A Mrs. Miracle Christmas(17)

“Zach? Is everything all right?”

“Of course. What makes you ask?” He sounded almost defensive.

“You’re looking pensive, like there’s something you want to tell me.”

He quickly denied it. “Everything is perfect. How could it not be?”

    Appearing to change the subject intentionally, Zach glanced at the time. “It’s late. We need to get back.”

Laurel couldn’t believe it was already after nine. The time had gone by so quickly. Zach paid for the meal, and they got on the first bus heading back in the direction of the tree lot. Their hearts racing, they returned to their vehicle, breathless. The scoutmaster was just closing for the night.

“I feel awful staying out this late,” Laurel said to Zach on the drive home, convinced that Mrs. Miracle would think they’d taken advantage of her generous offer.

“I do, too. I have no idea where the time went.”

Laurel was surprised to see the living room lights on when Zach pulled the car into the driveway. While he untied the tree from the roof of the car, she hurried into the house to find Mrs. Miracle sitting in front of the television, knitting in her hands, looking calm and content.

“I am so sorry,” Laurel blurted out. “Zach and I…The time flew by. We had no idea it was this late.”

“Don’t you fret,” Mrs. Miracle said, dismissing her apology with a sweep of her hand. “I’ve had a relaxing evening. Your grandmother and I stayed up and talked. She went to bed less than thirty minutes ago.”

It was unusual for Nana to stay up so late.

“We lost track of time sharing stories. She may sleep late in the morning.” The caregiver gathered her knitting bag and her coat. “I’ll see you first thing in the morning.”

    “Are you sure? I mean…wouldn’t you rather sleep in? I’m sure Nana will be fine by herself for a few hours. I’m certainly able to take a few hours of personal leave and stay with her until you arrive.” Mrs. Miracle was older herself, and surely she’d need a good night of sleep after such a long day.

“Nonsense,” Mrs. Miracle insisted. “I’ll be here bright and early, the same as always.”

As she was about to walk out the door, Zach appeared with the Christmas tree.

Mrs. Miracle stepped aside to let him pass into the living room. She paused to admire the tree. “It’s perfect,” she said.

“My wife has exquisite taste.”

“Yes, she does,” Mrs. Miracle agreed. And with that, she was out the door.

Although it wasn’t an easy feat, Laurel and Zach managed to get the tree in the holder and added water. With both their busy work schedules, they knew that they wouldn’t get around to decorating it until the weekend.



* * *



—

Early the next morning, Mrs. Miracle arrived on time, looking well rested and ready for a new day. Nana, as her home companion had predicted, remained in bed, sound asleep.

    “You’ve got the tree up,” Mrs. Miracle said, “and that’s the perfect spot.”

“It’s where Gramps placed it every year. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to do anything more than set it up,” Laurel said with a sigh. “We’ll have to wait for the weekend to decorate it.”

“Would you like your grandmother and me to do it?”

Laurel was taken aback by the offer. She hadn’t meant to insinuate that Mrs. Miracle should take on such a big task. “Oh no. Please, you’ve already done so much. We’ll find the time. I didn’t mean to imply anything.”

“You didn’t. I offered. Reliving favorite times, such as decorating the tree, making cookies…bringing these to the forefront of your grandmother’s mind might help her regain treasured memories that have been buried for some time now.”

Laurel understood what the caregiver was telling her. Happy thoughts and good memories were what Nana needed. If Mrs. Miracle could budge those loose, it’d be good for her grandmother.

“Then by all means, give it a try,” Laurel agreed. “We brought everything down from the attic before we went to bed.”

“I believe we’ll have a perfect day.”

And Laurel believed it, too.



* * *



—

    As Laurel’s day progressed, she worried at the wisdom of her decision to let the two ladies decorate the tree. Her grandmother was in her late seventies, and Mrs. Miracle had to be in her mid-sixties, if not older. It was hard to tell. What had she been thinking? The tree, with its fullness and girth, not to mention its height, had been difficult for Laurel and Zach to get into the holder. And it would most certainly require the use of the stepladder they’d left out the night before. Adding lights to a tree would’ve been a challenge for her and Zach, let alone her grandmother and Mrs. Miracle. And putting an angel at the top? She shivered at the thought. At her lunch break, she sent Mrs. Miracle a text to check in, and within seconds she got a reply.

All is well. Never better.

Regardless of the reply, Laurel couldn’t help being concerned.

The first thing Laurel saw upon pulling into the driveway later that afternoon was the brightly lit Christmas tree through the living room window. For half a second, she thought she had the wrong house. The tree looked like something out of a holiday movie. There must have been a thousand tiny lights on it. Even from the outside looking in, she could see that it was fully covered with a ridiculous amount of decorations in every size, shape, and color.