out. Nothing too precious or too weird. Moon Unit Loomis, that sort of thing.”

“How about Amelia,” said Thea. “Or Emily. Or…wait! I’ve got it! She was born on Christmas Eve so how about something Christmassy? Angela, or Noella, or Ivy? No, wait! How about Holly? That’s pretty, don’t you think?”

“Holly,” Kendra mused. “That is nice. Let’s think about it for a little while, but Holly is definitely in the running.”

“Speaking of Christmas,” Andy said pulling a wrapped box out of the bag. “I’ve got a little something here. Baby’s first Christmas present. Would you like to open it for her, Mommy?”

He handed the box to Kendra who ripped off the paper and opened the lid.

“Oh, Andy! These are adorable!” Kendra exclaimed as she lifted the gift from the box, a tiny pair of pink tap shoes, studded with rhinestones and tied with a pink satin ribbon.

“Aw! They’re so cute!” Thea agreed. “Where did you find them, Dad?”

Andy smiled, pleased by their reaction. “Online. I ordered them a while ago. I told you before; with her pedigree, Holly is destined to dance. I figured she ought to be properly outfitted from the first.”

Kendra placed both little shoes in the palm of her hand and giggled. “But what if Holly had been a Harry?”

“I ordered another pair, just in case, in a very manly shade of black. I was going to send them back, but now I’m thinking I’ll hold onto them, just in case. Who knows? We might have a boy. Maybe next year?”

Kendra shot him a look.

“Right,” Andy said. “Bad timing. We can talk about that later.”

“Much later.”

Thea shifted the baby in her arms, moving her to a more comfortable position, and sighed.

“What’s wrong?” Kendra asked. “Are your arms tired? Do you want me to take her now?”

“No, she’s fine here. I just…well, I feel bad that I don’t have a present for you. Guess I’ve been kind of wrapped up in myself lately. Sorry.

“Hey! I’ve got an idea,” Thea said, brightly. “How about ten hours of free babysitting? That’s kind of a present for everybody.”

Kendra reached out and touched the girl’s cheek. “That’s sweet of you, Thea. Thank you. But you don’t have to give me a present unless you want to. I’ve already gotten so many.”

Thea looked around the bare hospital room, undecorated except for a small vase of roses, the bouquet Thea had asked Kendra to take home the night before. “The flowers?”

“No,” Kendra said. “They’re lovely, but those are yours. You should take them home with you. I’m talking about a much bigger, much better gift. Three years ago, when I fell in love with Daddy, I fell in love with you too. I never thought I’d be lucky enough to have any children and now I’ve got two! You’re my present, Thea. You and your sister. Children are the greatest gift of all, the presents the angels bring. I love you, Thea.”

Thea bit her lower lip. Her eyes glistened. “I love you too, Mom.”

There was another knock and before Kendra finished saying, “Come in,” the door opened.

Denny and Sugar Sugarman came in, carrying boxes of presents and a plate of cookies. Darla followed behind, grinning and holding a bouquet of red and white chrysanthemums tied with a red and green ribbon and, trailing behind her, carrying a tiny potted evergreen decorated with little red ribbons and gold balls, came Riley Roth, looking a bit sheepish. The room was immediately filled with the sound of congratulations and laughter and cooing voices as everyone admired the baby.

Darla leaned over the little one, stuck out a tentative finger, and grinned from ear to ear when the baby grabbed onto her gnarled digit with a tiny hand. “She’s beautiful,” Darla whispered. “What are you going to call her?”

“We’ve been trying out Holly. She doesn’t seem to object, so I think that might be it,” Kendra said, looking up at Andy who nodded his agreement.

“Beautiful name. Very appropriate,” Darla declared.

Riley cleared his throat. “Congratulations,” he said as he handed the tiny Christmas tree to Andy. “You must be so happy. What a great Christmas surprise.”

“Thank you,” Andy said sincerely. “Surprise is the operative word. We’re thrilled, but I wouldn’t have minded if Holly had waited a couple more days before making her entrance, at least until after I’d preached the Christmas service. I don’t like the idea of leaving Kendra here alone on Christmas morning.”

“Oh, that’s all right,” Kendra said, trying but not quite succeeding in masking her disappointment. “I hate the idea of missing Christmas services but it can’t be helped.”

Denny narrowed his eyes and stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Well, now, I don’t know about that. Riley, does the factory still have that big tent—the one they used for the warehouse sale?”

“Yes,” Riley said slowly. “Why do you…Oh! Yeah! I get it! Absolutely!”

Denny grinned, showing deep dimples in his cheeks. “Great!”

He turned to address the others. “Andy, ladies, if you’ll excuse us, Riley and I have some arrangements to make. Riley? Do you have a phone?”

“Sure.”

“Good,” he said, putting his arm around the younger man’s shoulders as they left the hospital room. “I need you to make a few calls…”

At around ten o’clock on Christmas Eve night it began to snow, leaving three inches of fluffy powder on the ground before the snow clouds drifted east and the skies cleared. Christmas morning dawned bright and clear and the mercury stood at twenty-eight which, in Vermont in December, is practically a heat wave. It was a perfect day to try out the new sleds, skis, snowshoes, and snowboards that many people found under their Christmas trees that morning. But before they did so, a goodly portion of the residents of Maple Grove had something else to attend to.

Upon exiting Kendra’s room, Denny went to see the hospital administrator and got permission to carry out the plan. That obtained, Riley called the other members of the board who, after a unanimous vote of approval, immediately sprung into action.

Joe St. John activated the church phone tree, making sure every single member of the congregation was informed of the change in plans. Gary Wilson, who owned a construction business, brought in a snowplow and a construction crew armed with shovels to clear the hospital parking lot of snow and ice. Nancy Metzger and her husband, Bill, loaded their horse trailer with bales of hay to serve as makeshift pews. Dean Hamilton brought a portable microphone and amplifier, the one his son, Drew, used for his garage band, and snaking a long trail of extension cords from the hospital to the parking lot, set up a rudimentary sound system. Riley, with the help of his wife, Dana, as well as Brian McCarthy, Sam Daniels, and Joan Kilty, went to the furniture factory and loaded up one of the delivery trucks with the giant tent and an assortment of plush recliners, still wrapped in plastic, to serve as seating for the elderly and infirm. Sugar Sugarman went to the church and got the choir robes, collection plates, and altar implements they’d need for the service. Darla Benton called the Quilting Bees, rallying her troops to make enough hot chocolate, coffee, and muffins to feed everyone after the service. Everybody helped set up the tent. Before the snow began falling, everything was ready.

And so the next morning, the members of and visitors to the Maple Grove Community Church bundled up against the morning chill, drove to the hospital, and filed into a tent to celebrate Christmas together. Joining them were scores of doctors, nurses, lab technicians, janitors, cafeteria workers, families of hospital patients, and some of the patients themselves, including Kendra and Baby Holly, who was wrapped up in a veritable mountain of blankets topped off by the woolly, hand-knit cap that had been Darla’s present to the baby girl.

With his beaming family looking on, Andy Loomis stepped to the front and wished everyone a very Merry Christmas before opening the Bible to read the story of the first Christmas, an event that had occurred in a place even smaller and of less consequence than Maple Grove, that had come a little sooner than two young parents had planned on, that had been met with plans as hastily improvised, perhaps more so, than the service of worship that Denny, Riley, and the rest of the church leaders had organized in the previous hours.

But none of that mattered. The joy that permeated that chilly tent and the goodwill that warmed the hearts of everyone who attended was as plentiful and genuine as if they’d been celebrating the birth of the Holy Child in a cathedral overlooking the majestic skyline of a powerful city instead of in a tent overlooking the snowy parking lot of a rural hospital.

After the prayers were prayed, and the carols sung, and the congregation blessed and sent forth, they gathered in the back of the tent to partake of the refreshments supplied by the Quilting Bees, smiling and chatting as they warmed their hands around steaming cups of hot chocolate and coffee.

Thea steered the wheelchair holding Kendra and Baby Holly over to the corner of the tent where Andy was standing.

“I’m going to take them back inside,” she informed her father. “It’s not that cold in here, but I don’t think we should have the baby around all these people for very long. Too many germs.”

Kendra looked up at Thea’s grave face. “You heard Nurse Thea,” she said to her husband. “I guess we’d better go back inside.”

“Good idea,” Andy said. “I’ll be up as soon as I’ve finished here. Get some rest. Sugar is going to bring over a Christmas dinner this afternoon.” He planted a kiss on Kendra’s cheek and then on Thea’s. “I’ll see you in a little while.”

Thea steered the wheelchair to a ramp that led from the tent directly into the hospital. Riley Roth walked up behind Andy and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Andy? Do you have a minute? There’s something I wanted to say to you.”

“Sure, Riley. What is it?”

“I…well, I want to tell you that I’m sorry and to ask for your forgiveness. I was out of line, Andy, completely out of line. I love this church and I’m grateful for your leadership. That’s the reason I started coming in the first place, because you’re such a genuine, caring leader and that example spills over onto the rest of the congregation. I’ve never been part of such a loving church community and that’s the truth.” He glanced down at his feet, embarrassed.

“I was so excited to be asked onto the board. Especially considering my age, it’s such an honor. I was worried that I wouldn’t have much to offer, but I really wanted to help and…well…I guess I wanted to prove myself to everyone which, now that I hear myself say it out loud, sounds pretty stupid. And I was—stupid, I mean. And a complete…Well, there are words to describe me and my behavior that you don’t repeat to your minister. I was all of them. I’m sorry.”

Andy nodded. “Riley, I accept your apology.”

“Thank you, Andy. I’ll write my letter of resignation from the board and have it on your desk by Monday morning.”

Andy frowned. “Why? Don’t you want to serve on the board anymore?”

“Well,” Riley sputtered, “under the circumstances I figured that…I mean…don’t you want me to resign?”

“Naw.” Andy shrugged. “Why would I? You have some good ideas. You were the one who came up with the Hands of Help ministry. That’s the kind of thing we should be doing more of. Just promise me you’ll stay away from things involving food service, electronics, and demolition crews and we’ll get on just fine, all right?”

“All right! Absolutely!” Riley grinned and looked around the crowded tent.

“I can’t imagine what I was thinking, supposing I knew more about running a church than you did. I mean, look at all these people! There are even more people here than there were at the pageant. All these hospital workers and patients! Why, if not for this, a lot of these people probably wouldn’t be able to celebrate Christmas at all.”