“Is that going to be a problem, sir?” Luke asked, suddenly sounding nervous. “It’s just that working Christmas Eve has never been a problem for you before. I already told the investors we could make it work.”
Nicholas hesitated to respond...
Wait.
A potential deal was on the table and he was hesitating?
Nicholas winced at his own stupidity. Business waited for no man.
“No, you did good, Luke. We can make it work,” he said. “You should come, too. These guys like to see who they’ve been in contact with over the phone. Looks like the old ways of face-to-face business are coming back in style.”
“Of course, sir,” Luke replied. “I’ll see you Christmas Eve, sir.”
“I’ll see you Christmas Eve,” Nicholas said with a smile.
He set the phone down and put the book away. Now he had work to do.
* * *
Nicholas slept fitfully. He tossed and turned, unable to find a comfortable spot in the bed.
It was going to be the worst Christmas ever.
If he made it that long. His parents were going to kill him and it wasn't even the first day of winter break.
Nicholas sat on the front step of his aunt's house, head in hands, and sure that his short fifteen years of life were about to come to an e
nd. He already knew his parents were going to be furious. He could already hear their voices in his head. His mother would worry about his future and his father would look grim. They would be disappointed. They would lecture and yell.
Christmas would be ruined. And all because he tried to help save Christmas.
And so, instead of going home to face them he'd run straight from the school directly to Aunt Georgia's house. It was only a few blocks from the school and there were plenty of days he went there instead of home.
Aunt Georgia's house, with it's bright colors and fresh cookies, always felt more like home than home to Nicholas. The front door was locked, so Nicholas sat on the front step and waited anxiously for his aunt to come home.
Aunt Georgia's car pulled into the driveway. Uncle Chris was driving and it looked like Aunt Georgia was napping. The brakes squealed softly as the car came to a stop and Uncle Chris tapped Aunt Georgia's shoulder and then pointed to Nicholas. His aunt frowned and opened the car door.
Uncle Chris had to help her out of the car. She leaned on him heavily, looking like just the few steps up the driveway were the equivalent of running a marathon. Her face was gaunt with hollow cheeks, but her green eyes were bright with a smile just for Nicholas.
“Nicholas, it's so good to see you,” Aunt Georgia said with a gentle smile. “What are you doing here?”
Uncle Chris was practically carrying her thin body up to the front porch, but she waved him off when she got close to Nicholas. She adjusted the thin blanket over her shoulders as she sat on the cold cement step next to her nephew.
Uncle Chris frowned for a moment until Aunt Georgia looked up at him.”The cold isn't going to knock me dead in the next five minutes,” she told her husband. “Go on in and get some cocoa started. I'll have Nicholas bring me inside in just a moment. He won't let me freeze out here.”
Uncle Chris sighed and nodded. There was a hurt in him that Nicholas didn't recognize. Normally, Uncle Chris was the happiest person he knew- a perfect match for the joy and light that was in Aunt Georgia. But recently, that easy joy had faded from Uncle Chris and had been replaced with a sadness for something that hadn't happened yet.
Nicholas knew that Aunt Georgia's cancer wasn't getting better. No one thought to tell him what was going on, all of the adults saying that it wasn't something he needed to worry about just yet. But Nicholas knew. The battle wasn't going well. It was easy to see the thinness in his aunt. The worried looks. The constant doctor appointments that never left anyone smiling.
His favorite aunt was withering away.
The two of them sat there on the porch, snow all around Aunt Georgia's yard. She had all her Christmas decorations up and the lights were just starting to turn on with the dusk. The trees slowly came alive with color and sparkle. Red, green, white, and blue lights all began to twinkle and glow against the snow.
“Best thing I did was to put those on a timer,” she murmured softly. She started to shiver despite the blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Nicholas felt a fresh wave of guilt wash over him.
“Let's get you inside,” he said, rising to his feet. She grabbed his arm and pulled him down.
“Just a minute more,” she told him. “Just until all the lights turn on. I don't want to miss the magic.”