"Son, the show couldn"t go on without you. Being an angel is an important role."
"The guys are going to make stupid jokes." Judd tucked his chin against his chest and pouted. "It"s bad enough that I"ve got to wear a dress." He spread out the material at the hips, making sure Seth recognized the sacrifice he was already making. "But wings and a halo?"
Seth had to admit that the twins weren"t the ones he would have chosen for the parts, given their bent toward the mischievous, but it was too late to quibble now. The pageant was only a little more than a week away.
"Mrs. Miracle said that not all angels have wings," Judd added on a near frantic note.
"Really?" Seth didn"t appreciate the housekeeper taking his son"s side in this issue.
"It"s true," Jason added. "Mrs. Miracle said that some angels look like ordinary people, with regular jobs and everything. Some even come disguised as regular people. G.o.d sends them down to earth when He has a special task that needs careful handling." some angels look like ordinary people, with regular jobs and everything. Some even come disguised as regular people. G.o.d sends them down to earth when He has a special task that needs careful handling."
"Complicated circ.u.m...circ.u.mstances and such," Judd said, sounding very adult for his tender years.
"It seems to me that Mrs. Miracle is a wise woman," Sharon murmured.
"She cooks real good, too," Jason said, and then whispered just loudly enough for Seth to hear, "Lots better than Dad. I was worried about what was going to happen to us before Mrs. Miracle arrived. We might have starved."
As if hearing her name, the housekeeper strolled into the kitchen with a fresh batch of folded towels.
"Isn"t that right, Mrs. Miracle?" Judd asked, all but leaping down from the chair and grabbing hold of the portly woman.
"What?" the housekeeper asked, taken aback by the frontal attack.
"What you said about some angels not wearing wings. My dad says I have to put them on for the Christmas pageant."
"Well," she murmured thoughtfully, "while it"s true enough some angels don"t need wings, I wonder how the church audience would know exactly what you were without them. It"s an unfortunate truth that some narrow-minded people wouldn"t recognize an angel without something to flap behind them."
"They make me look like a girl," Judd insisted.
"Don"t let the Archangel Michael hear you talk like that," Mrs. Merkle said with great dignity. "Why, he"s one of the mightiest warriors of heaven."
"You mean angels can be soldiers, too?"
"The fiercest kind of all."
"It"s true," Seth added, wishing he"d thought of that himself.
"Michael carries a sword of truth with him at all times. And from what I understand, he isn"t afraid of using it, either."
"Then so will I," Judd said, satisfied. "I"ll be a warrior angel. And if anyone calls me a sissy, they better watch out, "cause I"ll knock them down with the sword of truth." He thrust his imaginary weapon forward, leaping down from the chair, prepared to wage battle. Jason"s actions pantomimed his brother"s.
"As I recall the Christmas story, the shepherds guarding their sheep were afraid of the angels," Sharon reminded him.
""Fear not,"" Jason shouted his memorized line, ""for we come with news of great joy.""
""For unto you this night is born a Savior,"" Judd added, and for good measure growled.
"This is what I love about Christmas," Sharon said, laughing for the first time since her arrival. "The season of love and goodwill toward all mankind." said, laughing for the first time since her arrival. "The season of love and goodwill toward all mankind."
"I"m not going to hurt anyone," Judd promised, "I just want to scare people. No one told us angels could be soldiers." He straightened and stood a little taller. "How come I didn"t know about this Michael dude before now?"
"We just weren"t thinking, son."
Judd yanked the costume over his head and handed it to his grandmother. "I"ll wear the wings and the halo, as long as I can carry a sword, too."
Seth grinned. "I"m sure that can be arranged." He shared a smile with his mother-in-law.
"It seems to me it"s time for you two to head toward bed," Mrs. Merkle said, tapping the face of her watch.
"Already?"
"Already." She had a no-nonsense manner about her that his children rarely questioned.
It seemed to take forever to get the kids down, although the mission was accomplished in less than a half hour. Judd talked nonstop about being a warrior angel, and Jason kept repeating his lines for the program, saying them with greater and greater conviction.
Once the two were asleep, Seth poured himself a cup of coffee. This was the first time he"d had a chance to speak to Sharon without interruptions. He knew she was eager to hear about Reba, and he had a few questions of his own. Clearly things had gone drastically wrong between her and Jerry. he had a few questions of his own. Clearly things had gone drastically wrong between her and Jerry.
"Want some?" he asked, automatically filling a mug for her. He carried both to the table and took the seat across from his mother-in-law.
"You"re dating?"
Sharon never had been one to hedge when she wanted to know something.
"We haven"t known each other long," he said, wanting to make light of his involvement with Reba.
"It"s this woman the children mentioned?"
"Reba," he said. "She owns a travel agency, and stepped in at the last minute and took over coordinating the Christmas program."
"The children certainly seem to like her."
"They do." He didn"t add that his own feelings for Reba grew stronger by the day.
"I was the one who used to sing to the children at night," Sharon whispered, a faraway look in her eye. "It was a song I once sang to Pamela, an old German lullaby my mother taught me. When the twins first came to live with Jerry and me I"d sit in their room at night with the lights off." She paused and nibbled on her lower lip. "Singing that familiar song helped me accept that my daughter was forever gone. Having the children with me gave me purpose again. Judd remembers. He was so young, but he remembers."
Seth knew this was difficult for Sharon. He reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "Pamela will always be their mother." reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "Pamela will always be their mother."
"I know," she said bravely. "I don"t begrudge you happiness, Seth."
"I didn"t think for a moment that you did."
Her gaze wandered down the hallway toward the bedrooms. "Judd and Jason appear to have adjusted well."
"We"ve had our moments." He didn"t elaborate, but more than once he"d been tempted to reach for the phone and call Sharon. It had taken every bit of restraint he possessed not to plead with her to take over, to admit that he couldn"t handle the kids on his own. His lowest point had been just before Mrs. Miracle arrived. Mrs. Miracle, the kids had him doing it now. Mrs. Merkle.
"Mrs. Merkle"s a wonder."
Seth couldn"t agree with her more. "It"s good to see you again, Sharon."
She looked away. "But you"re wondering what I"m doing here now. I wasn"t scheduled to arrive until next week."
"The thought had crossed my mind," he admitted, thinking of last night"s angry phone call.
"Jerry and I-"
The doorbell interrupted her, and she glanced over her shoulder.
"I"m not expecting anyone." It was after nine, and he doubted that the paperboy would be collecting this late.
While he answered the door, Sharon stood and walked over to the refrigerator to take out the milk. walked over to the refrigerator to take out the milk.
"Sorry," he said on his way to the door. "I forgot you like your coffee with cream."
"No problem." She looked much better today, he mused. Her color was back, and some of the weariness had left her eyes.
He checked the peephole and then, astonished, hurriedly opened the door for his father-in-law. "Jerry," he said, trying to hide his shock, "this is a pleasant surprise."
He heard the crash behind him and whirled around to find the coffee mug shattered across the kitchen floor and Sharon looking at her husband as if viewing a ghost.
Chapter 19
Too many people offer G.o.d prayers with claw marks all over them.-Mrs. Miracle
Sharon couldn"t have been more surprised if Elvis himself had showed up at the front door. Certainly the last person she"d expected to see was her own husband. She"d have thought he"d rather pluck chickens than chase after her. Not that he was exactly chasing her.
They stood a room apart, staring at one another, each waiting for the other to speak first. Neither seemed willing to be the first to breach the gap.
"I came to talk to my wife," Jerry announced stiffly to Seth.
"Talk...fine. I"m sure you two would like some privacy."
"That won"t be necessary," Sharon said, preferring that her son-in-law stay in the room. If Jerry a.s.sumed they could neatly sweep everything under the carpet, he"d made a wasted trip.
"The h.e.l.l it isn"t," Jerry argued. "I didn"t come all this way to be left standing on the porch twiddling my thumbs."
To Sharon"s way of thinking, that was exactly where he deserved to be. The man had put her through h.e.l.l. By the time she"d arrived in Seattle she could barely function emotionally. Her husband and her best friend!
"Why don"t you two sit down here in the living room and sort matters out," Seth suggested, and gestured toward the sofa. "I"ll clean up the spilled coffee and give you some s.p.a.ce-I mean, peace."
Jerry didn"t wait for Sharon to agree, but moved from the entry into the living room, hauling two suitcases with him. She was grateful to see him, if for no other reason than to have the clothes he"d brought along.
"Sharon?" Jerry waited for her.
It was either cause a scene or accept the only civil option available to her. Reluctantly she walked into the other room, sitting as far away from Jerry as possible.
The silence was thick and uncomfortable. She"d be d.a.m.ned before she"d speak first. An eternity pa.s.sed, and the only sound came from Seth in the kitchen; soon that faded and disappeared.
"You forgot your medication," Jerry said, and removed the brown drugstore bottle from his jacket pocket. removed the brown drugstore bottle from his jacket pocket.
She supposed she should be grateful that he didn"t mention her luggage.
"I thought you might need your hormones."
She didn"t know what it was that concerned Jerry about her pills. It was almost as though he feared she"d wake up with a beard one morning if she forgot to take them.
"Thank you," she said, attempting to remain courteous without revealing how absolutely delighted she was to see him. She didn"t want to be, but she couldn"t keep her heart from banging against her chest. For forty years she"d loved this man, and despite their many differences she couldn"t stop.
That made her decision to divorce him all the more difficult, all the more painful. They"d grown apart and weren"t the same people any longer.
"About me and Maggie," Jerry said, the words falling awkwardly from his lips. "It"s not what you...it"s not the way it looked."
Sharon bided her time. She"d figured that out for herself. It"d taken her the better part of two days, but she knew in the deepest part of her soul that Jerry wouldn"t cheat on her. Furthermore, she trusted Maggie, who was happily married.
"We"d been having so many problems lately," Jerry said, and cleared his throat. "I asked Maggie"s opinion."
"About what?"
His face reddened slightly. "I thought you might need the dosage on your hormones upped or something."
"You think what?"
"She understands you better than I do," he shouted, his eyes boring into her accusingly. "I can"t ever talk to you anymore. I have to go to your friends to find out what you"re thinking. For all intents and purposes we"re living separate lives, and doing it in the same house. Something"s got to change."
"I couldn"t agree with you more." Six months ago she would never have believed she and Jerry would consider such a drastic measure as divorce, but it appeared to be the only feasible solution to their troubles.
Jerry lowered his head and seemed to find it necessary to clean beneath his fingernails. He leveled his gaze at her and asked, "You believe me about Maggie, don"t you?"
Once her head had cleared, she"d suspected it was innocent. Perhaps because she so desperately wanted to believe her husband and her best friend wouldn"t betray her.
Jerry"s eyes bored holes into her, silently pleading with her to believe him. Fool that she was, she did. "I know."
"If you knew that, then why"d you run off without so much as leaving me a note? I didn"t know what the h.e.l.l happened to you." His words were full of anger and accusation. "Edna was the one who said she saw you get in a taxi." know what the h.e.l.l happened to you." His words were full of anger and accusation. "Edna was the one who said she saw you get in a taxi."
Edna, the neighborhood busybody. Her tongue must really be wagging now.
How it must have hurt Jerry"s pride to seek out their nosy neighbor for information. To her credit, Sharon hadn"t purposely gone without leaving him a note. She regretted that, but a note wasn"t the only thing she"d forgotten.
"It was a taxi driver who told me he"d taken you to the airport," Jerry added. "From there it wasn"t difficult to figure out where you"d gone. What was I to think? I come home to an empty house with no note, only to discover from the neighbor that you"d left me."