The Christmas Lamp Read Online Free PDF

that she hadn’t brought the ninety-year-old this treat.
    Tradition, she conceded with a smile, and turned to see Jake Brisco watching her. She frowned. Something he’d know nothing about.
    Thank goodness the bakery didn’t have a thing to do with city finances.

    Ed Carlson had been married sixty-seven years when his wife, Thelma, had a stroke and died. After that, Roni and her mother had looked after the old gentleman. Roni tried to talk him into moving into an assisted-care facility, but Ed would have none of it. He still got around, albeit in a limited capacity. Tonight it took him almost five minutes to open the front door. He was in his robe and slippers, and Roni guessed that he hadn’t dressed all day. A thatch of white hair stood up on the back of his balding head from where he’d rested his neck on the back of his recliner. He squinted through the screen door glass to identify the visitor.
    “It’s Roni, Ed!”
    His hearing was gone as well.
    “Who?”
    “Roni!”
    “Roni?”
    “I brought you some rye and a fruitcake!”
    “Is it Christmas already?”
    Grasping the aluminum handle, she opened the door and eased inside. The house smelled of old man and neglect. A 32-inch TV screen blared in the background.
    “What month is it?” Ed asked as he shuffled behind her to the kitchen. “I thought I just ate turkey a day or two ago.”
    “You did. I’m getting an early start on my Christmas shopping this year.” She set the fruitcake and bread on his table, which was littered with dirty chili bowls, open cans of Hormel Beef Stew, and pork and beans. “Where are all the leftovers I brought you?”
    He cupped a hand to his ear. “What say?”
    “Leftovers! Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes?”
    Casseroles, veggies . She cooked enough for two days at a time, and brought them regularly.
    He shrugged. “Haven’t seen them.”
    She opened the refrigerator and caught a bottle of ketchup before it hit the floor. The shelves were stacked with foil-covered dishes dating back several days. “You haven’t touched your meals.”
    With a puzzled expression, he peered over her shoulder. “Why I’ll be — I didn’t know any of that was in there.”
    She started to empty the bowls that had been there too long to still be edible, in case he might remember them tomorrow. “Did you keep your doctor’s appointment this morning?
    “Eh?”
    “Doctor’s appointment? Did you see the doctor today?”
    He shook his head. “Haven’t seen him in weeks.”
    She had offered to drive him to his appointments, but he insisted on keeping his 1985 Cadillac and driving himself. He had a limited driver’s license and could not drive more than fifteen miles from home. Most days the car sat in the garage.
    Roni dumped leftovers into the trash since Ed didn’t have a food disposal. Last Christmas she had finally persuaded him that a microwave was safe and it would not give him a lethal dose of radiation. After a few months he started to use it, saying he didn’t figure he had that much time left anyway.
    “Did you go to the Community Center for lunch?”
    Nodding, he shuffled to the table and examined the fruitcake. “They gave us this little piece of meat that wouldn’t fill a hollow tooth, plus a little bit of corn or something and some dry mashed potatoes. I miss Thelma’s cooking.”
    Patting his shoulder, Roni sympathized. “I know it’s hard to live alone.”
    “Yes — you would know that,” he said. “Your mom was a good person.”
    “She was, and I miss her too.” Straightening, Roni returned to cleaning the refrigerator shelves. “The new consultant came yesterday.”
    “Oh? Mary Parson’s grandson?”
    “Yes. Seems the first casualty is the town tree. You’ll read about it in Saturday’s paper.”
    “The Christmas spruce?”
    “It’s been knocked down twice already, and Brisco thinks it costs too much to keep putting it back up.”
    “Hang the cost. That tree’s tradition. My Thelma loved that