A Texas Soldier's Christmas

Nora dipped her head, acknowledging wearily this was true. For every happy heart, there would be a broken one to mend. “I’m going to need all my energy to see them through it. So we better call it a night.”

Apparently not quite ready to give up just yet, he watched her climb behind the wheel. “Sure you don’t need my help getting Liam in the house, or seeing you get some dinner?”

Need?

No. She could do whatever was required all by herself.

Want was a different matter entirely.

* * *

“I HEARD MY dad had another episode last night,” Lynn Russell informed Nora the next morning.

Nora ushered the sixty-year-old noted actress into her private office. Although currently filming a television series in NYC, the glamorous redhead had flown back to enjoy the holiday with her dad.

“He suffered a period of brief confusion last night.”

“Wasn’t that the second time since he’s been here?”

“In the course of two weeks. Yes.”

Lynn settled in a chair on the other side of Nora’s desk. “Do you know why?”

“We initially chalked the first incident up to simple fatigue. He was exhausted by the plane ride and long drive here. Neither of which is easy for someone his age.”

“And the one last night?”

Nora regarded the medical chart in front of her. “We’re not sure. He hasn’t had much of an appetite since he moved in. So his blood sugar was a little off. We got the levels back to normal after he finished eating his dinner. And it was normal again this morning.”

“So that’s not likely it.”

“Probably not. But with folks his age, we keep a close tab on that just the same. He could also have been sundowning a little.”

Lynn turned off her phone and set her bag on the floor. “What’s that?”

“It’s a type of confusion that occurs later in the day. It can be an early symptom of Alzheimer’s or dementia. But I’ve also seen it brought about simply by a change in environment in an elderly person.”

“So, if it’s just the move back to Texas causing this...?”

“Then his occasional disorientation will ease as he adjusts to life here at Laramie Gardens and everything becomes more familiar to him.”

Lynn tapped her fingers, thinking. “And if not?”

Nora sobered. “Then treatment might be required. Which is why we have a geriatric specialist, Dr. Ron Wheeler, coming in tomorrow morning to go over his medical records and examine him. But not to worry, your dad is in fine spirits this morning. So you should have a nice holiday together.”

Her expression regretful, Lynn walked with Nora to the door. “I wish I could have convinced Dad to stay with me in New York City and continue to have home care help to assist him in my absence. But he was insistent he return to the place where I grew up and he and my mother spent their entire married life.”

Together, they moved down the hall. “I can see where that would be comforting.”

Lynn shook her head sadly. “He’s never gotten over losing her two years ago.”

Nora recalled Esther, who had worked side by side with her husband at the Laramie bookstore they founded. A kinder, more devoted couple could not have been found. “How long were they married?” She paused just outside Mr. Pierce’s door.

“Sixty-three years.” Lynn smiled and waved at her dad, who was standing in front of a bookcase of leather-bound classics. Treasure Island, Moby-Dick, A Christmas Carol, Gunga Din, The Catcher in the Rye, Don Quixote... Mr. Pierce had quite the collection. And he was deeply attached to them all.

“Wow,” Nora said. “I can hardly imagine what it would be like to be married that long.”

“I know.” Lynn grinned as she headed in to see her father. “Not many couples make it that long these days.”

Certainly, Nora thought, not she and Zane.

* * *

“IS LIEUTENANT LOCKHART coming for the feast this evening?” Miss Mim asked.

“We invited him to attend,” Miss Sadie said helpfully.

Nora cradled Liam against her shoulder, all the while keeping an eye on the dining room, where places for all one hundred and fifty residents, and the hundred special guests also in attendance for the buffet dinner at 4:30 p.m., were being set up.

Nora shoved aside her own need to see the handsome soldier. “I expect he’s with his own family today.”

“Ah...think again...” chimed in Miss Mim, who’d been matchmaking for the two of them since they were kids who hung out together every summer, when Zane visited his paternal grandfather.

Every nerve end tingling, Nora turned.

And there came Zane striding toward her in an olive green shirt, tie, blazer and jeans. He had a huge sheet cake in his hands. “Did your sister, Sage, make that cake?” Buck Franklin asked.

Zane chuckled. “She did. And she even put the great big turkey on it, just like I asked.” He held it out so everyone could see the decoration adorning the vanilla frosting.

Nora couldn’t help but compliment, “That was so nice of you and Sage.” His sister was a fabulous chef, as well as café bistro owner.

Zane grinned and regarded Nora mischievously, his eyes alight with interest. “Consider it the Lockhart family’s contribution for the feast today.”

It was something, all right.

Oblivious to the sparks flying between Zane and Nora, Wilbur Barnes stepped in to relieve Zane. “Thanks, son.”

Miss Patricia led the way across the dining hall. “I’ll make room for it on the dessert table.”

Suddenly, the world narrowed once again. Zane regarded Liam, who was looking around with a slightly perturbed expression on his cherubic face. “Not to worry, little fella,” he said, patting Liam’s head. “You’ll have a chance to have cake when I bring it next year.”

As if Zane would be there with them next November, Nora thought irritably. The practical side of her laid down odds he would not. Which meant for all their sakes she had to keep her guard up.

As the seniors gathered around them eased off to give them a little privacy, she nodded at the brash fabric knotted around his neck. “Where did you get that tie?” she quipped. “Pick it out yourself?”

He held out the brown, orange, gold and green silk. Then gazed admiringly at the upside-down design. “Neckwear sporting a traditional cornucopia is hard to find.”

Nora rolled her eyes. “I’ll bet.”