Dana Corbit - A Family for Christmas - The Gift of Family / Child in a Manger

“My father’s in the hospital. I have to leave for Ohio right away.”

“I’m so sorry, Evan. What happened?”

He briefly related the conversation he’d had with his mother. “I can’t believe this happened to Daddy. He’s always been so strong.”

Evan’s words aroused old fears and insecurities that Wendy hadn’t experienced since she’d met Evan. Panic, strong as a snow blast, froze her heart. Evan had been the best thing that had ever happened to her. When he’d asked her to marry him, she’d felt secure, believing that his love would enfold her forever. Why was she so fearful? Was it because she couldn’t understand why Evan would shove his plans for the future on the back burner to rush home because his father was in the hospital?

Panic-stricken, she wondered if Evan ever had to choose between his family and her, would she be in second place? Wendy could hardly bear the pain of it all. For a couple of hours, she’d had a glimpse of paradise. Now in light of Karl Kessler’s illness, paradise was only a dim shadow.

Ashamed of putting her own wishes ahead of Evan’s sorrow, she said tenderly, “I’m so sorry, Evan. What can I do to help?”

He started to say, “Pray for me,” but he doubted that Wendy ever prayed. “You can go with me to my apartment and help pack. I’ll take everything with me, since I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.”

Although annoyed because she was thinking about herself when Evan was so upset, his words startled Wendy like the passage of a fire truck in the middle of the night. But Evan needed her compassion now, so she lifted his hand and kissed each finger.

“Sure, I’ll help you pack. And don’t worry. Your dad will probably be better by the time you get home.”

“Did you choose a ring you like?” Evan asked, trying to change the subject.

“Not really. Let’s forget about the ring until you come back,” she said, refusing to believe he wouldn’t return to Florida.

Wendy walked quietly beside Evan to his truck, still wondering why his father’s illness had shattered him. Evan was such an even-tempered man; hardly anything ever frustrated him. But in his concern for his father’s health, she sensed his total devotion to his family.

Wendy had rarely seen her father since her parents’ divorce when she was eight. So it was difficult for her to understand the close ties between Evan and his father. As they drove to the complex where Evan lived, he talked about growing up on the farm, and of the farmwork, the fishing and hunting trips he’d shared with his father. Wendy gained a vague understanding of what she’d missed by not having a father around while growing up.

Everything in Evan’s apartment was organized, so in less than two hours, his belongings were gathered into the boxes he’d saved when he’d moved into the apartment in August. As he’d hurriedly packed, Wendy had carried the lighter boxes down the single flight of stairs to his truck.

The empty apartment saddened Wendy because it seemed as if he was leaving for good. Evan’s rent was paid through the end of the school year, however, so maybe he would return after Christmas.

Evan’s lips were surprisingly gentle when he kissed her goodbye before they left the apartment. Tears trembled on her eyelids, and Evan wiped them away.

“Don’t cry, sweetheart, and make it worse for me. I don’t want to leave you, but I must be with my family when they need me. I may not be gone long.”

He gave her money to pay for a taxi back to her dorm. “If I leave from here, I’ll save an hour of driving time. You don’t mind taking a taxi, do you?”

She shook her head. “Not at all. You should get started as soon as possible.”

Wendy stifled her tears as she stood in front of the apartment building and watched Evan drive away. Once he was out of sight, she leaned against the building and tears of deep frustration trickled down her cheeks. Was this the end of her relationship with Evan?

A mass exodus of students heading home for the Thanksgiving weekend had almost emptied the dorm where Wendy lived. She welcomed the quietness. Her thoughts still centered around her relationship with Evan, which, in a few months, had catapulted from friendship to a romance.

One of Wendy’s closest friends stuck her head in the door to say goodbye before she hurried to catch a bus to the airport. As Wendy gathered the items she’d need over the weekend, she wished she could be as excited as the other students about going home. Her four years at the University of Florida had been the happiest time of her life. Since she lived less than a hundred miles away, she went home at least once a month. If she saw her mother only once or twice during the school year, would she look forward to going home? Holidays at the Kenworth apartment weren’t joyous occasions. After her mother had spent long hours working in the department store during the Thanksgiving to Christmas rush, she spent most of her holidays in bed.

Noting that it was almost two o’clock, Wendy shouldered her backpack, picked up a suitcase and hustled to meet a friend who would drop her off at home.

Wendy’s friend was a fast driver. They arrived at the apartment building in Jacksonville before Wendy was ready to face her mother. Wendy’s excitement over Evan’s proposal had been dimmed somewhat by his rapid departure, but she wondered if her mother would sense her daughter’s heightened emotions?

Emmalee Kenworth was overly perceptive where her daughter was concerned, and Wendy knew it would be difficult to keep her mother unaware of her inner excitement and turmoil over the day’s activities. Evan had made such a difference in her life that Wendy was amazed she’d been able to conceal their relationship from her mother for the past few months. Now that Evan had asked her to marry him, she knew that she must tell her mother about him.

Hand on the doorknob, Wendy stopped and took a deep breath before she entered the combination kitchen-living room of their three-room apartment.

“Hello, dear,” Emmalee called. Wendy went into the kitchen area where her mother was placing silverware on the table.

Wendy had inherited her mother’s attractive features, but Emmalee Kenworth was only a shadow of the beauty she’d been in her youth. She was excessively thin, and her mouth had a perpetual droop. Emmalee’s expertly applied makeup did little to hide the unhappiness in her eyes resulting from her broken marriage. She worked in the women’s clothing section at a local department store, and she had her pick of fashionable clothes at a discount, so she and Wendy were always well dressed.

“Dinner will be ready soon,” Emmalee said. “I brought sweet-and-sour chicken with rice and salad from the deli. I’ll put the meat in the microwave to warm now that you’re here.”

“That sounds good. I’m hungry.”

Wendy brought a pitcher of tea from the refrigerator and poured a glass for each of them before she took her accustomed place at the small table. Emmalee served the food in the deli containers, saying, “We won’t have many dishes to wash.”

“Are you working tonight?”

“No, thank goodness. Our store has been a madhouse this week. I think people start their Christmas shopping earlier every year. I’m off tomorrow, but, as usual, the day after Thanksgiving will be the busiest day of the year at the store. It’s hard to tell when I’ll get home Friday night. I have to work Saturday and Sunday, too, so we won’t see each other much this weekend.”

“That’s all right. I have a research paper to finish, and I want to start studying for finals.”

Emmalee talked about problems at the store, and Wendy answered when it was necessary. With her mind full of Evan’s proposal, and his sudden trip to Ohio, she couldn’t think of anything else.