Day by Day (21 page)

“Haven’t you heard anything at all about where she might be?” Barbara asked.

“No. Not a word.”

“Then why are you so worried that she’s coming? She hasn’t been home for a few years now,” Ginger offered.

“But Brian is here now, and Christmas was Candy’s favorite holiday,” Judy countered. She took a deep breath.

“If she’s ever going to head home, it will be this time of year. If I had either the time or the money, I’d be tempted to fly us both off somewhere, but since I have neither, I’m staying put. Brian is in the Christmas pageant at church on Christmas Eve, and I was thinking about volunteering
to help serve dinner at the Towers on Christmas Day for the seniors who don’t have anywhere to go. I think they’d like having a young child like Brian there, too. I just haven’t called Penny yet to let her know for sure, but I think I should volunteer. What do you two think?”

Ginger nodded her approval. “I think it’s a great idea and that Brian is very lucky to be with you.”

Barbara concurred. “If sounds perfect to me. Christmas is going to be difficult for us, too, so we’ve decided not to stay home this year.”

Along with Judy, Ginger listened attentively as Barbara detailed the startling news about the girls’ other grandparents, now confirmed beyond all doubt by DNA tests. “They’ve invited us all up to the farm for a few days over the holiday, and we’ve accepted. It’s a long drive, but it seems like the perfect opportunity to introduce the girls to the Carrs. We think being at the farm where their mother grew up will make it easier for them to understand who the Carrs are and why they’re going to be part of their lives as they grow up.”

Ginger looked to Judy to comment first, but she seemed just as speechless. “I had no idea you’ve been dealing with all this,” she admitted. “Are you sure they aren’t going to fight for custody?”

Barbara smiled. “Absolutely. They’ve signed a custody agreement limiting their involvement to visitations, and Carl Landon has just filed it with the court. John and I both believe the Carrs can only bring more love into the girls’ lives, and we’re looking forward to a country Christmas that should be very, very special for all of us.”

Ginger was truly happy for both of her friends, but their plans for Christmas only made her more anxious to have
her own. “Since you both have such good plans, maybe you can help me with ours, not that we’ve made a single one. It’s just going to be Tyler, Vincent and me,” she said, quickly detailing where each of her three children would be. She also described Vincent’s attempt to run away and how important it was to make the holiday special for him. “Okay, ladies. Ideas?”

Barbara shook her head. “Wait. Before we can give you any ideas, you have to answer a few questions.”

“Right. Like whether or not you want to stay home like I am or go away, like Barbara,” Judy suggested.

Guided by the echo of Miss Grumley’s suggestion to find the quiet in Christmas, Ginger answered quickly. “Home.”

“Good. At this late date, you’d probably have trouble making travel arrangements anyway,” Barbara noted. “What are we talking about? Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?”

“Both.”

“Isn’t Vincent in the Christmas pageant?” Judy asked.

“He was sick and missed the sign-up so it’s too late by now. They probably don’t have room for him.”

“Yes, they would,” Barbara argued. “It’s a Christmas pageant. There’s always room for one more angel.”

“Or another shepherd boy,” Judy added. “Call Amy Braxton. She’s the director this year. I’m sure she’ll find a place for him.”

“Okay. That takes care of Christmas Eve. What about Christmas Day? After services in the morning, we have the rest of the day to fill. I’d like to keep Vincent busy so he has less time to think about…about his mother.”

“That’s probably wise,” Barbara noted, “but he’ll be thinking of her anyway.”

“You could help us at the Towers. I could mention it to Penny when I call her,” Judy offered.

When Ginger did not respond immediately, in part because Tyler was not particularly comfortable surrounded by the elderly and she was not sure if Vincent would be, either, Barbara interjected her thoughts. “You don’t have to volunteer on Christmas this year. Why don’t you think about what you did when your own children were little?”

Ginger smiled, recalling memories of Christmas past that warmed her heart. “We didn’t do much. We always had our big dinner early, right after services. After that, we pretty much stayed home. Tyler always kept the fireplace going all day. We’d make popcorn over the fire, but that was before the microwave made it easier,” she added with a giggle. “Maybe we’d play some of the new board games the children got as gifts or we’d go outside. One of the children invariably got a new bicycle or roller skates or a skateboard.”

She paused as her heart opened up to share a special memory she had tucked away. “One year we all got ice skates. That winter we were living in Ohio near a small lake that had frozen solid. We spent the afternoon skating and roasted hot dogs over a campfire. I think it was one of the best Christmases we ever had.”

“The lake in Welles Park is frozen,” Judy noted.

Barbara nodded. “And there are several campfire pits, so that leads me to ask two questions. Do you still have the popcorn maker for the fireplace and do you all have ice skates?”

Ginger looked from Barbara to Judy and back to Barbara again. “They really allow open fires there?”

“Really. Now what about those ice skates?”

“We haven’t skated for years. I’m sure we gave them away, and I don’t even know if Vincent can skate. It doesn’t matter, though. I’d probably land flat on my face the minute I got to the ice.”

Judy scoffed. “Not a chance. It’s like riding a bike. Once you learn, you never forget. Just don’t try a triple axel or anything fancy,” she teased.

“I don’t even remember what the popcorn thingamabob is called, let alone where it might be. Do they even sell popcorn you don’t pop in a microwave?” Ginger asked.

Barbara laughed. “It’s right in the supermarket on the shelf next to the microwave popcorn.”

“They sell ice skates these days, too. Not at the super market, of course, but Marty’s Sporting Goods should have them, if they haven’t sold out,” Judy suggested.

“It would be an old-fashioned Christmas. A little quieter than what you’ve been used to in the last few years, but maybe that would be a good thing,” Barbara murmured.

As Barbara’s words faded, Miss Grumley’s words echoed in Ginger’s mind again. She mulled them over, along with visions of the Christmas they might have. The joy of Christmas morning opening gifts under the tree. More joy and the songs of praise at morning services. Skating together. Roasting hot dogs. Playing games. Popping corn. Time for quiet. Time to surround themselves with love for one another—love that flowed from the Source of all love.

Ginger grinned. “Thank you so much. It sounds so perfect I’m going to talk to Tyler about it tonight.”

Barbara looked around the table and frowned. “In the meantime, we didn’t get very far with our work, did we?”

Both Judy and Ginger looked at the small piles of decorated candy canes in front of them, looked back up at Barbara, and shrugged at the same time. “I guess we got so busy talking we forgot to keep working,” Judy admitted. “If we stop talking and concentrate on what we’re doing—”

“Not a chance,” Ginger countered and quickly cleared the table. “Vincent and Tyler can help me do these tomorrow. Right now, we have a cinnamon bubble wreath to enjoy, and I doubt we’ll forget to do that while we’re talking,” she teased. She was gratified now she had actually found the time to run home this afternoon to make a bubble wreath for
dessert. Whether or not Miss Grumley had ever been known as Bubbles, Ginger would always associate her with the smell of warm cinnamon cake and the very essence of Christmas.

“John and I want to invite you all back to our house for New Year’s Eve after service in the park. We could all meet at the gazebo at seven, attend the service together and then come back to our house for some hot chocolate and goodies,” Barbara suggested. “We haven’t really followed up on the promise we made to spend time just being grand mothers, and I think John and Tyler would enjoy it, too. Please say you’ll come. It’ll be fun! Besides, I can’t think of a better way to end the old year and start a new one than spending time with all of you.”

Ginger set the bubble wreath on the table, plucked a gooey bubble of warm dough and held it high. “I’ll have
to talk to Tyler, of course, but I know he’ll want to come so I second Barbara’s idea!”

Within a heartbeat, Judy and Barbara each raised a piece of dough in mutual support before turning their attention to a more serious matter—devouring that bubble wreath!

J
ust before seven o’clock on New Year’s Eve, Ginger pulled into the last open space close to the gazebo in Welles Park and turned off her car. A short distance away, dozens of families were gathered along the shores of the lake, huddled in small groups under a clear sky, with countless stars twinkling around the rising full moon.

Returning to the park for tonight’s prayer service, which was scheduled for seven-thirty, resurrected precious thoughts of Christmas Day, along with the not-so-great memory of the hours she, Tyler and Vincent had spent that night in the emergency room.

Before she had a chance to ask him, Vincent had shot out of the backseat and had the crutches ready while Tyler eased himself out of the front seat of the car.

“Are you sure you’re up to this?” Ginger asked Tyler as she joined him and Vincent and reached up to rearrange the woolen muffler at her husband’s neck.

Tyler grunted a bit before he balanced himself on his crutches. “I’m fine. We can’t let a little sprained ankle ruin New Year’s Eve, can we?” he asked as he leaned on one crutch to rub the top of Vincent’s head.

Grinning from ear to ear, Vincent held on to one of the crutches. “Don’t worry. I’ll help.”

“Me, too,” Ginger added.

With Vincent on one side of his grandfather, the three of them made their way to the gazebo, slowly but surely, where their friends were waiting. The twins and Brian raced to greet them, obviously eager to hear the tale behind the crutches. By the time they met up with John, Barbara and Judy, who were waiting inside the gazebo, Ginger and Tyler were spared having to do much explaining to the adults. The children handled telling the details of the accident quite well.

Jessie, ever the leader, spilled the news first. “Mr. King fell and hurt his ankle right here on the lake on Christmas Day!”

Melanie shared better news. “But it’s okay. He didn’t break it. It’s just a sprain. He’ll be better in just a couple more days.”

“Him and Vincent was having a race,” Brian added. “A skating race.”

“I woulda won, too,” Vincent said proudly, “but I stopped to help him when he fell.”

With the children surrounding him, Tyler laughed. “I guess I’m not as good on skates as I used to be, but that about tells it all, folks.”

“Not quite,” Ginger added as she hugged each of her friends. “Before Tyler fell, we had a wonderful time here
at the park. It was the trip to the emergency room that ended the day a little bit differently than we planned, but God is good. Tyler wasn’t seriously hurt, and he’ll be off the crutches in another few days. I hope your Christmases were a little less eventful.”

“Absolutely,” Judy replied as she reached over to zip up Brian’s coat.

Barbara nodded. “I should hope so. I’m glad nothing was broken, Tyler.”

“That goes for me, too,” John added. “If you’re up to it, Tyler, we should probably take the children over to get our candles ready. Then we’ll come back for the ladies.”

“We’re up to it, right, Gramps?” Vincent asked.

“Right, champ. If you lead the way, we’ll follow.”

With the four children, John and Tyler made their way to get the candles, leaving Ginger, Barbara and Judy in the gazebo. Ginger pulled her coat tighter around her. “It’s a good thing it isn’t windy. That would make the chill factor drop close to zero!”

“Not to mention the havoc a strong wind would wreak on the service,” Judy added. “So tell us. Other than Tyler’s accident, what did you do on Christmas Day after services?”

“Just what you suggested. We came home, opened presents and headed to the park for the afternoon. We skated, using our brand-new skates from Santa and roasted hot dogs on the fire when we got hungry…before Tyler decided that having a race with Vincent across the lake was a good way to end the day.”

“I’m glad we didn’t suggest that part,” Barbara teased.

“So how was Christmas on the farm?” Ginger asked.

“Amazing. Simply amazing. Micah and Ruth were more than wonderful. After a delicious country supper on Christmas Eve, they took us out to the barn where Micah had a creche set up in one of the stalls. There were figures of Mary and Joseph and Baby Jesus and Micah had put in some baby animals. A pair of little lambs, some tiny pigs and a few chickens.” She chuckled. “I’m not sure if there were any chickens there in Bethlehem for Jesus’s birth, but there were in upstate New York this year. The girls loved it! We took pictures, but I haven’t had a chance to get them developed.”

“I’d love to see them,” Ginger said eagerly. “What about you, Judy? Did you volunteer at the Towers like you’d planned?”

Judy shrugged. “Not exactly. Brian got sick a day or two earlier, and he was still running a fever on Christmas Day. Nothing serious, but I was afraid he might be contagious and the last thing the seniors need is to have a volunteer bring in sickness.”

“I’m so sorry. What did you do, then?” Barbara asked.

“Nothing much. We just played some of the games he’d gotten from Santa. He was feeling a whole lot better after he beat me three times in a row playing Candy Land!” She paused. “To be honest, I spent half the day worrying that Candy might show up, and there’s part of me that still thinks Brian got sick because he was worried that she wouldn’t. We talked about her, of course, and he was sad, but now that Christmas is over, he seems to have bounced back.”

“I’m glad that you had Brian with you for Christmas.”

“And that he had
you
for Christmas,” Ginger added.
She pointed toward the lake. “And it looks like our candles are coming.”

Within moments, the troop arrived back with the candles, along with small slips of paper, candleholders made from plastic milk containers, tiny golf pencils donated by the sports shop, and a book of matches. They separated into families, each preparing small messages to loved ones that they tucked into the candleholders beneath the votive candles that would soon be part of the service as luminaries that would cover the frozen surface of the lake. When all the candles were lit, everyone, carried their luminaries to the shores of the lake. There, John led the children across the ice, allowing each child to find a special place for his or her luminaries while Tyler remained behind with the three women.

When John and the children returned, Reverend Fisher took his place in the center of the lake, the crowd hushed, and the service began. “Father God, we thank You for the gift of Your son, who remains present with us even now to guide us and teach us the vast wonders of Your love, for He is the Light of the World. Tonight, we gather together to remember all those who have been called Home to be with You and those who live far away and cannot join us. Like the candles on this lake, let the light of Your faithful love fill the darkness within our lives and our hearts.”

As the pastor continued to pray, Ginger edged closer to Tyler and held on to Vincent’s shoulders as he stood before them. Her gaze focused on the luminary Vincent had lit for his mother, and she prayed that Lily might one day be touched by the gift of grace and return for the son she had abandoned. Before sadness and loss overwhelmed her, she
shifted her thoughts to the luminary that Vincent had made for his new family, and she gave thanks for the wonder of having this child as part of her and Tyler’s life now.

Beside her on the right, Barbara and John each held on to one of the twins. No doubt, there was a very special luminary flickering on the lake in memory of Steve, but Ginger also knew there was one there for the girls and their grandparents, as well as one for their new grandparents.

To her left, Judy and Brian stood hand in hand, the boy’s face mesmerized by the shining lights of the dozens of luminaries that were mirrored on the frozen surface of the lake, and his gaze centered on the candle he surely had lit for his mother.

Reverend Fisher concluded the prayer service. “And finally, Father God, we also ask tonight for Your unending blessings in the New Year on all those who gather here. Share with them the joy that comes from serving You. Guide us. Comfort us. Continue to nurture us, that may we leave tonight kinder and gentler, more loving and more patient, as shining disciples and followers of Your Word. Amen.”

Ginger’s voice blended with the others in a resounding “Amen!” even as volunteers brought around baskets filled with small candles, one for each of the attendees. When they finished, Reverend Fisher lit his candle, along with several other people at different points along the shores of the lake who each turned, first from one side to the next, to light the candle of the person next to them. Within moments, the lake was surrounded by light—the light of faith, the light of hope and the light of promise.

When he led them in song, Ginger’s voice joined the others. “This little light of mine. I’m gonna let it shine,” she began, full of hope that the light of faith would be bright enough to sustain them all in the days and weeks ahead and shine down upon them as they spent time together as grandparents, grand parents and grand friends, indeed.