A Mrs. Miracle Christmas(26)

    She came to him and took his hand, her touch gentle as she stared up at him, her eyes full of curiosity and concern.

Zach briefly closed his eyes, not wanting to tell her. The moment she saw the baby clothes she’d be devastated, and he wouldn’t blame her.

“Did you gamble away our life savings?” she jokingly asked.

“You know me better than that.”

“You lost your job?”

“No.”

“Okay. You bought me an expensive Christmas gift and now you’re having buyer’s remorse,” she said. “Zach, please tell me you didn’t.”

“I didn’t.” He recalled the dress he’d bought for his wife and determined that that was a perfectly normal secret to keep from his wife. But this was worse, much worse. He didn’t know what had come over him. He wasn’t an impulsive buyer. He weighed every dollar he spent. No way would he be able to explain what he’d done. He was the worst husband in the universe.

“Come on, Zach. It can’t be that bad.”

Getting the words out was difficult. “Like I said, my meeting got out early and I sort of got trapped in the infant and toddler department at Macy’s.”

    The color drained from Laurel’s face so fast that Zach felt the need to take hold of her shoulders and keep her upright. “I’m so sorry, baby. So sorry.”

“What did you do?” she asked in a hoarse whisper.

“I don’t know how it happened. I swear, Laurel, this salesclerk started showing me tiny outfits and for some weird reason, I couldn’t help myself. She kept telling me what a huge sale it was and that the prices were beyond belief, and they were. Before I realized what had happened, I had purchased a bunch of clothes for a newborn.”

Laurel covered her mouth in utter disbelief. Tears instantly sprang to her eyes.

Knowing how much his words and actions had hurt her nearly undid him. “Can you forgive me? I’ll return everything first thing tomorrow.”

Laurel did her best to offer him a smile, her only sign of forgiveness. Her lips trembled with the effort. “You still think…”

“No,” he rushed to tell her. “It wasn’t like that. I swear, Laurel.”

“I’m not enough, am I?”

To hear her say those words nearly gutted him. “You are. I love you more than life itself, Laurel, I swear it.”

Her throat worked with a hard swallow as she nodded. “You’ll return everything?”

    “I promise. Everything goes back first thing tomorrow.”

She wiped a stray tear from her cheek and accepted his apology. “I guess we’re more alike than I realized.”

“How so?”

“You couldn’t resist a good sale, after all.”





CHAPTER NINE




Helen knew something was wrong. She heard Laurel and Zach talking, and even from this distance she could tell they were arguing. Because her hearing wasn’t as good as it had once been, Helen was unable to make out the gist of what had happened.

What bothered Helen the most, however, was knowing there was a problem. Her instinct was to climb out of bed and find out what was wrong. The temptation was strong. Instead, she’d sat on the edge of her bed and weighed her options. The only drawback to having Laurel and Zach live with her had been knowing when to step in and offer help, and when to leave matters be. She concluded that the young couple didn’t need or want her to interfere.



* * *



—

    The following morning, Helen woke thirty minutes before Laurel was scheduled to leave for school. Her granddaughter sat at the table, mindlessly stirring oatmeal in her bowl, when Helen came into the kitchen.

“Good morning,” she said, closely watching this grown woman whom she’d raised from the age of ten.

“Morning, Nana,” Laurel said, hurriedly getting up from her chair. “Sit down and let me get you some tea.”

Helen took a seat at the table. She would need to be blind to not notice Laurel’s pale face and the absentminded way she moved about the kitchen.

“Are you feeling all right?” Helen asked, carefully approaching the subject. “This is flu season and you being with the children all day at school…”

“I’m fine.”

Her response offered no reassurance.

“You’ve barely touched your oatmeal,” Helen said.

“I don’t have much of an appetite.”

Laurel set the tea in front of Helen and sat down.

Unsure how hard to press her granddaughter, Helen waited a few minutes while she carefully sipped the hot liquid. She mulled over if her prying would do more harm than good until she could bear it no longer and had to know.

    “Is everything all right between you and Zach?”

“Nana,” Laurel immediately protested. “What makes you ask that? We’re fine. Zach is the best thing that ever happened to me…I…” Her voice faded away.

“I know, I know…I thought I heard you two disagreeing about something. I must’ve been mistaken.”

Looking away, Laurel didn’t deny or confirm. “It was a silly thing. Something he regrets. Zach is making it right today.” Laurel hesitated, as if she should say more, then blurted out “I need to get to school,” scooting back her chair. “Mrs. Miracle will be here any moment.” Laurel took her bowl to the sink, dumped the contents in the garbage disposal, and set the bowl in the dishwasher. Kissing Helen on the cheek, she headed into the other room and was soon gone.