“How did you feel when you heard the result of the audit? You enjoy watching your annual dividends go into Tommy’s pocket?” Susan opened her mouth to protest, then closed it, realizing her sister was right.


“Maybe it will work out, Ronnie. Maybe this is what he needed to get himself back on track.”


“Don’t get your hopes up, Susan. I have a feeling this is only the beginning.”




Too angry to return straight home, Ronnie drove around the streets of Albany for over an hour. She returned home to a dark house. Trying to be as quiet as possible, she slipped into the room and began to get undressed in the dark. “I’m awake,” Rose said as she switched on the lamp.


“I was trying to be quiet.”


“I was waiting up for you. How did it go?”


“Not well.” She turned her back and removed her shirt. “It seems our burglar is none other than my baby brother.”


“Tommy?”


“Nice way to treat his family, don’t you think?” She pulled the T-shirt over her head and turned around to find Rose had put the bed in an upright position.She slipped under the covers and adjusted her pillows. “I didn’t bother going down to see the damage first hand. I have enough of a headache.” She brought her fingers to her temples.


“Let me,” Soft fingers replaced hers and began to gently rub the tender area. “How’s that?” Rose whispered.


“Mmm…a little harder…hmm, yeah, right there…”


There was not an ounce of relaxation anywhere in Ronnie’s upper body, the young woman soon discovered. She gently nudged the executive into a sitting position and moved her hands down to the broad shoulders. Every muscle was bunched up tight, tensed as if ready for battle. Pressing gently at first, then with more effort, Rose forced the muscles to surrender to her manipulations.

“That’s right, just relax,” she cooed. “Close your eyes.”


“They are closed,” came the relaxed murmur. Rose smiled to herself at the unspoken compliment.


“Think about the day after tomorrow. Think about all the lights on the tree…the presents…”


“Rose Grayson, are you trying to hypnotize me?”


“Of course not, silly.” She moved her thumbs to the base of Ronnie’s skull and began kneading the area gently. “I just want you to relax and think about how much fun Christmas is going to be.”


“Mmm.”


“That’s right…” The touch became lighter as Ronnie relaxed. “Does that feel better?”


“Much,” she sighed.


“Good.” A self-satisfied smile came to the young woman’s lips. “How about we get some sleep and leave all the bad stuff for morning, okay?” She nudged Ronnie back onto her own pillow.

“Good night.”


“Good night, Rose.” It was silent for a moment before Ronnie added “Thank you.” The burden off her shoulders for at least one night, she quickly fell into a peaceful sleep.



* * *

Ronnie took a sip of coffee and looked out at the picture perfect Christmas morning. A light dusting of snow had fallen overnight, covering her back yard and the trees that surrounded it with a light blanket of white. The sun was just coming up, the whole scene reminding her of a Currier and Ives print. Tightening the sash on her terrycloth robe, she opened the sliding glass door and stepped out onto the deck, the thin layer of snow crunching under her blue slippers. She set her mug on the table, the heat causing a small ring of snow to melt and reveal the green painted metal beneath. Ronnie took a deep breath and smiled. It was cold enough to keep the snow from melting but the lack of wind kept it from being bitterly so.


She stood there and drank her coffee, enjoying a family of rabbits scampering across the field. Their gray coats were a sharp contrast to the crisp white snow.She thought of the presents under the tree. As much as she hated malls and shopping in general, Ronnie took great pleasure in personally choosing each and every gift for Rose. Finally the cold registered through her robe and she retreated inside.


The kitchen clock showed it was just past seven.Setting the empty cup in the sink, she headed into the living room. Hundreds of tiny lights twinkled and flashed over the tree, their multitudes of colors reflecting off the shiny paper covering the gifts piled on the floor. Ronnie smiled. Everything was perfect. Now it was just a matter of waiting for Rose to wake up. She looked at the grandfather clock, hoping she would not have to wait much longer.“Come on, Rose,” she muttered to herself, noting the time seemed to be passing much slower than usual. She rearranged the presents and had another cup of coffee. The clock now read seven-thirty. Tabitha rubbed against her legs. “What do you want?”


“Mrrow?”


“Breakfast for you isn’t for another half-hour.”


“Mrrow?” Tabitha walked over to the cabinet where the cat food was stored and cried again. When crying did not work, the frisky kitty rolled onto her back and turned her head at a ridiculous angle. Ronnie chuckled and shook her head.


“Well, since it’s Christmas.” She knelt down and opened the cabinet. “Okay now, let’s see what we got here.” She pulled out a green labeled can and held it in front of the now purring feline.

“You want turkey for Christmas?”


“Mrrow.” Tabitha batted at the can with her paw.


“Fine, turkey it is then.”


Feeding Tabitha did not use up as much time as Ronnie would have liked. When the grandfather clock chimed the eight o’clock hour, the anticipation was killing her. “I think it is late enough, don’t you, Tabitha?” She reached down and scooped the cat up in her arms. “Let’s go wake Mommy so she can see all the pretty presents, hmm?”


Ronnie set Tabitha down at the foot of the bed and crawled in next to the sleeping woman.

“Rose? Rose, time to wake up.” A gentle nudge to the shoulder. “Rose? It’s Christmas morning. Don’t you want to get up and open presents?”


“Hrmmphf.”


“Come on, it’s time to get up. You don’t want to waste the whole morning in bed, do you?”


Sleepy green eyes slowly revealed themselves. “What time is it?”


“Eight.” The eyes snapped shut and the young woman let out a groan. She pulled the blanket up over her face only to have a stronger hand pull it back down.


“But it’s Christmas. You can’t sleep in on Christmas.” Ronnie hopped off the bed and pushed the portable commode over. “Come on, up and at ‘em.”


Rose gave one more groan but slowly opened her eyes, deciding Ronnie was entirely too chipper in the mornings…until she realized what morning it was. “Oh God, it’s Christmas!”


“Merry Christmas,” Ronnie chuckled, pulling the blanket out of the way and laying on her side, using her elbow to prop her head up. “It’s a beautiful morning and it would be a crime to let you sleep through it.”


“How long have you been up?”


“About an hour and a half.”


“I’m surprised you waited this long.” Ronnie was about to defend herself when she saw the twinkle in Rose’s eyes. She pounced playfully on the smaller woman, the two engaging in a brief tickle fight. “You are ruthless,” Rose said when they finally broke apart.


“Well, I guess you’re awake now, aren’t you? I’ll just leave you to take care of business.”


“Uh, okay. I’ll just be a couple of minutes.”


“Sure, just give a shout when you’re ready. I’ll bring your coffee into the living room. You can drink it and open presents at the same time, can’t you?”


Rose listened carefully until she was certain Ronnie was not coming right back, then she retrieved the small present hidden in the drawer of the night stand. An unexpected fear passed through her. Suddenly, the pen and pencil set she had Karen pick up for her did not seem such a great gift after all. If Ronnie wanted one, she would have had it by now. Maybe she did not like mechanical pencils because she could not bite them. “Stupid, stupid, stupid,” she grumbled to herself before setting the gift down on the stand and pushing herself over to the commode.


Fifteen minutes later she was dressed, wearing a light beige shirt Ronnie had insisted on giving her. Rose did not believe for a minute that it was too small for her benefactor, as it hung a good eight to ten inches past her own hips and the cuffs had to be folded over several times before she could see her fingertips. Still, it was given to her by Ronnie, and like the Dartmouth nightshirt, it was something Maria was hard pressed to get away from her long enough to wash.


A final run of the brush through her hair and Rose was ready. She set the present on her lap then covered it with the quilt before calling out. A few seconds later Ronnie appeared. “Ready?”


“I guess so.” She forced a smile to her face., she silently prayed as Ronnie helped her into the wheelchair and guided her out of the room.



* * *

The large pile of presents spilling out from under the tree captivated Rose’s attention as Ronnie helped her into the sunken level of the living room. Even when she stayed with a family of five one Christmas, the young orphan had never seen so many presents stuffed under the tree. She recognized the large, flowing style of Ronnie’s handwriting on all the gift tags. “Is your family coming over today?”