A Doctor's Christmas Family

by Meredith Webber

  ‘I don’t wear many colours,’ she said, and knew the words sounded pathetic.

  ‘This isn’t a real colour,’ Jill argued. ‘It’s more cream than anything, but shot through with golden tones. Think of it as cream and try it on.’

  The material felt so soft and light in her hand she was tempted, but she knew it was going to be the kind of dress that did stand out in a crowd—no matter who was wearing it.

  ‘As well as Chloe in the future, don’t you owe it to Bill to look your best?’ Janet murmured, challenging all Esther’s fears and trepidation.

  ‘I’ll try it on,’ Esther said, and once she did she was lost. It was more like a caress than a dress, hugging her body, sliding against her skin, making her feel special, and sexy and even, when she looked in the mirror, nearly beautiful.

  ‘We’ll put your hair up like this, with some gold and pink frangipani flowers in it.’

  Jill was standing behind her, twisting Esther’s hair to the top of her head, and Esther felt excitement grow where for so long there’d only been uncertainty.

  ‘It is nice,’ she said shyly, and her two new friends whooped with delight at her capitulation.

  Bill couldn’t believe he could feel so agitated. He should never have let Esther go to stay with Janet. He should have insisted she remain in the apartment, where he could be with her, and hold her, and reassure her when she doubted the huge step she was about to take.

  Damn it! He knew—who better?—her insecurities, yet he’d let her out of his sight. She could change her mind. It was driving him nuts. And he was probably driving her nuts with his phone calls.

  ‘William, stop pacing, you’re upsetting Chloe.’

  ‘What if Esther changes her mind, Ma?’

  He blurted out the question before he realised he was probably asking the wrong person. Last time he’d married Esther, that question would have brought a delighted response from his mother. She’d probably have talked of lucky escapes…

  But his mother had changed, in ways he didn’t fully understand. She seemed happy for him, and had knocked herself out decorating the apartment for the wedding, insisting that Esther had wanted gold and white Christmas decorations three years ago, so gold and white they should be now.

  ‘Esther won’t let you down,’ she answered now, though she seemed distracted, as she had been on and off all day. ‘Are you going up to the hospital at all today?’

  ‘I’m officially off duty for a week, but I’ll have to pop up later. Did you want something at the shops? Can I run some errands for you while I’m out?’

  ‘No, but that nice John Sandon should have a letter for me. I’ll tell him you’ll collect it from him, shall I?’

  Bill frowned. He wasn’t aware his mother even knew John Sandon. When they’d first arrived in Jamestown, his mother had been included in a lot of social invitations, but she’d refused them all, insisting she was there for Chloe, not to socialise. Had John visited her while she was in hospital?

  Did it matter?

  Of course not, but it was a distraction from thinking about Esther. Thinking about Esther changing her mind.

  Panicking about Esther changing her mind.

  He’d phone her again—just once. Or maybe call in at Janet’s and see her on his way home from the hospital. Yes, that’s what he’d do.

  ‘You could pick up some ice cream on your way home,’ his mother said. ‘Chloe’s still not eating well and I thought that might tempt her. Silly, isn’t it? We’ve all this food in the house and I still need something at the mall.’

  Ice cream! He couldn’t call in and see Esther with ice cream in the car. Was his mother conspiring against him? Trying to send him demented? Pretending she was happy about the marriage, but secretly—?

  He pulled himself up with an almost physical start. This was ridiculous. He was behaving like a teenager cast into the first doubts and agonies of love.

  Which was how he felt, but as a supposedly mature man he should be able to handle it.

  ‘William! You’re pacing again. Go up to the hospital and do something useful. Hand out bedpans if necessary, but stop worrying about tomorrow. Esther will be here, the wedding will happen, and…’

  She hesitated, and Bill, sensing something in her manner, did stop pacing.

  ‘You’ll both be very happy. She always made you happy. I knew that even when I fought against your marriage before, but I was so fond of Marcie—so sorry for her—I’d always thought marrying you would sort her out, settle her down. I thought you’d give her the security and love she needed in her life and she’d change…’

  His mother stepped closer and rested her hand, blue-veined still from her illness, on his arm.

  ‘I’m sorry, William, for not being more supportive to you and Esther, especially Esther, last time. But I knew Marcie, and even when I tried to get to know Esther I couldn’t, so I stopped trying.’

  It was an apology he’d never expected to hear from his mother, and it touched him deeply. He even understood, having once, himself, given up on loving Esther when it had become too hard.

  ‘I’ll go hand out some bedpans,’ he said, dropping a kiss on his mother’s cheek. ‘And thanks, for everything, Ma.’

  He didn’t hand out bedpans, but he walked through the hospital, speaking to every patient, lingering with those in the geriatric ward who had few visitors these days, accepting good wishes from both patients and staff as news of his wedding had spread quickly along the grapevine. Then he bought the ice cream and went home, to spend the evening tempting Chloe to eat and thinking about his bride.

  He phoned her just once, the following day, to hear her voice and say he loved her and, please, please, please, if she had any feelings at all for him, would she not be late. He was dying for a sight of her, a touch, a kiss, and she had to promise they would never, ever be parted like this again.

  She chuckled softly, assured him she’d be on time and protested she could hardly promise they’d not be parted, when both their careers involved travelling to foreign parts at a moment’s notice.

  ‘But we’ll never be apart in spirit, Bill,’ she added. ‘These two days have seemed hard, and I’ve longed to feel your arms around me, but in my heart you’re always there, loving me, keeping me close, reminding me of all that lies ahead of us.’

  She paused, then added, ‘Making me feel secure, because I’ve finally found the place I belong—by your side and in your heart.’

  Emotion choked him so when he spoke, the words came out hoarsely gruff.

  ‘If you truly feel that way, it’s the best Christmas present I could ever wish for. To know you finally feel secure, my love, is my special Christmas miracle.’

  With Janet and Jill in attendance, Esther arrived at the apartment on the stroke of four o’clock. She was shaking with nerves, sure the shimmering golden dress was way over the top, wondering if perhaps she should have stuck with jeans and a shirt, and panicking over whether Bill still loved her.

  He swept away the last of these problems as he opened the door and the expression in his eyes told her more than words could ever say.

  He sorted out the dress situation, too, saying, in a husky voice that was little more than a whisper, ‘You look so beautiful I’m afraid to touch you in case you’re a dream and disappear.’

  ‘I promise I won’t disappear,’ she whispered back, while the two Js slid past the pair of them and entered the apartment. ‘In fact, I could do with a touch—I’m so shaky I might not make it into the living room.’

  Bill smiled—a smile so sweet and kind and full of love, Esther thought her heart would break with happiness.

  ‘Allow me,’ he said, and he held out his arm, and when she slid her hand into the crook of his elbow he covered it with his free hand and drew her close. It was a small gesture, but implicit in it was the knowledge that Bill’s strong body would support her, not only through what lay ahead today but through everything the future had in store for them. Lean on me, the gesture sai
d, and this time Esther knew she would.

  They walked in, and the small group gathered to witness their wedding all clapped.

  Esther looked around and gasped. The big living room had been transformed. A Christmas tree stood in one corner, its branches beautifully trimmed with gold and white decorations, a theme that was repeated throughout the room.

  ‘It’s the Christmas room of my dreams,’ Esther breathed, and Bill smiled as if he already knew that.

  Could he have remembered?

  ‘Ma knew that,’ he said quietly, and Esther turned to where Gwyneth was keeping Chloe occupied, dangling a piece of tinsel in front of her granddaughter.

  ‘Thank you, Gwyneth,’ Esther said, and she meant it from the bottom of her heart.

  Bill led his bride forward to where the administrator waited, and together they vowed to love, honour and cherish each other—this time for ever.

  The kiss they shared as man and wife was filled with emotion—a promise for the future, and a dedication of their lives, each to the other.

  Though somewhere along the way it turned into a promise of another kind—a promise of what lay ahead when all the guests had departed…

  ‘That’s enough,’ Janet said, and embarrassment drove them apart, but though Esther knew she was blushing furiously, she smiled at her friends, accepting congratulations and kisses, moving around the small group of people who were sharing their happiness.

  Then Gwyneth, who had Chloe in her arms, stepped forward and set the little girl on the ground, steadying her for a moment then looking up at Esther.

  ‘Call her,’ she said, and Esther released her grip on Bill’s arm, leant forward and held out her arms.

  ‘Hello, Chloe. Come to Esther, darling.’

  And Chloe, with a look of sheer delight, took three tottering steps towards her.

  ‘Esser!’ she said, lurching into Esther’s arms and chortling with glee and delight at her achievements.

  ‘Not only has she learnt to walk while you’ve been away but Ma’s been teaching her your name,’ Bill said, as Esther straightened with the little girl in her arms.

  Esther turned to Gwyneth.

  ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘You couldn’t have given me a better wedding present.’

  ‘Oh, I think I could,’ Gwyneth said, and she handed Esther an envelope. ‘Don’t open it now. Leave it until later when you and Bill are on your own.’

  Though wondering at the mystery, Esther still obeyed, tucking the envelope into the small handbag Jill had lent her with the dress.

  And there it stayed, other matters taking precedence when the guests departed. Gwyneth and Chloe went to Janet’s to give the newlyweds a night on their own.

  Alone at last, Bill took Esther in his arms, and they confirmed their love for each other, talking, showing, sharing, giving and taking, delighting in their togetherness—in their new marriage!

  With Gwyneth and Chloe due back, they finally emerged from the bedroom at lunchtime the following day, foraging in the refrigerator for a snack, then Esther went back into the bedroom to tidy it up and to get the borrowed dress ready to return. The little handbag was sitting on the dresser, and she remembered Gwyneth’s letter. She opened it up and, seeing it had Bill’s name on it as well as hers, took it back into the kitchen.

  ‘Your mother gave me this yesterday,’ she said. ‘Do you know what it is?’

  ‘A big cheque?’ Bill teased.

  ‘We don’t need to take money from your mother,’ Esther protested, and Bill chuckled.

  ‘I think she’d know better than to offer it,’ Bill said, ‘so why don’t you open it and find out?’

  Still wary where Gwyneth was concerned, Esther opened the envelope, pulling out a folded sheet of paper.

  She read it, frowning not so much at the content but at its mysterious appearance.

  ‘It’s been faxed from the US,’ she said, looking up to see Bill watching her.

  ‘I need another clue,’ he said, smiling in such a gentle, tender way her knees went weak with love.

  ‘It’s a letter from Marcie—to you and me both—promising we can have custody of Chloe permanently.’

  Esther’s heart was beating erratically as she read the words again, this time out loud for Bill.

  ‘It’s another Christmas miracle,’ he said. ‘And you said Ma gave you this?’

  He crossed the room to stand beside her and read the letter for himself.

  ‘She’s been in touch with Marcie from time to time. Could she have bribed her to write and sign it? Threatened her?’

  ‘Maybe she just asked her,’ Esther said. ‘And maybe, because your mother has always been a good friend to Marcie, she said yes.’

  Esther turned and looked into her husband’s eyes.

  ‘After all, no one who could produce a beautiful child like Chloe could be all bad. No one you once loved enough to marry could be all bad.’

  Bill put his arms around his wife and drew her close.

  ‘Only someone as genuinely beautiful, inside as well as outside, as you are, could have said that, Mrs Jackson. Stay married to me this time?’

  And Esther nodded her head against his chest. All her life, it seemed, she’d been searching for a home to call her own, but home wasn’t a house that could be decorated for Christmas. Home was where her heart was, right here in Bill’s arms.

  ISBN: 978-1-4603-5799-6

  A DOCTOR’S CHRISTMAS FAMILY

  First North American Publication 2004

  Copyright © 2004 by Meredith Webber.

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

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