Page 19 of Through the Snow Globe
Diana picked up the package and then fiddled with her keys, poking the house key into the door’s lock. Once inside, she carried the gift to the dining room table before heading down the hall to her bedroom. The first order of business was to change out of her Hawaiian Santa scrubs and into something fresh and clean.
Diana stepped into her closet and grabbed the first shirt and pajama shorts she could find. She carried them into the bathroom and changed, then stood at the sink, inspecting her reflection in the mirror. Her skin was ashen and she had dark circles under her eyes from sleepless nights. Even her dark blond hair was lifeless. No wonder Rochelle looked worried.
With a sigh, she walked back into her living room. There were no lights. No holiday decorations of any type except for the barren tree in the corner. The only hint of cheer in the whole apartment was the present she’d just found outside her door.
The wrapping paper on the gift had little elves dancing around with various kinds of toys. There was no card, no tag. She hesitated before ripping into the paper and letting it fall on the floor at her feet. Underneath the wrapping was a gold-colored box. She lifted the lid and peered inside at a silver picture frame. She pulled it out and looked at it. It held a picture of her and Linus from Thanksgiving at the Grants’ house last month.
This was obviously from Linus’s mother, Joann. In the photograph, Diana and Linus were both standing under a twig of mistletoe and Linus was about to kiss Diana’s cheek.
What kind of gift was this? Diana didn’t need a reminder of all she’d lost. She sucked in a steadying breath, waiting for herself to calm.No tears, no tears, no tears.If she started crying now, she might not be able to stop.
A tear finally slipped down her cheek. Then another. With a shaky hand, she walked over to her mantel and carefully set down the silver picture frame. She placed it right beside the snow globe and then stared at Linus’s gift to her for a solid minute as more tears began to well. She couldn’t seem to hold them back any longer. The dam was broken and the flood was inevitable.
All she wanted was one more day with Linus. Okay, she wanted more than one, but if she could have only twenty-four hours more with the one she’d loved and lost, she’d want it to be with him. If she could have anything for Christmas this year, that’s what she would wish for.
She picked up the snow globe and stared down into the little town of Snow Haven, thinking of her dear, sweet, incredibly nerdy fiancé. She missed him more than there was air in her lungs.
She was angry at him too.Soangry. For calling her distant and saying he almost regretted proposing. For rushing her into things she wasn’t sure she was ready for. Things she may never be ready for. For not being here for her now when he’d promised he’d never leave. And being so careless on his bike that day three weeks ago. How hard was it to see a delivery truck coming straight at you?
She sucked in a breath, thought of Linus, and shook the snow globe just like Mrs. Guzman had instructed her. Glittery silver-and-blue snow bloomed around the tiny replica of her town, fluttering its way from the top to the bottom.
Nothing happened.Of coursenothing happened. It was a silly little snow globe. There was nothing magical about it.
Even so, she shook it again, harder this time, as sobs rose in her throat. They rumbled through her, shaking her body as she jiggled and joggled the snow globe.
“One more day!” she cried, shaking the snow globe with everything she had and wishing with all her might. Then the globe slipped out of her grasp and crashed to the floor at her feet, shattering into a million little pieces just like her heart. “Damn it!” The water of the globe splashed onto her bare feet as tears ran down her cheeks. She was vaguely aware of a gut-wrenching noise she’d never heard before. Then she realized it was coming from her. She missed her fiancé. Her best friend. The man of her dreams and the person she was supposed to grow old with.
“You promised,” she said, flicking her gaze to the framed picture of them at Thanksgiving. He was smiling. So was she. “You promised me forever.” She took a few steps backward before collapsing onto her knees.
Kneeling there, she cried until there were no tears left. Then she picked herself up off the floor, took a few calming breaths, and turned to grab the broom and dustpan from the laundry room. Numbly, she swept up the glass shards and dumped them into the trash. After that, she grabbed a towel to sop up the glittery liquid on the floor. When she was done cleaning, she retreated to her room and fell into her bed, spent and exhausted. She didn’t even have enough energy to change into her pajamas.
’Twas the night before Christmas and her life was a merry-less mess.
* * *
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the blinds that Diana had failed to close last night. She stretched beneath her covers and cracked open an eye, groaning at the room’s obnoxious brightness. “Ughhh.” She started to reach for Linus, but stopped herself.Right.He wasn’t there. On a yawn, she sat up in bed and draped her legs off the side, her eyes still refusing to open.
Merry Christmas to me.
She sat there a moment, considering the day ahead. She had two options: stay home alone and pretend like this day didn’t exist. Or go to New Hope Long-Term Care Facility to see Linus.
Linus, it was. She opened her eyes, stood, and started shuffling toward the bathroom. The door was closed, which was odd. Why had she closed it? She twisted the knob and pushed it open, banging it against something solid that let out a soft grunt.
Diana stumbled backward and screamed. “Who’s there?” Her heart pounded inside her chest. Someone had broken in and they were in her bathroom! On Christmas Day, at that. Seeing as she didn’t believe in Santa anymore, this had to be a burglar.
On instinct, she reached for the door again and used her body weight to hold it shut. Whoever was in her bathroom was not coming out until she could call the police. Then again, her cell phone was on the other side of the room. How was she going to reach it?
Think, Diana, think.
As her mind raced, she felt the person on the other side trying to pull the door open. It rattled and banged against the doorframe as she used every muscle in her body—even the ones in her eyelids—to keep it closed.
“Di, what are you doing?” The man’s voice was deep and familiar.
Diana gasped and let go of the doorknob, nearly stumbling back onto her bottom. She knew that voice. She loved that voice. “L-Linus?” She pressed a hand to her chest, heart kicking against her palm as the bathroom door opened. There he was in the flesh. And a pair of snowflake design boxer shorts.
“Wh-what are you doing here?” She blinked several times just in case he was a hallucination. Hadn’t Rochelle mentioned that sometimes grief made you imagine things that weren’t true?
Linus’s whole face scrunched up, looking at her like she was crazy. It was a look he liked to give her on the regular. “I live here.”
