Branded

"Really? You would do that?"

"Absolutely." She hugged Maria fiercely and never wanted to let go.

"I've never actually had a homemade Thanksgiving meal before. At least that I remember. My dad would just order a bunch of stuff from the grocery and serve it all like a buffet so he and the boys could watch the games. Wasn't quite like the movies, especially since I had to clean up everything. So, Mr. B, I would love to come, but only if you let me bring some things and help you cook it all. I want to learn. Deal?"

"Yes, Noel. Another deal. But please, call me Maria."

"I've tried, but I can't. Calling you Maria implies, at least to me, that you are kind of like a friend and you are way more to me than that. Sorry." This time, Maria grabbed Noel.

"Darn you, Noel. You did it again. You made me get all teary eyed and crap. Knock it off. I have to drink extra water just so I don't get dehydrated from all the times you make me cry." They squeezed each other and laughed. Easy natural. "So Maria, right?"

"No deal," and they hugged once again. "OK, Mrs. B, let's talk about the menu."

Jonah came home for Christmas. Three weeks, a lot of catching up to do. Noel stayed away and took the Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and Day shifts. 'Holiday differential, you know, and it lets folks be with their families.'

Just after lunch on Christmas Eve, Maria announced, "I just have to run out and drop off a couple of things. I'll be back in a couple of hours or so and then we can make dinner."

"Do you need some help, Mom?"

"No, Jonah, but thanks. Visit with your dad for a bit and I'll be back soon." She drove to Noel's and suddenly became aware that she'd never been there before. How was that possible? She pulled up to a run down apartment building in a not so good part of town. "Surely not!" But the address was correct and she went up and knocked on the door.

She heard Noel say, "Who's there?"

"Maria." Noel panicked. There was a reason why she had not invited the Baxters over. She slowly opened the door.

"Mrs. B, uh, come in. Can I get you some coffee or something?" Maria looked around. She was shocked. One room. A chair, a lamp, a foam rubber pad on the floor, a stack of cardboard boxes as a dresser, and a small table with one chair. But plants! Greenery everywhere and a large pine branch she had filled with hand made ornaments. And a goldfish in a small tank on the table.

She looked up and saw that Noel was in tears. Clearly embarrassed. "Come here, Noel." The two embraced. She could tell Noel was crying. "It's alright. Why didn't you tell me?"

"This is all I really need. And really all I can afford. I don't make much as an aide and with school and all. Even with loans...God, Mrs. B, I feel so ashamed or embarrassed or..."

"No, please don't feel that way. Henry and I didn't have two coins to rub together when we started and our first place looked pretty similar. Well, maybe not this bad. But I love what you've done with the place."

They both laughed and and Noel hugged her again. "Oh, Mrs. B, if you only knew the difference you've made in my life. I love you. Crap! It's OK to say that right?"

"I'd be hurt if you didn't say it because I feel exactly the same way. You've become like my daughter, but you're going to have to stop making me get all teary eyed all the time. I already warned you about that."

They looked at each other and both laughed again. "Seriously, Noel, you have added so much to our lives. Do you have a tissue? You're making a mess of me. So anyway, this sort of changes my plans. Here are a couple of presents we got for you. I know you'll refuse to let me help you, but get your ass in the SUV, I'm getting you some things."

"But, Mrs. B, you need to be home with Jonah. It's Christmas Eve!"

"I won't take no for an answer and Henry would be all bent out of shape if I didn't do this. Besides, he can entertain Jonah. Heck, it's not like he's six years old and we have to put out milk and cookies. I hope the stores are still open."

A few hours later they had a new bed, dresser, linens, tool kit from Harbor Freight and more than the car should carry. "Mrs. B, you shouldn't. I mean, I'm trying to pay you back for what my brothers did and you just spent all of the money I gave you I'm sure. I..."

"...Need to shut your trap and let me do this. Now let's see if we can put some of this together with that new tool set I got you."

"Phew! All done. And it's only 5:30 so you can get something to eat and then head off to work." She started tearing up, "Darn it all, Noel, you did it to me again. Knock it off." Hugging her, "I love you. I wish you could be with us tomorrow, but you're working tomorrow day shift, right? That's another 24 hours in a row.

"That's too much. Make sure you get some rest tomorrow night on your new bed with new sheets and blankets, and let me know how you're doing. Merry Christmas, Noel, and thank you for being part of our family."

"Mrs. B, I love being part of the family, but I never want to make it awkward with you all and Jonah. Please don't let me interfere with that in any way."

"And that's why I love you. Merry Christmas."

"Oh, wait!" She went to the closet. "Here are a few presents for you and Henry. Merry Christmas. Don't forget the reindeer food." And they laughed again. "And thank you for all the wonderful gifts. Oh, and I think I've tracked my mom down. I thought I'd call tomorrow."

"Oh, Noel. That's wonderful. And such a brave thing to do. What a Christmas present. Where do you think she lives?"

"Just about four hours from here, up in Virginia. Not positive it's her, but we'll see. I'm pretty nervous I have to admit. I mean what if she doesn't want to hear from me?"

"Noel, the problem was with your father, not you. Maybe you have a new batch of brothers and sisters or maybe she's all alone and needs you like I did. So do it!" Another hug. "Good luck at work."

"Mom, thank you for all the presents. I don't know how I'll get them back to Colorado, but they're terrific. But you haven't opened this one and here's one for dad. From 'N'? Who's that?

"Oh, someone from church."

"You don't go to church."

"Well, we used to and now she comes to the store." She opened the box. "Oh my, look at this beautiful knitted scarf. And look at the pattern. Here's a card, 'Made with love, Merry Christmas.' She clutched the scarf to her face and cried. "You two don't appreciate it, but this must have taken forever! This is one of those where every row is different and you have to get the pattern exactly right. You have to follow a crazy outline row by row. Hours and hours and hours! And it's beautiful. I love the colors."

"Mom? Are you OK? Here, let me get you a tissue." Maria turned towards Henry and showed it to him as more tears fell. My Noel, she thought. Thank you.

The next day, Christmas, during her lunch break Noel nervously dialed the number. "Hello. Merry Christmas."

"Hi. I'm trying to find someone. Is this Maggie Carter?"

"No. Who's asking please?"

"Uh, this is Noel Carter. Or could it be Maggie Bristol?"

"Sorry, Ma'am, no one by either of those names here."

"OK. Sorry to bother you. I hope I didn't interrupt anything. Sorry if I did. Merry Christmas."

"You too."

Her heart sank. She'd been so certain. The marriage records and all the other things she'd uncovered. It had to be. She sighed and got ready to go back to work when her phone rang. She put down the paper lunch bag she had folded to reuse and answered, "Hello, this is Noel, Merry Christmas."

"Uh, Noel, you just called here. I...well, I wasn't thinking, you know, it being Christmas and all and..." Noel heard a deep breath. "Sorry, nervous. Are you Noel Carter from Rocky Mount?"

"Yes, or at least I was when I was young. I'm just outside Wilmington now." She heard a pause.

"Holy shit! You're my sister! She's Maggie Spencer, well, now, but she used to be Carter. I'm Sophia. God, she's going to flip out. Noel she talks about you all the time, especially around Christmas.

"Really? She talks about me?"

"Heck yes, she gets all teary eyed and stuff and she's looked all over the place to find you, but there's like nothing online or anything.

"Not much to post and no one to see it anyway. Kind of a nobody."

"What? No way. As my mom says, 'Nobody's a nobody.' You have to come. You have to come today and surprise her. She'll pee herself. I know it."

Laughing, "Not exactly the welcome I envisioned, but I can't. I'm working."

"Working on Christmas? That's a bummer. What about tomorrow? She teaches at the Community College so she's on break."

"Sure. I have to get some sleep since I worked last night too, and you're like four hours or so away, so, like ten or eleven or something?"

"Perfect, I'll make sure she looks presentable. And I'm going to film it and post it. It'll be great. Amazing! I will finally meet the mysterious Noel. Can't wait. See you tomorrow, Sis."

Noel got out her phone"

>Mrs. B. Just talked to my sister. MY SISTER! Going up there tomorrow. Thanks for giving me the courage to do it. Merry Christmas. Love you.

>Terrific. How exciting. Safe trip. Let me know how it goes. Miss you. Love.

"Who's that, Mom?"

"Just a friend wishing us a Merry Christmas."

His forehead creased with concern. Too many weird things. Maybe his folks were just starting to show their age or something. But 'N' on the present?

Noel pulled into the drive and hesitated. The house was huge. At least an acre of land and the plants! So beautiful. The antithesis of her dad's house. This was it.

She gathered her purse and presents, pulled the hood of her raincoat up and stepped out into the downpour. Just her luck. Of course it couldn't be bright and sunny. The wind blew her hood back and soaked her face and hair before she could get it back into place.

Up the two brick steps, she passed between the columns and knocked twice with the door knocker on the solid wood door. "Sophia! Get the door."

"Can't, Ma, just did my nails."

"You're worthless, Sophia."

"I know, Mom." Sophia smiled and grabbed her phone.

Maggie opened the door, "Yes? Can I help you?" She stopped. They stared at each other. Noel pulled her hood back. "Noel?"

Noel nodded slightly, "Mom?" Maggie took one giant step and engulfed her in a hug. They crushed themselves against each other and cried. The raincoat and wind blown rain soaked Maggie, but she was completely unaware.

"Noel! I have missed you so much. I think about you all the time. I'm so sorry I left you with..."

"It's fine, Mom. I'm doing fine. I thought about you all the time too, but I had a hard time remembering. I only had one tiny wrinkled picture he must have missed."

"Come in. Come in." She laughed, "We're both soaked." She hugged her again. "I'm afraid to let go of you. It just doesn't seem real."

"Mom! She called yesterday. At first I didn't know who it was, she asked for Carter and then I called her back."

"So you knew about this?"

"Of course, Mom. And it's all captured for posterity ready to be posted."

"I should have known. You've been acting all squirrelly today. Noel, my goodness, you're beautiful, grown up, but you still look the same! So unlike your sister."

Sophia scowled, "Mom! But you are, Noel, even though you look like someone threw a bucket of water on you. Mom, shouldn't you ask our guest to come in and be seated and offer her a beverage and such."

Maggie smiled, "You'll have to excuse, your sister, she's kind of an ass, pardon my French." Noel laughed, but was swallowed up in another hug. This one from Sophia.

"A sister. I can't believe it. So, I guess Mom is paralyzed and lost her social graces. Please, Noel, be seated. Sit there. It's usually Dad's special chair. So special in fact that no one else can sit in, but he had to check on some patients at the hospital.

"Mom, Noel worked all night Christmas Eve and all day yesterday. That's nuts. I mean, Dad, does it sometimes, but he's sort of not like a real human being or something."

Noel laughed, "Well, I kind of got used to working a lot and organizing my time when I was growing up." She looked down, 'You know I had school and, well, there were three boys and Dad and I had to do all the cooking, cleaning, laundry and stuff since I was pretty small." She heard a gasp and raised her head to look at Maggie, "No, Mom, it's OK. I was OK. Really. It was...well, it was life."

"Dang, that would really suck."

"Sophia!"

"Sorry, Mom. Well as gorgeous as you are I know you've had like a million dates. I need some advice from my older sister about this guy I like so we'll have to talk later," glancing at her mom and whispering, "in private."

Noel turned red, tears welled up, and she looked down again. In a low voice, "Actually, Sophia, I've never been on a date."

"What? Not possible."

"Actually, I didn't know it until senior year, but turns out my brothers threatened every boy that wanted to ask me out so I was untouchable. No one dared ask me. They beat up the one boy I really liked in ninth grade and then when I asked him out senior year they burned his family's bakery. So, I'm the one with questions."

She heard a groan of pain and grief and Maggie grabbed her face and ran to the bedroom. "Mom?" Sophia started getting up and Noel motioned to her to stay. "Let me go. Please." She nodded.

She walked to the bedroom and closed the door, went to the bed and put her arm around her, "Mom?"

"Oh, Noel. I'm so sorry. I never should have left you with them, but I had to! I had to get out! You were younger and your dad had already made the boys crazy. He wouldn't let me just take you, which sounds awful, but they were nuts and no way could I take all four. And I didn't have a job and..."

"It's alright, Mom. It's all past. I'm fine. I'm happy. I'm in nursing school, I work as an aide, I have my own apartment, and there is this couple, actually the parents of the boy I still love, who have become, well, I guess like my parents. Weird, I know. We'll have to discuss it later as I tell Sophia what not to do when dating." She let out a little laugh. "So everything is great. Now."

"But it must have been so terrible."

"Yeah, as I look back it probably was, but at the time, it was just, I don't know, it was just life. The way things were. The way they'd been since I was little. I never really thought about it or questioned it. The only bad times were drinking nights. Used to scare me a lot after I was twelve or so. The boys started getting a little too friendly...No, don't worry. Nothing ever happened. I just went to my fortress of solitude."

And she looked at her mom and shrugged. Gave a little laugh. "I had locks and I had a board in brackets at the bottom. I put a bell on the door, just in case. It rang a lot, but no one ever got in. If they did I had pepper spray and a bat and if worse came to worse I had an escape ladder and had a survival pack ready to go that I could just grab. But nothing ever happened and I was fine."

She patted her mom's hand, "It was fine, Mom. You did the right thing. No guilt, OK. It'll just be a cloud between us and no way do I want that. So please, please don't think about it. The only hard part about the whole thing was no friends or dates or anything. Everyone stayed away. Polite but distant. And the boy I still love hates me."

She gave a laugh, "But it would have been fine. The boys said they would select the right man for me to marry." Laughing again. "I almost hate the fact that I never got the chance to meet the derelict they would have chosen for me." Laughing harder, "I can only imagine." Her mom stared at her, amazed at her ability to adapt to her situation and still laugh. And what a wonderful laugh. "Come on, Mom, let's go back out, Sophia's pretty worried I think."

Sophia jumped up. "Are you alright, Mom?"

"Sure, just caught me a little off guard. I'm fine now. What about your dad and brothers? Sophia, you have three brothers too. I know I haven't really talked about them, but maybe you can meet them too, if you want."

"It'll be a while. Long story short, after the boys pulverized the guy I liked in 9th grade, he transformed into some kind superhero like guy. The grapevine said something about Navy Seal training regimen and MMA stuff, I don't know. But he got big, like all muscle. I'd see him running everywhere and he swam in the lake most of the winter. Nuts. Anyway I bit the bullet and asked that boy I still liked to dance at the senior graduation dance.

"Turns out the boys had just flattened his date's tires so she cancelled and neither of us had dates. He was pissed to say the least and gave me hell instead of being my dream date. I went home crying. Real mature, I know..."

"Oh, Noel, what a horrible thing to happen to you."

"Yeah, the boys thought it was horrible too so they torched his parent's bakery. Not too much damage thank goodness. Just another thing they weren't good at. Two nights later someone firebombed Dad's car lot. Wiped out a dozen cars and messed up a bunch more. No one ever figured out who did it, but I know it was Jonah. They grabbed a friend and decided to teach Jonah a lesson.

"Like the moron's they are, they decided to tape it for Dad. They confessed to burning the shop and then Jonah beat the hell out of all four, put them in the hospital, called the police and showed them the tape. Assault and arson. All three are in jail. Haven't seen Dad since graduation. Great story except that the guy I love hates me. Not the epic love story."

Pausing and taking a breath, "Any who, I was supposed to go to nursing school in Washington. Far, far away, but I felt I needed to make restitution since it was all really my fault or at least it all happened because of me.

"So I switched to nursing school at the Community College nearby, got a job as a nurses aide and talked the Baxters into letting me help fix the bakery. One of my paychecks each month goes to them and I help in the shop. I've become quite the baker and, Mom, they've become almost like my parents or something."

"That's great, Noel. What about Jonah."

"He still hates me I'm sure. He's in some wilderness, search and rescue, EMT training or something in the mountains of Colorado. But to tangle my web even more, he doesn't know anything about me and his parents. I had Thanksgiving at their house since he didn't come home. I helped cook and everything.

"It was the most amazing thing. So different than the dinner from Krogers that Dad always got. He always served it buffet style so the four of them could watch the games, and when the day was done, I got to clean everything up and put away the leftovers.

"Holy crap, Noel, how are you so normal?" Her mom eyed Sophia and she stopped.

"It was what it was, Sophia. Over and done. How's the saying go, 'Get so much enjoyment out of today that you make yesterday jealous?'' I try to live by that. Jonah came home for Christmas so I disappeared. But Mrs. B came over early on Christmas Eve and bought me a bed and all sorts of stuff. I couldn't believe it."

Sophia had been sitting taking it all in as tears formed. She ran over and hugged Noel. "Noel, that is like the saddest story I've ever heard. I would be so sad all the time. I'd never smile and yet you do? How?"

"I don't know, Sophia. I guess I just don't think about it. It is what it is. Kinda like a dog or something. You know, something happens to a dog and they just kind of say 'Oh, well,' and keep plugging along." Laughing again, "So I guess, I'm kind of a bitch." She laughed again.

"But, Mom, I have a Christmas present for you. It's not much, but I made it. Here, Sophia, one for you too. I'm sorry, Mom, but I didn't know if you were married or... well, I just don't have one for your husband...Mom! I don't know his name and your new one is Spencer, right?"