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Print Edition ISBN 097266260X
This is a work of fiction. The names and the characters are all fictional. Any resemblance to living or dead individuals is purely coincidental.
Occasionally, just occasionally, something wonderful happens to someone who doesn't deserve it. In my case, there were four somethings: All my love and thanks to Joan, my wife, and to my three children, Kayla, Brandon and Zachary, whom I have had the pleasure to watch become the amazing young people that they are. A prouder and more thankful husband and dad does not likely exist.
The
Santa Shop
A NOVEL OF HOPE
TIM GREATON
Focus House Publishing
Wilton, ME
Chapter One
A Holiday of Peace
"Why are you dressed like that?" Karen asked. "It's Christmas not Halloween, you know."
I smiled at her petite reflection in the large oval dressing mirror. She was barely a step behind me. I finished buttoning the black robe that I had pulled over my normal jeans and flannel shirt. "Saint Nick's in the heart, not the clothes." I turned and drew her to me. "Do you know how much I love you?"
"Yes, but tell me again."
"A whole lot," I said as I gently brushed a lock of brown hair from her forehead and kissed her lips—lips just as sweet and soft as they had been that first time. It was hard to believe that a year and a half had already passed.
When we finally parted, I surveyed the bedroom. The deed to the house and the toyshop were both lying neatly on top of the dresser. Both Karen and I had properly signed and laid them out for David to find when he began moving in the next day. He'd be surprised at the Christmas gift. Though he was expecting to move in, he didn't know we were giving him both the house and the shop.
Five suitcases were lined neatly alongside the recently-made bed. Other than the two, medium-sized boxes in the living room, four of those suitcases represented everything we were taking with us. Karen had already removed our pictures from the wall. I knew she would have taken special care to pack the photos of Tabitha and Derek safely. Both she and I had been vacuuming and cleaning all day and the place looked easily as good as the day we had taken it over.
I glanced outside. The sky was dark and the street lights of the little Vermont town were shining through our windows. This Christmas Eve other families were likely huddled around their holiday meals, while we, however, were on our way to begin a new life. We were going to miss this wonderful place.
The melody of Jingle Bells drifted in from the living room. For weeks now, Karen had been playing Christmas music and even in these, our last few hours in this house, she was appreciating the magic of the season.
"I should be going," I told her.
"I know," she said. "I'll finish things up around here."
"Shouldn't I put the luggage in the car?"
"What, and waste these bulging muscles?" She did an imitation of a body builder's pose.
"I can handle it. Just do what you need to do. I'll pick you up the way we planned."
"You're the most incredible woman."
"And you are the luckiest man."
"Such modesty," I said, grinning.
"I love you, too. Now go. The sooner you get done, the sooner we can be together. I don't intend to spend my whole Christmas Eve alone."
I kissed her again, grabbed the smallest suit- case from the bed and let her lead me into the living room. I dared one more kiss then stepped out into the cold December night.
Tiny flakes of snow drifted lazily downward around me. Though I had shoveled our walk earlier, my feet crunched in the light coating that had fallen since. As I reached the sidewalk, I was overcome with the beauty of the place. Quaint little houses lined the three streets that made up the entire town. Simple candles and strings of colorful Christmas lights adorn nearly every home. The aroma of burning wood filled the air. The snowfall of the last couple of days was just in time to complete the traditional Christmas picture. The town was like a scene from a snow globe and could easily have been the model for the first.
I turned onto the sidewalk and strolled west toward River Road. I felt a sense of peace and completeness as I continued on to the end of town. My head was filled with happy thoughts and a deep thankfulness. It was hard to believe that just two years earlier my life had been about to end...