I wrote this ages ago and found it the other day and refined it a bit. It is a sweet story meant to be totally separate from anything else I write.
A Christmas Story
by Steph
It was Christmastime in Sleepyside; one of sixteen-year-old Trixie Belden’s favorite times of the year. Three weeks off of school topped her list of nice things but the parties and all the fun around the holiday certainly didn’t hurt.
She was also excited about seeing her older brother, Brian, and her friends Jim Frayne and Dan Mangan return from college for the break. They were all sophomores and shared a room for three at a local university and she and her best friend, Honey Wheeler, missed them a lot since they were only able to come home for an occasional weekend. Her other brother, Mart, was a senior in high school and their other friend, Di Lynch, was a junior like she and Honey.
Whenever she thought of Jim, Trixie got a little flutter in her stomach. It seemed that every time they were together they moved closer to starting to date or something. She knew she liked him a lot but was waiting for him to make the first move, feeling shy about it, although she was hardly shy about anything else in her life.
She knew that they had at least plans to go to the big Christmas ball together. He had invited her as his date since all the Bob-Whites had been invited because they had done a lot of the preparation work for the charity involved. It was to be the night of the 23rd at the country club and they were all really looking forward to it.
They also had the big Christmas Eve party at Crabapple Farm followed by Christmas Day at Manor House to look forward to and her one concern was getting a nice present for him. She had an easy time with her parents and brothers as well as her friends but Jim was a real toughie. Not being certain of where they stood in their relationship really made it difficult.
Trixie and her mother went out shopping for it together since Trixie knew she would need help. With her mother’s guidance she finally decided on a nice tie and a book that he really wanted.
Trixie was very grateful for her mother’s help and when they finished their shopping they went out to eat lunch and her mother said, "So where exactly does your relationship stand? I see you together and I try and read what’s going on, but I can never tell for sure."
Trixie said, "I wish I knew to tell you. We’ve known each other for three and a half years and sometimes it seems like we’re about to really start something, but then the next day it seems we are millions of miles away. During Thanksgiving we danced when we went to that party at Di’s and I thought he might kiss me but we were surrounded by everyone. So in other words after all this time I still am that old saying 'Sweet Sixteen and never been kissed'."
Mrs. Belden said, "I’m somewhat surprised to hear you’ve never kissed but I always am going to be there for you to talk to. Your father and I like Jim a lot and hope that you can start something. He’s a special young man and what you have had over the years already is very nice."
They had a nice time and went home with Trixie feeling a little better.
Meanwhile as he prepared to go home for Christmas vacation, Jim sat in the room he shared with Brian and Dan and thought about Trixie. He had spent a lot of time thinking about her since Thanksgiving and what exactly he wanted to do about their uncertain relationship. He also had a hard time picking out something for her gift and decided finally on a special little notebook for her detective work and a book about unsolved mysteries he knew she would really enjoy.
Jim picked up a picture of him and Trixie the summer before and smiled. She was so beautiful and was getting more and more beautiful every day.
When the boys arrived home they had a nice little party at Crabapple Farm for them with everyone there and had a good time. They talked about the ball a few days later and Trixie, Honey and Di revealed that they were going shopping with their mothers in New York City the next day for their dresses. It was their first real fancy dress ball and they knew it was important and special.
The girls and their mothers had a wonderful time shopping and talking about the ball. Mr. Belden had told Mrs. Belden that she could get Trixie any kind of dress she wanted, cost was no problem because this was a special occasion. They went to several stores and Di and Honey found theirs pretty quickly but it took a while before Trixie found her perfect dress.
It was a floor length gown of soft blue silk that matched her eyes. It had a slightly full skirt and a nice bodice with puffed sleeves. She felt like a fairy tale princess in it as she seemed to float through the dressing room after putting it on.
Everyone said that they had found the perfect dress and she bought a pair of light blue pumps and a nice wrap and was ready to go. Honey was wearing a winter white dress of silk and Di, like always, was wearing lavender. Their mothers were also all going and had their dresses and said that they would have more fun watching their daughters at their first ball.
On the day of the ball the girls gathered at Manor House to get dressed together, helping with each other’s hair and makeup and to make sure that the dresses were perfect. Finally the three of them stood in front of the mirror together and marveled at how they looked, so grown up and different. They headed downstairs when they heard the boys arrived and all the parents were there.
Trixie was the last to come down and she seemed to float down the stairs to Jim as he stood there watching. He put his hand out to her and took it in his and lifted it to his lips and kissed it as Mr. and Mrs. Belden snapped pictures and she blushed.
Finally he leaned over and whispered in her ear, "You look like Cinderella tonight. Can I be your Prince Charming?"
She smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek before she said, "Okay. You look very handsome yourself" and everyone couldn’t help but notice how good they looked together with his hand on her shoulder and her head just reaching up to his shoulder. The others all looked very nice together but there was something special in the way Trixie and Jim looked when they were together.
Finally everyone headed over to the country club and had a wonderful time. They danced the night away and Mr. and Mrs. Belden found themselves having a lot of people come up to them saying that they should be very proud of their beautiful daughter and her handsome date. It seemed that they were the only two people in the ballroom when they danced as they gazed into each other’s eyes.
After a little while, Jim led Trixie out to the terrace where they sat down on a little bench. She rested her head against his shoulder. "I’d think that my feet would be tired from all that dancing, but when I’m dancing with you I feel like I’m floating on air."
Jim said, "It feels so natural when I have you in my arms and we’re floating across the floor. I don’t think we’ve danced with anyone else all night, have we?"
"No," said Trixie, "and I don’t want to. Jim, I was hoping that tonight we could--"
Before Trixie could continue her thought, a group burst out the doors to the patio and so they went back inside wanting to talk alone.
They didn’t get a chance to talk, but had a good night and didn't get home until one in the morning.
When Trixie got to her bedroom she turned on the radio for Christmas music and among the Christmas music was the song "I Could Have Danced All Night". She found herself singing along to it and couldn’t help but feel that the words reflected how she felt as she undressed and got ready for bed. She fell into a sleep where she dreamt about him all night. She knew for sure that it was time they started something, not as if there was ever any doubt.
When Jim got back to his room and turned on another station it was playing "The Way You Looked Tonight" and he couldn’t help but think of Trixie as he sang along with the words. He wanted desperately to call her but didn’t want to wake her if she was asleep already and also wasn’t quite sure what he would say. He did want to know what she was going to say before they were interrupted. Finally he fell asleep after undressing and dreamt about her. He had one dream about him with his school and her with her agency with Honey and she and he having a half dozen kids. He really liked that idea.
The next day Trixie spent most of her time with her mother with all the last minute preparations and decorations for the big Christmas Eve open house. The Wheelers and Lynches along with Regan, Miss Trask, Mrs. Vanderpoel, Tom, Celia and Mr. Maypenny all were coming. Mrs. Belden said, "I can’t wait to get the pictures developed from yesterday. You looked so beautiful last night and you and Jim looked so wonderful together. Everyone noticed."
Trixie said, "I felt wonderful in his arms. We do belong together and as soon as we have a minute alone I want to talk to him about us and see what he wants and feels. He may just want to be friends you never know what he’ll say."
Mrs. Belden said, "I don’t think so with the way he looks at you. I have some mistletoe here I’m hanging on the door to the living room, a very strategic place I might add."
Trixie giggled and they finished the preparations.
Finally Trixie went upstairs and dressed in a nice Christmas green dress that she had picked out. She reflected that, even though she was still not fond of dresses, she did look really nice when she got all dressed up. She did her hair and makeup and was just arriving downstairs when the Wheelers, Miss Trask and Regan, who were the first of the guests, arrived.
Jim gave her a peck on the cheek and gave her his presents to put under the tree and they were each going to say something when the Lynches arrived just behind the Wheelers and everyone was busy greeting each other and wishing a Merry Christmas.
The Beldens had set up a huge table in the dining room and everyone had settled around it to eat along with a small table for the Lynch twins and Bobby. First Mr. Belden led the prayer and then the eating began. After everyone was finished eating, the adults settled down for coffee and the Bob-Whites insisted on clearing the table and bringing out the pie for dessert before everyone went to the living room for presents.
The Bob-Whites had a lot of fun washing the dishes and then brought out the pie. As everyone was about to finish Trixie said, "I’m done, so I’ll go into the living room and make sure everything is ready. Jim, do you want to help me?"
Jim jumped up and said, "At your service, my beauty," as everyone looked at them and smiled at each other knowing that her asking him to help her went without saying.
As they headed to the living room, Jim looked up and said, "Hold on a second, Trixie, there’s something up there that demands our attention" and pointed at the mistletoe.
"It definitely does," said Trixie.
Jim bent down and instead of the peck on the cheek she expected, Jim kissed Trixie on the lips.
Trixie responded by putting her arms around him and kissing him back and at that very moment Mart walked in and whistled and they were oblivious as everyone else started filing until Mr. Belden said, "Trixie, um, you’ve got company in here."
They pulled apart and both blushed furiously as they held hands and sat down together on the floor by the tree. They knew they needed to talk about what had just happened and what she wanted to say the night before but it wasn’t the right time.
Bobby was assigned the honor of being Santa Claus to pass out all the presents. Everyone loved what he or she received. The private family exchanges would be in the individual houses the next day but this was all between the families and friends. There was a lot of merriment and Trixie and Jim loved the presents they received and shared another sweet, quick kiss of thanks.
After all the presents were opened, they gathered around the piano and Di played and everyone sang Christmas carols. Then it was time for the midnight service at the local church they all loved. Even Bobby and the Lynch twins were allowed to go since it was Christmas Eve.
The service was really beautiful as they ended it with everyone joining hands and singing "Silent Night" and then filing out into the beautiful December night.
Jim walked Trixie to her door before he went home because he had left his presents at Crabapple Farm. They decided to go into the kitchen and talk.
They sat down at the table and Jim said, "I want tonight to be the start of us being officially boyfriend and girlfriend. I’ve wanted this for three and a half years and now is finally the time."
Trixie said, "I agree. I like you a lot and I think this has been meant to be for a long time and tonight was a good start."
They kissed again and then Jim gathered his things and headed home.
The next evening was another party at Manor House. At the end of the party, Mr. Wheeler got up for one last toast and said, "Christmas is a time of new beginnings and all things right in the world. We’ve had a brand new beginning this year and will have many more so here’s to Christmas and the New Year and new beginnings for everyone!"
The End