CHAPTER THREE
Reaching inside the small shoe box, Lindy withdrew the next letter. Unfolding it, she spread the paper out on the table and read aloud.
Dear Santa,
Thank you for my daddy. Mommy has a baby in her tummy, and I would like a baby sister and Rollerblades.
Lindy
“I got my Rollerblades, but I didn’t get my sister. Instead, we got Chad.”
“I don’t think you were disappointed, though,” her mother reminded her.
“No. The way I figured it, Santa knew what he was doing when he sent Chad. I remember Dad taking me to the hospital to see him. I had to stand on my tippy-toes to look into the nursery. The instant I set eyes on him I knew in my heart of hearts that deep down I really wanted a little brother.” Santa had come through after all.
From the time her parents brought Chad home from the hospital, Lindy had doted on him. She couldn’t bear to hear him cry and did whatever she could to entertain him. Although there was a six-year difference in their ages, Lindy and Chad had developed a special bond that continued to this day.
“I don’t know that I can wait until Thursday to see him,” Lindy said. Her brother and his small family came regularly for dinner Thursday night, which was her brother’s day off from the warehouse.
“Ashley is only working part-time, so I’m sure if you give her a call, you’ll be able to connect.”
“Will do.” Lindy couldn’t wait to see her brother and Ashley, although her nephew, Peter, was the real draw. That kid had had her heart from the first moment she’d held him in her arms. He’d gazed up at her and their eyes had linked. From then on, Lindy was a lost cause.
Chad and Ashley had married young. Chad had told Lindy he knew right away that Ashley would one day be his wife. Even as a teenager, Ashley said she felt the same about Chad. Without question, he was the one for her. If Lindy didn’t love them so much, she could almost be jealous.
Intrigued now, she reached into the box for the next letter, opening it and setting it down on the table beside the other two.
Her printing had gotten much better, she noticed. “I wrote this when I was seven,” she said, reading it aloud.
Dear Santa,
I’m glad I got a brother instead of a sister. Chad is cute when he isn’t crying. I like my Rollerblades, too. I go out every day when it doesn’t rain. I want a Magic Marker pen set and a fashion Barbie this year. Oh, and you should give Billy Kincade coal. He’s mean. He pulls my hair at school and chases me at recess.
Lindy
Lindy looked up at her mother when she finished reading the letter. “As I recall, I got my wish that year.”
“Yes, you did,” her mother said. “And you colored until your fingers were every shade of the rainbow.”
“What I remember is Chad grabbing my masterpiece and shoving it into his mouth before anyone could stop him.”
Memories rolled past her like scenes on a silent movie screen. She vividly remembered Billy Kincade and how much she disliked him. He’d been a year or two ahead of her in school. Not a day passed when he didn’t find some way to torment her. Once he even stole her homework. At recess, he made a point of chasing her. To her, he was the meanest boy in school.
Lindy didn’t remember writing Santa about him. At the mention of his name, thoughts of Billy Kincade were fresh in her mind.
“Whatever happened to Billy?” her mother asked.
Lindy didn’t have a clue. “I don’t remember him beyond second grade. He must have transferred to another school.” As far as she was concerned, good riddance. She hadn’t thought about him since grade school.
“I remember you complained about him,” her mother recalled. “I ended up going to the school principal to find out what the deal was.”
“You did?” Maybe that was the reason Billy had transferred schools, not that she cared. Lindy was simply happy to have him out of her life.
“Dad came with me and spoke to Billy privately. Afterward, your father said he felt the reason Billy paid you all that attention was because he had a crush on you.”
“If that’s true, then he had a curious way of showing it.”
“Boys are difficult to understand. It was likely something happening in his home life. Maybe he was attracted to you and didn’t know how to show it.”
“Save me from boys who have a crush on me, then,” Lindy said, thinking of Brian. Nothing had changed through the years, as far as she could tell.
One last letter remained. Lindy was eight at the time.
Dear Santa,
My friend Peggy has a bicycle with tassels and a basket with a flower in the front. Can you bring me one just like hers?
Thank you.
Lindy
Her handwriting had greatly improved by then, she noticed. A smile was hard to hold back as she set aside the letter.
“What’s so funny?” her mother asked.
“By eight, I knew Santa was all fun. I wrote that letter so you and Dad knew what I really wanted for Christmas.”
“And you got your wish, didn’t you?”
“I did, and I loved that bike. Peggy and I rode all over the neighborhood on our twin bikes.”
Her mother focused her attention on Lindy. “Have you noticed a pattern here?” she asked, glancing down at the letters.
Lindy’s eyes followed her mother’s. “Well, other than Santa answering my Christmas wishes, not really.” She certainly didn’t see anything of significance. While interesting and fun to review, these were nothing more than childish letters.
“Look again,” her mother advised.
Lindy glanced down at the four letters in front of her. “What am I supposed to be looking for?” she asked.
“You don’t see it, do you?”
Obviously, she didn’t.
“When I read your letters,” her mother continued, “I noticed nearly everything you asked Santa to bring you, he did. Not always in the way you wanted, but in a way that was better.”
Looking over her scribbles, Lindy frowned. “Mom, come on. You and Dad got me all the gifts I wanted.”
“To be fair, yes, but remember, you wanted a dad, and Santa sent Phil to our front door on Christmas Day.”
“True enough.” She couldn’t deny it. She’d gotten the daddy she’d asked for, along with a brother. And Billy Kincade had disappeared after she told Santa he deserved coal for Christmas. Plus, she got her own bicycle, the one with pink tassels on the handlebars. She’d ridden it into the ground. While she might not have gotten the sister she requested, she willingly forgave Santa. What she did get was a friend her own age in Peggy.
“You know what I think?” her mother said.
“My guess is that you’re going to tell me.”
“I think you need to write Santa another letter.”
“What? Come on, Mom, don’t you think I’m a bit old to believe in Santa Claus?”
Her mother shook her head. “The word you need to seriously consider is believe.”
Her words gave Lindy pause. She’d been in an emotional rut for so long, it was hard to look at the positive in any situation. Reading those old letters had been fun and they reminded her that at one time she had believed with all her heart. She’d looked forward to each Christmas with happy anticipation, knowing her wishes would be granted.
“After hearing everything that’s been going on in your life with Brian and Celeste, plus Media Blast, writing Santa might not be such a bad idea. Maybe a letter letting him know what you’d like most this Christmas is exactly what you need to do. And write it with the same trust you had as a child.”
It sounded silly for someone her age to be writing Santa.
“Lindy?” her mother prompted.
“I’ll think on it,” she said, not wanting to dampen her mother’s enthusiasm, and at the same time, finding the suggestion completely ridiculous. She struggled to believe in the magic of Christmas. If anyone learned she’d followed through with such an outrageous idea, she’d be embarrassed.
Later that same afternoon, Lindy helped her mother prepare dinner. Peeling potatoes, she found herself mulling over the silly Santa letters she’d penned as a kid. Her mother was right about one thing. She needed to believe that everything happened for a reason.
She was glad Brian had shown his true colors before their relationship went any further. Although difficult, Celeste should have been honest with her. It would have hurt, but not nearly as much as discovering their betrayal the way she had.
In retrospect, Lindy had to wonder how long they’d hid their affair. Weeks, surely. Weeks before her move, Lindy noticed changes in Brian before Celeste. He didn’t call as often, and when they did get together, he seemed distracted. She’d attributed his lack of attentiveness to any number of factors. To be fair to herself, with her work struggles, her mind had been preoccupied.
In contrast, Celeste was her normal cheery self; she hadn’t given anything away. It stunned Lindy how naïve she’d been, how trusting. When confronted, Celeste had nothing to say and Lindy didn’t seem to, either. After those first awkward minutes, Celeste blurted out that she was sorry. Lindy didn’t stick around to hear anything more. She’d left, and they hadn’t spoken since, and that had been months ago.
Losing her best friend had been a major blow. They’d been as close as sisters, Lindy thought. Best friends. They’d done everything together for so long that losing Celeste was like missing her right arm. But friends, true friends, didn’t betray each other.
If Lindy were to write Santa, which she had no intention of doing, she’d ask for a new best friend. She’d also ask him to send her a new love interest. One with character and substance. A man with integrity. She wasn’t so much interested in tall, dark, and handsome. Brian had been all three. Looks didn’t matter nearly as much as what was going on inside his heart. A man with heart. In thinking about it, she wasn’t sure Santa or anyone else would be able to grant Lindy her wish.