Carol's Christmas

She swung her feet out of the bed and stopped to collect her thoughts. Then she saw a light form at the foot of her bed. She turned and saw -- her parents. Or rather, ghostly images that looked like her parents did when she was much younger.

"Momma? Daddy?" she asked. "Is that really you?"

"Yes, pumpkin, it is," her father said, using the nickname he used when she was little.

"How can that be?" Carol asked. "You're dead. How do I know you're not just a dream or the result of a piece of under-cooked meat or something?" Her mother laughed.

"No, sweetheart, it's really us," she told Carol. "And yes, our bodies are dead. But that which makes us what we are -- call it our souls or our spirits -- live on."

"It's... complicated," her father said. "One day, when you come to join us, you'll understand."

"Why are you here?" Carol asked. "What do you want with me?"

"We want you to be happy," her mother said. "And we're here to help keep you from making the same mistake I did so long ago."

"Mistake? What mistake?" Carol asked, confused. The image of her mother looked at the ghostly man next to her before turning back to Carol.

"My mistake," her mother said. "The one that cost your dear father his life. The same mistake you're about to make with Jake Callahan."

"Jake?" Carol asked, surprised that her dead parents would know about that.

"We're dead, sweetheart. We're not stupid," her father said with a smile.

"That's right," her mother said. "At least be honest with yourself. You want his attention. That's why you're leading him on."

"I'm doing no such thing," Carol said. "That's not a fair statement."

"I beg to differ with you, Carol. Tell me something. Do you remember how old you were when your father's plane went down?" her mother asked.

"About nine," Carol said.

"The same age little Timmy is now," her mother said. Carol reeled from that. Oh my God, she thought. That's right.

"Do you remember where you were that Christmas?" her mother asked.

"With Grandma and Grandpa," Carol said.

"Again, that's right. Did you wonder where I was at the time?"

"I wondered, but all Grandma said is that you were busy with people from your work," Carol said.

"Actually, it was just one person from my work," her mother said. "A... man."

"You mean, you cheated on Dad?" Carol asked, shocked. Her mother slowly nodded her head.

"Yes," she said. "Your Grandmother called your father and said he should get home as quickly as possible. He got on the first plane he could and rushed back to be with us. Only... he never made it."

"Oh. My. God," Carol said quietly, the realization of it hitting her.

"You see, like you, I was angry with your father for being gone all the time. I never stopped to think that he worked so hard so that we wouldn't have to. He worked to put a roof over our heads, food in our mouths and clothes on our backs. But I was too selfish and self-centered to care," her mother's ghostly image said. "I wanted what I wanted and that was all that really mattered to me."

"Sound familiar?" her father's image asked, reminding her of the way he spoke to her when he corrected her for something she had done wrong.

"Oh, God. Yes, it does," Carol said quietly. "And you forgave her for what she did?"

"Where we are, there is no anger, no need for vengeance or retribution," he said. "She was forgiven, and that's all that matters. So, yes, I forgave her."

"And this is... what, exactly? Some kind of intervention?" Carol asked.

"You could call it that," her mother said.

"Well, you certainly got my attention," Carol said. "I promise, it'll never happen to me. I love my husband and my little boy."

"I'm sure you do, Carol," her father said. "But that's not the only issue you have, is it?"

"I... suppose not," Carol said. "So, what happens now?"

"You will be visited by three beings," her mother said.

"Don't tell me, let me guess. The ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, right?" Both of the ghostly images chuckled at that.

"No, pumpkin, this isn't a Charles Dickens story," her father said. "Although the principle is somewhat similar."

"The first being will visit at 2:00 am. The second at 3:00 and the third at 4:00 am. They will show you different things to help you understand that your actions have long-lasting consequences," her mother said.

"Why? Why are you going through all this for me?" Carol asked.

"Well, you asked for justice," her father said. "Obviously, we cannot be brought back from the dead. But perhaps, we can help you avoid the mistakes we made. Not only for your sake, but for Raymond and little Timmy."

"Timmy?" Carol asked.

"Of course," her mother said. "Everything you do affects him as well."

"I... never thought of that," Carol said.

"Our time here is nearly up, Carol," her father said. "We have to return, but remember that we're always watching over you."

"Can I... have a hug? Please? I've missed you both so much," Carol pleaded.

"We've missed you too, dear," her mother said. "And we'd love to give you a big hug. But unfortunately, we cannot come in contact with each other. Just know that we love you, and we always will, no matter what."

"I love you," Carol said, tears in her eyes.

"And we love you, too, pumpkin," her father said with a smile. And with that, they disappeared back into the darkness. Carol reached out to the empty space where they had appeared, but felt nothing. Shaken, she got back under the covers and looked at the clock -- 1:00 am. Surely this was just a dream, she thought. But if it wasn't, she had just one hour before her first visitor arrived, so she closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

...

"WAKEY WAKEY!" Carol jumped at the sound of the voice that rousted her from her slumber. Sitting up in bed, she rubbed her eyes to see who had the audacity to wake her up. She looked at the clock in her room and saw it was 2:00 am. Oh, crap, she thought. She looked and saw a man in her room with eyes that seemed to glow. Something about him seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.

"Up and at 'em," the man shouted. "Rise and shine. We got places to go and people to see."

"Who the hell are you?" she asked.

"Well, I'm certainly NOT the ghost of Christmas past, if that's what you're thinking," the man said. "My friends call me Cam, so I guess you can too. C'mon, let's get a move on."

"Can I at least go to the bathroom?" she asked.

"Well, if you must, but make it quick," he said. "Hurry up now! Jeez, what is it with you women, always having to go to the bathroom, anyway?" he sarcastically asked as Carol closed the bathroom door. A few minutes later, she came out and looked at him. Then she remembered where she had seen him before.

"I know you," she said. "You're the guy who handed me my keys in the hotel lobby."

"Right you are," he said with a smile. "Now, grab hold of my arm and hang on tight. It's time to take a little trip down memory lane." He looked like he was typing something on an invisible keyboard and suddenly, the two of them were in what looked like the living room of a small house.

A man and a woman sat on a couch, watching a young girl play a song on an old upright piano. Next to the girl sat a small dark cat. When she finished, the man and the woman clapped their hands and the man gave the girl a hug.

"That sounded so good, pumpkin," the man said. "You're really good at this."

"Thank you, daddy," the girl said, her smile lighting up her entire face. Carol wiped a tear from her eye as she watched.

"You remember this?" Cam asked. Carol nodded her head.

"Yes. I was maybe eight years old. I wanted to take piano lessons, so my parents bought an old upright piano from a church that had just bought a new one. I took lessons for a little more than a year. I used to love playing for my daddy," she said. "I know I sounded horrible, but to hear him talk, it was like listening to Liberace or something."

"The cat really seems to like it as well," Cam said.

"Twix! I almost forgot about her," Carol said.

"You named your cat after a candy bar?" Cam asked. Carol laughed.

"Yeah, it just seemed to fit her," she said.

"How long did you have her?"

"We lost her about six months after my father died," she said. "It was a nice sunny day, so I thought I'd go ride my bicycle. She ran out of the house when I opened the door and got hit by a passing car. The guy tried to avoid her, but he couldn't. She... died in my arms," she added tearfully. "Please," she pleaded, looking at Cam. "Don't make me relive that."

"I won't," Cam said. "Is that why you never let Timmy have a pet?"

"Yes, it is," she said. "He's such a sweet and sensitive boy. I don't think he could handle the loss of a pet like that."

"Interesting," Cam said, looking at her. "What about your music?"

"I gave that up after my father died," she said sadly. "I love music, but it just didn't have the same appeal to me."

"Maybe you should start taking lessons again," he said.

"I'm too old for that," she said. "Besides, I have a high-stress job with a lot of responsibilities."

"Nonsense," he said. "As long as you're breathing, you're never too old. And if something is important enough, you can always make time for it."

"Yeah, but it doesn't pay the bills," she said softly.

"Uh huh," he said. "So, you remember the way your mother struggled with the finances, then."

"Yes," she said as the scenery in front of them seemed to move in fast-forward mode, like a movie. The next thing Carol saw was her mother sitting at the kitchen table, a pile of envelopes and papers in front of her. She put her head in her hands and began sobbing quietly.

Carol saw a teenage version of herself sit in the chair next to her mother. She looked at the bills on the table for a minute before putting an arm around her mother.

"If it'll help, Mom, I'll get a job too," she said. Her mother shook her head and looked at Carol.

"No, sweetheart," she said. "Your job is to get an education so you never have to go through this."

"But I'm 16 now. I'm old enough to get a job. Please, Mom, let me help," the young Carol said. Her mother hugged her tight before speaking.

"Thank you for offering, Carol," she said. "That's really very sweet. But it'll be alright. We'll manage. I want you to focus on your grades so you can get into a good college. If you really want to help, you can maybe do a bit more around the house. I've been thinking about getting second job anyway."

"But Mom, you're already working 10 hours a day," the young Carol said. "I'm worried about your health."

"I know, and I appreciate it, but Mr. Harper said I can come and work a few hours at the nursery, maybe on the weekends. He's offered to pay me well for my time," she said.

"Alright. If it'll help, I'll take care of things around the house for you, okay?" the young Carol asked. Her mother smiled and nodded her head.

"That would be a huge help, sweetheart. Thank you." Cam looked at Carol, who had tears in her eyes as she recalled the memory playing in front of them.

"Your mother died five years later, didn't she?" Cam asked. The tears fell freely down Carol's face as she remembered that Christmas Eve. "It's okay, I won't make you see that again." She nodded her head.

"Thank you," she said. "Those last years before she died, she worked two, sometimes three jobs. She was determined to see me finish college. Even though I got a student loan, she made sure I had everything I needed."

"Your mother had a very strong work ethic. And she instilled that in you, didn't she?" Cam asked.

"Yes, she did. I don't ever recall her going out for a date after Dad died, or doing anything just for herself. Even after the doctors told her she needed to slow down. She worked herself into that heart attack," Carol said. "I promised myself I would focus and do the best I could. I wanted her to be proud of me."

"And I'm sure she is. But your whole life wasn't that sad, though, was it? You did have some happy memories, didn't you?"

"Yes," she said as the scenery moved forward in front of them. "I met Ray during my last year in college. He was a godsend to me. Always so happy and supportive. I couldn't help but fall in love with him. I just wish my parents could've met him. They would have loved him."

"Yes, they would have," he said as the scenery continued to fly in front of them. "And then there was your marriage. I'm sure that was a happy memory, along with your wedding night," he added with a wink and a sly grin. She smiled and her face turned red as she saw her handsome husband carry her over the threshold into the hotel room where they spent their first night together as husband and wife.

"Oh, yes," she said.

"And then there was the birth of your son, Timmy," he said as the scenery showed her and Ray in a hospital room with a tiny baby. Ray smiled broadly as he watched his wife breast-feed their young baby boy. Carol also smiled as she watched her younger self tending to her newborn son.

"Oh yes, I'll never forget that," she said. "Ray was so wonderful."

"You know, my wife and I are about to have twins in a few months," Cam said.

"Congratulations," she said.

"Thank you," he responded. "So, after college, what happened?"

"Well, Ray got a job with Apex International IT Solutions as a network engineer and I got a job in the accounting department at Callahan and Son," she said as the scene before them changed. "At that time, Ray made more than I did, and we were doing okay. As time went on, he grew in his career and his company started sending him out to more complex jobs, some of them out of the area.

"Neither one of us liked the fact that he had to travel, but we managed to deal with it. After Timmy was born, he didn't have to travel quite as much, but as he got older, things picked up and soon, Ray was gone one or two weeks a month, depending on the workload.

"Jake and I worked together, but there was never that much interaction between us during the first three or four years of my employment. It was the typical employer-employee relationship. His wife died in an accident eight years ago and that's when he started opening up to me. He seemed to appreciate the fact that I let him vent his frustrations, but nothing untoward ever happened.

"Then his father retired about a year later and he took over as CEO. Since I was the senior person in the department, I became the interim CFO and Jake later made it permanent. Since then, we became friends," she said as the scenes in front of them sped by.

"So, when did he start expecting more than just friendship from you?" Cam asked.

"A couple years after his wife died, I guess," she said. "We started going out to lunch and talking about things. It always seemed so innocent at the time. He would let me vent about Ray's work and I would listen to his frustration at not being able to find someone he could share his life with.

"Then the little digs started coming. He never really liked Ray. I don't know why. Started calling him a nerd or 'just a computer guy.' I told him that Ray was much more than that, and he would back off a bit. But then the digs would keep coming.

"Look, I'm not stupid. I know he wanted more from me than just a platonic friendship. But I always thought I could keep things under control. He's my boss, after all."

"But the digs and the taunts started affecting your relationship with Ray, didn't they?" Cam asked as the scenes continued to shift in front of them.

"Yes," Carol said. "Ray and I started arguing about things -- his crazy work schedule, the bills, you name it."

"And that's when you started fantasizing about Jake? I have it all here in chronological order," Cam said. Carol nodded her head as she watched herself with a dildo in her bed.

"Yes," she quietly admitted. "But I never did anything with Jake, though. I wasn't going to do that to my husband."

"Until tonight," Cam said as the scene changed before them. Carol watched herself get ready for the party, and saw the look on her face as she shaved her pussy for Jake. "In fact, if I hadn't intervened when I did, you'd be in his bed right now, wouldn't you?" She looked at him, shocked.

"You? You gave me that migraine?" she asked as the scene showed her in Jake's arms on the dance floor.

"Yes, that was me," Cam said. "I hope it didn't hurt too much. I had to act fast."

"Well, you certainly kept me from making a big mistake," she said. He nodded his head.

"Perhaps this time," he said. "But what about tomorrow? Or the day after that? Or the next time your husband is out of town? Or the next time you feel slighted?" Her face paled as she listened to him.

"I wouldn't," she began.

"That's what you told yourself before," he said. "And look at what nearly happened? You do understand he was playing a long game with you, don't you? This wasn't the result of a momentary infatuation. He's been working up to this for years. And I don't think he'll stop now."

"Oh my God," she said quietly.

"Our time is about up, and I need to get you back before your next visitor arrives," he said. "Seriously, if I were you, I'd spend some time re-evaluating my priorities. Maybe speak to a counselor."

"Maybe you're right," she said. He nodded his head.

"C'mon, let's go," he said. The images in front of them faded to black and she found herself back in her room, next to the bed. Cam was gone and she looked at the clock -- 01:55 am. She closed her eyes and tried to rest for a few minutes. But her rest was short-lived.

She felt a change in the room's atmosphere and looked up. It seemed as if the very shadows in the room moved and took another form -- the form of a tall man wearing western-style clothes, complete with a beat-up Stetson and a floor-length duster. When the shadows stopped moving, she found herself looking up at someone who looked as though he just stepped out of an old movie.

"Who... are you?" she asked. The figure smiled as his eyes flashed.

"Name's Peace, ma'am. Justice O. Peace. Mah friends call me Eli," he said in a distinctive Texas drawl as he tipped his hat. "And you must be a Carol Beck."

"Yes, I am," she said. He nodded his head.

"Ah reckon you ought to stand now so we can git moving," he said. She stood and watched as he produced a long rope from out of nowhere. One end had been tied into a lasso, and he put the loop of rope around her body. What is he going to do to me, she asked herself.

"Don't worry, ma'am," he said. "Things might get a bit bumpy. Don't wanna lose ye."

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Here and there," he said. "I understand you have a little problem with Christmas."

"It's not my favorite time of the year," she said.

"So I've been told. Mah pa used to tell me that he was once sorry for himself because he had no shoes. Then he met someone who had no feet," he said. "Understand what I'm sayin'?"

"I... I think so," she said. He smiled and tugged the rope.

"Hang on now, little lady," he said. "Don't worry about nothin'. I got ya." She saw a bright flash of light and found herself standing on rocky ground outside a small adobe house. Justice stood next to her, looking at the house.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"About seven or eight miles outside Hard Rock, Texas. Christmas Day, 1854."

"1854?" she asked, shocked. He nodded his head.

"Yup," he said. "Hear that singin' goin on inside?" She listened and could hear several people singing old Christmas songs. She could make out the familiar tune to "Silent Night" and tears came to her eyes. They sounded so happy and content.

"Yes, I hear that," she said.

"Mah pa wasn't really all that religious, but he enjoyed a good ol' family sing-along from time to time," Justice said. "'Specially on Christmas. Mah brothers and I used to compete to see who could sing the loudest." Carol looked and saw several men on horseback approaching the small homestead.