A Goose Creek Christmas by Virginia Smith

Author:Virginia Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780736968782
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers

Chapter Six

Alice arrived at work Monday afternoon with a despondent frown, her shoulders slumped, and dark, sagging pouches beneath her eyes. Susan exchanged a concerned glance with Millie.

“Are you feeling okay?” Susan asked as the woman dropped her purse into a filing cabinet drawer.

Alice gave a distracted nod. “I didn’t sleep well last night, but I’m fine.”

Millie peered into her face. “Maybe you’re coming down with something. If you want to take the afternoon off, I’ll cover for you.”

“It’s quieter here.” A brief, rueful smile flashed onto her pale lips and disappeared as quickly. “All the kids are stuck in the house because of the rain.”

With the unseasonably cold December this year, rain could turn to sleet without warning. Definitely not amenable for active children like the Wainright boys.

“Well, if you’re sure.” Millie slipped on her coat and took her umbrella from the stand by the door. “Call me if you change your mind.”

When they were alone, Susan started to head back to Exam Room One, where a kitty with a digestive disorder waited, but then she hesitated. The difference in Alice from Saturday’s pleasure in her not-a-date plans with Ansel Crowder was marked. With their full afternoon schedule, this might be the only chance they’d have to talk in private.

“Are you sure there’s nothing wrong? Because you look unhappy about something.” She paused delicately: “How did your outing with Ansel turn out?”

Bingo. Tears filled Alice’s eyes. “It was wonderful. We had a great time.”

“Then why are you upset?”

The receptionist snatched two tissues from the box on the counter. “Because when we finished shopping, he took me to a steak restaurant and insisted on buying my dinner.”

No doubt about the meaning of that gesture. “So it really was a date.”

Alice nodded.

“Did you have a good time?”

Another nod, and she blew her nose.

“Help me understand something here.” Susan perched on the edge of the desk. “A nice man who is clearly attracted to you asks you out, helps you shop for your kids, and then buys your dinner. I don’t see the problem.”

No answer came at first. Alice wadded the tissues into a ball, tossed them into the trash can, and plucked another from the box. Her throat convulsed repeatedly. Susan waited, giving her time to regain her composure.

Finally, she drew in a deep breath and blew it out. “The problem is that I’m married.”

Surprised, Susan couldn’t come up with a response. Married? Though she had never asked, she’d assumed Alice was divorced. Or maybe widowed, because she had never heard any mention of the kids’ father coming for a visit.

Alice spread the tissue out on the desk and folded it into a neat square as she explained. “He’s an addict. He always drank, but then he hurt his back falling off a ladder, and they gave him pain pills. That was when Heath was a baby. When his prescription ran out and the doctor wouldn’t give him anymore, he went to another doctor, and another. Then he started buying them on the street.

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