A Mrs. Miracle Christmas - Debbie Macomber Page 0,3

night. He’d always stop by to visit when he was in the Seattle area, and she spent many school breaks with him and his new family. Laurel never doubted her father’s love and was grateful that he’d seen the wisdom of keeping her with her grandparents.

“I’ll research a few different home-care agencies tonight and give them a call before school starts in the morning,” Laurel said. Zach was right. The dementia was getting worse. They couldn’t risk leaving Helen alone any longer.

At dinner that evening, Helen pushed the food around on her plate, showing no interest in her meal.

“Don’t you like the meat loaf?” Laurel asked. Her grandmother seemed to have lost her appetite lately, and the weight loss was evident in the way her clothes hung on her body.

“It’s good, but I’m not hungry. If it’s all right, I think I’ll head to bed early.”

“But Wheel of Fortune is on.” It was her grandmother’s favorite show. Nana had watched it for as long as she could recall, and for her to miss it was yet another unwelcome sign for Laurel.

“The puzzles have become too hard. I used to be good at figuring them out. I seem to have lost my touch.”

Zach shared a look with Laurel.

“Would you like me to read to you?” Laurel asked her grandmother.

Again, Nana wasn’t interested. “Another time.”

While Zach cleaned the kitchen, Laurel helped her grandmother get ready for bed. Lately, Nana seemed to require more sleep and was often still in bed when Laurel left for school in the morning. Laurel attributed it to the medication Dr. Fredrickson had recently prescribed for her grandmother. Long sleeping patterns was only one of the drug’s side effects. It also caused vivid dreams that often left Nana disturbed.

* * *

—

The following day, Laurel placed a call to the first agency on her list to see about hiring a home companion to stay with her grandmother while she and Zach were at their respective jobs.

“I wish I had someone,” the woman from Caring Angels said, introducing herself as Elise Jones. “Unfortunately, every one of the caretakers in our agency is already out on assignment.”

“Oh dear.” This wasn’t the news that Laurel wanted to hear.

“I’d be happy to put your name on a waiting list.”

Laurel was already sadly familiar with waiting lists. The idea of being placed on another made her cringe. “Do you have any idea how long it will take before you have someone available?”

The woman hesitated. Laurel could hear the clicking of her computer keys in the background. She didn’t know how much longer she could wait. The situation with her grandmother was quickly becoming critical.

“I can’t see anything opening up before the first of the year.”

“That long?” Another month, Laurel thought to herself. All she could do was hope that someone would become available sooner, rather than later. The one bright spot was that with Christmas nearly upon them, she’d be home from school for a couple weeks around the holidays. Thankfully, she wouldn’t need to return until after the first of the year.

“Should I put your name on the list?”

Seeing that she had no other option, Laurel agreed. “Please.”

After giving the agency all the pertinent information, Laurel hung up the phone and called two other agencies. They had longer waiting lists than the Caring Angels agency. She phoned Zach to give him the news.

“What did you find out?” he asked.

“We’re on a waiting list. They expect to have someone available after the first of the year.”

Zach didn’t hide his concern. “Do you think she’ll be all right by herself until your Christmas break?”

“Do we have a choice?”

“I guess not,” Zach said, sounding as defeated as Laurel felt.

“I can always drive home to check on her during my lunch,” Laurel said, although she wasn’t sure how that would work. If she got caught up in traffic and was late returning, it would cause major problems, possibly even the loss of her job. She couldn’t leave the children unattended, and staffing was so tight that it was unfair to ask someone to watch her class until she got back. It didn’t help that she had signed up to organize the Christmas program at school.

How did my life get so complicated? Laurel pondered. Yet she knew in her heart that she would never ignore her grandmother’s needs. Nana had been there for Laurel when she’d needed her the most, and Laurel was determined to do the same for Nana.

At the end of the