Page 9 of Through the Snow Globe
Diana’s mother had enjoyed drinks at any time of day. That was the problem when Diana was growing up. One of them, at least. It was why Diana had lived with her grandmother. Her mom drank too much and only remembered that Diana existed around the holidays. That’s when Jackie Merriman came around with a single, wrapped gift and empty promises that she’d be more involved in the coming year. Diana didn’t want to turn out like her. And even though Grandma Denny had come through, raising Diana as her own, Diana didn’t want to take after her either. She wanted to be warmer to the people she loved. She didn’t want to keep her guard up and her emotions hidden. That was easier said than done, though.
Deciding against the glass of wine, she headed over to the couch and laid down. Just for a moment. She needed to erase the stress of the day. In fact, she wouldn’t mind sleeping the rest of this awful day away. She closed her eyes and waited for her mind to finally stop whirring with too many things. Finally, she drifted off to nothingness.
She awoke to the sound of someone knocking on her apartment door. She blinked the room into focus. The natural light from the windows was gone. What time was it? She must have been asleep longer than she’d intended.
The knock came again. It was probably Linus. He must have forgotten his house keys when he rode off on his bicycle this morning.
“I’m coming!” she called as she sat up on the couch. She took her time standing and walking to the door. She didn’t want to fight with Linus tonight. Perhaps she’d cook them a hot meal and they could still have that glass of champagne even though she hadn’t gotten the promotion. Then they could set a date. Not for this Christmas, but maybe for the next one. Or the one after that.
Linus knocked again, more urgently this time. In his defense, it was freezing outside. Diana walked more quickly, looking forward to having Linus’s arms wrap around her. After a day like this one, she wouldn’t mind disappearing into his embrace for hours.
She reached the door, turned the knob, and pulled, ready to do just that.
It wasn’t Linus, though. Instead, there were two police officers on her stoop. Diana recognized the older one as Officer Crane. She had treated his mother last year after Mrs. Crane had broken her hip. Why hadn’t she filled out a Glow Card for Diana? Diana had done a great job with the elderly patient. She hadn’t been curt or distant. Her bedside manner had been impeccable.
Diana looked between the two men, who stood there with grim expressions. What were they doing at her apartment? Why did they look so upset?
Her knees buckled under the weight that suddenly hung heavy in her gut. Something was wrong. She could feel it. And no amount of saying that things were fine would fix whatever this was. “What happened?” she asked, bracing herself against the doorframe. The cold air felt harsh as it rushed through the doorway, burning her cheeks.
“Hello, Diana,” Officer Crane said. Why did he sound so serious? “I’m here about Linus.” He hesitated and Diana’s heart did a free fall into the pit of her stomach.No, not him.She needed Linus. She needed him now.
“Just tell me,” she whispered.
Officer Crane seemed to hesitate, his lips pressed into a thin line. “I’m sorry to inform you that Linus was in an accident tonight.”
Chapter 4
Merry Eve of Christmas Eve
Three weeks later
The bitterly cold air nipped at Diana’s cheeks as she slipped out of her last patient’s home and descended the porch steps, heading toward her car parked along the curb. The forecast had been calling for snow for over a week, but at present, the air was too cold and dry for precipitation. It was prime conditions for black ice on the roads, however. Diana’s visit with Linus at the New Hope Long-Term Care Facility needed to be a quick one so she could get back to her apartment before dark.
As she dipped into the driver’s seat, her phone buzzed. Her body jolted upright at the sound. She had this running fantasy that someone from the facility would call and say, “Good news, Ms. Merriman! He’s awake! It’s a miracle!” Diana had seen Linus’s chart, though. She understood the low probability of him waking up. He’d been lying lifeless for three long weeks, and every day that passed made his prognosis bleaker.
She pulled her phone from her purse and glanced at the caller ID. It was Linus’s mother—again. Diana let the call go to voice mail, cranked her car, and waited a few minutes for the engine to warm before pulling onto the road.
Mrs. Grant had been calling a lot since the accident, saying she wanted to“be there”for Diana during this“difficult time.”Diana was certain Mrs. Grant’s intentions were good and Diana felt guilty for not answering or reciprocating. Mrs. Grant must have been struggling a lot as well. Linus was her only child and as far as Diana could tell, she doted on him.
Linus would want Diana to reach out to his mom—she knew that—and she would. Just not tonight. She was too overwhelmed and she wasn’t used to having someone so concerned about her. Yeah, she had Rochelle, but Ro knew her well enough not to push too hard or too much. Mrs. Grant didn’t understand that yet.
No, tonight Diana wanted to get to the facility before dark and see her fiancé. She wanted to hold his hand and talk to him despite the fact that he wouldn’t be saying anything back.
As Diana impatiently drove the forty-five-mile-an-hour speed limit to the care facility, her thoughts swirled around like battered snowflakes. She missed Linus more than she ever realized she could. How had he captured her heart so completely in less than a year? Her life hadn’t been the same since meeting him and it wouldn’t be again if he didn’t wake up.
Stop thinking like that, Diana. He’s going to pull through. He has to.
If the tables were turned, Linus wouldn’t give up on her and she wasn’t going to give up on him either. It was rare, but there were cases of patients who’d woken after decades of being comatose. Linus had been asleep for only three weeks—but they had been the longest weeks of her life.
Finally, she pulled up next to an SUV that was wearing a red Rudolph nose over the hood ornament and had antlers coming out of each side of the front windows. She took in the image for a moment. She’d always enjoyed Christmas, but this year she was struggling to be jolly for obvious reasons. She would have skipped over the holiday altogether but knowing Rochelle, that would invoke an intervention.
Who would be in that intervention circle? Diana pondered as she locked up her car and hurried toward the expansive brick building with a blue metal roof. Mrs. Grant? William Davis maybe? Or perhaps Diana’s eccentric neighbor, Mrs. Guzman, who always seemed to stop by at the most inconvenient times?
Diana pushed through the front entrance doors and let the heat envelop her. She stood there and let it soak in, thawing out her body. In the corner of the room was a comically large and heavily adorned tree that made it hard to forget the season. The ornaments were handmade by the patients. Linus even had one hanging on the tree, but Diana knew his hands hadn’t touched the tiny star-shaped ornament made from popsicle sticks and lathered with glue and glitter. His eyes hadn’t even opened to see it. It was more likely the work of one of the nursing aides here.
“Good evening!” an orderly said. He was wearing Grinch-themed scrubs.
“Hi, Ernest.” At this point, Diana knew everyone at New Hope, even though she’d been coming for only the last two weeks. The first week after Linus’s accident, he’d been in the hospital and she’d been by his side every moment that she wasn’t working. She’d slept there, eaten there, and had managed basic hygiene with his in-room shower and a toiletry bag that Rochelle had brought over. Once Linus’s condition had failed to improve and the powers that be had determined there was minimal hope, he’d been transported to New Hope. It was ironic that the facility’s name was New Hope, seeing that this was where patients were sent when there was none.
