Giving Thanks

"Yeah. I know."

They sat there quiet for a few moments, each lost in their own thoughts.

Christine sipped on her coffee, then began to speak. "Tanya, there's something I need to ask you. Why did you leave school? It wasn't until we came back for sophomore year that I even knew you were gone. What happened?"

Tanya took a deep breath. She hadn't told this story to anyone.

"It was my mom," Tanya began. "She got sick just after Christmas break freshman year. She wasn't eating, was nauseous all the time, and just run down. She went to some doctors and had a lot of tests, and just before the school year ended, we found out that she had leukemia."

"Oh my God," Christine said. "That's horrible!"

Tanya nodded. "She's doing well now, but back then? Our family barely had the money to send me to school, let alone to cover mom's doctor bills. We didn't have any insurance, so we were pretty much on our own. I dropped out of school and came back here to South Bend to take care of her and to work full time."

Tanya took a sip of her drink. "In fact, things got so bad financially, that we had to use a soup kitchen ourselves. Thankfully, there was one right near our house."

"That's why you're so dedicated to the food bank," Christine said. "That's pretty admirable."

"Yep. We came to the South Bend Community Soup Kitchen almost every night. And we went to the Baxter House food pantry for groceries once a month. So, yes, I'm committed to helping the people that helped us. Eventually, I got a job with the food bank and I've been there ever since."

"You know," Christine said, "I did Google your name over the years. It's just that 'Tanya O'Brien' is a pretty common name. Very common, indeed. Plus, I had no idea where you lived. I didn't know that you were in South Bend." Christine looked off in the distance. "I thought that you could have been anywhere."

Tanya blushed. "Wait. You actually looked for me?"

"Of course I did," Christine said, looking back at her. "I considered you a friend. I was hurt when you didn't come back to school. I'm sad to know that things had gotten so tough for you, but I'm relieved to have finally found you again."

"Really?"

Christine's voice was sure. "Really."

Tanya was silent as her mind began to spin. Could she really be interested?

Just then, Christine looked at her watch. "It's almost one now. You have to get back soon?"

Tanya glanced at hers. "Yeah. So I'm going to drop you off at my house first. Just make yourself at home and I'll be there after five."

Christine smiled as they stood and gathered their belongings. "That'll be fine. It'll give me time to get my report to my boss. And maybe I'll have something special for you for later."

A thrill went through Tanya as they went to the cashier. "I'm looking forward to it!"

~~~

Once Tanya got home from work, she was pleased to find that Christine had made dinner for the two of them. Though it was a simple meal of some items she'd had in her fridge and in her pantry, Tanya was on cloud nine at Christine's thoughtfulness.

They talked late into the night, reminiscing more about school and how their lives had changed over the years. They then exchanged stories about their respective jobs, finding several similarities, in that each loved to help their community and that each admired the other's generous spirit.

In addition, both seemed pleased to learn that the other was single, but nary a move was made.

They spent the following day, Saturday, exploring South Bend. Both die-hard University of Michigan Wolverine fans, they eschewed the Notre Dame tailgate parties and home football game, in favor of a late breakfast back at the Rosemont Café.

Then they took a drive around South Bend and its surrounding communities, where Tanya showed Christine more of the shelters and centers the NIFB serviced. Afterward, they took in a leisurely lunch, then a trip to the South Bend Museum of Art. After an early dinner, they caught an evening performance at the Southold Dance Theatre.

Every step of the way, Tanya was the perfect hostess, making sure that Christine's every need was taken care of. But often, when she thought Christine wasn't looking, she stared at her crush, and was overwhelmed at the feelings she still had for the compassionate woman.

She still imagined the eyes she wanted to look deep into, the skin she wanted to caress, the soft lips she wanted to kiss.

However, Christine, staying in one of Tanya's guest rooms, never made a move.

As such, Tanya didn't either.

They continued to enjoy their time together until early Sunday afternoon, when Tanya reluctantly drove Christine back to the airport.

"I had a wonderful weekend," Christine said as she pulled her luggage out of Tanya's trunk. They were standing at the curb in front of the terminal with Tanya's car still running. "It was so good to see you."

Then Christine's mood seemed to dampen a bit. "I'm going to miss you, you know."

"Now you know we don't have much time here," Tanya joked, trying to lightened the mood. "Airport security is a bitch. They just enjoy giving tickets here."

Christine smiled. "Then I'd better make this quick."

She leaned in and gave Tanya a hug, then a soft kiss on the cheek. "I'm so glad you're back in my life again. And I'll talk to you soon."

Christine waived as she grabbed her bags and headed into the terminal.

Tanya stood there for a moment, stunned. Then she touched the warm spot on her cheek and a huge smile spread across her face.

~~~

Monday morning, Tanya kept that huge smile as she opened the office. She put on a pot of coffee and readied her desk for the morning's work. She had many more donor calls to make, but her weekend with Christine left her giddy and unfocused.

Just then the phone rang. She checked the clock. At just after eight am, the office wasn't officially open yet, but she went ahead and answered anyway.

"The Northern Indiana Food Bank, this is Tanya. How can I help you?"

The light, feminine voice was crisp and pointed. "Hi Tanya. This is Maureen David at First Federal."

Tanya was elated. South Bend's First Federal Bank was their largest donor. Though they hadn't yet submitted their yearly holiday donation check yet, Tanya was certain that Maureen would send it over right away.

"Hi Maureen. What can I do for you?"

Maureen paused. "Tanya? I have some bad news..."

Tanya listened in horror as Maureen explained that the bank wasn't going to make their donation this year.

"We'd really love to help, Tanya," Maureen explained, "but as what usually happens in business, when cuts need to be made, the first to go are the charitable giving programs."

Maureen and Tanya spoke a few minutes more, then they hung up. Dazed, Tanya first thought about calling Brother Nick on his cell phone, but then promptly decided to wait until he came in before she gave him the bad news.

"What a way to start a week," she thought, as all memories of Christine left her head.

Little did they know, the week was going to get worse.

~~~

Tanya sat in the food bank's dining room, in a meeting eerily similar to the one they'd had two weeks prior. It was now the Monday before Thanksgiving and Brother Nick had called a special meeting.

Things were looking dim since all the week before, like First Federal, a great number of their largest sponsors were either substantially decreasing, or canceling altogether, their food and monetary donations.

Brother Nick had been sullen for several days, obviously with an important decision to make: whether or not to close the Northern Indiana Food Bank until further notice.

Tanya had been fielding calls all the week before from the various food pantries, shelters and centers, but she was just as clueless as anyone else as to what Brother Nick would decide.

As she watched, Brother Nick slowly took the podium in front of the staff and the regular volunteers

Just as he was about to speak, one of the volunteers, Corinne, came out of the kitchen and into the dining room. She motioned to Tanya. When Tanya walked over to her, Corinne spoke in a low voice.

"I know you said to hold all your calls until after Brother Nick's meeting, but this one is urgent."

Tanya frowned as she followed Corinne back into the kitchen. "Who is it?"

Corinne watched as Tanya picked up the extension located on the wall. "She says her name is Christine. Christine Parker."

Tanya's heart fluttered as she answered. "Hello?"

Christine was breathless. "Hello Tanya? It's me, Christine."

Tanya's eyes were downcast. "Hey there. It's good to hear from you, but I'm going to have to call you back. We're actually in a meeting now. Our donations have not only not gone up, but they've declined sharply. In fact, I think that Brother Nick might be about to cancel the program for the holidays."

"No! Don't do it!" Christine said sharply. "Go tell him not to cancel!"

Tanya frowned. "Why not?"

"I have a surprise for you. For all of you. But I'm not quite sure of all the details. So just stay tuned, and Wednesday, everything will work out fine. I promise! So go tell him not to cancel the program! Go now!"

Tanya said a quick goodbye, then ran back into the dining room.

~~~

Wednesday morning, Tanya arrived to the office fifteen minutes late. For some reason, just before she turned off the main road onto the private road leading to the office, there was what appeared to be a logjam of vehicles located on the road. There were about ten semi-trucks nearly blocking the road. She actually cursed as she had to carefully maneuver around the caravan.

Still angry, she put on a pot of coffee, and before she could get back to her desk, the phone rang.

"Hello?" she snapped. Then she caught herself. "Hello. Northern Indiana Food Bank. This is Tanya. How may I help you?"

A deep male voice spoke. "Hello, Tanya. This is Mack McConway. I need to know where to park."

Tanya frowned. "Excuse me?"

There was a pause. "Have you looked outside yet?" he asked.

Tanya put the phone down, went to the window and peered outside. She gasped at what she saw.

Out in the parking lot were the ten semi-trucks, all in a line, back to front. Somehow, they had all moved from the main road to right in front of her office. And the most interesting part? All of the trucks were marked 'Kroger.'

She put the phone back to her ear. "I'm sorry. What is all of this?"

"Ma'am, we have a delivery from Ms. Christine Parker, Kroger Corporation and the WNBA."

Tanya was floored. "The WNBA? The Women's Basketball Association?"

Just then, line two rang. She put Mack on hold and answered. "Hello?"

"Tanya! It's Christine. I'm at the front door to your office. Can you let me in?"

Tanya dropped the phone and ran outside. She saw Christine on her cell phone standing next to the first truck. Its driver was leaning out of the window.

"Hey Tanya!" Christine called out. "This is Mack. He needs to know where he can unload his shipment. In fact," she said, waving her hand at the other trucks, "They all do!"

While they were outside, Brother Nick pulled up. Tanya and Christine ran over to him as he got out of his pickup. "What's going on here?" he asked.

Tanya pointed to Christine. "She's responsible for these donations."

"Donations?" Brother Nick asked. "What donations?"

"These donations," Christine said as she pointed to the trucks. "I called in a few favors and got you ten semi-trucks filled with food and other grocery items." Then she pulled out an envelope out of her purse and handed it to Brother Nick. "And I also have this."

"What's this?" he asked.

"It's a check for fifty thousand dollars," Christine answered. "And there's more where that came from. Much more."

"Thank you," he said as he hugged her hard, his eyes watering. "Thank you so much!"

Christine motioned back toward the trucks. "You're very welcome! But we need to know where to unload these shipments. There's quite a few perishable items in there."

Brother Nick went over to the drivers as Tanya and Christine stood in front of the office. They watched as Brother Nick directed them to the warehouse in back.

As the convoy started to pull off, Tanya turned to Christine. "How...how..."

Christine laughed. "First, my boss was truly impressed at what you all are doing here, so he gave us permission to donate the food from our warehouses and our other vendors. And about the cash? Some of it came from personal friends of mine, but most of it came from the WNBA."

"The WNBA?" Tanya asked. "How?"

"I'm a season ticket holder with the New York Liberty WNBA team. And I also knew that the Indiana Fever, your team right in Indianapolis, Indiana, has a corporate donor relationship with Kroger. I just called the WNBA corporate offices and voila! We have cash! Also, as an extra special treat, some of the Indiana Fever players and coaching staff are coming here tomorrow to help serve your Thanksgiving Dinner."

Tanya was overcome with joy. Filled with emotion, she pulled Christine into a great big bear hug. "Thank you! Oh my God, Christine, thank you!"

Christine laughed and hugged her back. "You're welcome." Then she leaned in close to Tanya's ear. "It was my pleasure to help you," she said in a low, seductive voice. "My pleasure, indeed!"

A shiver ran through Tanya as she took in Christine's low, husky voice. Her body began to heat up, and she went with the new, erotic feelings rushing through her.

Christine spoke again. "Tanya, I crushed on you so hard back in college. But I was just so scared. But now? I'm looking forward to helping you with even more things in the future. Our future."

Tanya's heart nearly burst at Christine's admission. She hugged Christine even tighter and whispered in her ear.

"Then it will be a pleasure for me to thank you properly. And I promise you, one day I will!"

~~~

Author's note:

Please consider making a donation of your time, money, food, clothing and/or toiletries to your local charitable organization.

Happy Holidays!