The wonderful gift of Christmas- A Christmas story - Part 11

 

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Maria took the whole day to remove all evidence from Jack. She was done with him and she did not care how much he suffered in hospital. In the back of her head she felt a little guilty but was not going to give in.  She knew if she did she would betray everyone that helped her get out. Once most of the stuff was cleared and outside, Terrence and Jonah went outside to the shed and worked there for a few hours.  

They sorted out everything, and once they were done, the shed looked brand new.  Maria was quite impressed and she stood on the back porch suddenly remembering all the good times they had as a family here in the backyard.  

Ever since Jack moved in, they never got outside anymore, and she was too scared to go anywhere.  She always had to think of some excuse of how she hurt herself to protect Jack.  

She was done protecting him. He was out of her house, and out of their lives for good.

Jack had an extremely hard time in hospital. He woke up in excruciating pain, but after the pain injection he felt a little better. He dozed in and out of sleep, and at one point had no idea where he was.  Later when the medicine wore off, the pain came back and he cried like a little boy. He tried to move, but the pain in his back was too severe, and he couldn't move his legs.  He was in so much pain, he just lay back and tried not to move.  

He lay there what felt like hours, until the doctor came in and told him the news.  The doctor told him that the blood alcohol level in his blood was extremely high, and that he could be glad to be alive, because it could have turned out very differently. 

They did what they could to save him, but he would never walk again.  

Jack was absolutely devastated. He was all alone. He had no one to support him, and he cried uncontrollably. Even the nurses felt sorry for this poor character.  All alone, with no wife to support him. 

Jack would be in hospital for at least six weeks and after his release, he would probably need to go to a rehabilitation center for proper care.  Jack wished that he had rather died.  

Jonah and Terrence worked very hard to finish the shed. Terrence knew how important it was for Jonah to get the shed back in shape, but he didn't want to impose so much. By five o clock they were done, and even Terrence was impressed by what they had achieved.  He was on his way out when Maria called them inside. She asked Terrence if he would stay for dinner, and after Jonah and Mindy begged him, he accepted the offer.  

They had a lovely dinner and both Terrence and Maria laughed more that they had in months.  Jonah and Mindy fell asleep and Terrence helped Maria carry them up to bed. He wanted to leave, but Maria asked him to stay a while longer.  They sat at the kitchen table drinking coffee and ended up talking about their childhood and their failed marriages.  

Terrence even told her about his little girl, and by the end of the night, they knew more about each other than before. They had a connection, and it felt like fate had brought them together. 

When Terrence walked home that night, both of them knew that they would be friends forever.  

-To be continued