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Fiona sat nursing a cup of coffee, enjoying the cold that was helping to keep her eyes open. They had two rough days in a row, but this morning Hadley seemed to be in high spirits. It did appear she had some permanent paralysis on her right arm, but that was something they had known was possible. She was in great spirits and had them get her into the chair last night for some time in the great room. A set of actors from this little theater in Pennsylvania were here and did a fabulous job acting out the night before Christmas.
She had just hung up with James, who was expediting the finished copy of the book. He did think they could do a more permanent and better copy with a dust jacket down the road, but for this holiday giving season, it would do wonderfully.
“How are you this morning?” Daniel Grace asked, coming alongside the table where she sat looking out over the fresh snow-covered scenery.
“I’m okay,” she said. “Nina is in with Hadley discussing the pictures she took yesterday.”
“I know,” he said. “Mind if I sit?”
“Not at all. I was just reflecting at Mother Nature. It’s amazing how each night we have messed up the landscape, traipsed through everything, and then I wake up, and it snowed. It looks like she swept up everything and made it perfect again.”
“I never thought of it that way,” he said, lowering himself into the seat. “I just love the peacefulness and quiet. I cannot imagine spending the holiday in a noisy city or place where you couldn’t just stop and take it all in,” he said as they sat for a long moment in peaceful contemplation.
“We have traveled the world over in these last two decades,” Fiona said. “I definitely need snow for wintertime. When I miss it, having been away, my body gets off-kilter. Africa at Christmas was just hot, and dirty, and the same day after day.”
“I think it is the seasons,” Dan said, taking a long draw on his coffee. “I had a favor I wanted to ask you,” he said, not turning as he spoke.
“Okay?”
“I would like to give you our address and ask that maybe we keep in touch,” he said lightly. “You and Hadley have meant so much, encouraging Nina and pulling her out of the funk she was in after my wife passed. I know we are going to have tough days, but I am hoping you know should you ever need anything–I’m a call away.”
“I would love that,” Fiona said.
“I’m sorry about Hadley,” he said. “How are you doing with all of this?”
“Horribly!” She said without a moment’s thought. “I know you understand this to some degree, but we are the best of friends, half of the same whole. We finish each other’s sentences, and I wouldn’t have a writing career without her taking the pictures to illustrate my writing. I wouldn’t have fought so hard to do certain things if she hadn’t pushed me and vice versa. My life is a result of having been granted the best partner in the world to travel through life with, and now I’m having to figure out what that looks like after that goes missing from my world.”
“My pastor says there are different kinds of love that we are granted in this lifetime–Eros the romantic love I had for my wife. Storge- what families feel for each other, and Phileo. that is the love of lifelong friends and those with similar connections in life. And then, of course, the love we have for him. When he gave my wife’s eulogy, he spoke about how each of these are gifts, and sometimes we don’t all realize or take advantage of them until it’s too late.”
“Well, we definitely got a lot of use out of Phileo love. Is that what you called it, right?”
“Yep, you would be the very definition I will think about the rest of my life when I hear that term. It was a gift, and for kids who start out in foster care–an amazing gift at that. Now, you have been granted the gift of a long good-bye and having Hadley looking over you and pushing you towards your next grand adventure,” he said with a soft sigh. “I’ve met her,” he said with a chuckle. “I would get on to that next adventure, because when you meet her again, she will take you to task if you ruined any of your future chances, because of missing her.”
Fiona turned to him, “she would–she definitely would holler at me for sure,” she laughed. “You know she gave me this great idea of inspirational foster kid stories, that made good on their gifts and talents. I have been thinking about maybe doing something along those lines.”
“I think that would be such a great idea and show society how much a little gumption can do these days,” he said with a smile. “Any chance Hadley will be up for dinner company, Nina asked about having it here in the room with her tonight?”
“I’m sure she will be,” Fiona said. “Leo has asked me to step out afterward, and so I will be here.”
“I’ll come along with Nina, go have a night out,” Dan said.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course, there is nothing you hanging out here can do that we can’t,” he said emphatically.
“Thank you,” she said with a slight nod. She might be tired and worn out, but this was still going to be a great day.
“OH, and I should tell you. Nina hijacked some gingerbread men from the session this morning and frosting in these little baggies. I hope they don’t make too much of a mess.”
“She is going to love it,” Fiona said, rolling her shoulders. “I think her final meal will be a cookie.”
“Hey, I don’t think there is any better way to go,” he said, giggling as a group of toddlers in snowsuits followed the Lodge staff as they brought them up the tail.
As they all flopped into the snow and started making angels, Fiona couldn’t help but chuckle. They were giggling the best laughs, and you just couldn’t have a bad moment with that going on just outside your door. She opened the room a crack so that Hadley could enjoy the sounds also!
“Hey,” one of the caretakers hollered up at them, “want to try one yourself?”
“I think we might be a little old,” Fiona returned.
“Come on, chicken,” Hadley’s voice came from inside the room.
“I thought you were sleeping.”
“Go make snow angels, and Dan get that lovely daughter of yours to take pictures,” Hadley said weakly.
“Speaking of the devil,” Dan said as Nina walked up at just that moment.
“What?” Nina said.
“We have been ordered to go do snow angels,” Fiona responded.
“Ew, you are so old,” Nina said with the oddest expression on her face.
“Well, that settles it,” Dan said, setting his cup down as she headed for the nearest staircase.
“Get your camera at the ready,” Fiona said, chucking Nina under the chin as she walked by.
She quickly found a virgin piece of snow and fell backward, another little girl close by said, “you need to wave your arms like you are flying.”
She did as instructed, giggling the entire time as she glanced up and saw Nina with a camera capturing the moment. She glanced around the camera and stuck her tongue out, “I’m taking a bunch of these, you both look silly–but it kind of looks like fun!”
“If you come down here,” Fiona said. “I will get one of you in the snow.”
“Nah,” she said, smiling as she glanced about.
“Come on, party pooper,” Dan said. “Are you chicken?”
Fiona watched as Nina silently debated for a few more minutes before heading in their direction. She handed her the camera a second before she plopped down next to her dad. Fiona stood, framed the shot–and captured the father-daughter moment. She might not be the best photographer when compared to Hadley, or Nina, but she thought the shot turned out pretty good.
