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MERRY CHRISTMAS

Contents

FIRST CHRISTMAS

By Mickey

mslamunchkin@msn.com

It was a silent night.  The kind of night that makes you wonder if you haven't suddenly lost your sense of hearing.  Sandy was trudging through the snow that had been falling for the past several hours, coating everything with a thick layer of mother nature's effective sound proofing.  Deep piles of the white powder made movement difficult and she was thankful for the snowshoes that she wore.  

Sandy paused to locate her bearings.  She hadn't expected the day's activity to take as long as it had when she set out that morning to find the perfect Christmas tree for the first noel she would share with her lover.  Her quest had taken her over the river and through the woods but the extra effort was well worth the trouble as trailing behind her was a beautiful, perfectly formed, eight-foot tall, spruce tree.  In her search, she had wandered far from the  cabin and it was only the gentle jingling of the silver bells she had hung the previous day on the cabin's door that was guiding her home. 

"Good thing I hung those on the door," she congratulated herself.  "Not sure I'd have found my way home without those jingle bells." 

Sandy listened intently to catch the sound on the soft breeze and assured herself that she was near the trail that would eventually lead back to the cabin.  She took a few moments to look around at thewinter wonderland surrounding her and she adjusted the rope draped over her shoulder and tied to the carefully chosen tree. 

"Well, we're definitely going to have a white Christmas," her whispered comment sounding loud in the quietness.  "And, that's okay," she said as she began walking.  "My love will soon be home for the holidays and then you can let it snow all you want."

Sandy soon picked up the trail to the cabin and knew that she didn't have far left to travel.  The snow had stopped falling and the clouds had begun to clear.  The full moon lighting the dark trail with it's shining glow, it came upon the midnight clear sky and was a welcomed sight to Sandy.  She quickened her pace and as she turned a corner on the trail, she was surprised as a deer walked timidly out from the shelter of the trees and stopped when a faint noise was picked up by his sharp ears.  Sandy froze not wanting to startle the animal.  The young buck turned it's head and looked quizzically in the direction of the nearby cabin.  

"Do you hear what I hear?" she asked the buck.  At the sound of the human voice, the  animal darted back for the safety of the woods.

"Run, Rudolph, run," she called to the disappearing deer, thinking of it's famous cousin that is sung about during the holidays.

Sandy made quick work of the remaining distance to the cabin as there were still many things she had to get done before her lover arrived that evening.  The tree needed to be decorated with all the colorful bulbs and lights Sandy had purchased specifically for it.  There were lots of packages to wrap with the pretty paper she had bought.  There was garland to deck the halls of the cabin and place around the front porch.  Up on the housetop and around the porch, she still had to place the strings of twinkling lights waiting in the box by the door.  And, she couldn't forget to start chestnuts roasting on an open fire, as these were a favorite treat of her lover.

Sandy was surprised at how quickly the twelve days of Christmas had passed as she awaited her lover's return.  As she worked to finish the decorating, she thought of how nice this holiday season was going to be.  Unlike other years, she would definitely not be suffering through another blue Christmas.  No, this year was going to be different and she wanted to make it as special as she could for herself and her lover.

Sandy was just finishing wrapping the last present, a little drummer boy that would be a surprise addition to her lover's collection of miniature toys, when she heard a car pull into the driveway.  Quickly placing the package under the tree, she rushed to the door to welcome her lover home.

Nicky smiled as she drove up the drive, everywhere she looked the cabin was decorated.  She parked in front of the brightly lit and decorated porch and before she could switch off the engine, Sandy was opening the car's door.

"Welcome home," Sandy exclaimed as she leaned in for a kiss.  "Come on," she said as she began to tug Nicky from the warmth of the car.  "Let's get inside."

Nicky allowed Sandy to pull her from the car and onto the porch.

"Boy," Nicky laughed.  "I can see you've been busy."

Sandy opened the cabin's door and motioned Nicky to enter first.

Nicky took one step inside and stopped.  She looked around the cabin's interior, it seemed that every inch was covered in holiday decoration. 

"Oh, my," Nicky sighed.

"I wanted our first Christmas to be special," Sandy said shyly.  "I hope I got everything you wanted."

"Oh, sweetheart," Nicky gathered Sandy into her arms and hugged her tight.  "All I want for Christmas is you."

HAPPY SOLSTICE..............

IN THE EYES OF A CHILD

By Trish Kocialski

tkocials@nycap.rr.com

I never was one to get excited about Christmas, let alone like it. All the glitter, the lights, the singing, and cheerful faces were all just too much for me. I mean, well, shouldn’t people always be cheerful and kind and considerate? Not just at the holidays? Heck, maybe it’s all that eggnog that puts smiles on folks’ faces. Anyway, this year the holidays turned out to be a bit different, as you’ll soon see.

It all started the day after Thanksgiving. I lucked out, had the day off from work and was looking forward to a four-day weekend. I drive a UPS truck in Naples, Florida and I knew the next four weeks were going to be pure hell; I was so looking forward to sleeping in, but it was not to be.

* * * * *

"Do you hear what I hear?" I mumbled as I looked at the clock by my bedside. The sounds of laughter and the tapping of a hammer were far from muted as they drifted in through the open window.

"Take it easy, grumpy. It’s just the Halls putting up their holiday decorations."

"At 7:30 in the morning?" I started to get out of bed, fists clenched and ready for a fight, but was stopped by my lover’s arm as she grabbed my silk boxers and pulled me back down onto the bed.

"Whoa tiger, where do you think you’re going?"

I lifted a fist and jabbed at the air. "I’m gonna go over there and deck the Halls! Maybe then I can get some sleep!"

"Oh, that’ll be a nice way to start off the holiday season."

"Yeah, well, just call me Scrooge!"

She reached around my waist and pulled me down against my pillow, then slowly nuzzled my neck, tickling my ears with her soft breath.

"C’mon sweetheart," she whispered softly as she plied soft kisses on my neck, "it’s the holiday season and they’re new neighbors. Give ‘em a break."

Heck, I’m a sucker for those little kisses of hers and I could feel the goose bumps beginning to trail down my back, so, I gave in.

"Oh, all right. But, I’m going to have a talk with them later." I folded my arms across my chest in an attempt to maintain my indignation but knew I was losing the battle. Within minutes, the laughter and hammering were forgotten as my mind focused on a new distraction: my lover tracing my earlobe with her tongue and her hands mellowing my mood.

* * * * *

At noon, I walked out of the house and looked over at the Hall’s house. Up on the housetop it looked like a Fifth Avenue department store display with Santa and his sleigh being pulled by what looked like a whole herd of reindeer, Rudolph the red nose reindeer in the lead. There were jingle bells in the shrubs and they jingled with every breeze. Silver bells were on the front door and a blue Christmas tree stood boldly in the front window. The front lawn looked like something out of a Far Side cartoon with the twelve days of Christmas scattered across it. The ‘ten lords a leaping’ looked like escapees from the local jail and I won’t even go into what the ‘maids a milking’ looked like. The whole yard was covered with Christmas stuff. The only thing that was missing was Frosty the snowman.

As I stood there gaping at the sight, two little girls about four years old came out the front door carrying what I supposed were the two turtle doves, and placed them next to the palmetto by the garage. The taller of the two saw me and came running over.

"Hi!" she said with a toothless grin. "My name’s Noel. I’m five. We just moved here from Cheektowaga."

"Cheek-ta-whatta?" I mumbled in response.

"Cheektowaga, silly. It’s in New York!"

"Ah, that explains it," I said with a smile. By now the other little girl came over and Noel pointed at her.

"This is my sister, Noel."

"Um, I thought your name was Noel," I said with a look of confusion on my face.

"Silly! I’m the first Noel….she’s the second Noel. She’s only four."

"Okayyy," I drawled out, "whatever." All I could think of was Bob Newhart’s Larry, Darryl and Darryl.

"We were both born on Christmas so Mom and Dad named us Noel. Noel is my first name and it’s her middle name, but we both like to be called Noel, especially at Christmas time."

Okay, this was getting a bit too bizarre for me. "Well, that’s nice," I said as I turned, hoping to escape. I walked to the end of the driveway to get my newspaper, but I guess four and five year olds don’t get simple hints because they followed me.

"So, what’s your name?" the second Noel asked.

"Um, Randi," I replied as I unwrapped the paper and focused on the headlines while walking back toward my house.

The first Noel tugged on my shorts and asked, "Whatcha want for Christmas?"

"New neighbors," I mumbled under my breath but said out loud, "I don’t know yet."

Her sister, Noel the second, smiled a toothless grin and said, "all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" then they both giggled, wriggling like little wind up dolls.

Just then I heard a loud voice calling from their front door, "Noel and Noel, come inside now and eat your lunch!" The woman in the doorway waived at me as the little girls ran for the door. I sighed a sigh of relief and went inside, glad to be back in a home with some sanity. It’s not that I’m anti-kids, I’m just not comfortable around them. I never had any siblings, and the only cousin I had was ten years older than me and a real dork. Terry on the other hand is a whiz with kids. Of course, her being an elementary teacher helps.

* * * * *

"There you are," Terry called as I closed the mud room door and entered the kitchen. "I was wondering what was taking you so long to get the paper."

"Um, I had a little encounter with our new neighbors," I said as I grabbed my cup of coffee and took a big gulp, wincing as I swallowed the lukewarm brew. "Yuck, it’s cold." I walked over to the microwave, put the cup in and hit the minute timer. "You know that boulder by their front door?" Terry nodded. "They painted it to look like a jingle bell!"

"Ah! A true jingle bell rock, eh?" Terry giggled, then added, "You didn’t deck anyone did you?" she asked cautiously.

"No. I was waylaid by two rug rats."

Terry laughed and came around behind me, wrapping me up in her long arms. "Bet that was an interesting conversation," she said as she gave me a hug. "What are their names?"

"Would you believe Noel and Noel?"

"You’re kidding, right?" she asked with the beginnings of her trademark giggle.

"Nope. The older one said she’s the first Noel." Terry’s giggle blossomed into a deep-throated laugh. "Yeah, seems they were both born on Christmas so their folks named them both Noel." I held up a finger in explanation, "But, the second one has Noel as her middle name."

"Phew! I was having visions of Darryl and Darryl."

"My thought exactly!" I said as I removed my now steaming cup of java from the microwave.

We walked to the kitchen table, pulled out the chairs and sat down. I slipped out the holiday ads and handed them over to Terry while I began reading the first section. As I scanned the front page, Terry nonchalantly asked, "So, what do you want for Christmas this year?"

"Terry," I began softly, "we’ve already talked about this and we decided with the new house and all, we weren’t going to buy Christmas presents for each other."

She smiled her big puppy dog smile at me and shrugged, "Just checking."

"Honey," I said, as I took her hands in mine, "all I want for Christmas is you."

"I know," Terry protested, "but don’t you want just a little something? Wouldn’t you like to unwrap just one tiny present?"

"Tell you what…just get some pretty paper and wrap yourself up in it and I’ll have fun unwrapping you." Terry blushed and I grinned. "Seriously hon, I’m just happy to be together in our nice new house this Christmas."

Resigned, Terry nodded and we went back to reading our newspaper which didn’t last for long, since about two sections into the paper, the door bell rang.

"I’ll get it," Terry offered as she closed the last of the holiday ads.

I nodded and drained the dregs of my second cup of coffee, then turned to the sports page. Hearing footsteps approaching I looked up to see Noel, Noel, and who I guessed to be their parents, coming through the mud room into the kitchen.

"Randi," Terry began with a smile plastered on her face, "we’ve got company. You know the girls," she said, as they whipped past me when they saw Zeke, our docile German Shepherd, lying on his bed in the corner of the kitchen.

"Noels!" their mom shouted as she saw their target. "Maybe you should ask if it’s okay to pet the dog." They stopped in their tracks and looked back with wide eyed anticipation.

"Oh, he’s a mush," Terry replied. "Go ahead girls; his name is Zeke." They both slid down on their knees and started to lavish the dog with attention, all of which Zeke accepted with dignity and grace.

"Randi, this is Mr. and Mrs. Hall…our new neighbors."

"Rick and June," the mom corrected. "Mr. and Mrs. Hall are my in-laws!" she added with a hard slap on Rick’s abdomen, which he took without a flinch.

"Yep," Rick replied with a big grin. "We’re just Rick and June and the two Noels."

Oh, brother, I thought and then wondered how soon I could get the house on the market.

"The girls wanted us to come over and meet you," June began, offering up a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies.

"Well, um, that’s really nice of you," Terry said as she accepted the plate. "But, shouldn’t this be the other way around? We should be bringing you cookies to welcome you to the neighborhood."

"Uh, yeah…but we figured you’d still be unpacking since you just got here two days ago," I added with a shrug and indicated that they should have a seat at the table. As they sat, Terry pulled out some glasses and the milk jug and set them on the table.

"So," I started tentatively, "what brings you to Naples?"

"I’m the new manager for the UPS office here in town," Rick replied. "You know the big brown warehouse at the end of Industrial Parkway?"

"She sure does," Terry chimed in. "Randi is a driver for UPS."

"That so?" Rick said turning to face me. "Who’d you kill to get the day off today?" he said pointing a finger gun at me.

"Just my boss," I answered solemnly.

Rick looked me in the eye with a brutally intense stare, then burst out laughing. "That’s a good one, Randi. I like your style. How long have you been with the company?"

"Fifteen years. I started as a loader and finally got my own route," I answered, folding my arms across my chest. I didn’t add that I had had to take a lot of crap from the other drivers and the prima donnas in the office. Or, that I still had to prove myself every day, even though I had the best record for deliveries and driving safety.

Terry could feel the tension building in me and knew it was time to butt in.

"So…are you going home for the holidays?"

"No, no white Christmas for us this year. Let it snow all it wants in Cheektowaga…we’ll be satisfied with palm trees and sunshine!" June laughed again, slapping Rick’s abdomen once more. "Have you seen our winter wonderland yet? We had so much fun setting it up this morning."

"No, not yet, but Randi has, haven’t you Randi?" Terry gave me the smuggest look with a hint of devil in her eye.

"Uh, yeah…nice."

"Nice? Is that all it is? Nice?" Rick said with a bit more bravado than I expected.

"Uh, yeah…nice." I shrugged. "I mean, I just um…well, I’ve never seen anything like it before."

He grinned and slapped the table looking over at his wife. "I told you we should have gone with the North Pole stuff instead of the Twelve Days of Christmas! Those ‘leaping lords’ look really dorky June."

"Not to mention the ‘maids a milkin’," I added softly.

"Oh, now you two!" June waved a hand at us. "I spent all year making those decorations and they’re staying up. Right girls?"

The girls had been thoroughly licked clean by Zeke and were now ready to attack the cookies. They came running over to the table, nodding their heads and grabbing a cookie in each hand.

"I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus last year," the second Noel said with authority as she stuffed a whole cookie into her mouth.

The first Noel put her hand up to her mouth so the second Noel and her parents wouldn’t hear, then whispered to me confidentially, "That was really daddy in a Santa suit." She nodded in sad affirmation. "I know there really isn’t a Santa."

Somehow that little admission of hers just hit me in a place I didn’t know existed. I thought to myself: here is this little five-year-old girl who is supposed to believe in Santa and she doesn’t. I wondered what had happened to make her so sad and so sure Santa didn’t exist. I looked into those sad brown eyes and for the first time in my life felt like hugging a child. There’s just something about the eyes of a child that can reach into your soul. So, I hugged her and whispered back confidentially, "Well, ya know…Santa recruits daddies to help him. He can’t be everywhere at the same time, ya know."

She looked up at me with a glimmer of hope that faded quickly. "Then why didn’t Santa tell Daddy what I really wanted for Christmas?"

I shrugged and replied, "I don’t know. What did you ask Santa for?"

"I asked him to make my kitty better but he didn’t. Mommy and Daddy said Snowball had to go to some place that was over a rainbow bridge."

Uh, oh. See what you get for getting sucked in? Now what am I going to say to this kid? "Uh, well, Santa’s job is to make toys in his toy shop. I don’t think he can fix sick kitties." Her brown eyes got wider, a look of confusion on her face. "Oh? But, when I sat on Santa’s lap at the Mall and told him what I wanted, he said not to worry."

Yikes! I’m getting in deeper and deeper! I looked up to see Terry staring at me. I guess the look of fear on my face alarmed her, and she came to the rescue. Yeah, I may look and act like a hard ass, but deep down inside I can be a mush.

"Noel, would you like some milk with your cookies?" Terry asked as she stepped over to us.

The offer of milk with her cookie suddenly became more important and the first Noel enthusiastically nodded her head, following Terry eagerly. I sat there wondering if anyone else saw my panicked expression; I casually looked over to the rest of the Halls and was relieved that they were looking at the Toys ‘R Us ad instead of me.

The Halls stayed a bit longer and we found out that Cheektowaga was a suburb of Buffalo and that they were secretly glad to be out of that snowbelt even though all their relatives still lived there.

June told a funny story about how her Grandma got run over by a reindeer when she was twelve. Her granny lived in Maine on a farm that had a small river and some woods out back of the farm house. Anyway, her granny was crossing over the river and through the woods on her way back to the farm when a herd of reindeer came bounding out of the woods and one ran right over her. It was a good thing she was bundled up or she could have been seriously hurt.

"Anyway," June continued, "the night Grams told us that story, I had nightmares about Grams chasing Rudolph with an axe, shouting something about hit-and-run reindeer and I woke up yelling, "run, Rudolph, run!"

Then Rick told one about a disaster that occurred one night when he had chestnuts roasting on an open fire. The little suckers exploded into the living room, splattering everything in sight with flaming chestnut meat. The description of his antics trying to stomp out the little buggers with his bare feet was hilarious. All in all, this introduction to our new neighbors turned out okay, although I wasn’t too thrilled to learn I was living next door to my new boss.

After they left, Terry came up to me with that ‘what have you gotten yourself into’ look on her face.

"What?" I said in self-defense even before she opened her mouth.

"Spill it mush ball," she said defiantly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What?" I repeated, albeit a bit more reluctantly.

"What put that look of fear on your face with the first Noel?"

"That? Oh, it was nothing really."

"Ya, right! And I suppose that panicked look on your face was just for fun?"

"Who, me? Panicked? Nah, I just don’t know how to deal with kids, that’s all." I got up from my chair, started to collect the empty milk glasses and picked up the nearly empty milk jug. "Looks like I need to go get another jug of milk," I remarked, heading to the back door.

"Not so fast, Slick." She stood in front of me so I couldn’t get to the door. "C’mon, come clean."

"Oh, all right." I sat back down and told her about the first Noel’s admission about not believing in Santa and my explanation, and then about Snowball, and my explanation.

"I just didn’t know what to say. That jerk of a Santa in the Mall should never have told her not to worry."

"Oh, dear…that poor little girl. No wonder she doesn’t believe in Santa."

I stood, sticking my hands deep down into my pockets, and shrugged. "Yeah, I feel so lousy. Got any suggestions?"

"Well, I wonder if her parents have a clue about how she feels. You said she whispered and covered her mouth, right?"

"Yeah, she did."

"Chances are then that they’re clueless, but if the opportunity comes along, we can mention it to them."

"Like one of your ‘teachable moments’ you use in class, huh?"

"Exactly."

"So, why do you think she picked me to tell?"

"Don’t know love, but it’s a good sign. She’s carried these feelings for a full year and she needs to get through this or she’ll never like Christmas."

* * * * *

About two weeks later I was just finishing an exhausting day of deliveries. The holiday season for any delivery person can be a royal pain in the you-know-what. Anyway, I had just finished filing my paper work when I got called into Rick’s office over the PA system.

"Yes, Mr. Hall?" I asked as I entered his office.

"Randi, I’m glad you haven’t left yet. I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

I shrugged a shoulder and said, "Sure, if I can."

"Well, my car is at the dealer’s getting some brake work done." He paused, "Wouldn’t do to have bad brakes with the kids in the car, right?" Another pause. "Yes, well, they just called and can’t get the job done tonight and don’t have a loaner left. June and the Noels are out shopping and I’m kinda stuck here. So, I was hoping maybe I could catch a ride home with you?"

"Sure. No problem. Just let me clean up and we can take off."

"Great! I’ll meet you in the parking lot. Thanks, Randi."

"No problem, Mr. Hall."

I headed for the small women’s locker room to clean up, change into my black denim trousers and black t-shirt, and grab my lunch bag before heading out to the parking lot.

Rick was already standing next to my truck. I unlocked my side and got in, reaching over to unlock the passenger door.

"Nice truck," Rick said as he slipped into the passenger seat.

"I like it. It doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles, but it runs great."

"There are times I wish we had a truck, but with the girls we opted for a wagon."

"Well, if you ever need anything big hauled, just let me know."

"I just might take you up on that. June and I were planning on getting one of those play houses for the girls….one of those really neat ones that has a porch on it. Only we didn’t know how to get it home or how we could set it up without them seeing it before Christmas."

We rode in silence for a few miles and then I figured I’d ask him about Snowball.

"Mr. Hall…"

"It’s Rick…we’re off duty now."

"Okay, Rick. The other day when you and June and the Noels came over, Noel told me something that’s been bothering me."

"Which Noel?

"Oh, um, the first Noel."

He nodded briefly before commenting. "June and I thought we saw her whisper something to you after little Noel made that comment about seeing Santa kissing June. We’ve noticed Noel hasn’t been as enthusiastic about Christmas. June and I figure it’s because of the move."

"Yeah, well, she told me she knew it was you kissing June and that she doesn’t believe in Santa anymore."

He turned in his seat and looked at me with a curious expression. "She did? Darn! I was afraid she saw me in the Santa outfit. No wonder she doesn’t believe in Santa."

"Well, I think I got her past that part. I told her that Santa had to rely on helpers and you had volunteered. But, the bigger problem it seems was Snowball.

"Oh, God..." he hung his head, "Snowball. I should have known! She loved that kitten."

"Yeah, the Santa she saw in the Mall last year told her not to worry about Snowball and then …"

"He what? Oh, man! Don’t they teach those yahoos what not to say?"

"Guess not. Anyway, she doesn’t believe in Santa because he didn’t tell you about what she wanted…to make Snowball better."

"There was no way to make that kitten better. He had an upper respiratory infection that he just couldn’t get over."

"What if you got her another kitten? Think that would work?" I asked hopefully.

"I don’t think so. We asked her if we could get her another kitty and she wouldn’t have anything to do with that idea."

"Well, she certainly has taken a shine to our Zeke. She plays with him every time he’s outside." I thought a bit longer and then asked, "Do you have any pictures of Snowball?"

"Maybe. I’ll ask June when I get home. What have you got in mind?"

"I don’t know…yet...let me think about it for a bit."

After a silent night of pondering, I never thought I could put all the pieces together. As the hours ticked by I was becoming frustrated, when suddenly as it came upon the midnight clear ideas of a plan started to form. As soon as I could, I shared my fledgling plan with Terry; the next morning we got the pictures from June and started to put the scheme into motion. The Halls thought my crazy idea may have a shot, so they were eager to help.

* * * * *

The week before Christmas found us spending a lot of our free time with the Halls. The girls were really warming up to us and we often took them to the playground at Terry’s elementary school. It was made up of little ‘islands’ of safety wood chips that contained a different piece of equipment painted in the primary colors, each island connected by a bridge. The story about the ‘Rainbow Bridge’ was the key to my plan and I just had one more piece to put in motion.

On Christmas Eve, Terry and I took the Noels to the local mall to see the Christmas pageant they put on every year, while the Halls finished the last pieces of the plan. The pageant was fun. Locals played all the parts and one of Terry’s students was going to be the little drummer boy this year.

"Well, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas isn’t it?" Terry snickered as we walked into the mall, spying the crowds of people.

People were everywhere, shoulder-to-shoulder around the stage, lined up along the balcony, and seated on the floors.

"Well, if tank tops and shorts go with winter stocking caps, I guess you could say that." I pointed out a pair of teens dressed in that fashion.

"Hey girls," Terry said as she pulled them close, "I hear Santa Claus is coming to town today. Do you have any Christmas wishes?"

"YES!" shouted the second Noel followed by a wiggle dance of excitement.

"How about you, Noel," Terry asked her quiet sister.

The first Noel just shrugged her shoulders and shuffled her feet. "I don’t want nuttin’ for Christmas," she said in a soft voice, breaking my heart once more.

I picked up the second Noel and sat her on my shoulders. "Okay Noel, what do you see?"

"Here comes Santa Claus!" she said excitedly and started bouncing on my shoulders.

"Whoa, Noel!" I cried as I held her feet still. I looked down at the first Noel, surprised to see her looking up at me with a hint of optimism in her eyes…as if she wanted to believe. I reached out to touch her cheek, but she turned her face away. My heart was breaking for this little girl and I hoped that my plan would bring back the joy of Christmas to her.

The second Noel sat perched on my shoulders as jolly old St. Nicholas tossed candy to the crowd practically leaping off my shoulders as she tried to catch some of the confections. I had all I could do to keep her from toppling off.

After the pageant was over, we stood in line with the kids that hadn’t yet seen Santa, or those who maybe wanted a second shot at their requests. When it was finally our turn, little Noel eagerly went forward to sit on the jolly old man’s lap. Terry and I kept our fingers crossed that the first Noel would give in and give him a try. If she didn’t, I wasn’t sure our plan would work.

Little Noel smiled and talked, and talked, and talked. Finally, she nodded vigorously and slipped off Santa’s lap. I bent down and whispered to the first Noel, "Okay, sweetie. It’s your turn."

She looked up at me and shook her head. "No, I don’t believe in Santa."

"But, Noel, since you’re in line and all…"

She looked back at the kids waiting for their turn.

"They can have my turn," she said emphatically.

"Okay, how about this," I said quickly. "How about we both go up to Santa and ask him what happened last year. Maybe there’s a reason he couldn’t do what you asked."

The first Noel looked at me thoughtfully for what seemed like forever. Finally, she nodded and said, "Okay."

I took her by the hand and helped her into Santa’s lap, crossing my fingers as I looked back at Terry.

The first words out of her mouth were: "You’re not really Santa are you?"

The jolly old man looked at her and smiled. "No, sweetie, I’m just one of Santa’s helpers. You know he’s very busy this time of year and he needs all the help he can get."

I looked at Santa and smiled.

"But," he continued, "Santa did tell me to give you a message, Noel."

She looked up at him in surprise. "You know my name?"

"Yes, I may not be the real Santa, but he’s prepared us very well to talk to all the believers. You are a believer, right?"

"No, I don’t think so."

He pulled his head back in wonder. "You’re not? But, Santa said you are."

"Well, he’s wrong. Just like he was wrong last year," Noel said with a sniffle.

"Oh," the old man began. "You mean about what he said about Snowball? That you weren’t supposed to worry?"

"Yeah," she sniffled again. "But, he was wrong. Snowball went across that ‘Rainbow Bridge’ and I’ll never see him again. Not for a long, long, time!"

"Ah," he said softly, giving her a hug. "Snowball had to go across that bridge, Noel. He was very, very sick. But, if you believe…believe with all your might…Snowball may have a surprise for you tomorrow."

She looked up at him, confusion obvious on her little face. "What do you mean?"

The Santa heaved a sigh and looked right into Noel’s eyes. "Snowball can’t come back…but, he may be able to send a friend of his for you to look after…but you have to believe. Can you do that, Noel? For Snowball?"

"I…I think so."

"Okay," he looked around conspiratorially, then whispered in her ear.

The first Noel nodded then slipped off his lap and took my hand. As we walked away, I looked back over my shoulder and winked at the old man, getting a wink back in return.

* * * * *

Christmas morning turned out to be gorgeous. The sky was blue, the temperature was in the low 70’s, and the breeze was just a comfortable hint in the air. Terry and I had gotten up early to prepare for our next part in the plan. We tested the handheld radios finding that the earpiece I was to wear worked perfectly. When the phone rang once, we grabbed our surprise and slipped out the back door. Skirting the backyards, we were in place long before the first Noel and her family arrived. The bridge in the middle of the playground looked like it had come out of a storybook in its rainbow coat of paint. I scooted under it and kept my fingers crossed that the little bundle I had wouldn’t give the plan away. Terry watched from behind a clump of palmettos, ready to give me the signal.

"Okay, you wait here," the first Noel instructed her family as she approached the newly painted bridge. Then, she cautiously stepped up to it and closed her eyes tightly.

"Her eyes are shut tight," Terry whispered into the radio.

"I believe," Noel whispered. "I believe," she said a bit louder but with a little shakiness to her voice.

As she started to say ‘I believe’ the third time, I took my little bundle and reached up over the side of the foot bridge, depositing it squarely in the middle, then quickly withdrew my hand back to its hiding place. When Noel finished saying the words, I waited…and waited. Finally, Terry’s voice came over the radio.

"She’s opening her eyes…."

The next thing I heard were running footsteps on the bridge and a squeal of delight followed by a ‘meowww.’

"Mommy! Daddy!" Noel shouted. "I believe….I believe! Santa was right! Snowball sent me his friend to take care of!" She ran off the bridge carrying her new kitten gently in her arms.

I waited there, grinning…and yes, shedding a tear or two too…until I heard Terry tell me the coast was clear. When I got out from under the bridge, she was standing there with her arms open.

"Ya did good, ya mush ball!"

I slid into the open arms, welcoming her embrace. "Yeah, we did good."

* * * * *

It took us a couple of hours to paint the bridge back to its original color before heading back to the house the way we had come. That afternoon we went over to the Halls’ for dinner and to hear the most marvelous story told by the first Noel about Snowball’s friend.

"So, what’s his name?" I asked as I petted the coal black kitty.

"I’m naming him ‘Midnight’," she said with a huge smile on her face. "He looks just like Snowball only he’s all black!"

"Midnight, huh? That’s a good name," I agreed.

The first Noel looked up at me, eyes sparkling with joy, and I felt absolutely fantastic! In the eyes of a child I finally found that I liked Christmas after all!

THE END

FAITH

By Zoe

zoe@westpa.net

"Faith!"

The yell pinged through the heating ducts straight to the black woman seated on the hardwood floor in the living room. An explosion of boxes, tissue paper, and tinsel surrounded her.

"Maybe if I ignore her, she'll leave me alone," she muttered, pushing a handful of long, black corn rows behind her ear.

"Faith?!"

Growling irritably, Faith resolved not to answer.

"FAITH!"

"What?" she screamed back, flinging herself supine amid the clutter, empty boxes scattering and tinsel skittering.

"Where in the hell is that box?"

"What box?"

"You know!"

"There are 40 million goddamned boxes down there, and I'm supposed to know which one?" Faith mumbled to herself, throwing an arm across her eyes in defeat.

She stayed like that, not caring if Rachelle was waiting for an answer, until she heard footsteps pounding up the basement stairs.

"The box, Faith?"

Without moving any other muscles, Faith asked again, "Which box?"

"The one I'm looking for!"

"Ohhhh, that one," she answered drolly.

"Girl, you don't tell me where that box is, we’re gonna have big trouble," the other woman threatened, her right hand on her hip and a snap in her dark eyes.

"Can you be more specific?" Faith moved her arm just enough to uncover one brown eye.

"It's the box with the little drummer boy figure your mom got us last year."

"Oh. You mean the one we put away in a manger with the others?"

"Yeah, that one." Rachelle tapped her toe impatiently.

"Oh." There was silence as Faith tried to locate it in her mind. "On top of the box wrapped in that pretty paper. Under the stairs."

Rachelle snapped her fingers in acknowledgement. "Gotcha!" Then she turned on her heel and tore back down the stairs.

"Found it!" Faith heard mere seconds later. She listened to her partner drag the big box up the stairs, one loud THUMP at a time.

"So, honey, you want to tell me why you're just laying there?" Rachelle asked, dropping down next to Faith.

The other woman just shrugged.

"Well, come on," Rachelle urged, slapping the other woman on the thigh. "We have to deck the halls before this weekend, you know."

"Ugh," Faith groaned. "Don't remind me about this weekend."

"But you like when your parents come to visit. Look!" Rachelle yelped. "The silver bells for the mantle. And the jingle bells for the door. Praise Jesus! Now I don't have to go back down there."

"Good for you." Faith still hadn't moved from her position on the floor.

"Cheer up, Sunshine, it could be worse. They could be bringing your sis-" The last word was cut off by a hand over her mouth.

"Don't say it. Don't even think it."

The two women were startled by the phone ringing.

"I swear to God, if you jinxed this, Rachelle Stevens, I'm going to kick your sweet black ass," Faith hissed as she reached for the cordless handset.

One short conversation later, she disconnected and turned slowly to glare at her partner. "Thank you. Thank you very, very much."

Rachelle clapped a hand over her own mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

"They're bringing my sister and that idiot dog of hers. And," she paused to take a calming breath, "someone special," she finished in a simpering, nasal voice.

Unable to contain it any longer, Rachelle burst out in loud guffaws, tears of mirth leaking out of her eyes. "Oh my God," she hooted. "This is going to be one hell of a Christmas."

"Oh yay. My nutty father, my eccentric mother, my batty sister, her psycho dog, and her new love… Merry friggin' Christmas to me."

"This is going to be priceless!" Rachelle rubbed her hands together gleefully.

Faith turned her eyes heaven-ward. "Dear God," she prayed fervently, "please let it snow so they can't make it. Amen."

Suddenly Faith jumped up and hurdled the boxes and the other woman on the floor. She grabbed her coat and keys and yanked open the front door.

"Hey!" Rachelle yelled, scrambling to her feet and going to the door. "Girl, where do you think you’re going?"

"Don't worry, I'll be home for Christmas. A blue christmas, to be exact." she answered before slamming the door of the Impala shut. She gunned the engine and squealed out of the driveway.

"She better get home," Rachelle said softly. "I ain't about to entertain those wack-jobs by myself."

***** ***** *****

Rachelle was just fluffing the limbs of their artificial Christmas tree when the door burst open. She stared, in fear and wonder, as a disembodied hand deposited plastic bag after plastic bag inside the house. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the body attached to the hand.

"Thank God!" she screamed as she launched herself at the woman, pretending to cry dramatically. And loudly. "I was so WORRIED!"

"Get off me, fool," Faith said, untangling herself from Rachelle.

Rachelle shrugged. "Fine. When I tell you that tonight, don’t go getting all pissy with me." She smoothed her straight black hair down again and went back to fluffing, ignoring Faith completely.

"Aren't you going to ask what's in the bags?" Faith questioned.

"Nope."

"Don't you want to know?"

"Nope."

"I'm tellin' you anyway." Faith took her coat off and hung it up on the rack. As she pulled items from the bags, she needlessly named them. "Balls. Tinsel. Garland. Lights. Candy canes. And last, but definitely not least, a star."

Her final pronouncement was met with silence.

"Well?" she finally asked, looking closely for a reaction. Any reaction.

"Uh, Faith? Honey? It's all blue.

"Great, isn't it?" she smirked, crossing her arms over her chest and looking in satisfaction at her haul.

"But why?"

"It's tacky. My mother abhors blue anything for Christmas. So this year guess what?"

"Blue everything," Rachelle stated.

"That's right. BLUE EVERYTHING. Now let's get cracking, girl."

It took the two women several hours to decorate the tree and the rest of the house. At last they were sitting on the couch, their feet on the coffee table, sipping hot chocolate from huge blue mugs.

"Tell me again why we're not drinking coffee?" Faith asked, her corn rows held back with a piece of gold curling ribbon.

"Hot chocolate is… Christmas. We HAVE to have it. It's tradition."

"All righty, then. Far be it for me to break from tradition."

Rachelle snorted, a rather unladylike sound coming from the pretty woman.

"So do you think we'll have a white Christmas this year?" Faith asked, choosing to ignore the other woman's sarcasm.

"We can only hope. But it doesn't seem quite right without it, you know? There has to be snow to make it the most wonderful time of the year. I'd like that glittery snow that turns everything into a beautiful, sparkling winter wonderland."

"Mmm… until Cujo the wonder dog pisses everywhere."

Rachelle sighed in exasperation. "Really, Faith. He's not THAT bad."

"Like hell he's not. Even his name is down-right freaky."

"I don't know. I kinda think it's cute."

"You would," Faith muttered, turning her head away.

"Whaja say?" Rachelle asked, pinning her partner with a dark stare.

"Uh, more wood. We need more wood." She set her mug down and stood up. "Be right back."

"Hey!" Rachelle yelled after her. "What do you want this year? And please don't say-"

"All I want for Christmas is you, sug," Faith finished, neatly stacking the wood in the cast iron wood bin.

"You are absolutely the worst person to shop for," Rachelle grumbled, leaning against Faith when she sat down again.

"Okay, seriously, all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth," she said with a laugh.

"You're going to need 'em after I knock yours out."

"I have everything I want already," Faith said softly, putting an arm around Rachelle. "A decent job, a roof over my head, a completely insane family, and uh… hmm…" Faith scratched her head in puzzlement, her fine brows knit in consternation.

"Me," Rachelle supplied, jabbing her in the side with an elbow.

"Oh right, me." Jab. "Sorry, I meant you," she teased, wrapping both arms around the other woman. "That's the best present of all."

Rachelle just beamed at her. Then she looked around the small living room. "You know, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in here finally."

"Ah damn!"

Rachelle sat up straighter as Faith smacked herself in the forehead. "What?"

"Chestnuts. I forgot chestnuts for roasting," Faith answered forlornly, waving her hand at the wood stove.

"But you hate the smell of chestnuts roasting on an open fire," Rachelle pointed out, also waving a hand in the same general direction.

"I know. So does my mother." Then, "Do you think we can find them in blue?"

***** ***** *****

"Uh, Rachelle," Faith said softly, nudging the other woman's foot with her own. "Do you hear what I hear?"

"Huh?" was Rachelle's groggy reply.

"That noise. Do you hear it?"

Both women listened, one intently, the other half-heartedly.

" 'scoming from?" mumbled Rachelled, pulling the comforter up farther and snuggling deeper into her pillow.

Faith pointed to the ceiling. "Up on the housetop. Listen."

Sure enough, even Rachelle was able to hear footsteps and muffled thuds coming from above. "What the hell is that?" she asked.

"Dad," they answered simultaneously, continuing to stare at the ceiling.

"Honest to Christ, I'm going to kill all of them," Faith promised, rolling out of bed. "It’s the crack of ass, and he’s up there farting with the decorations."

"Now, Faith," Rachelle cautioned, slipping out of bed to go stand behind Faith. Both women were roughly the same height, but Rachelle was more slender than her partner. Still, she found it easy enough to wrap her arms around Faith and pull her close. She nudged the long braids aside and kissed Faith's warm neck. "Remember… love, joy and happiness and all that."

"Yippy. Joy to the world. And to my parents, God help me."

"And to your sister," Rachelle added.

"Fine. But I draw the line at Cujo."

Rachelle laughed. "Fair enough. Come on, we better go find your folks."

A few minutes later, Faith opened the front door to find her mother, Sophia, bedecked in a faux fur coat, fake leather driving gloves, and what looked like a black velvet muff on her head, leaning against the mini-van in the driveway. She was looking up at the sky with a concerned expression on her face.

"Be careful, Raymond. Don't drop anything!" she called up to the gray sky.

"Your priorities are all screwed up, Mom," she called, catching the other's attention.

"Honey!" her mother called, coming up the short sidewalk to stand at the bottom of the steps. "Guess who's up on your roof again?" she asked, pointing up.

"Well, it ain't jolly old St. Nicholas," she yelled loudly, craning her neck to see if she could locate her father.

"Nope," her dad called down. "Good King Wenceslaus."

"Well come on, Wency. Get down from there and come inside. It's cold out here." She pulled her robe tighter around her as she spoke the last words.

Rachelle kissed her on the cheek. "I'll go put on some coffee." Then she disappeared into the kitchen.

"Come on, Dad!" Faith yelled again, glaring at her mother. "Where's Taneisha?" she asked the older woman.

"In the van. She says it's too cold for Rudolph."

Faith rolled her eyes. "Well, it won't be too cold in the garage."

"Now, Faith," her mother admonished. "You know he's unhappy without his mommy. Besides," she added, lowering her voice to a whisper and casting a glance back at the van, "her new flame likes Rudy."

"Oh for Christ's sake," Faith swore softly. "She needs-"

"Whoops! Watch it!"

The yell came from the roof as a huge plastic, light-up snowman slid elegantly off the roof headfirst and onto the ground, it's head breaking off and shooting into the nearby bushes.

"There goes Frosty the snowman. One down, two to go," Faith commented to her mother. "Dad, for God's sake, get down NOW!"

"I'm right here, honeybun. No need to scream," her dad said as he walked around the front of the house dragging a ladder behind him. "Sorry 'bout Frosty there," he threw over his shoulder as he walked by.

Faith's attention was drawn from her father when the side door of the van slid open. The first occupant out was-

"Cujo!" Faith yelped in mock gladness. She bounced up and down and clapped her hands. "Oh goody."

As soon as the little dog heard her voice, he made a beeline to her, snarling and barking the whole way. Before Faith could get back inside the house, Rudolph grabbed her bathrobe and pulled, growling ferociously.

"Let go, you pop-eyed weasel!" Faith yelled, trying to pull the cloth away from him. The dog let go and snatched the slipper right off of her foot. Then he took off around the back of the house.

"Get back here!" Faith jumped down the stairs to give chase.

"Run, Rudolph, run!"

Faith smacked her younger sister on the side of the head as she sprinted past. "Shut up, moron!"

By the time she rescued her slipper, the four visitors were in the living room, cups of coffee and doughnuts in hand.

"Look what your goddamned dog did to my slipper," Faith growled, throwing the thing at her sister. Then she noticed who her sister was snug tight against.

"A woman?"

"Yes, a woman. Now close your mouth before you catch flies, honey," Rachelle answered as she slipped past, brushing her hand against Faith's backside as she went.

Incredulous eyes turned to stare first at Rachelle, then back at her sister. "Since when are you gay?" she asked rudely.

"Since I met the first Noel back in August. This is the second Noel," her sister answered bluntly, moving her hand higher up on the second Noel's thigh.

"I guess I’ll have to return the kneepads I was getting you for Christmas." Faith said as she sat in the only empty seat in the room.

"Shut up. Where's my dog?" her sister asked.

"Dead, I hope."

"Faith!" four female voices scolded.

"That Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer you got up there looks pretty shaky. Better let me anchor it," her father said, staring up at the ceiling as if he could see the statue in question.

"Forget it, Dad."

"I could run to True Value and pick up some 6" screws and bolts. Drill right into the roofin'. That'll hold 'im."

"The hell you will. No way, Dad." Faith could feel her stress level steadily rising.

"How 'bout ropin' 'im to the chimney?" he asked.

Faith let her head drop onto the back of the chair. She took a deep breath, held it for a count of ten, then let it out on a loud, shrill scream.

Patting Faith's hand, Rachelle turned to the two younger woman. "So where did you meet Taneisha, Noel?" she asked politely.

"In our water ballet class," she answered.

"We both signed up for the same class at the Y back home. It was love at first sight," Taneisha cooed, leaning in to kiss her newest love.

"Make me puke. I'm going to get dressed." With that, Faith got up and went upstairs.

When she came back down, she went into the living room, fully expecting to find everyone still there. What she found instead was her sister and the second Noel swapping spit and groping each other like a couple of hormonal teenagers.

"Get a room," she said, shoving her sister off the couch and thereby shoving her off the second Noel. "Christ, I'm going to hurl."

"You're just jealous because you can't kiss as good as I can," her sister snapped, licking her already wet lips and leaning back on her hands, effectively making her chest stick out considerably.

"Z'at so?" Faith asked, arching an eyebrow and crossing her arms.

Her sister tipped her head back, swimsuit-model-like, and nodded. "Yup."

Faith turned to look at the second Noel. "How old are you?"

"Uh, 22."

"Good. Over the age of consent." Without warning, Faith hopped over the back of the couch, landing right next to her sister's girlfriend. She turned slightly towards the girl and reached a hand around to the back of the other woman's neck. Then she pulled her in for a deep, intimate kiss. Her other hand slipped up to rest on the girl's waist, her thumb brushing the underside of her breast.

When Faith finally pulled back, the second Noel blinked in a daze and looked at her fuzzily.

"Wow," was all the girl could manage.

Smirking at her sister, Faith got up and left the room.

"Bitch!" she heard.

"Amateur," she called back.

Laughing when she heard the girlfriend say "Let's, uh… go upstairs for a, uh… bit, Taneisha," Faith made her way into the kitchen, kicking at the dog when he snapped at her. "Retard," she muttered.

Inside the tidy kitchen, Faith found the two other women. "How do you like the decorations, Mom?" she asked, grabbing a banana off the counter and peeling it.

"They're lovely, I'm sure, dear. But don't you think a different color would have been nicer? Blue is so… tacky." Her mother took another sip from her blue mug.

"Nope. Where's my crazy father?"

Both women looked up.

"Oh MAN," Faith moaned. "Don't you people have Christmas in Dixie? Why do you have to keep coming here?" she asked her mother.

"Because we love you, dear, and we know you miss us," her mother answered smoothly.

"You keep right on thinking that, Mommy dearest. I'm going to get the old man off the roof before he kills himself." On her way out the back door, Faith dumped her banana skin in the trash can.

"I'll come, too, Faith," Rachelle said. "Just let me get this lettuce in the fridge."

Faith and Rachelle went out into the backyard, walking out far enough to see the man on the roof.

"Dad, leave it alone now!" Faith hollered.

"Almost done," he called down cheerfully, just as the Santa figure tipped precariously to the side.

"Well," Faith said in a low voice, watching it happen, "here comes Santa Claus." The plastic figure slid off the roof, much like Frosty did earlier. Only, instead of his head, it was his feet that busted off and rolled into the driveway.

"Sorry, honey!"

***** ***** *****

"Mom," Faith began as she walked in the door. "How long do you intend on staying?"

"Until the day after Christmas." Her mother didn't look up, but continued to flip through the magazine she was reading.

"No way! You are not staying for the twelve days of Christmas. You CAN'T!" Faith shrieked.

"Your grandmother's not expecting us until late on the 28th," her mother informed her.

Putting an arm around Faith's waist to console her and offer support, Rachelle asked pleasantly, "How is Mother Grace?"

"Oh, she's fine. She had a small accident several weeks ago that Faith would've known about if she ever called, but she's fine now."

"What happened?"

"Grandma got run over by a reindeer" was her sister's reply as the younger woman walked into the kitchen carrying Rudolph.

"Your ass is a reindeer. There are no reindeer in Alabama," Faith told her.

"Then she hit a deer, or something."

"Well, the old battle-axe was probably fluffing all that blue hair or re-plastering her face."

The conversation was ended prematurely by her father's appearance at the back door. He was carrying a small paper bag and Faith's cordless drill. "All done. No way Rudolph's falling off now. Matter of fact, he could probably stay up 'til next year."

"Christ," Faith whispered, dropping her head into her hands in dejection. "Where'd you get those?"

"Carol," Raymond answered simply, setting the drill and extra bolts on the table.

"Who the hell is Carol?" Faith growled.

"Carol of the Bells Hardware… uptown," he answered, sitting next to his wife.

"You mean the nice girl married to the Mexican… what's his name?" her mother asked, smiling at him.

"Don't know. Adeste Fideles… Fidel Castro… Feliz Navidad… something like that," he answered absently. "How sturdy is the ol’ Christmas tree?"

"O Christmas tree is fine, Dad. Don't even go near it," Faith warned him. "Leave it alone. And his name is Federíco."

"Yup, what I said."

"Mom," Taneisha interrupted, "remember that Christmas when I was, like, four, and Faith was eleven? And that kid told her there was no Santa?"

"What child is this, sweetie?" her mother asked.

"Oh, hell… James. James Reed. Remember him?" Taneisha grinned evilly at her sister.

"Not that story again!" Faith yelled at the two of them.

"Reed? Reed. Oh, Mary's boy child. Why yes, I do recall that Christmas." The older woman settled in to tell her story. "Faith came running into the house with cousin Holly and the Ivy girl from down the street right behind her."

"Yeah, and she was crying and all snot-nosed, right? And the girls were laughing at her…" Taneisha kissed and stroked her dog while she waited.

"Crying like her heart was breaking, she was. I tried telling her that Santa was real, but she kept screaming, ‘I met Santa! The real Santa! I sat on his lap and met his wife and everything. I pulledSanta’s beard, remember?’ Goodness, it was sad."

"Pathetic is more like it," Taneisha amended. "Then she-"

"Stop!" Faith grabbed her sister by the arm, flicking the dog on his nose when he snarled at her, and dragged the girl and dog to the back door. "Shut up and go hang Cujo outside." With that, she shoved the two of them out the door and slammed it shut. "I'm going to watch TV."

Going into the living room, Faith first plugged in the tree, its blue lights flashing crazily, then she dropped onto the couch, remote in hand. She didn't bother looking up when her father wandered into the room.

"Don't sit in that chair," she ordered just as he was about to sit down in the rocking chair near the tree.

"Oh." He straightened up. "Why not?"

"You're crazy."

"Yup. So?" He looked at her, waiting patiently for an answer.

"Because, Dad. You can't be rocking around the Christmas tree, or, knowing you, you'll destroy something."

"No I won't." And he sat down, a bit too close to the tree for Faith's liking.

"At least move the damned chair, Dad."

"'kay." As the old man scooted the chair over, one of the rockers got tangled in the light wires.

"Dad! Stop!"

Then all of the lights and the TV went out, propelling the two of them into near-darkness.

"Sorry, honey."

***** ***** *****

Later that night, as the six people were eating dessert, Sophia looked at Raymond. "What was that new road we took through Maryland? Rachelle asked me which way we came, but I couldn't recall.

"The new leg of 410. You want me to check the fuses later to make sure you got 'em in right, Faith?"

"No. I'd rather just light a match to the house myself, Dad. It's faster."

"I don't know the new part of 410," Rachelle continued, ignoring Faith's comment.

"Just opened. It goes over the river and through the woods. Shaved 2 hours off our drive time, though."

"The scenery was lovely," her mother added. "We saw at least 6 clipper ships in the harbor there."

"How would you know? You slept most of the time. I saw three ships, not six," Taneisha corrected crankily. Then she cuddled closer to the second Noel, Rudolph on her lap.

"I wanted to arrive fresh and cheerful this morning," her mother replied, smiling sweetly.

"Come on, Noel," Taneisha said, depositing Rudolph on the floor. "Let's go upstairs. I'd rather make your jingle bell rock than sit here with these old farts," she offered suggestively, her hand extended in invitation.

Faith watched as the second Noel's eyes popped open wider and she gulped convulsively. Not able to find her voice, the girl just got up when Taneisha held out her other hand too, and followed her out of the room.

"What about Cujo?" Faith yelled after them.

"Why don't you and Rachelle walk him, Faith?" her mother suggested. "Your father and I will wash the dishes."

"No you won't," Faith argued. "We won't have a dish left."

"We'll do them after we walk Rudy, Sophia," Rachelle said, squeezing Faith's hand.

"Fine," Faith muttered, pulling her hand out of her partner's. Then she pushed back her chair and went to get her coat.

Rachelle excused herself and picked up her coat and the dog's leash.

A few minutes later, the two women were walking down the sidewalk in the crisp, cold air. They walked in silence, stopping several times to let the dog do his business. Each time, Rachelle had to clean up after him. Finally, the fourth time they stopped for Rudolph, Faith said in disgust, "O holy night, is he crapping again? What the hell is wrong with him?"

"Nothing. He just has to go," Rachelle informed her.

"He can't go anymore, just so you know."

"Hey."

Both women turned around at the sound of the voice to see three young kids looking up at them imploringly. Faith recognized them as some kids from across the street.

"We three Kings are collecting money for the United Way's Christmas fund. Would you like to give?" the tallest boy asked sweetly.

"Curtis King," Faith yelled, "you are NOT collecting for United Way. They came around last week. Now get on home, boy!" She made like she was going to chase them, and they ran off into the darkness, laughing insanely.

"Those silly kids," Rachelle chuckled as they continued walking.

"Next year, I'm going away for Christmas."

Rachelle stopped and turned fully toward Faith. "But… but… there's no place like home for the holidays," Rachelle breathed, her eyes wide in mock anguish and her full lower lip trembling pathetically.

"Like hell there isn't," Faith insisted adamently.

"Okay, girl, gimme one place," Rachelle demanded, her hand on her hip.

"Guam," Faith answered immediately.

"Too hot." Rachelle reached out to take the other woman's hand and they started walking again.

"Siberia."

"Too cold."

Faith looked at her in confusion. "But… yeesh, never mind. How 'bout Iceland?"

"Too icy."

They said no more, just walked in companionable silence. Until-

"Killarney!" Faith yelled.

"Gesundheit," Rachelle answered absently.

"No, no. Killarney, Ireland. I'm going to have Christmas in Killarney next year."

"No you're not. You're going to stay right here with me," Rachelle contradicted placidly. "You would never have a holly, jolly Christmas without me, and I'm staying home."

"Well, those weirdos can't come next year. Let's just tell them we're going, but stay home," Faith suggested.

Ignoring that last comment, Rachelle turned on her heel and headed back home. "Let's go, I'm cold."

***** ***** *****

They walked into a silent, dark house. The only light on was the one over the sink, a glaring testimony to the chore left undone.

"I can't believe she didn't do them," Faith said incredulously, staring at the dirty dishes.

"You told her not to," Rachelle reminded her.

"I know, but she was supposed to do them anyway."

Rachelle rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

After finishing the dishes, Faith turned out the light and followed Rachelle up the stairs to their bedroom. When she clicked on the bedside lamp, she was greeted by a disgusting sight.

"Get off my pillow, you freakin' fleabag! And quit licking your balls!" Faith yelled as she jumped on the bed and whacked the dog with a spare pillow. Instead of being scared off, Rudolph jumped to his stubby little feet and growled menacingly at her. He lunged at her every time she swung the pillow at him.

"Get off! Rachelle, help me get Dumb-ass outta here!"

Rachelle, too busy laughing herself silly, was unable to run to her partner's rescue. "Ru… Rudolph… get out of… here," she spluttered loudly, still laughing.

It was like a completely different dog was in their room, suddenly. Rudolph's body relaxed, his tail wagged in friendliness, and his ears perked back up. He jumped off the bed and trotted over to lick Rachelle's knee before leaving the room.

"That was great," Rachelle was finally able to say. She took a deep breath. "Whew, you do make me laugh, girl."

They got ready for bed and changed the sheets, and both women fell asleep fairly quickly. Sometime later, though, Faith's eyes popped open wide.

"Now what?" she muttered, positive she heard something. She listened closer, then rolled onto her back. "Oh. Just my stomach growling."

Faith decided she better feed it or it would never shut up enough to let her go back to sleep.

"Fine," she hissed, sliding out of bed quickly so she didn't disturb her sleeping partner. She padded downstairs, keeping an eye out for the Demon-dog, hoping he didn't attack her. "I hate that dog."

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she went into the kitchen and to the refrigerator. Taking out a Tupperware container of leftovers, Faith speared a thick piece of ham onto a paper plate. Then she took out the rest of the fixins for a sandwich and slapped one together. She shoved everything back into the fridge and, taking her snack and a glass of kool-aid, she headed into the living room.

Faith was just about to sit on the couch when something poked her in the butt.

"ACK!" she yelped, turning to look down at the couch. "What the hell?!" She set her plate and glass on the coffee table and switched on the lamp.

"Hi, honey."

"Oh gross," she groaned, clamping a hand over her mouth to keep from vomiting.

Her mother was lying on top of Santa Claus and wearing his beard. Both smiled benignly at her.

Without saying one word, Faith left the room and went back upstairs. When she got to the bedroom, she violently threw herself on the bed.

"Wha's matter?" A sleepy Rachelle asked, cracking one eye open. When Faith didn't answer, she opened the other eye to look more fully at her. Seeing how shell-shocked her partner looked, Rachelle sat up, leaning toward the other woman.

"Faith? Honey? What's wrong?" she asked gently, stroking Faith's arm softly.

"I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus," she whispered brokenly.

"Oh. Your dad was dressed up again this year, huh?" Rachelle laid back down on her side, facing Faith.

"Jesus, I hope it was my dad and not Frank next door. Oh MAN!"

"Now, Faith. Your parents were just kissing. It's no big deal," Rachelle soothed, patting Faith's belly.

"But they were swapping TONGUE!" she wailed, jumping off the bed and hopping up and down. She shivered, the disgust rolling through her in waves.

"Oh please. Like your parents don't have sex? How do you think you got here, girl? The stork?"

"Rachelle! I'm going to puke, now cut it out!"

"Fine," Rachelle sighed in exasperation. "I'm going back to sleep," and she rolled away from Faith.

After several more minutes of shaking with the heebie-jeebies, Faith slid back under the covers and pulled the pillow over her head. "Gross."

***** ***** *****

Late the next morning, Faith made her way downstairs to the kitchen to find her partner flipping some flapjacks.

"Morning," Rachelle greeted her warmly, turning her head to capture Faith's full lips.

"Morning. Smells good. Where are the freaks?" Faith went to the fridge and poured herself a big glass of strawberry milk.

"They went for a walk with Rudy. I told them I had to stay here to make sure you had breakfast. Peanut butter pancakes, by the way." Rachelle set a plate full of steaming griddle cakes and Mrs. Butterworth in front of her partner.

"I hate her. She starts talking to me and I'm pitchin' her maple ass into the burn barrel," Faith commented as she squeezed the syrupy guts out of the little plastic lady.

"What's the story for today?"

"I don't know," Rachelle answered, shrugging her slim shoulders. "But it seems there's some talk."

Faith squinted at her suspiciously, stabbing another hunk of goo. "What kind of talk?"

"Apparently your grandmother called. She's had another fender-bender and wants them to come home."

Faith closed her eyes and bowed her head. "There is a God, and He hears prayers."

"Be nice," Rachelle said, chuckling merrily.

As the two women were finishing the dishes, most of their guests tromped through the back door.

"Where's Wenceslaus?" Faith asked.

Three pairs of dark eyes lifting to the heavens was her answer.

"Dad!" Faith yelled as she bolted out the door, booting the growling dog out of the way. "Leave the damned deer alone now!"

Faith ran up the driveway to stand on the front sidewalk. The first thing she noticed was the three Kings staring up at her roof.

"What are you kids looking at?" she asked them.

They pointed up, and Faith turned to see her father screwing bolts into the sides of the reindeer's neck, making him look an awful lot like Frankenstein.

When she screamed at the top of her lungs in frustration, the three kids took off running in abject terror.

"You're leaving today, right? I think those kids are scarred for life, thanks to him," Faith said as she marched into the house a few minutes later.

"Well, Mother Grace called and requested that we cut our stay short. I hope you won't be too terribly disappointed if we decide to leave, dear," her mother answered.

"Disappointed?" Faith snorted. "Like hell. Overjoyed, is more like it."

"We should exchange presents before lunch so we can get the van packed. We'll leave just before dinner."

"Rachelle, quick! Go tell it on the mountains! Looks like Santa Claus is coming to town really early." Faith clapped her hands in pleasure.

"You're not very nice, Faith," her sister said.

"And you're not very normal," Faith replied with a sweet smile.

Grabbing hold of her partner's hand and squeezing hard, Rachelle suggested they all go get the presents and gather in the living room.

Ten minutes later the six of them were assembled near the Christmas tree, presents of various sizes wrapped in colorful paper scattered around them.

"I'll start," her mother said brightly. She handed a long, thin box to Faith. It was wrapped in elegant silver and gold paper topped with a fluffy gold bow.

"A feather duster. Gee, Mom, it's just what I always wanted."

Faith dropped the box onto the floor and picked up one of five identical presents. She handed it to her sister.

"Blue paper," her mother commented aloud as she watched Taneisha unwrap the box. "How lovely."

"I thought so, yes." Faith grinned when she saw her sister's eyes narrow.

"Blue Velvet. How freaking creepy," her sister said. "You need help."

"Your ass needs help."

After the final exchanges were made, Faith ended up with not only a feather duster from her mother, but a tie from the second Noel, a framed picture of Rudolph wearing a sweater and a Santa hat from her sister, and blaze orange earmuffs from her father. She looked from her pile to everyone else's and grinned with sadistic pleasure. All of them, Rachelle included, had gotten a copy of Blue Velvet. "They were on sale at WaWa," she had explained cheerfully.

"Oh wait! I almost forgot." Faith reached under her right butt cheek and pulled out an envelope. "For my best bud, Rudy."

The dog paid no attention; he was too busy gnawing on her brand new 'imported-straight-from-France' feather duster.

"Here, Taneisha. For retard."

Her sister tore open the envelope and pulled out a gift certificate.

"Faith!" her sister screamed. "That’s completely disgusting." She threw down the papers and stood up. "Mom, we're leaving right now! Come on, Rudolph." Then she stomped out of the room and up the stairs, followed by a mute Noel the second.

Rachelle reached over and picked up the discarded gift certificate. "'Presented to Rudolph the prick-head dog for one free session of euthanasia. From Aunty Faith.' Really, Faith."

Faith wasn’t able to respond because she was laughing too hard.

"Well, I guess we better get the van packed. If we leave now like Taneisha wants, we can put several hours under the tires," her mother said, ignoring the gift certificate.

"And maybe several idiot dogs named Rudolph."

The six of them quickly packed the mini-van. Once that was finished, fake kisses were exchanged, then they walked out to the vehicle. As her sister got into the van, Faith was sure she could hear her whispering something about "Christmas in my hometown being much better than this," to the second Noel.

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas, girl," she said loudly to Taneisha.

Her sister pointedly ignored her.

Faith's mother hugged her lightly, then hugged Rachelle. "We wish you a merry Christmas, both of you. I'm just disappointed we couldn't stay."

"Don't be. I'm not. Toodles. Come on, Rachelle. Help me get all this blue crap outta here."

It was much later that night and Faith and Rachelle were snuggled on the couch enjoying the silent night. The only light came from the Christmas tree and the rising moon outside. They looked out the window, watching as it came upon a midnight clear, big and round as you please.

"Faith?"

"Mm?"

"Why can't every day be like Christmas?" Rachelle asked, sighing contentedly.

Faith's jay dropped in dismay and shock. When she was finally able to speak she said "Because, with my family, the Christmas crime rate would skyrocket."

THE END

The Christmas Curse

by Medora MacD

medoramacd@yahoo.com

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year, Dusty,” Nia Imani repeated stubbornly. “Every culture in the world celebrates this season, the time when darkness gives way to light, despair to hope, hatred to love. It’s time to kick those Christmas blues, babe. Santa Claus is coming to town!”

Assistant Professor of Economics Adeste Fideles knocked back another long swallow of eggnog. She was, as always, drinking the unleaded version, the whole family having sworn off alcohol following Grandma Effie’s terrifying experience.

“As you well know, Nia, I, like you, have absolutely no interest in having some portly dude sliding around in my … er … chimney. This time of the year or any other. I’m getting nuttin’ for Christmas— and that’s the way I like it. The season’s nothing more than a monumental demonstration of the continuing validity of Veblen’s Theory of Conspicuous Consumption, an overhyped holiday filled with all the brotherly love resident in a… an artichoke.”

A sad look filled her friend’s eyes and Dusty softened the rhetoric a tad. “Well, except for you and the delectable Ms. Mele Kalikimaka. I’m sure that you newlyweds will be doing your very best to fill the Garden State with sisterly love.”

A blush suffused the drama instructor’s beautiful brown face at the prospect of her first Christmas with Mele since their marriage in Canada in August. Dusty smirked at her besotted friend, resolutely pushing away the remorse and despair that jabbed her whenever she contemplated the dark and lonely days ahead of her.

“I can see it now,” she continued, impishly. “The two of you will be curled up in front of the fireplace, chestnuts roasting on an open fire. You’ll spend the evening opening gifts wrapped in pretty paperand then unwrapping each other and playing … Pat-a-Pan.”

“You’re still welcome to come over the river and through the woods to Rahway, ya know,” said Nia, when she stopped giggling. “Mele’s turned the place into a veritable winter wonderland. You know, the kind of place that brings Martha Stewart to her knees …”

“Oooh, kinky!”

“Stop it, you!” Nia backhanded Dusty goodnaturedly. “It’s fantastic, honest. One of the advantages of living with one of New York’s great set designers. She really knows how to deck the halls. First she hung up the holly and the ivy, then she placed a layer of silver bells over it. The tree’s a feast of lights with a star of wonder at the top — and a bottom row of jingle bells for the kittens to play with. Up on the housetop, she’s got Little Saint Nick and Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer — and a sound system that plays the Bobby Rivers Group ‘Twisted Christmas Compilation’ on the half hour, 24/7.”

She laughed and slapped her leg. “God, the night she turned it on for the first time, the neighbors almost had a cow. The guy next door -- you know, old Lang Syne, the guy with the PROTECT MARRIAGE banner on the front of his house? — just kept whacking the battery pack of his hearing aid and roaring at his wife: ‘Do you hear what I hear? For God’s sake, is that guy really singing about walking around in women’s underwear?!’”

A bemused grin lit Dusty’s face. “Sounds like cruel and unusual punishment to me. I’m amazed the cops haven’t hauled your lesbo-pagan butts away.”

Nia smiled back. “Well, they woulda if they coulda, but Mele made sure the volume was one notch lower than the irritating carols that the church bells down the street ding dong merrily on high every hour on the hour. Kinda hard to lock us up without throwing Father Hanrahan in hoosegow, too. The Synes came by to complain anyway, of course. Mele greeted them at the door wearing a grass skirt, a plumeria lei — and little else.”

“Oh my god -- What happened? Besides him drooling uncontrollably, I mean.”

“You know Mele. She just grinned. ‘Sorry,’ she says, doing her best Fargo imitation. ‘I yust go nuts at Christmas.’ Syne sputtered helplessly for a few minutes and then his wife hauled him home. Mele swears she was grinning every step of the way.”

“Heh!” snorted Dusty, momentarily jolted out of her depression. She shook her head. “Well, as exciting as it would be to sit around and watch Mele corrupt the neighbors, I’m looking forward to a blessedly silent night this year — sans sniffling and coughing students, sans songs about chipmunks roasting on an open fire, sans the sound of the two of you rocking around the Christmas tree like crazed weasels.”

Sans Jessye, her aching heart added before she could muzzle it.

“You’re sure?” Nia looked anxiously into Dusty’s blue eyes.

“Positive.”

Well, that was that, thought Nia. There wasn’t much more she could say or do. She spent a few quiet moments studying the snowflakes shimmering their way through the streetlights outside the café. She’d given it her best shot. Dusty was going to have to find her own way to make it through the season. As usual. She downed the last of her Irish coffee and stood up.

“Best be going, I guess, if I intend to get home for the holidays instead of spending them with your silly, stubborn ass.” She grinned affectionately at Dusty. “I’m all in favor of that white Christmasthey’re predicting, but not until my train gets me back to my Hawaiian honey. Then they can let it snow all they want.”

She shrugged into her coat, adding a blue Christmas scarf bedecked with demented images of Frosty the Snowman, then, leaning over her seated friend, dropped a kiss on the top of her dark head and wrapped her up in a fierce hug from behind.

“Don’t spend the 12 days of Christmas vacation hibernating in that apartment grading final exams,” she whispered in her ear. “Have yourself a merry little Christmas — and a happy Hanukkah, blessed Solstice, and happy, happy Kwanzaa, too!” She headed for the door, intending, for a change, to leave well enough alone. Ah hell, who am I kidding? She darted back and wrapped her arms around her friend’s neck once more.

“I know you didn’t want anything for the holidays, but I’m going to give you something anyway — a piece of sage advice.” She felt the tall woman stiffen ominously, but plowed ahead. “Call her, damn it. She’s the one, Dusty. The real deal. Don’t blow it.” She turned and left this time, not daring to look back as she waved down a cab and asked the driver to take her to Penn Station and her commuter train.

Dusty cradled her aching head in her hands. Damn! It felt like the little drummer boy was using her skull to warm up for the half-time show at the Rose Bowl. She pushed back from the table and stood wearily. Time to trudge the 15 blocks to home, take some painkillers, and hit the sack. If she was lucky, maybe she wouldn’t wake up until spring.

Ouch! She flinched as the wind racing in from the Hudson tried to exfoliate her skin with a blast of snowy shrapnel. E-effing-gads! she gasped. Baby, it’s COLD outside! She ducked her face into her parka to afford it a little more protection, tucked red mittened hands under her armpits, and plodded onward, hoping the Big Apple’s muggers were smart enough to be spending the evening indoors. Keeping an eye on the shadows just in case, she cast about for something to distract her mind from the below-zero windchills that seemed intent on sucking every vestige of heat from her lanky frame.

She wasn’t thrilled with the subject that popped, unbidden, into her head, but hell, beggars couldn’t be choosers. Heck, it might even be useful: Given how incensed the situation usually made her, pondering the roots of her holiday phobia just might keep her steaming all the way back to her apartment on the Upper West Side.

We all talk about Christmas as if it were something … indestructible, unstoppable, she mused. In fact, it’s amazingly fragile. Delicate enough to be destroyed by a kiss.

Not that the liplock Mama had laid on Jolly Old Saint Nicholas that year was all that dainty. Joyeux Barbie never did things by halves and Christmas was her favorite holiday. Which explained why her mother had married Rudolph Fideles in the first place and then inveigled him into agreeing to give their children the… memorable … names that they had.

It was NOT, however, a satisfactory explanation for why Papa and I saw Mama kissing Santa Claus behind Jingle Bell Rock the year I turned nine, thought Dusty. Or why she ran off with the pudgy department store Santa that night — in a one-horse open sleigh, of course, and laughing all the way — and never returned.

Stupid. Dusty flicked the bead of moisture off her cheek, giving it no time to solidify. Still crying about that after 20 years. Like my therapist said: It’s time to put it behind me.

It was hard to move on, though, when every succeeding Christmas piled another injury atop the old one, until the holiday became a synonym for heartache and disaster.

It was little things at first. Toys that broke the first time you played with them. An overstuffed turkey that exploded in the oven, taking the pumpkin pies with it. The Fideles family had peanut butter sandwiches for dinner that year.

The year-round teasing about her name hadn’t helped, either, of course, thought Dusty. Though she had had it easier than the boys, all things considered. A lot of folks assumed, then and now, that Adeste was just some exotic family name. Only if they had taken Latin did they tend to dissolve into uncontrollable laughter. It was almost impossible to avoid wiseass comments, however, when you had a name like Feliz Navidad Fideles or Good King Wenceslas Fideles.

She and her brothers managed eventually to transcend their parents’ whimsy (it helped if you could throw a perfect spiral pass 60 yards downfield like King or catch one on the fly like Feliz or if you had a 4.0 GPA). The story of their mother’s indiscretion even faded over time. In fact, they had hopes, the year Dusty turned 16, that Christmas might once again become a time of celebration for the Fideles family, rather than a time of ignominy and snickering.

That, however, was before … she gasped for air, left suddenly breathless by the icy blast — or was it the chilling memories? … before the fateful day Papa decided to bolster the family finances by opening a holiday-themed petting zoo.

To everyone’s surprise, unlike most of Rudy’s ideas, this one actually took off. The fine folks of Dover, Del., flocked to the farm by the hundreds, bringing their sticky-fingered, shrill-voiced offspring with them and leaving behind lots of very welcome greenbacks — and some very jumpy livestock.

The family had shut the park down for the day and was celebrating the marvelous reversal in their fortunes when … IT … happened. When Grandma Effie, under the influence of eggnog, decided to personally thank the friendly beasts for helping to make this one such a holly, jolly Christmas.

As it happened, the rum-reinforced effusiveness of her thank yous stomped on one of the ruminants’ last nerves and prompted him to lower his head and charge at her. He intended to fling her far, faraway -- in the manger, if possible, or maybe into the manure pit. Grandpa tried to alert Papa to the danger (“Run, Rudolph, run!” he had cried, hoping his son could head off the animal), but it was too late. Before Papa could move a muscle, Grandma got run over by a reindeer.

Her injuries were relatively minor, as it turned out, but the colorful incident captured the imagination of the public — and of a composer who, “inspired” by accounts of the event in “News of the Weird,” wrote a infectious song about it that almost everybody in America ended up singing. Whether they wanted to or not. The Christmas curse, it seemed, was not content to torment JUST the Fideles family.

They pretty much gave up on Christmas after that. The word never crossed their lips. Papa would sooner walk under a ladder carrying a black cat and a broken mirror than let them hang up their stockings or give them presents. (Not in December, anyway. Around the Fourth of July, however, the Fideles kids received mountains of gifts from a mysterious top-hatted man in red, white and blue that nobody else seemed to have heard of.)

The ploy seemed to work. While the family encountered and weathered other crises, including Dusty’s announcement at age 18 that she was gay, back-to-back Decembers passed with not so much as a fender bender registering on the Disaster-o-Meter.

What they didn’t know was that the Fates hadn’t so much forgotten about the Fideles family as they were storing up traumas in anticipation of bestowing a zap of cosmic proportions. Which happened, of course, the year her girlfriend — the first Noel she dated, Noel Blanc as opposed to Cantique de Noel — insisted on coming home with her for the holidays and being introduced to the family.

Dusty stumbled on the sidewalk, regaining her balance at the last possible instant. If only Noel had been able to take “no” for an answer. Even now, the string of disasters that had been visited upon them during that trip was too gruesome to contemplate without twitching.

Suffice it to say that it was a minor miracle that the state of Delaware hadn’t been reduced to a pile of smoldering rubble. Their relationship hadn’t been as lucky. Noel had started the new year by calling everything off. It was tough enough being a lesbian, she declared, without being a lethal one. Asking her to affiliate herself with someone whose mere touch was capable of converting fruitcake into a weapon of mass destruction was asking too darn much.

Two years later, La Bonne Annee, an alluring teaching assistant from France, made a similar pronouncement, though, of course, it sounded much more poetic when she did it. “Ecoutez les anges qui chantent,” she had declaimed, stamping her petite little feet as she exited, stage left. Dusty’s French was rusty at best — she and La Bonne had primarily communicated non-verbally and on a horizontal plane — but she got the message. From that moment on, she dated only between Valentine’s Day and Halloween.

She also took care to never again ask out anyone, anytime, whose name connected even remotely with the spiritual or secular events occurring during the final weeks of one year and the beginning of the next. That turned out to be much harder than she anticipated. Spotting Marys and Marias is no big deal, she noted ruefully, but who knew I’d have to steer clear of Diwalis and Lenaeas, too? She looked up in surprise at the familiar building looming ahead. Hey! What do you know? Back home already — and in record time.

She entered the lobby warily, alert for any indication that someone might be coming down the stairs or ... Looks like it’s all clear.

She crossed to the mailboxes, opening the box for 12G and, with difficulty, extracting her mail. She’d been basically camping out in her office at the university since … — anyway things had piled up. Flipping quickly through the accumulation, she easily identified two postcards from her family — the tacky ones emblazoned with flamingos. Papa, the boys and the grands were enjoying the warmth and amenities of Florida this year, instead of freezing their kiesters off on the farm. She’d be with them, too, if finals hadn’t run late this year — and if she hadn’t been too gaga when their invitation arrived to find a flight she could afford.

Speaking of gaga … Her eyes fixed, despite herself, on the box for 11G. She should have started looking for a new apartment the first day she saw that name affixed there. She ran her finger lightly over the label: JESSYE S CAROL. Papa’s favorite Christmas song. Before …

She sighed. At the very least, she should have been prudent and avoided the Halloween party the building management threw. Talk about playing with fire.

Angrily, she punched the button for the elevator, prepared to dash for the stairwell if … “Ding!” But no — the car was empty. She slapped the button for the 12th floor, heaving a sigh when the doors closed before anyone could join her.

How had it happened?, Dusty wondered, as the glowing numbers ticked by. Things had been going so well, proceeding very much according to plan … until Sommer’s family had invited her back home to Germany for Oktoberfest.

Her relationship with the lusty blonde entomologist had begun tidily the day after Valentine’s Day. It ended when Sommer met a Bavarian botanist, fell head over heels in love, ditched Dusty, and decided to write her thesis in Munich instead of Manhattan.

Sticking her key in the lock, Dusty opened the door to her apartment and slid in, flipping on the hall light and tossing the mail on the table in the foyer. She glanced at the clock — 11:55 — and then at the answering machine. No blinking light. No messages; no messy human entanglements. Probably just as well, though she had hoped …

Feh! she thought disgustedly. It doesn’t matter WHAT I hoped. What matters is what I deserve. And I deserve this. I ~so~ deserve every empty, agonizing minute of this. She flopped into the nearest chair, massaging her aching forehead. The pain refused to go away. It wouldn’t, she was sure, until the cause of it was addressed. Which means I can pretty much look forward to nursing the mother of all headaches until Jack the Ripper and Lizzy Borden win the pairs’ skating competition in Hades!

If only Sommer hadn’t left her at loose ends for Halloween and left her, for a change, in possession of an imaginative costume! The artistic interpretation in silk and linen of the glorious raiment of the moth Hyalophora cecropia, the subject of Sommer’s Ph.D. research, really was too magnificent not to wear. But she should have opted to cruise the Village instead of the party room on the top floor of the apartment complex — and should definitely have run as if the Furies were on her tail the instant that she glimpsed the “Burning Bush,” a vivacious strawberry blonde wrapped head to toe in twinkling yellow and red lights, holding forth by the punch bowl.

Instead, of course, Dusty was drawn inexorably to the young woman’s side — like a moth to a flame. They laughed about that afterwards — and about so much more. Jessye, a pediatric nurse, saw on a daily basis the horrific things that the world did to its most vulnerable citizens, but managed somehow to retain not only a sense of humor, but an infinite supply of care and compassion.

Thank the gods! Gads — Dusty winced at the memory — she even found a way to make me feel at ease after I asked whether the color of her “bush” had been chemically augmented. What the HELL was I thinking?!

The gauche comment had dropped into one of those silences that can suddenly befall a festive occasion, causing more than one of the attendees to look at Dusty in astonishment. Including the woman to whom it had been addressed. She had paused before responding to the sally — to give her answer a greater weight, perhaps, or to give herself the time to enjoy the fabulous, but flustered, figure standing before her, its antennae drooping in abject embarrassment.

“Well,” she replied archly, “That’s for me to know and you to find out, isn’t it?” During the laughter that followed, she had leaned closer: “And you won’t find out unless you are a VERY good girl.” She smiled and patted Dusty gently on the chest to emphasize her point. “Which means you won’t find out tonight — because that line was … just. plain. pitiful.”

The smile on Jessye’s face and in her eyes had taken away any sting that her words might have carried — and had inspired Dusty to make being very good her life’s work.

She’d done pretty well at first, too. She learned the answer to her impertinent question before the week was out — and a number of even more interesting and important things, about Jessye and about herself, in the following month and a half.

And then one day, without warning, she … woke up. One minute she was smack dab in the middle of the wildest, sweetest, most glorious dream of her life, and the next she heard herself asking, “what child is this one for?”

She gazed, uncomprehendingly, at the object in her hands – why was she holding a doll? – and then around the room, belatedly identifying the music on the CD player as The Blind Boys of Alabama imploring everyone to “go tell it on the mountain.” She appeared to have been transported to Santa’s workshop, judging from the toys and books filling the table in front of her and the short, cute blonde wrestling open a roll of Christmas wrapping over on the couch. Gods, she hadn’t seen so much tinsel and and so many candy canes since …

She froze. And then she fled. Just got up, flung the door open, fought her way up the stairs to her apartment, and locked herself in. She sent Jessye a terse email that explained virtually nothing — no point in giving the Fates a few more whacks upside the head — but did succeed in preventing her distraught friend and lover from calling in the guys in the white jackets. Then she cut off all contact with her.

I don’t know what it did to her — I can’t bear to think — but it damn near killed me. Must be like going cold turkey when you’re addicted to heroin. She shook her head disconsolately. Still, it seems a small price to pay for peace on earth.

A headline mocked her from the pile of newspapers littering the foyer: SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS 21; GOVERNMENT CANCELS NEGOTIATIONS, VOWS REVENGE.

“For achieving personal peace of mind, then.” She looked around her apartment, a place devoid of anything cheery or comforting, and gave a derisive laugh. Her existence was peaceful, all right. As peaceful as a grave. And all she had had to do to obtain it was to … forsake hope, forsake humanity, forsake the love of her life. Forsake life itself.

The revelation - it came, upon a midnight clear as the clock striking in the adjacent room and as sharp as a knife - was a simple one: Disaster comes in many forms. She had been living one for years, Dusty realized suddenly. Or rather NOT “living” one, but merely waiting one out, waiting for the ripples of a tsunami triggered 20 years earlier to finally dissipate, for the pain to end. Waiting for the moment she could start breathing again. Start feeling.

She gasped — spasming like someone jolted by the resurrecting paddles of a cardiac defibrillator. Before she could chicken out, she picked up the phone on the end table beside her and hit the first speed dial button. There were four rings and then …

“You have reached the 11th Hour Holiday Hotline, your last chance to register your Christmas wishes before Santa’s sleigh leaves his shop at the North Pole. Jessye Carol speaking.”

Dusty choked back a sob. The voice in the recording sounded a little strained — or was that just her conscience talking? — but it was filled still with warmth and compassion. Maybe it wasn’t too late, maybe…

“After listening to all the options, please press the number corresponding with the gift you want for Christmas.

“I want a hippopotamus for Christmas: Press "1" followed by the pound sign.

“All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth: Press "2" followed by the pound sign.

“I want to be Jessye’s girl: Press "3" …”

Dusty slammed down the receiver. Nobody in her right mind would forgive her for the way she’d acted, much less agree to renew their relationship. Actually, Jessye might … but she shouldn’t. Jessye deserved so much more.

Just as well she wasn’t there, the exhausted academic decided. She rose, intending to take herself off to bed — or to the couch if that’s only as far as she could get. She stood there swaying, staring stupidly at the phone while something important tried, feebly and fuzzily, to make itself known. She heard the furnace cycle on and registered somewhere in the building the sound of a door slamming and feet scuffing on stairs.

Jessye DOES deserve more, she realized. She deserves an explanation or at the very least an apology. And I deserve more. I deserve to find out if I can act like a decent human being, if I can redeem myself, if there’s any chance that we can …

She reached down, picked up the receiver again, and hit redial, trying to figure out what she wanted to say, shaking her head to clear it. That helped a bit. Now it almost seemed like the ringing phone was in the next room, rather than one flight down.

After a fourth ring, the message began again, but fainter than before. Jessye’s sweet voice sounded kind of breathless. Less controlled than she remembered from the first call. She shifted her phone to the other ear, trying to improve the reception.

“You have reached the 11th Hour Holiday Hotline, Jessye Carol speaking. Please listen to all the options, then, um, press the number that corresponds with the gift you want for Christmas.

“I want a hippopotamus for Christmas: Press "1" followed by the pound sign.

“All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth: Press "2" followed by the pound sign.

“I … I want to be Jessye’s girl: Press "3."

“If none of these appeal, wait for the tone, press "4," and leave a detailed message.”

The BEEP Dusty expected didn’t come, just an odd, pregnant silence. She waited a moment or two, decided she must have missed the signal, and launched right in. Afraid there wouldn’t be enough room on the tape to hold everything she wanted Jessye to hear when she played it in the morning. Afraid she wouldn’t have the nerve to call back again when Jessye herself might answer the phone. She gave a nervous cough and then said what was in her heart as simply and as strongly as she could …

“All I want for Christmas is you, Jessye. This year, next year and the rest of our lives.” She bit her lip.

“By the way, this is Dusty, in case you didn’t recognize my voice. In which case, that ‘forever after’ thing might be a little premature. Ditto if you recognized my voice, but it made you so mad you want to throw me off a cliff. Um .. anyway, if you’re willing to grant my wish, you can, I dunno, rap three times on the ceiling … or can call me at 555-4545 or …”

“Hello?” A voice broke in, cooler than she remembered, but unmistakably belonging to ...

“Jessye?”

“This is the 11th Hour Holiday Hotline.” The tone was determinedly businesslike. “We need more information before we can process your request, Ms. Fideles. The database hasn’t been updated in the last week or so.” The speaker cleared her throat and then continued, less confidently. “Could you tell us a little about your recent behavior? Have you been a good girl?”

Dusty choked back a sob at the pain lurking in the treble voice. Her hand tightened on the phone. “No,” she said. “As a matter of fact, I haven’t. I’ve been a complete asshole — and a coward to boot. I let my fears get in the way of something precious and fine and I’m scared to death that I’ve mucked things up beyond redemption.”

“Perhaps if you told me what …”

“I want to,” Dusty interrupted, tripping over her words. “I really do. I should have in the first place instead of just bolting. And I will, I promise. Starting with ‘I love you with all my heart and soul’ and followed by ‘I am ~ so, so, so very ~ sorry for the pain I’ve caused you and I’ll try never to do it again.’

“This is not something I can explain in 25 words or less, though. Or even 25 hours or less. It has to do with a curse, see, and with thinking that it was easier to do without Christmas or anything else that had to do with hope and happiness, easier to be numb than to run the risk of losing something so …”

Running out of words, she leaned her head against her front door, its coolness and solidity soothing the pounding there, grounding her, as she waited — for far longer than she had hoped to have to — for a response.

When Jessye finally spoke, though, her tone was sure and strong. “This sounds, as you said initially, like something that could take a lifetime.” She paused. “Is that what you’re asking for?”

Dusty’s breath caught in her throat. She’d hoped for forgiveness or maybe friendship. But this? This was a miracle.

“Yes. All I want for Christmas is you, Jessye. Now and forever.”

“Let’s make sure I’ve got this straight: You want me. AND you want Christmas. Both. ‘Cuz it’s a package deal. You can’t have one without the other.”

“Yes. You AND Christmas. And Diwali and Hanukkah and Solstice and Kwanzaa and Twelfth Night and any other thing that celebrates light and love and rebirth.”

“There’s just one problem …”

Dusty straightened abruptly, her heart sinking at the solemn words. “Yes?” she said hesitantly.

“Santa has already made his Manhattan deliveries for 2003. You could wait until 2004 …”

“No!” The anguished cry tore from Dusty’s lips before she could stop it. Then, “Well, unless you need me to. I’m willing to do whatever you … but …”

“Hmm. We could, I suppose, arrange for expedited delivery, but it’s going to require some special effort on your part.”

“Name it, Jess. What do I need to do to …”

“Open the door.”

“Wha…?”

The knob on the front door began to rotate. Dusty stared at it, dumbfounded, for another heartbeat, then grabbed it, flung the door wide, and found on the other side … an adorable elf in rumpled red and green flannel pajamas, a cell phone in one hand, the other swiping tears out of smiling green eyes. With flaxen hair flattened on one side of her head and spiking wildly on the other, she was the best and most beautiful present Dusty had ever received.

And the last gift for which she would ever ask.

She opened wide her arms and heart and invited her inside.

THE END

Two to Tango

By Sheri

sheri26@charter.net

"I can’t believe I let you talk me into this!" Erin whispered to her former best friend, watching the center of the room with dread.

""C’mon Erin. It’ll be fun, I promise. Besides, you’re the one who said you had to learn." Nita whispered back, not a bit concerned at the heat in her friend’s words or the daggers shooting out of her eyes.

"I know! That’s why I asked you to help me. I did not ask you to bring me here!" Erin’s eyes were drawn once again to the center of the room where men and women were twirling gracefully around the dance floor. "I am nowhere near ready for that!" Erin’s eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets as one man dipped his partner in perfect time with the music.

"Of course you’re not, silly. This isn’t our class. That’s the advanced ballroom class. Our class starts in 10 minutes."

Erin dragged her gaze from the dance floor and saw that there were other people around the edges of the room watching the dancers with the same awestruck look in their eyes. Slowly, she started to relax.

As the music drew to a close, a warm, husky voice floated over the dancers, into Erin’s ears, and straight to the base of her spine, which tingled in response.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, as always that was something wonderful to watch. Keep practicing and I’ll see you on Thursday." The woman the voice belonged to shut off the CD player and began to load it with the CDs she needed for her next class. The beginners were always her favorites. Just a small amount of success would replace the apprehensive looks she was seeing now with beaming smiles. The advanced classes hardly needed her help at all; it was the beginners that made the most of her teaching skills, and Lil had to admit that she loved a challenge.

The advanced dancers were clearing out and the beginners were left milling aimlessly around the room.

"Ok everyone. Beginning ballroom is next so if your looking to boot scoot boogie," this was directed to the couple in jeans, boots, and cowboy hats, "that’s down the hall. My name is Lillian Patterson."

With a good-natured chuckle, the couple left and Lil was faced with a row of men and women. As usual there were more women than men, and only one man who didn’t seem to be with a wife or significant other.

"Those who already have a partner line up on the left, anyone who needs a partner grab from whoever’s left, ok? Perfect."

Erin turned to Nita, who was, as always, talking to the only unattached man in the room. Nita turned to Erin and said, "Do you mind if I pair up with him?" Nita’s eyes were pleading. Erin looked into those eyes, amazed at first and then rueful. She had never been able to resist her best friend, "No, I don’t mind. But you owe me big."

"You’re simply the best."

"I know, I know."

While this exchange had been going on, the other unpaired women had paired up and Erin realized that she was the only one left without a partner.

"Guess you’re the unlucky person who gets to be my guinea pig." The low voice rumbled into Erin’s ear. "Ready to demonstrate?"

"Uhm…" Erin stammered, still reacting to that voice in her ear. "I’m really new at this, maybe you should use someone else."

"Honestly, you’ll be fine. Trust me."

Against her better judgement, and her irrational fear of being the center of attention at any time, Erin found herself agreeing.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the first step to learning how to dance together is to learn how to move together. So, I want you all to form two lines facing one another. Men, put your left hand on your partner’s waist. Ladies, your left hand goes on his shoulder. Your right hands should be clasped together like this." Lil placed her hands on Erin and Erin reciprocated. "By the way, what’s your name?"

"Erin."

"Nice to meet you, Erin. Call me Lil."

"Nice to meet you too, Lil."

Lil looked around and saw that everyone was paired correctly, she released Erin to assist a few couples, then returned.

"Ok, everyone ready? Good. Now, I want you all to walk around the room. No pattern to follow; just make it up as you go. Gentlemen, it’s your job to keep the lady from hitting anything or anyone. Indicate turns with pressure from whichever hand is in the direction you want to go. Left hand, left turn; right hand, right turn." Lil demonstrated with Erin as she spoke.

"Alright then, let’s begin." Lil started some music and watched as the couples began moving around the room. Lil took Erin’s hand and they followed suit. Soon, Lil looked down at Erin, smiled and said, "So, why are you taking ballroom dance lessons?"

Erin looked up from her feet, "What? I’m sorry, I wasn’t listening, I was concentrating."

"I know." Lil replied. "Stop. Pay attention to your partner, not your feet." She raised her voice, "That goes for the rest of you too. Don’t look at your feet, look at your partner and what’s beyond your partner’s shoulder. Ladies, you may have to tell your partner to move if you see someone coming."

Looking back to Erin, "I asked you why you’re taking ballroom dance lessons."

"Because of my brother actually. My parents are throwing themselves a 25th wedding anniversary party and they want to dance. My brother was giving me a hard time about showing me up on the dance floor, so I asked my friend Nita to help me learn. It was her idea to come here. She said it was the best dance school in the county."

"Wow! I’m flattered. I’ll have to thank your friend." For more than the recommendation Lil thought, then added, "This is my school."

"A few minutes ago, I would have said you wouldn’t have the chance to thank her."

"Why not?"

"Cause I was going to kill her for getting me here and then dropping me to partner up with a guy and leaving me as the odd man out."

"And now?"

"Now…I may have to thank her myself." Erin said quietly, looking up into the warm, blue eyes of her partner.

They continued to move around the floor in silence, eyes locked, when suddenly, Nita and her partner bumped into them.

"Sorry." Nita said grinning at Erin.

"No problem." Lil replied with a quick glance around the room at the other couples. Some teacher I am, she thought, this is supposed to be a lesson on avoiding other couples on the dance floor and I let someone run into my partner.

"What’s wrong?" Erin asked, seeing the faintly disgusted look on Lil’s face.

"Nothing." Lil said sheepishly as she told Erin what she had been thinking. "But," she defended herself, "I had a very good reason for my lapse in concentration."

"Oh really, what?"

"Your eyes."

"Oh." Erin was left quite speechless at the thought.

Fortunately, the music chose that moment to end and Lil clapped her hands, stepping away from Erin and over to the stereo to turn it off.

"Very nicely done. Now on to something a bit harder, your first dance."

There were a few muffled groans and many anxious glances tossed Lil’s way.

"Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll all do fine. We’ll start with a basic box step. So called because you move your feet in a box pattern. Lil reached out to Erin, "Ok, everyone watching? Erin, I’m going to move my right foot forward, so you need to move your left foot back. On one, one." Lil moved forward and Erin took a step back.

"Good. Now the same with the other foot." Erin and Lil moved together. Lil dropped her hands saying, "Ok, everyone try it."

When all of the couples had completed the step Lil said, "Congratulations, you have just danced the first step. That is always the hardest one." A soft laugh fell from Lil’s lips and it was echoed around the room.

"Now for the rest. Once you have completed the first step back, you move to the side. Ladies to the right, men to the left; that way you both move in the same direction." Lil demonstrated and Erin followed. "The key is to move together." Lil looked at Erin, "Again." She said and this time they moved together. "Great. After you move to the side you repeat the first step in reverse, then slide back to your starting point, and you have created a box on the floor." Lil looked into Erin’s eyes, "Ready?"

Erin nodded and Lil smiled reaching for her hands once again. Slowly, Lil guided Erin through the step twice, they moved together perfectly.

"Now, the rest of you." Lil danced Erin around the room watching the others. After a few minutes she made it over to the stereo and started it. "Watch this." Lil whispered.

Erin looked at Lil quizically. As the first strains of music were heard every single person in the room stopped, looking remarkably like grandma must have just before she got run over by a reindeer.Erin was only barely able to clap her hand over her mouth in time to stop the giggle from emerging.

"Happens every time." Lil whispered, her lips a hair’s breath away from Erin’s ear.

The urge to giggle was quickly replaced with far more primal urges that caused the ear in question to turn a light shade of red as Erin blushed from her thoughts. Thankfully, Lil didn’t seem to notice as she directed her attention back to the class.

"Don’t look so frightened everyone. You were all doing so well that I thought it was time to add the next element, music. Do you hear what I hear? That strong beat? I chose this piece because of it." Lil began lightly clapping her hands in time with the music. Slowly she began to see others picking up the beat. Soon she saw that most everyone was following the beat.

"Very good, now all you have to do is move your feet to that beat." Lil took Erin’s hand again and slowly started the steps again. Soon, she saw Erin’s friend Nita and her partner begin to follow them. One by one, the other pairs began to dance.

Erin was thoroughly enjoying the lesson, even though Lil had to stop every now and then to help someone with their form.

"You are doing very well you know." Lil said as she returned to Erin once again.

"Actually, I was just thinking that my ‘skill’ had more to do with my partner. I don’t think I would be doing this well with my best friend as my partner."

"It is true that a good partner can make a difference; however, trust me, as a teacher I can tell that you are a natural."

"Well, thanks. I was wondering something."

"Hold that thought." Lil had noticed the time and the fact that her music was running out. She clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention, "Congratulations ladies and gentlemen. You have just completed your first lesson. You all did a great job. I look forward to seeing you next week. Until then, practice. You won’t improve if you don’t practice. If you don’t have a partner to practice with, practice in front of a mirror. See you all next week then," Lil was immediately surrounded by students thanking her, asking her questions, and commenting on the class. She looked out over the crowd to see Erin talking to her friend. Catching her eye, Lil mouthed, "Wait for a minute?"

Erin nodded and turned back to catch what Nita was begging for now.

"So, can you?"

"I’m sorry Nita, I didn’t catch that. Can I what?"

"No problem, teacher’s pet." Nita teased, "Can you get a ride home? Earl asked me to go get a cup of coffee with him. I really want to go, but I know that you need to get home."

That’s ok Nita. I can call home and have them send the car for me if nothing else."

"You’re the greatest, Erin."

"I know, and you owe me again." The room was starting to clear out as the students finally left.

"I’ll call you tomorrow?" Nita said as she walked over to the door where Earl was waiting.

"Sounds good. Have fun, be safe. Goodbye Earl."

"I will." Nita said and she and Earl left with a wave.

Erin made her way over to Lil, who had gone over to the CD player to start packing up even though she was still fielding some questions. When the last student left, Erin stepped up to Lil.

"Do you have another class tonight?"

"Nope, you guys were the last group. I don’t have another class until Monday."

"I was wondering if you give private lessons. That 25th anniversary party is coming up pretty fast and I want to be ready."

"Sure, if you want to come down to the office I can give you the schedule or…"

"Or?"

"We could go to the diner next door, get a cup of hot chocolate, and I could tell you the schedule."

"Hot chocolate?" Erin asked, surprised.

"Do you like hot chocolate?"

"I love it. I was just surprised. Most people would have suggested coffee."

"I don’t like coffee, never have. I’ve always loved the smell, but…"

"I can’t stand the taste." Erin finished.

"Right. So, are you interested?"

"Absolutely." In more than coffee, Erin thought.

"Great. Let me just grab my things and lock up the building."

Lil shut the lights off in the room and then checked the other rooms as they walked down the hall to the office. As they entered the office, Lil went to get her bag while Erin took the opportunity to look around the office. There were quite a few trophies along one wall. Erin looked closer and saw that they all had Lil’s name on them, but that there weren’t any trophies from recent years. In fact, the most recent one was five years old.

I wonder why she hasn’t been in any competitions lately? Erin thought. Maybe she has been and just hasn’t won you goof. Although I find that hard to believe, she moves so well.

As if to confirm these thoughts, Lil chose that moment to reach down and retrieve her back from the bottom drawer of the desk, giving an extremely good view of more than Lil’s moves. Wooo, is it getting warm in here? Erin thought, fanning herself with her hand.

Lil looked over at that moment and caught Erin’s motion. "Sorry, it’s a little warm in here."

"No! It’s ok. Just a bit warm to have a jacket on, but I know I’ll need it when we go outside, it’s like a winter wonderland out there."

"That’s for sure. I can’t believe how much the weather has changed in the last week. Is it always like that here?"

"Most years, yes. Although this year I think the snow and cold have arrived a bit sooner. Is this your first year here then?"

"Yes. I moved here from Nevada this summer."

"Where in Nevada?"

"Las Vegas."

"Really! Were you a showgirl?"

"As a matter of fact, yes."

"Wow! Where did you work?"

"The MGM Grand." During this conversation they had moved outside and across the street to the diner.

"I’ve been there. A friend of mine works for Ballys."

"That’s a nice place."

"How long did you work at the Grand?"

"For about 4 years."

"What made you decide to move here?"

"I got tired of all the late nights and it was getting to be too hard for these old bones."

"Old bones!? You’re kidding me right? You can’t be that old. You don’t look any older than I am."

"How old is that?"

"I’ll be 30 next month."

"Oh no, the big 3-0!" Lil said with a grin.

"I know. Tragic isn’t it?"

"Tell me about it. I reached it 3 years ago."

"Well, 33 is not old."

"It is in dancing years. Doing 2 shows a night, 6 nights a week can really take its toll."

"I imagine so. My job isn’t nearly that difficult and I’m worn out by the end of the week."

"What do you do?" The waitress arrived to take their order.

"Sorry to keep you waiting ladies. What can I get you?"

"No problem." Lil replied, "It sure is busy in here."

"Always is at this time of night lately. When the classes let out across the street, the students come here for coffee. It’s been great for tips, but it sure makes for a busy night."

"Glad to hear it’s going well. We’d like some hot chocolate."

"Coming right up." The waitress left.

Lil looked back to see Erin staring at her, a look of disbelief evident on her face.

"What?"

"You didn’t tell her."

"Tell her what?"

"That you own the school that has given her such good business."

"Why would I do that?"

"For the credit."

"Why would I get credit for that?"

"Lil, this diner probably hasn’t ever had the kind of business it’s had since your school opened up. You’re probably the only reason this place is still open. Don’t you want the credit for that?"

"Of course not. I’m just glad they’re doing well. It’s nice to have this place so close. A lot of my lunches come from here."

"Wow."

"What?"

"That attitude is just so different from what I’m used to hearing. Most people I know would have made sure that the waitress knew that they were the owner of the school and expected free hot chocolate just for having the graciousness to open their school next door."

"That’s silly. I’d be glad for them to know that I own the school in the interest of fostering good relations with my neighbors, but I certainly wouldn’t expect anything else."

"Well believe me that’s a rarity in my world."

"You never did answer my question. What do you do?"

The waitress delivered their hot chocolates so Erin waited for her to leave before responding, "I work at a shelter."

"The people at the shelter are always trying to get credit for things?"

"No! Not the people who use the shelter, the people who fund it. I am in charge of fundraising. The only people I ever get to talk to want recognition. If they donate money, they want their name mentioned somewhere. If they donate a piece of playground equipment it has to have a plaque with their name on it somewhere."

"I can see where you would start to think that everyone wants credit. Why do you do it?"

"Mainly because I’m good at it. I am really good at getting people to donate. I also really like being able to help people, even if all I can do is earn money."

"I’m sure that any help is appreciated."

"So…" Erin brought the conversation around to the reason they were in the diner. "What does your schedule look like for private lessons?"

"What works best for you? I only teach a few evening classes a week. Most of my days have some free time although I do spend a lot of time at the nursing homes and some time at the schools too."

"My job is pretty flexible so I’m available anytime."

"How about tomorrow morning? We could have the lesson at about 10:30?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"I suppose I should let you get home." Lil remarked, "I noticed the waitress waiting with our bill a few minutes ago and I think they are getting ready to close up.

Erin looked at her watch and started in surprise. "No wonder! It’s after midnight."

"I had no idea it was so late." Lil stood up and placed a few bills on the table to cover their tab along with a healthy tip.

"Thanks." Lil said to the waitress as they headed towards the door.

"No, thank you!" The waitress smiled as she picked up the bills.

"What do I owe you?" Erin asked once they were outside.

"Don’t worry about it. Next time you can buy."

"Will there be a next time?"

"I’d like to think so."

"Me too."

"Can I walk you to your car?" Lil asked.

"Yes. No! Oh shoot."

"What’s wrong?"

"My car."

"What about it?"

"It’s not here. I came with Nita."

"How were you going to get home?"

"I told Nita I’d take a cab, but I don’t think they’re running anymore."

"I would bet that they run until the bars close. I have a better idea though. I’ll drive you home."

"I couldn’t ask you to do that."

"It’s a good thing you’re not asking then isn’t it? I’m offering. C’mon, I have to drive myself home anyway."

"Ok, if you’re sure it’s no trouble."

"No trouble at all." Of course, Lil wasn’t planning to mention the fact that home for her was an apartment above the school. She wasn’t quite ready for the night to end and if all she could get was the car ride to Erin’s house, she would take it.

"Great." Erin really hadn’t been looking forward to waiting for a cab, and she definitely didn’t want to call home for the car this late at night. Their driver, Roger, would’ve been happy to come and get her, but Erin hated to make him do that and she didn’t really want to wait out on the street this late at night. Of course, the extra benefit to Lil driving her was getting to spend a few more minutes with the lovely woman.

Erin was glad to follow Lil back across the street and into the garage behind the school building.

"It must be nice having a garage to park in."

"Yeah, I like not having to park on the street. Especially when the classes are in session at night. I’m glad I don’t have to take up a parking space that my students could use."

"Wooo, nice car." The garage door had opened to reveal a 1965 corvette.

"Thanks. I’ve had this car for years. I found it on a lot out in Vegas. The owner had to sell it to pay off some gambling debts so I got a really good deal. That’s another reason I’m glad for the garage. I can keep her in here for the winter. I don’t really want to drive it now that the snow has started falling and they’ve started putting salt on the roads. One of these days I’ll have to take the time to find a winter vehicle to drive."

"Yeah, you don’t want to be going over the river and through the woods sliding sideways because you have no traction. You know I have a cousin who works at the local car dealership. If you’d like I could take you over there sometime."

"That would be great. Which way?"

"Hmm?"

"Which way to your house?"

"Oh, sorry. Turn left."

The next bit of time was silent except for the directions Erin gave. All too soon they were pulling up the long driveway to Erin’s parents house.

"Pull around to the side of the main house. I rent the guest house in the back."

"For a minute there I thought you lived in the mansion." There was a definite note of relief in Lil’s voice.

"Would it be a problem if I did?"

"Noo, I guess not." Lil could tell that Erin was not convinced.

"Lil, I don’t live in the mansion but my parents do. I do rent the guest house from them but the only reason they take any money from me is because I insist on it. My fundraising job is really more of a volunteer thing. I draw money from a trust fund my aunt set up for me years ago. The reason I’m such a good fundraiser is because I know a lot of rich people and they know me. Look, would you like to come in? I’d like to talk about this some more and to be completely honest I don’t want this to be over yet."

"I don’t want it to be over yet either."

"I sense a but coming."

"But, I think I’d better be going home. It’s late and, honestly, I need to process this information."

"Ok. Can I just say something before you go?"

"Of course."

"I’m interested in you. I think that there’s something between us that could grow into something very special. I hope you’ll give us that chance."

"I’m interested in you too. But you have to admit, it’s a bit of an adjustment. It’s not everyday I meet someone intelligent, beautiful, rich and able to dance without stepping on my feet." Lil smiled.

"I never thought I would be able to ballroom dance, even a little bit, so my skills must be because of the teacher." Erin finally dragged herself out of the car. "Now I’d really better get going too. I have some calls that I need to make in the morning. I’ll see you at 10:30 though, right?"

"I’m looking forward to it."

"Thanks for the hot chocolate." Erin said still trying to prolong their time together.

"You’re very welcome. Maybe we can do lunch after your lesson?" Lil was just as reluctant to leave.

"That would be great, and if you have time we could go to my cousin’s car dealership in the afternoon?"

"That should work for me. I don’t think I have anything scheduled."

" Ok then." Erin backed away from the car towards her front door. "See you tomorrow."

"You bet. Sweet dreams."

"You too." Erin felt the door at her back and reluctantly turned to open it. When she had the door open, she took a look back to where Lil was still sitting in her car. With a wave, Erin walked in and closed the door behind her. Peering through the small window in the door Erin saw Lil’s return wave before she started her car and drove down the driveway to the street and back home.

Lil drove away from the mansion back to the school thinking about the woman she had just left behind. She couldn’t quite understand why she felt as if she was leaving a piece of herself back behind that door, but that was how she felt nonetheless. Lil wasn’t used to feeling like this, and she had never felt so much so fast before in her life. She had been attracted to other women in the past and had even had her share of relationships, but those feelings paled in comparison to what she was already feeling for Erin. Holding her while they danced had felt so perfect, as if they were made to fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. Lil was a tall woman, almost 6 feet, with jet black hair and clear blue eyes. Erin wasn’t short, but at 5’6" she was short enough for the top of her head to tuck nicely under Lil’s chin. Even though they hadn’t actually danced that close, Lil knew that other parts of their bodies would fit together just as well. (Erin’s blond hair and green eyes were also nice compliments to her own.) Lil’s heart started to pound at the thought of Erin’s body pressed so closely to her own in an entirely different type of dance, one that involved far less clothing than your typical ballroom required. Thankfully, the streets were deserted and Lil was able to make it home without getting into an accident from her own distracting thoughts.

Once she was lying in her bed, other thoughts that weren’t nearly as pleasant kept her from getting to sleep. After a lot of tossing and turning, Lil made the decision to tell Erin why the thought of her wealth made her so nervous. Lil just hoped that Erin would understand. Decision made, she was finally able to go to sleep.

Across town in her comfortable bed, Erin was already lost in dreams of a tall, dark-haired woman dancing her around a magnificent ballroom and on to other, more private rooms, when the music stopped.

The next morning, Erin arrived at the school for her lesson. She went to Lil’s office, but she wasn’t there. Since she was a bit early, Erin wandered around peering into classrooms. She didn’t see Lil, but there was another teacher preparing for a class.

"Hello." Erin introduced herself. "Can you tell me where to find Lil?"

"May I ask why?"

"I’m Erin Lucas. I have a lesson with Lil this morning. I’m a little early."

"Ok. I’m Kate, one of the teachers here. I think Lil is upstairs."

"Upstairs?"

"Yeah. She told me earlier that she had some calls to make and went to her apartment to make them."

"Her apartment? Here?"

"Yep. Right above the school. Pretty handy if you ask me. A little noisy during the evenings, but otherwise it’s a pretty nice apartment. Go through that door and up the stairs. It takes up the whole floor.

"Thanks." Erin replied and went through the door Kate had indicated.

"Interesting." Kate mused as she watched the cute blond disappear through the door. "In the 5 months I’ve worked here Lil’s never given any private lessons, even though plenty of students have asked for them."

Erin walked up the stairs and found herself standing in what appeared to be the living room of Lil’s apartment. There were pictures on the walls of Lil with numerous celebrities. There were also some paintings that seemed to leap off the walls, their colors were so vibrant. She walked over to one and looked at the signature, but she didn’t recognize the artist.

"I know mom, I know. Believe me, I’m doing the best I can." Lil came walking out of one of the back rooms, a cordless phone to her ear and the shirt she had yet to put on in her other hand. "In fact," she said to the phone as she noticed Erin across the room. "Things are looking better by the minute. Mom? I’ve got to go. I have a lesson to give. What? I do to give private lessons." A blush started crawling up Lil’s body. Erin happily watched it crawl up the long expanse of still exposed skin.

"Mom, I’ve really got to go. No I can’t make the student wait. Because she’s standing about 10 feet from me and I’m standing here in my bra while you keep me talking! I’ll call you later, ok? Love you too. Bye." Lil shut the phone off and tossed it onto the couch nearby.

"Hi. Sorry I’m late."

Erin didn’t answer. She couldn’t. Her eyes and brain were frozen on the semi-clad woman standing in front of her.

"Erin?" Lil suddenly realized why Erin wasn’t answering and quickly pulled her shirt on.

"Sorry."

"Not a problem, believe me."

"Ok. Uhmm…Should we go down for your lesson?"

"In a minute. I just want to ask you something first."

"Sure."

"Exactly how many miles is it from the school to your house?"

"Ok, ok I’m busted. I live here. I didn’t have to get the car out to drive home last night. I just didn’t want the evening to be over yet. Besides, if I had left I would have just had to look out my window and watch you until you were safely in a cab. The only other option would have been to invite you up here until you could get a cab and I think that would have been dangerous for both of us. Right?"

"Hmm." Erin was busy visualizing what could have been. "Oh. Right. Dangerous. Absolutely."

"Right. So, would you like the nickel tour before we go to your lesson?"

"Sure. Sounds good."

Lil showed Erin the kitchen, bedrooms, office, and bathrooms then they came back to the living room. "And this is the living room."

"Is it strange having the stairs come right out in your living room like this?"

"Actually, no. I like having this area all open."

"What about uninvited guests?"

"It usually isn’t a problem. The staff knows not to let anyone up here unless I tell them I’m expecting someone, and when I’m downstairs I keep it locked. I rarely come up here during the day. The only reason I was here today was because I had a call to make. Then I spilled some orange juice on my shirt and had to change. I was in the middle of that, obviously, when my mom called. I’m surprised Kate even let you up."

"Well, she did seem a bit shocked when I told her I was here for a private lesson."

"I’m sure she was. My mom was a bit surprised too."

"Why?"

"I knew you’d ask that." Lil mumbled. "Truth be told, I don’t usually give private lessons." Lil said coming over to stand next to Erin. "In fact, in the 5 months that I’ve owned this place, I’ve never given anyone a private lesson." Lil was standing close to Erin now, their bodies nearly brushing against each other.

"So, I’m the exception to the rule?"

"You are definitely exceptional." Lil leaned even closer to Erin and their lips were a breath apart when the phone’s jarring ring sounded from the couch.

"Damn." Lil muttered harshly.

"Ignore it." Erin pleaded.

"I shouldn’t." Lil replied moving impossible closer.

"Please." Their breath mingled.

Lil was barely resisting the temptation those lips represented and the plea from Erin pushed over the edge. She brought their lips together in the softest of kisses. Of course, that gentle brushing wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy either of them. This time it was Erin reaching her arms up, lacing her fingers in the long, black hair, and pulling Lil’s head down to her waiting mouth, crushing their lips together passionately. Lil’s tongue sought and gained entrance to Erin’s mouth. The kisses went on and on, neither wanting to break apart for even the slightest of necessities. The phone ringing again barely penetrated Lil’s consciousness, but the insistent voice on the answering machine was impossible to ignore.

"Lil? Lil, pick up the phone." The voice was Kate’s from downstairs. "Lil, the police are here and they want to speak with you. Please pick up!" Kate’s voice was reaching panic levels.

Lil dragged her lips from Erin’s and bent them both sideways so she could grab the phone off the couch. Still holding Erin close, Lil rested her chin on Erin’s head, blew out a heavy, calming breath, and clicked on the phone.

"Kate?"

"Oh thank god! Lil, the police are here. They’re demanding to speak to you. I told them you were unavailable, but they said they would wait. What should I do?"

"Calm down Kate. You did the right thing. Don’t worry. I’ll be down in just a minute, Ok?"

"Ok." Lil could hear Kate taking a few breaths and she did the same, trying to calm her racing heart so she could think clearly.

"Lil?"

"Yes Kate."

"I’m really sorry I had to interrupt your ‘lesson’. How was it going?" Lil swore she could picture the sly look of innocence on Kate’s face. She looked down at the woman in her arms. Erin was also trying to calm her racing heart. As she felt Lil’s gaze, she looked up and smiled. Lil smiled back and said, "It was going just fine thanks, but I think we’ve reached a point where we can take a break." Erin nodded her agreement and Lil continued, "Tell the officers that I’ll be with them shortly, Ok?"

"Ok. I will."

Lil hung up the phone and put it back on the couch. She looked down at Erin, still nestled comfortably in her arms.

"So," Erin said, "Lessons over huh?"

"I guess so… unless?"

"Unless what?"

"Unless you’d like to wait. We talked about having lunch. I’m sure it won’t take long to talk with the police."

"Do you know why they want to talk with you?" Curiosity was evident in Erin’s tone.

"I have a pretty good idea. Look, Erin."

"You don’t have to tell me anything."

"That’s just it. I want to tell you. I just can’t right now. I really need to get downstairs and talk to these guys so it can be over with. Would you like to wait up here?"

"Sure. Go on and talk so you can get back to me."

"Thanks." Lil bent her head down and kissed Erin. What was meant to be a simple goodbye kiss became much more very quickly. Lil finally had to drag her lips from Erin’s and take a step away.

"See you in a bit?"

"Yeah."

Lil walked over to the stairs and looked back at Erin. "Dangerous." She muttered as she went down the stairs and out of Erin’s sight. Erin heard the door open and shut at the bottom of the stairs as she sank onto the cushions of the couch.

"Absolutely. Whew." Erin fanned herself with her hand. "I wonder what Lil has in the kitchen." She figured she might as well make something for lunch rather than having to go out when Lil was finished.

"Let’s see." Erin must aloud, looking at the meager contents of Lil’s refrigerator. "Not much to work with, that’s for sure. No wonder most of her lunches come from next door." There was enough to make a salad and some nice sandwiches. "That’ll do. That way if Lil takes longer than she thought, nothing will be spoiled."

While Erin was figuring out lunch, Lil had gone to her office correctly assuming that Kate had told the officers to wait there.

Before opening the door to the office, Lil took a deep breath and pasted a smile on her face. "Good morning gentlemen. My associate told me you wanted to speak with me?" Lil said as she walked into the room. She was quick to note that both officers had been investigating the contents of her office. One officer was looking at her trophies and pictures while the other was perusing the items on her desk, with his hands conspicuously in his pockets to show that he wasn’t touching or moving anything. This officer was the one in charge, Lil could tell, and he was the one to speak.

"Miss Patterson?"

"Mrs."

"Oh yes, of course. Mrs. Patterson, my name is Jerry Williams and this is my partner Chris Rios. We’re with the Las Vegas Police Department."

"You’re a long way from home."

"So are you, Mrs. Patterson."

"This is my home now."

"Yes, for the last 5 months if my information is correct."

"It is."

"If you don’t mind my asking, why did you leave Las Vegas?"

"My husband had recently been killed and I needed a change."

"I’m sorry to hear of your loss."

"Thanks, but my loss is the reason you’re here, right."

"That’s right. He was killed in a car accident, correct?"

"Well, if you consider an explosion an accident. Then yes, he was."

"You don’t think it was an accident?"

"No, I don’t. My husband was involved with a lot of not so nice men officer. He was very rich and these men were the ones who helped him get that way. I think that he either got too greedy or too stupid and one of those men killed him."

"Your husband left everything to you, but you didn’t take it. When you left Vegas all you took was your car and money from your own savings account. Why?"

"The money wasn’t mine to take. I left it for Bill’s kids. They deserved it more than I did. They had to put up with him all their lives, I only put up with him for the last 3 years of it."

"Do you have any idea who killed your husband?"

"No, I don’t. As I said, Bill worked with a lot of men who weren’t always operating within the law."

"Who were those men?"

"I don’t know any names."

"Are you saying that you never met any of these men? Never had them over for dinner? Never went out for business dinners with them?"

"That’s what I’m saying."

"Your husband never took you with him to meet any of those men?"

"My husband and I weren’t very close." Lil could tell that the officer wanted to ask her more about that, but didn’t quite know how.

"Well then Mrs. Patterson, if you think of anything that might help us figure out who killed your husband, please give me a call." He handed her a card and with a nod to his partner, left the building.

Lil glanced at the card, put it in her pocket, and headed towards the door to her apartment. She had just reached for the knob when Kate’s voice stopped her.

"Lil?"

"Yes Kate?"

"Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, everything’s fine. What do we have scheduled for this afternoon?"

"Nothing unusual. Just our regular classes."

"Good. I’m going to be out this afternoon, but I’ll have my cell with me if you need me for anything."

"Fine. Have a nice time." Kate teased.

"What?" Lil asked with an arched brow.

"Oh nothing."

"What?"

"Is Erin going with you?"

"As a matter of fact she is."

"Oooh, then I know you’ll have a good time."

"We’re just going to lunch and then she’s taking me to look for a winter vehicle."

"Of course she is."

"What! Her cousin owns a car dealership."

"I know. Her family owns a lot of things around here."

"You know her?"

"Everyone in this town knows her. She does a lot of good work for the shelter and other charities throughout the year."

"Would being friends with someone rich bother you?"

"Friends, no. More than friends? Maybe."

"What do you mean, maybe?" Lil walked over to one of the chairs placed in the hallway and motioned to Kate to do the same.

"I guess if the person was really obvious about having more money than I do it would bother me."

"How do you mean?"

"If they paid for everything, drove a flashy car, and made sure that everyone knew they had money; that would bother me. On the other hand, if they let me pay what I could and weren’t always trying to impress me or others with how much money they had, I think someone like that I could deal with."

"I never really thought about it like that. Thanks Kate."

"Anytime. Have a good afternoon."

"I will." Lil stood and went to the door of her apartment. "Thanks again." She said as she went through and up to her apartment. When she reached the top of the stairs, Erin was nowhere in sight.

"Erin?"

"In the kitchen."

Lil walked into the kitchen and saw the lunch Erin had laid out.

"What’s this?"

"I figured this would be easier than going out somewhere. Besides, I wasn’t sure how long you would need. This way we can get to my cousin’s quicker."

"That was really nice of you, and good thinking too. You didn’t have to go to such trouble though."

"It was no trouble, really. I like to cook. Although there really wasn’t much cooking involved here. It’s just a salad and sandwich fixings."

"Looks great to me."

"Cool. Let’s eat then."

Lunch was extremely pleasant and soon they were heading out of the school to go find a car for Lil. Lil and Erin drove to the dealership in Erin’s car.

"This is a nice vehicle. What is it?"

"It’s a Dodge Durango. I like it for driving in the winter. I have a car that’s more fun for driving during the summer months though."

"Oh really? What do you drive then?"

"A Dodge Stratus."

"Let me guess. Your cousin owns a Dodge dealership."

"Right the first time."

"Glad to see you support your family."

"I like to whenever I can. Besides, Dodge’s are good vehicles and they have a really good warranty." Saying this, Erin pulled into the lot.

When they went into the showroom, Erin asked for her cousin while Lil looked at some of the cars on the showroom floor.

Erin walked up to Lil who was looking at a red Durango.

"People would really think that Santa Claus is coming to town if you drive around in this red sleigh." She joked.

"I was thinking more along the lines of Rudolph the Red-nose Reindeer myself, but I see your point. I really did like riding over here in your Durango though."

"I do really like mine, but maybe a different color would be a better choice."

"I think so."

"Erin! Great to see you again." A man came up to them. "Are you thinking forward to your parent’s anniversary party?"

"Oh yeah. I can’t wait. Noel, this is my friend Lil. Lil, this is my cousin Noel Lucas the third."

"The third?"

"Yeah." Noel replied. "Our grandfather is the first Noel."

"Oh. Cool, hi Noel."

"Hi. So, what can I do for you ladies today?"

"Lil is looking for a good vehicle for the winter."

"Is price a consideration?"

"Yes and no. I want something reliable, but I need to get some financing."

"Ok then, are there any vehicles that you’re interested in?"

"I like the Durango."

"Well, we have some good ones here, both new and used. I’m sure we can find something for you." Noel took them around the showroom and out onto the lot. Lil took a few vehicles for test-drives before making her decision. An hour after they had arrived, Lil was taking Erin out for a celebratory dinner in her new black Durango. It wasn’t new, but it still had a lot of good miles in it.

"Hah. Let it snow. I’m ready for it now."

"All set for a white Christmas, huh?"

"You betcha."

"Ooh, now you’re starting to sound like a true Minnesotan."

"Yep."

Once they were seated at the restaurant, Lil looked at Erin, "I’d like to tell you some things."

"And I want to hear them. Let’s order and then we can talk."

"Ok." The waiter came and took their order shortly and then they were alone, or as alone as they could be in a restaurant full of people.

"Where should I start?"

"Why not start with why the idea of me having money freaks you out."

"It doesn’t, at least it doesn’t anymore."

"Really? What changed your mind?"

"You did. Well, you and Kate."

"Kate?"

"Yeah, Kate and I had a talk before I came up to lunch."

"About me?"

"Not really about you, mostly about being friends with people who have money."

"What did she say?"

"She just pointed out that there are two kinds of people with money. Those who flaunt it and those who don’t."

"And which one am I?"

"I know that you’re one that doesn’t."

"I’m glad you feel that way. I would hate for my trust fund to come between us."

"I would hate for that to happen too, but there is another reason for the way I reacted to your money and I am very scared that this one might come between us."

"What is it?"

"It’s kind of hard for me to talk about."

"Take your time, but believe me when I say that I don’t think there is anything you could say that would change the way I am feeling about you."

"My husband was very rich too."

"Your husband!? But… I thought? I mean? When we kissed this morning, that felt real." Erin slumped back in her chair, totally thrown by what Lil had said.

"Oh no! Erin, don’t even think that way. Not even for a second. That kiss this morning was the most real I have ever felt. Please believe me."

Erin looked into Lil’s eyes and saw the sincerity there. A twinkle appeared in Erin’s eye, "I don’t know…married. That’s a lot to measure up to."

Lil caught the twinkle and hoped it meant what she thought. "How can I prove it to you?"

"Oh. I don’t know, you might just have to kiss me again before I’ll believe you."

"I think that can be arranged, but do you mind if we wait until we get someplace more private?"

"I think I can deal with that. So, will you tell me about your marriage?"

"Yeah." The waiter brought their meals and then left them alone again.

"I don’t know if you noticed the trophies in my office?"

"I saw them last night. The most recent one was from 5 years ago?"

"Right, a few months after that last competition my mother got very sick. You have to understand that we never had much money when I was growing up. We got by, but my dad left when I was 8. My mom had to work 2 jobs to keep things going. Even with all that, she was somehow able to send me to dance lessons and she was always able to be at my competitions. When I got out of high school I started competing professionally. I was winning most of the time, but I wasn’t making much money. When my mom first got sick I quit competing and got my job at the Grand. At first I was able to keep ahead of her bills, but then her insurance ran out and I couldn’t keep up anymore. That’s when I met Bill Patterson. He came to the Grand one night and saw me dancing. He asked to meet me afterwards and I agreed. He seemed like a very nice man and we met several more times throughout the next few weeks. I told him what was happening with my mother’s illness and he offered to help. He told me that he needed a wife. I laughed and told him that I was sure he couldn’t have any woman he wanted. He sure wouldn’t want to be married to someone like me. He told me that he didn’t want a wife in the traditional sense. In fact, all he really wanted was someone to escort to business functions and help run his house. I asked him why he didn’t just hire someone to do those things and he convinced me that a marriage of convenience would be better. It took a lot of convincing and even then I didn’t want to believe him, but then my mom took a turn for the worse. The bills that I was already falling behind on grew higher and higher and I started to get desperate. I finally agreed to marry Bill and after it was final, he paid all my bills. He even paid for the best doctors and hospitals. I’m convinced that it was this care that allowed my mom to recover."

"He sounds like an extraordinary man. What happened to him?

"What makes you think something happened to him?

"A couple of things. You said your husband was rich, not is. And, you’re not with him anymore. I get the impression that you are a woman who honors her word. You don’t strike me as the kind of person who would leave your husband after your mom recovered even if it was only a marriage of convenience."

"Thanks."

"Just the truth as I see it."

"You’re right on both counts. Something did happen and if it hadn’t I would still be in Vegas with Bill. Why don’t we save that part of the story for a more private setting—it’s not as nice as the beginning."

"Your place or mine?" Erin asked.

"Yours if you don’t mind. I have to take you home anyway since Noel had someone drive your car there from the lot."

"One of the perks of buying from family. My place it is." Erin signaled for the check and paid. When Lil started to argue Erin said, "You paid last time, remember? You said the next one was mine, besides, we’re celebrating your new car."

"Ok, but I get the next one then."

"Deal." Erin agreed. They stepped out of the restaurant and walked across the parking lot to Lil’s car.

"Sure is a silent night tonight." Lil said.

"Yeah, and cold too. C’mon, let’s get someplace warm."

"Your wish is my command." Lil said opening the door for Erin, "Your chariot awaits."

"Thank you m’lady." Erin giggled as she got in and Lil closed the door. Lil hurried around and jumped in behind the wheel. In no time at all, they were pulling into Erin’s driveway. Lil left her car next to outside Erin’s door and they went into the warm house.

"Ah! Much better." Erin sighed as she took off her coat and sank down onto the couch in the living room.

"I take it you like being warm?"

"Warm, no. Personally I like feeling like chestnuts roasting on an open fire. The more heat the better in my book."

"So…it’s not warmth your want…it’s heat." Lil whispered the last bit into Erin’s ear as she leaned over the couch.

"Oh yeah." Erin replied weakly, "Heat is verrry good."

"Well then," Lil said, coming around the couch and pulling Erin into her arms, "maybe I can find some way to increase the heat."

"I have no doubt." Erin said as their lips met.

After a few blissful moments of kisses, Erin drew back.

"Still cold?" Lil asked.

"Are you kidding? I think I need to turn on the air conditioner." Erin stepped back. "Would you like a tour?"

"Sure." After Erin showed Lil around the small house, they ended up back on the couch with cups of hot chocolate on the coffee table in front of them.

"Feel up to telling me the rest of the story? You don’t have to you know."

"I know, but I want to tell you and I would rather just get it over with."

"Ok."

"Where was I?"

"You and Bill had gotten married and he had paid all your bills."

"Right. I hate to admit it but I was suckered. Bill talked a good game, but after we were married and he had paid all the bills, he changed. Once I was truly indebted to him, he became the man he had been to everyone else all his life. He was truly a bastard, in every sense of the word. The business functions he told me he needed a partner for? Never happened. All he really wanted was someone he could control. I couldn’t go anywhere or do anything unless he approved it. He never hit me, but I knew that if I tried to leave there would be hell to pay. By the end, we rarely spoke and I tried to avoid him as much as possible. Thankfully, we lived in a large house. We didn’t have to see each other."

"Unbelievable."

"It’s true."

"Oh, I don’t mean that I don’t believe you. I mean that it’s unbelievable that someone could hold that kind of power over someone else in this day and age."

"I owed him a lot. Heck, I owed him my mother’s life. Also, by that time I had found another reason to stay."

"What was that?"

"Bill’s kids. He had 3 kids from a previous marriage. They were all in their teens and having a hard time. One of his sons was struggling with his sexuality; the other was just trying to live up to his father’s image. His daughter was trying to find herself in a family of men and I’m glad to say I was able to help them all. We are still very close, in fact, I’m hoping they will come and visit during the holidays."

"Are they still in school?"

"William and Judith are still in high school. Jeremy is in college now."

"Who takes care of them?"

"They live with their mother’s parents. I left them all of Bill’s money so they will be able to do whatever they want to with their lives."

"What happened to their mother?" Erin was almost afraid to ask.

"She died a few years before I met Bill."

"Of natural causes?"

"Oh yes. She had cancer. From everything I have heard, Bill was actually rather nice to her in the end."

"So, what happened to him?"

"Bill was killed in an explosion."

"An explosion!"

"His car exploded on his way to work one morning. It must have been on a timer or something because it didn’t explode right away. He was almost halfway to work when it happened. He died instantly."

"Is there any idea about who did it?"

"That’s why the police were here this morning. They are trying to find out what happened. I told them that I didn’t have any idea who might have killed Bill, but Bill did business with a lot of people who could have wanted him dead. I told them everything I know and I hope that will be the end of it. I wanted you to know, especially if we are going to get to know each other better. I hope I haven’t ruined any chance of that happening."

"Of course not. If anything I’m even more impressed with you than I was before."

"I’m glad. On that note, I’d better get going."

"Do you have to work tomorrow?"

"There are some classes scheduled and I am going to the nursing home in the afternoon. Other than that, I don’t have anything going on."

"Other than that, hmm? That sounds like quite a bit to me. Do you think you could squeeze some time into that schedule for a private lesson?"

"That would depend on who the student was."

"Me?"

"I think that can be arranged." Lil replied leaning over to kiss Erin.

"Good. I really do need to learn how to ballroom dance." Erin said. "By the way, are you going home for the holidays?"

"I wasn’t planning on it, why?"

"I was wondering if you’d like to be my guest at my parent’s anniversary party?"

"I would like that. Are you sure it would be acceptable?"

"Of course it would. My parents know about my lifestyle and are very accepting. In fact, they would expect me to bring someone. Besides, I can’t wait to dance with you."

"If you’re sure."

"I’m sure. Now, if you’re sure you have to go…"

"I really should."

"Let me walk you to your car then." Erin said, going over to get her coat.

"No, it’s cold out there. Just walk me to the door."

"Ok." They walked to the door. "See you tomorrow?"

"You betcha."

"Good night" Erin reached up and drew Lil’s head down for a goodnight kiss.

"Good night." Lil said after a few moments, and she went out the door before she ended up staying the night.

The next few weeks went by in a blur as the holidays approached. Lil and Erin met almost daily for Erin’s dance lessons and their relationship blossomed as well. A few days after Lil bought her car she got an envelope in the mail.

"Hmm, pretty paper." She opened the envelope and found an official invitation to Erin’s parent’s anniversary party. Along with the official invitation was a handwritten note saying, ‘We hope to see you there. We know that Erin will have a blue Christmas without you there.’ "That was nice of them."

That afternoon, at Erin’s lesson, Lil showed Erin the invitation.

"They told me they were going to send you an invitation."

"I didn’t realize it was actually on Christmas Day."

"Can you still make it?"

"Oh yeah. But why then?"

"They got married on Christmas Day."

"Makes sense."

Soon, the day of the party arrived. Erin had wanted to have another lesson before getting ready for the party and even though Lil didn’t think Erin needed it she had quickly learned that she couldn’t deny Erin anything.

Lil was in her office when Erin arrived at the school for her lesson.

"Hey."

"Hey." Lil said getting up from the desk and coming over to enfold Erin in her arms and kiss her. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too. I can hardly believe it’s Christmas Day already. The 12 days of Christmas sure have flown by this year."

"I know what you mean. It seems like just yesterday it was Thanksgiving."

"Did you tell Santa what you want for Christmas?"

"All I want for Christmas is you. Does that sound too corny for words?"

"Not to my ears. Sounds like the perfect gift to me. Although I did get you something else."

"You didn’t have to do that."

"I know I didn’t have to, I wanted to."

"Well, where is it then?"

"Actually, I took it up to your apartment before coming in here, I hope you don’t mind. I asked Kate to open the door for me."

"No, I don’t mind. In fact, that kind of leads into my gift to you."

"What did you get me?"

"No protesting about how I didn’t have to get you anything?"

"No way, I love presents. Gimme, gimme."

"Ok, hold your horses." Lil went over to her desk drawer and pulled out two boxes, one small and one larger.

"Which one should I open first?"

"Open the larger one first."

"Ok." Erin ripped open the box and saw a lovely white-gold charm bracelet. "It’s beautiful." The charms were all dance oriented.

"Now open the other one."

Erin opened the smaller box and found a key on a simple key-chain. "What is this?"

"This is the key to my apartment. I want you to feel welcome in my home and I want you to be able to come by whenever you feel like it."

"I can’t believe this."

"Unless you don’t want that?" Lil asked, suddenly feeling insecure.

"Oh I absolutely want that. I’m just a bit upset."

"Why?"

"Because you stole my thunder, that’s why." Erin said, pulling a small box out of her coat pocket. She handed it to Lil. "This is for you."

Lil opened the gift and found her own key.

"This is the key to my place. I want you to feel comfortable too."

"Thank you. I love it."

"I’m glad, now are you ready for the next gift?"

"You mean there’s more?

"Of course, I told you I took your gift upstairs."

"Well let’s go upstairs then."

"Great." Erin led the way to the door and took her new key out and opened the door. Before she went through though she reached up and kissed Lil. "I hope you like your gift."

"I’m sure I will." They went up the stairs, Erin making sure that Lil went first so she would see her surprise right away. As they reached the top of the stairs Lil heard, "Surprise!" and couldn’t believe her eyes. Standing in the middle of her living room were Jeremy, William, Judith, and her mom, Julia.

"How? What? What are you all doing here?"

"This lovely young lady called me last week and asked me what I was doing for the holidays. When she invited me to her parent’s anniversary party, I couldn’t refuse. Merry Christmas baby." Lil’s mom walked up and gave her a hug.

"Yeah Lil. She called Jer last week too."

"But I thought you guys were going to spend the holidays with your grandparents?"

"Hey, we see them every day. How often do we get to see you, especially now? We’ve missed you." Judith spoke for the two boys.

"Oh guys, I’ve missed you so much." Lil hugged all of them at once. "Is this why you wanted to have a lesson today?" This was directed at Erin.

"I wasn’t quite sure how else to pull this off. Now I think I will leave you guys alone to catch up." Erin started walking towards the stairs.

"You absolutely will not!" All five people spoke at the same time, then Lil continued, "You are going to stay and have lunch so everyone can get to know you better."

"If you all don’t mind?"

"Of course we don’t mind." Lil’s mom said, and that was the end of that. The rest of the afternoon was spent learning more about the woman Erin knew that she loved.

That night Lil drove everyone to Erin’s parent’s place. As they pulled into the drive, it was like pulling into a fairytale. The house was decorated for the season. There were lights all over the trees and the house. Up on the housetop there was a Santa complete with sleigh and reindeer. There was a manger scene complete with the three wise men and little drummer boy.

"This place is beautiful." Judith said, trying to look everywhere at once.

"Yes it is." Lil agreed. They pulled up to the door and got out. The valet came to the driver’s door and helped Lil out of the car. "Thanks."

"Wow!" Jeremy breathed, "You sure can pick em Lil."

"What…?" Lil started to ask; then stopped when she saw what had caught Jeremy’s eye. Erin stood at the top of the steps, a vision in a beautiful green gown that matched her eyes. The dress was amazing, but the woman in the dress was even more so. She literally took Lil’s breath away.

"You look amazing." Lil said as she made her way up the steps.

"So do you." Lil had decided to wear a tuxedo, having had more than her fill of dresses while she was competing. "You cut quite a dashing figure in that tux."

"I have to hold a candle to my breathtaking partner."

"Breathtaking?" Erin whispered.

"Mine and Jeremy’s."

"Are you ready to meet the folks?"

"As ready as I’m going to be."

"Why don’t you guys go on in? I am going to borrow this lovely lady and introduce her around."

"You two go ahead. We can entertain ourselves for awhile." Julia said.

They went into the main ballroom where Erin’s family was waiting. Her mom and dad were sitting at the front of the room, greeting their guests.

"Mom, dad? This is Lil."

"So nice to finally meet you, Lil. We’ve heard a lot about you from our Erin."

"I’ve heard a lot about you too. It’s a pleasure to finally meet the people who raised such a wonderful woman."

They spent the next few minutes chatting until the number of people waiting to talk to the guests of honor grew too large to ignore.

"I’m so sorry to have to cut our time short dear. You must come over sometime soon for dinner so we can get to know each other better."

"I look forward to it."

After meeting some other relatives of Erin’s, they sat down at a table with some supper.

"Well Erin, are you ready to be humiliated on the dance floor?" A man’s voice echoed across the room.

"Hello Rudolph."

"And who is this lovely lady?"

"This is my girlfriend, Lil. Lil, this is my brother, Rudolph."

"Nice to meet you." Lil said, trying to be polite.

"Nice to meet you too. Say, why don’t you and I ditch Erin here and go show everyone how to dance?"

"Let’s not. The only person I’m going to be dancing with is this lovely lady here." Lil said, reaching out and bringing Erin’s hand to her lips for a light kiss.

"Oh come on. Wouldn’t you rather be with a real man?"

"Rudolph?" Erin had had enough.

"What?"

"Run."

"What?"

"Run, Rudolph, run because if I catch up with you, you are going to be leaving this party with the paramedics. Lil is my girlfriend. In fact, she is the woman I’m going to spend the rest of my life with if she’ll have me. So if you value your ‘manhood’, you’ll stop trying to hit on her or I will be forced to do something about it and I would hate to ruin mom and dad’s party."

"Fine, Geez, try to have a little fun." Rudolph continued to grumble as he finally walked away.

Erin watched him go, almost afraid to look back at Lil after her little speech. Lil took matters into her own hand though and reached our her hand to gently cup Erin’s chin and turn her back to face her. Erin finally got the courage to look into Lil’s eyes.

"Did you mean it?" Lil asked.

"With all my heart."

"Good."

"Good?"

"Yeah, good. I would hate to be alone here."

"Will you?" Erin asked and Lil didn’t have to ask what.

"It would be an honor."

Just then the band started to play. Lil stood and held out her hand to Erin, "Shall we dance?"

"It would be my pleasure."

They walked out onto the dance floor and began to dance. Lil noticed that Rudolph had found a partner and was clumsily trying to match the music. Then she only had eyes for her partner as they glided across the dance floor and into their future.

THE END