Mr. Miracle Read Free

take at the local community college.
    B-o-r-i-n-g!
    As a high school sophomore, Addie had been assigned to read
Moby-Dick
. Because of her dyslexia, she was a slow, thoughtful reader, often using her finger on the page to help her keep track of the words. Then to be handed that doorstop and work her way through it page by excruciating page had been pure torture. Following
Moby-Dick
, she’d been completely turned off to reading in general … although lately, after her television had stopped working,she’d gotten a couple books at the library and enjoyed them immensely. Finding pleasure in reading had given her hope that maybe … just maybe she could return to school.
    “I already signed up for a literature class. It starts this week, which I understand is a bit unusual; apparently, it was delayed until a teacher could be replaced.” Addie had thought she’d need to wait until mid-February, when the second semester began. This class was perfectly timed for her.
    “You enrolled already?” How pleased her mother sounded, and her face brightened with the news.
    They were inside the house now, and after removing her coat, Addie tucked her fingertips in the back pockets of her jeans. Standing in the middle of the kitchen, she looked around and breathed in the welcome she found in the familiar setting. Her mother had placed a few festive things around the house to help celebrate the season. The Advent wreath rested in the center of the kitchen table. The first purple candle had been lit.
    When she was growing up, it’d been a big deal to see who got to light the candle every night at dinner, Addie or her brother. Generally, Jerry was given the honor. Oh, how her brother had loved lording it over her. He lived in Oklahoma now, was married, and worked as a physical therapist for a center that trained Olympic athletes. He’d always been athletic himself, just like his best friend, Erich Simmons,who lived next door. The two had been inseparable; any mental image of her brother also conjured up his constant sidekick and the way she’d humiliated herself over Erich.
    At one time Addie had thought Erich Simmons was the cutest boy in the universe. He was a star athlete, class valedictorian, and the homecoming king. Addie hadn’t thought of him in a long time and didn’t know why he’d popped into her head now. As a teen, she’d idolized Erich and hadn’t bothered to hide the way she felt. He, unfortunately, found her hero worship highly amusing. Oh, there’d been the usual antics when they were kids. Her brother and Erich had wanted nothing to do with her, despite all her efforts to follow them around. It wasn’t until she was fourteen and fifteen that she’d viewed Erich in a different light and sent him valentines and baked him cookies. It embarrassed her no end to remember what a fool she’d made of herself over him, especially since he treated her like a jerk.
    “Addie?” Her mother broke into her thoughts. “You look a million miles away.”
    “Sorry, Mom.”
    “Bring in your suitcases. I’ve got your old room all ready for you.”
    It felt wonderful to be home.
    Addie unloaded her car, which, sadly, took only a few minutes. Everything she’d managed to accumulate in sixyears was contained in two suitcases and a couple boxes. When she finished unpacking, she headed directly for the garage.
    Her mother found her there ten minutes later. “Addie, my goodness, what are you doing here?” she asked. “I’ve been looking all over the house for you. Are you hungry? Would you like me to fix you something to eat?”
    “In a little while.”
    “What are you doing?”
    Addie stood in the middle of the garage, surrounded by several clear plastic boxes she’d brought down from the shelves. Her father had been a whiz at organization, a trait she’d inherited. “I’m looking for the outdoor Christmas lights.”
    “But Addie—”
    “It won’t feel like Christmas without the trees by the porch lit