by T. K. Chapin
“She’s out back, sitting on the steps.” Adam paused. “Hospice is going to be here soon to take all the equipment. The coroner already left with grandma. Your mother wanted everything done relatively quickly.”
“Okay.” Jill’s eyes welled with tears as she looked at the back door, knowing her mother had to be in shambles on the other side. “I’m going to talk to her.”
Adam patted her shoulder and nodded as Jill made her way past him and through the kitchen.
Julie glanced up at Jill as she sat down beside her on the back step.
“Hey, Jill,” her mother said with a tone that stung and dripped with sadness.
Her grandmother’s passing was difficult, but seeing the hurt and sadness in those around Jill was by far the most painful part of it all. To see her fully grown parents shed tears and know they were in some of the worst pain of their lives continually broke Jill’s heart that day. With tears rolling down her cheeks, Jill simply said, “Hey, Mom.”
They sat in silence and just held onto each other for about twenty minutes while the snow lightly fell across the evening sky.
Breaking the silence, Julie pulled back and said, “Your friend, Jake, stopped by.”
Jill’s jaw clenched at hearing his name. Her sadness switched to anger with a flip of a switch. “He’s not my friend,” Jill said coldly.
Her mother’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why are you so angry?”
Jill’s lips pursed as she withheld.
“C’mon. Tell me.”
“Okay,” Jill replied with a sigh. “He’s married, Mom.”
“Oh C’mon. There’s no way that boy is married, Jillian.” Julie shook her head. “I won’t believe it for even a second.”
The door behind Jill and her mother opened. They both looked back to see that it was Adam.
“Hey, Jill. Would you make some chicken noodle soup for the kids? I’m in the middle of helping hospice. They just showed up, and the kids are starving.”
“Oh, no! I can cook, Adam!” Julie said, turning around and getting up from the step.
“I can do it, Mom,” Jill said, standing up to go inside. “I want to help you.”
“Thanks,” Julie replied.
They went inside, and Jill took care of making dinner that evening, while her mother spent the vast majority of the evening upstairs in her room, behind a locked door.
CHAPTER 10
Waking up the next day on her parents’ couch, Jill was filled with gladness as she could smell bacon and eggs cooking in the kitchen. She hadn’t stayed over at her parents’ house in quite some time, and the smell of breakfast in the air filled her with a sense of nostalgia from her youth.
She stretched and got up from the couch. As she folded the blanket she used and put it on the couch, her mother walked in from the kitchen.
“One or two eggs?” Julie asked.
“One’s fine.”
Her mother was wearing the apron she wore all through the years of Jill’s youth. It was a gift that had been given to her by Grandma Ruth when she first married dad. It was baby blue in color and had pink polka dots across the front.
Jill’s heart ached for the loss of her grandmother. She had forgotten about her passing for a brief few minutes after waking. The smell of food cooking had distracted her. Jill’s pain alone was substantial, and she could only imagine how much more pain her mother must have been experiencing. Jill worried about her mother as she took the pillow she had used and tossed it on top of the folded blankets. Her eyes followed her mother as she left back into the kitchen.
Walking into the kitchen, Jill stopped and leaned against the doorway as she looked at her mother with empathy.
Her mother caught the look and paused. “What is it, Jill?”
“It’s okay to be sad, Mom. You don’t have to hide it.”
Julie set the spatula down on the counter and wiped her hands on her apron. Going over to Jill, she grasped each of her hands as she looked her in the eyes. “I’m not hiding anything. I grieved last night, up in my room, and prayed. Gave it to God, fully.”
Jill furrowed her eyebrows. “You aren’t sad today?”
“I am sad,” Julie replied. Rubbing Jill’s hands with her thumbs, she continued, “But I know my mom is in a better place; she’s not hurting anymore, and I have a family I have to raise here. I need to keep on living.”
“I’m sure everybody would understand if you were upset, Mom.”
Shaking her head as she glanced at the stairs behind Jill that led up to the bedrooms, she said, “My family needs me to be me. I take my hurt, my pain and all of my grief to God. Every morning I take my life to God and commit it to Him. He gives me comfort and helps me get through every day.”
“You mean you get up before five?” Jill asked.
“Some days, yes. And I have been grieving over losing your grandmother for quite some time; I feel peace about it now.” Julie released her hands from Jill’s and smiled as she brought one hand to her cheek. “I love you. Thank you for thinking about me.”
She returned to the stove and continued to prepare breakfast for the family. Jill couldn’t help but be impressed by her mother. She was such a great example of how a woman of God was to conduct herself.
After the rest of the family woke up and breakfast was over, Jill stayed seated at the kitchen table. She was still in awe of how her mother was handling the painful loss of losing her own mom. As Adam and Julie took the rest of the children into the living room for a Bible story, Jill spotted one of the family Bibles on top of the microwave. She felt the need to dig into the Word. She hadn’t been reading as she did when she was younger, and her mother really inspired her that morning.
Getting up from the table, she went over and grabbed the Bible. As she came back to sit down at the table, she noticed something thick that was tucked away inside. Opening it up, she found an envelope between the pages.
Lifting her eyes up for a moment, she peered into the living room to see all the children enthralled with the story Adam and Julie were telling. I shouldn’t do this. She debated a moment longer. Glancing back down at the stark white envelope, she decided to open it. She grabbed the envelope and opened it, making sure to keep quiet as she did so.
Pulling out the papers that were inside, she was surprised to see it was the hospice paperwork. She smiled as she thought about how Tim had paid all that money to help her grandmother come home to pass peacefully. Her curiosity got the best of her once again, and she wanted to find out how much he paid. She tried to thumb through the pages without making a sound, but she heard her mother in the other room.
“I’ll be right back,” Julie said.
Jill jumped up from the table and hurried to the bathroom, taking the papers and envelope so her mother didn’t know she had them.
Once inside, she locked the door and continued to comb over the paperwork. Finally arriving at the itemized amounts paid on the final page, she found something she couldn’t believe.
Unlocking the bathroom door, Jill walked into the kitchen to find her mother standing there; it almost seemed like she was waiting for her.
Jill looked at her and asked, “Is it true? Jake was the one who paid for it all?”
Julie nodded but said nothing.
Jill raised a hand to her forehead as she shook her head. “It doesn’t make any sense . . . he doesn’t have money. He drives a Pinto. Wait. That means Tim lied?” Jill’s eyes began to water as the truth sank in. “You lied, too. You didn’t tell me, Mom. Why?”
Her mother approached her and put a hand on her shoulder. “He didn’t want you to know, Jill. Your father and I respected that decision. We just wanted mom home, and Jake let that happen.”
“But why? And what’s his wife think of this?”
Julie shook her head as a few tears escaped her eyes. She shrugged. “I don’t know about all that. You need to talk to him and find out.”
“You’re right, Mom.”
Grabbing her car keys off
the counter, Jill wiped her tears as she sniffled and wrapped her scarf around her neck. Putting her pea coat on, she headed for the front door.
**
Jill got the address for Jake’s grandfather’s place from her father. She was more than surprised when she arrived at the address to find it was no house at all, but a mansion. Snow-covered trees lined both sides of the driveway up to the roundabout in front of the mansion’s massive doors.
Stepping out of her car, Jill felt her nerves spike as she headed for the doors.
What am I doing here? She knocked a couple of times on the door. If he is married, his wife is going to be mad . . . but really, who cares? He doesn’t deserve to be married, pursuing me like he did! And then ignoring me while paying for my family’s affairs!
The door opened, and it was the woman from the restaurant Jill had seen him eating with. She had a long-sleeve men’s white dress shirt on and not much else. Jill’s heart began to pound.
“Who are you?” the woman asked.
Jill froze. I can’t ruin a marriage. “Wrong address!” she said quickly and hurried back to her car. Getting in, she was shaking as she turned the key over and glanced back at the door. The woman was still standing there.
Mortified, tears started up as she put the car into reverse. She was so high-strung emotionally that she backed her car straight into a ceramic lion and busted it in half.
Putting the car into drive, she peeled out of the roundabout and took off back to her parents’ house. The tears came harder as she felt so stupid for going over there. She prayed all the way home for the Lord to take the pain away that she couldn’t seem to rid herself of.
She pulled into the driveway at her parents’ house and texted her dad, requesting he come outside to talk.
A few minutes later, her father came out the front door. He was wearing his old brown heavy jacket, a pair of work boots and a red scarf. Coming down the steps, he walked to the car and got into the passenger seat.
He glanced over at Jill and said, “Didn’t go so well?”
Jill shook her head as she tightened her lips. Tears continued to come as she tried to muster the courage to speak. Finally, she took a deep breath in and let it out. “His wife answered the door.”
Adam scratched his head. “Huh . . . that doesn’t make much sense.”
She shook her head. “No! It doesn’t!”
He pushed up his coat sleeve and looked at his watch. “I need to get inside and call Jim Bob over at the church.”
“How come?” Jill asked, wiping tears away from her cheeks.
“The Christmas Eve service. I’m going to let him know I can’t come help with the prep.”
“Don’t, Dad. I’m fine,” Jill said. “Go . . . please?”
He shook his head and said, “I want to be here for you.”
“I would feel better if you went.” Jill wiped the remaining of tears away from her face. “Seriously. Please. Go.”
He leaned over and hugged Jill. “God has a plan for your life, Jill. He wants you to be happy and He loves you more than you’ll ever know.”
“Thanks, Dad,” she replied. “Go help Jim Bob.”
CHAPTER 11
Christmas morning the next day was a magical time at the Parkers’ house. A late night snow storm brought in almost a foot of snow and blanketed the entire town of Suncrest. While it was cold and still snowing outside, inside, the Parker family kept warm and toasty by the fire that Adam had built before anyone woke up.
After presents were opened and the adults were drinking their coffee, Jill’s phone rang. She saw Tim’s name on the caller ID and she let out a laugh.
“What’s so funny?” her mother asked.
Jill smiled over at her. “These guys in my life . . . ”
“What?” Adam asked.
“Nothing. Don’t worry about it,” Jill said, keeping the smile on her face as she stood up from the couch and headed out the front door to get a quiet moment to speak with Tim.
“Hello?” she said, answering the phone. Her tone was sharp.
“What’s wrong?” Tim asked immediately.
“Seriously? You didn’t think I would figure it out?”
“Uhh . . . what?”
“You didn’t pay for my grandmother’s hospice, Tim. You lied!”
“I didn’t lie. Why would you think I did that?”
“You said on the phone you did.”
“I don’t think so . . . ”
“You said, and I quote, ‘Is your grandma comfortable . . .’ ” Jill realized right then that Tim never actually said he had paid for anything. She had just assumed and drawn her own conclusion. “I guess the misunderstanding was on my side.”
“That’s right, you misunderstood. I’m not your sugar daddy.” He cleared his throat. “You’re just after my money like the rest of them. I should have known better.”
“Whatever, Tim!” Jill retorted. “You’re stupid.” She hung up the phone, only to get a text a few moments later from him.
I’m stupid? As if. You’re the one that bought the story about the lingerie being for my brother! You’re not special, Jill. You were just supposed to be another easy lay, but no . . . gotta have morals and be all difficult about it. I don’t want to see you again. We’re done!
“Jerk!” Jill shouted as she let out a shriek of annoyance.
Sitting down on her parents’ snow-covered front porch, Jill began to pray as she wept. She asked God to help her, and thanked Him for being there all along the way, even when she wasn’t very close to Him. She prayed for peace and asked Him to bring joy back to her heart that only He could provide.
After praying, she opened her eyes and looked up to see the snow had stopped. Returning inside, she cleared her mind of the matter of Tim and did her best to enjoy Christmas with her family.
**
Laughter, joy and happiness filled the hearts and minds of the Parker family that Christmas day as they remembered the true reason for the holiday–the birth of their Savior, Jesus Christ. Julie prepared a large ham for dinner that evening.
After eating, Jill stepped outside again, but this time it was to escape the overly toasty house. Between the oven running all day and the fireplace her father had kept wood on, it was a little too warm for Jill to handle.
Once out on the steps, she saw that the snow had started back up and she sat down. It was already dark outside, and when she looked out to the street, she saw the street light glowing brightly as the snow fell through the light. She recalled what Jake had said about perspective and she smiled. He might have been a horrible man, but he made a valid point about perspective. This Christmas could have been the most depressing and miserable holiday on record for the Parker family, but it wasn’t. It was all due to her and her family’s ability to look at the situation differently.
Suddenly, through the darkness, Jill heard a dog bark in the distance. Squinting as she stuck her head out, Jill tried to look to see whose dog it might be. Then Jake suddenly appeared under the street light. He had his dog, Duke, with him.
“You have some nerve showing up here,” Jill said as he approached her.
“Let me explain,” Jake said, approaching her on the steps.
“Why? What’s the point?” she asked.
“Because I think I’m in love with you, Jill.”
She was taken aback by his statement and shook her head as she let out a sarcastic laugh. “How’s your wife feel about that?”
He shook his head as he arrived over at her parents’ porch. Taking off his black gloves, he put them in his coat pocket and grabbed onto Jill’s hand. “She wasn’t my wife, Jill. She was my lawyer that was working with me on my grandfather’s estate. After the estate was settled, she decided to stay at my grandpa’s a while longer after taking an interest in my buddy that has been living with me.”
Jill narrowed her look at Jake. He seemed honest with his words. “Who’s your buddy?”
“Donny. I’ll take you to go meet
him right now if you need to.”
She laughed. “That’s okay. But you shouldn’t let random women answer your door half-naked.”
“I agree. She’s a lawyer, for crying out loud. She should have a little more class.”
“You’d think. Wait, what about the wedding ring I saw you wearing?”
“That ring was my grandfather’s ring, and I wore it off and on after I met you. I didn’t want women to think I was available.”
“Why? We didn’t even go on a date.”
He looked up at the snow falling for a moment and then back at Jill. “I know we didn’t . . . but ever since I met you, Jill, I just feel this need inside of me to be near you. I can’t control it. I don’t know if it’s love, honestly, but I know it’s real.”
“Why didn’t you just explain any of this to me before now?”
“That’s not just something you tell people you don’t know super well. But I was standoffish from the get go because I overheard people at church talking about you and Brad. I heard what happened. I didn’t want to push you into a relationship with me, Jill. I couldn’t imagine how hard it would be to lose someone you love so much. I didn’t know what to do.”
“So you paid for my grandmother’s hospice without telling me?”
“I wanted you to be happy, Jill. I knew that would help. And I didn’t want the credit because I didn’t want you to feel obligated to be with me.”
Jill’s heart melted his words, and she began to cry.
“Did I upset you?” he asked, looking into her eyes.
She shook her head and smiled. “No, not at all. It’s because of Brad that I was so apprehensive about you, but when we met I felt an immediate connection with you too, Jake.” Jill took a deep breath in and let it out. “I was confused and hurt when you just vanished, and then when I saw you with . . . your lawyer?” Jill laughed. “I thought she was your wife. I felt so gross. And used. And lied to, ya know?”
“I get that,” he replied, nodding.
“Thank you so much for making it possible for my grandmother to come home and spend her last moments on earth with our family. We’ll never be able to repay you for that gesture. I couldn’t hardly believe it was you who did it all.”