It Really IS a Wonderful Life: The Snowflake Falls but Hearts in Love Keep a Home Warm All Year Long (12 page)

“I forgot.” He giggled as he wiped his face. “Mom, is Emma all better?”

Emma nodded.

“Appears so.”

Josh waved his fork in the air like a banner. “I’ve got an idea. Let’s have a family day.”

Dorie hadn’t spent special time with the kids since before Josh’s operation. Dates with Gabe and play rehearsals kept her away most nights.

Carpe diem.

On impulse she grabbed the phone and dialed Gabe’s landline, his recorded voice far too cheerful. “This is Gabe. Don’t hang up. I’m a great doctor but a lousy mind reader. So please leave a message at the tone. Won’t guarantee I’ll get back to you, but I’d like to know you called.”

Should she leave a message? She couldn’t call his cell phone since he’d be making rounds. What if he didn’t check his messages before coming over?

She’d risk it. She would also leave a note on her door, to be safe.

“Gabe? This is Dorie. I need to break our date today. I’ll explain at church tomorrow. Don’t pick me up … I’ll have the kids with me. I’ll meet you there.” Shouldn’t she sound a little warmer, apologize at least? “I’m sorry.”

She called her mother next. “Mom, would you be terribly disappointed if I don’t bring the kids over today?”

“Something wrong?”

“Not at all. I haven’t spent much time with them lately. Now that I’ll be working, special days will be at a premium.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll call Gillian and see if she’d like to meet me for lunch.”

Josh beamed. “Does that mean we’re going to have a family day?”

“Absolutely.”

Emma jumped up and down. “Will Mr. Bear be okay all by himself?”

“You don’t want to bring him?”

“I think he might be bored.”

“We’ll set him up with a pile of books to read while we’re gone.”

Now, where to go? Dorie looked outside. The day promised to be clear and sunny. Haggerton Mall would be a great choice. Guilt niggled. That had been Gabe’s suggestion for a date. Wouldn’t he be insulted if she went without him?

When she went back downstairs,, Josh stood ready to head out the door. “Where are we going?”

“How about a new place? A mall where we can play video games and get new Legos and some clothes for Emma.”

Emma slid down the steps. When she reached the landing she stood and twirled. “Hurry up, Mommy!”

“I need to grab a few CDs for our trip.” Dorie crammed the discs into a backpack along with wipes and a change of clothes for Emma in case of another upset. “I need to make sure everything’s turned off before we leave. Go ahead and get into the car. I’ll be right there.”

She pushed a resistant Boomer into the cellar, then grabbed a coat from the closet. The phone rang as she opened the door. Should she answer it? Two beautiful people waited for her outside. If she didn’t, she’d worry all the way to Haggerton that she’d missed an important call.

“Dorie, it’s Gabe. I got your message. What’s wrong? Are the kids okay?”

“I think so. Emma had an upset stomach this morning. She seems okay now—”

“I don’t understand. Why are you breaking our date?”

Could he possibly understand this need? “I wanted to spend some special time with the kids today. I’ve been too busy lately.”

“Well, let’s leave now and take them with us. I finished my rounds a few minutes ago, so I’m done for the day. Haggerton Mall has an indoor miniature golf course. Would they like that?”

How could she make him understand she didn’t intend to include him? His feelings would be hurt, especially given how he doted on the children. He’d even brought over dog biscuits for Boomer. How could she tell him she wanted the kids to herself? “I thought, at least for today, the kids and I could go solo.”

“You don’t want me around your kids?”

Did Gabe sense what she didn’t want to admit? They hadn’t spent time as a potential family since the steak incident. “That’s not the point. We’ve been dating only a few weeks, and the kids need to be eased into this. Why don’t you come over after church tomorrow? I’ll make dinner for all of us.”

“Fine.” Anger hitched on the hem of his agreement.

“I need to hear you say that you’re still my girl. Will you wear your necklace to church?”

“If you want me to.”

“Never mind. I thought you’d want to. Foolish of me to think so, I guess.”

Get over it Gabe.
“Look, I’ve got to go. The kids are waiting for me outside.”

The buzz meant only one thing. Gabe had hung up.

She looked outside. Josh waited patiently by the door while Emma leaped like a frog from one end of the back seat to the other.

Dorie would not allow Gabe or anyone to interfere with these precious ones. They were hers—hers alone.

***

Saturday morning breakfast with Pop was among the few things Jamey looked forward to since returning to Midville. How much better he and Pop got along as adults than during Jamey’s rebellious teenage years.

Now that he’d grown up, he understood his contribution to his turbulent relationship with Pop. Maybe they’d have gotten along better if Jamey had been compliant, like his brother Mike. Everyone called him, “the good son.” Well, where was that good son now? Ironic that the prodigal came home and the faithful stayed away.

This morning, though, Pop could barely feed himself and seemed too weak to manage the chair. “Pop, shouldn’t you be in bed?”

He took off his oxygen cannula. “Darn thing … gets in the way.”

“Don’t try to talk so much.”

“Have to … son. The doctors … have done … all they can. I’ve stopped chemo.”

How could he bear to lose Pop now, when they’d finally become friends?

“It’s okay … I’m ready … to go. I’m worried about you.”

“Me?”

Pop leaned forward. “I’ve placed a … a burden on your shoulders.”

“Don’t say that. I chose to come home. You didn’t make me.”

“The business isn’t … for you.”

“I’m doing fine.”

“But your heart’s not in it, boy.”

Jamey sighed. He’d failed Pop yet again. “Are you still sore because I majored in theater instead of business like you wanted me to?”

“Not … any more. You’ve done me proud, Jamey. Wrong of me … to ask you to give up so much.”

“What else could you do? You couldn’t ask Mike.”

“Not with a wife … and kids. He’s a better … principal than a businessman.”

The implicit stung—Pop thought teaching the more honorable profession.

Pop’s chest heaved with another coughing spell.

“You should rest.”

“In a minute. Listen to me … if Junior Harwood wants the business … sell it to him.”

Words he’d hoped to hear for so long—yet, words that soured if Pop said them against his convictions just to please Jamey. Funny how the thing you thought you most wanted turns out to be the thing you least desire.

The tears fell as the men, father and son, embraced.

Chapter Seventeen

Another Sunday and late for church again. Mom waited by the vestibule door, her eyes wide with concern. “Anything wrong, Dorie? This is getting to be a habit.”

Dorie blew out her frustration. “I overslept and the car wouldn’t start. The neighbor jumped it for me. I take it Gabe isn’t here?”

“He’s waiting for you downstairs. He tried the house and then the cell. He said he’d go get you if you didn’t arrive within the next five minutes.”

Dorie checked her cell. “I must have powered down.” She took Emma’s coat off while Josh shed his. He held it out like a silent command to wait on him. When no one took it, he dropped it to the floor and dashed for the steps.

“Joshua Devon Fitzgerald. You get back here this instant.”

He obeyed with pouted lips and shrugged shoulders.

“Hang that up, then take your sister downstairs for practice.” Dorie placed her hands on her hips for emphasis.

Josh picked up his coat. “Sorry.”

Obedience without lip
.

Mom beamed with grandmotherly pride as Josh and Emma took the steps at breakneck speed. “You’re doing a fantastic job with them. I know it’s hard being both mom and dad. Children will test your mettle right into their twenties and beyond.”

Instead of rehashing a daughter’s poor choices, Mom hid her condemnation within a pseudo-stream of challenging children, thus removing the criticism with a hundred degrees of separation. “I’ll take that under advisement. I wonder sometimes if a father figure would be best for them.”

“And you think Dr. Wellington would be that father figure?”

“Could be.”

“Don’t settle for the first man to come along, dear. Trust God to choose a good husband for you. And if you have to go it alone, He’ll give you the strength and wisdom you’ll need.”

“You’re right.” Dorie collected a hug for reassurance. “You usually are.”

Mom glanced at the clock. “We probably haven’t missed anything yet. I don’t know why Pastor Dave can’t get to the lesson first thing. All this ‘caring and sharing’ before Sunday school is a waste of time. If Frank Burgess gives one more account of last year’s foot surgery, I think I’ll walk out.”

“Mom? What’s really bothering you?”

“I worry about you. Can’t a mother do that?”

Dorie kissed her mother on the cheek. “I’ll be okay.”

When they reached the Sunday school room, Dorie faked a smile and his icy glare sent shivers up her spine. She took the expected seat next to him. He leaned over and whispered, “Car trouble?”

“I got here, didn’t I?”

Gabe scowled, but before Dorie could ask him to explain his coldness, Pastor Dave distributed a pre-printed lesson on Genesis 17 then led the group in prayer.

Dorie scanned the scripture references. Who would even want a first baby at Abraham and Sarah’s ages? She certainly didn’t want any more children. Her two presented enough challenges. If she married a childless man, wouldn’t he want children of his own?

She glanced toward Gabe.
Do you want babies
? If she and Gabe were destined for the altar, adding more children into the mix would be a necessary topic before long. “This is way too soon.”

Gabe leaned nearer. “What’s too soon?”

When would she learn not to speak her thoughts to the whole world? “I said that there’s going to be a full moon.”

Gabe scowled and Dorie felt her cheeks warm as Pastor Dave waited patiently for the side discussion to end.

“Moving on,” Pastor Dave continued, “Abraham listened to Sarah’s idea to provide him with a legal heir. And after Ishmael’s birth, Abraham planned for his son’s future, as any father would.”

The discussion ran the gamut of Abraham’s spiritual ups and downs. Pastor Dave suggested Ishmael might have been a detour rather than God’s first choice. Gabe crossed his right leg over his left knee. “God blessed Ishmael too.”

“Yes, but Ishmael was not the son of promise. Sometimes God blesses our mistakes, although the consequences can have far-reaching results. In the case of Ishmael, the conflict reached across the ages to the current Middle East crisis.”

The Middle East crisis that left her a widow.
Where were You, God? Why did You let Devon die!

A sigh that came from deep within left her feeling comforted, as if a pleasant breeze stirred the topmost branches of her soul. Then the still, small voice came to her at last.

Devon mattered to me. You matter to me. Trust me with the rest of your life.

I will, Lord. What about Gabe?

Gabe is an Ishmael
.

While the rest of the class argued the benefits of immediate obedience, Dorie finally prayed, surrendering her widowhood to God. A firm conviction settled over her that whatever plan God had for her did not include Dr. Gabriel Wellington. She thumbed her necklace, supposedly given to her without condition, yet the expectations obvious.

How can I end it, God?

***

Dinner seemed as if it would never be finished. The kids dawdled over their plates, distracted by Gabe’s jokes and silly songs. They liked him. Wouldn’t they be disappointed when he stopped coming over?

She’d served pot roast, one of the few dishes she could cook without throwing it in the garbage and ordering takeout. Though she barely touched a bite, everyone else’s plate was picked clean.

“A kiss-the-cook supper,” Gabe said. He got up from the table.

“I should pick up the kitchen.”

“It can wait.” He pulled her to a stand and embraced her.

She pushed him away.

“What’s wrong?”

“We’ll talk later.”

“We’ll talk now. Kids, go on upstairs for quiet time.”

“Oh, man.” Josh, with chin to his chest, stomped upstairs and slammed his door.

Emma trailed behind at a snail’s pace.

Dorie blew her a reassuring kiss. “I’ll be up in a little while, sweetie.”

Gently guiding her into the living room, Gabe sat on the couch and patted the cushion next to him. Ignoring his hint, Dorie sat in the recliner. Tears stung her eyes. Why was this so hard? Was this how Abraham felt when he sent Ishmael away?

His piercing gaze told her he suspected the rejection to come. And yet, those delicious eyes, his wit—was she doing the right thing? “What’s wrong? You aren’t still mad at me for acting stupid yesterday, are you?”

Lord, I can’t do this.
“It’s not that.”

He wrung his hands. “You’re not the only one scared by what’s happening between us.”

Dorie moved to the couch, sat next to Gabe. “I’ve been selfish. I didn’t realize our relationship confused you too.”

“I almost got married once. I was frightened and called it off. But my feelings for Gwen were nothing compared to how I feel about you. I love you. Don’t tell me you’re about to step on my heart.”

Please, God, keep me strong to do Your will.
Dorie removed the necklace, the emblem of his affection, and placed it in his palm.

His sigh clawed at her resolve. “During Sunday school, I knew you were wrestling with our future. This is not what I hoped for.”

Gabe could be a bit overbearing with the children, yet they responded to him. She had to admit they were better behaved with him around. He would make a good father for them. Mom’s wisdom never failed. Dorie should first find someone right for her.