Accidental Christmas Miracle

4.

Miracle

I took a sip of my hot chocolate, tasting the peppermint that the candy cane added to the hot drink and then set it down, everyone seeming to wait for my answer.

Well, almost everyone.

Christi was continuing to decorate the tree and I didn't see their mother anywhere.

I sighed.

"Well, I'll tell you the whole story." I said, finally making up my mind. "It starts early this morning. My girlfriend just broken up with me on the phone although I have to admit that we weren't working together anymore. Nonetheless I was upset. I mean, if you're going to break up, at least do it in person, you know? Anyways.  Yesterday I had learned that I hadn't gotten any of the jobs that I had applied for. Either they didn't have a job that was the right fit for me or someone better had taken the job or whatever else they told me in their rejection phone call." I paused to take another sip of my drink.

"I was driving back from visiting my Aunt and Uncle about three hours away from here. Odd timing, I know. Why didn't I just stay with them over Christmas? Well, they don't have too much room in their house and I was only going to stay and visit for a bit and then some of their friends from a couple states away were taking my place." I explained. "So, I'm driving, you know, and into this town I go and as I'm turning a corner - a little faster than I suppose I should have been, I don't know -  I hit a patch of the road with black ice on the road and then basically bump into Christi's truck and stop moving when I've hit the light post." I finish explaining and take another sip of my hot beverage.

Dot sighed. "Well."

I nodded. "Yeah."

"That sucks." Noel commented.

Her comment made Gabriel scold her on her language. "We don't say that."

"I do." She challenged him.

This made him roll his eyes. "We're not supposed to say that." He amended his original statement.

She just shrugged.

Their mother came in. "Has anyone shown you, Miracle, where your room is yet?" She asked me.

I shook my head.

"Well, we ought to fix that." She told me.

"Mom, one thing at a time. We literally just got her to stay. She hasn't even finished her cocoa." Christi said to her mother.

I glanced down at the mug in my hand and found it empty. "Actually, I guess I have finished it." I spoke up, standing.

The auburn woman smiled warmly at me. "Great. Grab your bags and follow me."

I did as she told me to and ended up in a pretty blue room that, like the rest of the house, had been decorated for Christmas.

"You have your own bathroom right there," She pointed to one door and then to the next, "And that's a closet if you want to hang your clothes."

I gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you, Mrs. Taylor."
She waved me off. "Call me Sandy. None of this 'Mrs. Taylor' nonsense. You're making me feel old when you say that." She turned towards the door. "If there is anything that you need, anything at all, I or one of the others will be happy to help." With that, she left, shutting the door behind her.

When the door clicked closed, I sank down on the bed, trying to figure out what just happened.
My phone rang loud and clear, disrupting any attempt of sorting out my thoughts.

When I looked at the caller id, the name Meg Logan flashed across the screen.

Just who I wanted to speak to.