by Lynn Austin
Eve spotted a picture of a young man in uniform on the fireplace mantel and wondered if she should say something. Mrs. Herder had seemed to shut down the last time she was here and had mentioned the war. But Eve also knew that remaining silent about lost loved ones was sometimes worse—as if they’d never existed. She decided to take a chance. “Is this your son?” she asked, holding her breath.
Mrs. Herder didn’t look at the picture, gazing instead at Harry and Bobby, who were sitting on the floor, petting Cooper. “Yes, that’s Michael. Cooper was his dog. I promised to take care of him while Michael was fighting in the Philippines. Everyone said I should give Cooper away after he died, but I just couldn’t. He’s been good company for me.”
“I’m so sorry,” Eve said. “Audrey and I lost our mothers in a Nazi bombing raid in London during the war.”
Mrs. Herder glanced at Eve, then quickly looked away. “My ankle will heal, but I’ll carry the pain of his loss until the day I die.”
“I understand,” Audrey said.
A second picture was also perched on the mantel, a studio photograph of a young family with three children. “Is this your family, too?” Eve asked.
“My older son, Ronald, and his wife live in Manhattan with their children.”
“Will you be seeing them at Christmas?” Audrey asked.
“I don’t think so. Ron is a physician like my husband was, and he finds it difficult to get away. He works in the emergency room at Lenox Hill Hospital, a very busy place.”
“Might you visit him?”
Mrs. Herder sighed. “He’s always asking me to take the train into the city for a visit, but their apartment is on the tenth floor, and dogs aren’t allowed. Cooper would be very unhappy boarding in a kennel.”
Eve glanced at Audrey, who nodded. “If you would like to visit your son and his family for Christmas, Mrs. Herder, we would be happy to take care of Cooper for you. He could live with us while you’re away.”
“Families should be together during the holidays,” Audrey added.
“I couldn’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t ask—we’re volunteering. The boys have been begging for a dog for Christmas.”
“And I don’t want to sound too pushy,” Audrey said, “but I’ll be happy to drive you to the train station, too.”
“Please think it over, Mrs. Herder,” Eve said. “You can let us know the next time we come to walk Cooper.”
Audrey stood. “We should get going. The boys are delivering more Wise Men gifts this afternoon.” Eve stood as well and glanced around for Bobby and Harry, who were ominously quiet. She found them huddled beneath the dining room table with Cooper, leafing through a magazine. “What are you reading?” she asked. They both jumped at the sound of her voice. The guilty looks on their faces made her suspicious. She crouched down and was astonished to see it was the Sears Wish Book. “I don’t believe it! Where did you get that?”
“It was on the table,” Bobby said, pointing up.
“We’re showing Cooper all the toys. He wanted to see them.”
“He likes these fire engines,” Bobby said. “The ladders really move up and down.”
“Come on, it’s time to go home,” Eve said. “We have more gifts to deliver, remember?”
“They may keep the catalogue, if they’d like,” Mrs. Herder said.
“Thank you, but we already have one at home.”
“Tell us what times you would like us to walk Cooper every day,” Audrey said as the boys put on their galoshes and zipped up their coats. “They’re on Christmas holiday from school now.”
“Well, he’s used to being walked in the morning and evening, but anytime will be fine.”
“And please think about our offer to watch him over the holiday,” Eve said. She gestured to the boys, who were hugging the dog goodbye. “Cooper would be in very loving hands.”
They all said goodbye and started for home. “Do you think she’ll take us up on our offer?” Eve asked as they walked.
“Hard to say. But honestly? I doubt it,” Audrey replied.
Alan Hamilton arrived at the bungalow right on time after lunch and offered to drive everyone out to the Vandenbergs’ farm in his car—a shiny new red-and-white Buick Roadmaster. “Wow!” Harry said when he saw it. “Your car looks like a candy cane!”
“Can we really ride in it, Mr. Hamilton?”
“Of course,” he said, opening the rear door for them. “Hop in.”
Eve scrambled into the backseat with Harry and Bobby so Audrey would have to ride in the front with Alan. Eve was certain that Audrey would scold her for it later, just as she had scolded her for inviting Alan to come with them in the first place. “I didn’t invite Alan,” she had reminded Audrey. “Your son did. And Alan could have politely refused, you know.”
“I don’t see how,” Audrey had sniffed, “with everyone ganging up on him.”
Tom was waiting for them in the farmyard with an ax and the sled, his light-brown hair disheveled by the wind. The sight of his handsome grin and easy stance made Eve long to run into his arms. Tom shook Alan’s hand, saying, “Welcome to our farm,” and patted Harry’s and Bobby’s heads. He gave Audrey his endearing, lopsided smile but was noticeably cool to Eve. She probably deserved it. She wanted to apologize to him for the way they had parted at the school Christmas program, but she wasn’t sure how or where to begin.
“Can you pull us on the sled, Uncle Tom?” Harry asked.
“Sure thing. Climb aboard.” Tom laughed and chatted with Alan as they tromped across the field through the snow to the grove of Christmas trees, pulling the sled. Tom’s dog, Champ, scampered alongside them, sniffing for rabbits. It had been another hectic week at work for Eve as her boss hurried to finish all his last-minute correspondence before closing the office for three days over Christmas. She was grateful to spend her Saturday off in the sunshine and country-fresh air. But Tom’s coolness chilled her heart.
Of course, Harry and Bobby chose trees that were taller than Tom’s and Alan’s heads. “They need a big, big one!” Harry had decided with childlike generosity.
“The Robertsons’ house doesn’t look very large,” Audrey said. “Let’s see if we can find a smaller one that won’t take up too much space.” Eve felt a pang as Tom chopped it down, as she always did when a living tree was felled. At least it was for a good cause. They pulled the tree back to the farmhouse on the sled, then loaded everything into Tom’s truck and Alan’s car for the short ride to the Robertsons’ house. Grandma Van came along, too.
“Now, please remember to be very polite,” Audrey told the boys, “and don’t say anything about how poor they are. We don’t want them to be embarrassed.”
“That’s right,” Eve added. “The three Wise Men were very rich, remember? And baby Jesus was so poor he had to sleep in a stable. So we’re just going to give the Robertsons our gifts and go home again. We’re not going to go inside their house or anything.”
The family already knew Grandma Van, so she went up to knock on their door first, carrying a basket with homemade cinnamon rolls and a jar of her strawberry preserves. She spoke with Mrs. Robertson for a moment, then motioned for everyone else to get out of the vehicles. The Robertson boys seemed very shy at first, but when they saw Tom lifting the Christmas tree from the back of his truck and carrying it up to their house, they jumped up and down with delight. “A tree! A tree! We got a Christmas tree!”
“We thought you might like one,” Grandma Van said. Tom carried the tree inside and set it up in the new stand.
“It’s for Jesus’ birthday!” Harry said. He hopped up and down along with the little boys. “And you can decorate it with these.” He gave Mrs. Robertson the bag with the lights and tinsel and shiny balls they had purchased.
Eve watched Harry’s face. He was beaming at the smaller children’s expressions of delight and excitement, and she thought, He’s getting it! He sees how much fun it is to give gifts.
“We
made these chains and tinfoil stars ourselves,” Bobby said, handing over the decorations they’d made last night. “And we brought you some presents too, like the Wise Men did.” He was usually shy with strangers, so Eve was surprised and pleased to see him taking part. He gave Mrs. Robertson one of the toys that Tom had helped them repair, wrapped in colorful paper by Grandma Van. Eve and Audrey and Alan made several trips from the car to the house, carrying the rest of the presents. Bobby also remembered the tin of cookies. “We helped bake them,” he said.
Alan made two trips to give Mrs. Robertson the food basket from the bank, which wasn’t a basket at all but a cardboard box and two grocery bags filled with food. Last of all, Eve and Audrey gave her the bags of clothes and shoes that Harry and Bobby had outgrown. The tears in Mrs. Robertson’s eyes conveyed her deepest thanks.
“This is fun,” Harry said after they’d said goodbye and returned to the car. “I like giving out Wise Men presents.”
“Me, too!”
“Do you have time to come back to the farm for a while so the boys can go sledding?” Tom asked before climbing into his truck.
“I have a second batch of fresh cinnamon buns at home,” Grandma Van called from the truck’s passenger seat. “I hope you’ll all come over and have some before you leave.”
“Thanks, but maybe Alan needs to get back,” Audrey said. “We wouldn’t want to keep him.”
Alan seemed amused by Audrey’s protests. “I can’t think of anything more important than sledding down a snowy hill and eating homemade cinnamon buns,” he replied.
Eve went inside the farmhouse with Audrey and Grandma Van and watched from the kitchen window as the men pushed the boys down the sledding hill. “Why is it that our sons can be outside in the cold and the snow all day and never seem to feel a chill?” she asked.
“It’s a mystery,” Grandma Van said, laughing. She was pouring milk into a pot to make hot chocolate. “They seemed to have a good time delivering presents today.”
“I would say that our first two Wise Men gifts were huge successes,” Audrey said. She slid the pan of cinnamon buns into the warming oven for Grandma Van. “We helped Mrs. Herder shovel her sidewalk and walk her dog, and now we brought Christmas cheer to the Robertson family.”
“It feels like we’re getting somewhere,” Eve said. She turned from the window to help start a pot of coffee. “I think the boys are learning a very important lesson.”
“Do you have any ideas for your third Wise Man gift?” Grandma asked. Eve and Audrey looked at each other.
“None whatsoever,” Audrey replied. “But there are still ten days left before Christmas.”
The aromas of coffee and chocolate and cinnamon filled the kitchen by the time Tom and Alan and the boys came inside, laughing and dripping melted snow. “It smells like heaven in here,” Alan said, inhaling a deep whiff. Grandpa Van came in from the barn to join them.
“Well, sit down and make yourselves at home,” Grandma said. “Everything is ready.”
The clatter of dishes and sighs of contentment were the happiest kind of music Eve could imagine as everyone dug into the warm rolls. Home. This was what a real home should be like. She couldn’t bring herself to look at Tom, knowing it would break her heart if he didn’t smile back.
When it was time for everyone to leave, Tom had an announcement. “Alan and I are taking Harry and Bobby on a secret mission on Monday, if that’s okay with you ladies.”
Harry started bouncing up and down. “Yeah! Uncle Tom is going to pay Bobby and me to do chores so we can—”
“Shh!” Bobby put his hand over Harry’s mouth. “It’s a secret, remember?”
“Yeah! It’s a secret!”
“We have it all planned,” Tom continued. “Audrey can bring them out here for the afternoon, and I’ll put them to work. Alan is meeting us downtown later for our secret errand. Then I’ll bring them home in time for supper. Does that sound okay?”
“That’s fine with me,” Audrey replied with a smile. “I love a good mystery.” Tom had asked Audrey the question, not Eve. He still seemed to be ignoring her. He didn’t kiss her goodbye before she left, either. What if she had pushed Tom away one too many times?
Chapter 9
8 DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS
Audrey watched Eve gulp down a bowl of cornflakes for breakfast. She ate standing at the counter instead of sitting down at the table, in a rush to leave for work after spending time with Harry. “I wish I could walk Cooper with you and the boys this morning,” she said between mouthfuls.
“I wish you could, too,” Audrey replied. Eve always seemed to have a hard time leaving for work on Monday mornings after spending the weekend with Harry, as if she were trying to squeeze in every last minute with him.
“So I’ll meet you downtown after work tonight, right?” Eve asked after taking a large swallow of her tea. They had planned to shop for presents from Santa Claus together. “Hopefully we won’t run into Tom and Alan and the boys on their ‘secret mission.’”
“Let me pick you up from work, Eve. It’ll save you a long bus ride and we’ll have more time to shop.”
“Really? That would be great! Thank you!” Eve pulled on her boots, shoved her arms into her coat, and took one last mouthful of tea before hurrying out the door.
The novelty of taking Cooper for his morning walk still hadn’t worn off for Harry and Bobby, and they raced through their breakfast, eager to spend time with their new friend. Cooper’s entire body wagged along with his tail as he greeted them at the door. “He has really taken a liking to your boys,” Mrs. Herder said.
“The feeling is mutual, believe me. Bobby has always been afraid of dogs, but he certainly loves Cooper.”
After lunch, Audrey drove Bobby and Harry out to the farm for their afternoon of doing chores with Tom. They bolted from the car the moment it pulled to a stop behind the farmhouse and bounded through the snow with Tom’s dog to look at the sheep. Audrey stepped from the car to greet Tom. “Thank you so much for doing this. They have been bursting with excitement all morning and asking, ‘Is it time to go yet? When are we going to the farm?’ I never could have imagined they’d be so eager to do chores.”
“They seem to be taking their roles as Wise Men very seriously,” he replied. For as long as Audrey had known Tom, he had never been without a good-natured smile, until today.
“Is everything all right?” she asked.
Tom glanced over at the boys as if to make sure they were out of earshot, then said, “Do you have a minute to talk?”
“Of course.”
“It’s about Eve . . .” He hesitated, chewing his lip as if he wasn’t sure where to begin.
“I noticed that things seemed a little strained between you two.”
“Yeah, they are. I want to talk about getting married, but she says she won’t consider it until after she pays back the money she owes you. If you don’t mind me prying, just how much does she owe you? Maybe I can help her out so she can pay you back sooner.”
Audrey sighed. “Eve doesn’t need to pay me at all! I’ve told her that again and again, but she won’t listen. She says she lived off Robert’s insurance money for four years before I came over, and that’s what she’s trying to repay.”
“So . . . four years’ worth of food, clothes, and household expenses? That adds up to quite a lot.”
“The only reason I agreed to take her money in the first place was because I hoped it would help her heal. I really wish I could convince her she doesn’t need to do it. But she feels so much guilt for her deception, and I think this is her way of doing penance.”
“Then she probably won’t take any money from me, either?”
“Probably not.”
Tom exhaled and closed his eyes for a moment, his expression a mixture of anger, frustration, and sadness. “Eve also insists that she needs to stay and help you with Bobby,” he said when he opened his eyes again, “and I understand that. I know you’ll be going to school fu
ll-time, and you’ll have a lot on your plate. But I’ll be happy to help with Bobby, too. So will my parents. And I told Eve I don’t mind if she keeps working after we’re married if she wants to keep paying you. I understand that you’ll need her help, and I don’t want to take her away from you at a bad time, but . . .” He shook his head, staring into the distance at the snowy woods beyond the pasture.
“Eve has been an enormous support to me this past year and a half as Bobby and I have gotten settled here in America. I wouldn’t have known where or how to begin in a new country. I never really ran a household on my own before.” She stopped, wondering for the first time if she had been leaning too heavily on Eve. Especially if it was preventing her from being with Tom.
“I have to say I’m losing hope,” Tom said. “I’m beginning to think she doesn’t really want to get married. Maybe she likes her independence, and so she’s making all these excuses, hoping that I’ll give up. If she really loved me—”
“She does love you, Tom. I know she does. But I think that deep inside, she feels as though she doesn’t deserve to be happy until she pays this debt.” The boys chose that moment to run back to the car, racing to see who would get there first. Harry won, of course, just as his mother always had when Eve and Audrey raced as children.
“Thanks for talking with me,” Tom said, a sign that their conversation was over.
Audrey hated to see him so discouraged. She reached for his hand and squeezed it briefly. “Please let me know if I can do anything to help. I’m cheering for you, Tom.”
He nodded. “I’d rather you didn’t mention our conversation to Eve.”
“I won’t.”
Tom’s words haunted Audrey all afternoon after she’d returned home alone. She had some very unsettling things to think about. Mr. Barrett had offered to pay for her nurse’s training—as a gift. Yet she’d decided to mortgage her house instead, in order to prove that she could get by on her own without any help. But wasn’t she accepting Eve’s help? Aside from Robert’s life insurance money that Eve was trying to repay, Eve was also paying rent and sharing the household expenses and babysitting for Bobby. Audrey was relying on Eve’s money to make ends meet while she attended college. So how, exactly, was Audrey proving her independence?