Life’s Christmas Miracle By Tam Desire

Here's a short story for you... I hope you enjoy it. Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

I walk over and sit down on the couch grabbing my white wine on the way. I look up at the fire while I put my feet up on the coffee table, lean back and take a drink of my wine. I look around at the room which is lit by the firelight and the Christmas tree.  

Not so long ago, this would have only been a dream, but thankfully today its one I can smile with accomplishment. I take another sip and think back to how it was when I was growing up as a daughter to a shift worker in a factory and most of the time there not being anything around for Christmas because Mom’s paycheck just didn’t stretch that far. We did have a tree, but it was the only one we’ve ever had and after so many years its looking more like Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree rather than a proper one.  

Even on Christmas day, rather than exchange gifts, we’d sit around and wish each other a Merry Christmas before Mom retreats into watching her television programs and basically ignores me all day. I’ve learned over the years not to expect anything, but I went to the library, so my Christmas is spent with others, through books, which each and every one of them have a happy ending. This was my gift to me and to keep those dreams alive.  

The rest of the day was typically spent ignoring each other and at dinner, was whatever was in the fridge to eat and even this wasn’t much. One year I took it upon myself to try and plan a dinner and watch some movies on TV, but I was swore at so much and told that no matter how much of a good person I tried to be others would only take advantage, so don’t even try it. After that, I stopped and had never tried again. 

Wincing at the memories, I snuggled back into the couch further taking another sip of my wine.  I sigh and am thankful of everything I have around me including the positive feelings those around me now give me. 

I look up as my husband comes into the room. He’s just as handsome as the day we met and I smile up at him. He’s collected his glass of red wine and sits down next to me. I turn and snuggle into his side as his arm comes up and around me. We both look at the fire once again at peace. 

I think about when we met at the grocery store. I was just putting the shopping cart away while he was collecting them to bring them back inside. I turned to walk away and slid on the ice and eventually ended up sitting on my butt on the ice coating the ground. I tried to get up only to start to slide down the slight hill of the parking lot. Thankfully, it was late at night and not that many cars around. 

I felt a hand reach out and around my arm. It jerked me to the side and away from the icy patch I had been sliding along. I let out a shriek at the sudden movement before ending up sprawled on top of another warm body. As it had been a pretty miserable week, this just tops it off and I start to laugh. 

The body I had been laying upon turned to lay flat on the ground and reached up to my face. A concerned voice asked “Are you alright? You’re not hurt are you?” and they started a pat down of my arms and legs making sure I wasn’t hurt.

“No, I’m fine, but thank you for your rescue!” still giggling and look up into the face of the voice. 

I look up with my hazel eyes and see concerned Mediterranean blue eyes, oblong face with blonde hair with a black cap on it. His lips were thin but cherry red and wet where he had just finished licking them. 

I was hoping my burnt red brown thick shoulder length hair wasn’t sticking up from all the falling and tumbling. I give him a smile, and flashing my dimples on each cheek, to reassure him I truly was fine. 

That was the start of getting to know my future everything. I think back, with a smile, at our wedding. It was just a small affair with everyone bringing a chair to sit in for the wedding in his sister’s backyard. It was in June, the flowers were bright and in abundance. Thankfully, the heat and humidity stayed away that day. We only wanted the people who supported and meant the world to us to attend so it was a small affair. I bought what was a preloved bridesmaid’s dress in white, but it looked good on me and that’s all that mattered. Arthur, my husband, decided he only wanted to wear a polo shirt and dress pants, so that’s what he did. 

We only did what we wanted and one of those was to bring positive vibes into the day, which is why my mother wasn’t invited. I never knew who my father was, and my mother never let on who he was or what happened. Art’s parents were gone years ago due to a car accident, and it was just him and his sister. We did have a few friends which supported us and they were here with us on our wedding day. 

I put my head on my husband’s shoulder thinking it hadn’t always been so quick and easy for us as a couple either. Especially when I had lost my job, then our apartment home was sold out from under us and needing to move on a moment’s notice, and finally came the miscarriages. 

The miscarriages were always the worst. I wipe a tear gently from my eye as I think of each of them. Five. Five chances at life. Five chances at a future both ours and theirs. The last one was the worst. Three days before Christmas I found myself at my last day at work due to budget cuts. Still, we were happy because we had our little present inside of me, our baby, and measuring 8 weeks along. Then on Christmas Eve, I started to spot. Not much just a tiny bit of rust red one time, but we thought we better get it checked out at the hospital. After what seemed to be forever, we found it was an ectopic pregnancy where it was in the tubes and not the uterus. Total devastation at the news and top this with my life being in danger if the tube burst, Art was beside himself with worry. As if that wasn’t enough, during the surgery there were problems and I lost an ovary and my uterus. 

Art leaned back and looked over with me in a question behind the wire rimmed glasses he now has to wear. I smile up at him to reassure him everything was fine. He smiles back at me and takes a drink of his wine. 

“You know, I couldn’t be any happier at all.” He says and looks down at me with a wide smile and you could tell he was happy and content with life. 

I smile back at him make a murmur of agreement. 

When life throws lemons, or in some cases the whole lemon tree at you, you just have to suck it up and make lemonade or lemonade and firewood from it. It’s not easy, but life isn’t easy. 

I climb up from the couch, putting my wine glass down along the way. I wonder over to the side of the room and look down. I feel Art getting up, walking up behind me, and wrapping his arms around my hips in a hug. I take my hands and put them on his arms. 

I smile down at our child, our miracle. Yes, there really is a Santa Clause because this year, through a surrogate, he brought us Virginia, our child. We think of and silently thank the person who carried our child and the support of her family. Talk about a purely selfless gift which we can never repay. 

This year would be the start of our family, and our love would carry on with Virginia into the future. 

I start to hum “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” because my singing sounds like someone’s strangling someone rather than singing. For us, it will be a very Merry Christmas. 

We hope you and yours has a very safe and happy Merry Christmas as well.