Shirley's Angel
Richard Koss

 

The big round clock on the wall above the cashier’s counter showed exactly six o’clock. Outside, the darkness came early and the Christmas lights above the township square could be seen through the restaurant window. Richard liked to eat early on the road and Carlino’s was one of his favorite places.

Tonight he would drive back to Columbus to see his sons Tony and Jim and granddaughter Katie. They would all be at Shirley’s house, decorating her tree, while she directed their every movement without touching an ornament. She knew better than to handle anything fragile. Her history of mishaps had become legendary. Neighbors, friends, relatives - they all loved her, but stayed out of her way as much as possible.

Richard thought about Shirley as he sipped the last of his Chianti. She preferred white wine but probably spilled more than she drank in the years they were married. There were times Richard regretted their divorce, but he knew they could never go back. Shirley knew it too. When asked why not, she would say, "too much water over the dam." Nevertheless, they were usually more than civil, sometimes even friendly towards each other, when their paths crossed at all the birthdays, christenings, and holiday get-togethers.

The waitress brought Richard’s change as the restaurant began to fill. He put on his raincoat and walked outside into the mild December evening. Before heading back to Columbus, he would check out the antique store on Water street that Mr. Carlino told him about. They were open until eight and the man on the phone told him they had some angel ornaments, but Richard really didn’t expect to find much.

He remembered the first time he saw the ceramic Angel with its wax head and gold wings, and bright blue marble eyes. It was a gift from Shirley’s grandfather and only one of a dozen made by Peter Hestel, an ornament maker from west Germany.

It became the most celebrated ornament on their tree each year until the tenth Christmas of their marriage. Richard was on his way home from the road and the boys were looking forward to putting up the tree with him. Shirley was six months pregnant with Elaine and had the boxes of ornaments out on the kitchen counter. The two boys began playing with them and before long, the ornaments were scattered all over the house.

After dinner they finished decorating the tree, but the angel was nowhere to be found. Everyone searched the entire house for hours. They even went through the other boxes in the attic. The next day Shirley thought she might have wrapped the angel with the garbage, but the truck had already come and gone. That afternoon, she actually went to the dump site, where she stumbled around in the piles of trash until dark. It was hopeless. She was quite a sight when she returned home - pregnant, dirty, and smelling like she rode in the back of a garbage truck.

Their Christmas trees in the years that followed were never quite the same. Richard picked up new angels and other ornaments each year, but they only seemed to make Shirley mourn her loss even more.

Twelve years after the angel disappeared they were divorced. That was also the year Richard last saw another Hestel angel. It was in Las Vegas at the Riviera hotel. He was browsing at an antique convention and couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the angel on display. It was identical to Shirley’s angel, but he was too late. It had been sold for $1,300. He never told Shirley about it

Richard parked right on Water street in front of the dirty storefront window with the faded letters …. ANTIQUES. The interior was dimly lit and a bell rang softly as he opened the door. Almost immediately a thin man in his sixties, wearing glasses, appeared from behind a cluttered counter.

"Good evening," the small man smiled faintly. "You must be the man who called about the Christmas angels. Haven’t had any other customers since you called."

"Yes, that was me." Richard looked around at the dusty boxes, crates and antiques strewn about the shop.

"Well, there’s not a lot but here’s what I’ve got." Richard followed the man to an old table away from the counter. "I bought all this inventory at an estate auction, but I haven’t been through every piece yet."

Richard began browsing through the ornament pieces, looking for angels. The man continued talking as Richard went through several small cardboard cartons and boxes containing pieces wrapped in tissue paper.

"I’ll stay open until Christmas. Then I’ll close the shop and start to sell off the antiques one by one. Maybe I’ll take some of the better stuff to conventions and auctions around the country. My wife and I like to travel anyway"

Richard finished going through all the boxes and came up empty as he thought he would. He thanked the man for allowing him to browse and started for the door.

"Wait a minute." The man was half talking to himself. Richard stopped and turned around.

"There is one piece I set aside. I’m sure it’s more valuable than the other angels I have, but honestly, I haven’t had a chance to check it out so I would have no idea what to charge you."

The man went behind the counter and removed a dusty white box from an upper shelf on the back wall. He set the carton down on the counter and removed the item wrapped in white tissue paper. As the man exposed the figurine, Richard walked slowly towards the counter and stared at the angel. Even in the dim light of the shop, Richard could see the wax head and bright blue marble eyes and the finely detailed gold wings. Richard’s heart began to pound as the man offered him the angel for a closer look. He admired it briefly. Then, to make sure, he turned it upside down to look at the base. Inscribed legibly on the bottom was the name "Hestel."

His elation was tempered as he inspected the figurine for any chips, or evidence of repair. It was in mint condition. If this angel sold for $1,300 eleven years ago, what was it worth today? Did this man have a clue?

"Is that more like what you’re looking for?" His tone of voice sounded suspicious, as if he knew that was exactly what Richard was after. Or was it just Richard’s imagination and his paranoia that the man was aware of the Hestel angel’s true value?

"If you’d like, I’ll hold it for you until I can get a better idea of what it’s worth, unless you want to make me an offer now."

"Actually, it’s priceless to someone I know, but I happen to have three hundred in cash and I’ll write you a …."

Before he could continue, the man said, "I’ll take it. Let me write you a receipt."

Richard was willing to write him a check in addition to the three hundred in cash, but apparently the man didn’t know what the angel was worth. Then again, maybe he really didn’t care.

Richard left the shop with his receipt and the Hestel angel. He could hardly wait to get to Shirley’s house. She would be ecstatic to see the angel. The kids would be happy for her too. Maybe this would help make her remaining months a little easier to get through.

Driving back to Columbus, Richard recalled the bittersweet memories of Shirley and their early years together. He both smiled and cringed as he remembered her uncanny accident prone behavior and propensity to create havoc.

He remembered his father’s birthday the year after they were married. Shirley volunteered to carry the cake into the den where everyone was waiting to surprise him and sing happy birthday. She tripped on the rug and fell forward, the cake splattering all over his father. His sister was so angry, she didn’t talk to Shirley for two years.

She was so cute in those days and that enabled her to get away with most of her verbal blunders and faux pas as well as her general clumsiness. He recalled the huge cocktail party at the home of one of executives of the manufacturing company he represented. Richard was standing at the bar talking with the host when everyone turned towards the commotion at the bottom of the long stairway. Shirley had broken a heel and fallen down the stairs. Her pantyhose was torn and her leg was bruised and bleeding. She had a little too much wine and let everyone know that she didn’t eat because she didn’t like the entrée. A year later at another executive’s home, she tripped and fell into one of the servers, knocking a food tray all over some of the guests. The host heard someone laugh and said, " Richard, I think Shirley’s at it again."

One Thanksgiving, she tried to run the dishwasher before everyone sat down to eat and accidentally used laundry detergent instead of dishwashing liquid. There were soap suds everywhere, even inside the turkey.

However, not everyone thought Shirley’s antics were funny. One of the last straws occurred when Shirley left the gas cap on the trunk of their family car as she drove out of a service station. The next time she went to get gas, she found the cap missing and asked the attendant if anyone turned in a gas cap. He pulled out a bunch from a drawer and said, "help yourself." She found one that fit and was delighted because Richard would never find out she lost it in the first place. A week later, Shirley was on the opposite side of town and nearly out of gas. When she pulled into a station, she discovered the gas cap was the kind that locked. Richard had to come and get her and ended up buying a key from a car dealership to remove the cap.

Eventually, even Richard grew weary of her escapades. He began to lose his temper and verbally abuse her more and more. Then came the unfaithfulness, and their inevitable divorce.

But there were plenty of good times as well. Shirley was actually a bright person, in spite of her awkwardness, and she was always a good wife and mother. By the time she was forty-five, she developed severe osteoporosis, which probably accounted for a lot of her physical mishaps. Then, just last week, Dr. Paladino, her bone specialist had her take a new MRI to see how much her bone density had deteriorated. Richard knew Dr. Paladino pretty well and managed to find out that it was more than osteoporosis. Shirley had bone cancer and it was spreading rapidly. She was terminal. She didn’t tell any of the kids and Richard was not going to let her know Dr. Paladino told him.

He pulled in Shirley’s driveway at eight-thirty and parked behind Tony’s car. Elaine opened the door and hugged her father. He kissed her on the cheek . "What a nice surprise." Then Richard walked in to see Jim, his other son, finishing up the tree with Tony and little Katie.

Shirley stuck her head in from the kitchen. "Richard, I wasn’t sure if you were coming or not. We already ate but there’s some chicken left, if you’re hungry."

"No thanks, I ate earlier at Carlino’s."

Elaine took Richard’s raincoat and little Katie crawled on the couch next to him. "Isn’t the tree pretty, grandpa?"

"Sure is, honey, but I’ve got a surprise to make it even prettier."

All eyes turned to Richard as Shirley came into the living room. He put the cardboard box on the dining room table and took the lid off. Everyone, including Shirley, edged closer to the table as he removed the tissue-wrapped figurine from the box.

When Richard removed the paper from the angel, Shirley gasped and bit down on her lower lip. She was nervous, and it was obvious she was fighting back the tears.

"Oh my God, I never thought you’d ever find another one." Shirley held it gently in her hand as Tony and Jim admired it.

"It’s just like the one you used to have. Right mom?"

Shirley didn’t answer, and now her eyes were misty. Then she handed the angel to Tony.

"Here, put it on top of the tree, but make sure it’s on good. In fact, you better tape it."

Then she looked at Richard and went into the kitchen. In a few minutes she came out with two glasses of red wine.

"I don’t think there’s anything you ever gave me that I wanted as much as that." Shirley looked towards the top of the tree, as she spoke.

Richard raised his wine glass and said, "Merry Christmas." Shirley went to toast his glass, but she bumped her elbow on a chair and the glass fell from her hand, spilling wine on Richard’s pants.

"Oh shit!" Shirley was on the verge of crying, but Richard set his glass down and hugged her, kissing her on the cheek. Now the tears began to leak through her closed eyelids.

Elaine and her brothers looked at each other and smiled as little Katie said, "Gramma spilled somethin’ again."

 

 

Copyright © 2001 Richard Koss
Published on the World Wide Web by "www.storymania.com"