Angel Love

Chapter 3- Christmas Day

Maree wakes up early the next morning from the best sleep of her life. She has never slept in a bed as soft and comfortable as the one in Celeste’s guest room. In the last two years, last night is the first time she spent the night there. It is such a real treat for her.

In the kitchen, she takes out all the food that Alberta prepared for Christmas morning to reheat all of it. She sets the table for the two of them and goes to wake up Celeste. The old lady is all dressed when Maree enters her luxurious bedroom.

“Merry Christmas!” Maree greets her with a big smile. She can’t remember the last time she greeted someone for Christmas. But this time she means it for Mrs. Turner because the gentle lady deserves a merry Christmas.

“Merry Christmas my dear,” Celeste greets back and stands up to embrace Maree in her feeble but loving arms.

Celeste knows Maree stayed with her last night out of pity. Out of the many things she loves about her, it is her genuine concern for her. Maree can discern her without prying. Some things are too painful to verbalize and having someone who doesn’t need to hear the words to offer comfort is a blessing.

She feels lonely most of the time. When her Theodore died, she not only lost a husband but her best friend, her first love. It’s hard to live life without the other half of your soul. But Celeste kept going because she still has her children and grandchildren to live for.

Unfortunately, her children and their families are too busy to come and see her now that their father is dead. It hurts to be neglected, but she doesn’t blame them, and she doesn’t complain either. She is not the perfect mother everyone might think.

Sometimes, she just wants to go see them instead of waiting for them. But at her age, it is a challenge to travel. All she can do is hope that one day they will forgive her.

And she hopes that day is not when she’s not in this world to see it.

“Let’s go have breakfast before we go out.” Maree guides her out of the bedroom and into the dining area.

“My goodness! That is a lot of food!”

“It is and we will eat as much as we can.”

They sit down and Maree serves Celeste with rolls, bacon and quiche. She also pours her tea and a glass of orange juice.

Afterwards, she serves herself breakfast and as she puts food on her plate, the excitement of eating delicious food on Christmas morning starts to build up inside her. Like a child, she eats everything she can put in her mouth.

“Slow down dear,” Celeste says solemnly. Maree looks up at her and finds a gentle smile on her face.

“I’m sorry,” Maree suddenly feels embarrassed for eating like a starving pig.

She places the piece of bacon back on her plate and chews slower, wiping the oil off her face.

“Alberta’s cooking is very good.”

“I agree.”

They chat while they continue to eat when the doorbell rings. They stop and look at each other in bewilderment.

“Who could that be?” Celeste utters.

“You are sure your children will not make it today?”

“Yes, Sonya called me yesterday morning,” Celeste explains sadly.

“Well, let’s find out who it is then.”

Maree gets up and walks toward the front door.

She looks through the peephole and finds a man standing in front of the door wearing a backpack. Praying that it’s not a Christmas serial killer, she slowly opens the door.

“What is it about Christmas and handsome men?” Maree asks herself. First, the elevator guy and now this one.

“Hi,” the man says.

He’s wearing an expensive-looking coat over a white shirt and a faded pair of denims. He’s a few inches taller than her with dark blond hair and light green eyes. There’s a quarter of an inch scar on his left forehead that cuts through his eyebrow. He wears a beard and mustache that looks exceptionally maintained. Maree suspects that underneath the facial hair is a boyish face.

Again, it has taken her a few seconds to finally realize she was holding her breath. She lets go and forces a cool smile. Her hands holding the door suddenly feel sweaty.

“Hi,” she responds. “Can I help you?”

“I’m looking for my grandma.”

“Your grandma?”

“Yes, Celeste Turner.”

Surely, this is a misunderstanding because, from what she knows, Celeste’s grandchildren are teenagers and kids. Sonya, the oldest married in her late thirties and took time having children. She has two kids, sixteen and ten years old. Clara has twelve-year-old twins and a five-year-old. Matthew only has dogs.

So how can it be?

“Adam?” Celeste calls out from behind Maree. Her voice is a mixture of surprise and outmost happiness.

Maree steps aside and finally opens the door for the visitor to come in.

“Adam! Oh, it’s really you!” Celeste walks up to the man as fast as she can and is met with a big hug from her grandson.

“I missed you, Grandma.”

“And I missed you too.”

When they let each other go, there are tears in Celeste’s eyes. Maree feels like an intruder, so she silently leaves the two to go back to the kitchen and set another spot in their Christmas feast.

“Maree,” Celeste calls behind her after a few steps.

Maree turns back to face them with a shy smile.

“Adam, this is Maree. Maree, this is Adam, my eldest grandson.”

“It’s nice to meet you Maree,” Adam says and extends his hand to her.

“Hi,” Maree responds and shakes Adam’s hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t know you were coming.”

“Don’t worry about it.” His broad smile resembles the warmth of his grandmother’s smile. “Nobody knows I’m coming.”

“Apparently,” Celeste inserts with a laugh. “This is such a pleasant surprise and an amazing Christmas gift.”

To see Celeste happy and smiling as they all walk further into the house makes her happy too.

“I’m going to get a plate for you.” Maree excuses herself and finally go to the kitchen. She wants to give Celeste and Adam some privacy. As she reaches for the dishes, she tries to come up with a less obvious way to excuse herself for the day.

When she gets back to the dining area, Adam is sitting by his grandmother, across from her spot.

“Thank you,” Adam says when Maree places the plate in front of him.

“You should have called to tell me you’re coming,” Celeste says as they all resume their Christmas breakfast.

“Well,” Adam begins to say, trying to swallow as much food to clear his mouth. “Maddie is the only one who knows I’m coming, and we wanted to surprise you.”

Maddie is his sister and even though he is over ten years older than her, they are remarkably close to each other. Aside from his grandmother, Maddie is the only one he feels the family connection to.

“She called me to tell me that Mom cancelled their trip,” he continues with sadness in his voice. “I’m sorry grandma.”

For a brief moment, Adam glances across the table and his eyes meets Maree’s. He is not comfortable sharing family details with a stranger, but it appears that Maree is family to his grandmother. He can tell that Maree cares about her.

“Don’t worry about it,” Celeste says gently. “You’re here and that’s all that matters to me now.”

Celeste reaches out for Adam’s hand and looks at him lovingly.

“Maree,” she glances over at Maree. “Adam is a doctor for Doctors without Borders and been travelling saving the world.” Celeste’s face shows how proud she is of her grandchild.

“Hardly,” Adam replies.

“Wow, that’s amazing,” Maree says. “Where are you stationed?”

“I started in Africa for a few years then I moved to India.”

Maree’s interest is piqued, but she stops herself from asking too many questions. Sometimes, she dreams of travelling to see other places other than San Francisco. And each time she hears someone telling stories about their travels, she feels a pang of jealousy.

“Do you like it there?”

“Yes, very much so.” Adam feels Maree’s hunger for more stories, and he is willing to satiate it. Maybe one of these days he will.

“How long are you staying?” Celeste asks with hopeful eyes.

“Well, that’s the thing, grandma,” Adam answers. “I decided to take a break before I go to my next posting. Do you mind if I crash here for a few months?”

Celeste doesn’t answer, at least not in words. She stands up from her seat and puts her arms around Adams.

“You can stay for as long as you want,” she finally says.

Maree can’t hold her own tears because she knows how much the old lady longs for her family. To see her so happy is the best Christmas gift she can ever receive.