Dreaming of Christmas

This story was written for the Vocal+Assist Facebook Group's December Prompt. We were challenged to write a "Hallmark" type story with a twist. Please join us on Facebook if you haven't yet!

Dreaming of Christmas

D. A. Ratliff

Home for the holidays. Not many things instilled fear in me, but those words did. I always managed to sweet-talk my parents and brother to spend Christmas in New York City, but this year, they said no. Not even the enticement of Rockefeller Center, sales at Bergdorf’s, or Knicks tickets worked this season.

So, I found myself flying into Charleston and driving to my hometown in the coastal low country of South Carolina, Beaufort. Don’t get me wrong. I love Beaufort. Small and slow-paced, it was also quaint and artsy.

As I expected, Beaufort was also overdone with holiday decorations. Granted, I hadn’t been here in a while, but everything looked brand new. I passed a Christmas tree lot with the most beautiful trees I had ever seen. All perfect, and the smell of pine was so strong it permeated the car's closed windows. All the stoplights had bows atop, and glittery holly wreaths hung everywhere.

I turned onto Main Street to find the entire business district decorated in lights, pine garlands, and carolers on the corners. A banner hanging over the road proclaimed the Christmas parade was that evening. Manhattan went over the top for the holidays, but Beaufort one-upped them. I thought I’d stumbled into a Hallmark Christmas movie. If it started snowing, I vowed to be out of there. Dodging shoppers with lots of parcels, I drove through town to my parents' house.

I thought downtown was decorated. The house looked like House Beautiful, North Pole Edition. Tasteful, thankfully, but every surface, including the cherub on the fountain, had some holiday cheer. As I exited the car, my niece and two nephews came bounding off the front porch, yelling Merry Christmas, Aunt Liza. They herded me inside.

The house smelled like Christmas, cinnamon, and nutmeg mixed with pine. A plate of orange pomanders sat on the entry hall table. The spicy smell enveloped me like a warm sweater. The kids pulled me to the back of the house where my parents, grandparents, brother Thomas, and his wife were. A chorus of hellos, hugs, a mug of spiced cider, and a cookie greeted me.

My father rose, a solemn expression on his face. “Liza, Thomas, we decided not to go to New York this year because we wanted the family together for one last holiday in this house. We’ve never told you. but the firm hasn’t done well and…” He paused. “The bank is foreclosing in January. We are losing the house and the firm.”

Thomas and I were shocked and had thousands of questions, but our father shook his head. “We will not talk about this. We are going to enjoy the holidays.”

It was as if a switch had been thrown, and we were in party mode. Early afternoon found us traveling to the Christmas tree lot I passed coming in. The kids were sticking with me, and as we wandered through the maze of trees, a boy of about five came running around a bend and knocked me over. A man followed him.

“Are you okay?”

I looked into the most gorgeous crystal green eyes I had ever seen. I sucked in a breath. “Yes, I’m fine.” He helped me up and, for some reason, held onto my arm. I didn’t mind.

“Sorry, that’s Elijah, my son. I’m Tanner. I didn’t have anyone to look after him today, so I had to bring him to the lot. He’s energetic.”

Out of the blue, I asked, “Your wife works?”

“No. She died when Eli was two.”

Okay, I admit to being enamored and reluctant to leave the lot. Taking the new tree home, I couldn’t get him out of my head. Another one of those Hallmark moments. What was happening to me?

The rest of the afternoon was spent decorating the tree and wrapping presents. After a delicious dinner, we headed downtown for the parade.

It would seem like an exaggeration to say that the evening was magical. The floats were magnificent. The bands sounded incredible. As we arrived, I spotted Tanner and Eli and asked them to join us. When the parade ended, we walked around town, enjoying the sights. It was so magical that I imagined I saw Santa’s sleigh. But it was coming right at me, Rudolph’s red nose so bright I was blinded.

Then everything went dark.

***

“She’s awake.”

I heard my mother’s voice, and my eyelids fluttered as I struggled to open my eyes. My vision was a tad blurry, but I saw my mother.

“Mom, what happened?”

“Oh, honey, you were driving in from the airport, and a truck crossed the line and hit you. You’ve been unconscious for two days. It’s December 23rd.”

“No, I was here. Dad told us that you were losing the house and firm. Everything was so festive… there was this man at a Christmas tree stand.”

My mom smiled. “None of that happened, and we aren’t losing the house. You were dreaming.” The door opened. “Oh, here’s the doctor.”

The doctor stood next to the bed. “Hello, Doctor Tanner Mason, you gave us a scare.”

He had the most beautiful green eyes, and I had seen them before. I glanced at his left hand—no ring. Dreaming about Hallmark movies is a good thing.

Actual story word count: 887