Alone Together

Carol Watt gazed from the front window of the broken-down bungalow she called home. Thick, dark clouds hung low, making the early winter dusk feel darker, heavier, more oppressive. Icy rain poured from the sky and brutal wind screamed along the eaves of the Watt’s small home.

In the corner of the living room, a small, scraggly Christmas tree glowed. Christmas had passed a few days prior, but Carol had left the tree. She had promised her daughter Glory that she wouldn’t pack it away until her father had come home, until they’d gotten to celebrate Christmas together.

Carol turned towards the Christmas tree. Beneath its glowing boughs lay Glory’s gift: new art supplies, unwrapped but untouched. For months, Glory had kindly implored for a new set of pens and a sketch pad, even as pages filled and pens ran dry from her old set. For months, amid tight finances, a move across hundreds of miles, and a transition to a whole new lifestyle, Carol had had to say no. Glory had taken it in stride, flipping pages over to craft her latest work in any open space, and making do with cheap pens from the library or the local bank that were intended for scrawling signatures rather than for creating works of beauty.

Emotionally, Carol still hadn’t quite settled into Greening Pines, but financially she had started to. Paychecks had at last started to come in from her husband Evan’s grueling job as a long haul truck driver. A week before Christmas, Carol had finally collected the funds to secure a sketchbook and pens for Glory for Christmas. Glory had been overjoyed on Christmas morning to have her supplies replenished, but by Christmas night, Glory had fallen ill.

The crackling of gravel in the driveway brought Carol’s attention back to the window. A familiar car had pulled into the driveway. Dian Cole dashed from the passenger seat and deposited a stash of tote bags at Carol’s front door. She smiled and waved to Carol through the window before darting back through the driving rain to her car.

As the Coles drove away, Carol thought of their kindness. They had invited her and Glory, newcomers to Greening Pines, to the town’s annual Christmas Eve celebration. Carol had been reluctant to attend, preferring rather the comforting inertia of her solitary lifestyle since moving to Greening Pines. It was Glory’s persistence, the incessant begging of a child in search of Christmas wonder, that had persuaded Carol to attend. Little did Carol know that a night of holiday festivities would gain her a few dear friends.

Carol had thought that Christmas Day would be spent alone, just her and Glory, likely watching old Christmas movies over some cheap mac n’ cheese. She was given quite the Christmas surprise when Dian, her husband Matthew, and their two daughters showed up on Christmas Day bearing a full holiday feast. At the end of the meal, the Coles had invited Carol to their house for a New Year’s Eve party. For the first time in a long time, Carol had something to look forward to again.

The same tote bags that had sat full of sustenance on Carol’s kitchen table on Christmas Day now waved wildly on the front porch in the wintry gale. Carol snatched open the front door. She scooped up the bags as icy wind stung her skin. Carol wrestled the door shut against the howling gust and rushed the bags of bounty to her kitchen counter.

A silver envelope peeked out of the top of one of one of the bags. Carol opened it and read the card inside.

Carol,

We’re sorry to hear that Glory is sick. We’ve packed up some food and supplies for you and for her. We hope she feels better soon.

Your friends,

The Cole Family

A small smile crossed Carol’s face, her heart warmed by the generosity of her newfound friends as she put away the supplies that had been tucked into the bags. Carol shelved soups in her kitchen cupboards and set cold medicine aside to be stored in the bathroom cabinet. The smile faded from her face as she realized that she could no longer look forward to going to the Coles’ house for New Year’s Eve. She would indeed spend the holiday alone. Moreover, motherly worry for the sake of Glory nagged at her soul.

A barrage of coughing echoed down the dark hallway from the bungalow’s back bedroom. Carol scrambled towards the sound. She fumbled for the switch on the lamp just inside Glory’s bedroom. At last the lamp bathed the room in a soft blue glow. Glory hunched on the side of the bed, her merciless, hacking cough barely allowing her a breath.

Carol rushed to her daughter’s side. “Glory! Are you alright?”

After another particularly long cough, Glory answered, “Yeah, Mom.” She paused, panting to catch her breath. “The cough just woke me up.”

Carol looked at the time. She covered her face with her hand. Nine O’clock. Glory had been due for medicine an hour before.

”I’m sorry, sweetheart!” Carol apologized. She hurried to the bathroom and returned with a dose of cherry flavored cough syrup.

Glory took the dose cup and drank the medicine down. “Not your fault, mom. I heard you talking to Mrs. Dian on the phone a while ago. I know you were waiting for her.”

Glory laid back down and pulled her covers close. She smiled up at her mom who still perched nervously on the edge of her bed. “I’ll be fine, Mom. Don’t worry about me.”

Carol lingered until Glory had again fallen asleep. She wandered back to her kitchen. Wind gusted and the roof rattled as shingles tore away. The odious spatter of rain water splashed on the kitchen’s tile floor as the ceiling sprung a leak. Carol grumbled as she grabbed a pail from beneath the kitchen sink. She huffed as she positioned the pail to contain the leak.

Carol stalked into the living room and sunk into the worn cushions of her couch. She pulled out her phone. No new notifications awaited, still she re-read her text messages. She gazed at the one from earlier in the day. It was a message from Evan. He had stated that he would be getting home at least a week later than expected.

Subconsciously, Carol rolled the crystal pendant that hung from her neck between her fingers. Evan had found it in his travels and sent it to her for Christmas. It’s packaging still sat beneath the Christmas tree, next to Glory’s art supplies. Within the packaging was a letter from Evan.

Carol knelt next to the Christmas tree. She had read her husband's letter on Christmas morning, but now, by the light of the Christmas tree, she read it again. In the letter, Evan explained that he had bought the pendant at a local jeweler’s during his travels. The jeweler had explained that the crystal signified courage and strength. Evan had written that those were two qualities that Carol had displayed flawlessly over the past difficult months. He went on to say that though they had spent Christmas apart and alone, that in their hearts they were together. Evan charged Carol to remain courageous and strong in hopes that soon they could all be together for real.

Carol brushed her fingers along the pendant once again. She watched it sparkle and watched her reflection in the mirror-like glaze of a golden Christmas ornament. In that moment—despite the howling wind and the pounding rain, despite the persistent drumming of the roof leak dripping into her kitchen, despite Evan working hundreds of miles away, and despite Glory spending the holidays sick in bed— despite it all seeming like too much to take, Carol Watt determined to continue to be courageous and be strong.