“I do, I do. But can’t we watch just one—”
“No arguments,” Suzanna cut in. “Grandma said early to bed, and that’s that.”
Annie delayed it for as long as she could, but after she and Ida disappeared up the stairs, Suzanna breathed a sigh of relief. “I think that’s the last we’ll see of them tonight, but we’d better wait fifteen or twenty minutes to be sure.”
Gregg grinned. “I think we can manage to kill some time. Why don’t you pour us a glass of wine while I get a fire started?”
They sat side by side on the sofa, and a tingle of excitement settled in Suzanna’s chest as she spoke of how she knew this was going to be the best Christmas ever for both Ida and Annie. The minutes ticked by and after the house had settled into the quiet sounds of slumber, Gregg pulled on a jacket and went behind the garage to haul in a Frazier fir that was considerably taller than he was.
“Big enough?” he asked.
With a grin that stretched the full width of her face, Suzanna nodded.
While he was setting up the tree, she carried in the packages hidden in the trunk of the car. That afternoon she’d retraced yesterday’s walk through the Emporium and gathered up the Christmas ornaments that Ida had so lovingly admired. She’d also bought seven strings of colored lights, two boxes of icicles, and a string of glitter garland. While Gregg was twining the lights through the branches of the tree, she switched on the radio and found a station playing Christmas carols.
As they unpacked the boxes and hung the ornaments, Suzanna was reminded of that last Christmas she’d had with her mama. She was nine years old at the time, tall for her age, but not tall enough to reach the top of the tree. Too weak to stand, her mama sat in the chair, saying what a good job Suzanna was doing. When she went to bed that night, the only thing left to do was place the star atop the tree.
Don’t worry about it, her mama said, your daddy can do that when he gets home.
That night he’d come home drunk, knocked the tree over, and cussed up a storm about him having to do everything. That had been the last tree she’d had. Until now.
Standing atop the ladder, Gregg straightened the star and smiled down. “How’s that?”
She looked up at him and saw a beautiful future. She would forget all that had happened before. For her and for Annie, there would be now and the years ahead. Annie’s life would be different than hers. Annie would have a loving grandmother and a daddy who climbed the ladder and set the star atop the tree.
“It’s perfect,” she said, her voice quavering with emotion.
Bobby Doherty
Remembering Suzanna
GEORGIA TECH WAS BATTLING PENN State when the telephone rang. It was the second quarter, and Galen Hall had just completed a pass for the second Penn State touchdown.
Ticked off because the Yellow Jackets failed to stop Hall, Bobby turned toward the kitchen and yelled, “Get the phone, Brenda, I’m busy!”
The ringing stopped, and he watched Penn State go for the point after. As the ball split the uprights, his wife hollered, “Pick it up, it’s your brother!”
He lifted the receiver and grumbled, “I’m watching the Gator Bowl. What do you want?”
“Don’t rush me, big brother, I’ve got a blast from the past, and it’s one you’re gonna want to hear about.”
“Can the crap, Eddie, I want to get back to—”
“Okay, okay. Remember that chick you had a thing for in high school? Well, I saw her in a fashion show, and she’s looking pretty damn good.”
“In a fashion show? JoJo Pepper?”
“Not her, the other one. Tall, blond hair, long legs, used to wear those cut-off shorts.”
“Oh, you mean Suzanna Duff.”
“Un-uh. This girl has got a double name, you know, like Sally Mae, Donna Sue, something like that.”
“I never dated anyone with a double name.”
“Trust me, this chick is not one you’d forget. Even then she was a looker. You guys broke up just before graduation and—”
“That was Suzanna Duff.”
“Yeah, well, her name ain’t Suzanna Duff anymore. Weekend before last, Christine dragged me to another one her mom’s country club fashion show events, and your ex-girlfriend was one of the models.”
“Get out! Where?”
“Georgia. Barston. It about 80 miles—”
“I know where Barston is,” Bobby snapped. “But I gotta tell you, that doesn’t sound like the Suzanna Duff I knew. Yeah, she was beautiful, and sexy as all get out, but…”
He hesitated, searching for the right word or phrase. How could he describe a girl like Suzanna? She had a uniqueness that drew him to her. There were times when he felt that he’d touched the inside of her heart, and other times when such a thing seemed impossible. It was almost like she hid her feelings behind a protective wall, one with a huge crack in it.
“She was always kind of guarded,” he finally said. “Kept to herself; sort of a loner. Not someone I can see being comfortable in front of a crowd.”
“Well, I’m positive it was her, and she certainly doesn’t seem like a loner now. She was the star of the show. She’s got this cute little girl who—”
“She’s got a kid?” The last conversation he’d had with Suzanna flashed through Bobby’s mind. The one where she’d turned him down when he offered to help with money for an abortion. “How old’s the girl?”
“How am I supposed to know?” Eddie laughed. “She’s a kid; seven, maybe eight.”
Bobby felt a ripple of anxiety flutter across his chest. Impossible, he thought. Not after all this time. It was one of those things you hoped for but knew would never happen. Suzanna here in Georgia? Not likely.
“What makes you so sure it was her?”
“It’s her,” Eddie said and chuckled. “I had a huge crush on
