"You'll get your wish, Patricia," the Macy's Santa Claus had said. "I promise you!" And even though Patty was too old to believe in Saint Nick, she'd somehow known the man in red was telling the truth.
Mr. and Mrs. Murphy O'Rourke. How wonderful it sounded.
Patricia O'Rourke. How terrific it would look, written in her diary in her very best script.
The O'Rourke family. Now that was the very best of all.
From the churches of Rocky Hill came the glorious sounds of the bells tolling midnight as carols rang out up and down the quiet, snowy street.
She sighed happily and closed her eyes. "Merry Christmas to all," she whispered as sugarplums began to dance inside her head, "and God bless us, every one!"
The End
A Holiday Message
Like everyone else I'm still searching for the perfect Christmas. While I imagined other families gathered around the hearth sipping eggnog by firelight, my family gathered by the stove arguing about the turkey. Somewhere families gathered in serenity. Somewhere, but definitely not here. As my husband says, my family is small but volatile.
Years ago, when I was still too young to know better, I decided to do something about it. My husband had to work a half day on Christmas and, rather than the two of us fighting the traffic into Queens just for dessert, I opted for Christmas a deux. I cleaned the house until it sparkled like the lights upon the tree. The aroma of cinnamon wafted from the kitchen. We sipped eggnog and listened to carols while I tried to ignore the pile of shiny red-and-green packages that wouldn't be delivered until the next day.
I had my peaceful Christmas. A cathedral couldn't have been more peaceful than our house that evening. No hassles. No headaches. No darned good. My husband glanced at me as we put away our dinner plates. "I don't know about you," he said, "but all this peace and quiet is depressing the hell out of me."
I nodded and we grinned at each other. What I hadn't realized was that my idea of a perfect Christmas had nothing to do with real life. What makes Christmas or Chanukah perfect is being with those you love, sharing the jokes and traditions (and even the arguments!) that make your family special. Each family has its own style of celebration. Mine just happens to be louder than most.
Within ten minutes we had piled the presents and ourselves into the car and pointed it toward Queens. And, yes, we made it there in time for dessert!
May your holidays be simply perfect, this year and every year.
Barbara Bretton
More eBooks from Barbara Bretton
The Rocky Hill Books
Mrs. Scrooge
Bundle of Joy
The Crosse Island Harbor Time Travel Trilogy:
Somewhere in Time
Tomorrow & Always
Destiny's Child
Shelter Rock Cove Series
A Soft Place to Fall
Girls of Summer
The PAX Romantic Adventure Series
Playing for Time
Honeymoon Hotel
A Fine Madness
All We Know of Heaven - coming soon
The Sugar Maple Chronicles
Casting Spells
Spun by Sorcery
Charmed: A Sugar Maple Short Story
Spells & Stitches
Paradise Point New Jersey - women's fiction/romance
Shore Lights
Chances Are - coming soon
Idle Point
At Last
Someone Like You – coming soon
Historical Romance
Fire’s Lady
Midnight Lover
Other Titles
Her Bad Boy Billionaire Lover
The Edge of Forever
Second Harmony
I Do, I Do . . . Again - novella
The Marrying Man - novella
About the Author
Barbara Bretton is the USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of more than 50 books. She currently has over ten million copies in print around the world. Her works have been translated into twelve languages in over twenty countries and she has received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist.
Barbara has been featured in articles in The New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Romantic Times, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Herald News, Home News, Somerset Gazette, among others, and has been interviewed by the Independent Network News Television, appeared on the Susan Stamberg show on NPR, and been featured in an interview with Charles Osgood of WCBS, among others.
Her awards include both Reviewer's Choice and Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times; a RITA nomination from RWA; Gold and Silver Certificates from Affaire de Coeur; the RWA Region 1 Golden Leaf; and several sales awards from Bookrak. Ms. Bretton was included in a recent edition of Contemporary Authors.
Barbara cooks, knits, and writes in New Jersey with her husband.
How to contact Barbara:
Barbarabretton.com - website
Barbarabretton - Facebook, Twitter
Wickedsplitty - Ravelry
Barbarabretton AT gmail DOT com - email