Ghost Who Came for Christmas

by McIntyre, Anna J

  Chris and Ian helped Danielle bring the gifts inside, and set them under the Christmas tree. There were twelve packages in all—each one wrapped in festive Christmas paper and adorned with silk bows and silver bells. Half of the packages were addressed to Jessica and half to Patricia.

  Patricia stood by the fireplace, her right hand wiping away any escaping tears. “I’ve never won anything before.”

  “I think it’s all very exciting!” Anna exclaimed. “I can’t wait until the morning, to see what you and Jessica got!”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Max hated storms. Lightening streaking across the window and lighting up the night sky terrified him. Fortunately, he had discovered a comfy dark retreat, sheltering him from night terrors. Peeking his head out of the suitcase, he looked around. It was morning.

  Climbing out of the bag, he stretched out on the bed and yawned. He wondered if the rat was still in the room. Outside, the rain continued to fall.

  The scene reminded Danielle of one from her childhood. No one had bothered to get dressed yet, aside from putting on their robes and slippers. Ian and Kelly were still across the street, yet Danielle did not expect them to be over until later in the morning. Everyone but Jessica had stopped by the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee to take to the living room with them.

  Danielle entered the living room carrying a tray laden with cinnamon rolls, slices of pumpkin bread, and banana muffins. She set the tray on the coffee table in front of the sofa, where Anna and Patricia sat. They watched Jessica excitedly opening her stocking gifts from her place on the floor by the Christmas tree.

  Lily sat on the floor next to Jessica, enjoying watching the young girl’s excitement. In the chairs across from the sofa, Chris and Richard leisurely enjoyed their morning coffee.

  “Those look good,” Chris noted after Danielle set the tray down.

  “Help yourself.” A clap of thunder rang out. Danielle glanced to the window. “I guess I should be grateful the storm started after everyone went home last night.”

  “It is one hell of a storm out there.” Chris stood up briefly and snatched a cinnamon roll off the tray and then sat back down on the chair. “I sure wouldn’t want to be out in it.”

  Instead of finding a place to sit, Danielle picked up the Christmas stockings lined up along the wall. They were no longer hanging empty on the mantle, but sitting on the floor, each one stuffed to its brim. She began picking up the stockings, and handing them to whosever name was embroidered on the particular stocking.

  “What’s this?” Richard asked when Danielle handed him one.

  Danielle shrugged. “Ask Santa. He must have shown up last night in spite of the storm.”

  “You filled our stockings?” Anna asked when Danielle handed her one.

  “Don’t be silly.” Danielle glanced over at Jessica who was too busy opening her stocking gifts to pay attention to what the adults were saying. “It had to have been Santa.”

  “Oh…of course.” Anna blushed.

  “If you see Santa,” Patricia said when Danielle handed her a stocking. “Please let him know how much we appreciate all he’s done.”

  “I will.” Danielle grinned.

  Danielle wasn’t surprised to discover her stocking had also been filled. She glanced over at Lily who flashed her a smile

  “Lily,” Danielle said, lifting her stocking, “If you see Santa before I do, tell him thanks. It was really sweet of him.”

  “From what I heard, it was a tough call for Santa. You almost got coal,” Lily teased.

  “He probably heard about all the times you were arrested this past summer,” Walt said when he appeared a moment later.

  Unwrapping one of her small packages from the stocking, Danielle grinned over at Walt.

  “Merry Christmas, Danielle. You’ve really outdone yourself,” Walt told her. “You’ve created a beautiful Christmas for everyone.”

  Instead of opening the gifts from the stocking on his lap, Chris glanced over to the remaining stockings lined up along the wall. “Is there something in the stocking for Walt Marlow?”

  Walt looked to his stocking. “You got me something?”

  Not waiting for Danielle’s reply, Chris set his stocking on the floor by his feet and stood up.

  “Oh it’s nothing…umm…more a private joke between me and Lily,” Danielle lied.

  “Can I look? After all Walt isn’t here to open it.” Chris picked up the stocking off the floor.

  “Yeah, please do,” Lily called out. “I’m kinda curious myself.”

  Chris dipped his hand in the stocking and pulled out a wrapped gift. He was about to open it when he looked over at Walt, and noted the serious expression on his face. Don’t be a jerk Chris, this gift is not about you, Chris told himself. He returned the small wrapped package to the stocking.

  “What’s in it?” Walt asked. “Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I got a Christmas gift?”

  Setting Walt’s stocking back on the ground, Chris glanced over to Walt, who for a moment—reminded him of Jessica. Not Jessica exactly, just her excitement over the unexpected gifts.

  “Have him open it,” Walt told Danielle.

  “Open it Chris. Let’s pretend Walt’s here,” Danielle said.

  “That would be kind of scary,” Richard teased.

  Chris nodded and then picked up the stocking and removed the gift. After setting the stocking back on the floor, he carefully unwrapped the package. Inside he found a book. It was obviously old, yet in pristine condition.

  “Is this a first edition?” Chris opened the book. “It’s signed.”

  “I thought it would be nice in the library,” Danielle said quickly.

  Walt smiled. “Thank you, Danielle. I love it.”

  “Can I see?” Richard asked. A moment later, Chris handed him the book.

  Reverently, Richard turned the pages. He came to the middle of the book and frowned. “What’s this?” He pulled out a slip of paper stuck between two of the book’s pages. “It looks like a handwritten…gift certificate?” He looked up at Danielle, a puzzled expression on his face. “You also got Walt Marlow a subscription to Netflix?”

  The rat showed himself, but then thunder rattled the attic and Max decided the rodent could wait. Jumping down off the bed, Max strolled out of the room and headed downstairs.

  When he reached the living room there were boxes everywhere, strewn across the floor. Jessica was holding up clothes for the others to see and everyone was talking. He didn’t see Sadie—or Ian—so he figured they were still across the street.

  Just as Max was about to investigate the empty boxes, Danielle scooped him up and kissed his head. “Max! I wondered where you were!” He started to purr, and she set him back on the floor in front of a Christmas stocking.

  “Merry Christmas Max. This is for you.” Danielle slipped her hand inside the stocking and then Max heard something squeak. His ears twitched. She pulled opened the top of the stocking for him to look inside. There was something green and purple sticking out. It looked interesting. He pressed his nose inside and began to investigate.

  Everyone had finally gotten dressed. They had opened all the gifts, eaten breakfast, and picked up all the empty boxes, wrapping paper, and ribbon. Lily and Ian had gone for a ride with Kelly, to show her around town. It had stopped storming, but by the clouds in the sky, it looked like there would be more rain before the day ended.

  In the kitchen, Jessica sat at the table painting, using a paint by number set she had received for Christmas. The gift was from Richard. He had purchased it at the craft store when no one was looking.

  In the living room, Danielle sat with her other guests, while flames flickered in the nearby stone fireplace.

  “I couldn’t say it with Jessica here, but thank you for the stocking, Danielle,” Richard told her. He reached down and petted Sadie, who slept by his feet. “And everyone, I really didn’t expect gifts. It’s been a few years since I’ve exchanged gifts wi
th anyone…and well…frankly… Christmas was never much with my parents. Oh, I got presents, don’t get me wrong. But, it’s been a long time since I ever felt…well, the Christmas spirit. Thank you.”

  “Yes, thank you,” Chris agreed. “I had some great Christmases with my parents. Since they’ve been gone, well, basically it’s just been another day. This has been nice.”

  “I agree.” Anna nodded. “Thank you for the stocking gifts, Danielle. A very generous Santa.”

  Danielle blushed. “It was fun to do.”

  “You all don’t know how grateful I am, for this Christmas. After I lost my job, I thought this was going to be the worse Christmas of my life. Jessica has had such a good time here. You’ve all been so nice to her,” Patricia told them.

  “She’s a good kid,” Richard said. “And that’s pretty amazing, how you won the holiday here, not to mention some pretty nice gifts.”

  “You know, I’m really grateful for those gifts—the clothes, gift cards, and the computer. We didn’t have a computer, and Jessica was growing out of her clothes. And I will certainly put all those gift cards to good use, especially the ones for the grocery store! But in all honesty, if the prize was just for the trip, I’d still be thrilled. At first, I wasn’t going to come. I needed to find a new place to live. But I couldn’t afford to pass up the gifts. Yet, now…well, it’s been a wonderful Christmas. The gifts were frosting on the cake, but frankly, it’s the cake not the frosting that means the most to me.”

  “If you ever find out who sponsors Benevolent Charities, I’d love to know.” Danielle said.

  Patricia nodded.

  “Patricia, you mentioned you don’t have any family,” Chris said.

  “No. It’s just me and Jessica. My husband and I were both in foster care—that’s were we met. Neither of us had family.”

  “No brothers—sisters?” Chris asked.

  Patricia didn’t respond immediately. Instead, she looked over at the Christmas tree. Finally, she said, “I have a brother. Somewhere.”

  “What do you mean somewhere?” Chris asked.

  “I had a younger brother. He was six when Mom died. They didn’t keep us together.”

  “That’s terrible. Have you ever tried to find him?” Richard asked.

  “Yes, a number of years ago. I learned he was adopted, the records sealed. I really didn’t have the resources to look for him. And if I found him, would he even remember me?”

  “What do you remember about him?” Chris asked.

  Patricia smiled softly. “I remember he was a sweet boy. Shy. It was hard on him when our father died. He might have been young at the time, but those two were so close. And when Mom died—he was devastated. Refused to talk.”

  “Did they try to keep you together?” Danielle asked.

  Patricia shook her head. “No. I was pretty angry at the time—acting out. Defiant. I was furious when they separated us. You see, after our father died, Mom had to get a job. After school, we stayed at a neighbor’s, but my brother had never come out of his shell after losing Dad. So, he clung to me. I was really the only one he would talk to, other than Mom.” Tears filled Patricia’s eyes. “Technically, the neighbor was his afterschool babysitter, but I was the one who took care of him.”

  “Why didn’t they keep you together?” Danielle asked. “I don’t understand why they would separate siblings like that.”

  Patricia wiped away her tears. “I always figured it was my fault. I overheard one of the case workers saying something about how I would never get adopted out because of my age and my attitude, and that my brother’s only chance of finding a real family was to get away from me so they could help him. I guess they figured, I was my brother’s problem—not the fact he had lost both his parents in a relatively short time.”

  “It wasn’t your fault!” Anna fumed. “Those idiot case workers! You were a good loving sister who was just a child and needed help.”

  “I agree with Anna,” Richard said.

  “What was your brother’s name?” Danielle asked.

  “Robert James, but we called him Bobby.” Patricia glanced back to the Christmas tree. “And yesterday was his birthday. Mom called him her Christmas baby.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The flashes of lightning outside the bedroom window did not wake Danielle, but the rumble of thunder that followed did. Sitting up in her bed she sleepily rubbed her eyes and looked toward the window. She saw Walt, lounging leisurely on her sofa.

  Yawning she asked, “How long have you been there?”

  An unlit cigar appeared in Walt’s right hand. He fidgeted with it a moment before it disappeared. “Not long.”

  Danielle yawned again and stretched, making no effort to get out of bed. Just as she turned to look at the time on the alarm clock, its radio started blaring jazz music.

  “Good grief!” Danielle leaned over and slammed her hand against the off button. “Jazz music first thing in the morning is not happening! Who turned my channel?” When she glanced at Walt, she had her answer. “I knew it was a bad idea to put my old clock radio on the nightstand!”

  Walt shrugged. “Joanne got here a few minutes ago.”

  Danielle leaned back on her pillows. “She’s probably starting breakfast. I guess I should get up.”

  “I think you cooked enough yesterday. Why don’t you rest and let her take care of it?”

  “If you thought I should sleep in why did you have my alarm clock blaring jazz this early?”

  “Sorry. I didn’t realize I had actually set the alarm.”

  Another clap of thunder shook the room. Both Danielle and Walt looked briefly to the window.

  “Has it been storming all night?” Danielle asked.

  “Yes. I don’t remember the last time we had a storm quite like this.”

  “Where did you spend last night?”

  “In the parlor, since you’ve taken away my attic.”

  “I’m sorry Walt. I just felt sorry for Anna, and she’s turned out to be a nice person—not some crazy lady like you thought when she first showed up.”

  “I know.” Walt gave Danielle a smile. “You were right, it is Christmas. People shouldn’t be alone at Christmas.”

  “Well, technically, it’s the day after Christmas.” Danielle grinned.

  “No, Christmas doesn’t officially end until January 5,” Walt reminded.

  “True…the Twelve Days of Christmas.”

  “I wanted to thank you again for the Christmas gifts. The book’s extraordinary and I enjoyed the other gift too.”

  “Enjoyed, does that mean you’ve been watching Netflix?”

  “Yes, I spent most of the evening watching television.”

  “I just hope none of the guests heard you.”

  Walt shook his head, “No. I had Max stand guard in the hallway. If anyone had started down the stairs or had Chris opened his bedroom door, Max would let me know.”

  “Lucky someone didn’t trip on Max in the hall.”

  “No one came downstairs, and Chris only came out of the room once during the night.”

  “Did he come into the parlor? See the television on?”

  “No.” Walt shook his head. “I assume he went into the kitchen to get something to drink, he didn’t walk in the direction of the parlor.”

  “That’s good.” Danielle let out a sigh and then said, “I think Marlow House’s first B and B Christmas holiday has gone well so far, don’t you?” Danielle asked.

  “Extremely well. Your guests certainly seem to be enjoying themselves.”

  “Yes. But, I thought that was so sad when Patricia told us last night about her brother.”

  “Do you think Richard is right, she might be able to use Facebook to find him?”

  “It’s a shot. I know other people have found missing family members and friends by making posts to share. Now that she has a computer, she’ll be able to search, if that’s what she wants to do.”

  “You don’t think she want
s to find him?” Walt asked.

  “Not that exactly. I just sort of got the feeling she’s accepted the fact he’s gone from her life…oh, and another thing…has nothing to do with Patricia’s brother but I just thought of it when you mentioned Richard…remember how Morris was quizzing me about Anna and Richard?”

  “He was also asking Richard about Anna,” Walt reminded.

  “Maybe Morris was on to something.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Last night, when I got up to use the bathroom, I thought I heard something so I looked out my bedroom door, and guess who I saw coming down the stairs from the attic?”

  “Richard?”

  Danielle nodded.

  “What time was that?”

  “I don’t know, it was late. I didn’t think to check the time. It was after everyone went to bed.”

  “Hmm…interesting.”

  Danielle tossed her blanket and top sheet to the side. “I guess I better get up and see if Joanne needs any help getting breakfast on.”

  In the kitchen twenty minutes later, Danielle found Joanne shredding potatoes for hash browns.

  “Good morning,” Danielle cheerfully greeted as she poured herself a cup of coffee. “Did you have a nice Christmas?”

  “Yes, I did. And thank you for the gift. I love it. It was very sweet of you.”

  “I just appreciate all you do around here.” Danielle sipped her coffee and took a seat at the kitchen table.

  Joanne glanced around the room. “I have to say, I’m impressed with how everything looks this morning. I would’ve never have guessed you prepared a Christmas dinner in here last night. I thought you were going to leave me the dishes to clean up this morning.”

  “When Lily and I started to clear away the dishes, everyone just pitched in. It felt a little like I was back home, when everyone would help clean up.”

  “Even the men?” Joanne chuckled. “In our family they fall asleep on the floor or couch after Christmas dinner and the women end up in the kitchen for the rest of the evening. Of course, I don’t really mind that. Gives us all a time to visit without the men underfoot.”