The Patricia Kiyono Christmas Collection (20 page)

~~~~

Mike Sikkema
searched
the snack aisle until he found
what he needed. Ever since he’d quit smoking ten years ago, he
hadn’t been able to survive a day without popcorn. It was replacing
one vice with another, he supposed, but at least his lungs wouldn’t
be filled with that awful black stuff. At home in his apartment, he
stocked up on the microwave kind, but since he wasn’t sure whether
the bed-and-breakfast had a microwave, he decided to pick up a
couple of bags of the pre-popped kind.

From the outside, Zylstra’s Grocery Store
looked like any other country grocery, but once he got inside, he
realized it was a lot larger and more modern than he’d expected. A
coffee kiosk nestled in the corner, where a busy barista made fancy
coffee drinks. A deli counter offered imported cheeses, specialty
meats, hot sandwiches, and an assortment of fried foods that
customers could eat at the small tables nearby. All in all, it was
a very nice store.

The people inside were nice
too. Especially that little lady reaching up to the top shelf,
calling out to Joe. Whoever Joe was and wherever he’d been, he
wouldn’t have wanted to be on the receiving end of her wrath. Much
better to be eating her
banket
. It was something that
reminded him of his paternal grandparents, who’d arrived in America
from the Netherlands. Grandmother Sikkema,
Oma
, had often made traditional
goodies, such as
boterkoek
and
oliebollen
. But her
banket
had been
famous.

Just before Mike got to the checkout lanes,
he spotted a display of flowers. He chose a fresh bouquet for his
sister-in-law then made his way to a self-checkout machine.

Since he’d already checked into the
bed-and-breakfast, he drove to his brother’s home. Matt and Kathy
and their children lived in the parsonage of the Zutphen Community
Church. Loretta Sikkema, Matt and Mike’s mother, lived in her own
attached apartment. Until recently, Loretta had been an integral
part of the family, but now she tended to keep to herself.
Apparently this was something that bothered Matt enough to call.
Knowing that his calm, easy-going brother wouldn’t have reached out
if he hadn’t been truly alarmed, Mike had met with the directors at
the Chicago-based travel magazine where he worked as a managing
editor and made the trek to Michigan. Thank goodness most of his
job could be done online. There was no telling how long he’d be
gone.

Looking for the spires of the Zutphen church
steeple, he had a moment of panic when he thought he’d gotten lost,
but then he remembered the church had burned to the ground last
Christmas. Matt had said something about rambunctious boys. Sounded
like a couple of hoodlums. But Matt had always been a softie for
wayward kids. Knowing him, the boys had probably gotten off with a
slap on the wrist and an invitation to attend the church youth
group.

The parsonage was right next to the church.
Or rather right next to where the church used to be. Mike sighed
with relief at seeing the white ranch-style home still standing.
When he’d heard about the fire, his main concern had been the
family’s safety. Once he’d heard his brother’s voice telling him
everyone was okay, he’d pretty much forgotten the incident. Maybe
he needed to pay more attention to the news from Michigan. These
people were the only family he had.

He pulled into the driveway and parked
behind Matt’s minivan. His younger brother had it made. Pretty
wife, three bright kids, a job he loved, and a nice home in a great
community.

Just like the life they’d had growing
up.

Regrets didn’t come often, but every now and
then he’d wonder what life would be like had he not gone off to
Chicago in search of fame and fortune. Maybe then he’d be settled
in a nice respectable job, living in a house with an attached
garage, with a wife and two kids.

Like his dependable younger brother.

He’d made amends with his parents before his
father had died, but he’d never forget the words hurled at him time
and time again, “Why can’t you be more like Matt?” He understood
now that his parents hadn’t meant to be critical — they’d simply
wanted him to stay closer to home. But his heart was in the big
city. His career meant everything to him. Next year he would
celebrate his fiftieth birthday, and the chances of him settling
down with a family would diminish even more. What woman would want
to start a family with a man his age?

The front door swung open just before he
reached it, and his younger brother enveloped him in a bear hug.
Matt was a few inches shorter but had a beefier build. “I’m so glad
you made it.” He looked around Mike. “Where are your bags?”

“
They’re at the bed and
breakfast. I stopped and checked in so I could wash up before
coming over.”

“
You’re staying at the Rose
Garden?” Matt asked. Mike nodded, and Matt shook his head. “I
should have talked to you about this earlier. Lilah Gentry likes to
charge an arm and a leg for her rooms.”

“
I didn’t think it was any
more than a room at a Chicago hotel.”

“
Downtown Chicago, maybe.
In southwest Michigan you could stay several days for those prices.
If you’re here for any length of time, we’ll have to set you up in
a more affordable place nearby. I just wish we had room here for
you.”

“
Not a problem. I’m not
about to run my nieces and nephew — or my mother — out of their
rooms. Besides, I’ve got work I need to do, and it’ll be much
easier if I have my own place for the quiet I’ll need.”

“
That’s true. It can get
pretty noisy around here. Until the church building is done, the
consistory and several committees meet here, so this is not a great
place for quiet work. Sometimes I go to the library to write my
sermons.”

“
That’s got to be hard. You
have to come up with something each week.”

“
Yeah, and it’s got to make
sense too, or else they’ll call me on it.”

They both laughed, remembering the time when
Matt had managed to worm his way through a high school speech by
reciting a bunch of gibberish. All the words made sense, but none
of his sentences did.

“
Is that my eldest son I
hear?” a voice cut through their laughter. Loretta Sikkema, Mike
and Matt’s mother, stood in the doorway connecting her apartment to
the rest of the house. At seventy-five, she looked at least ten
years younger. She’d been the ultra-capable pastor’s wife at a
village church nearby. But heart problems had forced the elder
Sikkema to retire. Matt and Kathy had built the addition behind
their garage, with the church’s help, and his parents had moved in.
Loretta, of course, remained there after her husband died. She’d
been active in the church until recently, when she’d suddenly lost
interest in everything.

“
Yes, it’s me, Mom,” Mike
replied, moving toward her for a hug. Wrapping his arms around his
tiny mother, he got really scared when he felt how small and frail
she’d become since the last time he’d seen her. He’d missed last
Christmas because he was out of the country on assignment, so it
had been — how long? More than a year, he supposed.

Too long. And from the look on his mother’s
face, he would pay.

“
So, what brings you to the
back of beyond?” she demanded.

“
I’m here because I’m
between assignments, and it’s been way too long since I’ve seen my
family.”

“
I’ll say. Where is that
high-falutin’ girlfriend of yours?”

“
I have no idea. She said
something about a business trip.”

“
Hmph.”

He knew exactly where Lisette was, but
knowing his mother’s opinion of her, he let it go at that. He and
Lisette had discovered they had too little in common to continue
their relationship.

“
Have you eaten, Mike? I
can warm up a plate for you,” Kathy offered.

“
That would be super. I
picked up a few things at Zylstra’s for breakfast, but didn’t eat
anything before coming here. By the way, these are for you.” He
handed her the bouquet.

“
Why thank you, Mike. I’ll
put these in water and get you some ham and potatoes.” She flounced
out.

“
So sit down and tell me
how business is going in the Windy City,” his mother ordered
him.

Mike sat and began to tell her about his new
position and the focus of the magazine. He was about to ask if she
had any recommendations for places to feature when she paled,
stood, and raced out of the room. Surprisingly, no one followed
her.

“
Uh, what was that all
about? Is she all right?”

Matt shook her head. “We don’t know. We’ve
tried to get her to explain what’s going on, why she pales and
races out, but she won’t tell us. I’ve tried following her, but she
locks her door and won’t come out. She yells at us through the door
that she’s just fine and needs to be alone but won’t give any other
details. We’re at our wits’ end. And that’s why we called you.”

Sunday mornings
were
always stressful for Helen. Everything
was ready for the family dinner, but now she needed to get ready
for church. Helen checked her jewelry box one more time. Where on
earth was that gold chain? She always wore it with this blue dress.
That gold chain went with everything. And more importantly, Joe had
given it to her on their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. She
couldn’t lose it. When had she worn it last?

“
Mom? Are you ready to go?”
Paul’s voice reminded her of the time, and she abandoned the
search. Reaching in her drawer of scarves, she pulled out the first
one that had blue in it and wrapped it around her neck. Every
Sunday morning since Joe’s death, Paul had faithfully arrived to
pick up his mother for church services. When he went out of town
for business or family vacations, he designated someone else to do
it.

“
Mom? Are you okay?” Paul’s
footsteps tapped across the kitchen floor.

“
I’m fine, Paul. I just had
trouble locating my favorite necklace this morning.” Helen hurried
down the hallway to reassure him. “I’m ready now. Let me get my
coat on. Don’t worry, we won’t be late.”

“
Uh, Mom?”

She paused. What had she forgotten this
time?

“
You might want to put some
shoes on.”

Groaning, she returned to her room to dig
through her closet.

Five minutes later, they
backed out of her driveway. “You know, Mom, you wouldn’t have so
much trouble finding things if you didn’t have so much
stuff
to look through.”
Paul started his litany of criticisms before he made it to the
street.

Helen loved her children
and was truly grateful they’d decided to band together to look out
for her, but sometimes they tended to be somewhat…
smothering
.

“
Oh, Paul, leave her alone.
It’s not like the house is messy, or she belongs on those TV shows
about hoarders,” Nancy, Paul’s wife, cut in. Helen made a mental
note to bake an extra batch of
banket
for her daughter-in-law. As a
busy mother, Nancy understood how important it was to keep things
with sentimental value. If Paul had his way, he’d come through and
throw everything away. Such waste.

“
Well, maybe not, but she’d
have a lot more room in that house if she got rid of things she
doesn’t need. The house is too big for her, anyway. If she’d
downsize and move to a nice little condo, she wouldn’t be tripping
over all her things to find what she wants, and she wouldn’t have
to spend so much on upkeep.”

It wasn’t the first time she’d heard that
particular argument. Although Joe had been careful with money, it
seemed his savings and investments didn’t produce enough of an
income for her to afford extras. She wouldn’t be able to draw
social security for another two years, so she had to live frugally.
After Joe died, Paul had taken over her checkbook and gave her a
monthly allowance. But lately, her allowance had gotten much
smaller. Her son told her that the market was down, whatever that
meant. Paul had looked for ways for her to cut back, and lately his
idea involved her moving to a less expensive place.

They pulled into the lot at the high school,
where Zutphen Community Church services were held while the church
was being rebuilt. They had just enough time to go inside and hang
up their coats, make their way to a seat, greet their neighbors,
and settle in before the choir began the opening anthem.

Almost as soon as they sat, Jonathan,
Helen’s second son, and his family arrived. Jonathan was the
typical second child — much more casual and easy going than his
brother. In contrast to Paul’s three-piece suit, he wore jeans and
a cotton shirt with the tails hanging out. His wife Bonnie was
dressed just as casually in jeans and a form-fitting sweater. Helen
knew some of her friends disapproved of such dress in church, but
she was just happy to have her children there with her. Sundays
were her favorite day of the week. Church service, followed by
dinner with her children. She settled back to enjoy the service.
Life was good.

~~~~

Mike sat with
his family in the front row. Mindful of his
height, he sat on the outside edge. More than once he’d been tapped
on the shoulder by people angry with him for blocking their view of
the pulpit. He made sure his mother was comfortable and then sat
back.