She helped him stand and he walked slowly toward the bathroom to wash his hands before sitting down at the kitchen table.
“The pension still has not arrived,” he sighed heavily while rubbing his temples. “Christmas will come before the payment reaches us.”
Diana sat across from him while holding a small notebook where she recorded their expenses.
“I only have three hundred dollars left,” she said with quiet worry. “Today is the twenty ninth and we still have half a month until my pension arrives.”
Russell looked at her calmly although his eyes showed concern.
“We will manage somehow,” he replied. “Buy the grandchildren some chocolate bars and maybe one for our daughter because she loves them.”
“A decent chocolate bar costs almost one hundred dollars these days,” Diana answered while standing to wash the dishes.
Russell glanced toward the small wooden cross hanging above the kitchen doorway.
“Lord please help us overcome these difficult days,” he murmured while making the sign of the cross.
Life had become extremely difficult for their family in recent years. Their daughter Abigail Montgomery had four young children and she and her husband worked long exhausting hours but still struggled to pay bills.
Diana and Russell helped by watching the children every day even though their own pensions were barely enough to survive. The children’s other grandmother lived alone in another city and was constantly sick, so the responsibility fell mainly on them.
After breakfast Russell returned to the bedroom to rest his aching back while Diana carried another bag of trash outside. Snow was falling gently like a scene from a Christmas postcard and the street remained quiet.
When she reached the garbage containers another van pulled up beside her. Two men stepped out and lifted a metal bed frame from the back of the vehicle before placing it next to the bins.
On top of the frame they dropped a large sack filled with worn clothes. Then they removed another old armchair and placed it near Diana before leaving just as quickly as the first van had.
Diana studied the second chair with curiosity.
“This one is also beautiful although the fabric is terribly dirty,” she thought.
She inspected the wide armrests and strong wooden structure carefully.
“Replacing the fabric would not be difficult,” she murmured. “I worked many years in a furniture factory and still have good cloth at home.”