Part 5: December 24th
Tom yawned enormously as he woke, the sheets a tangled mess around his nude form. He grinned to himself and stretched on the empty bed. He heard something clanging downstairs and knew he had to get up to help Grace with their personal Christmas dinner, cleaning the house and finishing off the traditional gingerbread house the hosting family made.
Tom finally pulled himself out of bed and pulled on a pair of boxers and a tee-shirt before gathering some clothes for the day and making his way out of the room. He heard Casey laugh happily from downstairs and allowed himself a grin as he walked into the bathroom, a skip to his step.
Soon he was tossing all the dirty laundry that was lying haphazardly around the room into the laundry basket and dragging the entire thing down the stairs. Grace peeked out the kitchen door from the noise and gave him a wink. He kissed her on the cheek as he passed through the door and headed towards the basement door.
“Remember to get all your dirty clothes in the baskets after lunch, kids,” Tom reminded them before trotting down the stairs.
James groaned out a yes and Casey agreed well enough to Tom’s back. Soon he was down in the cool basement and the hamper was placed beside the washing machine. Tom stretched and charged back up the stairs for a quick breakfast before helping with the gingerbread house. Grace had already set a plate of toast with peanut butter and jam on the only clear spot on the table for him.
Tom grabbed his coffee and marvelled at the various candies in bowls on the rest of the kitchen table. Gummy bears were in a red bowl, candy canes hung over the edges of the bowl for easier access. Another bowl contained gummy worms with more candy canes hanging off the edges. Chocolate drops over-filled another bowl. Hot rods and gumdrops took the other two. Red licorice was laid out in rows on a plate beside a plate of evenly cut graham squares for the shingles on the roof.
Tom watched idly as Casey held up a wall for Grace to mortar to the half-formed house. James was holding up the other two walls until the icing dried completely and Tom studied his wife’s gentle but firm hand as she sealed on the third wall. The fourth wall was erected soon and the roof was put into place with some help from Tom.
“Okay, what do we want to use for the sidewalk this year?” Grace asked the children as the icing stabilized and sealed the house together.
“Gumdrops!” both children shouted in unison and Grace grinned.
She dabbed icing in a pattern leading from the house to what would be the end of the “lawn” on a flat sheet of gingerbread. Casey and James carefully placed a pattern of red and green gumdrops along the path. The edges of the flat sheet of gingerbread the house stood on were lined with red licorice a moment later.
Grace took a moment to seal the house to its lawn as the children picked out white gumdrops for the snow. Grace coated the gingerbread lawn with icing and finished the first batch. As the children carefully placed the gumdrops, Grace refilled her decorators pouch. Soon the graham crackers were being added to the roof as Tom worked on sticking together some gumdrop trees for the lawn.
Orange, purple and yellow gumdrops became decorations and Casey instructed Tom where to put his trees when they were finished. Grace plastered them in place with more icing and Tom smiled at her when she intentionally smeared icing on his hand. He licked off the icing with a wink and Grace chuckled lightly.
“Can we make candy cane windows?” Casey questioned with shining eyes.
“Sure,” Grace agreed and soon the candy canes were unwrapped and stuck onto the sides of the house to make long thin windows. Some windows were combined to make four panes and James suggested they use the gummy worms as Christmas lights. Lights were strung along the roof of the house as Casey selected gummy bears to use for a multi-colored snowman.
Tom helped her form the gummy bears into a shape resembling a snowman and the completed piece was stuck on the lawn of the house. James and Grace put multiple colored bears together to make a larger bear for the family. Chocolate drops formed a front and back door and a railing leading from both.
“It’s so cool,” James pronounced once Grace added the last bit of icing to the railing.
“Can we take a picture of it Daddy?” Casey inquired with a smile.
“Sure, let me get the camera,” Tom stated as he pulled out of his chair and began walking back upstairs.
On his way out of the kitchen he peered at the door. He frowned at its unlocked state and locked it before charging back upstairs to get the camera and tripod. He found it a few moments later and returned with a happy grin. Grace had finished clearing the area around the gingerbread house by the time he returned.
“Okay, let me set this up,” Tom remarked as he set up the tripod and stood the camera on it.
He adjusted the height of the tripod after looking through the lens and shifted it over an inch to negate some of the mess on the table. Grace pulled a chair close for Casey to sit on and James stood to the left of the gingerbread house. Finally Tom finished fiddling with the camera and put it on self-timer mode.
“Okay, ten seconds,” Tom commented with a laugh as Grace stood behind the gingerbread house.
Tom got in behind her and wrapped his arms around her and Casey. Grace pulled James in close and the family smiled. The flash went off a moment later and Casey broke into infectious giggles. Grace jointed her and James smirked. Tom chuckled as he checked the picture and saw it to be perfect, considering it was the first try.
“Is it okay?” Grace asked as she came up beside him and tried to peek over his shoulder.
“Yeah Daddy, can we see?” Casey inquired as she bounced in front of him in curiosity.
“Looks good, see?” Tom mentioned as he showed first Casey than Grace.
“Can I see?” James questioned as he peered up at Tom.
“Sure,” Tom said and lowered the camera again.
“Cool,” James informed him with a grin.
“We should put it on the fridge,” Casey exclaimed.
“You don’t put pictures on the fridge,” James rebutted with a frown.
“You can too, right Daddy?” Casey insisted.
“Well we can but I think we’ll put this one in the special frame Grandma Joy got us last year for Christmas,” Grace injected with a smile.
“The one that has the pretty writing that says ‘family’ on it?” Casey asked happily.
“That’s the one,” Grace told her with a nod.
“Are we going to hang it in the living room?” James inquired while looking at his father.
“Sure, I’ve got to set up the computer to print it out first though,” Tom commented as he flicked the camera off and removed the SD card carefully.
“Can I load it?” James questioned hopefully.
“Sure, we just have to make sure there’s shiny paper left,” Tom told him and led him to the computer in the living room.
“Casey and I are going to go track down that frame,” Grace remarked as she and Casey followed them.
“Sounds good,” Tom told them after James had turned on the computer.
Casey led the way upstairs with a running commentary on the picture frame in question with Grace following behind and Tom listened for a moment before gently instructing James how to upload the right picture. James carefully placed a sheet of shiny paper onto the tray and hit print.
The printer began to whir as the image was imprinted onto the shiny piece of paper. A few moments later, and Tom placed it carefully on the desk to cut away some of the excess white area with an Exacto knife. Casey darted into the room, holding the frame and watched in wonder as Tom made the final clean cut.
Grace loaded the picture into the frame as Tom located a hammer and a nail. James helped him locate the nail and he pounded it in gently above the mantel over the television. Casey handed him the picture and he hung it quickly, adjusting it left and right when Grace told him it was crooked. They admired the picture for a moment.
“Okay, let’s get ready for lunch,�
�� Grace broke in with a smile.
Casey and James agreed whole heartedly and jogged back into the kitchen. Grace followed in behind as Tom leaned in close to study the picture in the frame. The curtains had been open to show the glass doors of the back porch and Tom was staring at this now. A bit of red was showing up behind the glass, outside the house. Tom blinked and stared as the red made itself out to be the elbow of a coat sleeve.
Tom jumped back with wide eyes and turned back to the computer with the image still on the screen. He zoomed in as much as he could and centered on the red-coated elbow at the edge of his glass doors, just beyond James’ head.
He moved the image up until he could make out part of the porch beyond the table. It was covered in shadow when there should be no shadow, if no one was standing there. Tom scowled and closed the program as Grace called out to him.
“Coming,” Tom shouted back and pulled the SD card from the computer before shutting it down.
He peered back at the image and wondered if he would be able to look at it with a grin ever again after noticing that scar. He scowled and turned away, heading towards the kitchen. His back was turned when a shadow darted across the picture windows of his front house to hide in the evergreens beside his property.
Lunch was a happy affair (despite Tom’s sour mood) with multi-meat sandwiches and flavoured chips. Grace outlined what needed to be done around the house and informed the group that Casey would be helping her while James helped Tom.
Tom and James were to do the laundry while Casey and Grace cleaned up the kitchen and started on the roast for supper. They would meet in the living room to neaten it up and clean then Grace and Tom would clean the bathroom while the children made sure their rooms were tidy. Grace shooed the children off to gather their laundry and Tom helped her stack the lunch dishes into the bursting dish washer.
“Okay, what’s wrong now? You seem so distracted,” Grace told him before he had the chance to go down into the cellar to start separating clothes.
“Nothing, just tired,” Tom lied with a soft smile and planted a kiss on her cheek.
“Are you sure? You know you can tell me if something is bothering you,” Grace mentioned with a small frown as she wrapped her arms around his neck to hold him in place before her.
“I’m sure. Really, I’m just burned out from the extra days at work and rushing to get Christmas ready this year. I’ll be fine once we’re done cleaning,” Tom insisted and gave her another peck on the lips this time.
“All right but you will tell me if something’s wrong, right?” Grace agreed with a sigh and released him.
“DADDY!” Casey called from upstairs.
“I bet you she can’t carry her basket down,” Tom chuckled at the welcome interruption.
“Probably,” Grace nodded with a deeper down-turn of her lips.
“I’ll tell you if something comes up, don’t worry,” Tom assured her.
“Daddy?” Casey’s voice floated down the stairs again.
“I’m coming munchkin,” Tom replied with a shake of his head as he turned away from Grace and made his way out of the kitchen.
Grace sighed and leaned against the counter, looking at the disaster area that was disguising itself as her kitchen. She ran a hand through her hair and shook out the pony tail to re-tie it before pushing away from the counter and gently moving the gingerbread house to a safe spot on the kitchen counter. With her back turned, she missed the figure looking through the glass doors at her before it grinned and darted back into hiding.
Tom helped Casey hoist her laundry basket down the stairs as James insisted he could bring his own down. Tom observed carefully as James succeeded and Casey happily trotted to Grace who was putting some left out ingredients away. They began attacking the mess of the kitchen while James and Tom carefully navigated downstairs.
The cleaning went well. Soon clothes were being folded and brought to each room to be put into their proper place and the kitchen sparkled as if it was brand new. Grace asked Tom to find the small table they used to display the gingerbread house so Tom and James spent one hour hunting in the garage to track down the table.
Once it was located underneath a tarp, Tom brought it inside to be washed off. Grace and Casey made it gleam then covered it with a white sparkly cloth. Tom moved the table to sit beside the Christmas tree then carried out the gingerbread house carefully. Once it was placed, the family went on to clean the living room.
Strings of garland were hung along the walls while wreaths with candles in their centers covered the side tables by the couch. The coffee table was covered with a sparkly red cloth and the center piece of three large red and white candles surrounded by a wreath filled with berries was added.
The regular nick knacks were removed from the mantle and a drape of shining red cloth was placed over it. The snow globe took the center as many snowmen and Christmas trees grew from the middle to the edges. Tom avoided looking at the picture on the mantle as he helped Grace arrange these decorations but she barely noted.
The carpet was vacuumed by Tom as Grace and the children took the empty boxes of living room decorations back downstairs. Grace returned and sprayed down all the furniture with a deodorizer before lighting the candy cane scented candles on the coffee table. The railing was wrapped with more garlands and Tom strung up some indoor lights around the railing, masking the cord with the garland.
He plugged them in at the top of the stairs while Grace dusted the staircase and vacuumed the carpet that ran down the middle of the stairway. Casey and James were sent to their rooms to clean as Grace continued vacuuming down the upstairs hall.
Tom began cleaning the bathroom, starting with wiping down all the surfaces before cleaning the toilet and the bathtub. The children’s area rugs were vacuumed and the vacuum was put away for another week. Grace bustled into the kitchen to check on the slow cooking roast and Casey trailed along behind her like a miniature Grace.
Tom and James went back outside to the garage to put it back in some semblance of order after they had virtually torn it apart looking for the table. That task complete they re-entered the house just as the roast was coming out of the oven and the mashed potatoes were being placed in the center of the table.
James ran to wash up as Casey sat at her chair. Tom cut the roast and Grace finished with the gravy and steamed vegetables. Soon the family was dining after an exhausting day of tiding up before company came. Casey and James spoke excitedly about Santa’s coming and Tom asked what kind of cookies they were planning to put out this year.
James mentioned they should leave Santa some of the home-made cookies Grace had made a few days prior and Tom agreed. Grace said they would use the only bare table left in the living room to place the platter of cookies with the milk.
“But what about the reindeer?” Casey questioned in distress.
“We’ll leave them some carrots. I bought extra the last time we went shopping,” Grace assured her with a smile.
“Santa’s reindeer must get hungry flying all that way and carrying all those toys,” James commented in awe.
“Well I’m sure a lot of kids leave them all sorts of treats along the way,” Tom mentioned with a grin.
“They should because the reindeer are just as important as Santa,” Casey stated with a serious nod of her head.
Tom tried not to laugh at her overly serious look and Grace hid a smile behind her napkin. She surprised the children with a cake with dripping chocolate and vanilla filling. They ate happily, sipping on hot chocolate topped with red and green marshmallows. After the cake was eaten, Grace put the remainder in the refrigerator as Tom and the children helped to clear the soiled dishes.
Grace ran the dishwasher and put on some more hot chocolate for the family while Tom put in another Christmas movie. Casey mentioned the treats for their guest later that night and helped Grace selected the perfect plate for the cookies. James and Tom sneaked a cookie a piece but were caught when Grace turned to see their ful
l cheeks.
“You two look like chipmunks,” Grace laughed as she set the plate on the table.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tom uttered around the cookie in his mouth.
“Me neither,” James muttered as crumbs fell between his lips.
“Well since your brother and father got a cookie, take one too Casey,” Grace giggled.
Casey eagerly accepted the treat and nibbled on it as Grace arranged the other four cookies on the plate. Tom swallowed his cookie and poured the milk into a Christmas thermos so it would not get warm too quickly. James carried the plate of cookies out of the kitchen when instructed as Casey carried out the large milk glass.
Tom added the thermos to the table and the children added their two hand-written and sealed notes. The notes were decorated with sparkly snowflakes and had been made on the final day of school. James and Casey had both thanked Santa and wished him a safe trip once he left their house. The note was sealed with a golden snowflake and Casey carefully propped hers against the thermos. James left his over the cookies and the two settled down in front of the television to finish watching the movie.
The sky darkened as the night wore on and Tom remembered to call the neighbours to remind them to join them at 8AM for gift-unwrapping and breakfast. Jon agreed happily and Tom exchanged good-byes with him as the movie finished and 9PM began creeping along.
“Okay you two, time for bed,” Grace mentioned as the clock struck nine.
“But can’t we stay up a little longer?” James whined as Casey hugged her pillow to her chest and pouted.
“Not tonight, Santa won’t come if you two are awake,” Tom told them with a smile.
“Okay,” James grumbled and tugged himself to his feet.
Casey joined and the two shuffled slowly out of the room before climbing the stairs and heading into the bathroom. Tom and Grace waited until they heard the bedroom doors close before laughing lightly at the children’s disappointment in not being able to see Santa.
“What time do you want to set the alarm at?” Grace inquired as Tom stood and placed the movie back in its casing.
“Around 1 AM. That gives me a couple of hours of sleep before I have to move the presents,” Tom told her with a smile.
“Are you going to be okay waking up at 7AM after so we can all get washed and dressed? The kids might not like having to wait to get dressed before opening presents but I don’t want them in their pajamas when Jon and Maggie come over,” Grace commented with a little worried frown.
“They’ll be fine. We’ll try to navigate them away from the tree until the neighbours get here,” Tom assured her as he sat back on the couch.
“I feel so bad for those two sometimes. Their only child lives just three hours away and never comes down to visit,” Grace remarked as she curled into Tom like a warm cat.
“Well, they have us so that’s something,” Tom told her and wrapped an arm around her.
“I know but they never see their own grandchildren. They shouldn’t have to make do with someone else’s family,” Grace muttered softly.
“I know but we don’t know what happened between their son and them to cause it. Not everyone comes from the perfect family,” Tom mentioned to her as he pulled her close.
“Right, but we haven’t even met their son and we’ve lived here 12 years,” Grace groused as she leaned her head on Tom’s shoulder.
“Well, we can only pray that doesn’t happen with us when our two get older. I mean, we haven’t even ventured into teen years yet and Dad keeps telling me it’ll be the thing that turns my hair gray,” Tom joked and gave her a gentle hug.
“I can only imagine what our kids will be like as teens. What are we going to do when James turns 12 and we have to break it to him that Santa doesn’t exist? We can only hold onto this for so long until his classmates start mentioning things,” Grace iterated.
“We’ll tell him that Santa was really me and the true story of Saint Nicholas while Casey is at a friend’s house or something. We’ll have to tell him not to mention it to Casey since she’ll only be nine and no nine year old should know Santa isn’t real,” Tom muttered softly.
“Is that what your parents told you?” Grace questioned with a smile.
“Yeah, except I had to keep the secret until I was 17. It broke my heart to see Amy burst into tears when she found out. Then she said she hated all of us for not telling her and ran into her room,” Tom reminisced.
“I did the same thing when my parents finally told me. Dave was 16 at the time and I remember he told me not to cry and tried to wrap me in a hug but I kicked him in the shins,” Grace giggled at the memory.
“Oh that’s mean, kicking your older brother in the shins when he’s trying to help,” Tom remarked with a light laugh.
“I know but I was 10 years old and just found out Santa didn’t exist. I remember I asked about the tooth fairy and Easter bunny too so my parents were forced to explain. I cried all night over that,” Grace sighed as she snuggled deeper into Tom’s warmth.
“Aw, you got all three at once? My parents didn’t tell me about the Easter bunny and tooth fairy until I was 13. Actually, my friend told me about the tooth fairy by accident and I asked my mom and dad when I got home,” Tom remembered with a grin.
“I was the first one in the class to know none of them existed. Do you know how hard it is for a 10 year old girl to keep that kind of secret when the girl that’s bullying her is making fun of her? I remember sometime before school ended that year, this girl Emily kept making fun of my hair so I told her Santa, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter bunny weren’t real in front of half my class. You should have seen the look on her face; it was like I told her I kicked her puppy or something. She never did make fun of me again after that. My parents had to apologize to all the other kid’s parents though and I felt so bad,” Grace explained with a shake of her head.
“You were a mean kid,” Tom jested with a chuckle.
“Oh be quiet you, you didn’t ruin the dreams of half your class,” Grace giggled as she swatted him gently on the leg.
“That’s true. You are a horrible, horrible person,” Tom commented with a shake of his head.
“Oh please,” Grace muttered with a smile and a roll of her eyes.
“I killed the class hamster in second grade, so we’re even,” Tom uttered with a wink.
“How did you kill the class hamster?” Grace questioned in wonder.
“Well back then we were allowed to bring it home. So after I brought it home and set up its cage in my room, I was trying to play with it but it bit my finger and I dropped it. Then it ran out of the room and our cat attacked it,” Tom explained after clearing his throat nervously.
“Oh my God, the poor hamster,” Grace gasped and started to laugh.
“It’s not funny, the next morning I brought the empty cage back to class and I had to explain to a bunch of seven year olds that I killed the class pet. Do you know how many of those kids cried? Half of them didn’t even know what killed meant. We had a funeral for Mr. Blinky and I wasn’t even allowed to attend because I was the one that dropped him,” Tom gripped lightly as he remembered the day.
“Mr. Blinky?” Grace questioned as she tried not to laugh.
“Yeah, he blinked a lot,” Tom remarked and Grace burst into light giggles.
“I know, I know, it was lame. But we were seven. It was either that or Chubby Cheeks,” Tom informed her with a wink.
“Oh you can’t make that up,” Grace whispered out as she tried to stem her laugher as to not wake the children.
“Nope, we got a new hamster after a few weeks,” Tom reminded himself.
“What did you name it?” Grace asked as she wiped away the tears of joy from her eyes.
“Waldo,” Tom informed her.
Grace looked at him confused for a long moment and Tom tried not to laugh.
“Why Waldo?” Grace finally inquired.
Tom smirked at her and she prodded
him to reveal the reason. Finally Tom relented when she started tickling him and he could not contain his laughter. He kissed her to stop her and wrapped her in his arms. She burst into fresh peals of laughter after he whispered in her ear:
“Because we couldn’t find him after he got out of the cage on the first day,”
Tom woke groggily to the alarm beeping from his night table. He slapped it off and sat on the edge of the bed. He stretched hugely before turning to look at Grace. She was sleeping peacefully, her chest rising and falling gently. Tom knew that by the time he got back into bed, she would be in the middle of their mattress with all their blankets wrapped around her in a fuzzy cocoon.
Tom smirked at the thought and stood. He stretched again and shook his head to clear it as he carefully stepped out in the hall. He passed Casey’s room without looking in and strode into the bathroom to relieve his complaining bladder. He did not wash his hands or flush for fear of waking his children, despite the fact that both were such heavy sleepers a cow could fall into their rooms and they still would not wake up.
Tom snuck out of the bathroom and tip-toed down the stairs silently. He reached the base of the stairs and shivered slightly, wrapping his arms around himself. He scowled and checked the kitchen to see if Grace had left the window open from when she was cooking earlier. The windows and doors were tightly sealed.
Tom noted that the glass patio doors were unlocked and frowned. The tiles were cold on his bare feet as he crossed the kitchen floor and turned the lock on the doors. For his own sanity, he pulled the blinds closed and padded across the floor again. He slowly opened the front closet so it would not rattle and started with the smaller presents.
Grace’s pony play-set and jewellery kit were arranged near the front of the mound of presents. Her art kit, doll clothes and mermaid doll that could actually swim were placed onto the floor and Tom adjusted one of the tags until the ‘From Santa’ was easily visible.
Next he arranged James monster truck, Creature Capture game and cards, blanket and air plane model kit beside Casey’s gifts. He carefully began pulling out the shoes in the shoe rack, peering up the stairs every so often just in case one of the children had to go to the bathroom.
The rack came out after a moment and Tom thought he heard a noise from upstairs. He stilled and waited, ears perked to listen for the slightest sounds. Nothing else came to him and he grinned as he placed the shoe rack against the door and began pulling out the coats. He laid each coat carefully in order on the shoe rack before slowly pulling back the crinkly tarp to reveal two bicycles with bows.
Something creaked upstairs and Tom stared around the closet door to look. Nothing was there and Tom lightly laughed at his own paranoia. He shook his head and slowly wheeled Casey’s smaller bike out of the closet. It was a white and pink 10 speed. Tom had installed a bright pink basket on the front with colorful streamers on the handle bars.
He tucked the bike behind the tree so only a back wheel was visible. He chuckled at his own genius and went back for James’ bike. James’ was a black and blue 12 speed. Tom had been tempted to install a basket and streamers but did not with Grace’s logical argument that James would think himself too old for that.
Instead Tom installed rattlers on the wheels near the reflective lights and a light on the front. James was allowed out longer during the school year as well as the summer and sometimes the sky turned dark before he made it all the way home. Tom and Grace fretted over him with the other bike since it had no head light in the front.
Not that James’ friends lived far, the walk was only a five minutes but James insisted on his independence in a walk that short. James did call when he was leaving and both parents were on edge for the two minutes it took him to bike home at night. James always groused when Grace greeted him at the door with a hug but Tom knew deep down beyond the ten-year-old pride, James loved getting hugs from his mother.
Tom smiled at the thought and tucked James’ bike on the other side of the Christmas tree, the wheel barely visible beyond the branches. He carefully and quietly folded up the tarp before hiding it in the back of the closet and placed the coats one by one in their proper order on the metal bar.
The shoe rack was added and the shoes were placed in their proper spots. Tom looked over the closet to be absolutely certain everything was in its proper place before slowly closing the door. He dusted off his hands and strode into the living room. It was then that he noticed that something seemed off about the room.
He blinked and stared for a few long moments, taking in the details of the room. The candles had been put out and the room still smelled of candy canes. There was another smell hovering just below the candy canes but Tom could not place it. It reminded him of the days he used to play soccer in high school and a few of the boys did not know to shower after a big game.
He strode slowly towards the tree and peered at its branches. None of the ornaments were misplaced and the presents were just as he had left them before adding new ones. Tom scowled and turned slowly, taking in everything leisurely. He caught it then and blinked in confusion.
The table with the cookies was the trouble. The thermos had been moved and the milk glass had been used. The four cookies were nothing but crumbs and both notes had been opened, read and placed back on the plate. Tom stared at the plate for what seemed like hours before looking up towards the door of the living room.
A shadow was cast where there should have been no shadow. The lights on the banister blinked it in and out of existence and it took Tom a few cycles to note that it was the shadow of a massively built man. Tom swallowed with some difficulty and noticed that the shadow-man was carrying a long knife.
An image came back to Tom then and he bit his lip to stop from gasping. When he had gone into the kitchen he had regarded the clean counter with pride. On the counter was the knife rack that held all of Grace’s cooking knives. The detail Tom recalled had been missed then but it came clearly now. Grace’s largest butcher knife had been missing.
Tom stepped to the side and went around the far side of the couch. He could no longer see the door to the living room clearly but that was what he wanted. There was no other exit in the living room, he could not get behind the man but he was trying to make it to the wall before the man came into the room.
Tom slid along the wall slowly, trying not to think of what that knife meant and desperately blocking out the plop-plop sounds of a liquid dripping off the knife. He finally made it to the spot just beside the entrance of the living room. There were no weapons for him to grab and Tom had realized instantly that the portable phone they had kept along this wall had been left in the kitchen.
Tom wondered if he could surprise the man and shuddered at the thought. His eyes began to blur as the plop-plop of the liquid came closer and the gentle clunks of the man’s boots sounded over the hardwood. Tom slid along the wall until he had backed himself into the opposite corner of the tree.
The man stepped into the room then as Tom’s knees weakened and he slowly glided down the wall until his buttocks met with the carpet in the living room. The implications of the dripping sound and the fact that liquid was falling from the blade came to the forefront of Tom’s mind. The sounds of a footstep from a heavier man upstairs as he made his way to the end of the hall where the master bedroom was echoed in Tom’s head as he tried to desperately swallow the ball of emotions in his throat.
The man turned and for one crazy instant Tom felt like laughing. The lights from the Christmas tree glowed along the man’s bright red coat. A thick white beard coated the man’s chin and cheeks and covered his neck. The red hat with a white ball of fluff at the end was perched haphazardly on the man’s head.
Then the small details came clearly to him. The blood littering the white beard looked almost black. The wetness around the man’s eyes that were clearly not tears. The large butcher knife coated in blood that continued to make that frustrating plop-plop sound as the man stood there staring at Tom with a grin t
hat split his face into a crazed mask.
Tom noted the man was wearing red pants and despite the character he was playing, the man was more muscle than fat. The coat was not fur-lined in white but it was damp in places where blood had spurted onto it. The boots left dark footsteps on the floor as the man strode towards Tom. Tom’s only thought was that Grace would be so angry upon seeing the dirty floor when she woke up.
It hit Tom then that Grace would never wake up. Casey would never ride her new bike or squeal in delight upon seeing her long sought after swimming mermaid doll. James would never put together the model air plane or beat the Creature Capture game on his portable gaming system. Tom would never get to see the look on Grace’s face when he presented her with the carefully selected earrings.
The reflection of the sparkling earrings as her eyes widened in shock would not be present. The little ‘o’ of surprise when she gasped after opening the box would not been observed. The smile that would spread across her face as her eyes tear up in pleasure would not be stashed away with his other memories to be cherished long after this Christmas was done. He would not feel the warmth of her lips pressed against his as the children moaned out in protest.
By this time the man had walked far enough to stand a mere foot in front of Tom. Tom looked up at him and found it strange that the man blocked out all view of the room behind him. The grin was even wilder up close and Tom perceived that the man’s teeth were yellowed and crooked.
Tom blinked when he realized the man’s eyes were bright blue and glowing in happiness. For a brief moment, Tom wondered if his children had woken up just before the knife came down on them. He prayed, not for his own life, but for the hope that his children had not seen Santa Claus aiming at them with a knife.
“I told you I was coming home,” the man whispered in a baritone voice ruffed with cigarettes.
“This isn’t your home,” Tom managed to get out of his parched throat and dry lips.
“You guys didn’t argue as much this year and I’m glad. But you forgot to invite me home after all I’ve done for you,” the man explained with a little shake of his head.
“This isn’t your home,” Tom reiterated and tried to stand despite knowing he had no chance against the other, bulkier man.
“That’s okay though, I’m home now. We’re going to have a great Christmas,” the man virtually purred.
Tom tried to open his mouth to scream but the knife slashed into his throat a moment later. He gurgled in protest and he hit his head on the wall behind him, his life blood making an arch as it was forced out of the gash in his throat. He grabbed at the wound and tried to close it but the blood pooled under his hands and flowed down his chest until it gathered around his waist.
“Don’t worry Dad, I’ll clean you up before getting you and the others dressed for Christmas morning,” the man muttered.
Tom wanted to ask him what he meant but his vocal chords were severed. The man began to laugh in a bellowing tone as Tom’s world began to fade to gray. He fell over to one side and the Christmas tree came back into view. Tom finally began to cry. Christmas used to be his favorite holiday.
Have a Bloody Christmas Page 5
