Sometimes it felt as though life were trying to lead her astray. To throw her off that path that had been marked out in her head ever since she was a little girl wanting to escape from her dreary life. The path of life that included a husband, two children, a white picket fence and a dog named Rover. She never had the fence or the dog, but she had, for a brief period of time, had the husband and two children. A husband and children that she loved dearly.
"Faith, are you even listening to me?"
"Yeah, of course I am."
"What did I just say then?"
"Something about your mom?"
As she'd slept in Bosco's arms the night before, when the blizzard had taken the power out, she'd realized just how much she missed Fred. She missed curling up with him in bed, she missed having him waiting for her when she came home from work after a particularly challenging day.
"Heather. I was saying that I called Heather."
"Oh yeah? What did she say?"
"She wants to do lunch tomorrow."
"She wasn't mad that you can't make it tonight?"
"Nah, she understood. I told her how we were helping to dig New York out. I think she was actually kind of impressed."
But putting Fred aside, she missed her children most of all. Fred had been right of course, that night she'd talked to him on the phone, they barely knew her. Fred had always been both mom and dad for them. All she ever did was kiss them goodnight and get them breakfast in the morning. Sometimes they'd go out on the weekends, more so when they were younger than now. Now Emily was too old to want to be seen with her mother and Charlie was more interested in tagging along after his father.
"Can you pass me that shovel?"
"Find something?"
"Not sure. It might be a bumsicle. All I see is some red cloth."
"Oh god Bosco, that's terrible."
"Don't tell that to me. Tell that to him! He's the one who froze to death."
"Do you suppose anyone even notices he's gone?"
Last night she had wondered if anyone would notice if she just opened the door and walked out into the blizzard. Then she remembered Bosco. Bosco, who for all his male posturing and tough talk, was really just a softie at heart. He always tried never to let on just how much he cared, about his mom, about her. She knew though.
"Yoo hoo! Yokas? Look alive!"
"Huh?"
"It's definitely a bumsicle. You'd better call it in."
"He's smiling. Why would he be smiling if he knew he was gonna die?"
"Maybe it's what he wanted."
She didn't know when she'd ever see her family again, but she knew that Fred couldn't hide the children away forever. Occasionally, since he'd left, she'd felt bursts of extreme anger towards the man, for taking them away. Then the anger would subside and she'd be left with that empty feeling. That feeling ate away at her, gnawing incessantly when she was left alone for too long. But right now, she wasn't alone.
________________
It was snowing again, not heavy like the blizzard, but just light powdery snow. It reminded Faith a bit of the icing sugar she used to sprinkle on french toast for her kids.
"Dammit, she's not answering." Bosco hung up the phone for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.
"Does she have a boyfriend? Maybe she's with him."
Bosco shook his head. "No, she would have told me if she was seeing someone. I'm going to check on her."
"How are you going to get there? Your car's at my place. We took a snow plow into work this morning, in case you forgot!"
"I'll take the trains. I have to see her Faith."
"It's snowing again." Faith looked out the window, the snow was dusting the roofs of the cars outside. "And it's after midnight. Why don't you go home tonight, and then in the morning you can see her."
Bosco considered that for a moment before shaking his head. "You don't get it Faith. She could be anywhere, and she might need my help!"
Faith sighed. "Fine, but I'm coming with you."
"Suit yourself." Bosco picked up his jacket that he had slung over the back of a chair and put it on. "We'll have to walk to the nearest station."
"No problem." Faith replied. "That's only a few block away."
They left the precinct and stepped outside. An ambulance slowly drove by, lights flashing and Faith shivered a bit. "I'm sure she's alright Bos. Maybe she was trapped somewhere when the blizzard struck and hasn't bothered to return home yet. I mean, you were with me and what if she's been trying to call you? Your cell phone is dead and you haven't been home."
"I checked the messages on my machine. No one's called me."
Faith pulled her scarf further up her neck and tried to burrow down into it. Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement in an entrance way to a shop. She realized it was probably some homeless person and felt a surge of sympathy for them. No one should have to be sleeping in the streets during weather like this.
Once they reached the station and were in the relative warmth of the train, Faith allowed herself to look over at her partner. "You look tired Bos. We could still go back to my place."
He shook his head. "You can get off at your stop if you want. You don't have to come with me."
Faith leaned her head against the glass window. The gentle sway of the train was making her feel sleepy. Bosco crossed his arms over his chest and they sat together in silence as the train wound its way through New York.
Bosco jabbed the buzzer with his finger and shifted his weight to the other leg. Faith stood behind him, looking up at the apartment building. "What floor does your mom live on?"
"Third." Bosco replied and hit the buzzer again. "Come on Mom, where are you?"
As he reached out for the buzzer again, a sleepy voice filtered through the intercom. "Who is it?"
"It's me Ma! I've been tryin' to call you all day!"
"Maurice?"
Faith grinned as Rose addressed her son by his given name, so few people ever did. "Yeah Ma, can I come up?"
"I'll buzz you in."
There was a soft buzzing noise and Bosco opened the doors to the lobby. "Didn't she ever give you a key?" Faith asked as she followed Bosco into the well-lit and thankfully, heated room. She unzipped her jacket and stomped the snow off her boots.
"Yeah she did, but I lost it and we haven't had another one cut yet." Bosco stuffed his gloves into his pockets and headed towards the elevator. "I can't believe she's home and she wasn't answering the phone."
"I'm sure she had a good reason."
Bosco punched the button for the third floor and the elevator began to move. Faith yawned and looked over at Bosco. "Do you have blisters on your hands?"
Bosco nodded. "A few, but they don't really hurt."
"My hands are killing me." Faith said, looking down her own hands. They were red and she had a few small blisters on the palm. "All that shovelling we did today. My shoulders hurt too."
The elevator dinged and the doors opened. "You want me to give you a massage or somethin'?" Bosco offered. Faith wasn't sure if he was serious or not, so she didn't reply and they walked down the hallway.
They reached a door with a small wreath on it. Bosco knocked on the door and it opened. Rose stood there in her robe, staring at her son. "Why didn't you answer the phone?" Bosco demanded.
"Hello to you too." Rose muttered and the noticed Faith. "Oh you brought Faith with you! Hi Faith."
"Hi Mrs Boscorelli." Faith said with a smile.
Rose shook her head. "I keep telling you to call me Rose. I guess I'd better invite you two in, get you out of the hall before Mr O'Reilly sticks his head out and yells at us for making too much noise."
She ushered Bosco and Faith inside the apartment. "Did you unplug your phone Ma?" Bosco asked, looking over in the direction of the phone.
Rose nodded and put a hand on her son's arm. "Sorry to worry you. I've been getting a lot of prank calls lately, so I just unplugged it. I figured that anyone who really wanted to talk to me could reach me on my cell."
"I tried that." Bosco sat down on the sofa. "Have you checked your battery lately?"
Rose shook her head. "It must be dead. Can I get you two something to drink? Are you hungry?"
Faith sat down next to Bosco on the sofa. Bosco was scowling, he was clearly still unhappy with his mother. "I'll have a glass of water." Faith replied.
Rose went into the kitchen and filled up a glass with water and then returned and handed it to Faith. Faith gratefully took a sip. "So that was a big blizzard." Rose said. "You two must have been busy today."
"Yeah we were." Bosco finally stopped scowling and said something to his mom. "We went in early. They had us out with shovels."
Rose smiled and looked at Faith. "How are you? How are your kids?"
Faith set the glass down on top of magazine on the end table. "They're fine." she said. Faith looked at Bosco and saw that he was frowning. "Uh actually, I don't really know that." Faith amended.
"Oh?" Rose looked interested.
"Fred left me about a month ago. He took the kids and moved to Syracuse."
"Oh Faith! I'm so sorry. Had I known, I wouldn't have said anything."
"It's okay. Do you mind if I use your washroom?" Faith stood up and Rose shook her head. Faith smiled and headed down the short hallway to the washroom.
Rose looked at her son. "How's she been handling it?"
Bosco sighed. "She hasn't been handling it. I only found out a few days ago."
"She needs a friend right now. I hope you aren't ignoring her."
"We went skating yesterday." Bosco said, picking at the arm cover on the sofa. "I don't think she knows what to do."
Rose blinked a few times, staring off into space. "No, I suppose she wouldn't. That's terrible of her husband to do that to her, and so close to Christmas too."
Down the hall the toilet flushed and Faith left the washroom. "I love your soap." Faith said, sniffing at her hands. "Is that cranberry?"
"Yes, one of my friends made it for me."
"It smells wonderful." Faith sat back down next to Bosco.
"Faith, if you don't have any plans for Christmas, would you like to join Maurice and I for dinner?" Rose looked hopefully at Faith.
Faith looked a bit uncertain. "Oh well, I'm not sure. I mean, I don't have anything planned, but I just don't know if I'd feel right intruding on your family plans."
"Nonsense!" Rose exclaimed. "You wouldn't be intruding. You practically are family to Maurice, right?" Bosco nodded but didn't say anything. "Unless...are you seeing someone that you were going to bring along Maurice?"
"Um, well it's nothing serious. We just met."
"Well that settles it then. Faith, I expect to see you here on Christmas for a turkey dinner. Do you like the traditional bread stuffing or rice stuffing better?"
"Whatever you prefer." Faith replied.
Bosco yawned and covered his mouth with his hand. "We'd better get going Ma and let you get some rest. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay." He stood up and hugged his mother.
Faith took another sip of water and then stood up as well. "Thanks for the invite. That's very kind of you."
"You can't be alone on Christmas Faith." Rose said and hugged her as well. Faith tentatively hugged the older woman back.
After a few more goodbyes, Bosco and Faith left the apartment. "Sorry about that." Bosco said as they waited for the elevator to open.
"Sorry about what?"
"My mom. I didn't know that she was going to invite you for dinner."
"It was sweet of her." Faith replied. "But if you don't want me there, that's fine. I'll call her tomorrow and tell her something came up. I'll understand if you want to have Heather there instead."
The elevator opened and they stepped inside. "No! That wasn't what I meant. I mean, it's too soon to be inviting Heather over for Christmas dinner and besides, she probably has other plans already. You're more than welcome to join us."
"Thank you, I suppose." Faith sighed quietly and looked down at her hands.
________________
The shrill ringing of a phone woke Faith up the next morning. She pushed the covers off herself and fumbled around on the night table for the receiver. "Hello?" she said, and then moved the phone to the other hand.
"Hi Faith." said a voice that she hadn't expected to hear again so soon.
"Fred? Is something wrong with Charlie or Emily? Are they okay?" Faith asked frantically. That was the only reason she could think of as to why Fred would be calling her.
"Relax Faith, they're both fine. I just wanted to check up on you. I saw pictures of all that snow on the news and I guess I got a little worried."
"I'm fine. The electricity got knocked on, but it came back on yesterday afternoon."
"The kids were worried too, about you and Bosco. Is he alright?" Fred asked grudgingly.
"Bosco and I are both fine. Is Charlie over the flu yet? You said he was sick when I called you the other night."
"Yeah, it was a just a 24 hour bug. He and Emily are both at school."
"Does their vacation start at the end of the week? How are they adjusting to their new school?" Faith was worried about her children and questions just kept streaming into her mind.
"Friday is their last day and they both seem to be adjusting fine. Charlie has a bunch of friends that he plays with and Emily had someone, I think her name might have been Lexi, sleep over last weekend."
Faith sat up and with one hand, wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. "Oh, they sound happy then."
"We're doing fine Faith. You don't need to worry." Fred sounded almost resigned as he said that. "I'm more concerned about you."
"If you're so damn concerned about me Fred, why did you leave in the first place!?"
"We've been through this Faith. I don't want to discuss it again."
Faith wiped away a tear that was trickling down her cheek. "I miss you." she said softly.
"I have to go Faith, I'm going to be late for work. Take care of yourself." Fred replied and then hung up the phone.
Faith set the receiver back in the cradle and pulled the blanket closer around herself. She considered calling Bosco, telling him that Fred had called, but then she noticed the time and realized that he'd be out at his lunch date with Heather right now, if he'd been able to drag himself out of bed.
Faith sighed and hauled herself out of the bed. She needed to get moving, do something. She noticed that outside the sun was shining. Faith nearly blinded herself when she looked out the window as the sun was glaring off the white snow. Opening the fridge, Faith remembered what she had to do. "I have to go shopping." she said to herself.
It might have been sunny out, but it was still bitterly cold. Faith pulled on her mittens and began walking down the sidewalk. The snow was packed onto it and her boots creaked with each step she took. There was a small grocery store a few blocks over and Faith figured that she had just enough time to pick up a few essentials and head back to her place before she had to get ready and go to work.
A small bell on the door dinged as Faith pushed it open. "Hello!" the cashier said brightly. Faith merely nodded and picked up a shopping basket.
Faith cruised quickly through the store, throwing bread, milk, cheese and a few pieces of fruit into her basket. She stood in the snack aisle, debating whether or not to pick up any chips or candy. She knew that if Bosco ever appeared at her place again, he'd appreciate having something high-fat to snack on.
She threw a couple bags of chips into her basket and then headed for the check out. As the woman rang her purchases through, the door opened and Faith glanced up.
"Hey Faith!"
Faith reached into her pocket for her wallet. "Bosco? What are you doing here?"
"I went by your place, but you weren't there. So I thought about where you could have gone for a while and then I remembered that you had no food in the house, so I figured I might find you here. Get anything good?"
Faith handed the cashier a wad of bills. "Aren't you supposed to be having lunch with Heather?"
"Yeah I was, but I went to the restaurant and she never showed up. Didn't even call me to tell me she couldn't make it."
Faith tried not to laugh, but failed. "She stood you up?"
Bosco looked insulted. "She probably had car trouble again or somethin'."
Faith nodded, accepted her change from the cashier then picked up her bags. Bosco moved forward and took one of them from her. "I'll give you a ride home." he said and pushed open the door with his shoulder.
"So Fred called me this morning." Faith said as Bosco unlocked the door for her.
"Yeah? What did he want?"
"Believe it or not, he wanted to check up on me."
Bosco handed Faith the bag he had been carrying and went around the car to let himself in. "That's kind of strange." Bosco replied once he got in the car.
"The kids were asking about you too, so I told him we were both fine." Faith set the bags of groceries on the floor next to her feet.
"How are your shoulders? They still buggin' you?" Bosco pulled the car out onto the street.
"Oh, they're still a bit sore." Faith replied, then looked at her hands. "The blisters have gone down a bit though."
"My offer for a massage still stands." Bosco said. "I've been told that I'm pretty good."
Faith coughed a bit and thumped her chest. "Yeah, that's sounds good."
Bosco pulled up next to the curb outside Faith's place. "Okay." he said cheerfully. "One massage ala Bosco coming right up."
_________________
After putting the few groceries away, Faith turned around to find Bosco watching her. "You ready?" he asked.
Faith wiped an imaginary smudge of dirt off the counter. "Uh sure, I suppose. Do you want me to take off my shirt? Should I be laying down?"
Bosco's cheeks flushed a bit. "If you want, or we could leave the shirt on. Whatever, it doesn't matter."
"How about I just sit down on the couch, with my shirt on." Faith suggested and Bosco nodded. He looked a bit relieved that she wasn't going to take her shirt off.
Faith sat down on the couch and Bosco sat behind her. He put his hands on her shoulders and began to gently massage her. Faith let her head fall forward as Bosco's hands moved over her sore muscles. "That feels nice." she mumbled.
"See, I told you I was good!" Bosco replied and moved his hands to her neck. He brushed aside her hair and touched the bare skin there. "Sorry, my hands are cold." he said when Faith gasped a bit.
"That's fine." Faith stammered.
"Are you really okay with Christmas dinner at my ma's place?" Bosco asked.
"Yeah Bos, that's fine. Like I said, it was sweet of her to invite me and honestly, I think it's better than what I would have been doing."
"And what's that? Getting drunk?"
Faith nodded. "Yeah, probably. I like your mom, she's a good person."
"She is." Bosco moved his hands back over onto her shoulders.
"Bos, I'm sorry that Heather stood you up." Faith said, suddenly feeling bad for laughing at him earlier in the store. "I know how much you liked her."
"It just doesn't seem to be my week for women." Bosco replied. "First Kimberly and now Heather. Maybe I should consider flying solo for a while."
"Maybe."
Bosco patted Faith's back. "How does that feel? Better?"
Faith rotated her shoulders slowly. "Yeah, actually it does. Thanks Bos. I don't know why I didn't get you to do this before."
"Maybe it had something to do with..." Bosco stopped talking before he said something he'd regret.
"Something to do with what? With Fred?" Faith asked the question for him.
Bosco got off the couch. "Yeah, but never mind. It's a stupid thing to say."
"Fred was never any good at massages." Faith stood up. "I'd better get ready for work."
Bosco nodded and watched Faith's retreating form as she went down the hall and into her bedroom. "Stupid." he muttered. "Should never have brought up Fred."
He looked around the apartment and then picked up the singing Santa again. Bosco pushed his stomach in and the jolly old man began to sing.
"Am I going to have to take that thing away from you Bosco?" Faith's voice called out.
"No!" Bosco yelled back and held the toy until it stopped singing, then he put it back on the floor.
It took Faith another ten minutes to get ready for work. She joined Bosco in her kitchen when she was ready. "I was thinkin', maybe we could go shopping before our shift tomorrow?" Bosco said. He was looking at her rather sparse calendar.
"Shopping?"
"Yeah, for my mom's Christmas present and yours. Remember? I told you yesterday while you were getting dressed that I wanted you to come along."
"Right. Yeah, tomorrow's fine. Did you have anywhere in mind that you wanted to go?"
"Bloomingdales I guess. They sell a lot of stuff there."
"If you don't mind a bit of drive, we could go to the mall." Faith said. "That way there's plenty of stores to choose from."
"I don't get along well with malls." Bosco scratched his head and looked at Faith.
"It's up to you. That was just my suggestion."
"I'll think about it." Bosco said and then grabbed his car keys off the counter. "We'd better get going. Lieu wants us all there early today."
Faith pursed her lips and nodded. She threw on her jacket and did up her boots. Bosco left the apartment and Faith locked the door behind them.
"Faith, are you even listening to me?"
"Yeah, of course I am."
"What did I just say then?"
"Something about your mom?"
As she'd slept in Bosco's arms the night before, when the blizzard had taken the power out, she'd realized just how much she missed Fred. She missed curling up with him in bed, she missed having him waiting for her when she came home from work after a particularly challenging day.
"Heather. I was saying that I called Heather."
"Oh yeah? What did she say?"
"She wants to do lunch tomorrow."
"She wasn't mad that you can't make it tonight?"
"Nah, she understood. I told her how we were helping to dig New York out. I think she was actually kind of impressed."
But putting Fred aside, she missed her children most of all. Fred had been right of course, that night she'd talked to him on the phone, they barely knew her. Fred had always been both mom and dad for them. All she ever did was kiss them goodnight and get them breakfast in the morning. Sometimes they'd go out on the weekends, more so when they were younger than now. Now Emily was too old to want to be seen with her mother and Charlie was more interested in tagging along after his father.
"Can you pass me that shovel?"
"Find something?"
"Not sure. It might be a bumsicle. All I see is some red cloth."
"Oh god Bosco, that's terrible."
"Don't tell that to me. Tell that to him! He's the one who froze to death."
"Do you suppose anyone even notices he's gone?"
Last night she had wondered if anyone would notice if she just opened the door and walked out into the blizzard. Then she remembered Bosco. Bosco, who for all his male posturing and tough talk, was really just a softie at heart. He always tried never to let on just how much he cared, about his mom, about her. She knew though.
"Yoo hoo! Yokas? Look alive!"
"Huh?"
"It's definitely a bumsicle. You'd better call it in."
"He's smiling. Why would he be smiling if he knew he was gonna die?"
"Maybe it's what he wanted."
She didn't know when she'd ever see her family again, but she knew that Fred couldn't hide the children away forever. Occasionally, since he'd left, she'd felt bursts of extreme anger towards the man, for taking them away. Then the anger would subside and she'd be left with that empty feeling. That feeling ate away at her, gnawing incessantly when she was left alone for too long. But right now, she wasn't alone.
________________
It was snowing again, not heavy like the blizzard, but just light powdery snow. It reminded Faith a bit of the icing sugar she used to sprinkle on french toast for her kids.
"Dammit, she's not answering." Bosco hung up the phone for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.
"Does she have a boyfriend? Maybe she's with him."
Bosco shook his head. "No, she would have told me if she was seeing someone. I'm going to check on her."
"How are you going to get there? Your car's at my place. We took a snow plow into work this morning, in case you forgot!"
"I'll take the trains. I have to see her Faith."
"It's snowing again." Faith looked out the window, the snow was dusting the roofs of the cars outside. "And it's after midnight. Why don't you go home tonight, and then in the morning you can see her."
Bosco considered that for a moment before shaking his head. "You don't get it Faith. She could be anywhere, and she might need my help!"
Faith sighed. "Fine, but I'm coming with you."
"Suit yourself." Bosco picked up his jacket that he had slung over the back of a chair and put it on. "We'll have to walk to the nearest station."
"No problem." Faith replied. "That's only a few block away."
They left the precinct and stepped outside. An ambulance slowly drove by, lights flashing and Faith shivered a bit. "I'm sure she's alright Bos. Maybe she was trapped somewhere when the blizzard struck and hasn't bothered to return home yet. I mean, you were with me and what if she's been trying to call you? Your cell phone is dead and you haven't been home."
"I checked the messages on my machine. No one's called me."
Faith pulled her scarf further up her neck and tried to burrow down into it. Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement in an entrance way to a shop. She realized it was probably some homeless person and felt a surge of sympathy for them. No one should have to be sleeping in the streets during weather like this.
Once they reached the station and were in the relative warmth of the train, Faith allowed herself to look over at her partner. "You look tired Bos. We could still go back to my place."
He shook his head. "You can get off at your stop if you want. You don't have to come with me."
Faith leaned her head against the glass window. The gentle sway of the train was making her feel sleepy. Bosco crossed his arms over his chest and they sat together in silence as the train wound its way through New York.
Bosco jabbed the buzzer with his finger and shifted his weight to the other leg. Faith stood behind him, looking up at the apartment building. "What floor does your mom live on?"
"Third." Bosco replied and hit the buzzer again. "Come on Mom, where are you?"
As he reached out for the buzzer again, a sleepy voice filtered through the intercom. "Who is it?"
"It's me Ma! I've been tryin' to call you all day!"
"Maurice?"
Faith grinned as Rose addressed her son by his given name, so few people ever did. "Yeah Ma, can I come up?"
"I'll buzz you in."
There was a soft buzzing noise and Bosco opened the doors to the lobby. "Didn't she ever give you a key?" Faith asked as she followed Bosco into the well-lit and thankfully, heated room. She unzipped her jacket and stomped the snow off her boots.
"Yeah she did, but I lost it and we haven't had another one cut yet." Bosco stuffed his gloves into his pockets and headed towards the elevator. "I can't believe she's home and she wasn't answering the phone."
"I'm sure she had a good reason."
Bosco punched the button for the third floor and the elevator began to move. Faith yawned and looked over at Bosco. "Do you have blisters on your hands?"
Bosco nodded. "A few, but they don't really hurt."
"My hands are killing me." Faith said, looking down her own hands. They were red and she had a few small blisters on the palm. "All that shovelling we did today. My shoulders hurt too."
The elevator dinged and the doors opened. "You want me to give you a massage or somethin'?" Bosco offered. Faith wasn't sure if he was serious or not, so she didn't reply and they walked down the hallway.
They reached a door with a small wreath on it. Bosco knocked on the door and it opened. Rose stood there in her robe, staring at her son. "Why didn't you answer the phone?" Bosco demanded.
"Hello to you too." Rose muttered and the noticed Faith. "Oh you brought Faith with you! Hi Faith."
"Hi Mrs Boscorelli." Faith said with a smile.
Rose shook her head. "I keep telling you to call me Rose. I guess I'd better invite you two in, get you out of the hall before Mr O'Reilly sticks his head out and yells at us for making too much noise."
She ushered Bosco and Faith inside the apartment. "Did you unplug your phone Ma?" Bosco asked, looking over in the direction of the phone.
Rose nodded and put a hand on her son's arm. "Sorry to worry you. I've been getting a lot of prank calls lately, so I just unplugged it. I figured that anyone who really wanted to talk to me could reach me on my cell."
"I tried that." Bosco sat down on the sofa. "Have you checked your battery lately?"
Rose shook her head. "It must be dead. Can I get you two something to drink? Are you hungry?"
Faith sat down next to Bosco on the sofa. Bosco was scowling, he was clearly still unhappy with his mother. "I'll have a glass of water." Faith replied.
Rose went into the kitchen and filled up a glass with water and then returned and handed it to Faith. Faith gratefully took a sip. "So that was a big blizzard." Rose said. "You two must have been busy today."
"Yeah we were." Bosco finally stopped scowling and said something to his mom. "We went in early. They had us out with shovels."
Rose smiled and looked at Faith. "How are you? How are your kids?"
Faith set the glass down on top of magazine on the end table. "They're fine." she said. Faith looked at Bosco and saw that he was frowning. "Uh actually, I don't really know that." Faith amended.
"Oh?" Rose looked interested.
"Fred left me about a month ago. He took the kids and moved to Syracuse."
"Oh Faith! I'm so sorry. Had I known, I wouldn't have said anything."
"It's okay. Do you mind if I use your washroom?" Faith stood up and Rose shook her head. Faith smiled and headed down the short hallway to the washroom.
Rose looked at her son. "How's she been handling it?"
Bosco sighed. "She hasn't been handling it. I only found out a few days ago."
"She needs a friend right now. I hope you aren't ignoring her."
"We went skating yesterday." Bosco said, picking at the arm cover on the sofa. "I don't think she knows what to do."
Rose blinked a few times, staring off into space. "No, I suppose she wouldn't. That's terrible of her husband to do that to her, and so close to Christmas too."
Down the hall the toilet flushed and Faith left the washroom. "I love your soap." Faith said, sniffing at her hands. "Is that cranberry?"
"Yes, one of my friends made it for me."
"It smells wonderful." Faith sat back down next to Bosco.
"Faith, if you don't have any plans for Christmas, would you like to join Maurice and I for dinner?" Rose looked hopefully at Faith.
Faith looked a bit uncertain. "Oh well, I'm not sure. I mean, I don't have anything planned, but I just don't know if I'd feel right intruding on your family plans."
"Nonsense!" Rose exclaimed. "You wouldn't be intruding. You practically are family to Maurice, right?" Bosco nodded but didn't say anything. "Unless...are you seeing someone that you were going to bring along Maurice?"
"Um, well it's nothing serious. We just met."
"Well that settles it then. Faith, I expect to see you here on Christmas for a turkey dinner. Do you like the traditional bread stuffing or rice stuffing better?"
"Whatever you prefer." Faith replied.
Bosco yawned and covered his mouth with his hand. "We'd better get going Ma and let you get some rest. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay." He stood up and hugged his mother.
Faith took another sip of water and then stood up as well. "Thanks for the invite. That's very kind of you."
"You can't be alone on Christmas Faith." Rose said and hugged her as well. Faith tentatively hugged the older woman back.
After a few more goodbyes, Bosco and Faith left the apartment. "Sorry about that." Bosco said as they waited for the elevator to open.
"Sorry about what?"
"My mom. I didn't know that she was going to invite you for dinner."
"It was sweet of her." Faith replied. "But if you don't want me there, that's fine. I'll call her tomorrow and tell her something came up. I'll understand if you want to have Heather there instead."
The elevator opened and they stepped inside. "No! That wasn't what I meant. I mean, it's too soon to be inviting Heather over for Christmas dinner and besides, she probably has other plans already. You're more than welcome to join us."
"Thank you, I suppose." Faith sighed quietly and looked down at her hands.
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The shrill ringing of a phone woke Faith up the next morning. She pushed the covers off herself and fumbled around on the night table for the receiver. "Hello?" she said, and then moved the phone to the other hand.
"Hi Faith." said a voice that she hadn't expected to hear again so soon.
"Fred? Is something wrong with Charlie or Emily? Are they okay?" Faith asked frantically. That was the only reason she could think of as to why Fred would be calling her.
"Relax Faith, they're both fine. I just wanted to check up on you. I saw pictures of all that snow on the news and I guess I got a little worried."
"I'm fine. The electricity got knocked on, but it came back on yesterday afternoon."
"The kids were worried too, about you and Bosco. Is he alright?" Fred asked grudgingly.
"Bosco and I are both fine. Is Charlie over the flu yet? You said he was sick when I called you the other night."
"Yeah, it was a just a 24 hour bug. He and Emily are both at school."
"Does their vacation start at the end of the week? How are they adjusting to their new school?" Faith was worried about her children and questions just kept streaming into her mind.
"Friday is their last day and they both seem to be adjusting fine. Charlie has a bunch of friends that he plays with and Emily had someone, I think her name might have been Lexi, sleep over last weekend."
Faith sat up and with one hand, wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. "Oh, they sound happy then."
"We're doing fine Faith. You don't need to worry." Fred sounded almost resigned as he said that. "I'm more concerned about you."
"If you're so damn concerned about me Fred, why did you leave in the first place!?"
"We've been through this Faith. I don't want to discuss it again."
Faith wiped away a tear that was trickling down her cheek. "I miss you." she said softly.
"I have to go Faith, I'm going to be late for work. Take care of yourself." Fred replied and then hung up the phone.
Faith set the receiver back in the cradle and pulled the blanket closer around herself. She considered calling Bosco, telling him that Fred had called, but then she noticed the time and realized that he'd be out at his lunch date with Heather right now, if he'd been able to drag himself out of bed.
Faith sighed and hauled herself out of the bed. She needed to get moving, do something. She noticed that outside the sun was shining. Faith nearly blinded herself when she looked out the window as the sun was glaring off the white snow. Opening the fridge, Faith remembered what she had to do. "I have to go shopping." she said to herself.
It might have been sunny out, but it was still bitterly cold. Faith pulled on her mittens and began walking down the sidewalk. The snow was packed onto it and her boots creaked with each step she took. There was a small grocery store a few blocks over and Faith figured that she had just enough time to pick up a few essentials and head back to her place before she had to get ready and go to work.
A small bell on the door dinged as Faith pushed it open. "Hello!" the cashier said brightly. Faith merely nodded and picked up a shopping basket.
Faith cruised quickly through the store, throwing bread, milk, cheese and a few pieces of fruit into her basket. She stood in the snack aisle, debating whether or not to pick up any chips or candy. She knew that if Bosco ever appeared at her place again, he'd appreciate having something high-fat to snack on.
She threw a couple bags of chips into her basket and then headed for the check out. As the woman rang her purchases through, the door opened and Faith glanced up.
"Hey Faith!"
Faith reached into her pocket for her wallet. "Bosco? What are you doing here?"
"I went by your place, but you weren't there. So I thought about where you could have gone for a while and then I remembered that you had no food in the house, so I figured I might find you here. Get anything good?"
Faith handed the cashier a wad of bills. "Aren't you supposed to be having lunch with Heather?"
"Yeah I was, but I went to the restaurant and she never showed up. Didn't even call me to tell me she couldn't make it."
Faith tried not to laugh, but failed. "She stood you up?"
Bosco looked insulted. "She probably had car trouble again or somethin'."
Faith nodded, accepted her change from the cashier then picked up her bags. Bosco moved forward and took one of them from her. "I'll give you a ride home." he said and pushed open the door with his shoulder.
"So Fred called me this morning." Faith said as Bosco unlocked the door for her.
"Yeah? What did he want?"
"Believe it or not, he wanted to check up on me."
Bosco handed Faith the bag he had been carrying and went around the car to let himself in. "That's kind of strange." Bosco replied once he got in the car.
"The kids were asking about you too, so I told him we were both fine." Faith set the bags of groceries on the floor next to her feet.
"How are your shoulders? They still buggin' you?" Bosco pulled the car out onto the street.
"Oh, they're still a bit sore." Faith replied, then looked at her hands. "The blisters have gone down a bit though."
"My offer for a massage still stands." Bosco said. "I've been told that I'm pretty good."
Faith coughed a bit and thumped her chest. "Yeah, that's sounds good."
Bosco pulled up next to the curb outside Faith's place. "Okay." he said cheerfully. "One massage ala Bosco coming right up."
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After putting the few groceries away, Faith turned around to find Bosco watching her. "You ready?" he asked.
Faith wiped an imaginary smudge of dirt off the counter. "Uh sure, I suppose. Do you want me to take off my shirt? Should I be laying down?"
Bosco's cheeks flushed a bit. "If you want, or we could leave the shirt on. Whatever, it doesn't matter."
"How about I just sit down on the couch, with my shirt on." Faith suggested and Bosco nodded. He looked a bit relieved that she wasn't going to take her shirt off.
Faith sat down on the couch and Bosco sat behind her. He put his hands on her shoulders and began to gently massage her. Faith let her head fall forward as Bosco's hands moved over her sore muscles. "That feels nice." she mumbled.
"See, I told you I was good!" Bosco replied and moved his hands to her neck. He brushed aside her hair and touched the bare skin there. "Sorry, my hands are cold." he said when Faith gasped a bit.
"That's fine." Faith stammered.
"Are you really okay with Christmas dinner at my ma's place?" Bosco asked.
"Yeah Bos, that's fine. Like I said, it was sweet of her to invite me and honestly, I think it's better than what I would have been doing."
"And what's that? Getting drunk?"
Faith nodded. "Yeah, probably. I like your mom, she's a good person."
"She is." Bosco moved his hands back over onto her shoulders.
"Bos, I'm sorry that Heather stood you up." Faith said, suddenly feeling bad for laughing at him earlier in the store. "I know how much you liked her."
"It just doesn't seem to be my week for women." Bosco replied. "First Kimberly and now Heather. Maybe I should consider flying solo for a while."
"Maybe."
Bosco patted Faith's back. "How does that feel? Better?"
Faith rotated her shoulders slowly. "Yeah, actually it does. Thanks Bos. I don't know why I didn't get you to do this before."
"Maybe it had something to do with..." Bosco stopped talking before he said something he'd regret.
"Something to do with what? With Fred?" Faith asked the question for him.
Bosco got off the couch. "Yeah, but never mind. It's a stupid thing to say."
"Fred was never any good at massages." Faith stood up. "I'd better get ready for work."
Bosco nodded and watched Faith's retreating form as she went down the hall and into her bedroom. "Stupid." he muttered. "Should never have brought up Fred."
He looked around the apartment and then picked up the singing Santa again. Bosco pushed his stomach in and the jolly old man began to sing.
"Am I going to have to take that thing away from you Bosco?" Faith's voice called out.
"No!" Bosco yelled back and held the toy until it stopped singing, then he put it back on the floor.
It took Faith another ten minutes to get ready for work. She joined Bosco in her kitchen when she was ready. "I was thinkin', maybe we could go shopping before our shift tomorrow?" Bosco said. He was looking at her rather sparse calendar.
"Shopping?"
"Yeah, for my mom's Christmas present and yours. Remember? I told you yesterday while you were getting dressed that I wanted you to come along."
"Right. Yeah, tomorrow's fine. Did you have anywhere in mind that you wanted to go?"
"Bloomingdales I guess. They sell a lot of stuff there."
"If you don't mind a bit of drive, we could go to the mall." Faith said. "That way there's plenty of stores to choose from."
"I don't get along well with malls." Bosco scratched his head and looked at Faith.
"It's up to you. That was just my suggestion."
"I'll think about it." Bosco said and then grabbed his car keys off the counter. "We'd better get going. Lieu wants us all there early today."
Faith pursed her lips and nodded. She threw on her jacket and did up her boots. Bosco left the apartment and Faith locked the door behind them.