A very rough draft

            THE CHRISTMAS ANGEL

Excitement filled the air as the holiday shoppers ran from store to store. Giddy they chatted while finding the perfect gift for him, or exactly what she wanted. Children cried from exhaustion as their parents pushed them promising just one more store then we can go home. Tirelessly they shopped for the best gift for that special parent or favorite aunt. I watched in amusement, gazing at all of them, hoping they all would get that special something. I also looked for that one face I knew needed me. And then I saw him. He was hurriedly walking through the throngs of people, anticipation on his face. And purpose. His eyes were sad, his brow furrowed. I flitted to him and sat on his shoulder as he walked in the jewelry store, trying to read his thoughts and find out what had caused this pain. He was there to buy an angel necklace for his wife who had just lost a child early in pregnancy. They had been trying for several years, told they would never have any when she miraculously became pregnant. It lasted a week only, and both were devastated. This would be my next assignment, I decided.

            Carefully so no one would notice I jumped into the case he was looking at, changing into the exact angel necklace he was pointing to. Stainless silver with small diamonds in the wings. Tasteful and subtle. The clerk rang him up and I felt him skip as we walked through the mall. I heard when he reached her. I could feel her smile as she looked at the bag. Christmas was still a week away, but he couldn’t wait to show her. Carefully she removed the box I was in and opened the lid. I looked up and could see a pair of misty blue eyes, which immediately began to tear up and she looked up and kissed him. Helping her, he attached my chain around her and said, “This is an angel to watch over you and our next child”.

            For the next ten months I lived around her neck. Lily, that is her name, would only take me off for special occasions. She was sad and very nervous all the time. Each month she would have her cycle and cry quietly in the bathroom, longing for the child she had lost and the one she thought would never come. As they slept at night, I would coach them into finding their paths to happiness. It was not too long that Lily and Jack, her husband, decided to make changes in their lives to improve themselves. Both changed careers, and then Lily auditioned for a play. Something she had missed terribly. Jack enrolled back in school and bought himself a new truck, fulfilling a wish he had had for some time. Finally the two of them were happy, just missing one final piece. And so it was my turn.

            A few weeks later, Lily felt different and took a pregnancy test. Nervous she held her breath while Jack was upstairs in the shower. When she saw the word PREGNANT appear, I could feel her heart lurch inside.  Running she burst into the bathroom. Jack peered over her through the top of the shower, gazing at her face he said simply, “I knew it”.            

            Lily was so nervous during her entire pregnancy and wore me every day. When Jack bought her a new necklace for Valentine’s Day, she thanked him, but kept me around her neck. She joked that she was superstitious and did not want to upset the balance. Every doctor appointment she would hear that everything was perfect and would become more confident. By July, her baby was ready to come out. A son.

            Twenty-seven hours of hard labor finally prompted Lily’s doctor to request a c-section. As she got ready, I could feel her tug on me nervously when the nurse gently explained that no jewelry was allowed. With shaking fingers, Lily handed me to her mother. As they wheeled her out, I was handed off, this time to Jack as good luck. Giving his mother in law a quick hug, Jack jammed me into his pocket, anxious to be with his wife and meet his son. Crawling out, I perched on his shoulder and watched as he kissed Lily’s forehead and waited. Then we all heard the sound of a baby crying. Both Jack and Lily smiled at each other. I hung around until Lily, Jack and their new baby were in their room for the night. I saw Lily’s panic when she realized I was gone. Perching on her shoulder, I whispered in her ear that my job was done and it was time for me to make someone else’s dream come true. She cried softly, kissed her baby and drifted off to sleep.  Flitting through the halls of the hospital I looked in on all the others. That was when I decided; this would be my home now. A few days later, as I was flying around checking on those who needed a little comfort, I saw the three of them leaving. Lily was sitting in her wheelchair, holding her new baby. I saw her reach up to feel for the necklace that had been there for so long. Remembering I was gone, she smiled at her new baby and together the three of them left.