Gail Martin - Finding Christmas

“It’s the same.” She gave a shrug. “I’m worried about the calls, yet disappointed she hasn’t called again. I need three, remember.”

He seemed to study the murky pattern in his mug.

“If I only knew what she wanted.”

He looked up. “It might have been a wrong number, and you can’t assume it’s a she, Joanne. People sometimes change their voices for crank calls.”

She saw the flicker of frustration in his eyes and felt the same emotion.

“Remember the sermon today,” he said. “God is in your camp. The Lord is your ever-present help in trouble.”

“I heard the sermon.” She immediately regretted the edge in her voice.

“I know, but believe it.”

Her terse comment hadn’t swayed him, and she felt good knowing he cared that much. She’d hurt him with her abruptness, and she longed to smooth the concerned look from his face.

“I’m so afraid when it all pans out to be nothing that you’re going to be hurt,” he said.

His hand slid over hers, and the warmth rolled up her arm. She sat a moment in silence, then drew back her shoulders and sent him a brave smile. “I’m making a big deal out of two calls. Maybe wrong numbers. Forget it. I will, too.” She rested her free hand on his shoulder. “I should have listened to you. You said tomorrow will be better. Maybe it will.”

Hearing her sound more positive lifted Benjamin’s spirits. “Good for you,” he said, tapping his index finger against her hand, hoping she’d smile. “You need a break from all of this tension. “Let’s do something fun, Joanne. Let’s be kids again and enjoy one day without thinking about all of this.”

Her brow wrinkled and her eyes narrowed, but he didn’t let the look stop him. “I’m not kidding. It’s Thanksgiving. Let’s go downtown to the Thanksgiving Day Parade.”

She gave him a disbelieving grin. “Are you sure you’re not kidding?”

“I’m not. How long has it been since you went?”

“Four years, I guess. We took Mandy when she was nearly two, but she was too young to enjoy it.”

“But did you?”

“Enjoy it? Sure. Who doesn’t love a huge parade like that one.”

“Then it’s time to go again—giant helium balloons, marching bands, floats, clowns. What do you say?”

“I say you’re ridiculous. Two adults going to a kids’ parade?”

“Let’s be kids for a day. Come on.” He chucked her under the chin, and she laughed.

“Okay, but if it’s freezing cold you’d better bring along a thermos of hot chocolate.”

“I’ll do better than that.”

Donna sat in the living room and watched Connie concentrate on her toy house. Sometimes she was amazed at the depth of love she felt for the child. She’d been her stepmother for less than three years, but time didn’t matter. Connie fulfilled her longing to be a mother, a pleasure her body would never allow her.

She remembered that when she met Carl, one of the draws for her was the child. Connie seemed so lost and so in need of a woman’s touch. Carl said he’d hired sitters to care for her, but that wasn’t a mother’s love. Donna had opened her heart to Connie.

“Can we go to the parade?” Connie asked, looking up from her playhouse. Plastic furniture and plump, molded characters were strewn across the floor.

“You mean the Thanksgiving parade?”

Connie nodded. “My friend Sarah is going. Can we go?”

Donna had never taken Connie to the parade. Carl wouldn’t take the time or effort to fight the Detroit traffic, then stand out in the cold to see the gigantic helium balloons and the floats or listen to the bands. “I’ll ask your daddy.”

Connie hung her head.

Donna realized the child knew her father too well.

“Could we go?” Connie asked.

“You mean just you and me?”

Her face brightened and she nodded.

Donna knew there were shuttle buses. Maybe if they went to Fairlane Town Center they could take public transportation. “Let me think about it, okay?”

“Please.” Her blue eyes shone with excitement.

“I’ll do my best. That’s all I can do.”

Connie accepted her offer and went back to her play, while Donna closed her eyes to think. Every child deserved to see the Michigan Thanksgiving Day parade. It was televised in cities across the U.S. It seemed unfair for Connie not to go. But Carl? He wanted his Thanksgiving turkey.

Carl wanted a lot of things—and gave so little.

Donna’s thoughts slipped again into escape mode. She had made two calls to Joanne Fuller, but she’d lost her nerve. When she’d opened her mouth, her voice froze. She’d been disheartened by her actions. Donna needed to know if Connie was truly Joanne Fuller’s daughter.

She sensed Carl was having business trouble. Or he was in trouble. He would never tell her, but she’d seen his behavior change for the worse these past few months. She was certain he’d gotten into some kind of racket and that it had backfired. When Carl had problems, Donna had greater ones.

Escaping had preoccupied her mind because she feared for her life. It seemed as if Carl took out his anger and frustrations on her. Now she feared for Connie, too, and she needed to make sure she’d found Connie’s real mother. It was beyond her comprehension how Carl came to have Connie, but she felt certain she had deduced correctly. After she made sure, she would devise a plan—a plan to escape.

Wouldn’t a mother pay a great deal of money to know her daughter was alive? Money would mean nothing with a child at stake. If Donna had cash, she could get away. She could even take Connie with her. Her love for the little girl had grown as deep as if the child were her own, and she couldn’t bear the thought of losing her.

If she made Joanne Fuller believe she would lead her to her daughter, the woman might be willing to pay her, but instead of leading her to Connie, Donna could take Connie and leave the U.S. She could go to Canada or Mexico—anywhere to be free of Carl’s cruelty.

She had to think her plan through carefully. One mistake and she could scare off Joanne or get the police involved. Or worse, Carl could find out and she’d be a dead woman.

Joanne sat beside Benjamin as he drove down the side street off Woodward Avenue and took the ramp into the underground Cultural Center garage adjacent to the Detroit Institute of Arts. Traffic had bogged down as soon as they reached the downtown area as nearly a million people crowded into the area.

“Are you sure this is worth it?” she asked, as Benjamin pulled into a parking spot stories below the city.

He gave her a smile and turned off the ignition. “You tell me once we’re there.”

She swung open her door, and he met her as she stepped out. As they passed the trunk, he lifted the lid and pulled out two seat cushions with handles, and a car blanket.

“This won’t keep us warm, but it might help.”

His thoughtfulness impressed her, but she teased him anyway. “You forgot the thermos.”

“I told you I’d do better than that. Remember?”

He’d piqued her curiosity. She waited with him for the elevator to street level, and when they saw daylight, she realized they were at the front of the parade. The wind struck them as they exited, and she tugged on her gloves, then adjusted her scarf, wishing she’d worn a cap.

Benjamin motioned her to follow and they struggled through the crowd along the sidewalk. She wondered how they would see anything with such a bustle of humanity.

To her surprise, Benjamin reached a roped-off area near the grandstands and handed passes to a ticket-taker.

“Grandstand seats?” she asked, amazed he had such pull.

He gave her a wink. “I told you.”