The Treasure of Christmas (29 page)

“Grandmother!” Christine shrieked as she fell on her knees next to the old woman. “Are you okay?”

But her grandmother’s eyes were closed, and though she was breathing, it was coming out in quick little pants. Christine gently shook her, then looked around to see if anyone was nearby. Oh, how she wished she had a cell phone just then.

“What’s the problem?” a male voice called.

Christine whipped around to see a man in overalls and a sweatshirt jogging toward them. “It’s my grandmother,” she said. “She’s collapsed. Please, can you call an ambulance?”

The man pulled some sort of radio from his pocket, telling someone on the other end to call for an ambulance. Then he knelt beside Esther and leaned over to see if she was breathing.

“She’s still breathing,” Christine said.

“Is it her heart?” he asked. “Does she need CPR?”

Christine had already checked her pulse. “She has a heartbeat, but it’s not very strong. I’m not sure what to do.”

“The ambulance should be here soon.” The man whipped off his sweatshirt and used it to cradle Esther’s head. “The hospital’s only about a mile away.”

“That’s right,” Christine remembered. Then she removed her own parka and laid it over her grandmother to help preserve her body heat. In the same moment, as if to mock her, the snowflakes began to fall faster.

“Oh, hurry,” she cried. “Please, please, hurry.” Then she began to pray.
Dear God, please take care of Grandmother. Please help her to
be all right. And please send the ambulance quickly.

Just then she heard the siren coming closer. Within minutes the whole crew was there, checking her grandmother’s vital signs, putting an oxygen mask on her, and loading her onto the gurney.

“I’ll follow you,” Christine said as she turned to run back to the car.

As she drove toward the hospital, she continued to pray. But as she parked the car and dashed toward the ER entrance, it hit her. This was where her mother had died only five years ago. And, most likely, though she’d never asked, this was where Lenore had died nearly twenty years ago. Would this be where her grandmother would die today?

Please, God, no
, she prayed as she pushed open the doors.

“You’ll have to wait out here,” the receptionist said after Christine quickly explained the situation. “We’ll let you know when Mrs. Daniels is stabilized, and then you can see her.”

First Christine paced back and forth, and then it occurred to her that her grandmother had other family that should be notified. She ran to the pay phone and dialed information to get Jimmy and Felicity’s number. Jimmy was supposed to be home with his kids today.

“Hello?” His voice sounded as cheerful as ever.

“Jimmy,” she gasped. “This is Christine. I’m at the hospital in Larchwood with your mother – ”

“Oh no, is she okay? What happened?”

Christine quickly told him about what had happened at the cemetery.

“I guess it was just too much for her.” She was crying now. “I should’ve known better than to take her. But she seemed to be doing so well, and she really wanted to go. And then she just fell apart. Oh, it’s all my fault – ”

“Easy does it, girl. It’s not your fault at all. It’s just the way things go sometimes. And, knowing Mom, I’m guessing she’s going to be just fine. That woman is really resilient. Just the same, I’ll be over just as soon as I can. But I may have to bring the rugrats with me.”

“That’s okay. I can help watch them,” she offered.

Then she went and sat down in a hard vinyl chair. She leaned over and put her head in her hands and just cried. Why did this keep happening to her? And just when she thought she’d gotten a grandmother, it looked like she might lose her.
Maybe it’s me
, she thought.
Maybe
I’m some kind of jinx to everyone I love or have any connections to.
Maybe I should just wear a big caution sign across my chest, warning
people to beware – don’t get too close.
But, at the same time, she knew she was being ridiculous. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d played the granddaughter-for-a-day game – and lost.

By the time Jimmy and the kids arrived, Christine still hadn’t been told anything, and every time she inquired the receptionist grew more exasperated with her, telling her not to worry so much and that she just needed to be more patient. “These things take time.”

“You’d think they could tell us
something
,” she said to Jimmy. “I mean, is she okay? Was it a heart attack? A stroke? What? Even if we can’t see her, they ought to know something by now.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s been well over an hour.”

“Let me go give it a try,” he said. “You kids stay with your cousin and I’ll be back in a minute.”

She smiled at that word.
Cousin
. It sounded comforting.

“Where’s Grandma?” Jamie asked as he sat down beside Christine.

“She’s in there.” Christine pointed toward the big swinging doors. “The doctor is with her now.”

“Is she getting a shot?” Casey asked with wide eyes. “I don’t like getting shots.”

“I don’t know,” Christine said honestly. “She might be getting a shot.”

“We got our Christmas tree,” Jamie said as he noticed a small artificial tree on the reception desk.

Casey clapped her hands. “Our tree is so big it touches the ceiling, and Daddy put an angel on top.”

“It must be beautiful.”

“And we have presents,” Jamie said. “We even have one for you.”

Christine blinked. “For me?”

He nodded. “Me and Daddy picked it out.”

Suddenly she realized that she was part of the family now and that she still needed to get Christmas presents. However, that responsibility seemed to pale in comparison to today’s medical emergency. “All things in due time,” her father would probably tell her.

“I spoke to the doctor,” Jimmy said. “She’s okay.”

“Really?” Christine wasn’t sure whether she could believe this or not. “I mean, is she really okay okay? Or is she just stabilized? Was it her heart or – ”

He held up his hand to stop her. “Let me tell you. They checked her heart and everything, and it all looks pretty good. The doctor says it was probably low blood sugar and exhaustion. I told him about visiting the grave, and he said that might’ve contributed to everything. But the good news is she’s just fine.”

“Thank God,” Christine said as she sank down into a chair. “I thought for sure that I was going to lose her. I mean everyone was going to lose her. But it just didn’t seem fair after getting to be her granddaughter for only a day.”

He laughed. “Well, don’t worry. It looks like the old girl will be around for a good long time. I’d better call Felicity though. I left a somewhat urgent message on her cell phone, and if she got it, she’s probably coming a little unglued by now.”

“Grandma’s okay,” Christine reassured Jamie and Casey. Of course, they didn’t seem overly concerned. They’d probably assumed she was perfectly fine all along, just getting a shot or a checkup or some everyday sort of thing. But Christine was so happy that she hugged them both. “It looks like we’ll be having a Merry Christmas after all.”

13

“I can’t believe this would happen only two days before the Christmas party.” Felicity frowned as she pulled out yet another imitation evergreen garland from her apparently bottomless bag and handed it to Christine. Then she turned back to where she was arranging about a dozen red candles along with porcelain elves and reindeer on the fireplace mantle.

“Oh, Felicity,” Aunt Hattie said from her position on the couch, where she was untangling a string of white lights. “These things happen. Let’s just be thankful it wasn’t more serious.”

Christine returned to her current assignment without saying a word. She, for one, was getting a little weary of Felicity’s complaints. Would she have been happier if Grandmother had been seriously ill? It seemed Felicity’s biggest concern right now was not having anything ruin
her
party.

Christine may have been out of sight, but she was still within hearing distance. Even so, she tried to block out Felicity’s words as she attempted to wind another length of that stubborn garland around the staircase banister. It was like wrestling with a long, green monster.

“Well, I don’t see why she had to go traipsing off to the cemetery clear over in Larchwood just days before Christmas.”

“She just learned that her daughter is dead,” Aunt Hattie said in a weary voice.

“I know, I know. And I’m sorry, really, I am, Aunt Hattie. But then Jimmy said that everyone has suspected as much for years. I think she just needs to let the past go and move on with her life. She has plenty of relatives around here who are alive and well. In fact, she’s even got more than she knew she had.” Felicity lowered her voice now, but this probably served only to attract more of Christine’s attention. “What do you think she came here for, anyway?”

“To meet her family, I suspect.”

“But why now?”

“Why not?”

“Well, did you know that she pretended to be someone else when she first came here? She acted like she was taking a job as Mom’s caregiver.”

Aunt Hattie just laughed. She had a sweet, merry laugh too. It reminded Christine of jingle bells, and probably helped her to suppress the urge to go out there and set Felicity straight. As a result of her frustration, she was probably wrapping the garland too tightly. Felicity had warned her not to do that. “Just gently drape it,” she’d instructed. “But make the drapes hang evenly.”

Although Christine had known Felicity for only a couple of weeks, she realized that she wasn’t mean spirited as much as she was simply thoughtless. But thoughtless people had always aggravated Christine. Besides that, she didn’t see why Felicity was so consumed with this party. Wasn’t it enough that loved ones were going to gather together? Did every single detail have to be perfect too? Christine really wished Felicity would just lighten up and relax a little.

“You just need to take Felicity with a grain of salt sometimes,” Grandmother had quietly told Christine as she had helped get the tired woman ready for bed earlier that evening. Of course, this was only after Felicity had implied that today’s emergency trip to the hospital might’ve been partially Christine’s fault.

“We all say things we don’t mean sometimes,” Grandmother had said sadly. “Goodness knows I’ve done it enough times.” She’d leaned back into the pillows and closed her eyes. “I probably know better than anyone how words are hard to retract.”

Christine hadn’t known how to respond to that. She knew that Grandmother was still grieving over Lenore, and despite her assurance to everyone that all was well, she still seemed troubled. Deeply troubled. Christine hoped that a good night’s rest might help her to get past whatever it was that seemed to be haunting her. Hopefully, she would be able to enjoy the festivities Felicity seemed bound and determined were going to happen.

“I invited twenty people,” Felicity had told Christine when she came back out from attending to her grandmother. “And I need all the help I can get to pull this thing off. You promised me you’d help, Christine. I hope you’re not backing out now.”

And so Christine had stayed late stringing garlands and hanging lights and decorating a tall spruce tree that dominated the entire living room. Felicity had even gone so far as to remove the recliner and stick it in a dark, out of the way corner. Christine wondered what Grandmother would say about all this in the morning. Fortunately, the staircase was Christine’s last assignment. Felicity had told her she was free to leave when it was done.
Free to leave!
As if she was the hired help. But then isn’t that what she’d been masquerading as? Perhaps she was only getting her just dues now.

Christine had immediately liked Aunt Hattie. Of course, that was only her first impression of the little old woman, but Christine had found that her first impressions were often fairly accurate. Aunt Hattie was short and rotund with an equally round face. She had red tinted hair and sparkling blue eyes along with a quick smile that seemed genuine. She had appeared happy to meet Christine, hugged her warmly, and welcomed her to the family. Naturally, Hattie, like Jimmy and his family, was no actual relation to Christine, but she made her feel loved and accepted just the same.

“I was so sorry to hear about your ordeal with poor Esther today,” she had told Christine. “Good land, it must’ve been terribly stressful for you. I’m so glad she’s okay.”

But their conversation had been cut short by Felicity’s list of chores. Christine thought that Felicity, despite her sweet, blond appearance, would’ve made a good army sergeant.

At last Christine’s portion of the list was completely done, and with only a quick “See you tomorrow,” she was out the door and on her way back to the dorm.

But she wasn’t prepared for the loveliness that greeted her outside. It had been just starting to snow when she’d driven her grandmother home from the hospital that afternoon, but it had stuck and by now accumulated what looked like almost two inches. Enough to transform their normally attractive college town into a beautiful winter wonderland. Streetlights reflected off the snow and made the night seem much brighter and more cheerful than usual. Christine felt like a little kid as she practically danced through the streets toward the dorm. And she knew just what she was going to do when she got to her room. She had a plan to make her grandmother a special Christmas gift.

It took her a while to locate the right box in her closet. She’d used most of this space to store boxes and items she hadn’t wanted to put into storage with her father’s things. But she finally found the precious box of old family photos her father had asked her to keep safe while he was out of the country. And she didn’t think he’d mind if she shared some of these snapshots with her grandmother since they still had all the negatives for them.

By midnight she’d made a nice little stack of pictures of herself as a baby, a toddler, a young girl, and so on. She made sure that some of these shots included her parents, because it seemed important that her grandmother see and appreciate their role in her life. She wanted to reassure her grandmother that, despite Lenore giving her up for adoption, she’d still had a wonderful life and been loved by a pair of sweet, if slightly old-fashioned, parents. She hoped this would somehow help her grandmother resolve the inner conflict that seemed to be eating at her regarding Lenore. Oh, she knew it wouldn’t fix everything. Only God could do something as big as that. But it might help a bit.