The Divided Family (9 page)

Smiling, Joel sagged in his chair with relief. Once Aunt Verna told Doris, Arlene, and Elsie what he’d done, he felt sure he would soon be opening the envelope Dad left for him.

He took another drink and cleared his throat. “So now that I’ve done my good deed, will you tell my sisters you approve and allow me to receive my inheritance?”

She pursed her lips, frowning deeply. “Apologizing to Anna was not a selfless act, Joel.”

Perplexed and feeling a bit miffed, Joel rapped his knuckles on the table. “Then tell me what specifically I need to do.”

“I can’t. It’s something you must find out for yourself.” Aunt Verna left her seat and stepped up to Joel, placing her hand on his heart. “It must come from within. It needs to be heartfelt, not something you do only in the hope of getting your share of my brother’s money.”

Joel’s hands curled into a fist as he inhaled a long breath. This was not going the way he’d planned.

“How is your spiritual life, Joel?” Aunt Verna spoke softly. “Have you prayed about this situation?”

He snorted. “I don’t pray about anything anymore.”

“Well, maybe it’s time you start.” She looked at him with squinted eyes.

Feeling uncomfortable, Joel pushed back his chair. “Sorry I bothered you, Aunt Verna. You obviously don’t understand.”

“I believe I do.” She pointed a bony finger at him. “It’s you who doesn’t understand. Your daed knew that, and he tried to—”

Joel whirled around, turning his back on her. “I don’t want to hear anything about my dad. He never treated me well after I left home, and the stupid thing he put in his will only proves he had no love for me!” Without waiting for his aunt’s response, he jerked open the back door and dashed outside into the frigid air. He was not going to knuckle under and do a selfless act simply because his dad wanted him to. He would figure out some other way to make his fortune!

I
t was hard to believe Christmas was only two days away, but as Doris sat beside Brian at the back of the schoolhouse, the reality sank in. Four of her nephews and nieces took turns reciting their pieces. The story of Jesus’ birth had been acted out in a Nativity scene, with Doug and Scott both playing the parts of shepherds, while Martha and Lillian were angels.

Doris was glad she’d felt up to coming, for she wouldn’t have wanted to miss it. Her best friend was a talented teacher and had done a good job with the children in preparation for this evening’s program.

Glancing around the room, she noticed several hand-drawn pictures of winter scenes. In addition to those, the scholars had made cutout snowflakes of various sizes and shapes to decorate the walls. It brought back memories from when she was a girl. But seeing the scholars and listening to their recitations was bittersweet. It was a harsh reminder that she might never have any children of her own.

She clutched her shawl around her shoulders.
I wonder if my sisters know how fortunate they are to have been given the chance
to be mothers.
Her eyes watered, and she bit the inside of her cheek, hoping the tears wouldn’t fall.
There’s no point feeling sorry for myself. It won’t change a thing. I need to accept what’s happened to me and find a new purpose in life.

Doris glanced at Brian and offered him a brief smile when he clasped her hand. He always seemed to be aware when she needed some reassurance or comfort during times of despair.
I feel blessed,
she thought,
to have found a good husband who loves and cares for me.

Turning her attention to the front of the room, Doris couldn’t help but smile when one of the smaller students recited a poem while holding his hand against his heart: “Christmas comes just once a year; but the love of God is always here.”

Another child, holding a wrapped package, added, “Christmas is not about gifts or toys. God sent His Son to earth for moms, dads, girls, and boys.”

Doris thought about the trials people sometimes faced and how keeping their focus on God helped them get through even the most difficult times. As the children emphasized through their recitations, poems, and skits, the true meaning of Christmas was God’s love for His people.

She closed her eyes and offered a brief prayer.
Thank You, Lord, for the gift of Your Son. Help me love others as You have loved us.

“The program went well, don’t you think?” Arlene said to Larry as they headed for home in their buggy.

“It sure did, and I’m glad the snow they’ve been forecasting held off so the roads are clear.”

Scott groaned from his seat behind them.

“What’s the matter, Son?” Arlene called. “Are you disappointed because your uncle Joel didn’t come to the program?”

“It ain’t that. I mean isn’t. I’ve got a
bauchweh.
Sure hope I don’t throw up.”

“Hang on, Scott, we’ll be home soon.” Larry bumped Arlene’s arm with his elbow. “It’s no wonder our boy has a stomachache. Did you see all the popcorn he ate after the program?”

“He had some candy, too,” Martha interjected. “Teacher Anna brought some for each of the scholars tonight.”

Arlene turned and reached over the seat, patting her son’s knee. “You’ll feel better once we get home and you can go to bed. I have a homeopathic remedy for tummy aches, and that should help, too.”

Scott’s only response was a deep moan.

Poor little guy.
Everything went so well at the program tonight, Arlene felt bad it had ended on a sour note for Scott.

“It was good to see Doris out tonight,” Larry commented.

“Jah. I wasn’t sure she’d be up to it, but I’m glad she came. She’s been cooped up in the house too much since her accident.” Arlene shifted under the blanket covering her lap. “Once she gets her cast off, she should do even better.”

By the time they arrived home it had begun to snow, and the storm seemed to be getting stronger as the snow stuck to the ground.

“I’ll get the snow shovel out before I come in for the evening, in case we get a good accumulation of this white stuff during the night.” Larry pulled the buggy up near the house to let everyone out.

“Yippee! Can we make a big
schneeballe
?” Lillian asked when she jumped down from the buggy.

“No snowballs tonight,” Larry said. “It’s late and you kinner need to get ready for bed. School’s out till after Christmas, so if it keeps snowing, you can all play in it tomorrow.”

“I don’t wanna play in the snow,” Martha said. “It’s too
kelt
for me.”

“It won’t be cold if you put on plenty of clothes.” Doug ran ahead of his sisters, while Scott trailed behind.

Arlene could tell her boy wasn’t feeling well, because normally Scott would have been excited about the snow.

As Larry helped her out of the buggy, he leaned close and said, “How about making some hot chocolate with marshmallows after the kinner go to bed? We can sit by the fire and enjoy each other’s company for a while.”

She smiled. “That sounds nice. I’ll take care of making it as soon as the little ones are tucked in.”

While Arlene and the children headed inside, Larry led the horse to the barn before he put their buggy away for the night.

After Arlene placed the baby in his crib, she sent Doug, Martha, and Lillian upstairs to wash and get ready for bed. Then she gave Scott a remedy for indigestion and took his temperature. He was running a slight fever, but she didn’t think it was anything to worry about. By tomorrow morning he’d probably be his old self again, ready to romp and play in the snow.

Akron

Joel entered his mobile home, slung his jacket over a chair, and glanced at the cell phone, noting it was nine o’clock—too late to head for Farmerstown. The school program had probably been over awhile already. He’d planned on going, but his day had been busy, and he’d worked longer than he expected. To make matters worse, it had started snowing about an hour ago, and the vehicles ahead of him had been crawling along. It didn’t help that the snow was coming down heavier and sticking to everything. The temperature had dropped suddenly, and the roads could get slick.

Joel’s thoughts went to Kristi. He hoped if she was coming home from work, or was on the road for any other reason, that she’d be careful out there. As Christmas drew near, he found himself missing her more than ever.
Sure wish she would have forgiven me and agreed to start over.

He reached for the TV remote and found the local weather report to see what the forecast was for their area. Turning up the volume so he could hear it from the kitchen, he made himself a sandwich.

Maybe it’s for the best I didn’t go to the program,
Joel thought when he returned to the living room with a ham-and-cheese sandwich.
With the tension between me and my sisters, I may have said or done the wrong thing.
Sometimes Joel felt as if his family looked for things they didn’t like about him. If his sisters cared about his financial situation, they would have spoken up when John had read the will and admitted that Dad’s demands were ridiculous. If they’d all stuck together on this, they could have opened their envelopes by now. But of course, they’d have to get Aunt Verna to agree to it, as well. Joel had always liked and respected his aunt, but sometimes she could be downright stubborn, like his dad.

“She should have accepted my apology to Anna as a selfless act,” he mumbled, leaning his head against the back of the couch. “Now I’m stuck trying to figure out what my next move should be.”

When Joel had left his dad’s place after his conversation with Aunt Verna, he’d decided to stop trying to come up with something everyone would see as heartfelt. But after he’d cooled down, and taken another look at his bank account, along with the few jobs he had lined up for the rest of the month, Joel realized he needed to keep trying to meet the stipulations of the will. There had to be something he could do that wouldn’t be a big sacrifice for him but would still satisfy his sisters and Aunt Verna. He needed to figure out what it was.

“I see you’re working the evening shift again,” Yvonne Patterson, one of the other nurses, said when she passed Kristi in the hall. “Are you filling in for Barbara?”

Kristi turned to face Yvonne. “Yes. Shortly before I was supposed to get off work, our supervisor let me know Barbara had called in sick. I volunteered to take her place.”

“How come? I would think you’d be exhausted after working all day.”

“I’ll admit it’s not easy working back-to-back shifts, but as the week’s progressed, Audrey’s gotten worse, and I wanted to be with her tonight.” Kristi sighed. “She hardly recognizes me anymore, but I keep hoping she’ll rally a bit.”

Yvonne gave Kristi’s arm a gentle pat. “You have a genuine heart for your patients, and everyone here speaks highly of you. I’ve heard some folks call you a saint.”

Kristi felt the heat of a blush erupt on her cheeks. “I’m definitely not that. I just try to treat everyone kindly and do what the Bible says.”

“Your Christianity shows. You don’t talk about it all over the place. You live it.”

Kristi and Yvonne visited a few more minutes, then moved down the hall to check on patients. Unexpectedly, an image of Joel flashed across Kristi’s mind.
I think I may have failed at being a Christian example to him,
she thought with regret.
If I’d been more Christ-like, maybe he would have turned his life over to the Lord instead of putting himself first.