This story is in my book, An Angel Among Us, a short story collection with an eclectic mix of 15 stories each with a twist and a surprise ending. I hope you will enjoy this story and check out all the other stories in this book.

This story will bring you to tears and put you in the spirit of Christmas. This is what Christmas is all about.

Chapter 3

“Clarinda, please sit down and try to calm yourself down so the little ones won’t be upset too. Okay, dear. I will go check on your mother and be right back. Why don’t you give the children something to eat while I am gone?

“We….we don’t have any more food, Dr. Harvey. I gave the children the rest of the food for lunch. That is why I have to go to the Antonelli’s to get paid for washing and ironing their clothes.” Clarinda started crying again and this time couldn’t stop. Her siblings started whining and fussing once they saw their sister upset again.

“Oh, my goodness, Clarinda, I am so sorry I didn’t know. I will take you over to the Antonelli’s child and then we will all go out to get something to eat. Okay? Now just sit tight and calm the children down.”

Dr. Harvey sadly shook his head and felt a deep guilt for not knowing how bad the situation was for this poor family. He vowed to get them some help as soon as he assessed the medical health of their mother.

Dr. Harvey opened the door to Miranda’s room and flicked on the light. What he saw wasn’t good. Miranda was laying on her side with her left arm hanging over the side of the bed. Her eyes were closed and he couldn’t detect any movement in her chest to indicate she was breathing. He pulled out his stethoscope and bent over her body to listen to her lungs and pulses. Her chest was congested and he detected a light heart rhythm as he lifted up her eyelids to check her pupils which were reacting to light. She would need to be hospitalized with what appeared to be a severe case of pneumonia. Dr. Harvey lifted up the phone and called the hospital to get an ambulance for Miranda, ASAP.

His next concern was to take care of the children. He made another call to the Antonelli’s on the next block to see what they could do to help.

“Hello, yes, this is Mrs. Antonelli. Who is this?”

“This is Dr. Harvey. I am with Miranda Davis and her children. I need your help, Mrs. Antonelli. I learned from Clarinda, her ten-year-old daughter, that she was to bring over your wash and be paid for this service. Is that correct?”

“Oh, well, Mrs. Davis always brought over the wash not her daughter. What can I do for you, Dr. Harvey? I don’t understand.”

“Well, Mrs. Davis is very ill and is going into the hospital and will be unable to take care of her three children. Do you think you could help her by taking her children in until she is out of the hospital and well enough to take care of them again? I don’t know where to turn at this time. They are really in desperate need and it is almost Christmas. Do you think you can help?” Dr. Harvey waited what seemed like minutes but were actually only thirty seconds before Mrs. Antonelli uttered a word.

“I see. I didn’t realize that Mrs. Davis was sick or I wouldn’t have asked her to continue to work for me. I am sorry to hear that. I also didn’t realize she had three children. I only know of Clarinda. How old are the other two children?” Mrs. Antonelli’s voice sounded a little surprised by the fact that there were three children to care for.

Dr. Harvey continued to persuade Mrs. Antonelli as he said, “Besides Clarinda who is ten, there is her brother Andrew, four, and sister, Brenda, who is two. Life has not been easy for them and Clarinda has been taking care of them all by herself since her mother has been sick. Anything you can do to help would be greatly appreciated. I need to take Miranda to the hospital now so if you could come over here and watch the children or pick them up and take them to your house, it would be helpful. Oh, and Mrs. Antonelli, please feed them. They haven’t had much to eat today.” Dr. Harvey was getting a little anxious for Mrs. Antonelli’s answer as he watched the ambulance pull up outside the house.

Mrs. Antonelli finally answered positively, much to the relief of Dr. Harvey, “I will be right over to pick up the children, Doctor.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Antonelli. I appreciate your help. It will mean a lot to Mrs. Davis too. She is in a bad way right now and can’t thank you herself but I will let her know what you are doing as soon as she is lucid. Merry Christmas, Mrs. Antonelli.”

Mrs. Antonelli answered back, “Merry Christmas, Dr. Harvey.” But the phone in her hand was sounding a dial tone.

Chapter 4

Mrs. Antonelli, Angela, as most people knew her, grabbed her coat off the high coat rack and her keys off the counter and went out to the garage to her Bentley to drive over to Mrs. Davis’ to pick up the children. She was not a cold person but she was anxious about having to take care of three children. She never could have any of her own though she and her husband had tried for many years until she knew it was not to be. She didn’t know if she could do this but to refuse would be inhumane since Mrs. Davis was going to the hospital and had no one to take care of the children. She would just have to do her best, and soon their mother would be back in good health.

Angela pulled into the drive next to the ambulance and ran up to the door as the EMTs rolled out a stretcher with Mrs. Davis. She moved aside and went into the house and was met by Dr. Harvey. Behind him stood three little waifs who looked scared, lost and so sad. She noticed they had all been recently crying which touched her deeply. She wanted to wrap her arms around them and tell them it was going to be all right. But she found that she couldn’t move and didn’t until Dr. Harvey brought her out of her stupor.

“Mrs. Antonelli, please come it. Let me introduce you to the children – Clarinda, Andrew, and Brenda. They have been looking forward to meeting you and staying with you until their mother is well.”

Dr. Harvey leaned forward and whispered out of earshot of the children, “Thank you, Mrs. Antonelli, for doing this. It means the world to me and to Mrs. Davis. Clarinda will pack up some clothes and things for herself and her siblings and be ready to leave shortly. Now I need to follow the ambulance and get to the hospital to take care of Mrs. Davis. Thank you again, Mrs. Antonelli. It is wonderful of you to do this. I will contact you to see how the children are doing in a day or so. Take care children and be good for Mrs. Antonelli.”

Mrs. Antonelli turned to look at Clarinda but was at a loss for words as she watched the tears flowing from the ten-year-olds’ eyes. It hurt her deeply to see the child in such torment. She offered Clarinda her handkerchief to wipe her tears and watched as the child composed herself and put on a strong front for her siblings who looked on with frightened faces. They were just babies, thought Angela. What was she taking on? Could she do this?

Angela waved at the little ones, put her hands out to them and they came forward and grabbed onto her fingers as they were visibly trembling from everything going on around them. Angela could see they were confused, frightened and missed their mother. She waited at the door with the children holding tightly to her fingers as Clarinda came back with her hands full of clothes and a few ragged stuffed animals. She rummaged around in the kitchen for a plastic bag in which to put their clothes and two stuffed animals.

I hope you are enjoying this story and stay tuned for the next two chapters coming soon.

Thank you so much for stopping by to read this post and for your continued support. Please keep the reviews coming! They are what keep me writing! Merry Christmas!

Blessings & Hugs! Stay Safe, Stay Well and God Bless!

READING GIVES YOU WINGS TO FLY! SOAR WITH JEMSBOOKS ALL YEAR THROUGH! HAPPY READING!

Janice Spina aka J.E. Spina

Award-Winning Author

Jemsbooks for All Ages!

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