Page 141 of The Blessings of Christmas
HER CHRISTMAS WISH
BY BARBARA LOHR
CHAPTER 1
The holidays were usually a time of peace and joy. But not for Josie Maloney. Not this year. No way. As she marched through Sweetwater Creek with her friends, every home had a Christmas tree in the window. Lights dangled from rooftops or were strung around palms and magnolia trees. Inflatable Santas, elves and Grinch figures lay collapsed on the lawns, waiting for night to come. Briskly wheeling their strollers in front of them, Emily and Bryn chattered about Christmas lists and holiday meals.
The early December day felt pleasantly cool. Perfect for their early morning walk. Josie could hear the lapping of the waves and the cries of the gulls. The harbor lay just ahead in peaceful splendor. But Josie wasn't feeling peaceful. And she certainly wasn't joyful. Not at all. She was feeling more like the cobblestone streets that her friends were bumping over with their baby carriages. The wheels heaved and squealed when they hit the uneven stones. “For Pete's sake, Josie. Slow down.” Emily grabbed Josie's elbow.
“I agree. This isn't a race.” Bryn was panting, her face all pink. She gave a pointed look down at her stroller where her little boy Sheldon was sleeping. “You forget we've got babiesonboard. And you're going so fast that we can't even look around at people’s decorations. After all, it's Christmas.”
“All right, all right.” Josie slowed her steps. Easy for them to be in a holiday mood. She was in a total panic but trying to hide it. Why ruin their holiday? Just a few days ago had been Thanksgiving. Time was moving too quickly. Well, for some people.
“Look, the Garretts have that huge tree with all the snowman ornaments again.” Bryn pointed to their big bay window.
“Ridiculous since we hardly ever get snow here.” Emily shook her head. They loved to critique their neighbors’ trees and always applauded change. The string of gingerbread men decorating the bushes in front of Waltons’ house earned their group approval.
“I should get baking,” Bryn murmured.
“Send some my way when you do that, okay?” Emily laughed. “I have no time to bake. I'm busy writing my holiday blog and you...” She jabbed a finger in Bryn’s direction. “I would think you would be very busy in your flower shop. Your windows are full of pink, red or white poinsettias every time I pass Bryn's Blooms.”
“Business has been great. I can't complain,” said Bryn. “If it weren't for Trevor's mother helping me out, both with the shop and taking care of Sheldon, I don't know what I would do.”
“Now there's a relationship that has taken a turn.” Josie couldn't help her cryptic comment. After Bryn and Trevor rediscovered each other, his mother had done everything to ruin the relationship. Now it looked as if Bryn and Cornelia were buddies.
The three friends loved this brisk walk in the early morning hours. But things had changed. Now Emily and Bryn were both pushing baby strollers. For a kid who was only about a year old, Emily's son Alex was making quite a fuss. The feisty, plumpbaby boy had one fist crammed in his mouth, while he shook the other at his mother, drooling and burbling what almost sounded like words.
“I keep trying to teach him to say Daddy. But no luck.” Emily frowned down at her son. “The only thing he’s said so far is Mama. Makes Jackson crazy.”
“Mama,” the little guy said around his fist.
Her frown shifting into a smile, Emily looked relieved to be out with friends. Before her wedding, Emily had assured Josie and Bryn that she would still come into town to hang out with them. Jackson's “country estate,” as Josie laughingly called it, was only twenty minutes away. And Emily had been true to her word. She often came in to walk or invited Bryn and Josie to join her for a visit to Coralee’s Closet, the consignment clothing store on the town square. Alex was usually with her, which was totally fine.
In contrast to Emily’s baby, Josie hadn’t heard a peep out of Bryn’s baby boy. But then Sheldon was only a few months old. That morning his eyes were shut tight, tiny fists tucked up under his chin. Bryn called him her “little man,” and that’s what he looked like. A little, worried man. He was such a cutie.
Josie's friend was devoted to saving the Diamondback turtles. But when one egg refused to hatch, Bryn had moved it into her bedroom and called it Sheldon. Bryn had talked to the egg at night, trying to coax the tiny turtle into the world. Finally Sheldon had made an appearance, and she’d released the little guy into the marsh.
Now the name lived on with her baby boy. The smell of baby powder wafted on the breeze. As she tried to avoid the wheels of the strollers, Josie felt surrounded by motherhood and babies. Thank goodness she was wearing sunglasses. Her friends wouldn’t see her damp eyes. She could always blame it on allergies. The South had plenty of pollen in the air, and someblamed their allergies on the Spanish moss hanging from the majestic liveoaks.
But sadly, it wasn't the pollen in the air making Josie sniff and dab at her eyes. Another Christmas was around the corner, and her life was stalled. Would she ever have a family? And how about a husband? Things didn’t look promising, and right now she was way too emotional. Maybe that had to do with her call a few nights earlier from Malcolm, a former employee at the Sweetwater Creek library, where she was the director. The call that she hadn’t mentioned to her friends.
Tired of trying to win his mother's attention, Alex begin to fuss. His burbling turned to wails. “You're being awfully quiet, Josie.” Emily popped a pacifier into Alex's mouth.
Well, if Josie couldn't tell them the truth, who could she tell? Maybe it was time to share. “I got a call from Malcolm.”
Both strollers came to a halt, wheels squeaking in protest. “When did that happen?” Emily pivoted to ask.
Her throat closed. Now they would give her the third degree.
“Have you been holding out on us?” Bryn’s eyes snapped. “What’s the story?”
Josie understood Bryn’s interest. At one time, not too long ago, Bryn had dated Malcolm. Granted, they’d been an odd match. Malcolm was an avid runner and hiker who loved to camp, while Bryn confined her explorations to the turtles in her backyard. The difference became clear once Bryn reunited with Trevor, her high school flame. That had been the end of Bryn and Malcolm. He’d left Sweetwater Creek shortly after that to go into the Peace Corps.
“I'm not holding out on anyone.”Liar liar, pants on fire. Josie didn’t know what to think of Malcolm’s request. But she’d said yes. Her stomach churned, as she remembered that call. She'd run it through her mind a million times and had hardly gotten any sleep last night.
By that time they’d reached the broad swings that bordered the harbor. Spitting out his pacifier onto the blue baby blanket, Alex continued to fuss. Emily lifted him to her shoulder, kissing his neck and mumbling sweet nothings. Her throat swelling, Josie concentrated on the harbor in front of them that stretched to the breakers and beyond. The water was relatively calm that morning, with just a few small, silvery white caps lifted by the breeze.
“What did Malcolm say?” Bryn asked softly while she gently rocked her stroller.
