The Christmas Eve service went off without a hitch. With Linda Kincaid heading up the program, the evening was in good hands. I knew she’d enjoy the perfume, and while it was above what I would normally spend on a gift, she deserved it for everything she did for me.
In the program, Mark played the role of one of the Three Kings and Sarah had a speaking part as one of the angels who’d come to announce the baby’s birth to the shepherds.
It was moments like this when I felt Katie’s presence more than I did her absence. I felt certain she was there with me, beaming with pride at our children. I missed her dreadfully, but I was learning to live without her.
Christmas morning Sarah was awake before six. “Daddy, Daddy, get up so we can open our gifts.”
I rubbed the sleep from my face and did my best to hold her off. “Give me five minutes, okay?” It was the line she gave me when I had to wake her to get ready for school.
“Daddy, it’s Christmas.”
“I need coffee,” I grumbled. It’d been nearly midnight before I got all the gifts wrapped and under the tree, and I would gladly have slept another couple hours.
“Mark’s making you coffee, so get up. Get up.”
Muttering, I tossed aside the covers and climbed out of bed. Sure enough, when I wandered aimlessly toward the kitchen my son stood in front of the coffeemaker, waiting while it brewed me a single cup.
“I’ll sort through the gifts,” Sarah said, eager to get to the presents.
“Give me a chance to wake up,” I complained, doing my best to hide a smile at my daughter’s enthusiasm.
“Hurry, Daddy,” she cried impatiently. Taking me by the hand, she led me into the living room and patted at the recliner, indicating that I needed to sit there. No sooner had I sat down than Mark delivered my coffee. I took a tentative sip, not wanting to burn my lips.
“Can we get started now?” Sarah implored, holding the largest gift under the tree in both hands.
“Okay, sure,” I said. While I wouldn’t let the kids know it, I was just as eager as they were to have them open their gifts. Shopping with Shay had been an eye-opener. Her insights into my children’s needs and wants had made the expedition fun. I don’t think I’d laughed that much in months. I’d enjoyed spending time with her.
Later I thought to buy her a gift to thank her. Something small. Nothing personal. I mulled it over for a couple days, wondering if it would be the right thing to do. My gut said I should, but I wasn’t sure it would be appropriate—me buying Shay a gift. It could easily be misconstrued.
I knew what Linda would say if I mentioned it to her, and I trusted her judgment. In the end I decided against it. I hoped I wouldn’t regret it later.
“Open this one first,” Sarah said, racing to my side. There’d been a Santa Workshop at the school for students to purchase gifts for their parents. I knew Sarah had been saving her allowance to buy me something special and was eager for me to unwrap it. My little girl had spent copious amounts of time wrapping and taping my gift with great care. She was obviously proud of what she’d chosen for me.
“You want me to open my gift first?” I asked as she handed me the present. She’d wrapped it with enough paper to circle the living room twice over. I tore it away with both hands. “I can’t imagine what you’d get me,” I said eagerly. Sarah stood so close to my side, she was nearly sitting on the arm of my recliner.
“You’re going to like it, Daddy.”
When I was finally able to tear away the excessive paper, I found a flashlight. We’d had a power outage a few months back and I hadn’t been able to locate a flashlight. I actually needed one.
“Sarah, thank you. This is perfect.”
She tossed her arms around my neck and squeezed me with all her might.
Mark had me open his gift next. He got me a Seahawks coffee mug and a Seahawks keychain. I smiled and thanked him. Mark wasn’t nearly as exuberant as Sarah, but I knew he was proud of the gifts he’d gotten me and I wanted him to know I appreciated them.
I watched anxiously as the children opened their gifts. Sarah gasped when she saw the earrings along with the promise she could have her ears pierced.
“Daddy, oh Daddy, I’ve been wanting my ears pierced forever and ever. It’s on my wish list.” Once again she threw her arms around me and squeezed until I found it hard to breathe. She was equally thrilled with the Barbie Shay had mentioned.
When Mark opened his phone, he stared at it a long time. I knew he was pleased.
“It’s ready to go. I’ve got important numbers already programmed into it for you,” I explained.
“Thanks, Dad.”
“You’re welcome, son.”
It was Sarah’s turn to go next and I didn’t recognize the wrapping. “Who’s that from?” I asked.
“Shay,” she said, ripping aside the paper.
I frowned. “When did you see Shay?” I asked.
“Yesterday while you were at the church. She stopped by and asked me to put these under the tree and I did.”
“You didn’t tell me she was here.”
“I forgot. When you got back it was time to get ready for the program. Shay said she knew you were busy and didn’t want to bother you.”
I wished I’d known about her visit; I would have liked to talk to her.
Sarah continued unwrapping her gift and beamed a huge smile. “She got me fingernail polish and some hair clips,” she said, holding everything up, proudly displaying her gifts. “This way we can do another spa day, just us girls.” She looked pointedly at her brother.
Ignoring his sister, Mark opened his gift from Shay next. It appeared to be a thick magazine of some sort. “It’s a book of mathematical puzzles,” he explained, “and a set of pencils. Cool.”
Cool? Further proof that Shay knew what my children would want better than I did. Mark excelled at math, but it never dawned on me that he would enjoy the challenge of mathematical puzzles.
“What did we get Shay?” Sarah asked, looking intently at me.
This was a bit embarrassing. Now I wished I’d given in to the impulse and gotten her something. Thinking quickly, I said, “I thought we’d take her to dinner one night, just the three of us.”
Sarah cocked her head to one side. “But taking her to dinner isn’t something she can open. Did anyone get Shay presents?”
“I don’t know.”
Sarah sat back on her haunches. “That makes me sad. Where is she going for Christmas dinner?”
I didn’t know that, either. “She didn’t tell me.”
“What if she’s all alone, Dad?” Mark asked me.
“I’m sure she has friends, Mark,” I said, hoping I sounded more confident than I felt. I should have considered that myself. Should have realized she was probably spending the day alone.
“Could we invite her to come to dinner with us to Mrs. Kincaid’s house?” Mark asked.
I shook my head. I wished I’d thought of Shay sooner. “I’m afraid not, son. Seeing that the Kincaids are hosting dinner, they would need to be the ones to invite Shay.”
Both of the children looked disappointed.
“Tell you what,” I said, “first thing tomorrow we’ll have breakfast at The Corner Café where Shay works and we’ll invite her to dinner. How does that sound?”
“It’s not Christmas Day, though.”
“No, it’s not,” I agreed.
“Can we go to her house and thank her for our gifts when we leave for the Kincaids?” Sarah asked.
I needed to think about it. If Shay was home and alone, the children wouldn’t want to leave her. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t invite her to join us at the Kincaid house. It wasn’t my place.
“We’ll stop off to see Shay on our way home,” I decided.
The children looked disappointed but agreed.
“Daddy, please. Shay is our friend and we didn’t even buy her a Christmas gift.”
It surprised me how guilty I felt. “We’ll do better next Christmas,” I promised.
Dinner with the Kincaids was great, as always. In addition to being my right hand when it came to matters at the church, Linda was an excellent cook. She had gifts for me and the children, but I knew the doll she bought Sarah was one geared toward someone much younger than my daughter. And the camera she wrapped up for Mark was unnecessary, since he now had his own phone. Still, she was thoughtful, and I made sure they showed their appreciation. She bought me a book I’d been wanting to read, although I didn’t know when I’d find the time.
The traditional prime rib dinner was excellent, but as soon as we were finished I could see that the kids were antsy and ready to leave. If we left too early, Linda would wonder, so I delayed our departure as best I could without disappointing my children.
As soon as we were in the car, Sarah leaned into the front seat.
“Seatbelt on,” I reminded her.
“I know, Daddy, I know. I wanted to ask if we can still stop by and see Shay. Please.”
I hesitated and then nodded. “Okay. But you have to remember her place is small and there won’t be room inside for all of us.”
“That’s okay,” Mark said. “I just want to thank her.”
“Me, too,” Sarah chimed in, “and tell her I’m sorry I didn’t buy her a gift and that I will next year.”
“I’m sure Shay didn’t expect us to buy her gifts, Sarah,” I said, hoping to ease her guilt. If anyone should feel bad, it should be me. “Besides, we’re going to take her to dinner, remember?”
“But that’s only because we didn’t think of doing anything sooner,” Mark said.
Mark caught on quickly. He surprised me.
“I’m going to write her a story. One just for her,” Sarah announced.
“That’s a wonderful idea.” I headed in the direction where Shay lived. It wasn’t in the greatest neighborhood, but I knew it was the best option for her. She was proud that she was able to pay rent and live on her own. That had been important to her.
When I parked outside of Shay’s little house, I had the kids wait in the car while I went to the front door. It didn’t look like there were any lights on inside. After knocking and waiting a couple minutes I could only surmise that she wasn’t home. I assumed the children would have been happy to know she wasn’t home alone for Christmas.
I was wrong.
“Where would she go?” Sarah cried. “She should be with us.”
“Like I said earlier, I’m sure Shay is with friends.”
“You don’t know that for sure,” Mark commented.
“No,” I was forced to admit.
The rest of the ride home was spent in silence. While eager to get back to the house, both children went to bed early. I set the alarm determined to get up in time for breakfast at The Corner Café and to see Shay.
I expected complaints when I woke up the children the following morning. Mark grumbled until I reminded him we had a breakfast date. That was all it took to get him out of bed and dressed.
“Can I order waffles?” Sarah asked as we climbed into the car.
“If that’s what you want.” Although the café was a short six blocks away, the weather was too cold to walk.
“What are you going to order, buddy?” I asked Mark. Eating out was a rare treat for the children and me.
“Blueberry pancakes,” he said, “with a side of bacon.”
“You two are going to bankrupt me,” I teased.
“What are you going to have, Daddy?” Sarah wanted to know.
“Probably hash and eggs.” That was a favorite of mine, but I couldn’t be certain it was on the menu.
As soon as we arrived, Sarah hurried into the café and looked around until she spotted Shay, who stood at the counter, taking an order. I had to grab hold of my daughter’s shoulders to keep her from racing over to Shay’s side.
“She’s busy with customers now,” I whispered as I led the children to an open booth. Actually, we were fortunate to find one available. The little café did a good business. It had been packed when I’d stopped by the other day for lunch.
After speaking to another one of the servers, Shay made her way to our booth. By this time we’d already read through the menu. Both Sarah and Mark had changed their minds a dozen times. As soon as Mark and Sarah saw Shay, they thanked her again and again for their gifts. Sarah stood up on the booth and hugged her and Mark politely shook her hand.
“Good morning, Shay,” I said, smiling at her when the children had finished their greeting.
She returned the smile with a shy one of her own.
“We came to your house,” Sarah told her, “but you weren’t home and we wanted to thank you for our presents.”
“I’m happy you liked them.”
“I’ve already solved three pages of puzzles,” Mark told her.
“You’ve got a great brain,” she said, smiling at my son. “Now, what can I get you for breakfast?”
“Daddy,” Sarah said pointedly. “Aren’t you going to ask Sarah to dinner?”
“Ah, yes.” I cleared my throat. “The children and I wanted to take you out to dinner,” I said, feeling more than a little foolish.
“You can choose any place you want,” Sarah added, “but Mark and I like Chinese.”
“Sarah!”
“Mexican is okay, too.”
Shay grinned. “You don’t need to take me out.”
“We want to,” Mark said. “To thank you for our gifts. They were awesome.”
Shay looked to me for confirmation. “Would you consider having dinner with us?” I asked.
She nodded, took our order, and then left the table.
Another one of the servers approached us, an older woman who wore a name tag that said SADIE. She glared at me with what I would call an evil eye, as if looking straight through me.
“That girl is a gem. Don’t you be leading her on, you hear?”
“No way,” I promised, amused by the older woman’s censure.
“Good,” she said, and nodded before she left the table.
“What did she mean, Daddy?” Sarah asked, cuddling close to my side.
“Nothing, pumpkin. She’s just a friend of Shay’s, too.”
The thing was, I’d done a lot of thinking about Shay since our little shopping expedition. I’d enjoyed being with her and been impressed by her thoughtfulness, buying gloves for her homeless friend.
I wasn’t sure I was ready for a relationship, but I liked Shay and was comfortable with her. Perhaps it was time to consider dating.