The Christmas House

"DAD!” David screamed as he ran into the house and Michael's arms.

     "David, David... we were so worried about you!" Michael replied ecstatically as he knelt on one knee and hugged David tightly.

     "Where have you been? My God, you're soaking wet! Is it snowing that hard out there?"

     Before David could answer Michael, Arianna burst into the room.

     "David! Oh, thank God you're all right!” she exclaimed as she wrapped her hands around his head and kissed him over and over again. Jack and Wanda entered the room, smiling and relieved that David was safe.

     "Did the police bring you home, David?" asked Jack.

     "No, Martha did," answered David.

     "Oh, David, stop joking around! How did you get home?" Arianna asked sternly.

     Michael interrupted, "No, he's not joking. Martha did bring him home. She is standing out on the front step."

     As Arianna, Jack and Wanda walked past David and Michael, still holding each other, they looked out the front door, which was still open. 

     Michael looked at David and said, "Get upstairs, dry off and change into some fresh clothes before you catch your death."

     "Okay, Dad," David said and ran up the stairs.

     Arianna turned back from the front door, looked at Michael, and then back out the door again. She then turned to Jack and Wanda. They both were as puzzled as Arianna.

     "Michael… honey? Did you say Martha was standing out here?" asked Arianna.

     Michael stood up and walked toward the door as he looked out. 

     "She was here just a second ago. I swear I am not losing my mind! She was here. She spoke to me. She said, "Michael, I think I have someone that belongs to this house."

     "Then what happened?" asked Jack.

     "Then David ran into my arms, and you guys came in," he replied. "And now she's gone."

     Arianna walked up to Michael and placed her hand on his forehead. 

     "Honey, maybe you better lay down for a while. I think the lack of sleep and all this stress has gotten to you. Are you sure it wasn't a policewoman?"

     Michael took her hand and moved it away from his forehead.

     "I know what I saw and what I heard. I am telling you David is telling the truth. Martha did bring him home!"  (listen now)

Arianna sat at the kitchen table, feeding Nicole when the phone rang. She jumped to answer it.

     “Hello?”

     “It’s just me, hon; any word yet?” asked Michael.

     “No. The only one I have heard from is you,” she replied. 

     “Michael, come home. You have been up all night. You must be exhausted. Is Jack still with you?” she asked.

     “Yes. We are at a donut shop having some coffee. He flagged me down on Wacker Drive about three hours ago. We’ve been meeting every hour ever since,” Michael replied.

     “Come home, Michael; all we can do now is wait,” she said in a sleepy, groggy voice.

     “Have you slept at all, honey?” asked Michael.

     “No. Wanda has been here all night as well. She called the morgue and thanked God, David, or anyone even close to David’s description had not been found,” she said.

     “Okay. I guess you’re right. We are on our way home. We’ll go out again later today,” Michael said.

     Arianna said goodbye and told Wanda that Jack and Michael were on their way home. Wanda brought Arianna another cup of coffee and sat down with her at the kitchen table.

     “This has been one hell of a year for you, hasn’t it?” she asked.

     Arianna smiled and replied, “Oh, gee, let’s see. First, we buy a house for next to nothing and almost lose it. I start to hemorrhage when we are moving and almost lose my baby.  (listen now)

December 23rd

Lake Forest, IL

3:00 p.m.

     A snowy, gray Saturday afternoon brought shoppers by the thousands to downtown Chicago. Of course, it was the last few days and the last weekend before Christmas, and time was running out. The stores were open a few hours later today to accommodate their customers' last-minute shopping needs. This winter started with a jolt, as 10 inches of snow fell on the city of big shoulders just a few days earlier. Arianna was happy, for she dreamed of having a white Christmas, especially since they would be in sunny Florida for the actual holiday. Michael read the Farmers Almanac, and based on the scientific fact; he knew there would be snow by now. 

     Arianna took Nicole and David downtown to finish up the last of her shopping and to make a visit to Santa. Bundled up from head to toe David could barely walk down the street. He had his wish list in letter form already and was even asking Santa for presents on behalf of Nicole. He handed the list to Arianna, and it read as follows. 

     Dear Santa,

     I would like you to bring me this stuff for Christmas. A new sled, a new stereo, a football, a new bat, a train set, a basketball, a new guitar, a drum set, and 40 inches of snow on Christmas Eve, so the airport shuts down. If you can’t do the snow thing, then I will not be home for Christmas, so you need to deliver this stuff to someplace in Florida. It’s by the ocean. I hope you know where that is. Oh yeah, please bring my baby sister some diapers. She can’t talk yet, so I’m asking for her. 

     Your pal, 

     David Carter 

      “Don’t you want to go to Florida, David? I mean, if I can guarantee you that Santa will find you there, would you then like to go?”

      “Not really, Mom. I wanna wake up on Christmas morning in my own bed at my own house. I wanna play in the snow with my new sled first thing; it won’t seem much like Christmas looking at the ocean wearing a swimsuit.”

     “Believe me, David, I know how you feel. I don’t want to go either, but your father is looking forward to this trip. Maybe it would be the best Christmas present we could give him?”

     “Yeah, I guess. But all my friends will be home for Christmas break, and I won’t get a chance to play with them,” David replied. 

     “Sometimes, we have to make sacrifices for the ones we love, honey. Next year I promise we will stay at home, okay?” she asked.

     “Yeah... I guess,” David despondently responded.,, listen now

November 27th

Thanksgiving Day

5:00 p.m.

 Traditionally, Lake Forest residents decorate their homes for Christmas no later than Thanksgiving Day just because they wish to enjoy the fruits of their labor for the entire holiday season. This year was no exception. The homes were decorated to the extreme. Hundreds of hours were invested in each house as the owners expressed their Christmas spirit in their own unique way. 

      A large crowd gathered toward the middle of the block of Festive Lane. 

     The house sitting at 148 Festive Lane was no longer the ugly duckling home of the neighborhood. It may not have been the largest or the newest home, but it was, without a doubt, the most festive and cheerful. 

      A large Plexiglas-covered display centered on the front lawn just below a large beautiful bay window, which recently was installed. The display on the grass was lit from within, where the lights shined on an array of mechanical characters that moved and sang. The theme was "Twas the Night Before Christmas," as was indicated by a red and white sign that acted as a marquee attached to the top of the display.

     As the elves loaded Santa's sleigh with lots of shiny wrapped presents, Santa and Mrs. Claus watched from the house's bay window. Audio speakers played various Christmas melodies, including one long-forgotten tune called "Hardrock, Coco, and Joe." 

     Red, blue, green, white, yellow, and orange bulbs lit up the entire area with a warm and pleasing glow. At the very top of the house was a sleigh with Santa inside calling out to eight life-size reindeer, "Merry Christmas to all a goodnight!" The sleigh and reindeer gave the illusion of flying in mid-air, but in reality, it was connected to this grand old house and the most contemporary mansion that stood next door.

      A young couple and a small boy walked out of the house carrying more decorations. As they walked toward the display on the lawn, the crowd still gathered, applauded, and some of the people shouted, “Hey, nice job,” and “It looks beautiful!” The young man carrying a string of colored lights waved as he smiled at the gathering.

     As the crowd migrated down the block to the next estate, they undoubtedly could recall that this old house was the neighborhood's eyesore less than a year ago. The exterior improvement included newly painted gray and white trim and eaves, the richness of the deep reddish-brown brickwork tuck-pointed and sandblasted. Also, newly installed windows and freshly planted evergreen bushes and trees landscaped the home impeccably. This was, once again, a stunning home... listen now.

     Michael kissed Arianna and Nicole goodbye as he was dropping David off at summer camp and then off to the job site. 

     The last few months had been hectic at the Carter residence. Michael spent most of his time working at home and the job site while Arianna was busy caring for Nicole and David. 

     Jack and Wanda remained a constant support channel for the Carters. Michael felt very obligated to both of them. If they only knew how little money Michael had left after the significant repairs made to the house and substantial monthly mortgage payments, they would be amazed. Even with their financial and moral support, Michael was running out of funds quickly, and except for a few minor improvements, the house was still far from being completed.

      As the sun shined brightly through the kitchen windows, Arianna poured herself a cup of coffee and sat at the table, making out a list of what she needed to do this day. Nicole was in her playpen positioned near the fireplace in the family room. A television played in the background. Just shy of being three months old, Nicole couldn’t understand television, but she sure did like the movement of the lovely colors on the screen as she stared at it undaunted for several minutes at a time.

Chapter Seven- Settling In at 148 Festive Lane

 May 3rd

Good Samaritan Hospital

10:00 a.m.

     It was a glorious day for early May in Chicago. The sun shined brightly and warmed the air to a delightful 68 degrees as Michael and David drove to the hospital to bring Arianna and baby Nicole home for the first time.

     Having recovered nicely from the night of the move, Michael was well-rested but still a bit wary nonetheless. For the last two days, he had been placing the furniture where he felt it should go in each room. He was sure Arianna would walk into the house and say, “No, no, no.... that should go here, and that should go there.” He couldn’t very well leave all of the furnishings in the garage, so he did the best he could. He realized he would have to move it all again when Arianna came home.

     Additionally, Jack and Wanda were a God sent during these two days. Jack was over every day, helping Michael clear out garbage and finish up a few minor repair projects at the house. Wanda cooked some excellent meals for Michael and David since the only thing Michael knew how to make was a reservation at a restaurant. When Arianna was around, she did all of the cooking except for barbecuing, which Michael prided himself on being the master chef. However, with the kettle barbecue still packed away somewhere in the house, Michael readily accepted the offer to dine with the Stevens next door...

Michael pulled onto Festive Lane. He drove down the block for about a 1/4 of a mile until he approached the driveway to the house. The address on the mailbox read, “1-8” because the four had fallen off and never been replaced. Michael drove past the old iron gates at the front of the driveway and then backed the truck up so he could unload into the garage.

     “BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP,” sounded the truck as Michael backed up in reverse, using the mirrors to watch his distance to the garage. Michael stopped about 15- feet short of the garage door, giving himself enough room to pull out the metal ramp under the truck that he would use to roll down the two-wheel cart.

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April 30th

Lake Forest, IL

      Since the closing, Michael, Arianna, and David spent every evening and weekend at the house at 148 Festive Lane. Cleaning, tearing down wallpaper, ripping up carpeting and tile floors, rodding out plumbing, and doing whatever else they could that did not cost hard cash, only hard labor.

     Michael inspected the furnace thoroughly and found it was not as bad of shape as he had originally thought. He replaced the flue and the filters after giving it a good cleaning. It seemed to make the difference, and Michael was pleased to have saved thousands of dollars that would have been spent on a new furnace. Unfortunately, with the electrical wiring, he was not as lucky. When he inspected outlets and light switches, he found frayed and bare wires that were a serious fire hazard. 

     As he pulled the old wiring out and replaced it with new, he ran into light fixtures and fuses problems. The old wiring was BX, long since outlawed by today's building code standards would have to be replaced with a conduit that was now the industry standard. The wiring replacement would cost them thousands of dollars he saved by breathing extended life into the old furnace. Every time he saved money on one problem, he had to spend those savings plus more on another.

     The house was still a disaster area with walls ripped open and floorboards removed, leaving gaping holes that looked directly into the basement from the first floor. Michael barricaded the opening to alert anyone who walked in the area but promised Arianna that he would have the floors repaired by the baby's birth. Martha had left behind several pieces of furniture, including all of the guestroom furnishings and the ominous grandfather clock that still chimed every hour on the hour as it stood in the corner of the dining room.

Listen now.

April 9th

Lake Forest, IL

      Martha remained extremely busy during the months preceding the closing. Before moving into the small studio apartment that she found in nearby Morton Grove, there was much to do. The apartment was in a retirement center and was fully furnished. She realized that she wouldn’t need any old and worn furniture left in the house, so she conducted several estate sales. She was amazed at how many people wanted to purchase useless junk. But she was just happy to get rid of the hundreds of pieces lying around collecting dust throughout the house, garage, and basement. Martha was packed and ready to vacate the premises. The closing was tomorrow, and she would give Michael and Arianna possession at that time.

     During this same period, Michael and Arianna were busy as well. They managed to sublease their apartment and would be out of their lease by April 30th. Michael was disappointed at first since the closing was on the 10th, and he was stuck paying for the apartment for the entire month of April. Then Arianna pointed out that the time lapse between the closing and having to vacate the apartment could be used to clean and fix the more minor problems at the house. Michael, being the go-getter, decided to work on the house's interior during this time. Maybe even strip some wallpaper and paint a few rooms if time allowed.

     Their son David was very excited about the move as well. The house they moved from in Las Vegas was a small two-bedroom townhouse. The Festive Lane house living room was larger than their entire home in Vegas. He had already planned how his “rooms” would be decorated. Yes, David decided that the house was so big that he could master two rooms instead of just one. 

     Just 10-years old, David was already quite the musician. His father was teaching him how to play guitar, and David was catching on fast. Michael recently bought David a used electric guitar and amplifier. David was planning on making one of his rooms into a music room. He hoped to make friends quickly at his new school and possibly start a rock band.

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February 11th

148 Festive Lane

Martha’s Birthday

3:35 p.m.

         Several months passed, and despite numerous showings and a half dozen Realtors representing the property, Martha was still without a buyer for the house.

     Over thirty interested and potential buyers inspected the house. Many made generous offers of over $4.3 million for the prime location of the four-acre estate. Martha was not concerned with the money. She only wanted to sell the house to someone that would live in it and love it. Unfortunately, none of the serious buyers was interested in living in the house, much less loving it. They were only interested in demolishing the structure and rebuilding on the property. Martha ran out of potential buyers as well as willing Realtors. After the first open house, every Realtor she signed to represent the house quickly canceled their listing agreement. They assumed that Martha was senile and unstable due to refusing offer after offer regardless of how generous the amount was. She would make each Realtor very uncomfortable when she would ask a potential buyer about their personal family history and the status of living relatives and friends. Time after time, the buyers would respond to how big and caring their family was, but Martha would dismiss their offer.

     Today was Martha’s birthday, and she only had a few months remaining to sell the magical old house to a deserving family. Having scared off every available Realtor in the area, Martha was forced to sell the house on her own.

     It was an unusually warm day for February, and traffic in the area was more congested than in several months. Martha was working down in her basement, trying to clean up some of the mess accumulated over the years. The dark, damp basement was dimly lit by the shadow of a bare incandescent bulb hanging from a black frayed electrical cord casting its light. Martha rummaged through the effects of corrugated boxes when she came across newspapers dated 1936 that shouted headlines about a new Zeppelin being introduced in Germany. She found an old ten-ounce soda bottle that bottlers hadn’t used for over 20 years. The more memories she uncovered, the more depressed she became. Every item brought back a memory that made her think fondly of better days. 

     As she moved throughout the cellar, she passed in front of a ground-level basement window that looked out to the front yard. She could see the “For Sale by Owner” sign she had placed there two days earlier. 

     She moved away from the window, and as a beam of light shined past her. It cast a natural spotlight on a mouse gnawing at a box that sat on the floor. Martha screamed!  The mouse was just as startled and scampered off in a flash. Martha regained her composure and grabbed a nearby broom. She quietly and slowly moved toward where she last saw the mouse runoff and slowly raised the broom over her head. She turned the corner to a stack of boxes ready to pounce on the furry rodent, and the doorbell rang. She screamed again! Jumping back and dropping the broom, she tried to catch her breath. Her heart was pounding a thousand beats per minute. She slowly made her way up the basement stairs to the kitchen area when the doorbell rang again. 

     “Just a moment; I’m coming,” she shouted.

     When Martha opened the front entry door, a young man, a younger woman, and a small ten-year-old boy greeted her. 

     In his thirties, the handsome young man asked, “Excuse me, but is this house still for sale?” 

     “Why, yes, it is. Would you like to come in and look around?” Martha asked.

 Listen now.