A Christmas Wish

Life seems a mess for Lou, but when Christmas rolls around, her one Christmas wish comes true.

 

                Ever since I was fourteen, Christmas was never a good time for me. With Christmas came the carols, snow, good cheer, and the memory of when my mother died. Of course, ten years later I have been able to move on, but still, it’s hard to forget what happened to her whenever the 25^th of December rolls around.

                “Hey Lou,” shouted my co-worker Evan as he came up to my desk, startling me from my thoughts. “These Christmas wish-list things are going around the office. Here’s one for you!” He slapped a red and green sheet down on my desk and smiled as he turned to leave.

                “Hey, thanks!” I shouted after him. I chuckled and turned back to look at the paper. “What is your Christmas wish this year?”  The title read in cheery, block letters. I took a moment to think about the question. For one thing, I wished for my mom back. After she died, my father grew distant and since that day, I have always felt alone and without anyone to talk to. Of course, at work I had great friends and I had many other family members that were there for me, but I just didn’t feel that they could really, truly understand my pain – the pain I felt due to losing both parents at once; one physically and the other emotionally.

                As I looked at the question again, I pulled out my pen and scribbled down the word Love. This Christmas, I wished for love. I scrawled my name at the top of the sheet, laughed at my outrageous answer and then shoved the piece of paper into my purse. I shook my head at my sudden absurd mood and went back to my paperwork.

 

                It must’ve been below freezing when I left the building around 8:00. I pulled my coat collar up and shoved my hands into my pockets, inwardly cursing myself for forgetting my gloves. I hurried over to my small car and numbly tried searching through my purse for my keys. The parking lot was dark and quiet, except for the wind. As I rummaged around for my keys, I heard footsteps and I dropped my purse as I turned around to see who was coming. No one was there, so I grabbed my purse, found my keys, and just about jumped into my car. I knew I was just scaring myself as I hurriedly left the parking lot, but after all the horror movies I had seen, I did not want to take my chances. I breathed a sigh of relief as I drove off down the road, leaving the creepy parking lot behind.

 

                Regret – my life seems to revolve around it. I regret scrawling my name on top of that wish list, I regret being silly and writing that I wanted love for Christmas, and I regret losing the stupid list altogether! What a typical situation – losing that paper when I dropped my purse in the parking lot. Now someone at work is going to find it and I will never hear the end of it.

                As I left the coffee shop and headed towards the office, I dreaded what would happen. Would people say anything? How did I know that my list was even found? I pulled into the parking spot that I had been in the previous night, but as I stepped out of the car there was no piece of paper in sight. Either the wind had blown it away or someone had found it. I truly hoped the latter was untrue.

 

                Luckily, I made it to my desk unscathed. No one looked at me funny or made any remarks. But, as I set my purse and keys down on my desk, I saw my list folded on my desk. Hesitantly, I opened it and saw a little note inside which read, “It seems we have one thing in common. How about dinner tonight at 7:30 at Pierre’s”?

                I contained a gasp as I re-read the note again to be sure that it was true. There was no way that I was going to meet a complete stranger at a restaurant. Although, what if he wasn’t a stranger, considering the fact that he had to have access to this building and knew where my desk was.

                The rest of the day went by slowly as I thought about numerous things all having to do with my date tonight with the ‘mystery guy’. Things like what would I wear, what if he is someone I don’t like, and other questions were floating around in my mind. Finally, at around 5:00, I was able to leave work and I headed home with the intention of going to the restaurant.

 

                Later that night, I drove to Pierre’s Restaurant and as I was parking, I realized I had no idea how to identify this guy. I walked tentatively into the restaurant, clutching my purse and looking around trying to see if I recognized anyone from work.

                “Hey miss, can I seat you?” asked the host.

                “Actually, I’m just looking for somebody, one minute please.” I said as I continued to scan the room. Then my heart dropped as I saw Evan sitting across the room. Then I saw that he was sitting with a woman that I didn’t recognize, so I figured he was not the one.

                “I guess I’d just like a table please,” I said, assuming that he wasn’t here yet.

                “For how many?” he asked as he reached for the menus.

                “Two please,” I said.

                “Right this way please,” he said, leading the way to a small booth.

                I sat down and scanned the room again, looking for anyone I thought looked familiar. Ten minutes passed and still no one came to meet me. I was beginning to think that I had been stood up when all of a sudden a man whom I had never seen before came up to my table.

                “Lou?” he asked curiously.

                “Yes… Who are you?” I asked, eyeing the man strangely. “I’ve never seen you at the office before.”

                The man sat across from me and chuckled. “My name is Charles White,” he said, waiting for my reaction.

                I stared at him wide-eyed. “Charles White? As in the owner of the company?”

                “Yes, that would be me,” he said, chuckling again. “Why do you look so surprised? Did you expect the owner of the company to be older?”

                “Well, I mean I suppose so, but that wasn’t exactly the surprising part. What I don’t understand is you’ve got a huge, successful company and here I am just a lowly office worker. I guess what I’m really saying is, why me?”

                “Perhaps it was fate that led me to finding your note. I do not think it matters what our occupation is in life when it comes to love. All I know is that you and I have the same Christmas wish, and so when I saw the opportunity, I seized it, and here we are. So, tell me about yourself.”

               

And that was how the night went on. We talked the whole night and didn’t leave the restaurant until closing time. We had a lot in common and what I liked about him most was that he knew how to listen. Whenever I spoke, his eyes would hold mine and he always had something comforting to say. It was as though he spoke directly to my heart, and then it hit me. Perhaps this was fate, or something more. But, whatever brought us together had granted both of our Christmas wishes, and perhaps now, whenever the 25^th of December rolls around, I will be able to say “I miss you, mother” along with “I love you Charles”.

 

The End

Reviews

[Samuel Dickens]

A heartwarming story with a happy ending. I thoroughly enjoyed this, CassieLynne. Really--I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true. The sadness I always feel on the anniversery of mother's death, remembering being lonely and alone at the holidays and more--there is a lot here that I can relate to. You're a very good writer, too. I give you an "A".

[nostal]

Ah, i love the ending. Really sweet and immensely beliavable. Also, nicely written with sharp elegance. A protagonist sop life like and real i feel she could just walk right out of the computer and be standing next to me.
Great Job.

[Samantha Guerin]

Aw Cass, this is heart-warming :)