“He was always prepared. For everything. He wouldn’t be standing by the side of the road because he forgot to put gas in the car.”
“Stop berating yourself. Everyone forgets things once in awhile. Besides, I heard you’ve been busy with the Christmas Pageant.”
“Yes. I’m supposed to pick up a box of costumes someone is donating to us. I’m supposed to be there in—” She checked her watch and gasped. “—twenty minutes!”
“We’re about fifteen minutes from there. Why don’t I take you? Leave your car here, and I’ll call your road service and have them bring some gas out to you.”
“That won’t work. I cancelled the road service. It cost too much and I couldn’t afford it.”
She cancelled road service? It’s not that expensive. Did her son make her do that? “Ah. Well, then we’ll pick up some gas and bring it here when you’re done with your errand.”
“You’d do that for me? Don’t you have somewhere you need to be?”
“Nowhere that I can’t go tomorrow or the next day. My schedule is pretty flexible.”
She looked like she wanted to ask more, but she just nodded. “Thank you, kind sir.”
“Where to?”
“I’ve got the address here.” She read the address from her notes.
“I don’t know my way around Grand Rapids that well. Do you know how to get there?”
“Yes. I printed out the directions. We used to have a GPS service, but I had to cancel that.”
“That’s tough. Okay, since you’ve got the directions, and I’m not good at reading while driving, why don’t you be the navigator?”
She smiled. “I can do that!” He couldn’t help marveling how much younger she looked when she smiled. How old was she? He couldn’t exactly ask. She had two sons who were married, but she herself could have married quite young.
He pulled back onto the road and followed her directions, chatting with her about Zutphen and its inhabitants. He learned a lot about her by asking questions about different people he knew. He found out she was a native of Zutphen, but her husband had come to America from the Netherlands. He’d built his own greenhouse and expanded it into a large scale garden center by the time he retired and sold the business. Odd that in selling such a huge business Joe wouldn’t have left his widow enough money to pay for lawn care or road service for when she ran into trouble on the road.
Finally, she gave him the clue he needed. “I dearly love your sister-in-law,” she told him. “Her mother was one of my best friends growing up.”
Bingo. Now all I have to do is ask Matt how old his mother-in-law is and hope he’s not nosey enough to wonder why I want to know. Fat chance.
Helen’s directions took them to a sturdy old brick building in downtown Grand Rapids, home of the Rivertown Players. Mike found a parking spot on the street, and they walked in. They found Sophie backstage in the costume room.
“Hi! I’m sorry I wasn’t in the lobby to meet you. We’ve had a little bit of a wardrobe mishap, and I’m going to have to find something else I can alter. But I found the crowns you wanted. They’re right over here.” She led them to a rack on the far side of the room holding an assortment of headgear. Helen picked the items she needed.
“Thanks so much, Sophie. You enjoy your job here, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do. But I don’t like being so far away from Zutphen. I mean, it’s not that far, but in the wintertime, it’s a difficult drive. And when we’re doing a show, I have to be here all weekend, so I don’t have a chance to see Mitch and Angie unless they come here.” She sighed. “I always thought I wanted to get away from home and have a career in a big city, and now that I’m here, I’m always wishing I could be back at home.”
“Well, maybe we need to work on having a theater company in Zutphen,” Mike offered.
Sophie laughed. “If someone starts one, I’ll be the first to apply for a job there.”
Mike and Helen thanked her and went on their way. They stopped at a gas station for a two-gallon can of fuel. They made it back to Helen’s car in no time. Mike took the gas can and put the fuel in her car and waited until she got in and started the engine.
“Drive straight to the first gas station you see,” he instructed. “This gas isn’t going to get you that far. I’ll follow you to make sure you get there.”
Helen sniffed. Her eyes filled, and he looked away. “Thanks so much for your help,” she told him. “Sorry your plans for the day were sidetracked.”
He cleared his throat. “It was my pleasure.”
~~~~
Helen drove to the gas station, filled her tank, and waved to Mike. Thank goodness he'd shown up when he did. Since she'd had to cancel her road assistance, she had no idea what to do, other than call a friend or one of her sons. The thought of that made her shiver. Paul would give her an awful time about her idiocy. Maybe Mike wouldn't say anything—
Oh no! She should have asked him not to say anything to anyone! If anyone in Zutphen found out she'd run out of gas, word would get back to Paul. She'd have to remember to talk to him when she got home. Or whenever he got back to his apartment. He probably would be gone for a while since he'd helped her with her errand first. She had to get to him before he told anyone, because that person would tell Paul. And then she'd never hear the end of it.
Oh, good grief. Why was she so afraid of her own son? She was the parent, not him. And she'd gotten out of the jam without him.
She turned up her radio and hummed along with the happy tune. She'd spent an hour with a handsome gentleman, had gotten out of town for a little while, and let go of some of her boredom. And she'd gotten an errand done. That felt good.
Driving back to Zutphen, she made a mental list of the things she would need to do when she got home. First, she'd better check the costumes to see if any of them needed mending. Then she'd have to plan the rehearsal for Wednesday evening. Now that it was October, they'd gone to two rehearsals per week: one on Wednesday night after the church supper, and one on Sunday afternoon. Last Sunday she'd spent most of the time convincing the young shepherds to put their electronic games away and pay attention to what was happening on the stage. She'd already decided that next Sunday's rehearsal was going to be for only the people who didn’t have speaking parts. Even though their actions were dictated by the narration, they seemed to need a lot of direction. Maybe if she worked only with them, they’d be more cooperative.
Before she knew it, she was pulling into her driveway. A sporty little convertible sat on the right side of the driveway, allowing her to pull into her customary spot on the left side of the garage. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for another lecture.
Chapter Nine
According to the church directory, Letitia Evans lived in a retirement home in Zeeland. So on a crisp late October day, Mike and Matt went to visit her. They found the octogenarian in the game room, soundly trouncing her opponent in a game of canasta. She finished the game and then invited them to her room for coffee. The brothers settled into her faded but comfortable chairs.
“Could I ask what it was you told our mother to make her go to the doctor with me?” Mike asked.
The woman laughed. “If there’s one thing Loretta doesn’t want, it’s a negative rumor. Especially when it’s about her. I told her that she was lucky to have sons who were willing to take her where she needed to go. And if she didn’t go to the doctor after they’d gone to the trouble of making an appointment, I’d tell everyone here in the home that she was in hiding because of a botched up face lift and boob job. I knew that would get her out of the house.”
Mike and Matt glanced at each other. Yes, a threat like that would get their mother moving. “Ah, thank you for stepping in and uh… encouraging Mom to go.”
“You’re welcome. What did they find out?”
“We don’t know. She won’t tell us anything.”
“Why didn’t you go in with her and listen? You boys are younger and have better memories. I a
lways take my son or daughter along because I forget half of what the doctor tells me.”
“We try, but she refuses to let us in the examination room.”
“What? That’s ridiculous. Why wouldn’t she want you in there? To preserve her modesty? Oh, for heaven’s sake. You boys know enough to turn around when lady parts are showing, don’t you?”
“Yes, ma’am,” they both replied.
“I thought so. Hmm. And I suppose the doctors can’t tell you anything because of those privacy laws, right?”
They nodded.
“Guess I’d better put my thinking cap on. I could go ahead and start that rumor about the face lift, if you want.”
“Uh, no. I don’t think that will be necessary,” Matt told her.
“Right. Yeah, I suppose we’d better save that as a last resort. Well, if I think of something, I’ll call you. She’s one person who can out-stubborn me.”
They thanked Letitia for her time and promised to visit again.
Once in the car, the brothers heaved a collective sigh. Then they looked at each other. Mike was the first to crack. He leaned back and let out the howling laughter that had bubbled up inside during their visit. Soon, both of them had tears rolling down their cheeks.
“I always thought our mother was the most outrageously outspoken senior around,” Matt said between gasps. “But Letitia would give her a run for the money!”
“I know,” Mike agreed, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. “Greta sure knew what she was doing when she called Letitia for help. I owe her a bouquet of flowers.”
Matt put the car in gear and headed the car for home. “I’ll pitch in for that. Make it a nice one.”
~~~~
Wednesday night church suppers. He remembered them from his youth. Apparently here in Zutphen the tradition continued. A dedicated team of ladies showed up each week to cook and serve dinner to anyone who showed up, whether they were members or not. And the cost to eat was whatever people wanted to throw in the collection basket.
Tonight’s dinner was a huge baked potato with several choices of toppings: cheese, barbecued beef, broccoli, tomatoes, and sour cream. Tossed salad and a variety of pies and cakes rounded out the meal.
He took his plate to a table where two younger men were engaged in a discussion. They gave him a friendly nod when he sat but continued their conversation.
“I can’t believe she ran out of gas on the highway,” one of them complained. He looked older than the other and was dressed in an expensive suit. “When Elmer Gaunt told me that he saw a woman stranded on the side of the road yesterday, I knew it was Mom. I knew it! I’ve been on her case for weeks about getting that gas gauge fixed and she didn’t do it. She just got her car back from Lonnie’s Garage. Why couldn’t she have had them work on that at the same time? She can’t seem to get anything done unless I do it for her.”
The younger man shook his head. “I asked Mom to alter my pants for me a month ago. They were still on her sewing machine table last Sunday when the kids and I went over for dinner. She said she’d been busy with the pageant. I guess it’s really rough this year because there aren’t very many kids willing to be in it.”
Mike extended a hand toward the man next to him. “I don’t believe I’ve met you two before. I’m Mike Sikkema. Matt’s brother. Are you two members here?”
The younger man took his hand and shook it. “Yes, we are. I’m Jon DeGroot.” He nodded across the table. “This is my brother, Paul.”
Mike reached across the table and shook Paul’s hand. “DeGroot? Are you related to Helen?”
Paul nodded. “She’s our mother. We’re just worried about her. She doesn’t seem to be able to handle details like she should.”
Mike nodded thoughtfully. “She is a busy lady. Why, just the other day while we were enjoying a nice lunch with my brother and sister-in-law, she got three different phone calls during the meal from people asking for her help.”
“People asked her for help?” Paul nearly sneered. Mike didn’t like his attitude. He wanted to throttle the young man. How could he be so rude when talking about his own mother?
“Yes. I believe one was a request to watch her grandchildren so their mother could do the grocery shopping.”
“Oh.” Jonathan’s ears turned pink, and he stared at his plate.
“I know she’d planned to take her car to the shop right after lunch, because she’d asked me for a ride back to her house. But when that phone call came, she decided to change her plans. And another call came from someone who needed her to fill in for her somewhere — I think it was a mother-daughter banquet.”
“That was Nancy,” Paul admitted. “She had a conflict.”
“And before we’d finished lunch, she got a call from someone who needed her to pick up a sick child from school because neither parent could get there. By the time the lunch meeting was over, we all agreed that Helen needed to clone herself to be able to keep up with all the requests for help she got — in addition to the things she does.”
“What else does she do?”
“I haven’t known her that long, but it seems that the Christmas program is something she enjoys doing. From what I hear, she does a great job at it, but she wants to give it up because she doesn’t feel she has time for it anymore. And she enjoys meeting with her knitting group at church. Outside of church, I’d say from the comments from her friends that she enjoys baking. My sister-in-law told me Helen’s banket is famous. I hear she’s always bringing knitted gifts or sweets to people she visits. She enjoys doing things for her family, too. But if she’s not able to take care of her personal details, maybe it’s because she has too much on her plate.”
Mike could see his words bothered the boys. Good. They should be helping their mother out, not complaining about the things she didn’t get done. But why wouldn’t she stand up to them? She seemed like an intelligent woman. Did she let everyone treat her this way?
He rose and picked up his plate. “It was very nice to meet both of you. Helen speaks very highly of her children. She’s quite proud of your accomplishments. And she is very, very happy that you are nearby so that she can see her grandchildren often. Have a nice evening.” He left before he could say anything more. Something like, “Why don’t you get off your mother’s back?”
He went down the hall toward the adult catechism classes, but instead of going in, he kept going out to the parking lot. His interaction with Helen’s sons bothered him. Had he overstepped his bounds? He thought back to what he’d said.
At least they were concerned enough about their mother that they discussed her. He supposed that was better than adult children who completely ignored their parents.
Like me.
He loved his mom, but he hadn’t been here in years. He called her on her birthday and Christmas and sent flowers on her birthday but hadn’t made it to this tiny town until his brother had urged him to come. Maybe if he’d made more of an effort he could have had a clue as to what had made her so anti-social.
Paul and Jonathan’s attitude toward their mother rankled, but he had no business criticizing them. So why did he feel the urge to protect her? When he’d seen her along the side of the road, she’d looked so lost and afraid. He’d wanted to hold her until the tears went away, and the strength of that feeling had puzzled and frightened him. Could romantic feelings develop so quickly? Once he’d thought he’d been in love. A long, long time ago. He’d been an earnest college boy, and she’d been in a class with him. He thought they’d been in love, but when he’d professed his feelings to her, she’d been horrified. She’d thought they were just good friends, and she didn’t want a permanent relationship. Never had wanted one. She was going to work on her career and didn’t want any bothersome man holding her back.
He’d stepped away, hurt, but determined not to beg. A few years ago he’d heard she had not only married but was a stay-at-home mom. She’d never gone after that career she’d wanted. What had happened? How was it that he hadn
’t been enough for her?
Would he ever measure up as a man or as a son?
Chapter Ten
On the day of the garage sale, Helen awoke early, excited and nervous. A crisp breeze put a slight chill in the air, but the sun shone. She’d need a sweater under her light jacket.
The previous day, she and her daughters-in-law had spent several hours setting the garage up, sorting clothing by sizes, and arranging the household goods in another part of the garage. Each item had been labeled with the seller and the price. While they worked, neighbors came to look. A few asked if they could bring some of their things over to sell. Norine Price had offered to bring coffee and food in exchange for her things in the sale. “I just don’t get the traffic on my street,” she’d whined. Nancy and Bonnie accepted everyone’s items and made room on the tables borrowed from the school. A clothing rack, borrowed from Brides and More, was set up along the back wall of the garage. After everything was set up, Paul and Nancy’s children put signs all around the neighborhood advertising the Multi-Family Sale at the DeGroot home.
Everyone agreed that anything left over from the sale would be taken to charity, so even if nothing sold, she’d have a lot more room in her house, less clutter.
And then maybe she could think about moving. Maybe.
She punched the remote to open the garage door. Her jaw went slack when she saw the crowd already gathered to shop. A dozen women entered before the door had reached the top. Where on earth were her helpers? She stood, frozen, until Nancy arrived.
“Hi, Mom. Sorry I’m late. Where’s the money box?”
“Money box? Oh, right. It’s on the kitchen table.”
“I’ll get it. Has Norine come with the coffee yet? I need a mug — a big one.”
“How much do you want for this ceramic angel?” Elsie Potter, Helen’s neighbor, held the figurine up. Her strident voice carried over the buzz of shoppers crowded in the garage.
The Patricia Kiyono Christmas Collection Page 18