Chapter Thirty-Four The Gift of Time
As December slipped away in a blur of cold, wet and grey days, Evie became more optimistic that her mother might be right about having one last Christmas together.
There was no change in Della’s health after months of steady decline, so Evie began to work on making the holiday season as special as she could, starting by helping Tommy make Hanukkah special for Nissa since this was the first year she wouldn’t see her parents.
On the final night of Hanukkah, Tommy asked Nissa to officially move in with him by giving her a necklace with a delicate, custom-designed key pendant that had the Star of David at the top.
“This is more than me officially asking you to join my home and life,” Tommy said quietly as he helped her fasten the necklace.
“This is me asking you to let me join yours. I want us on one page, with one future. Marriage isn’t something we’ve talked about, but I want to have that conversation when you’re ready.
If you want me to, I’m willing to convert. ”
Evie, who had helped Tommy design the pendant, reached for Thorn’s hand as Nissa teared up. She gently guided him out of the living room and into the kitchen, giving them a moment alone.
She pulled the champagne Tommy had set in the fridge to chill and passed it to Thorn so he could open it while she looked for the glasses.
“Alex said you broke up with him.” Thorn’s tone was matter-of-fact, and Evie glanced over her shoulder at him in surprise. “Did he do something wrong?”
“No.” She found the glasses in the last cupboard and pulled down four. “I’m just not in the right frame of mind to be in a relationship.” She set the glasses on the island as Thorn eased the cork out of the bottle. “Why? Did he say something?”
Thorn shook his head. “No, but that is why I asked. He tends to talk a lot when it comes to you, but all he said was that you ended things. I wondered if he had done something to upset you and did not want me to know.”
Evie let out a soft giggle. Thorn might have been trying to sound calm and mildly curious, but she could feel the tension in him. “He didn’t do anything. I just wanted to spend Mom’s remaining time with her without any distractions.”
“Hmm.” He studied her for a moment, and Evie could tell he was checking for signs she was hiding something.
She kept her amused smile in place. “If you say so.” He began filling the glasses.
“Tommy said he arranged it with the hospice so your mother can come here for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.”
Evie nodded, relieved he had changed the subject. She hadn’t told him about Alex’s boundary-pushing tendencies, not wanting to influence Thorn’s opinion of him as an employee. That didn’t feel fair.
“Yeah, we figured it would be much better than celebrating at the Calvary. She’ll be transported here on the 23rd and taken back on the 26th.
I spoke to Father Garrick, and he and Sister Mary Francis are going to stop by early on the 24th to pray with her and make sure she receives communion, since we won’t be able to attend Midnight Mass. ”
She paused, listening to the quiet murmur of Tommy and Nissa talking in the living room, and decided to give them a few more minutes. “I will need some help, though. I want to make this the best Christmas I can for her.”
Thorn smiled and pulled her into a tight hug. Evie melted into it, feeling like he was absorbing all the stress and exhaustion she’d been carrying for weeks. “You know you only have to ask,” he said softly. “I’ll do anything I can to make it happen.”
**********
The weeks leading up to Christmas were spent decorating Tommy’s penthouse with Della in mind.
The decorations were more traditional than usual and centered around the Bible, with Evie finding Della’s ceramic nativity scene among the boxes of things her mother had given her when she went into hospice.
She filled the rest of the space with candles, holly wreaths, poinsettias, angels and stars.
Planning a menu for Christmas Day proved incredibly frustrating until Thorn gently reminded her that not everything had to revolve around her mother or be perfectly equal.
“Just because your mother can only handle broth does not mean the rest of us have to eat the same, nor do I think she would want us to miss out on turkey and everything else for her.” He sat beside her on the couch and handed her a mug of hot chocolate, glancing over her menu.
“I will make Bela ?orba for her. My grandmother and mother used to make it whenever someone was ill. It is very easy on the stomach and very nutritious. I can prepare it the day before in my apartment, so it will not take up time and space while we make dinner.”
Evie breathed a sigh of relief as she sipped her drink. “What would I do without you?”
“Spiral into a whirlpool of overthinking,” Thorn said with a faint smile. “And have to hire someone to move all the boxes I pulled out of storage for you.”
As Christmas drew closer, Tommy worked with the staff at the Calvary to arrange for a hospital bed and the rest of the medical equipment Della would need to be brought to the Tower on the twenty-second and returned on the twenty-seventh.
Despite her frailty, she could still handle most of her daily needs, so they only needed a nurse to come in the morning and evening to help with what she could not manage alone.
Two weeks before Della’s scheduled visit, the Calvary sent nurses to do a walk-through and teach Tommy and Evie how to help her with the tasks she could no longer manage. They emphasized that Della wanted to stay as independent as possible and not to hover or fuss over her.
“She really doesn’t like that.” The look on the nurse’s face told Evie her mother had been firm, and probably rude, about it. “Sometimes you have to be firm and insist on helping, because she’ll hurt herself before she admits she can’t do it.”
“Sounds very on brand for her,” Tommy murmured to Evie with a grin as the nurse began to pull out some medical equipment to show them how to use it properly.
“No kidding.” She murmured back, giggling softly.
When her mother arrived on the twenty-third, she gushed over the decorations, tearing up a little when she saw that Evie had pulled out her old nativity scene and set it on top of the credenza by the tree. She thanked Evie quietly for thinking of it.
On Christmas Eve, after Father Garrick and Sister Mary Francis left and they had a light lunch, Tommy led them into the theatre room. Once everyone was settled, he announced his Christmas gift for Della.
“I know you and Mom used to love going to the Lincoln Center to watch the New York City Ballet perform The Nutcracker, and since we couldn’t bring you this year, I brought it to you.”
He turned on the TV, and Della let out a soft gasp as the stage at the Lincoln Center filled the screen. When the performance began, Evie leaned across Thorn to whisper to him.
“How did you pull this off?” The show was being livestreamed from what looked like the center row of the First Ring, the seats everyone considered the best in the house.
“I’m one of their biggest donors.” Tommy shrugged as he sipped his eggnog. “I made a phone call, explained why I wanted it, and they practically tripped over themselves to make it happen.”
Evie looked over at her mother, who was sitting next to Nissa with her hands clasped in front of her, watching the performance with shining eyes and a huge smile and felt a warmth wash over her at her mother’s obvious joy.
She had to admit; this was probably the best thing Tommy could have given her.
“This is perfect, Tommy.” She didn’t know how she would ever begin to thank Tommy for everything he had done for her and her mother since finding out about her mother’s alcoholism.
He’d done everything in his power to help Evie navigate logistics and make things go as smoothly as they possibly could, something she never would have been able to accomplish without him.
“I thought so.” He gave her a slightly smug smile and turned his attention back to the screen. “Although you were a much better sugar plum fairy, and we’re going to watch that next.”
Despite Evie’s protests, Tommy did put on her old dance recital afterward, and seeing her mother shed happy tears as she watched seven-year-old Evie perform as the sugar plum fairy made the embarrassment of watching her younger self dance on Tommy’s giant ninety-five-inch TV worth every second.
After dinner, to Evie’s surprise, Sister Mary Francis came back. As Evie helped her with her coat, she asked why she’d returned, and the nun gave her a surprised look.
“Didn’t your mother tell you?”
Evie shook her head, glancing toward the living room where her mother sat with Tommy.
“No, she didn’t mention anything.”
“She didn’t know what to get you for Christmas, so she arranged for tickets to the Carnegie Hall Holiday Concert this evening and asked me to come stay with her so you would leave.
” Sister Mary Francis smiled gently and looked down at Evie’s pajama pants and oversized T-shirt. “You should probably go get changed.”
Evie swallowed the sudden lump in her throat and nodded, not sure why concert tickets to something she’d seen many times over the years were making her so emotional. “Well, thank you for coming on Christmas Eve to stay with her, Sister. I know she misses spending time with you.”
“It’s no problem.” Sister Mary Francis took her hand and patted it.
“I’m happy and honored to be the one she asked for.
” She paused, clearly debating saying more.
“I know you don’t get the same comfort from the church your mother does, but if you ever need to talk, please don’t hesitate to reach out. ”
Evie nodded and smiled. “I will, thank you.” She cleared her throat and brought the nun to the living room. “Sister Mary Francis is here, Mom.”
Her mother looked up and smiled happily, holding out her hand to her friend. Evie glanced at Tommy, who was dressed in expensive cashmere pants and a holly-green sweater.
“Since Thorn and Nissa have disappeared and you’re all dressed up, I guess I’m the last to know about this.”
Tommy chuckled. “You have forty-five minutes. Go change.”
Shaking her head, she kissed her mother’s cheek, thanked her for the tickets, and hurried out of the room to change.