The Third Christmas by Margot Early

Author:Margot Early
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 1994-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

LATER THAT DAY David suggested she take the Corvette home and pack what she needed for Baja. He planned to take Erika to her rehab center in Los Angeles early the next morning, leaving Chris with Jean, so it made sense for her to spend the night on the ship again. And the day after that they would leave for Baja.

Jean and Chris had made exhaustive plans for their day together—a visit to the natural history museum, then Christmas shopping. Jean was looking forward to it, but she felt the weight of responsibility. David would be leaving his son with her for more than twelve hours while he went out of town, and as she packed for the trip and closed up her house she could think of nothing else. Nothing else except the fact that she’d never told him about working for Michael and Jennifer Avery in Baja.

Most of the time Jean could forget the fiasco—or convince herself David would understand. But at home, in her own house, she heard the echo of her mother’s voice and saw her skeptical stare, and she knew she could expect no better of David.

Even the houseplants accused her—or at least the Christmas cactus did. The bonsai olive tree was too needy to accuse. It seemed to cry to her, Don’t leave me for two weeks. The neighbors might not water me.

But the cactus played tapes from the past.

Ceci’s our nurturer. Jean’s a little too self-involved. I don’t know what kind of mother she’d make. For one thing, she’s never home.

Small wonder, thought Jean. She looked at the flourishing olive tree, and another tape began to play.

You must be good with these. This tree looks old.

I think you’d make a very good mother.

Tears stung her eyes. Quickly she went to the kitchen table where paper and gift tags lay. She scrawled a card to the professor who’d recommended her for the Sayles Award and his wife, then collected a gift bow to stick on the cactus planter. She opened the front door, then returned to the cactus and hefted it into her arms to carry across the street.

Briefly she wondered what Ceci would think of her giving their mother’s Christmas cactus to the neighbors. But then it occurred to her that her sister was seldom home and never noticed the plant when she was.

And later, as she carried the bonsai to the Corvette to take with her on the Skye, Jean remembered the olive branch was a symbol of peace. She knew she would never look at the little tree again without hearing David say she was good with plants and would make a very good mother. And without seeing Chris waiting in his pajamas for her to watch him open the next door of the advent calendar.

That was peace—unbroken but for the shadow of her lie to David.

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