Christmas in Icicle Falls

by Sheila Roberts

  “I don’t know.” Except she did know. She wanted this to work. She was simply afraid.

  “I think we could be good together. I think our kids could be good together.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Look, it’s early days, but let’s give this a fair shot. People blend families all the time. We could make this work.”

  She still hesitated.

  “Trial run. How about getting together on New Year’s Eve? We’ll have a big old family party—play games, watch movies, eat popcorn. What do you say?”

  A new year, a new beginning. With a good man.

  She said yes.

  * * *

  The twenty-ninth found Olivia and James and Muriel and Arnie at Pancake Haus, placing breakfast orders. “It’s nice to relax after our stressful Christmas,” Olivia said once their waitress had left.

  “I can imagine,” Muriel said. Olivia had already filled her in on every cringe-worthy detail of their holiday.

  “At least it ended well. James’s son came up and spent the night and we all had a great time. I must say, everyone was relieved that Tawny didn’t stay for Christmas dinner. But you know, I finally understand why Meadow is the way she is. It’s so much easier to see past her faults now that I know what caused them.”

  “Anyway, none of us is perfect,” James added.

  “You’re close,” she told him, which made him smile.

  “There’s your cue, Muriel,” Arnie teased.

  “You, too,” she said with a smile. “My daughter was right. Here I was able to see the potential in a silly tree and I couldn’t see what a wonderful man I had right in front of my nose.”

  “Better late than never,” Arnie said.

  Dot chose that minute to join them. “Happy New Year, everyone. Have you missed me, Arnie?” she added, sliding in next to him.

  He put an arm around Muriel. “Well, not so much.”

  “Ah,” Dot said. “Guess we can let go of the charade.”

  “Yes, you can,” Muriel said.

  “I’ll have to find a new travel buddy,” Dot continued with the phoniest sad face Olivia had ever seen.

  “It sounds like you already have,” Muriel said. “Maybe now you can explain that text you sent. Who’s the mystery man you’re falling for?”

  “You didn’t tell her?” Dot asked Arnie.

  “I don’t blab. Anyway, I figured you’d want to tell.”

  Dot smiled. “Believe it or not, it’s Arnie’s old friend from the Yakima bank. We really hit it off. He’s got money to spend and I’m gonna help him,” she cracked.

  “Honestly, Dot,” Muriel chided.

  “Okay, it’s more than that,” Dot admitted. “I’m crazy about the man. He’s a hoot.”

  “Have you seen him since you got back?” Olivia asked.

  “Oh, yes. He spent Christmas Eve with my family and I spent Christmas Day with his. We each got the kids’ stamp of approval.”

  “Not always an easy feat,” said James.

  “No, it’s not,” Muriel agreed.

  Olivia knew she was thinking of her second husband, Waldo. Her daughter Samantha had been anything but happy after they married and he got involved in the family business.

  “But Arnie’s had my girls’ approval for years,” Muriel added, taking his hand. “It’s wonderful to find someone to be happy with at this point in life.”

  “You can say that again,” said Dot.

  “So, tell us more about this new man,” Olivia prompted.

  “He’s younger than I am, but I always wanted a boy toy,” Dot cracked.

  “You need someone young enough to keep up with you,” Arnie told her.

  “What else?” Olivia prompted.

  “He likes to travel. We’ve already booked our next cruise. Come summer, we’ll be on the Baltic.”

  “That does sound glamorous,” Muriel said, and Olivia hoped that Arnie would try again to get her to go on a trip with him. She suspected that next time Muriel wouldn’t turn him down.

  “What about New Year’s Eve?” Muriel asked Dot.

  “Oh, he’s got that covered. We’re going to spend the night in Seattle with some of his friends.”

  “You’re not wasting any time,” Muriel said.

  “You shouldn’t, either,” Dot told her. “At our age we don’t know how long the equipment’s gonna keep working.”

  “Speak for yourself,” James told her. “There may be snow on the roof but that doesn’t mean there still isn’t fire in the chimney.”

  And Olivia was glad there was. “What about you two?” she asked Muriel. “What are you going to do for New Year’s Eve?”

  “I think we’ll spend a quiet evening at home,” Muriel said, smiling at Arnie.

  “Building a fire in the chimney,” Dot teased, and Muriel frowned at her.

  “I’m in favor of that,” Arnie said, and Olivia wasn’t sure whether he was referring to staying in or building that fire. She suspected it was both.

  “Anyway, I’ve got my open house the next day. That will be plenty of party,” Muriel said. “You are coming, right?” she asked Olivia.

  “We wouldn’t miss it,” Olivia said. “We’re packed out, but we don’t offer dinner on New Year’s Eve and we’re only offering a continental breakfast on New Year’s Day this year, so we’ll have light work. People are usually too hungover for a big breakfast, anyway.”

  She was actually looking forward to having a quiet New Year. After Christmas, she deserved it. Thank God things were settling down in her family.

  Their orders had just arrived when Brandon called her.

  “Mom, you’ve got to get back right now. Meadow’s having a problem!”

  Chapter Nineteen

  The best present we can give is to be there for people when they need us.

  —Muriel Sterling, A Guide to Happy Holidays

  Oh, no. What kind of problem? What on earth was going on now? “What’s wrong?” Olivia asked.

  “She’s bleeding. She thinks she’s losing the baby.”

  The panic in her son’s voice infused her with the same emotion. “We’ve got to go right now,” she said to James. “It’s Meadow and the baby.”

  He nodded and scooted out of the booth and began to dig for his wallet.

  “Don’t worry about paying. Just go,” Dot said. “And keep us posted.”

  “Thank you,” Olivia said. “Pray for us, Muriel.”

  “You know we will,” Muriel said.

  Olivia barely heard. She was already halfway to the door. Poor Meadow.

  They made it to the lodge in record time and hurried in to find Brandon in the lobby, watching for them.

  “I’ll man the desk,” James offered, since Eric and Brooke had taken off for the day and were visiting friends in Wenatchee. “And I’ll let the kids know what’s going on.”

  “Thanks,” Olivia said, and she and Brandon hurried to the apartment.

  * * *

  “I wanted to call 911 but she wouldn’t let me. She says there’s nothing we can do, anyway. Oh, God, Mom, this is all my fault. I just had to go skiing last night. And I pushed her too hard. I know I did.”

  “This is not your fault,” Olivia assured him. “If she is having a miscarriage, it simply means the baby wasn’t developing properly. It’s nature’s way of starting over. It’s not going to be easy on either of you, but it was most certainly no one’s fault.”

  “It sucks,” he said bitterly.

  “Yes, it does,” she agreed. “But let’s not go there yet. Okay? Everything will be all right,” she added, not so much because she believed it but because she needed to quell her son’s panic.

  “I should have called 911,” Brandon
fretted. “She didn’t even want me to call you.”

  “Why not?”

  “She’s embarrassed. She says she’s already been a big enough pain.”

  “She shouldn’t feel that way.”

  The fact that Meadow hadn’t wanted him to call her spoke volumes about their relationship.

  Olivia could have cried. Of course Meadow had to have picked up on the fact that she hadn’t wanted her as a daughter-in-law, and even though she’d been trying to have a better attitude, it hadn’t been enough for the girl to feel comfortable turning to her in a crisis. How sad. How wrong!

  “She’s in the bathroom,” Brandon said as they rushed through the apartment door.

  He started to follow Olivia in, but he was so upset she wasn’t sure how much help he’d be. “Why don’t you give us a minute and wait here?” she told him.

  He bit his lip and nodded.

  She entered the bathroom to find Meadow huddled against the shower wall, wearing nothing but a towel. There was blood on the tile floor and she had her arms wrapped around her knees, her head buried. The sobs were heartbreaking.

  Olivia opened the shower door and stepped inside. “Meadow,” she said and knelt next to her.

  Meadow raised her tearstained face. Her agony stirred up emotions from the worst time in Olivia’s life—when she’d lost her husband, when she’d sat helplessly by his bedside and watched him slip away from her. This was life in a fallen world at its worst, Mother Nature at her cruelest.

  “I’m losing the baby,” Meadow sobbed.

  Olivia pulled her into her arms and let her cry on her shoulder. “You don’t know that yet. This might just be spotting.” Although that looked like a lot of blood for simply spotting.

  “I can’t lose another baby. Oh, God, why can’t I do anything right?”

  Olivia had to force herself to stay calm. “You’ve done absolutely nothing wrong. Come on, sweetie. Let’s get you dressed and to the hospital.”

  Meadow was still crying but she did stand and let Olivia help her dress. Olivia was long past needing sanitary pads and Meadow’s supplies were limited to tampons and panty liners but they made do.

  “Brandon, get the car,” Olivia called and, moments later, they were on their way to the hospital emergency room.

  All the way, Meadow cried and apologized to her husband for letting him down.

  “It’s okay, babe. I just want you to be all right,” he kept telling her. Olivia wasn’t sure he was getting through.

  Meadow was admitted immediately, and Olivia and Brandon were allowed to go into the examination room with her. They stood on either side of her, both holding her hands.

  “I’ve never been in a hospital before,” she said in a small voice. “This is creepy.”

  “This is where you’ll get help,” Olivia told her. “It’s going to be all right, dear.”

  The nurse who took her vitals was both kind and calming. “Is this your first pregnancy?”

  “No. I had a miscarriage before this,” Meadow said, the tears still streaking down her cheeks.

  “That happens sometimes,” the nurse said. “Don’t worry. We’ll take good care of you.”

  “But what about my baby?”

  “We’ll do everything we can,” the nurse said.

  There was only so much comfort to be found in those words. “We’re gonna lose the baby,” Meadow said in a dull voice.

  “No, we’re not,” Brandon insisted.

  Olivia hoped he was right.

  The doctor joined them and introduced himself. He was somewhere in his fifties, his hair heavily streaked with gray. He appeared kindly and his voice was calming. He asked Meadow how far along she was and when the bleeding had started.

  “Just this morning,” she whimpered.

  “And how many pads have you gone through?”

  “I don’t know,” Meadow wailed. “I don’t have any.”

  “That’s all right,” he said easily. “Let’s take a look, shall we?”

  Olivia was about to leave so the doctor could do his examination but Meadow grabbed her hand. “Don’t leave me.”

  She nodded and remained, along with Brandon, who was looking pale.

  Tears slipped down Meadow’s face and he wiped them away, assuring her that everything would be all right. They were a team, working desperately to make their way together over a gigantic hurdle.

  Olivia’s heart ached for them and she squeezed Meadow’s hand, trying to telegraph comfort to her.

  The doctor completed his exam and said, “Everything looks good.”

  “Thank God,” Olivia said as Meadow expelled her relief in a sob and Brandon hugged her.

  “It’s gonna be okay now,” he told her, and she smiled up at him.

  But Meadow’s relief was short-lived. “What caused this?” she asked the doctor. “Is it gonna happen again?”

  “It might. Bleeding in the first trimester happens to a lot of women. It can be caused by any number of things—hormonal changes, infections, intercourse.”

  “Sex? Okay, we’re done,” Meadow said firmly, and Brandon nodded gamely.

  “There’s no need to abandon your sex life,” the doctor told her. “But any time you have bleeding, especially if you’re having abdominal pain or cramps, you call your doctor right away. Do you have a doctor?”

  “Not yet,” Meadow said.

  “Well, we have several good ones around here. You’ll want to call and make an appointment right away.”

  “I will,” Meadow said heartily.

  “Meanwhile, go home and take it easy for the rest of the day. Have your husband make you dinner,” he added with a wink at Brandon.

  “Anything she wants,” he said.

  The doctor gave Meadow’s arm a pat. “Good luck and congratulations.”

  “Thanks,” she said. She was beaming now.

  “All good news, dear,” Olivia said and patted her hand. Suddenly, Meadow looked as if she was about to cry again. “What’s wrong?” Olivia asked in concern.

  “You called me dear,” Meadow explained and gave her a teary smile.

  “That’s because you are dear to me,” Olivia said.

  It was no lie. She did care for this girl, could finally truly appreciate the good woman beneath the unpolished exterior. The vow she’d made at Muriel’s party had played only a small part because, really, Olivia’s best efforts had all been grudging. No, the change had to do with Meadow herself, slowing revealing facets of a kind heart and genuinely sweet person that Olivia had failed to see at first. All along, it hadn’t been Olivia bringing out the best in Meadow. It had been Meadow bringing out the best in Olivia.

  “I so lucked out with this family,” Meadow said, her eyes teary once more.

  “And we lucked out with you,” Olivia told her. And she meant it. “Now, I’ll give you two a moment and let everyone know you’re okay.”

  “Thank God,” James said when she told him. “I’d hate to see her lose another baby.”

  “Me, too,” Olivia agreed. “She’s been through enough.”

  The drive home was entirely different from the drive to the hospital. Brandon insisted on stopping by the grocery store and picking up eggnog and peppermint ice cream, two of Meadow’s favorites.

  “I’m gonna get so fat,” she protested.

  “Hey, you’re eating for two,” he said. “And both of you deserve a treat after what you just went through.”

  “Yeah, we do,” she admitted.

  From her spot in the back seat Olivia could see Meadow place a hand on her stomach as if to remind both her and her little one that they were safe. Meadow a mother—she was going to manage just fine.

  They returned to the lodge in triumph and James was there, ready to hu
g them both and tell Meadow how glad he was that everything was all right. “Gotta take care of little James Jr,” he teased.

  “You mean Brandon Jr,” Meadow teased back.

  “Come on, babe. I’m gonna give you a back rub,” Brandon said.

  But before he could lead her off, she hugged Olivia one last time. “Thanks...Mom,” she said shyly.

  “You’re welcome, daughter,” Olivia said and kissed her cheek.

  * * *

  The bookstore closed early the day of New Year’s Eve. “There’s no point in staying open late. By three in the afternoon everyone’s thinking about getting ready to party,” Pat told Sienna. “Me included. So, go have fun.”

  Sienna intended to. She took advantage of the extra free time to run to the store for goodies for her party with Tim and his girls. Safeway was packed and it seemed she could barely make it down an aisle without running into one of her new friends.

  Charley Masters had decided she needed more eggnog for the specialty drink her bartender was concocting and was making a last-minute raid on the refrigerator case. “If you want some, you’d better grab it quick,” she told Sienna.

  “Are you doing something fun tonight?” Bailey Black asked her when they met in the chips aisle.

  “A small party at home.” With the new boyfriend. He’d promised to come no matter what kind of crisis occurred in his ex’s life.

  “I should be so lucky,” Bailey said. “My sister’s watching the baby while I babysit a bunch of grown men over at The Man Cave. If we don’t have to call Tilda to come over and break up a fight, it will be a miracle.” She shook her head. “Sometimes I wish Todd would get rid of that place. But oh, well. Unless we win the lottery, we’re probably stuck with it. Anyway, you have fun.”

  She would, for sure.

  Muriel Sterling was coming in as Sienna was going out with her grocery bags full of goodies. “I finished your book,” Sienna told her. “It really made a difference in my outlook, and following your advice has made a difference in how I’m getting along with my neighbor, too.”

  “I’m glad,” Muriel said. “It’s always nice to hear when someone appreciates your work.”

  “I sure do. What’s your next book going to be on?”