A Christmas Card
A Collection of Short Stories
by
Tara Manderino
SMASHWORDS EDITION
* * * * *
A Christmas Card
Copyright © 2011 by Tara Manderino
A Christmas Plan © 2006, One Family © 2007, Christmas Star © 2008
From the Heart © 2009, Seth’s Christmas © 2010
Snowman cover photo by Scott Liddell
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.
* * * * *
A Christmas Plan
“Are you sure this is the right place?” Jake turned to see the little boy’s response. The boy, a shadowy figure in the dim light cast from the streetlight further down the block, nodded his head up and down with enough vigor to set his short curls bobbing.
“Stay close,” Jake told the boy. “Better yet, go stay in the car.” It was cold, and getting colder by the moment. Jake resisted the urge to clap his hands together to make sure the blood circulated.
“No.” There was a definite pout in his voice. “I want to see my dad, first.”
Jake nodded, and turned back to the job at hand, and let a hiss of exasperation escape between his lips. It was Christmas Eve and in less than two hours –much less -- church services would begin. He gave a loud knock on the door, thumping it, then stepped across the minute porch to see if he could detect any movement inside through the window. It looked dark to him.
This was definitely not the best section of town. What else could he do but come when eight-year-old Thomas approached him in tears. Tom was to be one of the three kings and his dad had not only promised to be there, he promised to bring Tom a new costume. He hadn’t shown up for lunch, or dinner at his ex-wife’s house. So when Tom turned up on his doorstep asking for help, what could he do?
First, he insisted on Tom calling his mother, but that brought no results.
“She’s probably out looking for you,” Jake told the boy.
Tom shook his head vigorously then too. “Nope. She went out with her friends. I have to get to my dad. I thought you could help.”
Jake sighed. He could see that there would be no reasoning with the child, either he would do it with Jake’s help or without. Jake figured it would be much safer with.
“Can’t you break in or something?”
“I don’t think breaking and entering would look particularly well on my resume.” Jake looked through the door again. It looked like something moved! He pounded on the door again, raising his voice as he did so.
“What if he’s hurt?”
Jake groaned. What if he were? That would be on his conscience. Slipping a credit card out of his wallet, he tried to jimmy the lock. It took him a moment to realize that he wasn’t alone.
“Do you live here?” There was a definite edge and unmistakable authority in the voice.
Instinctively, Jake slowed his actions, and turned toward the voice, then stopped all together. He turned to face the policeman. “No, sir.” It went against his grain to make it appear the child’s fault. Quickly, he frowned, then turned toward the steps. He suddenly realized he hadn’t heard Tom’s voice for the past few minutes. He turned in the direction of the porch steps and instantly had his arm caught by the policeman.
“You weren’t thinking of going anywhere, were you?”
“Umm…” How to answer? Now would be a nice time to give me some ideas, Lord. Silence.
Jake put his hand out waving it at close to waist height. The policeman stiffened his stance. “There was a small boy here about ten minutes ago.”
“Does he live here?”
“Ummm… No.”
“Then I suggest you come with me.” The officer spoke into the radio on his shoulder, but Jake could hardly tell one garbled voice from the other.
Jake could tell this was definitely a strong suggestion. He looked at his watch. “Look, officer, let me explain, but really, I have to be at the church in the next twenty minutes.”
Jake wasn’t sure what it was that he said, but the next thing he knew he was sitting in the police car heading downtown. He leaned his head back against the cushions. I know there’s a reason for this, Lord, but I have to admit it’s pretty darn hard to figure out what it is.
Walking up to the desk with the officer, he could tell that the man’s partner wasn’t too happy with the situation. And when Jake reached the front and one of the men greeted him, the man looked more miserable than ever.
“Geez, Sam, couldn’t you at least have let him explain. Maybe he had a good reason for being there.”
“None that I could tell.”
“But he’s a preacher, for cryin’ out loud!”
“So, what? That mean he’s never going to commit a crime?” Sam seemed to get more agitated by the moment.
“Hey, Rev, thought you were having services tonight?” one of the officers said.
“Don’t think so. Caught him red-handed,” Sam interrupted. “B&E.” Self-importance radiated from him.
The blond haired officer who spoke earlier, raised his eyebrows in a question.
“Tom Higgins was looking for his father,” Jake said.
The blond man looked at his watch, then at the officer with Jake. “Come on, Sam. If you let him go now, he’ll make it back in time for services. Maybe.”
Sam shook his head and escorted Jake to the lockup.
“You’re not serious,” his partner said.
Sam locked the door behind Jake and turned to face his partner. He didn’t say a word, just walked from the room.
Jake gave a wan smile to the other two people in the lock up and leaned his head against the bars. This definitely was not in his plans.
“Don’t mind Sam, “the man sporting a few cuts and bruises around his eye, said. “I’m Bob. Are you really a reverend?”
Jake nodded. “Yes. And for the first time in my life, I’m going to miss being at Christmas service, let alone leading it.”
“Do you really believe in that stuff?” The voice came from the corner.
“Of course he does, he’s a reverend!” Bob said if that settled the matter. ”That’s Joe.” He jerked his head in the direction of the voice.
“You don’t believe in Christmas, Joe?” Jake didn’t turn to face the voice. Sometimes it was easier to talk not looking at someone directly.
“Nah.” He could hear Joe moving closer. “That’s one of those things the card companies and the retailers hype up so people will spend money.”
“That does tend to happen,” Jake said.
“What?” Bob stepped forward. “You agree with him? What kind of preacher are you?”
Jake turned to look at both of the men. “I didn’t agree,” he said quietly. “I said that ‘that tends to happen.’ People get too busy, too wrapped up in themselves and they forget what Christmas really is.”
“A bunch of hooha,” Jose said, waving his hand dismissively.
Jake closed his eyes for a moment and spoke without opening them. “Is that what you really think, Joe?” Okay, so maybe it was all right to miss Christmas service. Apparently he had a job to do here. Jake opened his eyes and looked at the man with the bruised face. “Is that what you think, too?”
“No,” he shook his head, stopped, then shrugged his shoulders. “Never really thought about it, you know. I’m not religious or anything so it’s just another day.”
“I guess it could be,” Jake said, looking at each of the men in turn. He opened his mouth to say more, but heard Sam’s voice floating back through the open door.
“No, he can’t have visitors.”
And then he heard them. First, the sounds were a muffled shuffling of feet. Then a whisper here, a voice there. Then he heard it. Childish voices, clear, off-key, and beautiful in its simplicity.
“Silent night! Holy night!..”
Jake watched the children scheduled for the midnight Christmas service file into the room Joe stood on one side of him, and Bob on the other.