The Gift

by Vanessa Miller

  “God showed me that it was no mistake that we were placed into each other’s lives. And now we’ve got to go and help Tara… please, Theresa. I can’t do this without you.”

  “Let me get my coat.” Theresa didn’t feel like arguing anymore. If what Trinity was saying was true, Tara was about to overdose. She went to the movie room and kissed each of her children. “Mommy loves you all, and I’m so thankful to have each and every one of you.”

  “Are you thankful for me too?” Tony asked with a silly grin on his face.

  Instead of answering his question, Theresa told him, “I need to leave for a little while. Tara is in trouble and Trinity and I have to go help her.”

  “Me and the kids will hold it down here. We got this.” Tony leaned back in the recliner and flipped the channel to another football game.

  “Can you all put icing on the cookies that Brielle and I already baked.”

  “We’ll do better than that,” Tony told her. “The three of us will finish baking the cookies.” Tony picked up TJ as he tried to get the kids in a rah-rah-rah mood. “We can do this, right kid?”

  Brielle and TJ were just as excited as Tony seemed. But Mikey objected, “But I want to watch the game.”

  “Get up, boy. Part of being the man of the house, which is what you are, when I’m not here… is knowing when to lend a helping hand.”

  Mikey got out of his comfy reclining chair and flexed his muscles. He took hold of Brielle’s hand as he told her, “Come on girl, if you need help, I’m the man for the job.”

  “That’s my boy.” Tony and Mikey high-fived.

  “You don’t have to worry about a thing, Dad. Because when you leave, I’m going to step right up and be the man of the house.”

  Theresa had been smiling at Mikey’s little man act until he mentioned the taboo subject. Because Tony would be leaving in less than a weeks time. He would be heading to Charlotte to be Mr. Football, and would forget all about them by the time the next woman came to his hotel room and threw herself at him. She was tempted to tell him to leave her cookie dough alone. But that would only upset the children, so she let it be.

  What harm would it be to let him play daddy for one more week, Theresa asked herself as she walked out of the room. But she knew all to well the harm it would bring to her heart, once they stopped playing house and Tony walked out of her life for good this time. Because there was no coming back, not after he cheated on her. Once he left for Charlotte, Theresa would never allow him to stay in her house again.

  That fact saddened her, because it was the end of a love story… one that Theresa thought would go the distance. Surprise, surprise, yet again, she had picked the wrong man to play daddy to her children. But after the story Trinity told her tonight, Theresa would willingly deal with her broken heart, just as long as she had her children.

  Tears drifted down Theresa’s face. She quickly wiped them away as she stepped out of the house and into Trinity’s car.

  “Have you been crying?” Trinity asked as Theresa closed the car door.

  “Girl, just the thought of not having my babies has got me all choked up.”

  Putting a hand on her shoulder, Trinity told her, “I’m glad I was here for you.”

  “Yeah, me too. Now let’s go get Tina so we can save the day for Tara.”

  2

  “Let’s get it started up in this piece,” Tara shouted from the table top she was standing on. It was Christmas Eve and Tara knew that she should be happy and in a celebratory mood. But this Christmas Eve was like all the rest. And the sadness of that simply fact left her with an overwhelming need to get high. Higher than she’d ever been before.

  But standing on this table in her favorite bar wasn’t getting her high enough, Tara needed to soar. She needed to be free… to no longer feel pain. All her life, Tara had thought that success would dull the pain that life had brought to her, but even that had been fleeting

  “Sing for us, Tara. Sing Peace of My Heart,” a woman in the crowd called out.

  Her fans had always been the puppet-master. Pull her strings and she would thrill them with a song. Pull her string again and she’d show them the new dance that the group had learned. But no more, the contracts had dried up, the money was drying up. She wouldn’t sing for her puppet-masters anymore… she wanted to soar.

  Stepping down from the table, Tara told one of her groupies. “Grab a bunch of your friends and let’s go back to my house to party.” Tara hated being alone on Christmas Eve. Her best friend, Trinity, knew why. So, they normally spent this horrible evening together doing goofy stuff. But Tara didn’t want to be bothered with Trinity or any of the members of her singing group, The Four Tops. So she choose to spend the worst night of her life with nameless, faceless people who adored her.

  But when she arrived home with her entourage, she put in a CD and blasted it to drown out the sounds of anyone and everything, accept the music. It’s always been about the music… and partying. Ready to do some serious damage to the drugs she kept stashed in her safe, Tara was about to head upstairs to get her supplies when she saw Trinity, Theresa and Tina step into her space. They had been upstairs and even though Tara’s eyes were bloodshot she could tell that something had ticked them off. “What’s going on? Why are you all in my home?”

  Theresa screamed at her, “We’re about to show you.”

  They shut off the music, started pouring out the liquor and then declared Tara’s house a dry house.

  Tara got so mad that she threatened to call the cops.

  “Do that. I’d love to tell them about this little drug party you’re throwing and about what we found in your safe,” Trinity warned.

  At the mention of the police, Tara’s entourage started picking up their coats and grabbing extra bottles of beer as they scattered to the door.

  “Get out!” Tara screamed at them after her groupies left.

  “We’re not leaving you to die by yourself tonight,” Tina told her.

  “What’s all this talk about dying? I was just having a little fun… trying to unwind.”

  “Trust us, Tara, if we leave you here, you’ll be dead tomorrow.” Tears streamed down Trinity’s face as she said, “I couldn’t live with myself if I let you die without trying to help you.” She went to Tara and knelt down in front of her. “I’m so sorry that I never tried to stop you before or that I didn’t realize how much pain you’re still dealing with, but something’s got to change.”

  “Nobody’s bothering you about all the alcohol you drink. Why you gotta come over here and bother me?”

  “I gave it up, Tara. I can’t explain everything that happened to me tonight. But God showed me a better way to live… and I’m pressing forward without my crutch.”

  “How about you, Tara? Will you let us help you?” Theresa asked.

  “But why you got to act like I’m going to die? I wouldn’t say nothing like that to you, Trinity.”

  “Here’s the deal, Tara. I don’t know if it’s something that’s already in your system, or if you were going to ingest something else tonight that would kill you, but your life is in jeopardy.”

  Tina took the keys out of her pocket and said, “Bottom line… we are taking you to the hospital for observation tonight.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Theresa told her. “I could be at home with my kids enjoying Christmas Eve. I didn’t come over here to just sit around with some drug head, so if we have to drag you out of here kicking and screaming, that’s what we’re going to do.”

  “Dag, why you miss Christmas Eve with your kids for me?” Tara asked Theresa. That made her feel worse than she normally felt on this horrible day.

  “Because I don’t want to wake up in the morning to see your picture flashing on the news channel with the anchor announcing your death.”

  “Alright, alright. You all aren’t going to leave unless I go, so, let’s get this over with.”

  Trinity breathed a sigh of relief as they help
ed Tara to the car and drove her to the hospital. Tara’s stomach was pumped and then while Theresa went home to be with her kids, Trinity and Tina stayed with her for the rest of the night.

  By seven in the morning Tara was still alive and had agreed to check into a rehab facility. “You made the right decision, Tara. You won’t regret this.”

  Tara smiled. “Thanks for being here for me, Trinity. Now, go home and get some rest.”

  “I don’t think I should leave you. It’s Christmas, after all.”

  “You were with me on Christmas Eve. That’s the most important part.” Trying to smile as best she could, Tara directed Trinity towards the door. “Go on… go be with your family.”

  Trinity squeezed Tara’s hand, then let go. But before she could get out the door of Tara’s hospital room, Tara called to her. “Why were you so sure I was going to die last night?”

  Trinity turned back to face Tara. She looked as if she was about to say something, but then had a change of heart. “I’ll tell you what, Tara, you get clean and then ask me how I knew. And I’ll tell you the whole wonderful story of how I discovered that the Four T’s were meant to be.”

  3

  “Wake up, Mommy. It’s Christmas!”

  “Five more minutes, okay. Just five more minutes.” Theresa was dog tired from the events of last night and didn’t have the energy to make her way downstairs and fix the customary Christmas pancakes as she watched her children open their presents.

  “Come on Mommy, everyone else is already downstairs,” Brielle told her.

  Dragging herself out of bed, Theresa threw on her robe as she mumbled to herself, “Coffee, before pancakes.”

  But as she stepped into the kitchen, dreaming about coffee and preparing to mix the pancake batter, Tony handed her a cup a coffee. “I figured you might need this,” he told her.

  Theresa also caught the smell of cinnamon pancakes and turned toward the stove to see Mikey flipping the cakes. “What is going on in here?”

  “We’re just lending a helping hand, Mom. You know, like men do when the women need it,” Mikey told her.

  Theresa smiled as she put a hand on Mikey’s head. “You’re going to be a wonderful husband to a very lucky woman some day.”

  “Daddy’s a wonderful husband too,” Brielle told her.

  Daddy, daddy, daddy. That’s all she ever hears around this house. When will these kids realize that they don’t have a daddy? Just a mother who is trying to love and parent them to the best of her ability. Her kids were wishing on stars, just as Trinity had done. But Theresa was going to bring her kids back to reality sooner than they might want. Because after Tony leaves this time, she was going to sit each one of them down and let them know that he wasn’t coming back and that the wedding was off.

  “Why are you looking so serious?” Tony asked as he handed her a plate with three pancakes stacked on it.

  She shook her head, not wanting to acknowledge the thoughts that were swirling around her head. “No reason.” She turned to the kids and said, “I thought y’all wanted to open some presents… let’s get this show on the road.”

  “Not so fast,” Tony said. “I promised the kids I would read from the Bible, so they would finally understand the true meaning of Christmas.”

  This was all too much. Tony was no longer a part of this family and she wasn’t going to have him acting the part. “You’re fixing coffee, making pancakes with the kids and now you want to tell them about Christmas… don’t you think you’re doing too much?”

  Tony took the coffee and the plate out of Theresa’s hand, sat them on the counter and then took her hand as he guided her into the mud room out of view of the children. “Look,” he began. “You’ve been setting the rules since you called off our engagement. I’m not allowed to touch you, I can’t encourage the kids to call me daddy.”

  “I never told you that.” She thought the mess out of it, but never said those exact words to him.

  “I see the way you cringe every time Brielle or Mikey say the word.” He held up a hand, indicating he didn’t want to start a fight. “I’m not going to argue with you about that. But, you’ve also told me that I can’t come back once my shoulder is healed, so at least allow me to spend this last Christmas with my kids in the manner I see fit.”

  He walked away from her after declaring her kids to be his, when in fact, only TJ was his child. But Tony never saw it that way. From the moment they became a couple, he had been there for her kids. So she decided to shut her mouth and allow her children to have a daddy in the house this Christmas.

  “Okay everybody, join me around the tree.” Tony then turned back to Theresa and asked, “Can you hand me the Bible?”

  She shook her head.

  Clearly annoyed by her response, Tony told the children. “Let me find the Bible and I’ll be right back.”

  Theresa stopped him. “I’m not being rude. I shook my head no, because I don’t own a Bible.”

  The stunned look on Tony’s face said it all. “How can you not own a Bible? Don’t you want the kids to know about God?”

  Theresa had never thought much about God before. Her life had been hectic with singing, traveling and taking care of children. God had always been an after thought, something that she would get to when she was done touring… when her kids were older. But after the story Trinity told her last night, Theresa was feeling as if she’d messed up royally by not providing her kids with the knowledge of God. “I can look some bible versus up on my computer. Just tell me which verses and I’ll get it printed out for you,” she offered.

  But Tony just sat the kids down in front of the Christmas tree. “I think I remember enough of what my mother used to read to me. I’ll just wing it.”

  “Are we going to open the present now?” Brielle asked as she jumped into Tony’s lap.

  “As long as my Transformer is under that tree, you can take as much time as you need,” Mikey said.”

  “And that’s kind of what I want to talk to you about. Because most kids these days think that Christmas isn’t Christmas if they don’t get the exact gifts they requested. But there is so much more to this day.”

  “What could be better than gifts?” Brielle asked with curious eyes.

  “How about the ultimate gift?” Tony then began to tell the children how the virgin Mary was with child, even though she had never been with a man… “Now Mary was engaged to a man named Joseph. And even though he knew that he wasn’t the father of the child she was carrying, he also trusted that Mary was a good woman and would never cheat on him. So, Joseph believed her when she said that the baby she was carrying was the son of God.”

  “What?” Mikey scrunched his eyebrows. “He fell for that?”

  “Tell me about it,” Tony agreed with Mikey. “It took a lot of faith to trust that Mary was being legit. I don’t know if I could trust like that. But thank God that Joseph did. Because he would soon discover that the baby Mary was carrying was indeed the greatest gift this world would ever receive…

  The kids seemed interested so, Tony continued, “Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem, the town of David. Mary was very pregnant at the time of this trip, so she went into labor and ended up giving birth to Jesus in a stable. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were scared. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’

  “ Then suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.’ When the angels had left them, the shepherds said to o
ne another, ‘Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’

  So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

  Then one day three wise men traveled from far off places to come and find this little baby Jesus, who was the greatest gift ever giving to the world. It was to them as if they were visiting a king. So, they brought Him very expensive gifts.”

  “So, Christmas is about the birth of Jesus and we’re supposed to give Him gifts?” Mikey had a sorrowful expression on his face, like he wouldn’t begin to know what to give to Jesus.

  Smiling, Tony said, “Yes, Christ-mas is about the birth of Jesus Christ. And the only gift He wants us to give Him is our hearts, and to live to serve Him.”

  “But we can still open our presents, right?” Brielle batted her big brown eyes at him.

  “Yes, of course you can open your presents. I just wanted you all to understand that no matter what is under this tree, it will never be better than the greatest gift of all… And all you have to do to accept the gift of Jesus is to allow Him into your heart.”

  As the kids practically dived under the tree, grabbing every present they could find that had their name on it, Tony stood next to Theresa. “Do you think they heard any of the story I told them?”

  Theresa was near tears because even if they kids hadn’t heard Tony, she had. And the one thing that stood out to her was when he talked about Mary being pregnant and having to tell Joseph. Mary had been in a terrible position, carry a baby that didn’t belong to Joseph and yet, she didn’t hide anything from the man that was to become her husband. But here she was carrying a baby that belonged to Tony, and still she refused to tell him.