"Hello, Mrs. Brimmer," said Reverend Haber. "Please, come in and have a seat."
Elizabeth entered the minister's office and sat down in the comfortable brown chair across from his desk. He sat down in his own chair a second later.
"Now, how can I help you?"
"It's Max," said Elizabeth. "Since he returned from Vietnam, he just seems like a different person. I don't think I've seen him smile or laugh a single time, and there's something scary in his eyes I can't explain. It's like something's missing from inside him. We've had to move him back into the house with us. He couldn't stay in that duplex by himself. He has a lot of nightmares. Sometimes he wakes up screaming, and when I ask him what's wrong, he says he can't remember. And that isn't even the worst of it."
She took a deep breath, willing her heart to stop pounding so hard, her body to relax.
"Take your time," said Reverend Haber.
She took several more deep breaths, then spoke again. "I've noticed medicine missing from the cabinet several times. I mentioned it to Paul, and he said he knew nothing about it, so I can only conclude that Max has been taking it without my permission. Please don't say anything to anybody! I couldn't stand it if he got in trouble!"
"Your secret is safe with me," Reverend Haber assured her. "From what you've told me about Max, I think I know what's going on with him. I've seen it happen many times in young men returning from war. On the battlefield, they have seen many horrible things you and I can't even begin to imagine, things that will remain with them forever, and when they return home, they bring their nightmares back with them. The good news is, there are medications that can help with what your son is going through. I recommend you talk to Max, see if you can persuade him to see the doctor about it."
"I'll try," Elizabeth promised. "Thanks for talking to me."
"You're very welcome," Reverend Haber replied. "It's what I'm here for."
"Just think," said Laura, patting her gently rounded belly. "Next Christmas, we'll have a little one of our own!"
"That's right!" Stephen had just finished erecting their first Christmas tree and now stood back to admire his work. Even though he tired more easily than he had before his injury, he'd refused Laura's offer for help. He insisted that she rest as much as possible.
"It looks really nice," Laura told him.
"It'll look even nicer once we get the decorations on it," Stephen replied.
"I'll start." Eager to make herself useful, she picked up a box of ornaments and began to hang them on the tree. "You know, Mom told me Max still has lots of nightmares. She said she was going to try to get help for him. I'm glad you don't have nightmares like he does."
"Likely it's because he saw what happened to me," said Stephen. "I have absolutely no memory of it at all. One minute I was shooting at the Cong, and the next, I was waking up in the medical tent. I wasn't able to rejoin the fighting for a long time after that, so he saw a lot of really awful things I didn't."
"That would make sense," Laura replied. "I'm just so glad you recovered and were able to come home. I thought about you all the time you were gone, wondering how you were, praying for your safety."
Stephen grinned. "Don't tell me you didn't go out with a single boy for the whole two years I was gone."
Laura blushed. What could she say? With all her heart, she didn't want to hurt her husband, but she just couldn't lie to him.
"I did go to a dance with Timmy Jordan once, but it was just as friends." She was playing with the tinsel, looping it around and around one finger.
"Timmy Jordan? Who's he?"
Laura looked into Stephen's eyes and saw the hurt there.
"Jimmy's twin brother. Jimmy and Annie were going to a dance, and Timmy wanted to double date with them and needed a date. Nothing happened, and I swear to you, that was the only time."
She stared at a spot on the floor until she felt him lift her chin to gaze tenderly into her eyes.
"It doesn't matter, Laura. You and I are together now. That's all that matters."
Relief flooded through her as tears came to her eyes.
"I love you so much, Stephen!"
"I love you too, Laura."
"They're adorable, aren't they?" Elizabeth said to Paul. The kindergarten was putting on a Christmas play, and Jakob and Laura were both disguised as sheep in the manger scene.
"Utterly," Paul agreed.
The play came to an end, and the children ran to join their families in the audience.
"Did I make a good sheep?" asked Jakob, whose nose was covered with black eyeliner.
"You made a perfect sheep," his father assured him, patting his head.
"Did you like my play, Max?" Jakob asked his older brother.
"It was a great play," Max replied. "You did a really good job."
The family went home. Elizabeth waited until her older son was alone in his bedroom to talk to him.
"Have you thought any more about what I told you?" she asked him.
"Yes, and I've decided I don't need to go to any doctor," Max replied. "I'm getting better. The nightmares don't happen nearly as often as they used to."
"Well, if you're sure - "
"Of course I'm sure. I'll be fine, Mom. Please don't worry about me."
