An Evergreen Christmas

  “Well, uh, okay,” she said.

  Mrs. Shale scooted into the wheelchair. She held her purse and bag on her lap while the volunteer adjusted the footrests, and then gingerly placed her feet onto them.

  “My name is Charley...Charley Donahue,” he said.

  “Maureen Shale.”

  “Ah, a hearty Irish name.”

  Holly smiled watching Mrs. Shale blush.

  “Born O'Malley,” she said.

  "O'Malley don't you say. I went to St. Catherine's High School with some O' Malleys."

  Mrs. Shale tapped the wheelchair's armrests. "I went to St. Catherine's High!"

  Charley leaned over and gazed at Mrs. Shale. “I thought you looked familiar. Maureen O’Malley! Of course! I sat next to you in Sister Clara’s mathematics class.”

  Mrs. Shale squinted at him. “Charley?”

  “The same ole kid with the cow lick,” he said.

  She squeezed his hand. “Oh my gosh.” Mrs. Shale glanced at Holly. “Can you believe this coincidence?”

  Holly shot her hands to her hips and smiled. “As my Aunt Mae would say, Kismet!”

  The wheels of wheelchair spun in an even rhythm, not too slow, not too fast, as Charley chauffeured Mrs. Shale to the hospital lobby.

  Noel jogged into the lobby, the back of his white lab coat wafting behind him. “I hope you two haven’t been waiting long.”

  “Nope. You’re right on time,” Holly said.

  Noel glanced at Charley’s nametag. “Hello. I’m Dr. Noel Shepherd, new surgeon here at Granite State. It’s nice to meet you…Charley Donahue.”

  “Likewise,” Charley said. “And if you ever need anything done or any patient services, I’m your man.”

  “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “I’ll get my car and swing around to the front,” Holly said. She took Noel’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Thanks so much for covering my team and my patients. The woman whom I inserted a port this morning should be going home. No one is critical in the house. Oh, how’s Ashley’s brother doing?”

  Noel cradled her hand. “He’s out of ICU and stable.”

  “I’m so glad.” She wanted to kiss him but this was hardly the appropriate time. She’d wait until tonight. “I’ll get Mrs. Shale settled in and then I’ll be back in time for Grand Rounds. Save me a seat.”

  “Absolutely. Go. Don’t worry. I’ve got everything covered, especially reserving a seat for you next to me in the auditorium.”

  He let her hand loose. Their fingers slowly slid apart.

  Noel breathed life into her. She half ran and half skipped to the doctor’s parking garage, not caring who saw her. Noel’s humming of “Oh Tannenbaum “from the other night still stuck in her head. Holly hummed a verse while pulling up to the hospital’s main entrance. Cutting the engine, she jumped out and helped Mrs. Shale into the front seat. Charley made sure she was securely fastened inside. Holly caught him slipping Mrs. Shale a note that she promptly pocketed into her purse. They waved to each other as Holly started the car and drove away.

  ***

  After giving Mrs. Shale a tour of her home, Holly led her to her room. Mrs. Shale sat on the mahogany sleigh bed and hugged her purse. What a coincidence that she and Charley sat next to one another in high school only to meet decades later! Kismet as Aunt Mae would say. These two were meant to cross paths. Sure that Charley snuck Mrs. Shale his number, Holly pointed out the telephone on the nightstand, twice, just in case.

  While placing Mrs. Shale’s belongings into a dresser drawer, Holly paused, her eyes wide open as the front door creaked open and then groaned closed. Her father never got around to lubricating the hinges. Now it reminded Holly of her dad when he returned from work every evening and the countless times she and he bolted in and out of that door during their Saturday outings, giggling about his procrastination despite her mother’s rattling of her honey do list as a constant reminder. Then her mother would throw her hands into the air and end up laughing with them. Her dad swore he’d get around to it after that Christmas. The door never got fixed. She wouldn’t do it now. She just couldn’t.

  “I’m here,” Aunt Mae called.

  “We’re in the blue room,” Holly called back.

  With its crème sateen Victorian wallpaper, eggshell white drapes, and patchwork quilt framed with red roses, nothing in that room related to any shade of blue. Her mother christened it the blue room while standing in front of the window, one day, gazing at the azure sky wrapping around the mountains. She said it simply came to her. Holly would catch her after coming home from school, leaning toward the window, palms splayed upon the sill, still in meditation, deep inhalations through her nose, long exhalations through her lips. She’d let her be, intrigued by her mother’s peaceful repose. In the spring, her mother would open the window and bask in the wafts of lilacs seeping into the room. As busy as her life was as a surgeon, Holly always opened the window in the blue room every spring, letting the sweet scent of lilac soothe her, her mother’s presence palpable at her side.

  Aunt Mae poked her head around the doorframe. “Hello.”

  Holly smiled at her aunt’s boisterous salutation. She hated to bolt off to the hospital so soon after bringing Mrs. Shale to her home but she had to get back to grand rounds. Noel was going to present his young patient with Crohn’s disease, his surgery, and his complicated post-operative course. Holly had to be there. Having assisted Noel in that case, she needed to be there to support his actions and to support him. Her aunt and Mrs. Shale contemporaries, Aunt Mae had bubbled over at spending an afternoon with Mrs. Shale. “Don’t you worry, dear,” she told Holly. “We’ll get along just fine. Does she like to quilt?” Before Holly could answer she had no clue, Aunt Mae pressed on, “Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ll show her. We’ll have a great time.”

  Holly waved to her aunt. “Come in, Aunt Mae. This is Mrs. Shale.”

  Her aunt tottered into the bedroom and took Mrs. Shale’s hands. “It’s so nice to meet you, and I’m so glad you’ll be staying here with Holly because she’s all alone in this big house.”

  Holly rolled her eyes.

  “I know this house forwards and backwards, “ Aunt Mae said. “ I’ll show you where everything is.”

  “Is that one of those portable quilt cases you have there?” Mrs. Shale asked.

  Aunt Mae beamed. “Yes, it is. You must be a quilter.”

  Mrs. Shale popped up from the bed. “Twenty-six years and at least fifty projects under my belt.”

  “Wow! You’ll have to give me some pointers.” Aunt Mae grabbed Mrs. Shale’s hand. “Come, we’ll sit in the living room. I’ll make us lunch. Then I’ll show you what I’m working on. Maybe we can take a ride over to the quilt shop later this afternoon.”

  “Oh, that would be wonderful.”

  The two women scurried towards the door.

  Holly stood frozen in the middle of the blue room, her eyebrows arched. “But, uh.”

  Aunt Mae turned to face her. “But what, dear?”

  “Perhaps Mrs. Shale would like to rest.”

  Aunt Mae looked at Mrs. Shale. Mrs. Shale shook her head. “See, she doesn’t want to rest.”

  “But.”

  Her aunt flicked her fingers at Holly. “Oh, posh. We’ll be just fine here, she and I. Go back to the hospital. And quit worrying. You’ll get wrinkles before your time.”

  Her aunt and Mrs. Shale, her aunt’s new best friend and quilting guru, giggled like schoolgirls all the way down the stairs. Holly paused in the bedroom. She wasn’t sure how she had been left behind by the two of them, but she got what she wanted, to see that Mrs. Shale was comfortable in her home. Holly nodded to herself. Mission accomplished.

  ***

  Holly strode past the hospital’s front desk. She straightened the lapels of her white lab coat before entering the auditorium. With Aunt Mae and Mrs. Shale’s busy bantering about which stitch is better, they hardly noticed Holly leaving the house. The tiers of the audi
torium seats were full: medical students at the rear, interns and residents filling the center, and attending physicians up front. Holly eased to the front row and sat next to Noel.

  “How did it go?” he asked.

  Holly shrugged. “They don’t need me.”

  Noel patted her knee and winked. “Aw! I need you.”

  Holly pressed her lips into a smile. Her stomach fluttered and her pulse bumped. Noel was everything she had always desired: smart, sexy, talented in the O.R. like she was, and he made her laugh. But was she ready for him in her life? She had gotten used to living alone, not having to hide her quirks. The clothes in her closet led a regimented life. She aligned her bunny slippers in perfect parallel at her bedside. The bristles of her toothbrush had to face right. Why? She had no clue. She’d done that since childhood. Her mother wasn’t overly fastidious, and her father was a mess cat when her mother wasn’t looking. Why was she the way she was? Hmm. She glanced at Noel who despite the Chief of the Surgical Department’s introduction of today’s topic tracked her from the corners of his eyes. She could hardly believe he’d be interested in her aside from a collegial point of view. No one had been in the past. She dated sparingly, men outside of medicine. Noel would break her pattern. Her heartbeat spiraled. Holly gripped the armrests of the auditorium seat. She was about to lean towards Noel to wish him well in his presentation when Noel stood and walked up to the podium.

  The medical crowd hushed as the Chief tapped on the microphone and announced Noel, signaling the beginning of Surgical Grand Rounds.

  Noel greeted his colleagues and while resting his hands on the podium, he began his presentation on Crohn’s disease. His speech flowed. Noel sailed through his dissertation. Holly tilted her head gradually from one side to another, peeking at the crowd without seeming obvious. She grinned. They were riveted. Even those ensconced in the nose bleed section of the auditorium stayed awake. Her chest swelled with pride. Noel raised his finger to the projectionist. Everyone’s eyes remained glued to the screen as Noel clicked slide after slide of his experience with Crohn’s disease. Then a picture of he and Holly operating together popped onto the screen. Her eyes widened. He didn’t tell her he was going to do that!

  “This particular case of the young man with extensive, and unrelenting Crohn’s disease was one of my most challenging surgeries. His post-operative course was rocky, requiring a brief transfer to the intensive care unit. As per my case slides, abdominal abscess, sepsis, pulmonary embolus, acute hemorrhage and wound infection were all ruled out. Anemic, he did receive two units of blood, one in the recovery room and one in ICU. His ileostomy was not draining adequately and after attention to this, the patient was transferred out of the ICU. His remaining course has been uneventful, and he’ll be home for Christmas. I’d like to acknowledge Dr. Holly Green for her skill in the operating room. Dr. Green’s experience and assistance in this surgery was the key to this patient’s successful outcome.”

  Noel motioned for Holly to stand. Applause echoed in the auditorium. Holly stood, turned around to face her colleagues, smiled, and nodded to them, and then faced Noel, giving him an extra bob of her head. He grinned back at her and concluded his presentation.

  The crowd rose from their seats and milled about, chatting with one another. Noel pumped down the stage steps and strode over to Holly. He raised his hands as if to embrace her, but stopped short.

  “How did I’d do?”

  He gazed at her, his eyes searching hers for approval.

  She straightened his tie and smiled. No one was looking anyway. They were busy in their own conversations. “Excellent.”

  Noel’s face pinked. “I’m good in the O.R., but I stink at knotting ties.”

  “You looked fine. She waggled her finger at him. “And you didn’t tell me I’d make it to the big screen!”

  Noel winked. “Surprise. You deserved the credit.”

  Holly shifted in her shoes. “Thanks.”

  Noel took her hand. “The drug reps brought pizza. Let’s go get a slice before the med students devour every pie.” Despite colleagues lingering after Grand Rounds, Holly didn’t pull away from Noel’s grip.

  They stood in the long line with other docs, a slice of pizza sometimes being the only meal they’d get on a busy night on call. Holly and Noel walked to a corner of the reception room, balancing their paper plates with pizza hanging over the edges. Noel stuffed the gooey cheese tip into his mouth and bit off a hearty chunk while Holly nibbled at the apex of hers, patting her lips with a white paper napkin between bites.

  “Hey, Green. You better get going on that pizza. You do remember that I’m picking you up at six tonight?”

  Holly took a more substantial bite. She could hardly wait to find out what Noel had planned, and teasingly kept secret from her.

  Noel trotted over to the table and grabbed an empty paper plate. Returning, he covered her pizza plate with it. “Check out rounds are done. Your patients are fine. Go home. Finish your pizza. I’ll see you at six.”

  “But.”

  “But what?”

  “But” was the only word she could get out of her mouth today.

  Noel placed his hand onto her upper back and gently prodded her toward the door. He waved to her. “Bye.”

  “All right. I’m going. I hope Mrs. Shale is doing well.”

  Noel tapped his finger at her. “Holly, has your aunt called you?”

  She shook her head.” No.”

  “So there you have it. They’re fine. Probably flitting about town. You worry too much. Go home. Get ready.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “It’s a surprise.”

  Darn! He still wasn’t going to tell her.

  She arched her eyebrows. “Another surprise?”

  “Why? Is there a quota?”

  Holly laughed softly. “No. I’ll be ready at six.”

  ***

  Holly swung into the parking space right in front of the jewelry store. She leapt over a snow bank and rocketed inside. Her heart sank. Mr. Moretti had already left for the day, but the woman behind the counter handed Holly the special gift Mr. Moretti had promised her. Clutching her chest, Holly happily sighed and wished the woman a Merry Christmas. She gently slid the small red box into her tote. Now to rush home and get ready for her mystery date with Noel. She eyed the pizza left over from Grand Rounds on the passenger seat. A quick dinner is exactly what she needed.

  Pulling into the driveway, Holly spotted tire tracks in the snow leading out to the street. Aunt Mae’s car was gone. Noel was right. They were indeed flitting about the town. Carrying her care package pizza in one hand, Holly unlocked the front door. She stomped the snow from her boots, strode into the kitchen, and set her post Grand Rounds pizza onto the kitchen table. Returning to the doorway, she slipped off her coat and boots, hanging her coat on the coat stand and lining her boots in parallel beneath it.

  “Mrs. Shale,” she called, just in case her aunt had gone on a solo errand.

  Holly waited a few seconds. No response. Her Aunt Mae had hijacked her guest. She shrugged, climbed the stairs, and pattered in her stockings to her bedroom where her bunny slippers awaited her. She slid her feet into them. “Ah!” Holly reached inside her bag and pulled out Noel’s present. She’d stash it inside her mom’s old hatbox. Holly kept it on a shelf in her closet hidden behind her hats and scarves. It still had her mom’s scent mixed with faded shades of “Shalimar” perfume, her mother’s favorite. Holly couldn’t part with it.

  Noel’s gift safely stored, Holly plopped down the stairs, shuffled into the kitchen, and poured herself a glass of soda. Sitting at the table alone, she drummed her fingers on the wooden table. Her tapping fingers were the sole sound in her empty home. With no one around to see her, Holly slurped the rest of her pizza, washing it down with the soda. Where are they? It’s dark already. She’d become the parent, her Aunt Mae and Mrs. Shale her wayward children. She’d just thrown the paper plate away and put the empty glass int
o the sink when she heard tires crunching over the snowy driveway. Pressing her lips tight, Holly marched toward the front door, stopped, and jabbed her hands to her hips, waiting to scold Aunt Mae and Mrs. Shale the second they strolled inside.

  Aunt Mae pushed the door open, clutching a shopping bag with its sides bulging. The women quit giggling.

  Holly narrowed her gaze. “Where have you been?”

  Her aunt blinked. “Out.”

  Holly rolled her eyes. “I can see that. Mrs. Shale just got out of the hospital and you’re dragging her around town.” She shook her head. “I called you to help get her settled.”

  Aunt Mae cocked her head. “And I’m doing that. I fixed us lunch. She took a nap. And then we went to the quilt shop for a whole 30 minutes. We’re planning to spend a nice evening quilting while you and Noel go out.” Aunt Mae glanced at the overstuffed bag. “And yes, I carried our purchases.”

  “We were only gone a half hour,” Mrs. Shale said. “I feel fine, dear, honestly. You worry too much.”

  “Another one telling me I worry too much.”

  “You do,” the women said in unison.

  “Come on, Maureen. Let’s put this bag in your room and let Holly get ready for her date.” Mrs. Shale waved and left for her room. Aunt Mae stroked Holly’s cheek. “Relax. Have a wonderful time with Noel. She’s okay. It’s good for her to keep busy, her husband, Martin, gone and all. You know how it is. But the two of you need to move on.” Holly frowned. “Don’t be like that. And Noel has such a nice evening planned for you.”

  Holly exhaled. “Okay.” Aunt Mae was right. She had to move on, and Noel was thankfully slowly inching her forward. Baby steps. That’s exactly what Holly needed. Baby steps.

  “I’ll tend to Mrs. Shale.” Her aunt pointed at her. “And you tend to yourself. Noel will soon come a calling.”

  Holly giggled at her aunt’s old fashioned, but quaint, quips. “Come a calling?”

  “Yes. That’s what they called it in my day, but regardless, romance hasn’t changed.”

  Holly grinned. “So, is someone going to be calling on you?”

  “Hmm. Maybe.”

  “Ooh, tell me more. What secrets have you been keeping?”

  “None of your bee’s wax.” Aunt Mae flicked her fingers. “Now scoot.”

  ***