The Kiss: An Anthology About Love and Other Close Encounters(58)

Vicki was slow to release her child, the pangs of heartache giving way to sheer joy as she embraced her ‘baby’. She unwrapped Sarah and extended her arms toward her eldest. Her smile was returned with muted silence.

“Natalie, come give me a hug.” Vicki stayed where she was, still as a statue waiting for her daughter. “Come oooon.” Her smile was more than Natalie could refuse and a gentle smile lit her eyes. It was only moments later that she was enveloped in her mother’s embrace. “I love you so much,” she whispered. “I know it has been hard these last few months, but we’ll get by.”

Natalie pulled back and cradled her mother’s face in her hands. Her smile was tenuous; she didn’t believe it, and Vicki could see it in her eyes. They had struggled through some tough times and she knew there were more to come. The harder she tried to mask her fears the more her mother saw through her front. Vicki looked up as Patrick’s mother stepped through the door. She dropped her grandchildren’s bags and immediately looked around.

“Nice place you have here.” Holly’s voice was dripping with sarcasm.

“It’s clean, and it’s ours.” Vicki rose and walked toward her mother-in-law, who stood rigidly in the doorway. “Here, let me take those.” She reached down and took the two bags from the floor, turned and placed them against the wall supporting the staircase. At that instant the sun broke through the round window high on the staircase wall and flooded the entryway. It made Vicki smile.

“I suppose if you insist.” Holly smiled wide and broke her stoic look. Vicki stepped up quickly and wrapped her arms around her. She was the only mother she had left. “Now, where’s my room?”





*


The weather started downhill quickly as September faded and October took hold. The rains in the final weeks of the month continued into the first week of the next. Vicki opened the back door and looked out into the quagmire that had become her yard. A heavy sigh escaped her lips as her hand ran up the wood door fame. A splinter made her jerk her hand away suddenly. She eyed the slit in her finger and leaned her shoulder against the frame. Winter was coming on quickly.

She turned as the whistle from the teapot caught her ear. She casually walked to the stove, poured the steaming water into her cup and returned to the table. The smell of the green tea eased her nerves as she rested her head in her hands. The check from the government was late and the expense of moving had added unexpected bills which demanded to be paid. Another heavy sigh escaped her lips. She picked up the cup and lifted it, blowing softly across its surface as her eyes stared at the other end of the table. Holly stood across from her, a letter in hand.

“What’s that?”

“A letter.” Holly’s reply seemed vacant while her eyes scanned the page. She laid the envelope on the table as she lowered herself into the chair opposite her daughter-in-law. Finished, she dropped the paper on the wood, leaned back and took a deep breath.

“Well?”

Holly did not answer immediately and the short pause seemed interminable.

“Pat’s not coming home for Christmas.” The emptiness in her voice was unmistakable.

“What do you mean he’s not coming home?” Vicki’s eyes widened with her own shock. “He, he promised.”

“He has new orders.”

“I don’t give a damn about new orders.” Vicki’s voice nearly raised the roof. “He’s got a family, a wife and children.”

“And a mother....”

Vicki closed her eyes tight, fighting back a scream. The tea cup in her hands began to shake as her grip tightened about the porcelain. She set it quickly into the saucer and took a deep breath.

“And a mother, of course.”

“We’ll get by. I have my own income to help out with.”

“But Christmas is coming.” Vicki let her forehead fall into her hands, her elbows resting on the table. “I wanted a nice one this year for the girls. They’re getting so much older now.”

“We’ll do what we need.” Holly stared straight ahead not hearing her own words or believing them. “Gifts are for little children, not young ladies.”


“I would hardly call either of them young ladies. They are children and they deserve a proper Christmas.” Vicki’s voice trailed off. “It’s been so long since they had one.” With those words the sky opened and the rains that had been held back by the morning clouds released their measure upon the grounds as a single drop added its chorus down her cheek.





*


The weeks passed slowly as the house began to take shape. It was the only thing that she could hold onto. It kept her mind busy, busy not thinking about her husband, a husband kept away by circumstances beyond his control. That was the life of a soldier and the life of a soldier’s wife. She stepped back to admire her handiwork, her hands on her hips as the light from the setting sun flooded the painted upper windows, letting the rich colors float toward the floor.

“Beautiful.” Holly stepped into the hallway from the kitchen, a cup of tea in her hand. “Want some?”

“No, not in the mood.”

“I’ll bet those windows haven’t been cleaned in fifty years.”

“I wonder how many families have come through this door over the years?”