After 10 years of wedded bliss I was devestated to hear that my husband wanted a divorce. I wanted a fresh start in life and moved to a small country town. I moved into an apartment community and felt very alone. I did not know any of my neighbors and was trying my best to stay in the holiday spirit, while still trying to heal my heart.
I had bought several packages of Christmas cookies because they were on sale and I figured I would make them in the upcoming weeks to just snack on. I began baking on Christmas Eve and had a couple of dozen or so. I went to sleep that night and enjoyed the aroma that the mint chocolate had left in the air.
Christmas Day, I was leaving my apartment when I noticed that my elderly downstairs neighbors car was in the driveway. I found this to be odd as all of the other residents were gone to be with family and I figured she would be as well.
I am not sure what I was thinking as I ran back up the stairs and began to throw cookies on a plate. I then decided that I was going to leave her some cookies and let her know that I was thinking about her. I was scared when I knocked on her door as I didn’t really know her. I was pleasently surprised when she took the cookies and invited me in. We began to chat and she offered me a cup of coffee and loving joked about how much better it would be with a hint of Bailey’s Irish Cream. Her joke turned out to be a mission for us to find a open liquor store and off we went.
We spent almost all day before we accomplished the task. However during the day she shared stories of her departed husband and children and her life was so fascinating to me. I felt her joy and her sorrow as she mentioned her favorite and least favorite Christmas times that had past.
We eventually made it back to her place and settled in for the evening. We shared more stories and got a pretty good drunk on and ate cookies. It was the best Christmas I had in a long time. It pained me deeply when she passed after the New Year had begun however I felt blessed to spend her last Christmas with her.