Free Christmas Visitor by Linda Byler Page A

by someone who was directed by God to do so. I think it’s good, clean, wonderful food. Can you imagine our Christmas dinner with all of this?”
    She smiled widely, held up one palm, and raised her eyebrows in question. Elmer nodded, grinned, and then sidled up to give her a resounding high five, followed by a leaping Roy who slapped her palm so hard she cradled it with her other hand and faked a serious injury.
    â€œHooo-boy!”
    Barbara and Esther giggled and laughed before they caught sight of the clock and shrieked.
    â€œTen to eight!”
    â€œOh my goodness!”
    That day the children went to school after shoveling cold cereal into their mouths at the very last minute. They rushed out the door still pulling on their coats and smacking their hats onto their heads before racing down the road on their scooters. Their journey to school that day was filled with more merriment than they’d had since their father passed away.

Who had done it, though? Someone with plenty of common sense and knowledge of a poor widow’s needs, Ruth thought.
    The banana box of delicious meat was soon followed by another one that was mysteriously delivered on the same night Lillian became terribly ill with a sore throat. How could a mother be rocking her child in the living room with the blinds halfway up and not see someone leave a box outside in plain view?
    Lillian was so sick, her little body racked with pain and fever that no amount of Tylenol would touch. It was a long night with an abundance of fear and unanswered questions. The small kerosene lamp by the recliner provided a small, steady flame of reassurance, while the shadows along the wall brought doubt and sorrow. The flickering gloominess reflected Ruth’s constantly shifting emotions as Lillian’s little heart pounded in her thin, little chest and her breathing became shallow and ragged. The little patient repeatedly cried out in pain when she tried to swallow.
    Mam arrived in the morning, an angel quickly transported by an English driver. Her blue eyes filled with tears of understanding as she carried in her Unkers salve, Infection Aid, and liquid Vitamin C along with her knowledge of onion poultices and vinegar baths.
    As always, Ruth meant to stay strong, but her resolve crumbled the minute she met with the kindness in her mother’s eyes. She handed Lillian over to Mommy, soothed a crying Benjamin, and knew it was time to admit she wasn’t goot. She was completely overwhelmed and underfunded. And, yes, she had bought those two rugs at Walmart, but now her money was all gone, and she just wanted to buy Christmas gifts and be normal with a husband who provided for her.
    She did not want to be the poor widow who people watched with sympathy and pity. She wanted to hold up her head and say, “Stop it. I am Ruth. I am still human, and I want to be accepted as one of you and laugh when I want to or say silly things if I feel like it. Just stop looking at me.” Oh, the thoughts that tormented her when she was exhausted!
    First, Lillian was lowered into the bathtub, though the smell of apple cider vinegar was so strong that she cried and clung to her grandmother. The miracle occurred when the fever dropped after the Unkers salve was applied to Lillian’s neck and she had swallowed a dose of Infection Aid, a potent mixture of herbs.
    Lillian was dressed in a clean flannel nightgown with an old cloth diaper tied around her neck, where the salve was already doing its work. They pulled warm socks onto her feet, and she rested well, sleeping soundly for most of the forenoon as Mam busied herself doing the washing and then holding Benjamin.
    Ruth suddenly remembered the box and brought it in, excitement in her eyes, a wide smile on her face. Her joy brought a tender look to Mam’s own face as she remembered her daughter in easier times.
    Slowly, Ruth lifted off the cardboard lid and found this box filled with groceries. Staples. Good,