Page 10 of With All My Heart, Joy

“How’s Paisley? Excited for Christmas?”

Shewouldask that. Isaac told her the events of the evening, including her Christmas wishes.

“That sweet soul. I like the way she thinks! You know, I’ve been praying for a special someone for you for just the longest time, and it’s about time I see fruition for all the time spent on my knees.”

Isaac rolled his eyes, worse than the rudest teenager. “Good night, Mom.”

Her gentle laughter filled the line. “Just you wait. God’s going to get you one of these days when you least expect it. I want to be the first to know when it happens.”

Delusional. His mother was delusional. He’d been burned before. More than once. Whether or not the third time was the charm, he’d rather not risk it. Even if he was all sorts of lonely.

Pushing away the unbearable thought, he changed for the night, read a chapter in his Bible, filled in his gratitude journal, and turned out the light.

He tossed in his cold, empty bed, seeking a comfortable spot.

Yes, he was lonely. He had been lonely for ten long years. Maybe he was simply made to be that way.

Chapter Three

Joy’s feet slapped a steady rhythm on the cement sidewalk. No moseying around for her. She power walked. Walking was one of her few true joys, and not even the icy wind that barreled through the street like it was a tunnel with its name on it deterred her.

She tugged her pink down coat closer, burrowing her hands into the pockets. Winter-gear weather began in October along the shores of Lake Michigan. By mid-November, summer days were a distant memory. Which was fine by Joy. While TJ and Lucy both hated winter for their own reasons, Joy loved it. Winter and winter-like weather brought her favorite time of the year. And this year, thanks to her new counselor, she had plans of enjoying the Christmas season to the max.

The hopeful euphoria induced by her time spent in Mr. Miller’s counseling office remained like a warm, glowing haze since yesterday, and she popped out of bed this morning with more energy than she’d felt in months. Her to-do list for today was already a quarter of the way done, and it was only ten o’clock.

Was it just her, or was everything brighter today? The winter birds seemed prettier, their songs back and forth from the branches of bare trees more cheerful than usual.

She took a deep, cleansing breath as she waited for the light to change at the corner of Monroe and 10th. An especially strong gust of wind kicked up, sending leaves in a swirl of red, orange, and brown around her legs. Joy reached to catch a colorful piece of fall and saw a flash of white mixed up with the foliage. She snatched the piece of paper as it was about to blow away.

An envelope, addressed and stamped. Had it fallen from a mail truck driving by? She scanned her surroundings, ignoring the crosswalk sign flashing white. When she turned the envelope over in her hands, the back was open, the flap jaggedly cut.

Weighing it in her hands, she warred with herself. Tampering with mail was illegal. But this envelope had been dropped here, either by the recipient or by a nefarious mail thief. Would it be a crime to open it once more and determine if this was simply a piece of trash?

Curiosity overcame her good sense, and she slid her gloved hand into the slit. Out came a generic Christmas card. The imprint of a small rectangle was visible on the cover of the card, but when Joy carefully opened it, no gift card was inside. Only the mold it had created in the cardstock.

Unless the recipient of this card really didn’t care for the sender, she had a feeling she was staring at the remnants of a stolen gift card. What type of gift card, she didn’t know. Perhaps the sender could give a clue?

The handwriting was swirly and feminine, and Joy’s eyes were drawn to the opening line.

My dearest Zak,

I know you will say you don’t need this, but as your mother, I know better. Use it to do something special with Paisley. Lord knows how much you’ve poured into her health over the years. Use it for her happiness this time. She’s growing up so fast.

Always on your side,

Mom

Joy turned the envelope over. It was from a Lily Case in Grand Rapids. Addressed to… She cocked her head. Zak Miller.

Miller was a common last name. Very common. Surely there was no connection toherMr. Miller. Dismissing the thought, she looked at the address below the recipient’s name. 155 Ruby Lane, Silver Lake City. She’d never heard of it, but there were plenty of side streets in her small city that she never had occasion to visit.

What should she do with this? If she turned it in to the police, they would do nothing. And what of this man and his daughter? Were they in some type of financial trouble? She wasn’t exactly rolling in the dough at this point in her influencing career, but she had generous sponsors. One had sent her a gift card for their online makeup store just yesterday. She didn’treallyneed it. She didn’t know what would please this girl… She checked inside the card. Paisley. She didn’t know what would please Paisley. But when she was a girl, makeup certainly madeherhappy.

As for the dad, what man couldn’t use an extra dose of caffeine? Two weeks ago she had reviewed Fresh Ground, her sister’s favorite coffee shop. The owners watched her video and sent her a gift card as a thank-you for the bump in business they had received from her local viewers. She didn’t even drink coffee, so why not pass on the free caffeine?

Her goal of walking five miles forgotten, Joy turned and started for home. Inside, she shed her layers and sat down at her desk. She wrote quickly on a separate sheet of paper with her favorite gel pen, folded it in half, and added the two plastic gift cards, settling her additions inside the card. Then she slid the card into the original envelope and put that inside a padded envelope, adding her address to the outside.

She didn’t use her real name. Enough online stalkers had marred her existence, and she didn’t need a real-life one.

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