Read Online One Imperfect Christmas by Myra Johnson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Myra Johnson
Tags: Fiction, Contemporary Women
Ads: Link
dinner, not even his family status as Lissa's father seemed adequate justification for intruding on what was bound to be an evening of painful reminders for the entire Morgan clan.
A knock on the office door pulled him from his thoughts. Carl slid off the chair and opened it to a sweaty kid in a basketball jersey. “Hey, Jason. What's up?”
The team captain stuck his carrot-top through the opening and sought out Daniel. “You comin' out, Coach?”
Daniel rubbed his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, sorry, Jason. Be right there.”
“Stay put.” Carl waved a hand toward Daniel. “I'll cover for you. You got more important stuff on your plate.” He edged Jason out the door and closed it behind them.
What exactly Carl thought he could do about this “stuff on his plate,” he wasn't sure. On the other hand, he couldn't abide the idea of sitting here and doing nothing. There'd been too many months of feeling helpless and “doing nothing” since Natalie had shut him out of her life. Somehow he had to make her understand how much he wanted to be with her today—how much he wanted to be with her always.
An idea surfaced. He tugged open a squeaky desk drawer and searched beneath loose newspaper clippings and random paperwork for the phonebook. Riffling through the Yellow Pages, he found the number of a local florist and keyed in the number on his cell phone.
“I need to order a birthday bouquet. Something really nice. Can you do red roses?” He gave the address for Natalie's apartment.
He heard the youthful clerk slurp something from a straw. “How do you want the card signed?”
He tossed around several alternatives, none of which seemed appropriate, considering how long they'd been apart. The best he could come up with was: Thinking of you. Daniel.
Taking advantage of some quiet time in his office, he checked the pop quizzes from this afternoon's history class and entered the scores in the grade book. When the final bell sounded, he gathered up his things and drove around to the front of the school to meet Lissa.
As they drove home, he broached the subject of Natalie's birthday dinner. “About tonight, Liss, why don't I drop you at the farm around six? You can give me a call when—”
He felt her gaze slash through the space between them. “What do you mean, drop me off? Aren't you coming too?”
“Not a good idea, sweetie. I don't want to make your mom uncomfortable—especially today.”
“I can't believe you, Dad! Mom's birthday, and you're not going? What's wrong with you?”
He felt like both his heart and his ego had been run over by a semi. His fingers bit into the steering wheel, and he willed himself not to lose his temper.
“Try to understand, Lissa. You know how easy it is for your mom and me to get into an argument. Why would I want to risk spoiling her birthday?”
“That's just an excuse. You won't go because you're scared.”
“I am scared, yes. I'm scared of upsetting your mom when she's already so vulnerable.”
Lissa's voice turned shaky. “But Mom needs you, Dad. If you would just try , I know you could help make her feel better about Grandma, and Christmas, and just everything .”
He wished that were true. He'd lost count of how many sleepless nights he'd spent agonizing about his wife and his marriage. And these days he couldn't seem to communicate any better with his daughter.
“Don't push it, Lissa,” he finally told her as he drove through the ivied entrance to Putnam's Deer Creek apartment complex. Finding himself at an utter loss, he stated his intentions as simply as he knew how. “My decision is final. I told you, I'll drive you out and pick you up afterward, but I'm not staying.”
She crossed her arms and glared out the side window. “If you aren't going, I'm not going either.”
“Aw, come on, Liss.” He swerved the Bronco into a parking space next to building three and
A knock on the office door pulled him from his thoughts. Carl slid off the chair and opened it to a sweaty kid in a basketball jersey. “Hey, Jason. What's up?”
The team captain stuck his carrot-top through the opening and sought out Daniel. “You comin' out, Coach?”
Daniel rubbed his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, sorry, Jason. Be right there.”
“Stay put.” Carl waved a hand toward Daniel. “I'll cover for you. You got more important stuff on your plate.” He edged Jason out the door and closed it behind them.
What exactly Carl thought he could do about this “stuff on his plate,” he wasn't sure. On the other hand, he couldn't abide the idea of sitting here and doing nothing. There'd been too many months of feeling helpless and “doing nothing” since Natalie had shut him out of her life. Somehow he had to make her understand how much he wanted to be with her today—how much he wanted to be with her always.
An idea surfaced. He tugged open a squeaky desk drawer and searched beneath loose newspaper clippings and random paperwork for the phonebook. Riffling through the Yellow Pages, he found the number of a local florist and keyed in the number on his cell phone.
“I need to order a birthday bouquet. Something really nice. Can you do red roses?” He gave the address for Natalie's apartment.
He heard the youthful clerk slurp something from a straw. “How do you want the card signed?”
He tossed around several alternatives, none of which seemed appropriate, considering how long they'd been apart. The best he could come up with was: Thinking of you. Daniel.
Taking advantage of some quiet time in his office, he checked the pop quizzes from this afternoon's history class and entered the scores in the grade book. When the final bell sounded, he gathered up his things and drove around to the front of the school to meet Lissa.
As they drove home, he broached the subject of Natalie's birthday dinner. “About tonight, Liss, why don't I drop you at the farm around six? You can give me a call when—”
He felt her gaze slash through the space between them. “What do you mean, drop me off? Aren't you coming too?”
“Not a good idea, sweetie. I don't want to make your mom uncomfortable—especially today.”
“I can't believe you, Dad! Mom's birthday, and you're not going? What's wrong with you?”
He felt like both his heart and his ego had been run over by a semi. His fingers bit into the steering wheel, and he willed himself not to lose his temper.
“Try to understand, Lissa. You know how easy it is for your mom and me to get into an argument. Why would I want to risk spoiling her birthday?”
“That's just an excuse. You won't go because you're scared.”
“I am scared, yes. I'm scared of upsetting your mom when she's already so vulnerable.”
Lissa's voice turned shaky. “But Mom needs you, Dad. If you would just try , I know you could help make her feel better about Grandma, and Christmas, and just everything .”
He wished that were true. He'd lost count of how many sleepless nights he'd spent agonizing about his wife and his marriage. And these days he couldn't seem to communicate any better with his daughter.
“Don't push it, Lissa,” he finally told her as he drove through the ivied entrance to Putnam's Deer Creek apartment complex. Finding himself at an utter loss, he stated his intentions as simply as he knew how. “My decision is final. I told you, I'll drive you out and pick you up afterward, but I'm not staying.”
She crossed her arms and glared out the side window. “If you aren't going, I'm not going either.”
“Aw, come on, Liss.” He swerved the Bronco into a parking space next to building three and
Similar Books
