ANOTHER PROMISE KEPT
Chapter Five
It was amazing how time flew by,
now that I had something to do. Before I knew it, it was December already. I
hadn’t been able to get a job, so I had no money to get me a place to move out
to when the baby came–which would be very soon now. I had looked for a job, but
every time I found something decent, Molly or Helen found me something better
to do on the exact same day that I had the interview. It became pretty obvious
to me that they didn’t want me to work.
I knew that someday I would have
to leave, that I couldn’t stay at Molly’s forever, but on the other hand, I
loved to feel like a part of that family. And besides, the truth was that I was
a bit scared of being an eighteen-year-old single mother. What if I turned into
my mother? I needed someone to guide me, and since Jack wouldn’t be there…
It was almost Christmas now.
Everybody in the house was excited about the holidays; you could feel the
Christmas spirit floating everywhere. One morning, when I went to have
breakfast, I was shocked to find the whole dining room decorated.
"Oh, Rose. I was hoping that
you wouldn’t come down until we had everything ready. I don’t believe that you
are used to this kind of thing," Molly told me when she saw my face at the
sight of the room.
I nodded. Believe it or not, the
DeWitt Bukaters weren’t the kind of people who liked to decorate the whole
house with a gigantic Christmas tree in the middle of the ballroom. I recalled
the house being adorned only once or twice, but only because my parents had
held a Christmas ball that year.
"Come and see the tree! It’s
enormous!" Helen told me as she grabbed my hand and guided me towards the
parlor.
When she opened the door for me,
I gasped. It was exactly what I had imagined a house should look like during
Christmastime. Someone had even hung stockings from the mantelpiece. I read the
names--J.J., Molly, Larry, Helen, Rose, and another one, smaller than the rest,
that read Baby Dawson. I smiled.
But the most amazing thing in the
room was the tree. As Helen had said, it was huge! It had gold and red globes
hanging from every branch and a couple of presents laying on the floor next to
it.
"So…what do you say?"
J.J. asked me as he studied my reaction.
"Whoa!" I replied
without being able to take my eyes from the tree.
"That’s what I
thought."
We spent the rest of the morning
finishing with the decoration. I didn’t even care that we missed
breakfast–though the baby did, and complained about it with a painless kick in
my stomach.
"I love Christmas!"
Molly said when we all sat down to have lunch.
"I think that, for the first
time, I can say that I love it, too. This was fun!" I answered.
"If you liked this, you
should see what we do on Christmas Day. I don’t want to ruin the surprise, so
all I’m gonna say is that no one can hide a present like my dear mother,"
Larry added.
"Remember that time when we
made you look for them in the front yard? That must have been quite a
scandal!"
"They threw me out in the
street in my pajamas in the middle of December! It was miracle that I didn’t
get the flu!"
I laughed, trying to think of a
pleasant memory to share with them, but failing.
"And speaking of presents, I
think I found us the perfect gift for this year," Helen announced. We all
looked curiously at her.
"The other day I was walking
through the park and I came across this very talented artist and I thought
‘Uh…the painting that we have at home is rather old now. We could use a new
one’. So I thought that we could have this artist paint a picture of us. Of the
five of us, I mean."
I sensed Molly looking at me.
Obviously, she thought that the simple mention of an artist could throw me back
in time to Jack. Well…she was right. All the happiness faded a little as I
thought of my love, but I didn’t let her know. I had to be strong.
"Actually, it’s a good idea.
It is true, we do need a new painting," J.J. commented.
"And you should see his
work! I tell you, I’ve never seen something like it before." I asked
myself if Helen was being completely honest with us. I wandered if the drawings
were all that she loved about this artist.
"And did you talk to
him?" Larry asked.
"Well…I talked to the man
sitting by the drawings. He’s a very nice Italian, and we were talking for
quite a while. He told me that his friend–the artist–was working, but that he
was in charge of selling the sketches."
"I think we could give it a
try, don’t you, honey?"
"Of course. It will be nice
to have a picture of us. It’s a pity that the baby isn’t born yet. I would love
to have him or her in the picture."
"Maybe, if the artist is
imaginative enough, he could add the baby."
"Okay, then. It’s settled.
I’m going to talk to them," Helen said. "Do you want to come with me,
Rose?"
"Oh, no. Something tells me
that you’d rather be alone with him." She opened the mouth to complain,
but I didn’t let her talk. "Besides, I have to go to the doctor."
After lunch, we all went to do
what we had to do. Molly went to have tea with some friends, J.J. and Larry
went to the office, and Helen went to the park–though she was a little bit too
dressed up for the occasion, if you ask me. I headed towards Dr. Calvert’s
office, who told me that the baby could be born any day now, so I should take
care of myself.
"You should rest now, Rose.
And tell Molly that you are not to receive any big shock. Call me if you need
anything."
"Thank you, Dr. Calvert.
You’ve been an angel to us."
As I walked back home, I bit my
lip, realizing what I had been doing for the past few months--I had been
flirting with the doctor! I couldn’t believe it, but it was true. Oh, shame on
me! And pregnant! I had never felt so ashamed in my entire life. Ashamed and
mad at myself. Somehow it felt like a betrayal to Jack. And yet, I could do it,
couldn’t I? I mean, Jack was dead and I would never see him again, would I? A
woman has her needs.
Oh, damned hormones!