Here are the next two chapters to read of my short story which is part of a short story collection in the book, An Angel Among Us. This is an eclectic collection of 15 short stories that have a twist and end with a surprise. I hope you will check out this book soon for more entertaining stories.

This story will surely put you in the Christmas spirit of giving. Blessings of Christmas to you and yours.

Chapter 7

Angela put down the phone and continued making dinner, mac and cheese, chicken fingers and mixed veggies. She wanted to make sure the kids got their veggies too. She heard the sound of feet coming up behind her and looked down to see the sweet faces of Brenda and Andrew and close behind was Clarinda. They were looking at the food with such longing that she told them to go wash their hands and faces and come sit down to eat. They hurried along to the bathroom that had been pointed out to them earlier and came back and sat down before Angela could turn back around with the food in hand.

The children were sitting down with napkins tucked under their chins and forks in hand waiting expectantly for their much coveted dinner. Angela placed a plate full of food in front of each child and stepped back. Clarinda jumped up and ran over to her sister’s side and began cutting up her chicken and then moved over to Andrew’s and did the same for him. Angela watched in awe as this young girl acted as if she was their mother. Once she had taken care of her sibling’s needs she sat down and began to eat her own food.

The children were so hungry that they ate too fast at first and began to choke. Clarinda jumped up once again to aid her siblings and told them to slow down and chew their food carefully. Angela sat at the other end of the table and watched as the children finished every last morsel in their dishes and drank every drop of their milk.

Angela asked them, “Would you like more food or milk?”

“No, we are fine, thank you, Mrs. Antonelli. It was very good.” Clarinda turned to her siblings and said, “Say ‘thank you’ to Mrs. Antonelli, Brenda and Andrew.”

“Tank you,” said Brenda.

“Thank you,” replied Andrew who smiled showing some chicken still stuck in his teeth.

Angela had to keep herself busy and grabbed the plates off the table to prevent her eyes from filling and spilling over in front of the children. She mumbled, “You are welcome, children.”

Leonard had walked in quietly and had witnessed this unbeknownst to his wife and suddenly cleared his throat to get her attention. She rushed over to hug him and then introduced him to the children. They stood up and looked at him not sure what to do or say.

Clarinda broke the silence by saying, “Hello, Mr. Antonelli, nice to meet you. Thank you for letting us stay in your home.” She walked over to Leonard and extended her small hand in greeting.

Leonard was a loss for words and just reached over and shook her hand and smiled at her as she looked up at him with the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen besides his wife’s, that is.

Clarinda brought her brother and sister in turn over to Mr. Antonelli and they both shake his hand too. Leonard just wiped his eyes and smiled and said, “It is a real pleasure to meet all of you too. I hope you enjoy staying with us as much as I am sure we will enjoy you being here.”

Angela finished up the dishes and told Leonard that she was going to put the children to bed upstairs in the three guest rooms. They had five bedrooms and four bathrooms which they had hoped one day to fill. Now at least they would be using three of them. The children followed Angela up the long winding staircase to begin their unexpected stay at this big strange house.

When they were situated in their rooms Clarinda requested that they all stay in the same room since there were two beds in each spacious room which was more than enough for the three of them. She didn’t want to be separated from her siblings and they too would not do well too far away from her either.  Once Brenda’s head hit the pillow she was off as well as Andrew. It was the first time they had full stomachs at bedtime. Once she was sure they were asleep she allowed herself to snuggle down under the warm, soft comforter and she, too, fell fast asleep.

Angela peeked in at them and tucked them all in and gave each a peck on the cheek. She shut off the light but not before looking fondly at each sweet face in the beds. She felt such a longing and a tightness in her chest that she thought she was having a heart attack. She realized that it was pure joy at finally having children in her home, something that she had always wanted.

Chapter 8

Angela flew downstairs to her husband and rushed into his arms as her tears fell onto his shoulder. He held her tightly and said, “Whatever happens, sweetheart, I promise you that we will adopt a child once these children go back to their mother. I see now how much you need to have a child and, I have to admit, I need one too. These three are very precious aren’t they?”

“I pray that their mother recovers and can take care of them. I wanted to talk to you about that. Do you think she will mind if we give each child a share of our trust so that they can have enough to eat, clothes to wear and be able to get a good education one day. Maybe we can give them the best Christmas they ever had this year.”

“Tomorrow we will go out and start Christmas shopping for the children and decorate the house and get a tree and…… Oh, Leonard, I have never felt happier in my life all due to poor Mrs. Davis’ getting sick. I pray that she will be well soon. In the meantime we will give her children a home with us and do all we can to help her by paying all her bills in the hospital and on her house. No one should have to live as she did. Maybe she would like to live here with us. We certainly have enough room for everyone. We have so much to give and we need so little for ourselves. Up until now I didn’t feel like celebrating Christmas and hadn’t even bothered to put up the tree. But now with these lovely children I want to go all out and decorate from top to bottom.”

“Yes, my darling, whatever your heart desires we will do. It is such a joy to see you so happy. But let’s take it one day at a time. We don’t want Mrs. Davis to feel as if we are trying to take over. She may want to go to her own home when she is well.

The ringing of the phone startled them as they were lost in their plans. Leonard went to pick it up and raised his hand for Angela to come closer as she heard him say, “Yes, Dr. Harvey, the children are doing fine. They are all tucked in bed and sound asleep. How is Mrs. Davis doing? Do you know when she will be returning home yet?”

Dr. Harvey explained, “She is very sick but is coming around now and is taking fluids. I hope to see her feeling better by tomorrow in case you want to bring the children by for a little while. They will have to wear masks when they visit with her. We don’t want them getting sick too. She asked for them as soon as she was awake. I told her that you and your wife were taking care of them. She was very pleased and said to tell you ‘thank you very much for your kindness.’”

“Yes, we were just discussing that. We want to bring the children by on Christmas Day so they can celebrate the day with their mother. I will bring a dinner for all of us if you care to join us. Will the hospital allow us to do that?”

“I will make sure they do. Don’t you worry about that, Mr. Antonelli. I have a lot of pull around here. Mrs. Davis will be very happy to hear this. It will give her an extra day to recuperate and rest more. This is very gracious of both of you. Thank you. Well, I just wanted to check in on the children. Have to get back to rounds. Hope you both have a good evening and thank you again. Goodnight.”

“You are very welcome, Dr. Harvey. Goodnight.” Leonard hung up the phone and turned to his wife and nodded. “It is all set we can go visit on Christmas. The children will be so happy.”

“I am happy too.” Angela smiled and twirled around as she felt her heart swell with all the joy that was bubbling up inside her.

I hope you are enjoying this story and will tune in again for more.

Thank you so much for stopping by to read this post. Wishing you and yours a blessed Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!

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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