Christmastime 1945 Read online

  Other books by Linda Mahkovec

  The Dreams of Youth

  Seven Tales of Love

  The Garden House

  The Christmastime Series

  Christmastime 1939: Prequel to the

  Christmastime Series

  Christmastime 1940: A Love Story

  Christmastime 1941: A Love Story

  Christmastime 1942: A Love Story

  Christmastime 1943: A Love Story

  Christmastime 1944: A Love Story

  Christmastime 1945: A Love Story

  by Linda Mahkovec

  …

  Copyright © 2019

  All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.

  This book is a work of fiction. While references may be made to actual places or events, the names, characters, incidents, and locations within are from the author’s imagination and are not a resemblance to actual living or dead persons, businesses, or events. Any similarity is coincidental.

  ISBN: 978-1-64704-001-7

  Distributed by Bublish, Inc.

  Cover Design by Laura Duffy

  ©JohnAnderson/iStock

  To my family, with love

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Epilogue

  Chapter 1

  The snow fell softly over Manhattan as Lillian Drooms hurried home. She was still smiling from her meeting with Mrs. Huntington and the art director of children’s books. Her drawings had been well received and Mrs. Huntington hinted that Lillian had a good chance at being selected to illustrate a children’s adventure series – she would love nothing more! She lifted her face to the sky and inhaled deeply. Happiness and Christmas were in the air. Wanting to catch even more of the holiday spirit, Lillian decided to walk up Fifth Avenue and cross through Central Park on her way home.

  The crowds thickened as she neared and then turned onto the avenue. All around her, the sense of excitement was palpable – in the carolers and newspaper boys, the honking and braking of traffic, the calls from the vendors: “Hot chestnuts! Pretzels here!” Workers rushed from jobs, couples walked arm-in-arm, shoppers ducked in and out of stores – their arms laden with packages and shopping bags – and groups of servicemen explored Manhattan while they awaited their final train or bus ride home.

  Lillian took a moment to look around her at the bustling city, so alive! And this was just one avenue. She knew that the harbor and piers, and Grand Central and Penn Station all bustled with returning soldiers. The roads into and around New York City were crowded as never before – the city was bursting at its seams. At long last, the war was over! And this first Christmas after the war was sure to be a memorable one.

  Bumped and jostled by the throng of people, Lillian tucked herself into a doorway to take in the post-war Christmas euphoria. The very air tingled with promise and future, and she smiled out at the swirl of commotion. She observed the faces passing by, all united by a sense of cheerfulness and gratitude. A soldier and a young woman strolled by, briefly stopping to embrace and kiss. A family, with the father in uniform, stopped to buy bags of roasted peanuts at a street cart festooned with red and green bows. An older couple laughed as they nearly collided with a ho-ho-hoing Santa Claus bell ringer. Across the street, a group of WACs – such smart, confident women – chatted with a group of GIs. Further down the block, a cluster of sailors pointed and gawked at the skyscrapers of Rockefeller Center.

  Lillian stepped back out into the stream of people but continued to look all about her. The signs of Christmas were everywhere – wreaths, red ribbons, and garlands of shimmery tinsel appeared in nearly all the windows and doors. After the gray of war, everything vibrated in color. Was it her imagination? Was it her own happiness coloring the world? No, indeed, the dresses in the department store windows boasted brighter shades, young women sported bolder makeup, brighter lipstick that suited their flashing smiles. And the lights! Strings of colored bulbs shone everywhere – outlining windows and doorways and awnings. It was the first time Christmas lights were used freely since before the war and no one was holding back.

  The war was over, Christmas was in the air, and Charles would be home soon! Out of habit, Lillian checked her thoughts, not trusting to such perfect happiness. She would muster the calm and pragmatism that had gotten her through the war years. Charles was not home yet – in fact, she hadn’t heard from him for several weeks. It could be January or February or later before his arrival. But he would be home – and he would never have to leave her again.

  The smile she tried to suppress burst into bloom again at the thought that Charles would soon see his daughter. They were a family of five! It was hard to keep such happiness tamped down.

  Lillian stopped at a street vendor on the corner to buy a bag of roasted chestnuts for Tommy and Gabriel. At the newsstand next to the cart, she glanced at the front page of a newspaper featuring Operation Santa Claus, the joint-military effort to bring as many servicemen home before Christmas. And that included Charles!

  She paid for the chestnuts and hoped they would stay warm until she got home. She filled her eyes one more time with the bustle of Fifth Avenue and then made her way into the quieter atmosphere of Central Park.

  Despite the snow, the park was crowded with mothers and their children, lovers strolling and posing for photographs, nannies pushing baby carriages. When Lillian crossed the arched stone bridge, she paused for a moment to look back at the Plaza Hotel. Her eyes found the windows of the room where she and Charles had stayed last year, and a surge of pleasure shot through her. She continued walking. How could she stand the wait?

  By keeping busy, she decided. Working on her drawings. Getting ready for Christmas – shopping, baking, decorating the apartment. And she would focus on the children. They were looking forward to the ten days they would have off for Christmas this year. Lillian stopped to watch a group of boys and girls making a snowman, and a few others pulling a sled – all enjoying a little after-school fun before dinnertime. The thought of dinner caused her to pick up her pace – Tommy and Gabriel would be hungry. She soon exited the park and walked towards her home.

  She sometimes worried that Tommy and Gabriel were too much on their own now. The birth of Charlotte had taken so much of her time and attention. And though the boys seemed to be happy, there was something different about Gabriel that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. She would have to ask him about it.

  Her happiness increased as she turned onto her street, knowing that her children were waiting for her. She had been gone for less than three hours, yet already she missed them. She glanced up to the third floor of her brownstone and smiled – in the window hung the paper snowflakes the boys had made when they were little.

  She hurried up the stairs and when she opened the door to the apartment, her heart swelled – there sat her children. The living room lamps cast a golden glow upon Tommy, Gabriel, and Charlotte, the Christmas tree sparkled with lights and ornaments, and music from the radio softly played.

  “Look, Mom, she’s laughing.” Gabriel’s smile grew wider as three-mon
th-old Charlotte smiled and kicked her arms and legs. “She looks like those jumping jack toys that you pull the string and the legs and arms kick out.”

  “We gave her a bottle a little while ago,” said Tommy, smiling at his baby sister. “But she doesn’t seem tired. She only slept for about ten minutes since you left.”

  Lillian took off her hat and gloves and wriggled out of her coat. “Hello, my darling!” She lifted Charlotte, causing the little arms and legs to move faster in excitement. She walked around the living room with her. “How is it you’re still awake? I wish I could rock you. You’d be asleep in no time.”

  Tommy darted a glance to Gabriel, who gave him a knowing smile.

  Lillian turned to the boys. “There are chestnuts for you in the bag.”

  Tommy jumped up and set the bag on the coffee table. “Still warm.” He and Gabriel reached for a few chestnuts and began to peel the split shells. “Did you have a rocker for me and Gabriel?”

  “I did, but I gave it away to Vera in Brooklyn – remember her?” Lillian nuzzled Charlotte and kissed her fingers. “I didn’t in a million years think I would ever need it again to rock a baby to sleep.”

  Lillian ruffled Tommy’s hair. “Did Mr. Mancetti mind you switching days?”

  Tommy shook his head. “As long as I can work a few days a week to restock the shelves, he doesn’t care which days they are.”

  “And you’re sure it’s not getting in the way of your school work?”

  “Not at all,” he said, holding up his math book.

  Gabriel saw an opening and decided to bring up the subject again. “I wish I could get a job.”

  “Gabriel, you’re only eleven. Perhaps in a few years. Besides, when would you have the time? You’re extra busy with your new school projects. You have Boy Scouts one night a week, and you help me with Artists for Victory at the hospital on Tuesdays.”

  “Tommy does all that too, and works three days a week. And he still has lots of time.”

  “I only work a few hours on my shifts, Gabe. And one of those days is Saturday.” Tommy gave Gabriel a look that said to lay off the subject. He had been working at Mancetti’s for almost a year now and loved it. He had been adamant that it wouldn’t interfere with his homework and studied even harder to prove it.

  Gabriel ignored Tommy and persisted. “Still, it’s feasible. I could find a job – ”

  Lillian cocked her head at Gabriel’s choice of word. “Feasible? Hmm. We’ll see in another year or so. Besides, I need you more now that I have Charlotte.”

  Gabriel’s mouth twisted in disappointment.

  “How’d your meeting go?” asked Tommy.

  “Swell. I’ll tell you all about it. I’ll just change first.” Lillian took Charlotte to the bedroom and changed into a housedress.

  As soon as they heard the bedroom door close, Tommy turned to Gabriel. “Stop talking about getting a job. You have to wait your turn. And you don’t have any time – you’re always at the library after school. What project takes that much work? It’s more likely you and Billy are goofing off.”

  Gabriel ignored his remark. “Did you hear what she said?” He leaned forward and spoke in a whisper. “I told you a rocking chair is the perfect Christmas present.”

  Tommy nodded. “I guess so. But the ones we looked at were all too expensive. And we didn’t like them.”

  “I think I found something. Mr. G at The Red String Curio Store has been on the lookout for one. I stopped by there today – he has three! One of them is just the kind Mom would like.”

  “No junk, Gabriel. We don’t want an old one.”

  “It’s not junk. It’s in good condition. Even Henry said so.”

  “Henry? When did he see it?”

  “I asked him to take a look. He said it’s sound. He said it’s Victorian. Mom likes that kind of thing.”

  Tommy was still skeptical. “I don’t know. Maybe we should get her something for the kitchen. A pop-up toaster? A new tea kettle?”

  “You heard her. She could really use a rocking chair. And I’ve found one. At least come and take a look at it.”

  “All right. But if it doesn’t work out, we’re going to scrap it and come up with a different idea.”

  “A different idea for what?” Lillian asked, coming into the room.

  Tommy lifted his book to his face.

  Lillian waited for them to answer.

  “Tommy has to come up with a good idea for his French project with Amy.”

  Tommy lowered the book and picked up the thread. “A presentation. With instructions on how to do something – using sequences, time phrases, that kind of thing.”

  “That shouldn’t be too hard.” Lillian had noticed the subtlest shift in the friendship between Tommy and Amy. Amy had blossomed from the confident little girl with striped stockings into a willowy beauty. The round glasses she had always worn now added a hint of maturity to her that vanished when she burst into that contagious laughter of hers. She and Tommy seemed closer than ever. “Do you have any ideas?”

  “Not yet. We’re thinking about how to build something.”

  Gabriel ran to the radio and turned up the volume. “Here’s your song, Mom.”

  Lillian smiled. “I think it’s everyone’s song this year.” She pretended to take Charlotte as her dance partner, kissing her as she sang along. “Kiss me once, then kiss me twice, and kiss me once again, it’s been a long, long time.” With each kiss to her cheek, Charlotte gurgled with her fist in her mouth. Lillian held Charlotte’s little arm out, turned around again, and handed her back to Gabriel who was reaching up for her.

  Still humming, Lillian skirted the partition that separated the kitchen and living room. She opened the oven and inhaled. “Mmm.” The baked chicken glistened with butter and the scent of herbs and onion filled the small kitchen.

  Tommy looked up from his homework. “I turned it on low about twenty minutes ago.”

  “Thank you, Tommy. It looks perfect.” Was it her imagination, or was his voice beginning to change? That was the second time she had heard it crack. She took a closer look at him. He was almost fifteen. She wished she could slow everything down.

  She walked back into the living room and sat on the couch. “Just think, boys – this will be the last year your father will miss out on your growing up. Soon, he’ll be with us every day, and won’t miss out on anything.”

  “Finally,” said Gabriel. “A real Christmas, all together. With Charlotte.”

  Lillian gave a deep sigh. “At long last.”

  Tommy closed his book and set it on the coffee table. “So, they liked your drawings?”

  Lillian tucked her legs beneath her. “So much that they gave me a similar assignment. But the big news is – ” she waited for Tommy and Gabriel to look up – “I’m being considered for a five-book deal. An adventure story! And since the main character is a ten-year-old boy, I would be needing you two for all sorts of information.”

  “Sure, Mom,” said Gabriel.

  Tommy stood to take Charlotte. “My turn, Gabe.”

  Gabriel gave Charlotte a loud kiss on her cheek, causing her to laugh and grab onto his hair just as Tommy lifted her.

  “Ow! Wait,” cried Gabriel, following them with his head bent until Tommy sat back down. “She’s got a strong grip. Let go!” he laughed, coaxing her fingers out of his hair. Then he reached for the baby blanket and tucked it around her.

  Tommy cuddled her. “You look just like a little bird in a nest, Charlotte.” He looked up at Lillian. “I can’t believe Dad has never seen her. He’s going to be so happy.”

  “I can’t wait for him to see her,” said Gabriel. “You think he’ll make it home for Christmas?”

  Lillian leaned her head in thought. “I just don’t know. He’s going to try – but with so many servicemen returning, it’s hard to say with any certainty exactly when he’ll be home.” She smiled at Charlotte’s gurgling. “I do hope so.”

  “Operation Santa Claus wil
l get him home.”

  “Don’t be so sure, Gabe,” said Tommy. “Millions of people have to get back. You can only fit so many people on a ship.”

  “If not for Christmas, then soon after,” Lillian said.

  Gabriel raised his eyebrows at a happy thought. “When he gets back, do you think we’ll go to Aunt Annette and Uncle Bernie’s?”

  “Not for a while, I’m afraid,” said Lillian. “The trains are all tied up with returning servicemen. The delays are extensive. Perhaps in the spring. Charles will also want to visit Kate and her children in Illinois. Perhaps we’ll all take a train trip. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

  Gabriel nodded at the thought. “Where do you think Dad is right now?”

  Lillian leaned forward and took a chestnut. “I imagine he must be somewhere in the Mediterranean by now. He should arrive in London in a week or so. He’ll send us a telegram when he does. Then, hopefully, he’ll be able to set sail.” For a moment, her eyes filled with worry, and she saw the image from a recent dream…

  She wouldn’t let her thoughts go in that direction. “I’m going to meet Izzy for lunch tomorrow. I’m so looking forward to it. It will be like old times.” She took a bite of the chestnut and widened her eyes in delight.

  “Do you miss her, Mom?” asked Tommy. “Meeting her for lunch like you used to?”

  “I do. Though I’ve hardly had time to think about it, between Charlotte and my illustration work. But, yes, I do miss spending time with Izzy.”

  “Do you miss Rockwell Publishing?” asked Gabriel.

  “No,” Lillian answered without hesitation. “I loved my time there, and I learned so much – but working at home suits me better. It’s been so nice this past year, being able to spend more time with you boys. And now, with Charlotte. I can’t stand being away from her.”

  Lillian observed Gabriel stretched out on the couch, and then looked over at Tommy with his long legs draped over the side of the chair, cuddling Charlotte.

  For being a half-sister, Charlotte looked so much like Tommy and Gabriel – and yet she had Charles’s quiet intensity. Perhaps she would be a scholar, or an artist or – Lillian laughed away her thoughts.