The Christmas Shoes (Christmas Hope) by VanLiere Donna

Author:VanLiere, Donna [VanLiere, Donna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2008-05-26T16:00:00+00:00

Maggie’s breathing was labored, but she was coherent. Sylvia prepared to switch the IV bag, but Maggie lifted her hand weakly to stop her. Sylvia had hooked up a new bag that morning, yet throughout the day it had slowly drained empty, and she needed to replace it with a full bag that would take Maggie through the evening.

“Maggie,” Sylvia whispered, “this will help with your pain.”

“No,” Maggie mouthed.

“It’s okay, Sylvia,” Jack said. “She wants to watch the kids unwrap their presents. She knows she won’t be able to if you give her that.”

Sylvia stroked Maggie’s cheek and straightened the scarf on her head.

“All right, baby doll,” she comforted. “I’m going to leave this right here,” she added, hooking the bag on the pole beside Maggie’s bed. “If you want some medicine, just have somebody open up the drip, all right?” Maggie nodded and Sylvia smiled, squeezing her arm. “You just yell if you need me,” she said to Jack, slipping to Rachel’s room, where she would work on a needlepoint stocking or read when she wanted to give Jack and Maggie as much uninterrupted time as she could. She had been with them ten to twelve hours a day for the last two weeks, going home some time in the evening. Sylvia held the needlework in her hands and rested her head against the wall. She would be finishing up her shift in another thirty minutes, leaving the Andrews family to spend Christmas Eve alone.

Normally, Jack and Maggie would retrieve presents from the attic once Nathan had gone to bed, but this year Jack suggested they unwrap their gifts on Christmas Eve instead of waiting for Christmas morning. He and Evelyn had wrapped what few presents they had for the children and placed them under the tree days ago.

Evelyn went into the bathroom and brought out some blush, eye shadow, powder, and lipstick to Maggie’s bedside. When Maggie was no longer strong enough to put on her own makeup, Evelyn did it for her. Evelyn gently freshened the colors she had applied that morning—a soft taupe to Maggie’s eyelids, dusty mauve to her sunken cheeks, and rosewood to her lips. She finished by dusting Maggie’s face with some fresh powder, then held up a mirror for Maggie to see herself.

“Thanks, Mom,” she whispered feebly.

Nathan tiptoed in through the backdoor and into his room, unnoticed. After dinner he had told his father he needed to run to a neighbor’s house down the street. Jack assumed Nathan and his little friend had made gifts for everyone and didn’t question him any further. After a few minutes, Nathan carefully opened his bedroom door and tiptoed down the hall and into the living room, depositing the gift under the tree.

Jack had tried to get ready for this evening, hoping it would never come. As hard as he prayed, he just wasn’t ready for this to be his last Christmas with Maggie. He sat by her bed earlier in the day and watched her sleep.

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