A Family for Christmas: The Gift of Family / Child in a Manger

Wendy’s thoughts strayed, remembering that Evan wanted her to come to his home during their Christmas break. But considering his father’s illness, the invitation would probably be withdrawn.

Realizing that her mother was staring at her, Wendy tried to keep her features composed. She knew she hadn’t succeeded when her face colored under Emmalee’s suspicious look.

“Wh-what did you say, Mother?” she stammered.

“I asked if you preferred to work in the lingerie or housewares department?”

“I don’t know much about housewares, but either place will be okay.”

They cleared the table in silence, and Emmalee carried a cup of coffee into the living room. Sitting in her lounge chair, she looked at Wendy, who had curled up on the couch, the television remote in her hand.

“Do you have anything to tell me?” Emmalee asked, an apprehensive look in her eyes. “You’ve been staring into space most of the evening.”

“No. Well, maybe I should tell you,” Wendy began uncertainly. Suspecting that her news would hurt and anger her mother, she hesitated, searching for an easy way to explain about Evan. There didn’t seem to be an easy way, so she tried a direct approach. “For the past three months, I’ve been dating a man at the university. He’s asked me to marry him.”

A groan escaped Emmalee’s lips, and her face turned the color of ashes. Alarmed, Wendy bounded off the couch, went to Emmalee and put her arm around her mother’s shoulder.

“Mother, are you all right?”

Slowly, Emmalee regained her composure, and shrugged off her embrace. When she looked at Wendy, her eyes were filled with anger.

“How could I be all right when you’ve sprung such news on me? Are you pregnant?”

The gasp that escaped Wendy’s lips sounded loud in the uneasy silence of the room.

“Of course not!”

“Well, what else can I think? You’ve been dating someone for months and you haven’t even mentioned him before this? Suddenly, he asks you to marry him. Who is this man? Why haven’t you told me about him?”

Wendy wanted to say, “Because I knew you’d react the way you are now.” Instead, she said, “I didn’t know how serious he was until today when he asked me to marry him.”

“Surely you didn’t accept his proposal!”

“Yes, I did.”

Emmalee lunged out of her chair as if a bee had stung her and she walked nervously around the room. Stark fear, mingled with anger, clouded her eyes.

“When am I going to meet my future son-in-law?”

“I don’t know. He’s a graduate student at the university, working toward his doctorate. He plans to teach agricultural studies in a college. His family lives in Ohio. His father is seriously ill, and he had to go home today. He doesn’t know when he’ll come back to Florida.”

Without a word, Emmalee went into her bedroom and slammed the door. Fighting back tears, Wendy turned on the television and stared at the screen the rest of the evening. She had no idea what programs she watched.

Although, at first, Wendy’s news had stunned Emmalee to silence, the rest of the weekend, during their time together, Emmalee grilled Wendy about Evan.

Did he have any money?

If they married, would she move to Ohio?

When did they plan to marry?

And what about me? Are you going to abandon me?

After two days of this, Wendy was in no mood to deal with Evan’s problems when he called at her mom’s apartment. She was more concerned with Evan’s feelings for her, rather than his family’s troubles, but she did ask immediately, “How is your father?”

“Not good,” Evan said grimly. “The doctors have told us he’ll live, but his recovery will be slow. He may never regain the strength he had before his stroke. It could take a year for his rehabilitation.”

“I’m sorry, Evan.”

“I’m sorry, too. Not only for Daddy, but for you and me.”

Wendy’s joy over his phone call diminished sharply.

“What do you mean?” Wendy asked, a chill starting in the pit of her stomach and pulsing rapidly through the rest of her body. Because of the continual animosity between Wendy and her mother during the weekend, Wendy realized that her love for Evan had taken second place to her reliance on him as a ticket to a way out of her present situation.

“It means I can’t come back to Florida next semester to finish my research for the doctoral thesis. I’ll have to take over the farm management—there’s no one else to do it.”

“But you’re already registered for next semester!” Wendy said, her body stiff with shock.

“I can probably handle most of the work online. If not, my Ph.D. will have to be postponed.”

“What about me?” Wendy’s heart seemed to shout as she voiced the question. But she’d lived with her mother’s possessiveness long enough to know what it was like to demand attention. Wendy had made up her mind years ago that she wouldn’t beg for affection from anyone, and she was irritated that she’d asked the question.

The silence that greeted his comment stabbed at Evan’s heart. “We can still be engaged, Wendy. And after you graduate in the spring, we’ll be married. You can come here to live.”

Live on a farm when she’d fleetingly envisioned being the wife of a college professor! Disappointment turned Wendy into the kind of shrew she despised.

“The Bible says that a man is supposed to leave his mother and father and stick with his wife.”

Evan laughed shortly, surprised that she knew anything about the Bible. “When did you learn that?”

“I had to sit through Sunday school and daily Bible readings during the ten years when my grandparents had visiting rights. I still remember some of the things I heard.”

“Then you must not have heard that the Bible also says a man is obligated to take care of his family. Wendy, it’s my duty to take over the farm until Daddy is better,” he said, a pleading note in his voice. “Besides, I want to do it. I love my family.”

“More than you love me, apparently.”

“But you’ll be a part of my family when we’re married,” he argued, trying to control the pain her words had brought.

“No, thank you, Evan. I’m not keen on being Old MacDonald’s wife. Our engagement is off before it ever really started. Maybe it’s good I learned your intentions before you bought a ring.”

She hung up the phone and fell facedown on the bed, feeling as if the bottom had dropped out of her life. Within one week, she had skyrocketed from boredom to the heights of ecstasy and love, only to be plunged suddenly into the depths of despair. Though she lay on the bed for an hour, with her hand on the phone, hoping Evan would call back, Wendy didn’t cry. Her sorrow was too deep for tears.

Evan pocketed his cell phone and walked slowly into the hospital. The thought of marrying Wendy had dominated his mind for weeks. He hadn’t considered when they could get married, or even where they would live if they got married. He had planned to combine teaching agricultural subjects at a nearby college or a high school with work on the family farm. When his father retired, Evan would leave teaching and take over the full-time management of the farm.

Of course, Wendy hadn’t known that. He had put the cart before the horse. He should have told Wendy about his future plans before he asked her to marry him. His proposal had been too hasty, but if he had waited another year or two, his purpose wouldn’t have changed. He loved Wendy, and he wanted to marry her.

Evan was hurt by Wendy’s attitude, but he understood why she would be disturbed. Still, he had no choice. The farm had been in the Kessler family for a long time, and it was a tradition that the oldest son always inherited the farmland. Not only was Evan the oldest child in the family, he was the only son.

On the second floor of the hospital, Hilda Kessler sat patiently beside her husband’s bed, holding his hand, where she’d been since Evan had arrived home three days ago. Evan stood at the foot of the bed and watched his father’s erratic breathing. Karl knew the family when he was awake, but he slept most of the time.

“Mom, please go home and get some rest. Uncle Gavin is coming to spend the night with Daddy.”

“I can’t leave him.”

“He’ll be taken to rehab department soon, on the fifth floor, for a few weeks. You can’t spend all of that time at the hospital.”

“I know,” she agreed, her blue eyes dulled with pain over her husband’s illness. “I’m neglecting the girls, but I don’t want to leave him.”

An hour later, when Gavin Kessler came to sit with his brother, Evan finally persuaded Hilda to leave. Despite her obvious concern for her husband, when Hilda settled into the car beside Evan, and he headed toward home, she said, “What’s troubling you, son?”

He hesitated, not knowing how much to tell his mother. She knew he’d been dating Wendy, but he hadn’t mentioned their relationship to his mother since he’d returned home. He’d figured she had enough on her mind without becoming embroiled in his problems. But on the other hand, perhaps she needed a distraction from her husband’s health troubles.

“A few days ago, I asked Wendy to marry me.”

He sensed the oblique glance his mother sent in his direction. “And?”

“She accepted. We were looking at engagement rings when you phoned about Dad.”

“If you’re engaged, you should be happy about it. Why aren’t you?”

Looking at his watch with an ironic laugh, he said, “As of one hour ago, I’m no longer engaged.”

Hilda Kessler wasn’t one to waste words. She didn’t answer, but Evan felt her gaze upon him, waiting for him to continue.

“I called Wendy to tell her I would be staying on the farm until Daddy recovers. She wasn’t thrilled about becoming a farmer’s wife. She said to forget our engagement.”

“Evan, if you want to marry Wendy, don’t let Heritage Farm be a burden to you. If I hadn’t been a farm girl who’d known the Kesslers all my life, I would have been intimidated by the fact that Karl was wedded to family tradition before he married me. We have good hired help, and we can manage without you until Karl is better. True love is rare. If you’re sure Wendy is the one for you, don’t let anything stop you.”

Evan explained his doubts about Wendy’s spirituality, adding, “And from what Wendy says, she hasn’t ever had a comfortable family home like we have. If she could only visit us and understand why family tradition and our faith are so important to us, she’d surely understand. I’d invited her to come for Christmas, but with Daddy sick, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“I want to meet Wendy, so let’s see how your father improves. If he’s getting along all right, I’ll invite Wendy to visit us. And we must pray for Wendy’s spiritual awakening.”

“I’ve been praying for her. I’ve asked her to go to church with me, but she’s always made excuses. That’s the reason I hadn’t proposed to her.” With a sheepish expression on his face, he admitted, “But I got carried away a few days ago and asked her to marry me, without considering the consequences.”

He remembered vividly how Wendy had looked when she’d walked toward him earlier in the week; he felt as if he were waiting at the altar for her. He realized that much of his love for her stemmed from a physical attraction, but he wanted it to be so much more. He yearned for a marriage like his parents had, united not only physically, but spiritually and emotionally, too.

“Wendy and her mother live alone, and she may not want to leave her mother on a holiday.”

“We’ll find a way. All things are possible to those who believe. Now that my concern for Karl has lessened, I’ll spend more time in prayer for you and Wendy. If it is God’s will that you should marry Wendy, He’ll provide a way.”

Heartened by his mother’s support, Evan picked up speed. They left the town of Gallipolis behind them, and headed south on a highway along the Ohio River toward their home.

“I don’t know what to do next,” he said. “Should I call her, or let the situation rest for a few days?”

“Use your own judgment.”

“I want to call right away, but being impulsive has already caused trouble. Maybe I should wait a few days to give her time to decide if our love is strong enough to overcome all barriers.”

Although she’d angrily ended the conversation with Evan, Wendy was convinced that he’d get in touch with her. Should she apologize or should he? As the days passed and Evan didn’t call, Wendy became more and more distressed. Why had she been so angry with Evan? Was it because she’d been overwhelmed with the possibility of losing him? Yet had she lost him through her own misguided words?

She didn’t leave the apartment during the Thanksgiving weekend, fearing that Evan would call and she wouldn’t be there to talk to him. Wendy didn’t tell Emmalee that she’d broken the engagement. But her mother must have sensed there was trouble because she was more lighthearted than she’d been since Wendy had told her about the engagement.

After her return to the university, Wendy practically lived with the cell phone in her hand, fearing she would miss Evan’s call. Throughout the week, she couldn’t keep her mind on studying, and she doubted she would pass any of her final exams. In desperation, she decided that if she and Evan were going to make up, she’d have to make the first move. And rightly so, she figured, since her bad temper had caused the problem in the first place. She would ask about his father’s health, and if he seemed to be angry, she wouldn’t prolong the conversation.

After another night of sleeplessness, as soon as she got out of bed, Wendy dialed Evan’s cell phone number. No answer. Before she completely lost her nerve, Wendy punched in the number of his parents’ home, hoping Evan would answer the phone.

“Kessler residence. Hilda speaking” was the answer she received.

Hilda! Was she speaking to Evan’s mother or one of his sisters? For a moment, she couldn’t remember their names.

In a timid voice that didn’t sound like her own, Wendy asked, “May I speak to Evan?”

“Evan isn’t here. He’s working in the dairy barn. May I ask who’s calling?”

“This is Wendy Kenworth, Evan’s friend in Florida. I called to ask about his father.”

“Evan has told me about you. Thanks for your concern, Wendy. My husband is doing very well, but he has a long road to recovery. He’s in rehab now. We’re hoping he’ll be home before Christmas.”

“I’m happy to hear that. Thanks.”

“I’ll have Evan return your call.”

“I have a ten-o’clock class. I’ll be in my dorm room until then.”

“Wendy,” Hilda said, “Evan told me he’d invited you to visit us here in Ohio. The family would like to meet you. I know your classes will end soon, and you won’t go back to school until after the first of the year. Why don’t you spend part of your Christmas break with us?”

“I don’t think I can. I’m supposed to work during the holidays. I need the extra money to help with my school expenses.”

“If you change your mind, let us know. We’d enjoy having you visit. I’ll ask Evan to return your call.”

He hadn’t telephoned by the time Wendy had to go to class, and she trudged across campus. It was agonizing to turn off her phone while she was in class.

She finally received the call at noon, while she was in the cafeteria eating a sandwich.

“Hi, Wendy.” Evan’s cheerful voice came across the miles. “Sorry I wasn’t in when you called before. I’m missing you.”

Wendy’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t sound angry.

“I’m glad your father is recovering.”

“But it’s as I told you before—he won’t be able to take over the farm interests for several months.”

“I should have been more understanding, Evan. I know you’re doing what you think is best. Considering the circumstances, maybe it was the best decision to forget our engagement.”

With a sinking heart, she heard his answer. “You’re probably right, at least for the time being. But I still wish you’d come to visit us during your break. I’ll send you a plane ticket if you’ll arrange to come.”

“My mother—” she started, and Evan interrupted.

“Wendy, you can’t seem to understand why I feel it’s necessary for me to sacrifice my plans for my family. Don’t you see that you’re doing the same thing with your mother? Every decision you’ve made, since I’ve known you, has been tempered by how it would affect her.”

Rather than making her angry, Evan’s comment opened Wendy’s eyes to the truth. She was tied to her mother’s apron strings.

Chapter Three

For the rest of the week, Wendy mulled over the invitation to visit the Kesslers. When she went home for the weekend, she’d made up her mind. If she was ever going to get married and have a home of her own, she couldn’t be held back by her mother’s manipulation. In the years since her divorce, Emmalee could have made a life of her own, instead of depending solely on Wendy’s presence to give her life meaning.

Wendy had allowed her mother to dominate her life simply because she wanted to avoid conflict. Would she have the courage to make her own decision now? As she planned how to break the news to her mother, Wendy sensed an extra strength that she hadn’t possessed before. What had generated this unusual surge of willpower?

During her annual visits to her paternal grandparents when she was younger, Wendy had gone to church, and she’d heard people pray, but she didn’t have a personal knowledge of the power of prayer.

Prayer seemed to be an integral part of Evan’s life, not something he did only on Sunday. He prayed before they ate, even in a restaurant. He prayed for help with his exams. He prayed that God would help him make the right decisions. He didn’t start a day without asking for God’s direction.

As she waited for Emmalee to come home from work, Wendy wondered if the strange new courage she possessed today was a result of Evan’s prayers. Was he praying for her now? It was a comforting thought.

After they’d eaten dinner, and Emmalee had changed into lounging clothes, Wendy pasted a smile on her face, took a deep breath and flexed her fingers in an effort to relax. She couldn’t delay any longer.

“Evan and his mother have invited me to visit them during my Christmas break. I intend to go.”

“So you’ve made up with him.”

“Yes.”

An obstinate expression crossed Emmalee’s face. “You aren’t going anywhere without me. You have no idea what kind of people they are.”

Determined that she wouldn’t bend to her mother’s will, Wendy said, “I am going, Mother. I’m twenty-two. If I’m not old enough to make some decisions now, I never will be.”

“Obviously it doesn’t bother you that I’ll be spending Christmas alone.”

Wendy bit her lip nervously, her resolve wavering. Are you praying, Evan?

“You have single friends at the store who’d be glad to share Christmas Day with you. You’ll be working the rest of the time. I’d like to meet Evan’s family. I want to see why he loves his family so much that he’ll give up, not only me, but his career to take care of them. And Christmas Eve is very important to the Kesslers. I want to experience that part of the holidays with them.”

Emmalee was in no mood to listen to reason. “I’ve slaved for years to give you a home. Now that you’re about to graduate and be on your own, when you could relieve me of some of my financial burdens, you’re through with me.”

Tears pricked at Wendy’s eyelids. She felt like she was ten again, but she clenched her fists. She focused on Evan’s strong features, his loving ways and his prayer life as a lodestar to keep her on the right course.

“I am going to visit the Kesslers during the holidays.”

If she didn’t keep repeating those words, she’d weaken. She had to keep that goal in her mind.

“Very well!” Emmalee said at last. “As much as I’ve tried to change you, you’re just like your father. When you have an opportunity to work for two weeks and help with the expenses, you skip out and leave me holding the bag just as he did.”

Wendy considered reminding Emmalee that she’d refused to accept alimony from her husband or any financial help from his family. Instead, Wendy repeated, “I’m going to visit the Kesslers during the holidays.”

Perhaps sensing Wendy’s determination, Emmalee said no more. With some dignity, she went to her bedroom and closed the door, leaving Wendy with heaviness in her chest and tears in her eyes.

She had always tried to avoid conflict. When she’d enjoyed a visit with her paternal grandparents, she hadn’t told her mother about the good times she had, because Emmalee resented her in-laws. When Emmalee had protested that she was going out too much at night, Wendy had stopped dating and had spent the nights at home studying. Actually, that had been a blessing in disguise, for she’d made the honor roll all through high school and had won a full scholarship to college.

She’d initiated conflict with Evan, and now that they’d reconciled, she was at odds with her mother. What was wrong with her that she seemed to plant discord no matter what she did? But since she’d won the battle, she knew she must move forward before her mother planned a counterattack. She went into her bedroom and dialed Evan’s number.

Happiness was evident in Evan’s voice when she told him she intended to come to Ohio for Christmas.

“You’ll be finished with classes by the fifteenth, won’t you?”

“Yes. My last final is on December twelve.”

“Good. That will give me time to arrange for an electronic ticket and send your receipt by express mail. Have you ever flown before?”

“No,” she said, “and I’m a little worried about it.”

“You can get a plane in Jacksonville, and you’ll be flying into the Columbus International Airport. There will be one change, either in Atlanta or Charlotte. I’ll choose the easiest route for you.”

“Thanks, Evan.”

“Since I can’t return to Florida for a while, thank you for coming to see me. I can’t wait to see you.”

He wanted to ask how her mother had reacted to the visit, but Evan thought he might be happier if he didn’t know. He settled down to a week of waiting before he could see Wendy again.

Considering his eagerness to be reunited with Wendy, Evan couldn’t understand why he took his youngest sister, Olivia, with him when he went to the airport to meet her. Olivia had pestered him for days, wanting to go with him, but he’d resisted her entreaties until the morning he was preparing to leave for the airport.

Overcome with shyness about seeing Wendy, and with the memory of her harsh words still in his mind, he was uncertain of what they’d talk about. Deciding it might be better to introduce Wendy to his family gradually, he told Olivia she could go with him.

His little sister was a special gift to Evan, since she’d been born seventeen years ago on his eighth birthday. The fact that they always celebrated their birthdays together had been a bonding factor. But Olivia’s personality made it impossible not to love her because she was as affectionate as a half-grown puppy.

In their baby pictures, Evan and Olivia could have passed for twins; their physical characteristics were similar. Like him, she had blond hair, blue eyes and a sprinkling of freckles on her creamy white skin. Glancing at his sister, who didn’t even try to conceal her eagerness to be going to meet her brother’s girlfriend, he knew it wouldn’t be long before Olivia would be dating, too. Although she was tomboyish and preferred working in the fields rather than in the kitchen, she was tall for her age, quick and graceful and the local boys were already asking Olivia for dates.

Wendy’s heart did a little flip-flop, and she stopped in her tracks when she entered the arrivals area and saw that Evan hadn’t come alone to meet her. She’d seen pictures of Olivia, so she knew who she was. She’d been looking forward to the three-hour trip from the airport to the Kessler home to determine the status of her current relationship with Evan. That would be impossible with Olivia along.