Part 58 (1/2)
Carol looked at her watch. ”Oh, I should get going.”
”Where do you have to be?” Kay pressed. Carol hesitated just long enough for Kay to push home her advantage. ”Oh, come on. I'm dying to see you in that red sweater.”
Carol looked dubious. ”I haven't worn red in ages.”
”So I've seen,” said Kay, and led the way to a rack of sweaters on sale.
An hour later they emerged from the store, laden with bags. ”I shouldn't have bought so much,” Carol said.
”Oh, no,” Kay said sternly. ”No buyer's remorse. When was the last time you bought new clothes?”
”I can't remember.”
”Then you certainly didn't buy too much. Why don't you wear your new sweater to Jerri's tonight?”
”We'll see,” Carol said, and Kay knew what that meant. She gave a mental sigh. Now she understood the meaning of that old saying about leading a horse to water but not being able to make it drink.
Well, maybe Carol would change her mind. Maybe she'd take out the sweater when she got home and something magical would happen. You never knew. They didn't call this the season of miracles for nothing.
Eighteen.
Carol was actually relieved when she and Kay parted. Kay was like an overload of holiday joy, and she left Carol feeling drained. But not so drained that she was ready to pa.s.s up stopping by Ariel's house and dropping off the plastic tea set she'd gotten for Chloe during the afternoon shopping extravaganza. She'd had it wrapped right at the store, and its wrapping paper, covered with snowmen, was sure to put some holiday promise under Ariel's tree. After that, she'd back off, before they all became too attached to each other.
Ariel and Chloe had come to Carol's for hamburgers, then stayed to enjoy an old video of the Peanuts Christmas special that Carol had dug out. She'd watched them go down her front walk toward Ariel's battered car and felt a surge of joy that countered the bittersweet tug on her heart.
That surge, she realized, was becoming addicting. But not so addicting that she wanted to enter much further into a friends.h.i.+p that would only last until Ariel moved back home. And certainly not so addicting that she was going to go be a third wheel at someone's holiday gathering or wear a Christmas red sweater she'd been hara.s.sed into buying.
It was a little after five when she got to Ariel's and discovered the girl wasn't alone. Darren had dropped by to fix a leaky sink that Ariel's apartment manager had been avoiding for the last week. Of course, she should have recognized his truck parked at the curb. Dumb.
”How's that for weird? Two visitors in one day,” Ariel said. ”It's cosmic or something.”
Or something, Carol thought. She pushed the present at Ariel. ”I really can't stay. I just came to drop this by.”
”Can't you just stay for a few minutes?” Ariel pleaded. ”Chloe will want to see you.”
Just then Chloe came rus.h.i.+ng up, no longer shy, arms outstretched, calling her name.
So, of course, Carol had to pick her up. Was there anything in the world that felt as wonderful as having a child in your arms?
”Come on in,” Ariel said. ”Have dinner. I've got Hamburger Helper. There's plenty.”
Ariel had already shut the door behind them and was moving Carol into the small living room, which was furnished with thrift store bargains. The huge tree they had decorated dwarfed the room. Memory rushed Carol and clutched her heart at the sight of her ornaments hanging on it.
”You're good to go,” Darren said, walking into the room, wiping his hands on a towel. He stopped at the sight of Carol, still holding Chloe. ”Well, hi.”
Her heart suffered an a.s.sault of a different kind and kicked into high speed. ”Hi.”
”I just asked Carol to stay for dinner. Can you stay, too?” Ariel asked him.
He looked at Carol and smiled. ”Sure. I've got no plans.”
”I can't stay too long,” Carol said. ”I'm going over to a friend's tonight.”
Darren looked disappointed.
”You're not going for dinner, are you?” Ariel asked ”No.”
”Then you've got to eat somewhere. It may as well be here. Want Carol to stay for dinner?” she asked her daughter.
Chloe's head bobbed up and down and she hugged Carol's neck.
”There you go. You have to stay.” Ariel slipped the package under the tree. ”Sit down and I'll make us some tea. You like it plain, with no sugar, Carol. Right?”
Carol nodded. Chloe squirmed to get down, then followed her mother out of the room, leaving Carol to perch on the edge of the worn, plaid couch.
Darren took the other end and smiled at her. ”So, were you out shopping today?” he asked, nodding at the package under the tree.
”I got a few things.”
”Getting ready for a big Christmas, then?”
”No, probably a quiet one. Most of the shopping I was doing today was for a friend who's going through chemo.”
”You're a good friend,” Darren observed.
”Oh, not just me. Several of us are teaming up to help her get through the holidays.”
”You're not one of the women who are on strike?”
Carol shook her head. ”No, not me.”
”So, what are you doing for Christmas?” he asked.
Why did everyone keep asking her that? ”My plans are still up in the air,” she answered. ”How about you?”
”My son and his wife will probably come by later Christmas Day.” He shook his head. ”They've got to hang out with her family, then see my ex and her new husband, then me. I think they're eating two Christmas dinners.”
”No dinner at your house?” Carol teased.
”I'm not much of a cook. I'll probably have a TV dinner. Turkey, of course,” he added with a smile.
A TV dinner-how sad was that?
”I never was much of a cook,” he added quickly as if that explained his pathetic dinner plans.
Just then Ariel returned with mugs of tea. ”You guys talking about Christmas?”