Christmas is for loving, sharing and giving ......

Christmas Surprises

After hosting a comforting Christmas Eve dinner for friends, for the first time since her husband had passed away five years ago, she awoke Christmas morning to the realization that she wold be facing yet another Christmas Day alone. Even the Christmas tree, now that the gifts were gone, looked a little sad. She told herself that she was not going to feel sorry for herself any longer and went to the kitchen to make tea, but the countertop was piled with cookies and fancy desserts and the fridge was stuffed with enough turkey and ham to last her a month. The overabundance for her Christmas Day alone was quite depressing, so she decided to drive to the closest open coffee shop for her favorite pumpkin flavored coffee.

“Merry Christmas” a voice called as she entered the cafe. She smiled at the attractive dark-haired man at the cash register. “Too bad you have to work today” she said, as she ordered her latte. “Well - it was me or my employees and since I live alone and my family all live in Vancouver, I offered to come in. “Do you miss being with your family?’, she asked.  “Oh, I definitely do -  I especially miss my mother’s good cooking and I even miss my aunt’s awful Christmas fruitcake!”  He shrugged, then added “But I liked being able to brighten someone else’s Christmas Day this year.”

As she drove home, she passed the local hospital where her husband had been the Head of Obstetrics, and the drugstore where she got her prescriptions filled and the gas station where she bought her gas and thought about all the people who would be working this Christmas Day. And she thought again about the handsome cafe owner. As she pulled into her driveway an idea came into her mind - there was something she, too, could do to brighten this Christmas Day not only for herself but for others too.

She set to work making sandwiches with all the trimmings and then arranged cookies on plates and tied them all up with festive ribbons. Lastly, she wrapped a few slices of her homemade fruitcake in foil and topped it with a bow. She put everything in plastic containers and set out to make her delivery rounds.

With her trunk now filled with goodies, she drove to the drugstore to leave some food for the pharmacist, then to the hospital where she dropped off piled-high plates of food at the nurses stations. Their expressions of surprise and gratitude made her feel like Santa Claus. Her next stop was the cafe. He smiled as he saw her. “Back for more coffee?”, he asked. “No - I come bearing Christmas Dinner”, she replied, as she placed a container on the counter. “Wow - this is a surprise“, he said, as he examined the contents, and when he unwrapped the foil bundle he grinned - “Fruitcake -  now my Christmas is complete!”

She laughed as they exchanged names. The cafe was quiet, so they sat at a table by the window while he ate. They talked about her job at the newspaper and his plans to buy a second cafe. When a customer arrived, she put on her coat and headed to the door. She waved goodbye as he was wringing up the customer’s order. “You’re leaving”. He sounded disappointed. “I have another stop to make”, she answered. He held her eyes with his eyes as he said ”I’m closing at 5p.m. - would you be interested in taking a walk then to look at all the Christmas lights in town?” She smiled back and replied that she would be glad to join him. 

A holiday song played cheerily on the car radio as she drove off to play Santa one more time before heading home, her spirit renewed as she realized she had begun the process of making new Christmas memories, and she felt content for the first time in a very long while.