Текст книги "Until You"

Автор книги: Jeannie Moon

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Текущая страница: 14 (всего у книги 22 страниц)

“Hey,” Kate said. “I didn’t think you were still here.”

Laura nodded. “I wanted to see how you were.”

“I’ll be okay.” A tear rolled down her cheek and Laura approached and sat at the end of the bed. “Thank you for staying with me.”

“I couldn’t leave you like that.” Laura paused. “I felt so bad, like it was my fault or something.”

Kate thought about the argument she and Marie were having when the first pain hit. “It’s not your fault. It’s not even Marie’s fault.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. It happens sometimes.”

Laura nodded, and then she offered a weak grin. “I, uh, met David.”

Kate was still teary and sniffled, smiling at how Laura must have reacted to meeting him. “Oh.”

“He’s with your doctor right now. He seemed pretty upset.”

“He really wanted the baby,” Kate told her.

“He only asked about you.”

The way Laura said it made it sound like all David cared about was Kate, but it was the baby that brought them back together. And now the loss would probably split them apart.

Kate saw Laura close her eyes and scratch her head. “This is going to sound really mean, but he’s like thirty years old and fifteen kinds of gorgeous. How did you get him?”

Kate laughed, which made it easier to push down the tears. It was good that Laura was asking questions instead of tossing accusations. “It’s a long story,” she offered. “That started in California on my birthday.”

“Wow,” Laura said. “That’s amazing.”

“It’s over, but he’s been very supportive since I found out I was pregnant.” Kate heard her voice crack and she started to tear up. Her heart broke thinking that she not only lost her child; she was probably going to lose David. There was no more baby and no more reason to spend time with her. Her eyes were like a running faucet, with tears leaking out. Laura rubbed her leg, but when David walked in the room, Laura’s hand stopped moving and Kate felt herself dissolve.

David didn’t hesitate. He rounded the bed, sat on the edge so they were hip to hip, and gathered Kate into his arms. He didn’t say anything, he just let her cry. She’d cried like this when she told him she was pregnant, and now again that she lost their baby. She looked up into his face and his hand stroked her cheek.

“Thank God you’re alright.”

Kate drew a breath to regain her composure and looked at Laura, who sat as the very end of the bed, trying not to pay attention. Eventually she rose and stepped out of the room.

“Shit.” Kate watched the door close behind her daughter. They’d broken some new ground today and Kate didn’t want Laura to feel alienated already. Kate moved to get out of bed, even though she knew she shouldn’t. “I should talk to her.”

“Stop, you need to take it easy,” he said. “You started hemorrhaging when you got here, so you aren’t moving.”

“She stayed with me.”

“I know. You might be in much worse shape if she hadn’t.” He rose from the bed and started after Laura. “I’ll get her.”

“Marie wanted her to leave and Laura flat out defied her.”

David was halfway to the door and he stopped short when he heard that. He faced Kate.

“She was moving out,” Kate told him. “But somehow I don’t think that’s what she wanted.”

“From what you told me about your ex, her taking your side won’t go over too well.”

Kate nodded.

David resumed his walk to the door. “Don’t worry.”

*

David looked for Laura, checking every waiting area and lounge finally finding her in the hospital lobby trying to get a cell phone signal. The poor girl looked completely lost. This was new ground for everyone. He never meant to encroach on her time with her mom, but she had to get used to him being around.

“Hey,” he said. “Why’d you take off?”

“Oh, hi.” David noticed she was flustered and her red eyes told him she’d been crying too. Like mother, like daughter. “You were there,” she whispered. “Mom didn’t need me anymore.”

“I don’t know about that.” He gently took her arm and led her to a couch in the lobby where they both sat. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you were there when it happened. You may have saved her life.”

Laura kept her eyes down and shrugged. “I couldn’t just leave her. There was, blood and…” She gulped hard and tears slipped down her cheeks. “So much blood.”

He rubbed her back and let her cry. “The miscarriage happened very fast and it got dicey. It was lucky you didn’t do as you were told.”

“How could Marie think about leaving?” Laura asked. “How could she? She says she’s such a freaking humanitarian, but she’d let my mother bleed to death?”

David said nothing as the grip Kate’s ex-husband and his mistress had on Laura slipped away. They had completely underestimated that deep down this was Kate’s daughter, and nothing could change the strength of her DNA.

“Laura, I’m new to all this with your family, but I think you and your mom are more alike than you think.”

Laura nodded and wiped her eyes.

“Come back upstairs so we can figure out what to do.”

David stood and helped her up. She blew out a breath, and he was curious if she knew how much her mannerisms were like Kate’s.

“So, can I ask you a question?” She was studying his face, watching for a reaction.

David nodded. “Shoot.”

“You’re in love with my mother, so why aren’t you together?”

Damn. She nailed it. They were walking toward the elevator. “Why do you think I’m in love with her?”

“Seriously?” Laura rolled her eyes and smirked. “You think people can’t tell?”

Realizing he couldn’t deny it, David stopped at the elevator doors, stuffed his hands in his pockets and answered her directly. “She doesn’t trust me.”

Laura folded her arms now. Great, he was getting the third degree from a teenager. “My mom trusts everyone. That’s why my dad was able to screw her over for so long.”

David leaned in her direction. “And that’s why she doesn’t trust me.”

The elevator opened and they stepped inside. This girl knew exactly what her father was doing to Kate. Why she’d stood for it was something else. This, however, seemed to be a turning point. For whatever reason, Laura had made a choice; and from what he knew about Richard Nicholls, David doubted he’d be happy about it.

*

Richard was seething. He was so pissed he could have killed someone. Never in his life did he think he’d be so angry at Laura. She always did what he wanted. Always.

He’d been at the college all afternoon, and when he returned home he expected to be helping Laura bring the rest of her belongings to her room. Instead, he found Marie in her office typing drivel into her computer, having completely screwed up the move.

Laura was with Kate.

Marie told him about Kate’s pregnancy and apparent miscarriage and that unnerved him on another level. He’d always spread the story that he and Kate never had any more children because she’d been sterilized. He never expected to be caught. He never thought Kate would be able to find someone to sleep with her so quickly.

When she’d met him at the lawyer’s office, he’d noticed she was different. Kate had always dressed well, but she tended to be conservative. That seemed to be changing. She walked into the lobby at the attorney’s wearing a pair of very high heels and a silky, olive green dress that wrapped around her body. It hugged her in some places and flowed out in others and Richard got hard just thinking about her. The tease of cleavage made him speculate about what was going on, and now it made sense. His ex-wife looked perfectly put together, as she always did, but she’d turned up the heat for someone else.

Marie’s presence might have jeopardized the one thing Richard held precious, his hold on his daughter. Defying Marie was the first step in the breakdown of his and Laura’s relationship. If she questioned Marie, she would question him, and it looked like it was driving her back to her mother.

That was Richard’s worst nightmare.

*

Kate woke up the next morning and struggled to sit up in bed. She had to pee so bad she thought she was going to explode, but the damn IV was still attached to her. No problem, she’d take it with her.

She started to swing her legs to the side of the bed, and that’s when she saw them. David was asleep in a chair and Laura had fallen asleep in the other bed in the room. The two people she least expected to be there for her in a crisis were the ones who were still with her. She must have done something right to get this Christmas present.

Kate grabbed hold of the rolling IV stand and put both feet on the floor. As soon as she stood, the entire room spun and her knees buckled under her. She managed to grab on to the bed before she hit the floor, but the racket she made jolted David and Laura awake.

David’s arms were supporting her in a split second. Laura leaned across the bed, holding on to the IV that was about to fall over.

“Jeez, Mom! What are you doing?”

“Hang on, I got you.” David’s voice was soft and reassuring, but as she held on to the sheets, Kate was suddenly terrified. She couldn’t stand and go to the bathroom? What was she going to do? What the hell had happened?

David eased her back into the bed and pulled the covers over her. He looked concerned. Scratch that, he looked scared, and that only compounded her fear.

Laura looked at him. “What’s wrong with her?”

“I don’t know. I’ll get a nurse.” He looked at her and tapped the bed. “Don’t move.”

“I have to pee.”

“I said I’ll get a nurse.” He turned to Laura. “Don’t let her out of bed.”

Laura nodded, and when he left the room she glared at her. “You could have hurt yourself.”

“Sorry, I had no idea I couldn’t stand.”

“You probably got up too fast.” Laura reached out and took her mother’s hand, which almost sent Kate right into the emotional abyss. She was feeling better, but the hormones had her hanging onto her control by a thread.

“You scared the crap out of me yesterday,” Laura told her.

“That makes two of us.”

Everything she’d come to expect from Laura had been turned upside down over the last twenty-four hours. Her girl had done things Kate never would have imagined, and the relationship wasn’t lost after all. After several minutes had passed and David still hadn’t returned, Kate realized Laura was thinking and trying to get her thoughts into words. Her face and body were tense, and Kate was curious about the sudden change in her behavior.

Finally, Laura blurted it out. “I don’t want to move to Dad’s full time.”

Kate took in what she had said and tried to be objective, because as the words swam around in her brain, they made no sense. The day before, she was moving herself out, now she didn’t want to leave. “Okay. Why?”

“Do you want me to move?”

“Not at all, but this is quite a change from yesterday.”

“It was his idea. I don’t want to live with them full time.”

Kate examined Laura’s face. Something was wrong, and it was deeper than Kate expected.

“What’s going on?” This time Kate reached out and took Laura’s hand when she saw her face tense. “Tell me.”

“Marie is weird. I mean all she and Dad do is have sex.”

Kate closed her eyes tight and pursed her lips. “Say again?”

“It’s scheduled. Marie has a calendar on the refrigerator. Every other day… sex… sex… sex… she’s trying to get pregnant.”

“I heard her. Not happening.” Kate wondered what the hell was going on in that house. “What about Dad?”

Laura hesitated and found herself having a hard time. “Dad’s either sucking up to the new dean or he’s following me around. He’s too attached to me. It’s like, I don’t know, he doesn’t want me to have a life. The past year, since the divorce, it’s gotten really bad.”

Kate knew all about the controlling, manipulative man she’d married. But now his devotion to Laura was taking a perverse turn. “What’s he doing?”

“He won’t let me date. He doesn’t want me to drive. He won’t let me see my friends. He went through my closet and threw out the clothes he said were inappropriate. He threatens to restrict my cell phone. He won’t let me look at colleges. That college book you gave me? He took it and threw it into the fireplace.”

“What?” Now Kate was mad as well as concerned. “This can’t happen.”

“He’s scary sometimes.” Laura bowed her head and twisted her fingers. “When I was younger it was fine, but now? I go along with everything because I don’t know what he’ll do if I don’t.”

Kate was thinking the same thing. This could go south very fast. “He’s going to be angry because he’ll see your help as siding with me.”

“I was afraid of that.”

“You aren’t going skiing.” Kate turned when she heard the door open. “You need to steer clear of him for a while.”

Laura nodded and the tension in her face lessened. Kate may not have had fight in her before, but if Richard tried to do to Laura what he’d done to her, he would learn about mothers who protected their children.

In the meantime, she had to calm down. If she became a crazy lunatic, that wouldn’t help anyone.

She patted Laura’s arm. “Don’t worry.”

Laura nodded again and seemed to relax.

David walked in with a nurse who was carrying a bed pan, which made Laura laugh and Kate cringe. He looked at her and shrugged, all the while suppressing the laugh that she could see was building.

Kate shook her head. “I am so not using that thing.”

The nurse grinned, half expecting the reaction. What she did instead was help Kate up and make sure she didn’t stumble again. It seemed like the walk to the bathroom took forever, but after a few steps, Kate felt more stable.

When she got back into bed after a successful trip, only one thing was on her mind. “Can I go home now?”

The nurse, who had just come on her shift, nodded. “Let me check your chart and call your doctor. She’ll make the final decision, but probably.”

Kate leaned back in the bed. Going home would allow her to recover on her own, and then David could get on with his life. All along, Kate said she didn’t want to trap him into being with her, but she couldn’t deny she loved having him around. It was silly how she felt, she was too old to fall for someone so fast and so hard. There were times she questioned if her feelings for him were the real thing.

When his hand dropped on her shoulder, she knew in an instant that her feelings were as real as they come. Time would tell about him.

Chapter 20

‡

It was snowing.

And not just snowing, it was almost a blizzard, and all Kate wanted to do was get home. Thankfully, Julie had been able to get to the hospital before the driving got dangerous so Kate had something to wear home. Now, with Laura riding shotgun in the Range Rover and Kate wrapped in a blanket in the back seat, they made their way to her house. She assumed David would be comfortable driving in the snow, but even he was taking it slow.

She was so tired. The entire night had been a jumble of feelings, but the overwhelming sense of loss was what was controlling Kate at that moment, with her mind focused on her baby and on David. Her breath hitched, she sniffled, and Laura turned around.

“We’re almost home, Mom.” Laura reached out touched her hand.

“I know.” She closed her eyes and reined in her feelings. The doctor told her the hormones would be all over the place, but Kate hated how out of control she felt. All she had to do was hold it together until David dropped them off, and then she could fall apart.

They finally pulled in her driveway, and before she could even unbuckle her seatbelt, David was opening her door and helping her out. He was as much of a mess as she was, and it broke Kate’s heart. He kept his hand on the small of her back and guided her into the house. Laura took the blanket she’d been wrapped in, and David stayed with her as she walked into the kitchen.

Kate turned to him and took his hand. “I’m okay.”

“Promise me you’ll take it easy.” His eyes were dark and sad.

“I promise.” Her other hand came up and touched his face. “But you have to go if you have any hope of making your game.”

“I feel like I shouldn’t leave you.”

“David, Laura’s here. Go. I’ll see when you get back.” She said it, but didn’t think it would happen. Kate figured this would be the last time he would be this close.

“Okay. I’ll call.” He turned to Laura. “Make sure she doesn’t do too much for a couple of days.”

“I’ll try.” Laura looked at her and knew immediately that Kate was barely holding on.

“You have all the numbers?” he asked again.

Laura nodded. “The doctor, the pharmacy, your cell, your sister, Julie, my aunt… everyone.”

Satisfied, David pulled Kate close, wrapping her in his arms. She slipped her arms around his waist and lost herself in the feel of him. This was goodbye. It was possibly the last time he would hold her like this, the last time she would look into his face and see him smile just for her.

“Have a safe trip, and Merry Christmas.”

He hugged her again. “Merry Christmas. I’ll call you later on.”

He glanced at her as he walked away and again before he left through the kitchen door.

When he’d gone, Kate turned wordlessly from Laura and headed upstairs. She had suffered such unfairness in her life—losing her husband, having to fight for her daughter—but this pain she felt was so acute, so overwhelming, she thought it would consume her. She could barely breathe, and the heaviness in her chest told her this was different from anything she’d gone through before. When she sat on her bed, the first gasping breath came, and then the first great sob escaped.

This was heartbreak.

When Richard left, Kate imagined nothing could ever hurt more than that. She was wrong. Richard betrayed her. He left her feeling inadequate and insecure, but it was nothing compared to what she felt at that moment.

She’d lost her baby and she was going to lose David. Her throat tightened and another sob escaped. Kate fell onto her pillows and let go, allowing the sadness to take hold. Both of them were gone. Her baby, and the man she’d fallen in love with. The tears seemed endless and Kate gave in to them. She didn’t stop thinking about David, or her lost child, until she felt someone’s weight settle on the bed behind her.

Kate turned her head and saw Laura, tears in her own eyes, sitting on the bed. Laura reached out and stroked her mother’s hair.

For a long time, Laura stayed with her, doing nothing more than rubbing her back. As much as Kate wanted to be comforted by her daughter, she was thinking about David and it was killing her.

“Mom, come downstairs. We’ll eat crap and watch a stupid movie.”

She sniffed and grabbed the box of tissues on her night table. Slowly, because she was still tired, she rolled on her back and sat up. Her breathing was shaky, and big, soggy tears rolled down her face. She mopped them up with a wad of tissues and looked at her daughter. “I guess the hormones are making a mess of things.”

“Partially, but you know, it’s okay to be sad.” Laura laid her head on Kate’s shoulder. “I’m sad.”

“You are?”

Laura nodded. “It would have been cool having a little brother or sister.”

“It was never my intention that you be an only child.”

Sitting up straight, her daughter looked her straight in the eyes. “I know that now.”

“So,” Kate asked. “Why didn’t you tell them?”

Laura glanced over and let the question hang there for a while. Kate could see she was thinking. When Laura answered, her voice was steady and unapologetic, and a twitch of a smile teased the corner of her mouth. “It was none of their fuckin’ business.”

Kate let go a watery laugh when she heard Laura repeat her words exactly. “I’m sure they aren’t happy they didn’t know.”

Laura shrugged. “I’m not happy he lied to me.”

Kate smiled. “I never thought we’d be having this conversation.”

“Me either.” Laura reached over the side of the bed and came up with a bag of Double Stuff Oreos. She ripped the bag open, took two of the cookies and passed it to her mother. “But to be honest, it was when you stood up to me that everything changed.”

“Why is that?” Kate took a cookie from the package, twisted it open, and licked the cream inside the cookie.

“You fought back. His version wasn’t the only thing I heard.”

That made Kate think. Should she be fighting?

“I was such a bitch, Mom. I’m sorry.” Laura reached out and hugged her mother. “You didn’t deserve it.”

Kate held her daughter and didn’t question the turn of events, didn’t try to figure out why things had happened the way they did. Maybe she had to worry less about doing what she thought was the right thing, and needed to trust her instincts. She started questioning that inner voice a long time ago, when Richard made her question everything about who she was, what she did, and what she believed. Maybe trusting her instincts would help her find herself again.

“So tell me about David.” Laura grinned at her mother and settled back with the cookies.

Kate breathed deep and felt the tears start to well up again. “I don’t know that there’s much to tell anymore. He’s been amazing since I told him I was pregnant. I don’t know what’ll happen now.”

Laura reached out and rubbed her back. “He cares about you. He really does.”

“You think so?”

Laura nodded and leaned her head on Kate’s shoulder. “Do you love him?”

Kate thought for a second, thought about all those inner voices, and nodded in response. “I’m a complete goner.”

Laura passed the cookies and the two ate in silence for a while. Things wouldn’t be easy for them, but Kate felt she and Laura finally had a beginning.

“Did you love Daddy?”

Kate looked down at her. “When I married him, I loved him with all my heart.” That was the truth. She did love Richard. He was her world, but he never respected her.

“What happened?”

This was the first time Laura ever asked her about the divorce.

Kate wasn’t ready to tell her everything, but she could tell her some. “There were so many things that went wrong, but I guess it all came down to the fact that he never thought I was good enough for him. He never loved me. He wanted to own me.”

“You’re good enough for David, and I think he loves you.”

Kate could only hope. “I guess time will tell. I’m not counting on it, though.”

Laura turned and focused her gaze. “Last night, after you fell asleep, I saw how he was. He sat next to your bed, and stroked your hair. He whispered the sweetest things. The guy was wrecked and it was all about you, Mom. He was worried about you.” Kate drew a deep breath as Laura continued. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It was pretty amazing.”

A single tear rolled over her cheek, but this time it was her feelings for David that were coming to the surface. What Laura saw, that kind of love, was the fairy tale. It was the love story, and it was all Kate had ever wanted. He was all she wanted. Just thinking about the possibility was too much to hope for. It took a few minutes to compose herself, then she refocused on something trivial, something she could control. Kate tapped the package of Oreos. “These need milk.”

“I agree. Kitchen?”

The cookies were nothing, but the change between them was significant and not lost on either one. Kate, however, continued to be moved by Laura’s words. “Thank you for telling me.”

“You deserve to be happy. Daddy wasn’t good to you, and I wasn’t either. You deserve better.”

And with those words, Laura left the room. Kate, in spite of everything that had happened, felt more hopeful than she had in years.

*

David sat in the dressing room between periods and his mind wasn’t on the game. It had taken him two hours to get from Kate’s house to his. He picked up his bag and drove to the arena. Tonight’s game against the Canadiens was sold out, but there were only a few hundred people in the stands because of the weather. They were winning and he didn’t care.

His teammates all knew what had happened. He guessed Jay or Cam told them because he kept getting quiet looks of condolence or pats on the back. No one knew what to say. He was sure half the guys thought he’d gotten lucky. No baby meant he was off the hook with Kate. But David felt anything but lucky. She’d come back to him because of the baby; now that she’d miscarried, he was afraid she’d want him out of her life again. He couldn’t let that happen. He had to find some way to let her know how he felt about her.

After the game, they would board a bus to the airport, and hopefully be able to fly to Boston for tomorrow’s game against the Bruins. If not, they would be stuck at the airport. All he wanted to do was curl around Kate and get over what had happened. Physically, she had to recover, but it was the emotional piece that was going to hurt long term. And for that, David knew they needed each other.

When he thought about it, David had a hard time processing how he’d changed since he met her. Something made him take that stupid bet in California and approach her. He’d been issued challenges like that before and he’d blown them off… but something made him accept.

Something made her worth the effort.

She’d made him reassess his whole existence, made him understand he didn’t have to be the person he was. Kate needed him, too. He’d been poking around on the Internet and found video of her skating when she was just seventeen. She was a younger version of herself. The smile was wide and there was complete joy in every movement. In the late eighties, triple jumps were just becoming part of a ladies skating program, but Kate had mastered them. It was risky, but based on what he read about her, young Katie Adams wasn’t happy unless she was taking risks.

David spent enough time around ice rinks to know there were two types of women who skated: those who were graceful and those who were athletic. Watching a graceful skater was like seeing a ballet dancer on ice. Watching an athletic skater was like watching controlled explosions. When she was competing, Kate was both.

He had to help her see the person she used to be was still inside her, because if Kate didn’t find her again, David knew he had no chance. She would close herself off to the risk he represented, and that would be it.

David jolted out of his trance when Jack Nelson slapped his shoulder pads. “How’s it goin’, Padre?”

Truthfully, he didn’t know how he was. His brain and his heart felt numb.

“Pretty shitty, man.”

Jack nodded and David saw the kid didn’t know what to say. Hell, he didn’t know what to say either, so he shrugged and then changed the subject. “When are we meeting this girl of yours, Nelly?”

Jack frowned. “Maybe never. She’s not answering my calls or my texts.”

The kid had only been seeing the girl for a couple of months, but he talked about her all the time and spent as much free time with her as he could. He said she was a college student, but that was the only information David had gotten out of him so far. The other guys were ripping on him about her being imaginary. The thing was, unless she showed up soon, David might believe that himself. “Did you have a fight?”

“No, but I may have pushed her too hard.”

It took a second for David to catch his meaning. “Oh…”

Jack made a face. “I like her, but I don’t know; she’s very naïve, innocent.”

It was David’s turn to slap his young teammate’s back. “Is she worth the effort?”

Jack nodded. “I think so, yeah.”

“Then hang on to her. If she makes you happy, don’t let her get away.” David stood, pulled on his helmet, and picked up his stick. “Come on. Let’s go win this for the three hundred people who showed up tonight.”

Jack nodded and followed David out of the dressing room.

*

Laura had no idea what she was going to do about Jack now that she was going to be staying with her Mom. He’d called her at least ten times that day and left half a dozen voice mails. He texted her asking if she was okay and she didn’t answer any of them. She checked the clock. He was on his way to Boston now, and with his games and the holidays, he wouldn’t be back in town for a week. The thought just about killed her.

The right thing to do was tell him the truth. That would solve the problem of seeing him, because it would end their relationship. But just thinking about losing him made breathing a little bit harder.

Laura wiped a tear. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she opened the photo album. There was a picture of the two of them she’d snapped when they’d been out in the city last week. She ran her hand over the image and felt the first tear fall, then another. Pretty soon, she was muffling her cries into her pillow. She didn’t want to wake her mother, didn’t want to answer questions. But Laura couldn’t keep this secret forever, from Jack or anyone else.

Now though, he was still hers. She opened his last text and started a reply. “Sorry. Family emergency today. All ok now. I miss you. <3” Laura sent the text, hoping when he arrived in Boston and turned on his phone, he’d smile, just a little, when he thought of her.

*

Kate took off from work on Monday, but felt well enough on Tuesday to go in. It was the last day before the Christmas break, the school looked beautiful and festive, and everyone was a in a good mood. The faculty members had organized their traditional breakfast, and she enjoyed being with her friends and being away from constant thoughts of David and her baby. Only Julie had known she had been pregnant, so no one offered any condolences or sympathy. It was exactly the break Kate needed.

She felt better today. She was still moody; less so, but she assumed work was helping her keep her moods in check. Her body was healing itself, and in some ways, it was sad to think about. In a week or two, there would be nothing left of the child she’d grown to want so much. But like so many things in her life, Kate was learning to live with the disappointment.

The last day before Christmas, she had a tradition with her classes. She pitched her usual lessons to the wind, which wasn’t to say she didn’t do anything. Kate first set the mood with boxes and boxes of candy canes. She always wore her favorite red sweater, popped a Santa hat on her head, and then, armed with her favorite Christmas picture books; Kate held story time in English class. Her two favorites were How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Polar Express. Very different books, but both captured the magic of the season Kate loved so much.

When she’d finished reading both books to her tenth grade literature class, she spent the last few minutes before the bell sucking on a candy cane and talking with the kids about where they were spending their vacations. Some were going skiing, though the venues varied among Vail, Aspen, and the Alps. Other kids were going to warmer climates, like Barbados, Aruba, and Hawaii. A few were staying home and seeing family, and she knew those kids were going to have the best times of all.