The Christmas Dinner: Chapter III

Chapter III

Amy brushed her hair while looking in the mirror above the dresser. “You sure you’re up for this tomorrow?” she asked.

“Of course,” Stewart said while lying on their bed. “A big old family Christmas is what Christmas is all about.” His words came out but he sounded congested.

She looked at him. “You sound horrible.”

He waved her off and closed his eyes. “Nonsense” but it sounded more like ‘nondent.’ “I’m fine.”

She was not convinced. “If you are too sick and miss this big old family dinner tomorrow I will never forgive you.” She walked to the bed and sat down.

“Sick?” he asked. “Who’s sick? I’m not sick.”

“Right,” she said. “You better not get me sick for Christmas either.”

He opened his eyes and thought about it. “I will be done with work by noon. I’ll be home to help.”

She scrunched her nose at him.

“If it will make you feel any better, I will sleep on the couch tonight. Just in case,” he sat up and put his hand to his head. “I will be leaving early for work so I won’t come in and wake you.”

She nodded. “I will sleep on the couch. I’m not going to make a sick person leave their bed.”

He stood up. “That’s kind of you but I’m not sick.” He gathered his pillows and kissed the top of her head.

True to his word, he did not wake her in the morning and was already gone by the time she fed the children breakfast.

The preparation for the dinner kept her so busy she didn’t even look at the clock until 12:30. It was odd Stewart wasn’t home yet but she figured something came up at work and he wasn’t able to leave as promised.

Sarah arrived and asked what needed done while rolling up her sleeves. At first, Amy was going to protest but instead she started giving orders. Sarah was such a good friend, they had known each other forever. Amy tried to think of the day they met but couldn’t recall. It seemed like Sarah had always just been a part of her life. She could remember specific memories but try as she might she could not remember anything about their first meeting.

“Must have met in the womb,” Sarah would say with a smile whenever Amy brought the subject up.

A little after 1:00, a knock came at the door. Amy opened it to find a Highway Patrolman standing on her front step. Her stomach felt like it dropped.

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” he said nervously. “Your husband was involved in an accident this morning.”

She shook her head.

“He was killed.”

She staggered back and was caught by Sarah. Once the words fully processed, the sobs came. The two friends sat on the floor the one holding the other. She wasn’t sure how long they were there but finally Sarah spoke. “Why don’t you go be with the children? I will cancel dinner.”

Amy nodded. She stood up and slowly walked to the family room where the kids were watching television. On her way, she walked past the bedroom. The bedroom he didn’t even sleep in last night and she closed her eyes briefly at the thought.

The dinner guests ended up coming over anyway. Not to eat but just to be with Amy and the children. Some finally ate the dinner that had been prepared. A coworker of her husband’s showed up. All she knew was his name was Perkins but she didn’t have the strength to make small talk with him. She thought she remembered Stewart mentioning Perkins helping him with the Bunderson merger. But she didn’t care at the moment. All she knew was the fact the big old family dinner did not turn out as expected.

“I told him I would never forgive him if he didn’t show up for the dinner today,” she said slowly when her and Sarah were alone in the bedroom. Sarah squeezed her hand and they sat for a moment.

“Please,” Amy said softly, “please don’t make me relive this again.” There were no more tears for her to wipe away. “I can’t do this anymore.”