Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 37498 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 187(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37498 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 187(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Is she kidding me?
Nice, Josie. Nice.
I burst into laughter.
It was no coincidence. That had to have been meant for me. Maybe it wasn’t. Either way, it was funny.
After a couple of minutes, I shut the window and attempted to get work done with the muffled sounds of Christmas chaos outside.
At least the lame lights I’d put up out front were better than the total darkness I’d originally planned. Now instead of Scrooge, I was just the lonely writer across the street, afraid to go all the way at anything in life, a fear accurately reflected through my measly, half-assed holiday display.
After several minutes of being unable to focus, I shut my laptop, deciding to go downstairs and make myself something to eat.
Before I opened the fridge, I grabbed the stack of mail sitting on the counter and began to sift through it. Among the bills were a couple of Christmas cards. I opened the first one to find it was from my brother—a shot of my two-year-old nephew, Benjamin, dressed as an elf. It made my cold heart happy for a couple of seconds before I tossed it aside to open the next envelope.
Inside was a small card and a photo of someone I didn’t recognize: a boy in a wheelchair. Next to him was a beautiful brunette I did recognize: Josie. I realized this card wasn’t meant for me. It had been mistakenly delivered here.
But I’d already opened it, and I remembered the story she’d told me about her former student, William—her inspiration for the Christmas display. So I read the message inside.
Dear Josie,
We know this Christmas will be the best one yet. But we say that every year when it comes to your extravaganza of lights. We thought you’d enjoy this old photo we found of you and our guy. Can you believe William would have been graduating high school this year? Thank you for helping his memory to live on. We will see you soon.
Love,
The Testinos
I stared at the photo of the smiling boy, who seemed so filled with joy and hope. He hadn’t had it easy. He’d had to accept a lot of uncertainty every day of his life. But he’d still managed to find happiness. He wasn’t supposed to die on that operating table. I shook my head, feeling myself tear up. I didn’t even know the kid. I couldn’t imagine how Josie felt. Life is so damn fleeting. And here I was, obsessing over my past—a past that held no significance over my present. I was here in this lonely house when I really wanted to be across the street. Not because of the lights, but because of the single ray of light responsible for it all.
I spoke to the photo in my hand. “William, thank you for the reminder that I’ve been a complete and utter idiot. Pretty sure this card was meant for me after all.”
***
The following day, I went shopping.
“Excuse me, are there any other decorations in the back?”
The sales clerk shook her head. “Just what you see here. We put the Christmas stuff out before Halloween these days, so we’re pretty much sold out by the first week in December.”
This was the third store I’d gone to. The only crap left was…well, crap. Nothing more than a bunch of lights and some of those dumb blow-ups—and even those were picked over. My choices were a six-foot-tall inflatable menorah, a polar bear hugging an ornament, or palm trees.
I sighed. “Thanks.”
After an hour and a half of going store to store, I started to think my brilliant idea might be over before it even began. But on my way out, I walked by the toy department. As I passed, I noticed a life-size figure down one of the aisles. Backing up a few steps, I lifted my chin to the kid stocking the shelf next to the display.
“You got any more of those?”
“Chewbacca?” His brow wrinkled. “They’re right here.”
“No, I meant any other big characters like that?”
“Oh, yeah. Next aisle over. I think there’s, like, eight different ones or something. It’s part of an anniversary of one of the movies.”
“Can they go outside?”
The kid looked at the giant action figure next to him and shrugged. “I guess so. They don’t have electronics or anything. That’s probably why they didn’t sell. They just kind of sit there.”
The wheels in my head started to turn. “Is there a Yoda?”
“Yeah, but he’s not as big.”
Well, of course not. Chewbacca isn’t the same size as Yoda. “Do you think he’d fit in a bassinet?”
“Who?”
“Yoda.”
“Oh. What’s a bassinet?”
Seriously? “It’s like a small crib. Sort of like the manger they put baby Jesus in.”
The kid shrugged. “Check aisle nine.”
A half hour later, I had three carts at the checkout line. The silver-haired woman ringing me up smiled. “Your kids are Star Wars fans, huh?”