 |
| Photo Courtesy-Christmas Gift Six |
Here is gift six of the Christmas Card Mystery. You can read gift one by clicking here. Gift two here. Gift three here. Gift four here. Gift five here.
The story was posted as separate gifts for you on Mondays and Wednesdays during the advent season.
May your Christmas bring a ray of shining hope and love to you and your family as you celebrate Jesus' Birthday.
Merry Christmas,
Mary Vee
Mary Vee
The Christmas Card Mystery
By Mary Vee
Gift Six
The hot chocolate warmed Anna's throat. She wanted to rip the seal to see what the next clue would be but had to tease her friends first.
"Open it!" Em tapped the red envelope sitting on the counter.
"K." She laughed and ran her finger under the flap. A beige card was inside.
"What does it say?" Jessica leaned closer and practically tugged the card out of the envelope for Anna.
Anna and her friends read silently.
I can't share a love as deep as Jesus
But I can share what I have
Nor name all the stars
But I'd like to sit with you and gaze at them
I wasn't with you during medical training
You were in my every thought though
I can't even write a poem that rhymes
These words come from my heart
No more clues, the last stop for this Christmas game
Every person in this room has accepted the blame
They helped me give you the biggest present I could buy
That's what hometown friends and family do
For a guy who simply wants to say
I love you
"So you did know."
Em and Jessica curled their lips in, no doubt, a desperate attempt to stifle their smile. Guilty as charged.
"What is going on?"
Em and Jessica didn't help one bit with their shrugs.
"He's here, isn't he?"
Their eyebrows raised. "Maybe," they said together.
"Who is he?"
Their giggles confirmed they obviously weren't going to be of help. She stood to look around the room.
"Here's your order. Can I get you anything else?" The server set three plates of burgers in front of the girls.
Anna looked back at the plate of food. This server had a different voice than the one who took their order. He stood there, as if waiting for a response. She looked up at his eyes. "You sat next to me on the train."
He grinned.
"You helped me with my suitcase." This was a cruel joke. From the first moment she spoke with him on the train he brought memories of Jess. But Jess was dead. His parents received a letter stating he was killed in battle. She's struggled with missing him all this time. How dare this man toy with her heart?
"Anna?"
Stop it. Only Jess pronounced her name in that sing songy way. She looked back down at her food. Jessica and Em must think her a jerk. They couldn't possibly know what this was doing to her. Her stomach churned. All these people came to help give a gift. And all she wanted to do was run home to her TPed bedroom.
He gently set his hand on the counter. "Hook held me captive for a long time. I tried to get free. I tried for so long."
The light reflected a sparkle of blue. The same one Jess had. It can't be. He isn't Jess. Jess is dead.
"The lost boys found me and helped me escape."
It can't be.
"I didn't know who I was. They took me to a doctor and helped me remember. I needed medical treatment and plastic surgery. Time to realize who I was and who I am."
No. This is not Jess. "Tell me something only Jess would know."
He leaned on the counter and grinned. She accepted the challenge and didn't bolt no matter how much she wanted to. "Well?"
"You kissed Bobby in the first grade."
How did he know that? She'd kept it a secret. "How--"
"Bobby confessed in the eighth grade after I punched him in the nose."
She remembered. That was the day of their Christmas program. Bobby couldn't sing his solo.
"Jess?"
He looked down at the card. "I know the words are corny. Never could write a decent poem. This was my first chance to come home. Everyone here agreed this would be the best way for me to break the news. You can't imagine how hard it was to sit by you on the train and not say anything. Not even, I love you."
She had loved him first. And had chosen to never love anyone else. Now he stood here, inches away--alive. So many words pinballed in her mind, none forming one cohesive sentence. Air jagged in and out. She pressed on her chest to slow the deafening heartbeats.
He walked around the counter and stood beside her. His hand slipped into a pocket and drew out a small velvet covered box. His knee wobbled as he bent, but he safely knelt on the floor. "Anna. You are the only one I could every love. Will you marry me? I don't expect you to give up your medical career or office. I'll find work where ever to accommodate your needs." He took a long slow breath. "I love you. And always have."
Only the refrigerators in the back of the diner made a sound.
What should she do? She'd made her plans. Had a career in place. Had an apartment. Moved on with her life prepared to be single forever. Because there could only be one Jess.
He blinked a lost boy look, the one that shared big dreams. The same one that begged her to pah-leeze say yes.
The silence in the room tickled. Jess was here, the real Jess, on one knee. All their friends came to see what would happen. She'd be a fool to say no to her hearts big desire. She squirmed off the chair and stood, the smile she couldn't be blamed for--it simply happened. "Yes. Yes. Yes!"
He pushed himself to a stand and embraced her, picking her of the ground. "I've missed you so much."
"If you only knew how much I missed you." She couldn't help the tear flooding down her cheeks, nor keep up with wiping them away. He handed her a napkin, and she dabbed her eyes. "I love you Jess."
Their friends and family burst to their feet shouting "Congratulations" and "Hurrah". The owner of the diner served a round of hot chocolate.
There have been similar celebrations in large cities, but none could compare to the town meeting that Christmas in the small town of Graysing where a Christmas card mystery solve bigger puzzles than any detective imagined.
Gift Six
 |
| Photo Courtesy |
The hot chocolate warmed Anna's throat. She wanted to rip the seal to see what the next clue would be but had to tease her friends first.
"Open it!" Em tapped the red envelope sitting on the counter.
"K." She laughed and ran her finger under the flap. A beige card was inside.
"What does it say?" Jessica leaned closer and practically tugged the card out of the envelope for Anna.
Anna and her friends read silently.
I can't share a love as deep as Jesus
But I can share what I have
Nor name all the stars
But I'd like to sit with you and gaze at them
I wasn't with you during medical training
You were in my every thought though
I can't even write a poem that rhymes
These words come from my heart
No more clues, the last stop for this Christmas game
Every person in this room has accepted the blame
They helped me give you the biggest present I could buy
That's what hometown friends and family do
For a guy who simply wants to say
I love you
"So you did know."
Em and Jessica curled their lips in, no doubt, a desperate attempt to stifle their smile. Guilty as charged.
"What is going on?"
Em and Jessica didn't help one bit with their shrugs.
"He's here, isn't he?"
Their eyebrows raised. "Maybe," they said together.
"Who is he?"
Their giggles confirmed they obviously weren't going to be of help. She stood to look around the room.
 |
| Photo Courtesy |
"Here's your order. Can I get you anything else?" The server set three plates of burgers in front of the girls.
Anna looked back at the plate of food. This server had a different voice than the one who took their order. He stood there, as if waiting for a response. She looked up at his eyes. "You sat next to me on the train."
He grinned.
"You helped me with my suitcase." This was a cruel joke. From the first moment she spoke with him on the train he brought memories of Jess. But Jess was dead. His parents received a letter stating he was killed in battle. She's struggled with missing him all this time. How dare this man toy with her heart?
"Anna?"
Stop it. Only Jess pronounced her name in that sing songy way. She looked back down at her food. Jessica and Em must think her a jerk. They couldn't possibly know what this was doing to her. Her stomach churned. All these people came to help give a gift. And all she wanted to do was run home to her TPed bedroom.
He gently set his hand on the counter. "Hook held me captive for a long time. I tried to get free. I tried for so long."
The light reflected a sparkle of blue. The same one Jess had. It can't be. He isn't Jess. Jess is dead.
 |
| Photo Courtesy - Peter Pan's Lost boys |
"The lost boys found me and helped me escape."
It can't be.
"I didn't know who I was. They took me to a doctor and helped me remember. I needed medical treatment and plastic surgery. Time to realize who I was and who I am."
No. This is not Jess. "Tell me something only Jess would know."
He leaned on the counter and grinned. She accepted the challenge and didn't bolt no matter how much she wanted to. "Well?"
"You kissed Bobby in the first grade."
How did he know that? She'd kept it a secret. "How--"
"Bobby confessed in the eighth grade after I punched him in the nose."
She remembered. That was the day of their Christmas program. Bobby couldn't sing his solo.
"Jess?"
He looked down at the card. "I know the words are corny. Never could write a decent poem. This was my first chance to come home. Everyone here agreed this would be the best way for me to break the news. You can't imagine how hard it was to sit by you on the train and not say anything. Not even, I love you."
She had loved him first. And had chosen to never love anyone else. Now he stood here, inches away--alive. So many words pinballed in her mind, none forming one cohesive sentence. Air jagged in and out. She pressed on her chest to slow the deafening heartbeats.
He walked around the counter and stood beside her. His hand slipped into a pocket and drew out a small velvet covered box. His knee wobbled as he bent, but he safely knelt on the floor. "Anna. You are the only one I could every love. Will you marry me? I don't expect you to give up your medical career or office. I'll find work where ever to accommodate your needs." He took a long slow breath. "I love you. And always have."
Only the refrigerators in the back of the diner made a sound.
What should she do? She'd made her plans. Had a career in place. Had an apartment. Moved on with her life prepared to be single forever. Because there could only be one Jess.
He blinked a lost boy look, the one that shared big dreams. The same one that begged her to pah-leeze say yes.
The silence in the room tickled. Jess was here, the real Jess, on one knee. All their friends came to see what would happen. She'd be a fool to say no to her hearts big desire. She squirmed off the chair and stood, the smile she couldn't be blamed for--it simply happened. "Yes. Yes. Yes!"
He pushed himself to a stand and embraced her, picking her of the ground. "I've missed you so much."
"If you only knew how much I missed you." She couldn't help the tear flooding down her cheeks, nor keep up with wiping them away. He handed her a napkin, and she dabbed her eyes. "I love you Jess."
Their friends and family burst to their feet shouting "Congratulations" and "Hurrah". The owner of the diner served a round of hot chocolate.
There have been similar celebrations in large cities, but none could compare to the town meeting that Christmas in the small town of Graysing where a Christmas card mystery solve bigger puzzles than any detective imagined.
Happy Birthday, Jesus
and Merry Christmas to you my friend.
and Merry Christmas to you my friend.
Comments