Christmas miracle

«Hello, Peter. I’m very glad too,» she answered in a joyful tone.

A smile immediately appeared on their faces and they embraced upon meeting just like lovers should. Peter was quite tall and of an athletic build. He had a thick head of black hair.

«How are you? Do you still run a department at your dear bank?» he asked and smiled.

«Yes, I still work a lot. I still lead the department. Well, how are

you?»

«I’m good. Things are going well. There are more than enough customers,» he answered with joy in his voice. «So, I booked a table for us in advance.»

He took her hand and led her to a vacant table by the window. As soon as they took their places a waiter appeared at once with the menu.

«You can order whatever your heart desires and not think about paying the bill.»

«Peter, you are so kind and caring today.»

«When was I different?» he replied with a smile on his face.

Martha didn’t answer, but she broke into a smile. Now she was looking at him with loving eyes.

«Have you already chosen what you want to order?» he asked.

«Let’s see what we have here.»

«I think I already know what I will take myself.»

«And what should it be?» she asked, looking him straight in the

eyes.

«I’m thinking about lamb ribs with beans and green peas and Olivier

salad. And for dessert we will have a cake called Schwarzwald. I will also ask the waiter to bring us a couple of glasses of the most expensive red wine that we have.»

«I believe I’ll order the same for myself.»

«That means that our tastes agree on this, too,» he said, and smiled. «Waiter, you can fulfill our order.»

«Just a minute, sir,» the waiter said dryly, and hurried away.

«You have an excellent taste.»

«I’m aware, thank you.»

«Every time you order at a restaurant, I always want to order the same for myself,» she admitted honestly.

«Yes, my dear, I certainly know a thing or two about food.»

«Do you know the recipe for the dishes you order?»

«What kind of dish are we talking about?»

«Well, for example, today you ordered a Schwarzwald cake for dessert.»

«Right.»

«Do you know its recipe?»

«I do.»

«Really?»

«Yes.»

«Won’t you tell me? I would be very interested to hear.»

«Schwarzwald is a cake with whipped cream and cherries. It appeared in Germany in the early 1930s. It is now considered a classic there and has gained worldwide fame.»

To make a Schwarzwald you need to soak biscuit chocolate in kirschwasser, and make a cherry filling. Then you take cherries and chocolate chips to decorate the cake.

«Wow! I didn’t realize you actually know the recipes and the history of the dishes,» she said admiringly.

«I know a lot of things,» he answered pointedly.

«You never cease to amaze me, Peter.»

A few minutes later, the waiter put the ordered dishes on the table. The couple sat and chatted nicely with each other. Peter asked Martha more about her children and wondered how she managed to cope with everything without the help of a housekeeper. In turn, she also asked him about the kids and at the same time admired his restaurant. She really liked to visit the place especially in the company of her beloved. This place was actually quite nice and cozy. And the restaurant itself was not far from the city center.

They were so immersed in conversation that half an hour flew on by. It was time to fold for Martha if she did not want to be late for her favorite work. She was about to get up from the table when suddenly she felt a strong pain in her chest. She felt her insides all squeezed up and a strong cough ripped her body. This incessant cough lasted for about seven seconds, which seemed to her an eternity. She felt really ill.

«What’s wrong with you, Martha?» he said in a confused voice. «Are you okay?»

«Yes, I’m fine,» she said in a hoarse voice.

«Are you sure you feel good?»

«Everything is fine. The cough will go away now. It hasn’t happened to me in a long time,» she said.

«Blood.»

«What?»

«I see blood on the table,» he said, and pointed to the drops of blood that had appeared on the tablecloth.

«Is this my blood?» she asked hesitantly.

«Looks like it. Are you sure you’re all right?»

«It’s all right, Peter.»

«Do you want me to drive you to work?»

«No thanks. I think I can handle it myself.»

«Martha, I insist on my help.»

«Everything is fine with me. I’m better now. I can drive. And it’s time for me to go.»

«Peter walked over to her and hugged her.»

«I’m worried about you, dear.»

«Don’t worry, I’m fine.»

«Well then, see you soon! Take care!»

«Thank you for everything! See you!»

Finally, they smiled at each other again. She looked at her watch and realized she needed to hurry. She didn’t have much time to get to work on time. She left the restaurant and her gaze rushed somewhere up. The sun shone brightly in the sky that day. And now it seemed to her that the sun was shining especially brightly. So bright that the sun’s rays blinded her eyes. She stopped and froze, looking at the endless sky.

At that moment, she suddenly realized how much beauty was around her. This beauty was everywhere. Then she glanced at her watch again and knew she had to hurry. She quickly found her car in the parking lot near the restaurant. The silver Volkswagen was standing not far from the entrance to the restaurant and seemed to be waiting for its owner.

She got into the car, turned the ignition key, and pushed the gas pedal. The car quickly began to pick up speed, and then completely disappeared over the horizon.

A few minutes later she was already entering the Credit Suisse bank building. Today again there were no delays. She went to her workplace thinking about the date.

The date itself went pretty well. Peter, as always, was very sweet and accommodating. And his taste was just perfect. No wonder his restaurant enjoyed such fame throughout the city.

She was more concerned about what happened in the end. Why did she suddenly become so ill? Where did this sharp chest pain come from? And why did she suddenly start coughing so hard?

And those drops of blood on the table. Even now, she felt uneasy. What happened to her today at the restaurant? Until now, she had never had any health problems. Something is not right here. She just had to figure it all out. So far, Martha decided to call the home phone to make sure that everything was all right with the children. Mark picked up the phone and told her that he and Greta were already at home. He talked about how another day at school went and how they got home by bus. She told him that they should not sit down at the TV, but immediately start doing their homework. She also reminded him to feed his pet. In the end she told him that today she would come home a little later than usual.

«Okay, Mom,» he answered to all his mother’s instructions.

Martha looked at her watch. Her working day ended at exactly five o’clock in the evening. There were still fifteen minutes left before the end of the working day. Her physical condition gradually stabilized.

By the end of the day she felt much better than at the end of their meeting with Peter. However, that incident in the restaurant had greatly alarmed her.

Therefore, she decided that it would be better if she went to see her family doctor today. By and large, she never liked visits to doctors or hospitals. True, she had not particularly had to go to such places before. Her health had always been perfect. However, this time she firmly decided that she would go to see her family doctor at the end of the working day.

The work was completed for the day. Martha said goodbye to all the employees and proceeded to the exit of the bank building. When she walked outside, she noticed that the sun had already set, although it was not at all late in time, but in Zurich it got dark quite early in winter. The lanterns were already shining in full, and the night lights were burning all over the city. She got into the car, turned the ignition key and pressed the gas pedal. However, now she was not going along the usual route to the house. That day she was definite to visit the clinic first and only then go home. On the way, she kept thinking about her last meeting with Peter. She also reflected on her children and, of course, her own health. She was very disturbed by this strong cough and a sharp attack of chest pain. This has never happened to her before. Or maybe she was just winding herself up?

Everything was possible. An endless stream of thoughts was spinning in her head until she got to the clinic.

She entered the clinic and immediately went to the reception. The receptionist explained to her that it would not be so easy to see the family doctor that evening without a scheduled appointment. However, Martha insisted quite competently explaining her fears related to her health.

At the same time, she also added that she really needed to get an appointment with a family doctor. The receptionist nodded her head in understanding and promised to help her. She checked the schedule of all the family doctors who were present at the clinic at the moment.

Then she assured her that there was one family doctor whom she could see shortly.

«Dr. Helga has a patient right now. But when he leaves her office, you can immediately go in.»

«Thank you very much.»

«You’re welcome.»

About seven minutes had passed when Martha saw another patient coming out of the doctor’s office. She got up from her chair in a hurry and headed straight to the room.

She knocked softly on the door, then opened it and entered the office.

«Hello. What is your name?»

«Good evening. My name is Martha.»

«Very nice. Have a seat, Martha. My name is Helga Schmidt.»

«Very nice.»

«What can I do for you?»

«I feel good right now, but today at lunch I had an unpleasant incident.»

«Can you go into more detail?»

«During my lunch break, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my chest. Then I started having a strong cough, after which I also noticed drops of blood on the table.»

«A sharp pain in the chest, a violent cough, drops of blood on the table,» Dr. Helga repeated her words.

«Yes, doctor. That’s exactly how it was.»

«Has this ever happened to you before?»

«No, it hasn’t happened until today.»

«Did you measure your blood pressure after that?»

«No, doctor. After my lunch break, I got back to work.»

«I see. Now I will measure your blood pressure now.»

«All right.»

«Do you feel better now than at lunchtime?»

«Yes, doctor. Now I feel better than in the afternoon.»

«So, let’s measure your pressure, and I will also give you a referral.»

«What referral?»

«To the tests that you will have to pass.»

«Ah, tests,» she said in a confused voice.

«Don’t worry like that. I’m sure you’ll be all right. However, it will be better if you pass all the necessary checks.»

«All right, Dr. Helga.»

«Well, here we go with your blood pressure. It is normal. Do you have a headache?»

«No. I feel much better now than in the afternoon.»

«Well, that’s good. I’ve already written you a referral to take the checks.»

«Oh! Thank you, Dr Helga.»

«Goodbye.»

«Goodbye.»

Martha was a little embarrassed at the words «tests» and «checks». She had not visited clinics and hospitals for many years so she almost forgot the sound of such words.

Her health had always been perfect. She monitored it carefully. Martha was a non-smoker and also tried not to drink alcohol.

With a little exception for a glass of red wine with lunch or dinner.

The drive back home from the clinic took her about fifteen minutes. She drove up to her house, and at that very moment Max got out of his kennel. Seeing her car he started barking loudly. However, when she got out, he immediately recognized her and stopped barking. He just stood and looked at his owner.

She greeted Max and went straight to the house. It was pretty chilly outside. At night the temperature dropped to zero degrees Celsius.

«Hi, guys,» she said loudly as she entered the house.

«Hello, Mom.»

«Hello, son. How was your day?»

«Good.»

«Did you feed Max today?»

«Yes, Mom.»

«Good. Where is Greta?»

«She is upstairs, in her room.»

«I see. And what are you doing?» she asked. «Watching TV again?»

«Well, yes.»

«What about homework? Have you done all for tomorrow?»

«Yes, Mom. They did now give us a lot of homework so I’ve already done everything,» he answered in a calm voice.

«Are you sure?»

«I am, Mom.»

«Good. Are you hungry or have you already eaten something?»

«Greta and I have had dinner.»

«And what did you eat today?»

«We had schnitzel and rice.»

«Excellent. So, I should not cook for you?»

«No, Mom.»

«All right. So, I will just prepare something for myself.»

«Mom, you came a little later than usual today,» he said and looked at his mother.

However, she pretended not to hear his words and did not reply.

«Mom, do you hear me?» he repeated his question again.

«Sorry, son. What did you say?»

«I said that today you came home later than usual.»

«Yes, that’s true.»

«Why is that?»

«There were things to do.»

«What kind of things?» he asked tirelessly.

«Urgent matters. Okay, enough questions for today. Let me eat in peace.»

Martha suddenly felt rather tired. She didn’t have much of an appetite and decided to make herself just a salad for dinner. She decided not to tell anything to her children for the time being. Perhaps she was simply overtired at work. Maybe that was the reason for that unpleasant incident at the restaurant.

Lately, she has been working quite a lot and not resting much. And the last time she was on vacation was the year before.

Probably, this all happened to her today due to too much stress on the body. After all, with whom it doesn’t happen?

This could happen to anyone. She slowly finished her salad and decided to go straight to the bathroom. She was so tired that after the bath she immediately went to her room. She lay down on the bed and fell asleep instantly. The accumulated fatigue and various experiences throughout the day made themselves felt.

She was already sound asleep when her daughter came into her room.

«Mom, are you sleeping?» she whispered.

But there was only silence in response. Greta realized that her mother was very tired today. That’s why she went to bed so early. The girl stepped closer to her.

«I love you so much,» she whispered.

Then she kissed her mother on the cheek and left the room.

CHAPTER 3

TUESDAY

Morning came. Martha got up reluctantly from the bed and stared out the window. Behind the glass, flakes of white snow were already circling with might and main, covering the roofs of houses, trees, cars and the earth itself. It seemed that the snow had been falling all night and was not going to stop. Outside the window there was a real winter wonderland on the eve of kind and bright Christmas holidays. Zurich was a great place to live even in the winter time.

The ancient architecture of the city attracted many tourists from all over Europe and beyond. Martha really liked her hometown, and the children also loved this place very much at any time of the year. She also loved her job and the very fact that she had two wonderful children.

She also liked Peter a lot. She repeatedly imagined how they would live together in a house under the same roof someday.

Her beloved was a very kind and caring person. In addition, he had excellent taste and a good sense of humor.

Like every morning, she went to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. She hardly had the time to finish brushing when a violent cough broke out again.

She coughed over the bathroom sink for about ten seconds. After the cough stopped, she washed her face again with cold water.

At that very moment, she noticed the drops of blood on the sink. She got pretty nervous.

«What on earth is the matter with me?» she said aloud. «This terrible cough again and more blood.»

She chased away all negative thoughts and from the bathroom went straight to her children’s bedrooms to wake them up. First, she entered Mark’s room.

According to the good old tradition, his alarm didn’t go off again. Or did he just forget to put it on?

«Wake up, son. Time to get up.»

«Okay, Mom.»

«No „moms“. It’s time to get out of bed.»

«Can I get some more sleep?» he asked in a sleepy voice.

«No. Now is the time to get up and go wash up,» she said decisively.

«Okay, Mom,» he said, and began to reluctantly get out of bed.

«Get up, son. In the meantime, I’ll go and wake up your sister,» she said and headed to Greta’s room.

When she entered her daughter’s room, she saw that Greta had already woken up.

«Good morning, Mom.»

«Good morning, sweetie. I see you are already awake.»

«I am. I am an adult already and a responsible one so I can wake up on my own. Besides, I have an alarm clock.»

«Yes, I know. You are a big girl. Why can’t your brother ever wake up on his own?!»

«Because he always forgets to set his alarm.»

«Exactly,» she agreed and smiled. «Okay, I’ll be waiting for you in the kitchen. Just try not to be late.»

«Okay, Mom. You can rely on me, but I can’t vouch for Mark.»

«I know,» she said, and smiled at her daughter.

Martha was a good housewife and in some incredible way managed to always do everything on time. When she started preparing breakfast for the children, she suddenly remembered that she needed to pass all the tests from the referral that her family doctor gave her. And she could do it that very day.

She took care of her health and understood that the situation should be solved with no delay. At the end of the working day she had enough time to pass all the necessary checks.

In addition, she was very alarmed by this strong fit of coughing that she had this morning. And at the sight of her own blood, she generally felt sick.

Meanwhile, the children were already in the kitchen. The first question they asked was about their long-awaited breakfast.

«Already hungry early in the morning, guys?» she asked.

«Yes, Mom,» Greta replied.

«As for myself, I want coffee more than food. I need to cheer up in the morning,» Mark answered.

«Everything is ready, my darlings. Both coffee and breakfast.»

«What are we having today, Mom?»

«Scrambled eggs and bacon.»

«Again?» he was slightly surprised.

«Not again, but one more time,» she said, and smiled. «Don’t you like scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast?»

«I do. That’s not the point. I just wanted something different today.»

«We’ll have something different for lunch and dinner, and now we’ll have bacon and eggs.»

«Okay, Mom.»

«By the way, son, don’t forget to feed Max. He is also a member of our family.»

«Okay, Mom, I’ll feed him, don’t you worry,» he assured her.

Martha was in a pretty good mood this morning. She slept well and managed to do everything on time as usual. And if not for that coughing fit and drops of her own blood on the sink, her mood could be even better. Now she had to take kids to school, and she would still have time to get to work on time. Dropping the children off at school she gave them her parting words and instructions for the day.

At precisely 8:30 a.m. she entered the Suisse bank building. She knew her job inside and out. And at her workplace she felt like a fish in water.

First of all, she made sure that all the employees of her department were at their workplaces. Then she instructed some of them regarding their work.

And only after that she retired to her office. Sitting at her table she was checking the bank’s performance reports for the last quarter.

Yet the thought of Peter never left her mind. Maybe she didn’t want to admit it to herself, but deep down she really wanted him to call her today as well.

She would only be glad if they had the opportunity to see each other more often. She wished they could meet on weekends as well.

But both of them had children who required a lot of time and attention from each of them. That is why they could not make it on weekends. Neither did they tell their children about each other keeping their dates in secret from them. They believed that at this point it was better for the kids not to know about their relationship.

Their children went to school and should not be concerned by anything except their studies. They did not need to fill their young heads with problems of adults and their relations. Perhaps in the future, when the kids finish school, they will tell them their story.

Time passed, but Peter still didn’t call her. Today Martha went to lunch break in proud solitude.

«I wonder why he never called me? He probably has so many visitors today that he is far too busy for me right now,» she thought aloud sitting at her workplace.

Time flowed inexorably and the working day was almost over. However, today she was not going to straight home after work.

She firmly decided that today she would go to the clinic again and pass all the necessary checks there. She always monitored her health and understood that she needed to pass all the tests the sooner the better. But before going to the clinic, she decided to call the home phone.

She considered it necessary to warn her children that today, just like yesterday, she would be home later than usual. Of course, her kids were smart and independent, they could take good care of themselves. But she felt she had to warn them that she would be late again today anyway. The phone beeped again and again, but no one answered.

Probably she should try again. And she started to dial the same phone number. Moments later, she heard a familiar voice.

«Hello.»

«Hello. Greta, how nice to hear you. Are you already at home?»

«Yes, Mom.»

«Is Mark next to you?»

«He’s in the living room.»

«I see. Are you okay?»

«Yes, Mom, we’re fine.»

«I called you to tell you that I will be a little late again today.»

«How late?»

«Not much. It will take some time however,» she paused briefly in the conversation before continuing. «You are already so grown up and independent, and today you have to prove it in practice.

«You mean we don’t have to wait for you, but cook dinner for ourselves?»

«Yes, my dear. You understood everything correctly.»

«Okay, Mom. We will figure it out.»

«You are smart, guys. You’ll make it.»

«No doubt, Mom. Everything will be fine. Don’t worry about us,» she said.

«I don’t. Okay, now it’s time for me to go.»

«Bye, Mom.»

«So long, Greta.»

She finally calmed down that she was able to get through and warn her children that today she would come home later again.

She opened her purse and started checking to see if she hadn’t forgotten to bring a referral for tests. After all, without the paper, she simply would not be allowed to pass all the necessary checks and tests.

It seemed that everything was in perfect order. The referral was still in the same place, where she put it in the early morning. She also made her firm decision to pass all the checks. And now nothing could stop her from getting to the clinic.

She looked at her watch again and realized that the working day had already ended. Martha politely said goodbye to all the employees at work and headed toward the exit.

When she left the building, she immediately felt that it was rather cool outside. Of course, during the day it was much warmer than now. Wet snow had been falling all day without ceasing and, it seemed, was not going to stop. However, despite such weather, Zurich still remained beautiful. In winter Zurich was especially beautiful, even despite the cool weather and sleet, which continued to fall without stopping. The silver Volkswagen Jetta was still waiting for its owner in the parking lot for Credit Suisse employees. Each bank employee was entitled to one parking space. The parking lot itself was right in front of the bank building.