Page 16 of Forever Christmas
Chapter 6: Gavin
I think Corabelle is managing okay.
I watch her all the time, looking for signs that the strain is too much for her. But she does her Corabelle things. Dinner. Tidying. Reading. Studying.
I’ve been working extra hours at Bud’s trying to get ahead on bills. Today I have to replace a radiator, which is a pain and a half. Twice Bud himself has comeover so we can wrangle it out from the hoses and tight-set motor.
Right now I’m hooking the new one in.
I came home twice last week to find Tina sitting with Corabelle. Once they weren’t even talking, just hanging out in the living room staring at the walls. Corabelle says she had a bit of a scare and Tina waited with her until she settled down.
The other time, they were painting rainbows ontall glass containers filled with candle wax. Corabelle has kept hers lit pretty much every moment since. She’s never really been a rainbow person, but maybe it was Tina’s idea.
I worry about her. But she’s back in class for the summer quarter, her load considerably lighter just taking classes and not being a TA. Her prof came through with a scholarship even though Corabelle had to turn downthe adjunct position. He’s good like that. Corabelle was relieved as she felt like she needed to work at the coffee shop otherwise.
No way would I let that happen. I’ve taken the summer off from school to get more hours, and I could defer a semester. I’m already on the seven-year plan. Might as well go for ten.
We’re both marking time now. I guess parents do. But it’s not just the baby comingwe count the days for. It’s the mid-pregnancy sonogram. This time, they’ll look at the baby’s heart and see if it is developing correctly. It’s not something they normally examine in a routine visit. But since Finn’s heart defect could be genetic, we have to know.
My phone buzzes, but I have to ignore it. I’ve got both hands in the guts of this Mazda, making sure every hose is locked down andtight.
Mario walks by. “You got it?” he asks.
I nod and walk my hands along the radiator, making sure it sits correctly and none of the hoses are pinched.
When I’m free, I pick up my phone to see who called. I really hope it wasn’t Corabelle with a problem.
It’s not.
It’s my mom’s cell phone. She hasn’t left a voice mail.
I don’t talk to her very often, just Christmas and Mother’s Day. Icall my sister June on her birthday, though, and she sometimes calls me if she’s by herself. She’s fourteen.
I shove my phone back in my pocket. If it was important, Mom would have left a message. I head to the driver’s side of the car to fire it up and let it run to make sure it doesn’t overheat.
But my phone buzzes once more.
Mom again.
Something has to be going on, so this time I pick up.
“Hey,” I say.
“Gavin? Is that you?” Her voice is tremulous and scared.
“It’s me, Mom,” I say, and my heart thuds when I hear how she sounds.
“I need you to come home,” she says.
“Is June okay?”
She sniffles. “It’s your father,” she says. “He’s having heart bypass surgery the day after tomorrow.”
My body stills. I imagine my father dead and find I have zero concern about it. He’s a bitter,angry, awful old man, and no one is going to mourn his death.
“Gavin? You still there?”
“I’m here. I heard you.”
