Page 2 of Christmas Rings

They’d chatted for a few minutes, then Mrs. Kirby told her something surprising.

“I knew your dad,” Mrs. Kirby said. “He was a wonderful man.”

“You knew him?”

“Yes, my late husband worked with him at the university. They were both professors. I remember when you were born. Your dad was so proud. He went around the whole department handing out cigars.”

“Cigars?” Alissa wrinkled her nose.

“That’s just something people do when a baby is born,” Mrs. Kirby said. “Silly, isn’t it?”

“Kind of.”

“Would you like to call me Maddie, instead of Mrs. Kirby?”

“I guess so.” Alissa studied Maddie. She had long dark lashes and wore pink lipstick. Her perfume smelled like a meadow of wildflowers. She wore a zebra-print dress and long black boots with a heel. Mommy would have liked her. She would have complimented her boots. “Did you know my mom too?”

“Yes. I met her a few times at parties. She was very pretty and smart…” Maddie trailed off, and fidgeted with a napkin.

Alissa nodded and tried not to cry. Her Mommy had been the prettiest woman in the whole world.

They didn’t suffer.

“They died,” she said.

“I know, sweetie. I’m so very sorry. It hurts, doesn’t it?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “I just want to go home.”

Maddie put her hand on Alissa’s shoulder. The gentletouch made her want to crawl onto Maddie’s lap and bury her face into the soft, sweet-smelling shoulder. “My husband died a few years back,” Maddie continued. “My little daughter too.”

A dart of shock coursed through Alissa. Did Maddie have the dark hole in her chest too? Was that what made her eyes sad?

“They were in a car accident too,” Maddie said.

“Oh.” She couldn’t think what to say.

“I know how hard it is to understand what happened but I’m here to help.”

“You have sad eyes,” Alissa said.

“Yes, I do,” Maddie said. “My heart’s sad, so it shows in my eyes. I’m here for you now. The others will be too. Your new sisters. You won’t ever have to be alone again.”

Alissa’s mind tumbled over this idea. Would her sisters become new friends? Other girls who understood what it was like to be without parents?

“I know I can’t take the place of your parents, but I’ll love you like my own.”

“Why?”

“Because loving you makes it hurt less that my daughter is in heaven instead of here with me.”

Maddie seemed nice—and she’d always wanted a sister. Not this way, of course, but her parents were gone. “I’d like to have sisters.”

Maddie smiled and kissed the top of Alissa’s head. “I have something for you.” She went to the counter where a blue purse sat next to the telephone. Maddie reached inside and returned to the table to set a small silver heart in front of Alissa. “Whenever you feel scared or anxious, hold this heart and know your mother and father are now your guardian angels. They’ll always be with you, even if you can’t see them.”

Alissa squeezed her fingers around the cold metal.Seconds later, warmth spread through her body, seemingly radiating from the heart. For the first time, she had hope that she would be all right. Her mother and father were her angels now. All she had to do was remember them, and they would be with her.

“Thank you,” she said to Maddie, remembering her manners. Mommy always said there was something to be thankful for, even during the darkest times. She was thankful for Maddie Kirby.

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