Christmas Wishes

They sat at the counter and talked for a few minutes, enjoying their time together before it was time to open the store. Molly was so glad she got to see her friend, even if it was just for a few minutes. They made promises to come visit in New York soon, and Hannah promised to show them all around her fancy TV show set.

When it was time to open the store, Molly and Nicholas reluctantly left the warmth of Sweetness & Light and headed out into the winter morning. When they were nearly there, they found Liam leaning on the wall. He was innocently throwing a snowball up and down in the air.

“This looks like trouble,” Nicholas warned, blocking Molly with his arm, like he was holding her back from something dangerous. “I thought we called a truce, Liam!”

“No truce.” Liam caught the snowball, this time with a sense of finality. “But this year, I’ll give you a head-start.”

“Run, Molly, run!” Nicholas shouted, grabbing for Molly’s hand, and they ran down the street, Liam in hot pursuit.

After a few snowballs, near misses and a couple complete bulls-eyes, Liam was once again crowned the king of snowball fights. The three of them, now with snow in their hair and covering their jackets, opened the store.

It was a banner year for Christmas Wishes. With Molly and Nicholas running things, the store had prospered. People came from miles around to visit and they'd been written up as one of the best Christmas stores in the nation.

Around lunchtime, Hannah came by with a plate of freshly baked cookies. While Nicholas and Liam dove into the sugary goodness, Molly didn't eat a single one. In fact, she turned that pale green color again.

“Are you okay?” Nicholas asked, pulling her to the side. “You look awful.”

“They just don't smell right,” Molly told him, frowning. “Nothing for the past week has smelled right. It all smells awful, even though it's fine.”

“That's not normal,” Nicholas said, shaking his head. Worry started to creep into the pit of his stomach. He could remember his aunt saying things didn't smell right to her either when she first got sick.

“I know. I made a doctor's appointment this morning. Will you come with me during lunch?” Molly asked.

“Of course,” Nicholas promised, putting a kiss on forehead. “Of course.”

* * *

Nicholas sat in the waiting room while Molly was being seen by her doctor. At one point, Nicholas took it upon himself to crack open one of the magazines on the table in front of him. He smiled to himself once he got to a certain section about holiday baking and saw Hannah Johnson’s face smiling back at him from inside the magazine’s glossy pages. He then thought about taking the magazine home with him as he was sure Molly would love to read it in her spare time.

Would the doctor’s office notice a missing magazine from their racks?

Was it treasonous to steal a magazine from a doctor’s office in the first place?

These are the questions that plagued Nicholas as he tapped his toe to the beat of the song playing overhead.

The doctor’s office was playing O Holy Night.

Because of course they were.

“Mr. Kerstman?” A young nurse popped her head around the corner, grinning when she saw Nicholas. “Would you mind coming to the back with me, please?”

Nicholas followed the nurse’s lead, heading around that same corner. He couldn’t help the anxious feeling that was growing in his chest as he wondered why he needed to be called back into Molly’s private appointment.

He managed to smooth the worry from his face by the time he’d reached Molly’s exam room, even if his thoughts were running wild.

Whatever it was, he wanted to be strong for his wife.

The doctor greeted Nicholas with a firm handshake. “Good morning, Mr. Kerstman. How are you doing today?”

“Good morning,” Nicholas greeted the doctor, pulling his hand away. “And I’m fine, but I’d be better if I knew what was going on.”

Nicholas looked over at Molly and it seemed like she was hiding her face away from him.

Why?

Oh no.

Molly had been crying.