Driving home was worse than Emma expected. The storm had turned into a blizzard. Everyone was driving carefully. All the cars went slowly and no one was too close to the car ahead. Emma became aware of the pain in her arm. She had bumped it getting into the car. What had that woman said about a pain in the left arm? It was a sure sign of a heart attack.
A heart attack! God, was she having a heart attack? Could she die here? What about Tom and the children? Imagine dying at Christmas! Every Christmas would be a sad time for them. Emma was getting very upset again.
She said a silent prayer. “Oh, dear God—let
me live through the holidays.
” Emma was
frantic. Poor Tom, how would he manage with
the children, the house and school? How
would the children remember her?
She remembered the way she left the
house that morning. Emma now could see Tom
and the children’s faces. “Oh God,
” Emma
pleaded, “please help me. I love them so
much.
”
She reached the cutoff. Here she had to be very careful. A car could slip and run right down the bank. She never could understand why they had raised the road. Perhaps it was for the run-off in the spring. You wouldn’t be able to pass with the water.
Emma arrived home. There was only one light on. Usually most of the lights were on. She wondered what could be going on.
No one was at home. Emma wondered where they were. Maybe Tom had taken them shopping at the village store. They would like that.
She made herself a cup of tea. It had been a long hard drive home. She would relax for a few minutes before getting started with the housework.
She sipped her tea and suddenly she was aware of how clean and tidy the kitchen was. The floor was cleaned and polished too. She went to the fridge—there was the turkey beginning to thaw.
“Thank God for that,
” Emma said to
herself.
She went into the living room. Maybe Tom and Johnny had brought in the tree. Maybe they had even set it in the stand. She turned on the lights.
The tree was in, set up and decorated. The lights went on from the wall switch near the door.
Emma went back to the kitchen for a second cup of tea. She sat down and touched her arm. It was still sore. Then she remembered the box and skates falling on it yesterday. That was why her arm was sore.
“Some heart attack,
” she said to herself.
She wanted to laugh at herself. What a mess
she had made of her day. Then she heard the
family entering the front door.