She was so weak this year that Uncle Chris and Nicholas had put up all the outdoor lights while she watched from inside. There was only one Christmas tree decorated in the house instead of the usual three. No snowmen decorated her front yard this year, and the sledding was on hold indefinitely.
He couldn't imagine Christmas without her. It wouldn't be Christmas. It would just be an excuse for presents and candy.
“You're eating with us tonight,” Aunt Georgia told him. She smiled at him weakly and patted his hand. “I don't want you fretting about your parents. What would you like best?”
“Hamburgers?” Nicholas replied hopefully.
“You hear that, Chris? The boy wants hamburgers,” Aunt Georgia called toward the office. Uncle Chris poked his head out.
“I thought you wanted just some soup?” asked Uncle Chris.
“I did, but my favorite nephew wants hamburgers. So hamburgers is what I want,” Aunt Georgia told him.
Uncle Chris came out of his office and crossed the living room. He kissed the top of her head.
“If it makes you happy, we'll have hamburgers.”
Aunt Georgia winked at Nicholas. “It does.”
Uncle Chris shook his head with a soft smile and then picked up his jacket. He searched his pocket for his keys, and headed out to get hamburgers for the three of them.
Aunt Georgia watched him go with a smile before turning to Nicholas.”Well, want to watch some Christmas movies while we wait?”
“I was actually hoping we might be able to make some Buche de Noel?” Nicholas asked hopefully. His mouth watered at the thought.
Some of Aunt Georgia's light dimmed. “Not tonight, Nicholas. I'm too tired.”
“That's okay, Aunt Georgia,” Nicholas quickly told her. “We have plenty of time. Movies sound great.”
Aunt Georgia fell asleep half way through the movie without taking a single bite of her dinner. Uncle Chris carefully carried her to bed and told Nicholas that he could stay the night.
When Nicholas woke the next morning, the house seemed eerily still. Snow fell in big clumps outside his guest-room window. It wasn't strange for him to stay the night here, and to be honest, he almost liked the guest room at Aunt Georgia's better than his room at home.
Except this morning, it was colder than usual. The sky outside was gray and dark. The Christmas lights still twinkled in the dim snowy light, casting magical colors across the perfect white landscape.
“Aunt Georgia's going to love it today,” Nicholas said softly to himself as he got out of bed.
He shivered, pulling one of the throw blankets from his bed around his shoulders as he went out to the kitchen. There was no Christmas music playing. Usually, Aunt Georgia was up and already had the holiday chorus playing softly as she made pancakes or worked on one of her many craft projects.
Only, the kitchen table was empty. There was no coffee brewing or cookies left out for the next day. Nicholas checked his watch to make sure he hadn't woken up strangely early, but it was actually later than he expected.
Nicholas shivered again and wandered back to the living room. The Christmas tree was turned off, so he went over to plug it in. Only the lights didn't turn on. When he put the electric light plug in, nothing happened.
He checked it on a different socket and found that the lights still didn't work. He frowned and checked the bulbs, finding one loose one near the end of the light string. Yet, the lights still didn't turn on.
Nicholas frowned at the Christmas tree. He wasn't sure what could be wrong. He'd have to ask Aunt Georgia what to do next. Without the lights, it was just a tree with strange things hanging on it. It didn't have the sparkle and magic that Christmas trees are supposed to have.
“Is that you, Nicholas?” Uncle Chris called.
Nicholas turned to see Uncle Chris standing in the hallway leading to their room. Dark circles ringed his red eyes. His clothes were the same ones as the ones he'd worn to the doctor's appointment yesterday. He looked ten years older and like the world had exploded around him.
“Are you okay, Uncle Chris?” Nicholas asked, straightening from the lights. Uncle Chris gave a small shake of no. His eyes went to the front window and he swallowed hard.
Nicholas followed his gaze and saw an ambulance pull up. Their red and blue lights flashed garishly against the white snow. The siren wasn't on, and the paramedics moved slowly out of the cab and up the walk to the house.
“Uncle Chris?” Nicholas's voice trembled. Something was very wrong. “Where's Aunt Georgia? Why are they here?”
“I'm so sorry, Nicholas,” Uncle Chris whispered. He came over and wrapped the boy in a hug. “She's leaving us.”