This week's prompts: "I saw Daddy kissing Santa Claus! or "Bah, humbug! Just call me Scrooge!" or "when did you become so mean?" or "a fire smoldered in his eyes" or use egg nog in your story, with or without alcohol or "Did I hear a reindeer on the roof?" or "My boss is so cheap...." or use: front door fox or have a character make hot chocolate with marshmallows or "Did I hear a waltz?" or use a poltergeist in your story or "To every day, there is a season" or mention the three kings or the three wise men or "Merry Christmas!" or make a Christmas Carol reference or "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings" or have your characters barbecue or make a Duck Dynasty reference or use swimming in some way or "he's a regular Jekyll and Hyde!" or "the power of love."
I want to wish you all a very happy holiday. Tom and Ben sure are having a great holiday.
“We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.” It was Christmas Eve, and Ben heard music coming from his front walk.
Ben stood at the open doorway, listening to the carolers who stood in the snow outside his door. Normally he enjoyed the holiday music; there really wasn’t any holiday music for Chanukah, unless the dreidel song counted. Ben was happy to hear the joyful music, but he was feeling lonely. He was off today, but his beloved husband was on duty, saving lives. Emergency service workers, like firemen, didn’t get holidays off. People didn’t stop getting into trouble just because it was Christmas; if anything, they got into even more trouble. How many house fires would be happening this time of year all because someone was careless with a lit candle or left something on the stove and walked out of the room for just a moment?
“Meow.” Love sat beside Ben and listened to the carolers. Normally he’d sneak outside and go exploring, but he didn’t like his paws getting wet in the cold snow, so he was content to just sit and listen.
“Don’t leave yet, guys, I have something for you.” Ben had some cups of hot apple cider and some sugar cookies he’d baked earlier today. The four women and two men came over and took the offered holiday goodies from the tray he held out.
“Thank you, Ben.” Shirley Chandler, a neighbor who lived a few doors down, was a member of the church choir and joined the carolers each year. “Is Tom working?” she asked.
“Yes.” Ben sighed. He put the tray down on a table just inside the front door and picked up Love. Petting the cat helped comfort him and kept him less lonely.
“We’ll be done caroling soon, how about I give you a call and you can come over and join us for some eggnog and snacks?” Shirley was a mensch, and an upstanding human being; she’d often bring over goodies to him and Tom during the year. She loved to cook and bake. She taught cooking at the Pennsylvania School of Culinary Arts in Lancaster.
“Thanks, Shirley, but I don’t know if my waistline can take much more of all the goodies you graciously give us.”
“Oh please. I ask you, gang, do you think Ben needs less food?” she asked the group.
“I wish I had your problem.” Ruth Jennings, who owned the flower shop in town, spoke up. She wasn’t obese, but she was one of those full-figured women. She was happy with herself, as she should be.
“Thanks, guys. I’ll let you know if I’m up to it. I’m waiting for Tom to call me, if we can’t be together in person, at least we can talk on the phone.”
“Well, we better finish up our caroling. Thanks for the hot cider and cookies, they were great, Ben. Couldn’t have done better myself,” Shirley told him.
“Coming from you that is a big compliment.” Ben replied. He closed the door after they left and put Love down on the couch in front of the roaring fire. Ben took a mug of hot cider and joined the cat. He must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew, he heard the Grandfather clock chiming.
Ben looked at his cell phone sitting on the coffee table; there were no missed calls listed. Love was curled up asleep beside him. Ben heard a noise coming from the roof. Was it those darn squirrels that made their way into their attic? He and Tom had called in someone to fix the problem so the noise shouldn’t be them.
“Do I hear reindeer on the roof?” Ben asked, laughing at himself for getting so wrapped up in Santa and the holiday he thought anything was possible. Well, how could he not, after he’d watched “Miracle on 34th Street” earlier today. If there ever was a man who personified Santa, it was Edmund Gwynn. Ben believed he was Santa, just like the post office did. He laughed; he heard the noise again, only this time it sounded like it was coming from their front door.
Ben snatched his phone and walked slowly towards the hallway. He was ready to call 911 at a moment’s notice. He took a baseball bat with him, ready to smash the intruder in the face. ”Maybe it was Santa,“Ben said to himself. Yeah, well, Santa came down the chimney, but he couldn’t come down theirs, not unless he wanted to roast on the fire. He wondered what Santa did in that case, if there was a fire going in the chimney. A loud bang interrupted his musings and Ben had enough of playing guessing games. Hejerked the front door open only to find himself flat on his back on the floor, another man on top of him.
“I am dialing 911 if you don’t get off me right now!”
“Ben?”
“Tom? What are you doing here, I thought you had to work.” Ben looked his man in the face; he noticed the packages his man was trying to juggle in his arms. Obviously he’d been struggling to enter the house when Ben opened the door. Both men lost their balance and that was how they ended up on the floor.
“I got off work early and made a beeline home to surprise you. I was hoping you’d be asleep.”
“Well, you sure did surprise me.” Ben got up off the floor and helped Tom up.
“I mean I wanted to surprise you with these too. Get them under the tree.”
“How about if I go to our bedroom and let you plays Santa?”
They said their proper hellos sometime later and went to sleep. The next day Santa had indeed been very good to both of them.
Happy Holidays everyone.
A bit of Christmas cheer for the two of them :-)
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