her mother. “I don’t know why you would even mention him.”
“Sorry love,” her mother soothed, but secretly she was thinking that she’d struck a nerve.
Maggie checked her watch, “I better go,” she said. “I want to get some Christmas wrapping paper before the shop shuts. People will be asking me to gift wrap their purchases soon.”
She scowled again as she headed for the door.
“Do try and capture some Christmas spirit,” her mother called after her. “For Willow’s sake at least.”
She watched her daughter leave, then went and poured some more hot water over her tea bag. She knew this time of year was always a little hard on Maggie, but this year she seemed to be taking it particularly hard.
Jon had left at Christmas; two days before the big day to be precise. He had just upped and gone into the night after an argument according to Maggie, and no one had seen him nor heard from him since. Dot knew that Maggie blamed herself to a degree. From the little she’d told her parents, things hadn’t been quite right between them for some time. They’d been arguing a lot, mostly about Jon’s footloose and fancy free ways. He thought nothing of taking off hunting with friends for weeks at a time, emerging from the mountains filthy and hairy and triumphantly showing off whatever he’d killed as if he expected Maggie to be grateful.
Dot shook off her melancholy. She had wasted enough time thinking of the man who had hurt her daughter. She breathed in deep and then let it out in one long exhale. The air that exited her lungs was tinged blue with disappointment, grey with regret and with red flecks of anger. Heaving with the dark emotions it sank slowly to the floorboards. Dot picked up a broom from the corner and swept it out the back door.
“Be gone with you,” she said, as she closed the door on it. “This is a joyous time of year and I will not let that man ruin another Christmas for this family.” She went to the cupboard and pulled out the ingredients to bake another Christmas cake, even though she had already prepared two. Soon, the house would be filled with the merry smells of fruit and liquor and almond icing. That would perk Maggie up for sure.
Driving into town, Maggie blinked back tears as she also reflected on the past. Damn that man for tainting this time of the year for her. She could remember a time when she loved Christmas, when it was her favourite time of the year. But he’d ruined that for her. When Jon had shown up that last time having been AWOL for ten days, flourishing a wild pig at her and grinning like a Cheshire cat, she hadn’t been grateful to see him at all. She’d been furious.
“Where the hell have you been?” she’d demanded of him.
“Whoa,” he’d said, taking a step back. “What’s wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with me? Jon, you buggered off again with no warning, no explanation, not even a note. I have no idea if you’re dead or alive or when you’ll be back. You promised to stop this kind of behaviour when Willow was born.”
“No, you asked me to promise. I did no such thing and I don’t see what the problem is.”
“Are you serious? Jon, you’re a father now. We have a beautiful little girl who depends on you, or have you forgotten that? You can’t keep living like you’re eighteen and only pleasing yourself, it’s not fair on her or me.”
“ Man you never used to be like this,” he’d said.
‘Like what?”
“Like this. You’re such a bitch these days. Remember when we first got together and we promised each other that we wouldn’t bow to society’s rules; that we’d do whatever we wanted whenever we wanted and screw everyone else.”
She ’d sighed and rubbed her temples warily. “Yes Jon, I remember. I also remember we were pretty drunk at the time. But we grew up, or at least I did. We have a child now. You have to start thinking of her. I had to sell some of our belongings just to make the rent this month. I
“Sorry love,” her mother soothed, but secretly she was thinking that she’d struck a nerve.
Maggie checked her watch, “I better go,” she said. “I want to get some Christmas wrapping paper before the shop shuts. People will be asking me to gift wrap their purchases soon.”
She scowled again as she headed for the door.
“Do try and capture some Christmas spirit,” her mother called after her. “For Willow’s sake at least.”
She watched her daughter leave, then went and poured some more hot water over her tea bag. She knew this time of year was always a little hard on Maggie, but this year she seemed to be taking it particularly hard.
Jon had left at Christmas; two days before the big day to be precise. He had just upped and gone into the night after an argument according to Maggie, and no one had seen him nor heard from him since. Dot knew that Maggie blamed herself to a degree. From the little she’d told her parents, things hadn’t been quite right between them for some time. They’d been arguing a lot, mostly about Jon’s footloose and fancy free ways. He thought nothing of taking off hunting with friends for weeks at a time, emerging from the mountains filthy and hairy and triumphantly showing off whatever he’d killed as if he expected Maggie to be grateful.
Dot shook off her melancholy. She had wasted enough time thinking of the man who had hurt her daughter. She breathed in deep and then let it out in one long exhale. The air that exited her lungs was tinged blue with disappointment, grey with regret and with red flecks of anger. Heaving with the dark emotions it sank slowly to the floorboards. Dot picked up a broom from the corner and swept it out the back door.
“Be gone with you,” she said, as she closed the door on it. “This is a joyous time of year and I will not let that man ruin another Christmas for this family.” She went to the cupboard and pulled out the ingredients to bake another Christmas cake, even though she had already prepared two. Soon, the house would be filled with the merry smells of fruit and liquor and almond icing. That would perk Maggie up for sure.
Driving into town, Maggie blinked back tears as she also reflected on the past. Damn that man for tainting this time of the year for her. She could remember a time when she loved Christmas, when it was her favourite time of the year. But he’d ruined that for her. When Jon had shown up that last time having been AWOL for ten days, flourishing a wild pig at her and grinning like a Cheshire cat, she hadn’t been grateful to see him at all. She’d been furious.
“Where the hell have you been?” she’d demanded of him.
“Whoa,” he’d said, taking a step back. “What’s wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with me? Jon, you buggered off again with no warning, no explanation, not even a note. I have no idea if you’re dead or alive or when you’ll be back. You promised to stop this kind of behaviour when Willow was born.”
“No, you asked me to promise. I did no such thing and I don’t see what the problem is.”
“Are you serious? Jon, you’re a father now. We have a beautiful little girl who depends on you, or have you forgotten that? You can’t keep living like you’re eighteen and only pleasing yourself, it’s not fair on her or me.”
“ Man you never used to be like this,” he’d said.
‘Like what?”
“Like this. You’re such a bitch these days. Remember when we first got together and we promised each other that we wouldn’t bow to society’s rules; that we’d do whatever we wanted whenever we wanted and screw everyone else.”
She ’d sighed and rubbed her temples warily. “Yes Jon, I remember. I also remember we were pretty drunk at the time. But we grew up, or at least I did. We have a child now. You have to start thinking of her. I had to sell some of our belongings just to make the rent this month. I
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