Timeline notes: This story is set 4 years after The Mystery of the Midnight Arrival

When Love Came Down

by Chelsea

 

Twenty-two year old Trixie Belden hurried out the door of the Sleepyside Police station were she worked. She was in a hurry to get home so she could get ready for the annual Bob-White Christmas party that was taking place later in the evening at the Bob-White’s clubhouse. All eight members were planning on being there, and it would be the first time that they would be together in quite some time.

She quickly got into her dark red SUV and started driving towards her old home, Crabapple Farm. Her mother, Helen Belden, was watching her four year-old triplets while Trixie worked. There, she could change, and whip up a quick something to take to the party. Trixie made a face at the thought of her whipping up a quick anything; it was no secret that Trixie Belden hated to cook.

She was about a mile from her house when a deer ran out in the road in front of her. Trixie screamed and slammed on the breaks, a dangerous thing to do on the very icy road. Her car started into a spin, and she grappled with the wheel, trying to regain control of the car. Her car went off the road, and she barely missed plowing into a big oak tree. The snow bank on the side of the road stopped her car, and she breathed a big sigh of relief. Headlights loomed up behind her and a minute later, a very concerned Jim Frayne was pecking on her window.

"Are you okay?" he asked his girlfriend.

"Yeah. I’m fine. A deer came out in the road in front of me, and silly me slammed on the brakes."

"Doing without thinking again, I see," said Jim with a teasing grin, "Someday that’s going to get you killed, Trix."

"I’m getting better," she said weakly. "Are you going to make it to the party?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"Wouldn’t miss it for the world," said Jim, "and I have a special present for my special girl."

"But I thought that you got Di’s name," said Trixie. Each year, the Bob-Whites put their names in a hat and each person drew out a name. Whoever’s name they got was who they got a present for.

"I did," said Jim with an impish grin, "but I got another present for you."

"I can’t wait to get it then," said Trixie with a grin, "but I’ll never make it if I can’t go get ready."

"Right," said Jim. He leaned through the open window and gave Trixie a kiss, then started backing away. "Do you think that you can make it out of that ditch?"

"Sure," said Trixie easily. "It’s not that deep and this thing does have four-wheel drive."

"Okay," said Jim. "I’ll wait to see that you get out okay before moseying over to Manor House." He got into his truck and waited. Trixie got out of the ditch just fine and she rolled down her window to holler to Jim.

"Haha!" she crowed. "I didn’t have to stick her into four-wheel drive! I’ll see you in a few hours!"

"I’ll be counting on it!" said Jim, before they pulled away.

************

 

Trixie got the rest of the way home just fine. When she arrived, a worried Mrs. Belden met her on the porch.

"I was getting worried," she said lightly. "You’re almost a half-hour late."

"A deer ran into the road in front of me," she said. Noting Mrs. Belden’s worried look, she quickly reassured her. "I’m fine. Jim stopped and helped me."

"Mommy!" said a little voice. Four year-old Caitlin rushed out of the house to greet her mother.

"Hey baby," said Trixie. "You know you shouldn’t be out without a coat on. You know how sick you’ve been lately."

"Sorry Mommy," said Caitlin repentantly. "Guess what we got to do today?"

"What?" asked Trixie obediently as she scooped her daughter up to carry her into the house.

"We made gingerbread men!" Caitlin giggled with delight.

"Wow," said Trixie. "You’ll have to show them to Mommy." Caitlin nodded and ran off to get her brother and sister. Ten minutes later, they were all gathered in the kitchen, admiring Caitlin, Celeste, and Carter’s gingerbread men.

"Speaking of food," said Trixie after several minutes of admiring the "men", "I need to make something for the Bob-White party."

"Can I come mommy?" asked Carter.

"Not this time," said Trixie gently. "This is a party for the adults. You get a party next week; remember? The one for you and your sisters and your cousin Laine?"

"Oh yeah," said Carter. "Okay."

"Moms, do you have the stuff to make a seven-layer salad?" asked Trixie.

Mrs. Belden looked at her daughter amusingly. "Since when do you like, or even want to, cook?"

"I don’t want to exactly," said Trixie, "but I need something to bring to the party, and seven-layer salad is even almost fun to make."

Mrs. Belden smiled. "In that case, we do have everything." She opened the fridge door and pulled out leaf lettuce, green and red peppers, salad dressing, sour cream, and shredded cheddar cheese. She got a pack of bacon from the freezer and ordered Trixie to get yellow and red onions from the storm shelter/cellar. While Trixie got the onions, Mrs. Belden got 2 cans of peas from the pantry, and the sugar.

"Is this it?" asked Trixie as she came through the back door.

"I think it is," said Mrs. Belden. She pulled a red-spined cookbook off her bookshelf and set on the counter in front of Trixie. "I’ll be playing with the kids if you need me."

"Thanks," said Trixie with a smile. She set to putting the bacon in the frying pan, and making the topping. An hour later, a triumphant, red-faced Trixie set a casserole dish into the refrigerator.

"I’m done!" she said triumphantly to her mother as she passed through the living room. "I’m going to get in the shower, and get dressed."

"Okay, the triplets and I are going to have a light supper and then go to see How the Grinch Stole Christmas at the Cameo."

"Sounds good to me," said Trixie, "but Moms, you’re going to spoil those three silly!"

"What else is a grandmother good for?" asked Mrs. Belden with a wink.

Trixie just laughed and headed upstairs. While taking a long, hot shower, Trixie felt the tension and strain of the day slip away. After about thirty minutes, she finally pried herself from the shower’s warm depths, and stepped out. She quickly lotioned and pulled a robe around herself to ward off the December chill.

Walking to her room, she pulled a garment bag out of her closet. In it was the outfit that she was wearing to the party; she had dropped it off that morning as she dropped the kids off to go to work.

She discarded the robe and pulled on soft, cadet blue surplice top with bell sleeves. She then pulled on a gray skirt that had a black lace overlay. For a final touch, she put on a beaded, black choker. While tomboy Trixie usually did not like wearing dresses or skirts, she had to admit that she particularly liked this outfit.

Besides, Trixie told herself, it’s just a small Bob-White party; not a ball. She decided that she still wanted to look nice.

She put on a light, peaches-and-cream make-up theme, before starting on her hair. Fifteen minutes later, a very frustrated Trixie was still trying to do something with it.

"Face it," she said aloud. "This is always going to be nothing but a mop."

"It is not," said an admonishing voice behind her. Trixie jumped, startled. She turned around to see a smiling Honey Wheeler behind her.

"Hey!" said Trixie with pleasant surprise, "I didn’t hear you come in!"

"I poked my head in and said ‘Hellooo’ but nobody answered. I knew that you were still home, so I decided to come up and investigate."

"It’s a good thing that you did too," said Trixie with a giggle. "I can’t make this mop do a thing."

"Sure you can," said Honey, "You’re just not trying the right things." She looked at Trixie appraisingly. "I like your outfit."

"Thanks," said Trixie as she turned back to the mirror. "It’s probably the one skirt that I can stand to wear. I like your outfit too."

Honey was in a black velvet top with a furry trim around the neck, and a tarnished gold skirt that had black velvet designs all over it.

"Thanks," said Honey. "I wonder why we’re all getting so dressed up though. It’s just a party between our fellow Bob-Whites."

"You know," said Trixie with a laugh, "I was wondering the exact same thing. The boys will probably be just as dressed up though."

Honey started working with Trixie’s hair and she soon had Trixie’s hair in an elegant twist.

"Honey Wheeler," said Trixie with amazement, "You are a miracle worker!" Honey just grinned in response.

"Are we ready to go then?" asked Honey.

"Yep. Just one last thing," said Trixie. She spritzed on a little perfume and turned to look one more time in the mirror.

"I think that I’m ready," she said finally. She and Honey went down stairs and Trixie pulled her salad out of the refrigerator.

"What are you taking?" asked Trixie.

"The strawberry pizza on the next shelf," said Honey with a giggle. She grabbed her desert and the two girls started out the door, stopping to grab their coats and their draw-name presents.

A brisk, ten-minute walk brought them to their clubhouse. The outside had been decorated with icicle lights which intermingled with real icicles. Stepping inside, the girls saw that multi-colored lights had been strung around the room, including some bubble lights, which had a water filled stick on the end which bubbled. A Christmas tree was set up in the corner, and some presents were already underneath it. A cd player was playing Silent Night.

"Wow," breathed Trixie as she went over to Jim, "You boys really made the place look nice." This year the boys had decided to decorate the clubhouse, telling the girls that they couldn’t see it until the night of their Christmas party.

"Those icicle lights were a killer," said Jim laughingly. "They got so tangled while Mart and I tried to hang them."

Trixie giggled. "They look wonderful," she said. She wrapped her arms around her boyfriend.

"Thanks," said Jim. He led her to a overstuffed arm chair and set her down on his lap. Mart and Diana Belden were there, as were Brian Belden and Honey Wheeler. They were all seated in large armchairs, or on the couch; the meeting table and been moved out long ago and replaced with comfortable chairs, a couch, and a loveseat, all donated by Mr. Wheeler when he got a new living room set. Dan and Cheyenne and Mangan were the only ones not in attendance, as Dan was working late today. They would be there in half an hour or so.

"How are you doing?" Jim asked Trixie. "Did you make it home okay?"

"Why? What happened?" asked Mart concernedly.

"A deer crossed in front of me on the way home," explained Trixie. "I went into the ditch trying to avoid it. I’m fine though," she added.

At that moment, the door to the clubhouse blew open and Dan and Cheyenne entered the room.

"Hey!" said Trixie cheerfully. "You’re here earlier than you expected."

"Yeah, the boss let me take off half an hour early today, the roads are getting pretty bad outside." Dan and Cheyenne settled down on the loveseat.

"Now that we’re all here," said Honey, "We can open our presents." Each person had brought two presents, one for their draw name, and one for their spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend/fiancé.

Everyone gathered around Jim and Trixie’s chair, as it was closest to the Christmas tree. Jim picked up the first present and read the name aloud. "Mart from Cheyenne." Jim handed the present to Mart. Mart opened it to discover a brand new Webster’s Dictionary. Everyone cracked up.

"Thanks Cheyenne!" said Mart. "This will help me a lot with my English class." Mart taught English at Jim’s school for orphaned boys.

Jim picked up the next present. "To Honey from Dan." Honey opened her package to reveal a beautiful sweater.

"Oh Dan, it’s lovely," she said. She leaned over and gave Dan a peck on the cheek. Dan blushed.

"I’m glad that you like it," he said. "Cheyenne helped me pick it out."

Jim picked up the next package. "Trixie from Brian."

"Wow, this is heavy," said Trixie as she shifted around in Jim’s lap to open her present.

"Ohhhh," she breathed. In the box was a whole collection of Mary Higgins Clark novels. "Brian, I love these!"

"I thought that you would," said Brian. "I’m glad that you like them."

Jim picked up the next gift. "Hmmm, this one is for me from Di." He opened the package. Inside was a pair of camouflage covered boots.

"Wow." said Jim, "These things are great. I can’t wait to use them."

"I thought that you would," said Di. "But man, men are hard to shop for."

"The next present goes to….. Brian! From moi." Brian opened his present to reveal a very large and impressive first aid kit. Brian whistled.

"Wow. This is nice. I’ve been wanting one of these!"

"A little birdie told me that you did," said Jim with a grin. "Now you have a perfect first aid kit for your apartment." He pulled up the next package. " Cheyenne from Honey."

Cheyenne opened her package to reveal a sweater that duplicated Honey’s, only Honey’s was gold and Cheyenne’s was a deep, emerald green.

"Great minds think alike," said Cheyenne with a giggle.

"To Mart from Dan," said Jim. Dan opened his package to reveal a whole collection of Frank Sinatra records, his favorite singer.

Dan could only grin. He had been wanting the records for a long time, but had yet to save up enough money for them. "Thanks, buddy!" he said, clapping Mart on the back.

"You’re welcome," he said.

Jim picked up the last present. "The last package of the evening goes to Diana, from Trixie."

Diana opened her present to reveal a beautiful new camera with all the extras.

"Oh Trix!" said Di, "I love it!"

"Thanks," said Trixie, "I had some expert help in picking it out." She glanced up at her boyfriend, who also loved photography.

"Now," said Mart, "We get to open the presents that we got for our special someone’s."

Jim turned around and whispered in Trixie’s ear. "Will you take a walk with me?"

"Sure," said Trixie. She put on her coat, gloves, and scarf. Together, she and Jim slipped outside. They started walking up one of the many paths that led to into the preserve. Once they had gotten a good distance from the clubhouse, Jim stopped and turned Trixie around to face him. He got down on one knee and reached into his coat pocket. Trixie’s breath quickened with anticipation with what she hoped might happen.

"Trixie Belden," said Jim, "I was lost until you came into my life. I was scared and lonely and without a future or a hope; but then you found me, and it was like somebody turned on a light inside of me. You gave me a family and future. You gave hope. And one of those things that I always hoped for, was that one day you give me the honor of being my wife. So Trixie Belden, will marry me?"

Trixie started crying and nodding her head. "Yes James Winthrop Frayne, I will marry you."

At this, Jim started crying too. Trembling fingers slid a beautiful diamond engagement ring on Trixie’s finger. Standing up, he kissed away her tears and held her close as a beautiful, fine snow started falling down upon them.

The End

Happy Holidays IV