Holiday Hearts (6 page)

At the apartment building, she leaned forward to pay the driver but he waived her off.

“Take care of your business,” he’d said in a voice that was familiar.

She was about to argue with him, but realized she had to hurry if she wanted to catch her mother. So she caught a quick glance at the driver’s license tapped along the dashboard committing his name to memory as she dashed out of the car and ran across the sidewalk. Later when she arrived at the office she would contact the cab company and send payment to him for the ride. Right now, she slapped her hand against the elevator button and waited impatiently for it to arrive.

Mary Donovan opened the door already dressed in slacks and a purple blouse.

“Good morning,” she said with a smile. “Isn’t this a surprise. I thought we were meeting tomorrow for dinner.”

Keysa leaned in, kissing her mother’s cheek and stepped inside the apartment. It was the same apartment her mother had moved them to upon the divorce, with little changes being made in furniture and curtains along the years. It still smelled of White Diamonds perfume, which was her mother’s favorite, and coffee.

“That’s what I’m here to talk about,” Keysa said turning to her mother. Mary was still a very attractive woman with her dark brown hair and eyes a lighter shade of brown than Keysa’s.

“Why didn’t you ever remarry?” Keysa asked suddenly as Mary closed the door.

Her mother had a shocked look on her face as she walked into the living room. “Wow. Where did that come from?”

“It came from years of not knowing why you chose to cut yourself off from living,” was Keysa’s reply.

“Keysa, are you feeling okay?”

Keysa sighed. “I’m feeling just fine, mom. I just have some things I’d like to get off my chest.”

Mary took a seat on the cream colored couch and crossed her legs. “Then please do so,” she said waving so Keysa would also take a seat. “You know you can talk to me about anything.”

“I want to talk about my father and the Donovans.”

Mary looked as if Keysa had told her she wanted to talk about the Russian Mafia instead of her paternal family.

“You divorced dad because of his family, of how you thought his family felt about you. But when he tried to convince you otherwise you didn’t care, you just left. I need to know why you would do that. Didn’t you love him?”

“This happened years ago, Keysa,” Mary said brushing a hand over her pants.

Her mother was an impeccable dresser, a woman who took pride in her appearance and her demeanor. For years Keysa had wondered how her father’s family could think any less of her just because she didn’t come from a family with money.

“I know it happened years ago. But it’s important for me to know why it happened. I want to hear your side of the story.”

“As opposed to the version your father has already given you?” she asked her voice echoing with a touch of chilliness.

“Yes, as opposed to what he told me.”

Mary took a deep breath then looked at her daughter, tilting her head slightly. “The answer is yes, Keysa. I loved Bernard, with all my heart. He was everything I’d ever imagined I’d have in a husband. And it wasn’t because he was rich. It was because he was good and kind and he loved me.”

“Then why did you leave? What did his family do to make you turn against him?”

Her fingers flexed, curled and went still on her thighs. She wore no rings, hadn’t in years. But her nails were perfectly manicured and a simple gold bangle hung on her right wrist.

“You may not believe this but I am sorry for what I put you through. I sit here sometimes and I think of how the events played out and I wish I could go back and do it all over again.” She shrugged. “But I cannot.”

“Would you have stayed with him?”

Tears filled her mother’s eyes and Keysa left the chair she’d sat in alone to join her mother on the couch, taking Mary’s hand in hers.

“I would have let our love prove them wrong.”

“Were they mean to you?”

“No,” Mary shook her head. “Never. It was just a feeling I had when I was around them. At their elaborate parties or even at family dinners I just felt out of place. Like I shouldn’t have been allowed in their space at all.”

“But they never told you that you didn’t belong, did they?” Keysa asked even though she knew the answer, had known for years.

“I was young, Keysa. And I had my own demons to put away. I didn’t think things through before I acted. I didn’t think of you and how my actions would impact you. I was selfish and I was wrong.” Mary sighed. “Is that what you wanted to hear?”

Keysa shook her head. “No. I just wanted to hear that you loved him and that he loved you in return.”

Mary nodded. “Yes, we loved each other very much. I regret that I didn’t believe in that love enough, that I didn’t grab hold of that happiness when I should have. And I’m sorry for all the pain that action has caused you.”

Keysa’s eyes were blurring too as she reached out to hug her mother. “I know you are,” she whispered.

And she did know. For once in her life Keysa knew that what her parents had was true and that maybe, just maybe she could have that type of love too.

Her mother was running late for work when they exited her apartment building. Mary went her own way promising to call when Keysa returned. Keysa, went to the curb to hail herself another cab. She wanted to hurry home and call her father. This Christmas she planned to spend with her Donovan family.

***

A cab came fairly quickly and Keysa climbed inside her mind ticking down all the things she had to do before leaving town for the holidays. It wasn’t until the cab came to a stop that she realized she hadn’t said a word to the driver. She looked out her window and was surprised to see that the cab was parked right in front of her house.

“How did you know where I lived?” she asked sitting up in the seat and looking at the driver.

She could only see the side view of him, but recognized the scruffy beard instantly.

“Just had a feeling,” he said with a shrug. “No need to pay me. Think of it as a gift.”

“A gift?” Keysa said as she opened her purse anyway. It was the same old man that had picked her up earlier this morning. What were the odds of that happening? More to the point, there was no way was she taking two free fares from him. “No thank you. I’ll pay my fare if you don’t mind.”

She pulled out a twenty dollar bill and extended it over the seat to pay him. The cab driver shook his head again and touched her wrist. His fingers were warm, and his tone was soft and gentle as he spoke.

“Sometimes we’ve got to open our hearts and our minds to receive the gifts that are meant for us.”

“I don’t understand,” she said slowly.

He closed her fingers over the money and pushed her hand away.

“You have a good day, ma’am.”

The doors of the cab unlocked with a jolt. Keysa shrugged and got out of the car. But as she walked into her house she replayed the old man’s words and instantly thought of Ian and the empty black box.

SEVEN

About two seconds after Keysa stepped through her front door, closing it behind her, she knew she wasn’t alone. Fear stuck like a lump in her throat and she reached into the bottom of the coat rack right beside her door and pulled out one of her long umbrellas. With weapon in hand she took slow steps, peeping around the archway that led into her living room to see there was no one there. Then she heard the clatter of pots and pans and made her way to the kitchen.

Pushing on the door slowly she eased her way inside, umbrella held high and ready to swing.

“Surprise!” she heard about a millisecond before she swung the umbrella.

A female who was only a few inches shorter than her took a quick step back and giggled as she reached for the umbrella.

“Oh goodness. Is this how you greet your sister that you haven’t seen in years,” she said with a chuckle.

Keysa let Brynne take the umbrella from her hand as she looked shocked. Standing in her homey kitchen was her younger sister, her stepmother, and her father.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

There were bags of groceries on the small table in the center of her kitchen and Jocelyn, who had obviously found the pot she was looking for, was now at the sink running water in said pot. The petite woman with a cap of dark brown hair that was stylishly cut turned to her with a warm smile. “Hi there. We figured since you wouldn’t come to us, we’d come to you.”

“I don’t understand,” Keysa heard herself saying for third time today. It seemed as if there was a lot she didn’t understand.

Bernard Donovan now stood in front of her, his tall broad body nearly blocking everyone else from view. They had the same complexion and almost identical brown eyes. But that’s where the resemblance ended. Keysa was slender like her mother, Bernard was burly. Keysa’s reserved demeanor was definitely a result of Mary’s restricted upbringing. But Brynne and Bernard shared the same wide smile. Even now, her father was opening his arms wide to embrace her into a warm comforting hug.

Keysa fell into the embrace easily, closing her eyes and felt a warmth she’d missed for far too long.

“I missed you little girl,” Bernard whispered in her ear.

“I missed you too, Daddy,” she admitted quietly. Pulling away she looked up at him. “But I told you I’d be busy working through the holidays.”

“And I called Maser to give him a piece of my mind. No way is my daughter working through the Christmas holidays. I don’t care how important the project is.”

“What? You called Maser and told him I couldn’t work? Like I’m a child and you were calling to get me out of a school project?” Keysa didn’t know how she felt about that.

“That’s right. Somebody’s got to shake some sense into you,” he said. “Look, Keysa, for too long I’ve let you go your own way, do your own thing because I didn’t want to cause you or your mother any more pain than I already had. But family’s important to me and it should be to you. The holidays are a time for family and sharing and caring.”

Sharing and caring, were words Keysa did not want to hear again.

Shaking her head she took a step back. “But I have a life,” she argued.

“I know and I feel like I’ve missed so much of it,” Brynne said coming between her and Bernard. “I think it’s time that changed. Let’s go chat,” she said pulling Keysa out of the kitchen.

“Daddy can be really overbearing and bossy,” Brynne said.

Keysa stared at her half-sister and contemplated whether she should put her out or hug her. Brynne Donovan had a curvy figure, long, dark hair and a mouth that seemed to go a mile a minute. She was bubbly and cheerful—that girl that everybody hated in school because she was so bubbly and cheerful. But as they started to walk up the stairs and Brynne continued to talk, Keysa thought, she might be the person Keysa admired most.

***

Surprisingly, Christmas trees were still for sale on the day before Christmas Eve. To Keysa’s way of thinking, everyone who wanted a tree should have had one by then. It was a good thing that not everyone thought like her.

“This one’s perfect!” Brynne squealed standing in front of a tree that easily dwarfed her by about two feet.

Jocelyn and Bernard trudged along through the slushy walkway, bumping into other trees to find the spot where Keysa and Brynne stood.

“What do you think?” Jocelyn asked Keysa.

Keysa shrugged but felt a twinge of excitement as she looked at the tree. It had been years since she’d had a tree, but her father and Brynne had insisted she had to have one. They spent a good part of the afternoon shopping for ornaments, and now were finally selecting a tree that would go somewhere in Keysa’s already cluttered living room.

“It’s nice,” she finally said.

“What do you feel when you look at it?” Bernard came close to her and asked. “A tree’s got to feel good to you before you buy it. Go on over there and touch it.”

“It feels just right to me,” Brynne offered. “Here Keysa, look how full and tall it is. Just like in the books and on television. It’ll look great right in front of your picture window.”

Keysa looked closer at the tree and had to admit that something made her just a little bit excited as she’d looked at the tree again. It was a Douglas fir with the softest pine needles she’d ever felt. That meant the ornaments would have to be hung far back on each limb or she’d wake in the morning to find them all on the floor. But it didn’t matter, she sighed. This tree
felt
right.

Hours later they were back at Keysa’s house, and she and Brynne decorated the tree as Jocelyn put the finishing touches on the dinner she’d been preparing most of the day. Bernard sat on the sofa with the television remote in hand as he switched between a football game and the billionth airing of
Miracle on 34
^th
Street
that holiday season.