Disclaimer: These characters are not mine and I am not making any money off them. Please email me with feedback at Wrm129@aol.com
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Merry Christmas?
by Robin
She stood at the window gazing out at the falling snow. This position had become second nature in the two weeks she had been at the hospital, a place she didn't want to be.
Even though the door was closed, she could still hear the holiday music being played. She wished it hadn't happened before Christmas.
Twenty-eight year old Trixie Frayne turned away from the window looking at her husband of five years, Jim, unconscious in the hospital bed.
As she looked at her husband's still form, she thought about the visit she received from the police two weeks earlier. It was late and she had been waiting for Jim to return from the city where he had to take care of some school business. But he didn't make it home, he had been hit by a drunk driver.
She had been surprised at the knock on the door and assumed Jim had his hands full and couldn't unlock it. She pulled the door open and was surprised to see her brother, Brian Belden, standing there. But she wasn't expecting to see Police Chief Wendell Molinson with him. One look at their faces and she knew something was wrong. After sitting down in the living room and assuring them that Katje, their daughter, was asleep in her room, they told her about the accident.
Arriving at the hospital a while later, she went right to the emergency room to see how Jim was. The doctor had run several tests and was waiting for the results. She had been shocked at how still he was in the hospital bed and wished he would wake up letting her know he was going to be fine.
Moving over to the bed, she settled in the chair beside him. She slipped her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"Come on, sweetie," she said softly. "You need to wake up. Everyone is waiting for you so we can celebrate the holidays."
She let out a sigh. "I know you can hear me, Jim. I really need you to wake up. I love you so much. I can't lose you."
The doctors has checked Jim thoroughly but couldn't understand why he hadn't regained consciousness. They couldn't explain it. Jim was hooked up to a heart monitor for the nurses to keep track of his condition.
Closing her eyes, she set her head on the bed. She couldn't leave Jim's side. She wanted to be there when he finally opened his green eyes.
Thinking back to the morning of the accident, she recalled the argument they had had.
Trixie and Katje were making Christmas cookies when Jim came down the stairs dressed in a suit. Without realizing it, Katje ran toward Jim and wrapped her arms around him, covering him in flour.
"Why didn't you stop her?" Jim asked taking Katje's arms and releasing her hold on him. "Now I have to change my suit and I'll be late for my meeting."
Jim stormed up the stairs with Trixie right behind. As they stepped into the master bedroom, Jim threw his jacket on the bed as he made his way to the closet.
"Jim, I'm sorry."
"Forget it."
"I'm trying to apologize. I should've caught her before she dirtied your suit."
Jim turned quickly to face her. "You're right. You should have." He slipped on his other suit pants and coat. "I have to go."
He left her standing in the room. She heard the kitchen door slam shut. She sat down on the bed and started crying. She was shocked that Jim hadn't seen she was genuinely sorry.
"Trixie," a soft voice said getting her attention.
A noise stirred Trixie from her sleep. Lifting her head off the bed, she looked at Jim
wondering if he had waken, but he hadn't. Noticing a light from the other end of the bed,
she turned to see what it was. A little boy about 10 stood at the foot of the bed. He was
wearing white clothes, with his red hair sticking out.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
"Why are you so sad?"
"I'm waiting for my husband to wake up. He's been asleep for several weeks."
Trixie looked at Jim's peaceful face then back at the boy. "Are you supposed to be on
this floor?"
The boy ignored her question and stepped toward the bed. "Do you love him?"
"With all my heart. Little boy, where are your parents? Do they know where you
are?"
Again he ignored her question as he looked at her. "He loves you too."
Trixie stared at him. "How do you know?"
"I just do." He smiled at her.
"How?"
The boy remained quiet.
A beep from the heart monitor made her look at Jim and she saw he was still unconscious.
Turning back to the boy, she realized he was gone.
Trixie's eyes jerked open as she looked around the room wildly. It was just her and Jim. They were alone. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Getting to her feet, she moved to the door and looked into the hall. The little boy was nowhere to be seen.