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First thing in the morning, straw-blonde hair still tangled from sleep, she felt anything but foxy. Still, her cheeks warmed as she considered inviting Daniel back to the bedroom for a few more minutes of snuggling. Then she remembered this was Saturday—her day to play "coach's widow." After nearly fifteen years of marriage she still hated her husband's erratic schedule. On Christmas Eve her parents had celebrated their forty-eighth wedding anniversary, a legacy of love Natalie hoped she and Daniel could emulate. But was such a dream even possible when the two of them seemed to operate in different time zones?
She paused at the breakfast table and set her hands on her hips. As usual, he'd left the newspaper in shambles, the comics pulled from one section and the sports page decimated after he'd clipped all the articles covering Putnam Middle School's athletic teams.
Daniel breezed into the kitchen, sneakers squeaking on the ceramic tile floor. "Hey, hon, sorry about the paper." He planted a toothpaste-flavored kiss on her parted lips. "I'd sort it out for you, but I'm already running late. I'm meeting Carl at Casey's Diner to carpool to the tournament."
Natalie fought to keep her smile in place as she gave him a playful punch in the stomach. "What's new? Get out of here before I decide not to let you go at all."
"Promises, promises." He wiggled his dark eyebrows.
"Seriously, before you go ...," she said in her sexiest voice. She clutched the lapels of his red Putnam Panthers jacket and pulled him toward her.
With a seductive grin, Daniel drew her into his arms. "Sweetheart, I told you, I'm already running late."
She chuckled and bit his ear. "Sorry, Coach, I just wanted to ask you again what time your parents will be here."
"Woman, you break my heart!" He slammed a hand to his chest as if he'd been shot. "Ah, now I get it. You want to know exactly how much time you have to clean the house."
So she wasn't the world's greatest housekeeper—one trait she didn't inherit from her mother. Who cared about a little clutter on the kitchen counters, or last night's pizza pan still soaking in the sink? So what if she hadn't dusted since Thanksgiving? Hard to do with Christmas decorations covering every flat, dusty surface in the house.
Daniel seemed to read her thoughts. He tilted her chin until she reluctantly met his gaze. "Next weekend. Promise me, okay? The Christmas decorations need to come down."
She pushed out her lower lip. "Only if you stay home and help. It's depressing to do it all by myself."
"I'll check my schedule." He gathered up his car keys and canvas briefcase and then slicked a hand through ash-brown hair still damp from his shower. "Mom and Dad won't get here before three at the earliest, so you've got plenty of time to enjoy your coffee." He glanced at his watch. "And I don't. I'm out of here, sweetie. With any luck, I'll be home in time for dinner."
"That'll be the day."
The door to the garage banged shut behind him, sending a puff of wintry air into the kitchen. Moments later Natalie heard the ancient green Bronco grumble a couple of times before starting up. The poor thing must have nearly 200,000 miles on it. How Daniel kept it running, she hadn't a clue, but what with paying the mortgage on their dream home and keeping their thirteen-year-old fashionista daughter in designer jeans, replacing a vehicle wasn't in the budget. She sent up a quick prayer for Daniel's safety on the road and hoped the weather held. The last she'd heard, the predicted snow wouldn't arrive until tomorrow morning.
Her chest caved. Much as she enjoyed the visits with Daniel's parents, Alice Pearce was an even more meticulous housekeeper than Natalie's mother. No way around it—the cleaning had to get done. Maybe Natalie could bribe her daughter into helping. After all, half the mess was Lissa's school books, art supplies, and discarded shoes dropped haphazardly between the kitchen door and her bedroom upstairs.
So much for getting back to the watercolor landscape Natalie had begun last weekend. At least her freelance graphic design assignments had tapered off now that the holidays had passed. The extra income supplemented Daniel's small-town coaching salary, but Natalie dreamed of making her living as a fine artist—thanks to her mother's teaching and inspiration. She'd much rather pursue her own creative visions than those of her finicky clients.
She poured a glass of orange juice and a mug of coffee and then dropped an English muffin into the toaster. She'd barely sat down to spread the muffin with her mother's homemade apricot jam when Lissa flounced into the kitchen, her long blonde hair pinned up with mismatched butterfly clips. Natalie suppressed a laugh and lifted her hands in mock surrender. "Is this the part where you say, 'Take me to your leader'?"
"Oh, Mom, how juvenile!" Lissa swiped her finger through the jam jar and licked off a sticky, amber glob. "Have you seen my pink sweater—the one with the gray stripe across the front?"
Natalie sipped her coffee. "Did you check the laundry hamper?"
"Yes, twice."
"The floor of your room?"
"Mother!"
"How about the closet? Any chance you actually hung it up?"
Lissa clenched her fists. "Mom, I need some help here. Jody and her mom are picking me up in twenty minutes."
Natalie gave her daughter a blank stare.
"Earth to Mo-ther." Lissa rolled her eyes.
"Oh, rats, the youth group skating party." No help cleaning from Lissa today. With a sigh, Natalie bit into her English muffin. "Sorry, honey, but I have no idea where your sweater is. Can't you find something else to wear?"
The ringing telephone halted whatever sarcastic retort Lissa was about to spit out. She squinted at the caller ID on the kitchen extension and grabbed the receiver. "Jody! Did I leave my sweater over there when I spent the night last weekend? Great! Bring it with you. I'll put it on in the car." She hung up and dashed through the den, yanking clips out of her hair and tossing them on the sofa.
"Lissa!"
"Sorry, Mom. I'll get them later, I promise!" Lissa's bedroom door slammed with finality.
Right, when pigs fly. Sure, Natalie could insist Lissa pick up after herself before leaving for the party, but a battle of wills with a headstrong preteen? No-brainer—it was guaranteed to ruin the entire day for both of them. She made a promise to herself, though, that one day very soon she and Daniel would sit down with Lissa and lay out some ground rules-before Lissa's adolescent self-centeredness got completely out of hand.
Natalie refilled her coffee mug and carried the remains of the newspaper to the den. Fifteen more minutes and she'd have the house to herself and maybe a little time to work on that watercolor before she got serious about cleaning.
Lissa had been gone barely five minutes when the phone rang again. Natalie, settled in the recliner under a snuggly fleece throw, was tempted not to answer it—probably another of Lissa's perky seventh-grade friends calling to ask what she planned to wear to the party.
Then the answering machine picked up, and after Natalie's recorded greeting and the beep, she heard her mother's voice. "Hi, Natalie, just me. Guess you're out running errands. I'll call later—"
Natalie shook off her annoyance and jumped up to grab the kitchen extension. "Hey, Mom, I'm here."
"Oh, good, glad I caught you." Her mother's cheery voice turned cajoling. "It's that time again, sweetheart. Can I twist your arm to help?"
Apprehension propelled Natalie into the nearest chair. Her mother didn't even have to speak the words. "Oh, Mom, does it have to be today? Taking down Christmas decorations is my least favorite chore in the world. Daniel's already on my case about ours." She gave a weak laugh. "You know me. I'd leave them up year-round if I could." Someday she'd do just that and hire someone to come in and dust them off once a month.
"I know, and I'm sorry to even ask." Mom sounded genuinely sympathetic. "But your dad went to that horse auction, and it's my turn to host the church ladies' book club tomorrow afternoon."
"Did you try Hart and Celia?" Natalie's brother and sister-in-law lived just a few miles from the farm.
"Hart went with your dad to the auction, and Celia's taking Kurt and Kevin to their basketball game." Mom paused. "I'll make apple dumplings and hot cider."
"Bribery—that is so not fair." Natalie patted her stomach. "I already need to sweat off at least five pounds of Christmas goodies."
"Lifting Christmas boxes is good exercise."
Obviously, Mom wasn't going to give up. Natalie stared out the bay window. She needed to come up with some logical reason why Mom should postpone this depressing annual chore. Her gaze settled on the bank of gray snow clouds looming on the horizon. She shivered just thinking about venturing out on this frosty January day.
She offered an idea. "Think of how much the ladies would enjoy the decorations. It wouldn't hurt to leave them up a little longer, would it?"
"Natalie, the tree is completely dry and dropping needles all over the carpet. It really must come down today." A note of apology tinged her mother's voice. "I should have asked your father to help me earlier in the week, but the time got away from us."
"You know I'd do anything for you, Mom, and if it were any other weekend—" Yes, come to think of it, she had a ready-made excuse. She tried not to let the rush of gratitude creep into her tone. "Remember I told you Daniel's parents are driving over this afternoon? Daniel's at a tournament in Fielding to scout basketball teams, and Lissa's at a skating party. I need to clean house and shop for groceries before they get here."
Not that she actually intended to do all that much. If her mother had asked her help for anything else—rearranging furniture, washing windows, even shoveling snow off the front walk—she'd have driven out to the farm on a moment's notice.
But taking down Christmas decorations?
Her mother gave a wry laugh. "It's okay. Don't worry, I'll manage by myself."
Mom's disappointment tarnished Natalie's brief glow of triumph and raised a moment of concern. Her stubborn mother would "manage" all right. She'd take on the whole project by herself, arthritis and all. Natalie pressed the phone against her ear. "Now, Mom, don't you try to carry all those boxes out to the barn. You'll aggravate your bad wrist again, and you won't be able to paint for a week."
"Natalie—"
"I mean it, Mom. Stack the decorations out of sight in the downstairs guestroom, and I'll come by one day next week to help you pack everything away."
After eliciting her mother's assurance she wouldn't take on too much, Natalie said good-bye. Just a few more days to psych herself up for the end of the holidays, that's all she asked. Shrugging off the last twinges of guilt, Natalie snuggled into the recliner to finish her coffee.
Around ten, she finally talked herself into exchanging her comfy robe and those adorable slippers for paint-stained sweats and grungy sneakers. Like it or not, she needed to do a cursory cleaning before her in-laws arrived. She'd just finished loading the dishwasher and returned from the garage with the sponge mop when the phone rang again.
This time it was Daniel's father, calling to say the winter frontal system had already hit their part of the state. With two inches of snow on the ground and more expected, they'd decided not to chance the drive.
A crazy mix of relief and disappointment flooded Natalie. Daniel didn't get to see his folks that often, and Lissa had been planning an after-Christmas shopping trip with her grandmother ever since they'd first mentioned coming. But an excuse to postpone housecleaning? Definitely cause for celebration. Natalie loaded the stereo with her favorite Christmas CDs, set up her easel and paints in front of the bay window, and settled in for her version of the perfect Saturday.
Hours later, she was adding the finishing touches to a winter landscape when the phone startled her. The paintbrush skittered across the canvas, marring a stately pine with aquamarine streaks. Natalie mumbled a few choice words and glanced at the mantle clock as she wiped her hands on a paint rag. Five already? Where had the day gone? Daniel and Lissa would be home soon. She needed to wrap things up and figure out something for supper. Mentally sorting through the freezer contents for a quick and simple meal, she picked up the kitchen extension.
"Natalie?" her dad's voice sounded ragged—choked with panic. "Come to the hospital right away. It's your mother."
Her stomach plummeted. She pictured her mother at the bottom of a ladder amidst a pile of Christmas decorations. "What happened? Is she okay?"
Sprained ankle? Broken hip? Oh, Mom, why couldn't you wait?
"Just ... get here." Her father clicked off before she could press him for details.
Dread coiled around her heart. She threw a parka over her sweats and grabbed her purse and keys off the counter. When she gunned the engine to back out of the garage, her trusty silver Saturn screeched in protest. The side mirror nicked the doorframe, and she barely missed taking out the mailbox and the neighbor's trash can. She drove like a maniac to Putnam General, all the while berating herself for ignoring Mom's request for help. After everything her mother had sacrificed for her, she could only pray these new injuries wouldn't cripple her mother for life.
Natalie burst through the ER entrance and scanned the faces in the congested waiting area. A mother holding an ice pack against her son's forehead. An ashen-faced woman dozing against an elderly man's shoulder. Whimpering babies. Frightened children. Anxious parents.
She spotted her father's silver-gray head across the room, where he paced in front of a set of double doors. Her brother, Hart, stood close by with his hands tucked into his blue-jeans pockets, rocking on his heels.
Natalie rushed over and touched her father's arm. "Dad, how's Mom? Tell me it's not serious."
Her father turned and looked at her—looked through her. "They think it's a stroke." His face crumpled as his thin veneer of strength collapsed. He pressed a fist to his mouth and pulled her to him, squeezing her so tightly, she could hardly breathe.
Natalie struggled away and stared at him, not comprehending. A stroke? Ice-cold terror crackled through her veins. She spun to face her brother and seized his wrist. "Hart?"
"It's bad, Nat. Real bad." He drew her into his arms, and she felt her brother's fear in every tense muscle of his body.
A tall, bearded man in hospital greens pushed through the double doors. "Mr. Morgan? I'm Dr. Wyatt." He indicated a frayed blue sofa, the only empty seat in the waiting area. "Why don't we sit down."
Natalie blocked his way. "Just tell us, how is my mother? She'll be okay, right?"
"I wish I had better news." The doctor glanced at the chart he held.
"But there's stuff you can do for a stroke these days. I saw it on TV."
"It isn't that simple. Please try to understand." Dr. Wyatt attempted to explain her mother's condition, tossing out phrases about blood clots and clot-dissolving medications and something about a three-hour time window before irreversible brain damage set in.
A sob tore from Natalie's throat. "Are you saying she got here too late? That there's nothing you can do?"
"We'll continue to do all we can to minimize the damage, but under the circumstances ..." The doctor gave a one-shoulder shrug. "I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry."
(Continues...)
Excerpted from One Imperfect Christmas by Myra Johnson Copyright © 2009 by The United Methodist Publishing House. Excerpted by permission of Abingdon Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
HippolytaTS
Posted December 10, 2011
Myra Johnson starts with an intriguing premise: dealing with guilt and how that affects a marriage. But her main character, the one to who we are to relate, was so selfish that it was hard to sympathize with her. And her husband was annoyingly passive.
One thing that especially bothered me, and that was emphasized by one of the discussion questions at the end, was the complete lack of community these supposed small-town, church-going people had. Natalie has no friend who comforts, supports, challenges her as she goes her unhappy, selfish way. Neither does their pastor involve himself, except in a very superficial way.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Lavendergrey
Posted January 7, 2012
This book was good, although I became very frustrated with the main character about half way through. It was written well, and the story line was interesting. I almost put it down, however, am glad I didn't because overall I enjoyed reading it and was happy with the ending. Definitely a good choice to read during the Christmas season.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Ausjenny
Posted September 28, 2009
I enjoyed this book. It was different from alot of christmas books and the book deals with serious issues. Myra has done a good job with this book. I appreciate how she deals with Natalie and I admit at times I wanted to shake her out of her feelings but I do appreciate guilt that can be associated with an elderly parent being sick or injured or in this case having a stroke. Guilt when a parent is in a nursing home is very hard to deal with but sometimes you have to let go of the guilt to go on. The way Natalies feelings affect the rest of the family is intersting to and I did enjoy how the story played out. The ending was well done and not quite what I expected but it was better.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.ChristysBookBlog
Posted September 22, 2009
One Imperfect Christmas by Myra Johnson is a poignant look at how tragedy can shatter a family. Natalie Pearce loves her life, and although she may complain about her messy husband or her teenage daughter's attitude, she's happy working part time as a graphic designer and painting in her spare time. Three weeks after Christmas, she receives a phone call that brings her entire world to a shuddering crash; her mother has suffered a severe stroke and will most likely never recover. What brings Natalie to her knees is the knowledge that if she had just answered her mother's plea for help putting Christmas decorations away, her mother wouldn't have had the stroke while alone and may have received treatment in time to recover. Natalie's guilt propels her into pushing away everyone she loves and focusing on nothing but her work. As a new Christmas approaches, she is filled with both dread and hope, can she have one more "perfect" Christmas with her family? Every character is so wrapped up in themselves that it will take a miracle to bring them back together. Johnson performs with precision an autopsy on this dying family, portraying to readers each wound and sadness. My one complaint with the book is that in the 49 weeks the book covers, Lissa, the teenage daughter, never ages beyond 13. If her birthday was in the three weeks not covered, it should have been referenced somewhere! That petty point aside, Johnson's novel has a powerful lesson for readers about learning to love and letting go of regret.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 6, 2013
Free book, not bad. Kept me reading.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 1, 2013
This book was a great read, even not at Christmas time. It is based around a family and the values they have that keeps them together when it would have been really easy to all give up on one another. This book is very clean and anyone that loves a inspirational story ~ This is for you! I will definitely look for other books by this author, I hope she has more out there that reflect this writing style. I would definitely say this would be a book club discussion! Happy reading :-) !!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.PraiseTD
Posted December 27, 2012
I think this is a well written illustration of love, forgiveness, family, and the hope of faith. Yes, the main character got irritating along the way but I can think of times in my own life that mirrored the attitude of the character in this book. So I can relate. It wasn't a very long book and therefore, did not cover all the issues. However, I disagree with the comment that it lacked an illustration of community support. The author showed the need and use of therapy, pastoral counsel, friendly support, family connections, and showing vulnerability to others.. This was a PERFECT read for this holiday season. It showed the spirit of 1 John 4: 18-20. So, thanks Myra for a well written, realistic Christian novel. And thanks B&N for a pleasantly surprising free Nook Book read!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted September 19, 2012
THis book is about family relationships. Each member in this family was so busy doing their own thing that they were begining to go their separate ways. Daniel was busy with the team, Natalie was busy with her job. and the teenage daughter felt neglected. When illness struck a grandparent everything fell apart. I think the message in the story is to love and forgive. We dont know what will happen tomorrow, but we know who holds the future.
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Posted August 5, 2012
Loved this book! Such a great read.
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Posted June 23, 2012
Good story
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Posted March 2, 2012
Its a vet good boook
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.ramacitti
Posted February 13, 2012
Very good chick flick book.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 29, 2012
This was the first book I read on my nook since it was free. It took me well over a month to finish it bc I could never get into it. It's extremely slow moving, boring and the ending of the book was finished like the author couldn't think up of anything else to write, so just quit writing. I wouldn't read another book by this author. Thankfully, I didn't waste money on this book.
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Posted January 9, 2012
A good read for Christmas.
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Posted January 3, 2012
This is a great short read. Would love to have more like this one.
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Posted January 1, 2012
I enjoyed this book although it was a bit sad for Christmas. It brought to mind how important family is and how difficult it is to carry on as they deteriorate in health or if you lose them. Makes you appreciate them a little bit more.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted December 29, 2011
This was a very cute holiday book! I enjoyed it. It ended good!
Anonymous
Posted December 28, 2011
I really enjoyed this read. It really makes you feel how important family is.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted December 15, 2011
I was hoping for a happy story but this was depressing.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted December 15, 2011
This was a good read and not what I expected for a "Christmas story" but I like that. The situations faced by the characters are realistic & could happen to anyone. I recommend reading it.
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