A Mrs. Miracle Christmas(31)

“You did?” For him to ask for time off at this time of year was big, and she hadn’t asked him to go, not wanting to put any extra pressure on him. Although he rarely spoke about his own commitments when it came to work, she knew he was heading up a large project with pending deadlines.

“I’m so glad.”

His bagel popped up from the toaster, and he offered Laurel a shy smile. He added cream cheese and took his first bite.

“I hate to put anything more on your plate, Laurel, but I need you to do something for me.” His forehead creased with a thick frown. “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t feel strongly about it.”

“What do you need?”

Zach set his bagel aside and looked down at it like the poppy seeds on top were ready to offer him insight and wisdom. “That first agency you called, asking about hiring a home companion for your grandmother…”

“Yes, the Caring Angels. What about it?”

    “Would you contact them again and ask about Mrs. Miracle’s references? Something doesn’t feel right about her.”

“You don’t like Mrs. Miracle?”

“Helen told me her real name is Merkel. Be sure and give that name to the agency.”

“I will. But why? What aren’t you telling me?” As far as Laurel was concerned, the woman has been nothing but wonderful. “Did something happen last night that I don’t know about?” Maybe this was why Zach had been acting so strange.

“Well, for one thing, she claims she’s an angel.”

“But did she make that claim?” Laurel returned, confused by his need to dig into their home companion’s work history. “It’s Nana who insisted on that. Not Mrs. Miracle or Merkel—whatever name she goes by.” Laurel didn’t mean to sound defensive, but the woman had been an answer to their prayers. The changes in Nana since Mrs. Miracle’s arrival were night and day. Hiring the companion had made all the difference in the world. Laurel could leave for school each day with all the worry lifted from her shoulders.

“Please, just call. I swear there’s something fishy about her. I think we need to find out what we can, just to make sure your grandmother is in good hands when we leave. We never checked her story or asked about her previous work history, not to mention all this hullabaloo about her being an angel.”

    “But you were the one who told me that if Nana wanted to believe her caregiver was an angel, then we should let her.”

“Of course, I remember.”

“I still don’t understand why all this concern. What aren’t you telling me?”

He didn’t answer, and Laurel could tell he was struggling to put his thoughts into words.

“Zach,” she said, doing her best to remain calm and reasonable. “You have to agree that Mrs. Miracle has been exactly what Nana needed.”

Zach’s shoulders lifted with a sigh and he turned away from her. Something strange was going on. Laurel couldn’t put her finger on it. He was hiding something from her; she was certain of it. Her suspicions had been aroused in the last few weeks, but she’d convinced herself it was her imagination. There’d been nothing overt, just this distance she’d been feeling. An emotional distance. He’d been on edge—jumpy—like he was keeping a secret. She trusted him completely, or so she thought. A brief thought of an affair had crossed her mind, but she refused to believe it. She almost laughed at the thought of it, knowing that neither of them could afford an affair, let alone desire another person. Still, she felt something was off with her husband. Way off. She knew she needed to get to the bottom of whatever it was. She’d confront him this evening.

    He turned to face her. “I understood you like Mrs. Miracle. I do, too. If you must know, she seems to know things that she shouldn’t.”

“Such as?”

“Please, Laurel, just call them. If you can’t, I’ll make a point to do it myself, but you were the one who filled out the application and talked to the agency in the first place. I’d rather you did this.”

“All right, I’ll make the call.”

“Thank you.” With a quick kiss on her cheek, Zach headed out the door.

Laurel reached for the half-bagel he’d left behind. As she chewed, she reconsidered Zach’s request. What he said was true. Laurel had felt it herself. The caregiver did seem to know far more about their circumstances than what Nana might have shared with her.

The home companion wasn’t anything like what Laurel had expected. All the extra hours Mrs. Miracle had put in were remarkable, especially when she insisted that she wouldn’t need to be paid overtime. Then there were the homemade meals every night when they came home from work. The extra effort to make Nana’s daily life more enjoyable, with the addition of outings that Nana truly seemed to enjoy.

    Now that she thought about it, Laurel saw other oddities. The unexpectedness of her arrival that first evening, without an advance call from the agency. The Christmas tree, extravagantly decorated. And the lost ornaments from years gone by, especially the crumbled, precious homemade bell that had miraculously reappeared out of nowhere. It couldn’t possibly be the same ornament. And yet there it was, hanging on the tree again.

Details started adding up in her head. Questions that defied answers. Unusual events that seemed impossible.