Good Tidings (26 page)

He reached over her shoulder and rang the doorbell. A young woman answered the door. “You must be Mary O’Reilly and you’re Chief Alden,” she said. “I’m Patrice Marcum. Please come in.”

The modest house was clean and tidy and decorated for the holiday season with a tiny tree sitting in a playpen. The woman met Mary’s gaze and laughed. “We had to put it in there to protect it,” she said. “Jeremy scoots all over the place now.”

Mary grinned. “Well, that’s brilliant.”

She looked around the room and saw Joey sitting next to the fireplace, with a big dog next to him. He smiled at her and waved.

Then she saw the man sitting in the recliner in the corner of the room. “Hello. I’m Mel Marcum,” he said, extending his hand towards them. “Please excuse me, I can’t quite walk yet. But, the doctors think I’ll be up and walking in no time at all.”

Mary took his hand. “That’s wonderful,” she said.

“
I can’t begin to thank you for what you did for us,” Patrice said. “If you hadn’t found him and then if you hadn’t jumped in the river.”

“
We were happy to do it,” Bradley said. “We’re just glad it turned out the way it did.”

“
I never thought I’d be happy again,” Patrice said. “Then, when something like this happens, if really gives you a different perspective on life.”

Jeremy was on a blanket near the Christmas tree, he saw Bradley and lifted his arms up towards him. Bradley bent down and picked him up. “Hey, big fella, you’ve gained at least thirty pounds since the last time I saw you.”

Mary kissed Jeremy on the cheek. “He looks so happy and healthy. Did he suffer any adverse reactions?”

Patrice shook her head. “No, the doctors said that everything is fine. There is one odd thing he does now, that he never did before,” she said.

“
What’s that?” Bradley asked.

“
He’ll be in his crib and he’ll stand up and laugh and wave, like someone was there,” she said. “And I could swear he’s tried to say doggie. But we don’t have a dog.”

“
Funny thing is,” Mel chimed in. “Sometimes I think I can smell a dog.”

“
Imagine that,” Bradley said, winking at Mary.

“
You know, they say that when people have a near death experience, it brings them closer to the other side,” Mary said. “Perhaps he’s just seeing an angel.”

Patrice nodded, her eyes filling with tears. “Our son, Joey, died just before Jeremy was born,” she said, “I’ve always felt that he was still here. That he was watching out for Jeremy. Do you think I’m crazy?”

Mary gave Patrice a hug. “No, I think you’re a very wise woman.”

Patrice walked over to the fireplace and took down a photo. There was Joey with his familiar grin. “What a wonderful smile,” Mary said.

Then she saw the leather sack in the corner of the photo. “What’s that?”

“
Joey collected marbles,” Mel said. “They were like treasure to him. We keep the bag of marbles on the hearth too, just to keep a piece of Joey with us always.”

Mary looked over and saw the leather sack sitting in the corner of mantle. “That’s very nice,” she said.

“
Except the cat’s eye,” Patrice said, running her hand over the photo frame. “We kept all the marbles but the cat’s eye. It was his very favorite.”

“
Yeah, we placed it in his hand when he was buried,” Mel said, tears filling his eyes. “We figured that he’d want it with him.”

They visited for another thirty minutes, Jeremy entertaining them all, but then it was time for Mary and Bradley to leave.

“
Excuse me,” Mary said. “May I use your bathroom before we go?”

“
Oh, certainly,” Patrice said. “It’s right down the hall to your left.”

Mary motioned to Joey and they walked to the bathroom together.

“
How are you doing?” she asked, after she closed the door.

“
It’s great at my house now,” he said. “My dad’s back, Jeremy’s back and my mom’s happy again. Thank you Mary.”

“
Joey, it was my pleasure,” she said. “You are the greatest young man I have ever met. It was a pleasure working a case with you.”

He grinned up at her.

“
But, I have a problem and I need your help,” she said.

Joey looked serious. “What do you need?”

Mary shook her head. “I can’t keep my dog,” she said. “I just work too many hours. I need to find another home for him.”

“
Really, you don’t want Chief?”

Mary grinned. “Chief? That’s what you named him? Won’t Bradley be pleased!”

Joey nodded. “Yeah, it was either Chief or Hero, but those two words mean pretty much the same thing to me.”

“
You’re right,” she said. “They do mean the same thing. I’m sure Bradley will be honored. So, can you keep him for me?”

Joey grinned. “That’s the best Christmas present ever,” he said.

“
I’m sure Chief will feel the same way.”

“
I have a present for you,” Joey said. “But it’s not ready yet. So, I’ll get it to you later, okay?”

“
Okay, there’s still two more days until Christmas,” Mary said. “You’ve got plenty of time.”

“
Mary, is it okay if I love you?” Joey asked.

Tears filled Mary’s eyes and she laid her hand over her lips for a moment. “That would work just perfectly, Joey, because I love you too.”

*****

The door bell rang at the same time the oven timer went off. “Bradley will you answer the door?” Mary called, as she pulled the appetizers out of the oven.

Bradley walked across the room and pulled open the front door. Linda Lincoln walked in. “Hi Linda,” Bradley said, “Merry Christmas Eve. Let me help you with your coat.”

“
Thanks Bradley, good to see you,” she said, slipping out of her coat. “Isn’t it nice of Mary to have this little party for us single folks on Christmas Eve?”

Bradley hung the coat in the closet. “Yeah, it really is. Come on in to the kitchen,” he said. “That’s where we’re hanging out, because that’s where the food is.”

Laughing, they walked together into the kitchen. Mary was placing the appetizers on a tray and another man was sitting at the kitchen counter. “Linda, do you know Bob Sterling?” Bradley asked.

“
Bob, how are you?” Linda asked. “Isn’t that funny, Mary and I were just discussing you last week. It’s so good to see you.”

Bob smiled back. “It’s great to see you too, Linda, you look wonderful.”

“
Let’s all go into the front room,” Mary suggested. “I’ll bring the food. Bradley, can you get the eggnog?”

They sat around the coffee table, Mary and Bradley on the couch and Linda and Bob on the recliners across from them. They chatted about small town politics and shared friendly gossip for thirty minutes as they ate the appetizers and drank eggnog. Finally Mary stood up, walked to the fireplace and pulled down a couple of letters from the mantle.

“
I have to tell you this amazing story I learned last week,” she said. “I think you’ll both find it very interesting.”

“
I met Elaine Kenney last week, she was Patrick Kenney’s mother,” she began. “You both remember Patrick, don’t you?”

They nodded.

“
Well, she pulled out some of Patrick’s things to look through and we found an old cigar box filled with letters.”

At the mention of the letters, Bob stiffened slightly.

“
There were two piles of bound letters and a couple of loose ones at the bottom of the box. One pile of bound letters was those he had received from home. Linda, he had your letters in that group. And then… here’s the interesting part, the other pile was filled with love letters he had sent you, Linda. I thought it was a little strange he would make a long-hand copy of his letters, but it was also kind of sweet.”

“
I suppose so,” Linda said.

“
Then his mother looked at one of the letters and realized it wasn’t Patrick’s handwriting.”

“
What?” Linda asked.

“
And when we looked at the two loose letters in the bottom of the box, we saw a completed letter in the strange handwriting and a half-copied letter in Patrick’s own hand.”

Linda shook her head. “Why would he do something like that? Was someone else writing his letters to me?”

“
You know, it’s getting late, perhaps we ought to continue this story some other time,” Bob said.

“
Come on, Bob, the story’s just getting to the interesting part,” Bradley said. “Mary, tell them what else you found.”

“
Well, first, I have to add this to the story, which again, was so interesting to me,” Mary said. “The same day I met with Patrick’s mother, Linda came here for lunch. Do you remember Linda?”

Linda nodded.

“
And she said the most interesting thing,” Mary said. “I hope you don’t mind if I share it.”

“
Well, actually, Mary…” Linda began.

“
Linda said that she really wasn’t in love with Patrick before he left,” Mary interrupted, “she didn’t really start falling in love with him until she started receiving his letters. She told me the writer of those letters was the man she fell in love with. Isn’t that interesting Bob?”

Bob sat back in his chair and a smile spread across his face. “Yes, that is very interesting, Mary.”

“
So, getting back to the original story,” Mary said. “We also found a note in the bottom of the cigar box. A note from Patrick. Perhaps he felt something was going to happen to him, or perhaps he just wanted to clear his conscience. He wrote that, while he cared for Linda, he knew he wasn’t in love with her. There was another man stationed with him, a man Patrick discovered adored Linda with all his heart. But because Patrick was going with her, he sat back and wrote letters to her that he never mailed and knew she would never see. Patrick found the letters and thought it would be a great joke to copy them and send them to Linda as if he had written them.”

Linda glanced at Bob, and then quickly turned away.

“
When his friend found out he was angry and embarrassed. He didn’t want to be a laughing stock and he didn’t want to play games with Linda’s feelings. Patrick could tell Linda really liked the letters and the person who had written them. So, he was going to write Linda and tell her the truth. Unfortunately, he died before he could tell her.”

“
The young man, his friend, who had loved Linda so much, was caught. He couldn’t write her and tell her the truth. He couldn’t betray the memory of his friend. So he finished his time in Vietnam and hurried home, back to the woman he loved.”

“
But she had already married someone else,” Linda said. “And she didn’t know the one true love of her life was still alive.”

“
I didn’t know how to tell you,” Bob said softly.

“
Bradley, would you help me with something in the kitchen,” Mary said.

Bradley nodded. “Yeah, I’d be happy to help.”

Mary and Bradley left the front room to leave Linda and Bob alone.

“
The letters were beautiful,” Linda said. “I still have them.”

“
I meant every word I wrote,” Bob confessed.

“
Where’s the mistletoe when we need it,” Bradley whispered to Mary, sneaking a peek from the kitchen.

“
Shhhh,” Mary said with a grin.

“
Mary,” Linda called from the front room, “Bob and I are… we have to go. We hope you’ll understand.”

The front door opened and then closed. “I sure hope they remembered their coats,” she said.

“
I don’t think they’ll notice the cold,” Bradley said.

“
I like playing Cupid,” Mary said.

“
Yeah, it’s a lot safer than falling in love yourself.”

*****

The log in the fire snapped loudly in the ensuing silence. Mary didn’t know what to say. Christmas music played softly and the coals in the fireplace glowed, casting a warm hue to the room. The lights on the tree sparkled in the darkened room.

“
They looked happy,” Mary said finally, walking into the front room to pick up the plates and cups. “There’s nothing like a happy ending.”

Bradley nodded. “Yeah, they waited a long time for love.”

She looked at him from across the room. “Sometimes love is worth waiting for.”

“
Mary…” he started.

She quickly moved past him into the kitchen. “How about a little more eggnog?” she asked, hurrying to the counter before she did something stupid.

Okay, more stupid
, she chided herself.
Sometime love’s worth waiting for…melodramatic much?

“
Mary,” Bradley gently took hold of her arm to stop her. “We really need to talk.”

She didn’t turn around. She didn’t want to see the look of kindness, or worse, pity, in his eyes. She searched for anywhere else to look when she spied the two objects on her counter.

“
What’s that?” she asked, stepping forward.