Widow's Christmas

CHAPTER 5

TARA

Forty eight hours had passed and I still didn't call Theodore for any help.

Mother's begging had ceased. She no longer bothered me to call him when I successfully got the pipes inside the house running.

I went as far as attending to the tubes outside the house, impressing not only my mother in-law, but our neighbors who saw me fixing it.

They were marvelled.

But I was more pleased and filled with pride when that rude a*s walked pass the house like a spy, watching me at work.

The way he stared showed how shocked he was. He thought I'm like the weak ladies of this town, who keeps praising his name like he's some hero without testing themselves first.

At least he knows this household doesn't need his service any more. I can handle any leakage myself.

That evening, mother got dressed in her dress and thick sweater, all set to head out to the town square.

"Oh, I don't want to be late," She panicked, checking her time while rushing.

The Christmas Eve rehearsal she discussed with her friends commences in thirty minutes time, and she doesn't want to get there late.

When she invited me over and said I'd enjoy it, I turned down the offer politely, having no interest.

In fact, I wasn't feeling the Christmas magic like I had anticipated. I think this Eve is going to be like the others, but worst.

"You're going to love it," She assured me, but I still stood on my word.

"I'll be fine here, I pro..."

Suddenly, we heard the sound of water splashing in the kitchen. When we went to check, we found the sink leaking with water.

"Goodness, not now." I drew nearer and turned the tap head to stop it, but it only made it worst.

Looking at Mom, I said with a smile, "Duty calls. You just have fun, okay? I'll be fine."

She hummed, staring at the sink. Then she left for her rehearsal, leaving me behind.

As soon as she was gone, I drifted into the only mood I've been living in for three years.

Sadness.

My stay so far in Green Hills has only reminded me of my past with Fred and how much I miss that man so much.

I haven't felt that spark Mom keeps telling me about. It's like I was meant to never receive it.

"Looks like it's just you and me again, pipes," I smiled at the sink, grabbing a bowl to stop the water from wetting the floor any further.

While working on the leak, I realized that something was forcing the water to bust out from the sink.

Curious, I went around the house to check until I was down at the basement, hearing a hissing sound coming from the main pipe.

"Oh God, is this where it's coming from?" I drew closer to check and found the pipe swollen at the side.

Since I had my tool with me, I got on my knees and began attending to it when suddenly, something hard struck me from above!

"Ouch!" I reacted, turning to see a pipe hook next to me.

On lifting my head to the ceiling, my whole life flashed instantly.

The pipe above came bursting out with full pressure, falling right at my direction!

My feet froze to the ground! I couldn't make a move!

Unexpectedly, someone pulled me away, saving me from getting harmed by the flying hooks that were shot around by the pipe!

When I snapped out of my fear and turned to see who it was, I was astonished.

It was Theodore!

He stared at the mess made and furiously bumped me hard on the shoulder, yelling out loud!

"Are you insane?! Look at what you've done!" He raised his voice, pointing at the water and ruined tubes that came falling on the floor.

"You were acting high and mighty, showing yourself! To you, you're now a f*****g plumber, but it doesn't work that way!"

My body shivered at Theodore's tone. He sounded terrifying. I couldn't defend myself but lower my head shamefully, taking in his harsh words.

"You city people think you can do everything right, but you know nothing! You're dumb, that's what you are! You've been told by Amelia that this work isn't meant for you, but you just want to prove you know it all!"

I kept my head down, feeling my face go heavy. My eyes slowly welled up with tears, and my heart ached just hearing how he spoke to me raspily.

"Just look at the mess you made! f**k!" He sparked, causing me to shake and draw away from his side.

I was trying to hold this pain in, but it bailed on me, forcing out a heavy sniff with my tears dropping out from my eyes.

When I noticed Theodore had gone silent, I lifted my head and found him staring at me. He was stunned to see me in tears.

I felt embarrassed and looked away, wiping my wet eyes with my palms.

That's when Theodore requested for the tools with a calm voice and told me to stand aside. "I'll fix this mess," He said.

I didn't utter a word but handed him the instruments, before sitting aside to watch him work.

I would have gone to my room and locked myself in there, but I felt so lonely and decided to just sit there in the basement with Theodore.

Soon the area was filled with nothing both silence. It felt like I was sitting in a graveyard.

"This setting isn't that bad," Theodore uttered, gaining my attention. "You did this yourself?" He asked, turning to look at me.

I didn't know if I should respond to that or stay shut. But with the boredom around, I nodded.

"Nice. Where did you learn how to do this?" He asked, pointing at the main pipe.

"Um..." I slowly found my voice and told him where. "From the internet. I learnt how to fix the pipes from there."

"You mean you didn't learn it as a skill, just from the net?" He squinted his eyes at me, while I nodded.

"God, you City people are full of surprises." He rolled his eyes funnily, planting a chuckle in me.

"And here I thought you really had this plumbing skills in you, but it turns out that your don't! Crappy internet teaching people how to get hurt!" He insulted, attending to the damaged pipes.

I should be feeling annoyed with Theodore who began insulting my skills and the city, but somehow... I found it entertaining.

Most of the harsh things that were meant to make me mad, sounded funny to me. I laughed at some of his jokes which ended up blooming my heart.

"You think I'm playing?" He rolled his, eyes at me, turning to face his work. "Maybe it's best if your mother throws you back into the city. It will do me a great favor."

"f**k you," I reacted, only to receive the middle finger from Theodore.

"You're insane. I'm going nowhere," I said, frowning at him.

"Whatever, just keep your head out of my business in this town."

I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms. But I wasn't angry, I felt... Happy.

After successfully stopping the water from flowing, Theodore began piling the damage pipes to the corner.

While doing this, he asked in a assuasive and calm voice, "How did Fred die?"

Hearing him mention my husband's name, I felt emotional. I assumed he was an old friend of his and told him how my husband passed away.

"He lost his vision while driving in the snow and he ran into a tree."

"Oh, I'm... I'm sorry to hear that."

"That... That was on Christmas Eve, three years ago," I shared, remembering how horrified I felt when I saw his body being covered up by the doctor.

The image brought discomfort to me. I swayed my head and gave a sigh out, just to relieve myself from the past images coming back.

"Since then, Christmas has become nothing but my least favorite celebration. I don't like to celebrate it."

"Seems we're on the same page then," Theodore chuckled, arranging the pipes properly.

"I began to hate Christmas the day my beauty sleep was taken by this town and their singing," He grumbled, falling his head back.

When I saw this, I laughed.

"Now they are going to do it again this year. f**k! Sometimes I feel like running somewhere to hide."

"Maybe this time you can hide here in the basement until Christmas is over," I suggested, making fun of him.

He frowned, swaying his head.

Once he was done, we both walked out of the basement together, heading for the living room.

Theodore made plans to come by tomorrow and attend to the damage I made. "I don't want to see your footprints in that place. Just keep off. It's not your work," He warned, sounding rude like always.

But I didn't mind. The only emotion I began to feel while drawing closer to the door was loneliness.

Somehow... I didn't want Theodore to leave. I wanted him to stay.

There was this sudden spark that took over me when I looked at this man next to me, who spoke rudely about the messes I made in the house.

It wasn't rage nor was it hate. It felt really warm and comfortable.

When Theodore took hold of the knob, ready to leave... "Wait," I uttered all of a sudden, placing my hand on his.

My body shivered when I touched him. I don't know what was happening to me.

He turned over to face me and asked, "Is everything okay?"

"I... I want..." I stammered, finding it hard to speak to him.

Theodore assumed I wanted to challenge his decision on the work and began to warn me. "I won't spare you if you mess with those tubes in my..."

Before he could complete his words, I grabbed his face close and kissed him on the lips!

Realizing what I had done, I drew back in shock and stared at a stunned Theodore. He froze at my action, unable to speak.

"I'm... I'm sorry," I apologized, feeling scared of how he'd react.

"I don't know what came over me. I didn't mean to... Mmm!" Theodore had dragged me closer and silenced me shockingly, with his lips sealing mine!

As I felt our lips locking passionately, my whole body felt relaxed and calm. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling myself closer to his body, and he carefully lifted me off the ground, taking me into my room.

I couldn't explain the sudden feeling engulfing Theodore and I when we went n***d, kissing each other in the dark.

When he slid into me, "Haa!" I moaned out, grabbing him tightly.

We're... doing it.

We're actually having s*x.