Page 12 of Wishing Stone

As I neared lunchtime, I stood over a small conference table studying a pile of design mockups sent over by Clive, the Lead Marketing Coordinator at Turning Stone Advertising. I placed the more eye-catching ads on A-framed easels.The Best of Pentatonix Christmasplayed quietly in the background to create a bit of noise in the otherwise silent house. When my stomach began to rumble, I knew it was time to take a break. Pregnancy hunger pains were no joke, and I needed to tend to them immediately.

Placing my hand on my stomach, I looked down and whispered, “Are you getting hungry, little one? Don’t worry. Just let mommy clean up here, then I’ll get you some lunch.”

I began to shuffle the designs back into a pile but was interrupted when my cellphone rang. It was Alexander making his usual mid-day check-in.

“Hey, you,” I said upon answering.

“Hey, yourself. How’s my angel doing today?” he asked in that voice that was just as disarming as his looks.

“I’m a little tired. Somebody kept me up late,” I reminded him.

“I didn’t hear any complaints coming from your lips. Just a lot of ‘Oh, Alex’ and—”

“Okay, okay!” I interrupted. “No need to repeat it!”

Alexander laughed but then quickly sobered. “I talked to Stephen today. I just hung up with him, actually.”

“Did he tell you what’s going on at Stone’s Hope?”

“He did. Have you spoken anymore to Claire about it today?”

“No. I haven’t called her yet because I don’t know what to say.”

“There are too many legal concerns. It’s best if you let Stephen handle it,” Alexander advised. “Ultimately, I don’t know what that woman, Hannah, was thinking when she transferred all that money. She had to have known she’d be caught. It’s such a shame.”

“I know. It breaks my heart to think about it. I’m trying to focus on this ad campaign, but I haven’t been able to get the situation with Stone’s Hope out of my head all morning. There must be something I can do, but with all the non-profit rules and regulations, I keep coming up empty-handed. It’s going to be hard feeling happy about Christmas this year when so many will have nothing. I just keep picturing the faces of the little ones at the shelter. They’ve all been through so much, and I can’t imagine them not having a Christmas.”

“Krystina, don’t beat yourself up over this. We’ll think of something.”

“I should at least get some toys for the kids. Stephen only discussed money, and never mentioned toy donations. Maybe we could do something like Frank did when I was little. If I could convince you or Hale to dress as Santa, we could pop into the shelter and surprise them all.”

“Absolutely not,” he stated firmly.

“Okay, forget the Santa thing. Maybe—”

“It’s not about who’s dressing up as Santa, although the idea of me doing any such thing is ludicrous. This is about you not leaving the house.”

“But, Alex—”

“I’m not arguing about it. If you want to buy toys, fine. Order them online and have them delivered. But you know why you can’t go to the shelter.”

“That’s so impersonal,” I muttered. “Never mind. Forget I even mentioned it.”

I knew I would lose if I continued to push. After more than a year of Alexander treating me like a fragile china doll, I should have predicted this reaction from him. He was pushing me to my limit, and I knew it was starting to impact our relationship. It was only a matter of time before my frustrations won out. Thankfully, our therapy session with Dr. Tumblin was only a few days away and I committed right then to bring this up with him—whether Alexander wanted me to or not.

“Angel, I’m just trying to keep you safe,” Alexander reiterated.

“I know,” I responded quietly.

“Do you remember what you said last night about staying positive and focusing on the future?”

“Yes.”

“Keep that mindset. A positive mind can only help as we create our tiny human. Who knows? Maybe we did it last night.”

As if his words had summoned them, the angel and devil on my shoulders decided to rear their annoying little faces. The angel chastised me, her nose growing long like Pinocchio’s, while the devil cheered me on for being such a fabulous liar.

Not much longer to wait. I’ll tell him soon.

---