Page 48 of The Twelve Months of Christmas
“Of course, we will. I’m just so sorry to pull you into this mess after everything you’ve been through in the last year and a half.”
“This isn’t your fault. Stuff happens,” Arianna said.
Still, it didn’t seem fair that this kind of stuff had landed on them. Her mom was so kind, so sweet, so full of life.
Full of life. A fresh batch of tears sprouted, this one filled with bitterness.
“We have to be strong for Sophie,” Mia said.
Sophie. “How am I going to tell her?”
Mia sighed. “Let’s keep it simple. Right now she only needs to know I’m sick.”
“Good idea,” Arianna agreed. They could beat this. They would beat this.
They stopped at the grocery store on the way home. Arianna ran in and picked up some soup from the deli and chocolate ice cream, her mother’s favorite. She wasn’t sure Mia would even be able to enjoy it, but maybe it would be some small comfort.
Sophie came home from school, happy and bouncy as usual, and delighted with the idea of soup for dinner. Arianna made her daughter a grilled cheese sandwich to go with it. None for her. She didn’t even want the soup. She had no appetite, and the idea of enjoying any kind of food under the circumstances felt heartless.
“You have to eat,” Mia said.
“So do you,” said Arianna, and they both dipped their spoons into the bowls and forced down a swallow.
“How about some ice cream for dessert?” Arianna said after Sophie had wolfed down her dinner.
“Yes! Strawberry?” Sophie asked.
“No, we’re having chocolate. It’s Grammy’s favorite.”
“I like chocolate, too,” Sophie said, easily adapting to the change.
“Just a small bowl for me,” said Mia.
Arianna dished up bowls for her mother and daughter and passed on the ice cream herself. She wasn’t sure she’d ever want ice cream again.
After dinner she helped Sophie with her spelling of words and then the moment couldn’t be delayed any longer. Mia had already gone to bed, exhausted, and it was just the two of them.
“Sweetie, I took Grammy to the doctor today and we got some sad news. Grammy is sick.”
“Is that why she went to bed? Does she have a fever?” Sophie asked.
“No, it’s a different kind of sick. This sickness is probably going to last a long time.”
“Does she need cough drops?”
If only. “No, she needs something a little more than that. For the next few months she’s going to feel bad and have some icky things done to her. We’ll have to do our best to take care of her and make her happy. Can you help me do that?”
Sophie nodded eagerly. “I’ll make her a card.”
“That’s an excellent idea. Why don’t you do that before your bath?”
“Okay!” And with that, Sophie was off to the drawer where they kept her craft supplies.
It was one hurdle out of the way, Arianna thought as she watched her daughter get to work.
She held it together until she had Sophie tucked in for the night, then she donned her coat and went out onto the front porch, where she collapsed on the stairs and indulged in a really good noisy cry.
It was Alden’s day off. He’d finished a game of half-court basketball with his buddies and had come home and showered, then taken Buster for a walk. They were returning to watch the latest installment on theReacherseries when he heard sobbing coming from next door. There, on her front porch steps, sat his neighbor, all bundled up in a down coat, crying as if her heart was breaking.
