Widow's Christmas

CHAPTER 1

TARA

"Another December without you, Fred." I ran my hand across his picture frame, feeling the pain tearing me apart from within.

"I don't know if I can keep up with your loss. I... I miss you." My eyes came wet as I sniveled, trying to hold back my tears.

But what can I do?

Three years ago on Christmas Eve, I lost my husband to the cold hands of death. He left this world and left me behind to mourn away as his widow.

Since then, I've been struggling to move on and stay happy, but it's been hard for me.

So hard.

"Tara," I heard my mother in-law call out to me from outside my bedroom.

I immediately wiped my eyes and kept my husband's picture in my luggage when I heard the door creak open.

"Yes mother?" I answered, sniffing before turning over to face her.

She stared at me from the door, almost as if she knew what I was doing before her arrival.

With a light smile appearing on her face, she asked innocently, " Are you ready?"

"Um..." I uttered, turning around to glance at my room then at my bags.

With heaviness inside me, I responded, "Yes, I am. Let me just zip this up."

I slid my arm pass my face, cleaning off my tears while getting myself ready.

My mother in-law drew near and said while helping me with my bags, "You'll feel much better when we get there. Trust me, this year's Christmas will bring a smile to your face."

It's what she has been saying since and I hope this season would give me the peace and strength to finally accept my loss.

We left the city and drove down to my late husband's hometown, Green Hills.

Amelia, my mother in-law, has been telling me tales about her place being a town of cheers and happiness. She claimed the people had a way of brightening one's mood, and I wondered if she was just saying that to put a smile on my face.

Still, I didn't want to disappoint her. She has been a mother to me even after her son's death.

When we arrived at the snowy town, we were forced to stop our car along the way to receive the warm gestures and love shown to us by a few people.

This moved me. It felt like they knew we were coming.

My mother in-law got the love more since she was from the town and everyone knew her. When she introduced me as her daughter in-law, they happily welcomed me with open arms.

"You did well by following our dear Amelia. You're going to enjoy your stay," A lady said, caressing my face.

I gave a smile, trying to blend in.

They followed us to mother's home, which was covered with so much snow and looked abandoned.

With the help of our guests, we got the snow cleared out of the door, and went into our house.

"Here we are. Feel at home, my dear," Mother said, turning on the lights.

When the dark room brightened up, I felt my body shiver on seeing my late husband's photo on the wall, right in front of me.

It's an old photo of him when he was young, and... It got to me.

My mother in-law didn't see the sadness that crept all over me. because of her friends. They were engaging her with talks about the things she had missed, helping us with our bags.

I had to keep it to myself, so she wouldn't notice my pain.

"You are just in time for the rehearsal, Amelia. I hope you'll join us this year?"

"Definitely," She chuckled, turning to face me.

Seeing her eyes on me, I gave out a smile and took hold of my bags, asking for my room.

"The door to your left, " She answered, heading for the fireplace.

I dragged my bags, refusing any help from the cheerful and helpful guests. I didn't want anyone following me.

Once I had all my things settled in the room, I sat on my bed and sighed, covering my face up with my palms.

"Try to make yourself happy, Tara. Fred is no more. It's high time you moved on... Please," I pleaded with myself, hoping to pull out of my sorrow.

"Everyone here is nice. Maybe this Christmas would end up being good like mother said." I smiled, wrapping my arms across my body while hovering my gaze around the room.

Later, I was sitting close to the fireplace with mother and three other ladies, taking in the heat. The others had gone to their various homes after helping us to clean our place. Only these three stayed back to keep us company.

It was obvious they were my mother in-law's close friends.

While they were talking, I decided to take a warm bath and clear this chilling temperature out of my system. But on checking the tap... "Huh?" I turned the head and nothing came out.

That's when I checked and discovered the pipes were blocked and frozen from the cold!

"This isn't good," I sighed, drawing away from the pipes.

I had to head back to the living room to see mother and let her know what was going on. "The pipes are blocked. There's no single water coming out."

"Oh dear. Looks like the weather is at work," One of her friends chuckled, getting the others to laugh.

But to me it wasn't a funny matter.

"Seems it's not just the weather. I think the pipes are damaged as well," I pointed that out, showing the seriousness.

That's when they said to me, "Don't worry about that, dear. The pipes will start running in no time."

"Amelia, call Theodore. I'm sure he'll be free by now."

"Oh, he's still around? I thought he'd have left Green Hills by now to... Oh forget it. Where's my phone?" Mother said, reaching for her purse.

She placed a call through to the plumber while I decided to wait.

Ten minutes later after our guests left, I came running up to the door to answer it.

"Maybe it's him," I presumed, reaching for the knob.

And as soon as I opened up, the sight of a huge handsome man dusted with snow, left me astounded.

His height and body figure gave this manly aura, which made his appearance more... Wow.

"Goodnesa, he's not the plumber," I judged based on his dressing.

"Seems he's also here to say hello to us. I must confess, he's good-looking. Better than the few faces I've seen so far," I admired, feeling strange.

"What?" The charming man uttered, lifting his brow at me.

The way he glowered made me feel silly for gawking. I felt my voice hook right in my throat, making it hard for me to respond.

That's when my mother in-law's voice came from behind, "Oh thank God you're here, Theodore."

Wait, Theodore?

He's the plumber?