A Little Book of Big Christmas Tales by Anne Azel

Author:Anne Azel
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Tags: Short Stories, Lesbian, Fiction
ISBN: 9781933720500
Publisher: P.D. Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2008-10-15T07:00:00+00:00

Christmas Now Past

Nancy sighed as she sat down at the kitchen table of her home and wrapped her hands around the hot mug of coffee. Her feeling of coldness was emotional not physical. Florida this time of year was warm and pleasant. She’d retired here six months ago and loved the warmth and the nearby ocean, but she missed her family, especially this time of year when everyone was busy with Christmas plans.

Neil, her husband, had died suddenly of a heart attack when their three children were still in their teens, and she’d worked hard to be both a provider and a mother to them. Holding the family together had filled her life. They’d been hard times but she’d always made sure that Christmas was special. They might not have had a lot to spare, and the gifts were not plentiful, but they were chosen with special care and a good deal of love.

Nancy smiled. The kids had turned out alright although they’d been a worry at times, as kids will be. Gordon was a high school teacher and was happily married with a little son of his own. He and his wife Angie were enjoying a two year exchange program in Australia. Bill was an engineer and working with a company in Bahrain. And Carol, the baby of the family, was studying overseas. Young people were so eager to travel these days.

So here she was, all alone for Christmas. She downed the last of her coffee and went to the sink to wash her mug out. From the window she saw the woman next door walk by with her dog. Nancy knew her name was Kate Randal or “that lesbian in number 42” as she was often labelled by the small retirement community. They had not talked other than to say hello, usually when Kate was out with her dog, or working in her garden.

Nancy had never met a lesbian before; at least she didn’t think she had. Unlike others, she wasn’t upset that one was living in the retirement community. Live and let live was her attitude. Besides, Kate Randal’s garden was the envy of the neighbourhood. Knowing she’d have a neighbour who took pride in her property was one of the things that had sold Nancy on her house.

Good neighbours were important.

Still, she felt a bit awkward about what to say to the woman. She didn’t want to seem standoffish, but she didn’t think they could have much in common. It would have been nice to have a neighbour with whom she could have become close friends.

She sighed and went to get her pruners and saw. Today’s task was to prune the orange tree outside her front window. She tried to keep busy so she wouldn’t dwell on being all alone. At Christmas, family was everything, and hers had grown up and left. A deep sorrow welled in her throat and she fought back the tears. The tree needed pruning.

With grim determination, Nancy headed out to the orange tree.

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