Part 26
The morning after Christmas, Anna waited impatiently to call her aunt in California, knowing that there is a three-hour time difference. Finally, at noon, she called.
“Catherine, this is the most beautiful crèche scene I’ve ever seen,” Anna said.
“I knew it was the perfect gift for you as soon as I saw it,” Catherine said. “And thank you so much for the beautiful silk scarf. My favorite colors. So what did you do yesterday?”
“I went over to John’s sister-in-law’s house. He said that she invited me. Turns out, the Liccis, you remember, from the Kentucky trip? Well, they were there. And I’m glad they were. John was sort of preoccupied, not that I was his guest or anything,” Anna said.
“Preoccupied with what? His daughter?” Catherine asked.
“No, she was having a lot of fun with her cousins. It was a woman, Tonya, who apparently works with John’s brother-in-law. She was right by him almost the whole time, sat by him during dinner,” Anna said. “I mean, it was like she was off in her own little world and the heck with the rest of us, and I’ll tell you, the Liccis saved the day.”
“Sounds like a vulture, if you asked me,” Catherine said. “A nice, single guy like John and maybe she has her claws in him pretty good.”
“Maybe. At any rate, I just wanted to tell you thanks again. I love the crèche scene and it’s under the tree right now. I put it together when I got home last night,” Anna explained.
“Maybe in a couple of months, when your darn Ohio weather lessens up a little, I’ll fly to Ohio and spend a little time with you. Would that be all right? An old lady like me gets lonely sometimes too,” Catherine said.
“I forgot to ask you; what did you do yesterday?” Anna asked.
“Went to the DeSota family’s Christmas. My husband’s niece’s house,” Catherine said. “We sat outside and enjoyed the great weather.”
“Oh, don’t rub it in,” Anna said, with pretend annoyance.
Anna cleaned the kitchen after she talked to her aunt. She’d made a bit of a mess with the cookies, and the floor had sticky spots. The phone rang at around two.
“Hello,” Anna said.
“Hi Anna. It’s Janet.”
“Janet, thank you again for the beautiful dinner and for inviting me over,” Anna said.
“Well, you are welcome, but I actually called to apologize,” Janet said. “For Tonya.”
“Why?” Anna said.
“She works with Jim, and he thought it would be a good idea to invite her because she just recently got a divorce and had nowhere to go. We had no idea she’d latch onto John like that,” Janet said.
“You don’t owe me an explanation. You invited me over and I came, and that’s the end of the story,” Anna said.
“Oh, I know it was awkward. It was awkward for all of us. You should have heard the kids after Tonya finally left. They didn’t have one kind thing to say and we’ll all need to go to Reconciliation to talk about our backbiting now,” Janet said, laughing a little.
“Honestly, it’s no problem. Katie had a great Christmas. That’s what matters, and I really enjoyed spending some time with the Liccis, so don’t give it another thought.”
“She did have a great Christmas. She got up this morning and was so tired that she went down for a nap and has been out for two hours,” Janet said. “I told John to just come get her later and that way he can get some things done at his house.”
When Anna was running the sweeper in the living room, she barely heard the phone ring again.
“Hello,” she answered, out of breath.
“Anna, it’s Jeremy.”
“Hello Jeremy, how are you?” Anna asked.
“Not bad. How was Christmas?” he asked.
“It was okay, not as rough as it might have been,” Anna said.
“I just got back from a trip to Florida today. Florida is weird at Christmas. Decorated trees around, but it just doesn’t feel like Christmas at all. I hear I missed a great snowfall,” he said.
“Yes, it was perfect, lovely. And not too bad getting home last night either,” Anna said.
“I was wondering; would you like to go to the show with me?” Jeremy said. “And maybe get something to eat?”
“Jeremy …,” Anna started.
“I know, I know. It’s just that … well, we’re not strangers. It’s just a show and something to eat, not a date,” Jeremy said.
Anna felt panic-stricken – what should I do?
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