A Christmas Wish

by Laura

Trixie Belden was lying in her bed feeling glum. In spite of the freshly fallen snow on the ground and the wonderful aromas rising to her room, she was miserable.

Sick on Christmas Eve, how unlucky can I get? she wondered. All of our plans are completely ruined.

The Bobwhites had all planned to go out Christmas caroling and then spend the rest of the evening together at the Manor House, while their parents had all been invited to a party at the Lynches’ house. But those were not the only plans that had been ruined for Trixie. It had begun a few weeks earlier, when both Trixie and Honey were spending the night with Diana.

The three girls were sitting in Diana’s room in their pajamas, munching on a late night snack and drinking hot cocoa. Di had convinced Trixie and Honey to play a game of Truth or Dare, and they were still laughing over the imitation of Mart that Di had been dared to give.

"Your turn, Trixie. Truth or Dare. Though, I should warn you, if you choose dare again, Honey and I will come up with something really awful for you to do," Diana said.

"You really should let us get some truth out of you," Honey added. "You’ve chosen dare for the last five rounds."

"Okay, then. Truth," Trixie said.

"Do you feel something more than friendship for Jim?" Diana asked.

Trixie’s face turned beet red and Honey’s face was frozen in shock. Honey had always been too tactful to mention the way she suspected Trixie felt towards her adopted brother, but now the question hung in the air.

Trixie looked down at the floor. She quietly murmured, "Yes." She was still blushing furiously. "I have for a long time," she added, looking up. "Lately, I have really been thinking of doing something about it. What do you guys think I should do?"

"Go for it, Trixie. I think that Jim has feelings for you, too," Di said.

"Really? How do you know?" Trixie asked.

"He stands up for you all the time, Trixie," Honey said.

"Just how many special looks have passed between you two?" Di added. "Maybe hundreds?"

"And the look on his face, when he calls you his ‘Schoolgirl Shamus’ makes his feelings really obvious. Why, if Brian were half as obvious about his feelings, or Mart, though she does have a few more years..." Honey trailed off at the horrified look on Di’s face. "Well, then I am sure the object of their affection would realize it, too," she finished.

"What are you talking about, Honey?" Trixie asked. "Who are the objects of Brian and Mart’s affections?"

"Uh...I don’t know. I was just speaking hypothetically," Honey said, looking uncomfortable.

"So, assuming that I’m going to follow your advice and let Jim know how I feel, what should I do?" Trixie asked. "I’m not exactly the declaration of undying love type. And I don’t want Jim to be uncomfortable if he doesn’t return my feelings."

"Oh, I just know he does. It is tough, though, figuring out a natural way to let him know," Di said. "Can you think of anything, Honey?"

"Well, Christmas is coming soon. Maybe we could fix things so that you could have some time alone with him at out Christmas Eve gathering."

"But what should I do once I get him alone?" Trixie asked woefully. "I might not have a problem speaking in dangerous situations, but when it comes to Jim, I’m tongue-tied."

"Hmm...Trixie, I’ve got it! I know how you can let Jim know without saying a word," Di said excitedly.

"What is it?" Trixie asked.

"Well, you know how Honey suggested telling him on Christmas Eve. That fits perfectly into my plan. People tend to decorate their houses around Christmas, right?" Di asked, as Trixie and Honey nodded. "Well, what decoration would let Trixie give Jim a kiss?"

"Mistletoe!" Honey exclaimed.

"Di, you are a true genius," Trixie said. "But, it will take a lot of nerve just to go up to Jim and kiss him."

"Yes, but you are the bravest girl I know, Trixie. I am sure you have the courage to do it," Honey said.

"We will put mistletoe all over the Manor House. Then Honey and I will come up with some excuse to take Dan, Mart, and Brian off somewhere, leaving you alone with Jim. If you just get him under some mistletoe, you’ll have the perfect excuse," Di said.

"I’ll do it," Trixie said, with more confidence than she actually felt. "This is a great plan, Di. You’re really the best at romantic intrigue."

"Well, if this plan works, I might want to use it on M...a boy at one point or another," Di said, catching herself.

"Now I just have to wait for Christmas Eve. I’d better brush my teeth now, after all those snacks," Trixie said, heading off to the bathroom.

"You know, Di, it really mystifies me how a brilliant detective like Trixie can be so clueless about everything," Honey said, smiling.

"Well, you slipped up tonight, too, Honey. I thought that you were supposed to be the tactful one, and here you nearly go and blab about how you like Brian and I like Mart."

"I said no such thing," Honey said. "But, I almost did. I’m sorry. You’ve never even told me how you feel about Mart before, so I had no right to come so close to revealing those suspicions. Though, you nearly did that for yourself, too."

"I know. I think we both should tell Trixie how we feel about her brothers. After all, she did just tell us how she feels about Jim," Di said.

"You’re right. But can we do it in the morning?" Honey asked. "I can’t keep my eyelids open another second."

*****

 

A knock sounded at Trixie’s bedroom door. "Come in," she called.

Mart walked into the room, carry a tray with some hot tea and some freshly made gingerbread men.

"What do you want, Mart?" Trixie asked grumpily. "It’s your fault that I’m stuck up here in this bed for the rest of the day, at least."

"Trix, you know I couldn’t let you go out caroling like this. I saw you practically cough up a lung. You’d catch pneumonia if you spent an evening outside, tromping around in the snow," Mart said seriously. "Besides, I bet that Brian and Moms and Dad would’ve caught on sooner or later. It’s hard to hide the flu when you’re really sick."

"That’s probably true," Trixie said sadly. "At first, I just thought I had a little cold, but by lunchtime, I did feel pretty awful. But I had something really important to do today, and now there’s now way that I can do it."

"What did you need? Maybe I can take care of it for you," Mart said.

"No, you can’t. And I can’t say what it was, either."

"Don’t worry, Trix. I’m sure that it will be okay. You can always do it when you’re feeling better, right?" Mart said sympathetically.

"Maybe," Trixie said. "But I really wanted to do it today."

"Well, buck up, fair sister. Have a gingerbread man. I made them myself, you know."

"You made them?" Trixie asked.

"Well, Moms may have performed in an advisory capacity, but a gastronomical genius such as myself would have completed these delectable morsels even in isolation."

"Mart, you’re making my headache worse. Could you please hold back a little on the human dictionary routine until I’m well enough to argue with you?" Trixie asked.

"Gleeps, you really must be sick," Mart said looking concerned. "All right. No more big words until you feel better. Now, eat my gingerbread men before Bobby comes looking for them. And drink your tea."

"Okay, Mart. But I still really need to do something today," Trixie said. "It’s something that I’ve wished to do for a long time."

"Don’t worry, Trix. Christmas wishes have a way of coming true," Mart said, smiling as he patted Trixie gently on the head. "Please just rest and get better." Mart walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Though Trixie tried to follow his advice, she couldn’t stop thinking about her chance slipping away. She probably wouldn’t see Jim on Christmas Day, and after Christmas, everyone would take down their mistletoe. I’ve been wanting to tell him for a long time. Now, I finally get my nerves up to do it, and I end up sick in bed, Trixie thought. I could tell him later, but it will just be hard to have the courage again. Maybe I shouldn’t tell him.

The day wore on into evening, and Trixie lay in bed, hearing the radio that was playing downstairs. When "All I Want For Christmas Is You" began playing, she sighed to herself.

"I won't ask for much this Christmas
I won't even wish for snow
I'm just gonna keep on waiting
Underneath the mistletoe..."

Somehow tears formed in her eyes when she heard those lines. Trixie ignored them, and tried not to listen to the radio. Soon after the song ended, Brian and Mart left to go caroling. Trixie didn’t even know how much time had passed before Moms, Dad, and Bobby came up to wish her goodnight.

"Are you sure that you don’t need me to stay, Trixie?" Moms asked. "I could at least keep you company."

"No, Moms. I’ll be fine here. I’ll probably go to sleep soon anyway, so I don’t want you to miss an evening out just to stay here and watch me sleep. Really," Trixie said, staining to smile.

"Wow! Trixie’s going to bed even earlier than I am today," Bobby said in excitement. "But you must be really sick to not stay up later than me. Please get better, Trixie."

"Yes, we all want you to get well soon," Mr. Belden echoed, walking out of the room. "Rest up and feel better."

"Take care of yourself, Trixie. If you need anything, please call me," Mrs. Belden said. "I love you. Goodnight."

Soon Trixie was completely alone in the silent house. She tried ignore the thoughts of the fun that Bobwhites were having. She tried not to think about everyone together over at Manor House. She tried not to think about Jim. But these thoughts kept racing through her mind, and she couldn’t drift off to sleep. She kept hearing "All I Want For Christmas Is You" playing in her head.

"Oh, I don't want a lot for Christmas
This is all I'm asking for
I just want to see my baby
Standing right outside my door
Oh I just want him for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
Baby all I want for Christmas is
You."

Finally, she drifted off to sleep. Wrapped in warm blankets, her body slowly relaxed. Suddenly, Trixie awoke. Her door was opening, and someone was coming in.

"Who’s there?" She tried to yell, though the words came out in a groggy croak.

"Wow, you really are sick," Jim said, turning on a lamp.

"Jim! What are you doing over here? It’s late—after midnight," Trixie said, looking at her alarm clock. "You should stay away from me—I’m sure that I’m contagious right now. Believe me, you don’t want to catch the flu."

"I’ll take my chances. It’s worth catching the flu if I get to be with my Schoolgirl Shamus on Christmas Eve," Jim said, coming closer. Trixie thought that his eyes sparkled when he said those words. He cracked her window open slightly. "I hope that this won’t make you cold, but there was one person we didn’t get to sing for tonight."

Trixie could hear people singing "Silent Night" outside of the house.

"So, why aren’t you out there singing to me, then?" Trixie asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Well, someone had to open your window so that you could hear us. Besides, I had something to give you for Christmas, and I just couldn’t wait any longer," Jim said, opening his palm to reveal a sprig of mistletoe tied with a ribbon in his hand. As he dangled it over Trixie’s head, he added, "There are strict rules about mistletoe, you know. They must be followed at all costs, so I don’t want to hear anything about germs from you."

"Okay," Trixie said meekly, her eyes opening wide in wonder as Jim leaned in towards her. As they shared a gentle kiss, Trixie could hear the voices of her closest friends serenading her.

"Merry Christmas, Trixie," Jim said, smiling down at her.

"Merry Christmas, Jim," Trixie answered, laying back on her pillows with a blissful look on her face.

The End