The Joy of Christmas

by Melody Carlson

  “Pretty.”

  “And your dad’s been missing in action for the past hour,” Donna said. “He said he had some last-minute errands to do, but I thought he’d be back by now.”

  “Well, it is Christmas,” Michael said, winking at Donna. “You know how those last-minute errands can be.”

  “Yeah, he probably forgot to get you a present,” Celeste teased.

  Donna’s face fell. “Oh, good grief,” she said. “Surely he’s not out there trying to shop tonight.”

  “I don’t think so . . .” Anna said. “And I happen to know a little something about it.”

  Donna smiled. “Well, sometimes I think we make too much about gifts at Christmastime. One of these years I’m going to call a Christmas truce – no gift exchanging – period.”

  “Well, not this year,” Michael said as he set a bag of gifts beneath the tree.

  “Hey, where’s Meri?” Anna asked, looking around.

  “They’re running late,” Donna said, “but the grandmas are in the living room watching White Christmas.”

  Celeste feigned a yawn, patting her mouth for drama.

  “Need any help in the kitchen?” Anna said, although she happened to like that movie.

  “Sure,” Donna said. “I never refuse an offer of help.”

  “Guess I’ll go keep the grandmas company,” Celeste said.

  “And I’ll finish unloading the car,” Michael said.

  Anna chatted with Donna as they worked together in the kitchen. Then the phone rang. “That’s probably your dad,” Donna said as she picked it up. “Oh, hi, David. What’s up? Oh, you want to speak to Anna? Sure. She’s right here.” She handed the receiver to Anna with a curious expression.

  “Anna?” David said. “Where is the car?”

  “Huh?”

  “The MG? Where is it?”

  “In the garage, like I said.”

  “We’re in the garage right now. The car is not here, Anna.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean it’s not here. I’m telling you the car is gone.”

  “It can’t be gone.” Anna felt sick to her stomach again. She sat down on a stool and tried to understand what was happening. “It has to be there, David.”

  “Well, it’s not. The dustcover is folded neatly in the corner, almost like the car resurrected itself and flew off to car heaven.”

  “Very funny.”

  “Do you think someone stole it?”

  “Well, we don’t lock the door. But the car doesn’t run. It’s not like anyone could hot-wire it and zip off. We were never worried about thieves.”

  “Well, you can be worried now.”

  “This is a total catastrophe.”

  “I know. So what do I do now?”

  “I guess there’s nothing you can do, David.” Anna sighed. “Just tell Ron I’m sorry to have wasted his time and get yourself back here. After all, it is still Christmas.”

  “I know, but the car and the engine and what about the – ”

  “Just let it go for now.”

  “Okay.”

  Then Anna hung up and turned to Donna, who now looked extremely curious. “Everything okay?”

  Anna just shook her head. “Not exactly.”

  “Is David having some kind of car troubles?”

  “Not exactly,” she said again. “More like I’m having car troubles. But I’ll explain it all to you later. Okay?” Then Anna went out to speak to Michael, but to her surprise he didn’t seem to be around. And when she looked outside, her car was gone too. “Where’d my hubby go?” she asked Celeste.

  Celeste just shrugged. “He said he needed to pick up some ice cream.”

  “Ice cream?”

  “Yeah. If you ask me, all these guys are nuttier than Grandma Lily’s fruitcake.”

  “You don’t like my fruitcake?” Grandma Lily asked.

  Celeste patted her hand. “Of course I do. After all, you spike it with rum, don’t you?”

  Giving up on Michael, Anna returned to the kitchen to help Donna. And as they worked, she relieved Donna’s curiosity by explaining about Michael’s MG and her grand plan to give him the best Christmas gift ever. “Please don’t tell anyone though. Not yet anyway,” she said. “Not until we figure this out.”

  “So you really don’t know where the car went?” Donna asked.

  “No, I don’t have a clue. Hopefully it’s not stolen. Who would steal a car that doesn’t even run?”

  “When did you last see the car?”

  Anna shrugged. “Goodness, I don’t know. I hardly ever go out to the garage.”

  “Poor Michael.”

  “Yes, not only does this ruin his present, but he’s also out a very sweet car. He loved that car, Donna.”

  “Are you going to tell him tonight?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe not until we get home, or maybe even not until after Christmas. No need to spoil his evening. He was in such good spirits. Although I don’t know why he went out to get ice cream like that.”

  “Maybe he’s having a rendezvous with your dad.” Donna shook her head. “I can’t figure out what got into Kenneth, taking off like that.”

  “Yeah, and I thought Dad said we were eating at six o’clock sharp.” She pointed to the clock.

  “He did.” Donna frowned. “And it’s nearly seven. But I can’t get mad just at your dad. Not with most of the menfolk AWOL right now.”

  “Well, it sounds like Meri and Todd just got here,” Anna said. “I can hear Jackson running down the hallway.”

  Donna glanced out the kitchen window. “Oh, good. And that looks like your dad’s pickup pulling up right now.”

  Before long, all the missing players were present and accounted for, and after Dad said a sweet Christmas blessing, they all lined up for the buffet dinner.

  “This looks totally great, Donna,” Meredith said as she took a generous serving of mashed potatoes. “Thanks for going to all this effort.”

  “Yeah,” Michael said. “After scrounging on airport food for twenty-four hours, I can’t wait to sink my teeth into a slice of that ham.”

  “Did you really spend the night in the airport?” David asked.

  “I did.”

  “Seriously?” Meri said. “What did you do? Sleep on the floor?”

  “Yuck,” Celeste said. “Can you imagine the cooties?”

  “The airlines actually brought us some of those flimsy blankets and pillows.” Michael laughed. “Like that made everything so much better.”

  “You must be exhausted,” Todd said.

  “I’m looking forward to my own bed tonight.” Michael winked at Anna, but at the same time, Anna felt Meredith jabbing her with her fork. Anna glared at her sister, but Meri just smirked like she still thought Michael was guilty.

  Anna felt torn as the evening wore on. On one hand, she had no desire to break the news of the missing car to Michael. But on the other hand, she felt totally drained. Her last hope of making this Christmas special seemed to have totally evaporated with David’s phone call. She knew that Christmas should be about more than just giving gifts. But she couldn’t believe that she’d sacrificed Great-Gran’s Meissen china for – for what? An expensive engine that was no longer needed and a gift certificate that could never be used? Or perhaps Michael’s car wasn’t gone for good. Maybe Michael had sent it out for something – like a new paint job? Oh, she knew that was ridiculous. But she wasn’t quite ready to give up. Not yet.

  Finally, the food was eaten or put away, the packages had been opened with wrappings still strewn all over the floor, polite thank-yous had been exchanged whether or not they were sincere, old familiar carols had been sung with gusto while Donna played the piano, and eventually everyone seemed ready to call it a night.

  “Your house tomorrow,” Donna said to Anna and Michael as she handed them their coats.

  “Two o’clock sharp,” Michael said in a cheerful voice, and then the two of them wished everyone Merry Chris
tmas and stepped outside into the winter wonderland. Michael slipped an arm around Anna’s waist as they went down the snow-cleared walk to the car. “Just to keep you safe,” he said as he drew her closer. Then he opened the passenger door, but before he released her, he bent over and kissed her soundly. “Merry Christmas, sweetie.”

  “Merry Christmas to you too,” she murmured back.

  Then once they were both in the car he started humming “Jingle Bells.”

  “You’re certainly in a good mood,” she said, knowing full well that she would ruin his happy spirits once she informed him of the missing MG.

  “I certainly am.”

  “Is it just Christmas in general?”

  “Maybe . . .” He turned and grinned at her. “Or maybe it’s because I have a special Christmas present waiting for you at home.”

  She tried to look pleased with this announcement, but all she could think of was that she had nothing for him. Nothing he would want anyway. Nothing but a mess she still had to unravel. Could engines be returned?

  When they got home, Michael told her she had to close her eyes as they went into the house, so she complied. Then he walked her through the living room, until they finally stopped in what she knew must be the dining room. “Okay to look now,” he said. “Merry Christmas, Anna!”

  She opened her eyes and was stunned to see a gorgeous set of dining room furniture in front of her. A long, rectangular table with eight marvelous chairs. “Oh, Michael,” she gushed as she ran a hand over the smooth surface of the table. “It’s Craftsman style . . . and it’s absolutely perfect.”

  “It’s Stickley.”

  “No way!”

  “The table and chairs anyway.” He nodded over to a china cabinet that was against the wall. “That’s not.”

  “Oh!” she cried. “I didn’t even see that. Oh, it’s so beautiful. But how can we afford these pieces? They must’ve cost a fortune, and we promised not to go into more debt.”

  “No new debt has been incurred, my love.”

  “Did you win some lottery then?”

  “Nope.” He grinned even bigger.

  “Oh, Michael, it’s all so beautiful. I don’t know what to say.” She threw her arms around him and broke into tears.

  “Well, don’t cry, sweetie. Or are those tears of happiness?”

  “I’m just so shocked. How could you possibly afford this?”

  “Well, I couldn’t afford the whole set. I figured out a way to pay for the table and chairs after I found them at Emery’s Fine Furniture – but it was the china cabinet that I really wanted, and it was a small fortune. But remember how I’ve always wanted to learn woodworking?”

  She nodded, wiping tears from her cheeks with the backs of her hands.

  “Well, there was a night class at the college last semester. I signed up, and the next thing you know, I was building this Craftsman-style china cabinet.”

  Anna felt dizzy now, like the dining room was starting to spin. She sat down in a chair and stared up at the magnificent cabinet. “You built this?”

  He smiled proudly. “I did. With the help of a master. Joe Farnsworth.”

  “I’ve heard of him.”

  “He taught the class and really helped me a lot with my project. But I didn’t want you to know what I was up to, so I kept pretending to be working late. I hated lying to you, Anna, but I wanted this to be a surprise.”

  She nodded, taking in a deep breath. “It’s a huge surprise. And I love it. But I have to know . . . how did you pay for everything?”

  He shrugged. “Well, you know, the old MG was just sitting there in the garage and – ”

  “No way!” Anna shot to her feet. “You sold your car?”

  “I didn’t think you’d mind. I mean, it was just gathering dust and – ”

  “No!” Anna waved her hand in front of him, trying to stop his words.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Just a minute,” she told him, turning to dash to the bedroom. “Let me get your present for you now.” Within seconds, she returned with her envelope, waiting with a pounding heart as he opened it . . . watching as he examined the card, the photo, the gift certificate . . . and seeing realization set in.

  He looked at her with a creased forehead and misty eyes. “Anna, Anna . . . what did you do?”

  “I bought you an engine,” she said. And suddenly she was starting to chuckle. “And I was going to get it put in your car.” She giggled a bit more as she pointed to the gift certificate. “And I wanted it all done by Christmas, but it didn’t work out. Then David came over here this evening to get the car, and – ” She burst out into loud laughter now. “And it wasn’t here! He called me at Dad’s and we were both so upset and I thought it had been stolen and it’s – you – you sold it!” She realized she probably sounded hysterical as she continued to laugh. But Michael just gathered her up into his arms.

  “I can’t believe you,” he said softly. “But I have a question for you now. We promised no more debt, Anna. How could you possibly pay for an engine as well as this gift certificate?”

  “My china,” she whispered, glancing at the empty cabinet. “I sold it.”

  “You sold it?” Michael held her back and stared down at her. “But you loved that china. It was Great-Gran’s. It’s the reason I made you the china cabinet.”

  She nodded. “I know, I know. But I love you way more than the china, Michael. I did it for you.”

  “I cannot believe how blessed I am,” he said as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

  She looked up at the beautiful cabinet again and sighed. “I can’t believe you made that for me, Michael.” She thought of all her suspicions and felt terrible. How could she have been so wrong? How she had misjudged him. And the whole time he was doing this for her.

  Michael shook his head. “I can’t believe you have no beautiful china to put inside of it now.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You should’ve seen your dad and me running all over the house, searching for your china. I was fit to be tied.”

  “Dad was in on this?”

  “Yep. He helped to get the stuff delivered here, and then I sneaked over to make sure it was all set up okay. I wanted to get some of your china out and put it in the cabinet and on the table, but when I couldn’t find it, I figured you must’ve stored it somewhere. I never dreamed you’d sold it.”

  “Merry Christmas, Michael.”

  “Merry Christmas, darling.” And then they kissed and they kissed some more. And by the time they said good night a couple of hours later, Anna thought that perhaps this really had been the best Christmas ever.

  17

  Anna woke to the sound of someone ringing the doorbell – again and again as if their finger was stuck. She glanced at the clock to see that it wasn’t even seven yet. And wasn’t this a holiday? What was going on?

  “Who’s that?” Michael said groggily.

  “Santa?”

  “I’ll go see.”

  Michael took off, and Anna grabbed up her bathrobe, suddenly worried that something might be wrong. Who would possibly be ringing their doorbell at this hour, and on Christmas Day, unless something was terribly wrong?

  “Anna,” Michael called. “Your sister’s here.”

  “Coming,” Anna said. She prepared herself for the worst now. Had Meredith already told Todd the bad news about wanting a divorce? Had Todd gone into a rage and thrown her and Jackson out? What was happening? But when Anna got to the living room, it was only Meri standing there, still wearing her pajamas beneath her ski parka, along with a big grin.

  “Meri?” Anna stared at her. “What’s going on?”

  Meredith held out a plain brown paper bag. “Merry Christmas, Anna banana.”

  “Huh?” Anna wanted to ask her sister if she’d lost her mind or taken up drinking recently.

  “Just a little something for you.” Meri winked at her now.

  “What?” Michael said, peering to see what was ins
ide of the bag. “Oh, Meri,” he said. “That is in totally bad taste. What on earth are you think – ”

  “It’s for Anna, not you.” Meredith held the bag toward Anna. “Here, Anna.”

  So Anna stepped forward, took the bag from her, and looked inside. “Meredith!”

  “Let me explain. I just got this – ”

  “If you think this is funny, it is not.” Anna pulled out an all-too-familiar-looking EPT box – the same brand of pregnancy testing kit that she had used while they underwent all those fertility treatments. “This is just plain mean, Meri.”

  “Seriously, Meredith,” Michael said. “You’ve pulled some stunts in your – ”

  “Let me explain!”

  “Fine,” Michael said. “Explain.”

  Meredith tossed Anna a glance, then stuck her chin out and began. “Anna thinks she has ovarian cancer, Michael.”

  Michael turned to look at Anna with a shocked expression. “Is that true?”

  “I don’t actually know . . . I mean, I haven’t been to the doctor yet.”

  “Why not?” He went to her now, put his arm around her shoulders.

  “We don’t have insurance.”

  “That doesn’t matter. I mean, this is serious. What about your mom?”

  “Exactly,” Meredith said. “That’s what I told her.”

  “I have an appointment,” Anna said weakly.

  “Well, never mind for now,” Meredith said. “Let me explain the kit. I got to thinking, Anna. All the symptoms of ovarian cancer are very similar to pregnancy symptoms – ”

  “No, Meri,” Anna said. “That’s not it. I’ve been pregnant before, and I never felt like this. These are real symptoms and – ”

  “Wait a minute, will you?” Meredith stood in front of Anna now. “I’ve been pregnant too, Anna. Remember? And when I got pregnant, I thought I had ovarian cancer at first. I never told you, but I had quite a scare.”

  “Really?” Anna peered curiously at her. “But my – my last pregnancy . . .” Anna tried to remember. “I never got sick or anything. I felt fine the whole time.”

  “Every pregnancy is different, Anna.”