Published: 17 Apr 2017

Editors Note: Deep in the dark recesses of Kyle’s computer, there was this little story from ages ago. While written as a Christmas story, it could very well have been an Easter story, as it embodies themes from both Christian Holidays.

Quinn Alexander exited the military hospital, his arm in a sling, and glanced down at the paperwork in his hand for about the fiftieth time. Twenty-three years of service to the Air Force over, honorable discharge, full retirement, and a bit extra for disability; a mangled elbow sustained in Afghanistan when his rescue chopper was hit by some kind of RPG. His whole life was now in a large manila envelope.

He rolled his eyes in disgust as he had to dodge a couple of doctors coming into the building while avoiding the stupid Christmas tree that happened to be blocking a good portion of the main entrance. Before he even made it to the door, he could see the weather man had been right on target as snow lanced into the sliding glass doors. ‘Great, the forewarned blizzard is here.‘

At the gate, he stopped and nodded to the airman, “Any chance you can call for a cab?”

The eighteen-year-old female nodded, “Sure Chief. No car?”

The now retired Chief Master Sergeant managed a half grin, “Yeah, I have two; a Blazer and a Vette. Both useless,” he raised his slung right arm, “stick shifts. I haven’t even pulled them out of storage since getting stateside, so I am sure they need some work.”

The young woman cringed, “Ouch, sorry Chief. If you need a hand, call the base and ask for me. I’ll be happy to take them off of the blocks, give em a tune up, and change the oil for you.”

He raised an eyebrow, rather surprised to hear the young lady knew what would need to be done and actually knew how to do it. “I very well might do so.”

“I’d be happy to help.” She paused and looked at the blowing snow. “I’ll get a cab coming but it usually takes about ten to fifteen.”

Quinn’s shoulders dropped, “Awesome, twelve degrees, wind chill well below zero and a wait for a cab.” He moved to wait on a snow covered bench.

“Chief.” The woman called out, “I know it’s against regs, but why don’t you wait in the guard shack.”

“No way, Airman…”

“Come on Chief. After over two decades, the least this country can do for you is keep you warm while you wait for a stupid cab.”

He gave it a moment of thought and snickered, “OK, Airman, we’ll do it your way. It’s just dammed hard to get used to doing something against military regs, and your right, no one is going to say squat.”

The woman snickered, “Our LT is too much of a wuss to do guard checks in this weather.”

“All these new Academy guys come out thinking their crap don’t stink and are ready to take the world by the nuts. Problem is, most kids these days grew up way too spoiled and haven’t had a decent butt kicking yet. The Academy took care of the basics, like getting them out from under mommy’s arms, but they still need to find out what the real world is like.” Quinn stated rather sadly.

“Wow Chief, you and my dad would get along great. He says the same thing. The first time he took me hunting, I thought my friend’s parents were all going to have heart attacks. The thought of a girl firing a gun, missing some school, and being out in the wild was just too much for most of them. He even threatened the principle with a lawsuit when she threatened to call C.P.S. when she found out I actually gone hunting.”

Quinn laughed hard, “I like your dad already. How old were you?”

“Nine, I think. I was in the third grade at the time. By the time I was in junior high, I knew how to track game plus shoot just about everything shootable, fish, and could go camping without a tent. It made finding boyfriends a bit hard though, cause I was more manly than most of the boys in my school. Most were afraid to date me after they found out I was a black belt, owned half a dozen rifles and shotguns, and could catch, gut, clean, and cook a fish on a fire I made by hand. Unfortunately, not much has changed since I joined the Air Force.”

“I’m surprised you went with the Air Force.” Quinn stated, happy at least some of the newest airmen coming in had not grown up on Play Stations and X Boxes.

“Hey, if the Army would let females become Rangers, I would have been the first in line. It’s too bad there are so few combat slots offered to females. I think it would be great to go over there and let those oppressed women see some females kicking the crap out of the Taliban. Maybe a few of them would take up arms to stop the horrible abuse.”

The two continued to make small talk until the cab arrived.

“Airman,” Quinn stated with some pride at the fact the woman he was talking to was in an Air Force uniform, “You are going to go far. Just don’t bend too many regulations along the way.”

“Not too many, Chief. I want to be a lifer like you. Enjoy your retirement and have a great Christmas.”

Quinn gave the woman a final nod ignoring the Christmas remark as he hurried over to the cab and slipped into the back. He grimaced in pain as he realized he should have jumped in the other side where he could easily use his left arm to close the door, but refused to look weak, so he twisted and managed to grab the handle with his left hand.

As he finally got situated, the cabby glanced back, “Where to?”

Quinn frowned. He had no idea where he was going. As a matter of fact, until this second it hadn’t really dawned on him that he had nothing set up for life as a civilian. His whole life, since three weeks after high school graduation, had been Air Force. His mother had died when he was a little guy, and his father had been killed several years prior. With no family, wife or anyone else, he had lived on military bases from one end of the globe to the other for the last twenty-three years and had never established a home. When he found out he was going over to Afghanistan, he put all his stuff in a pair of pay by the month storage units close to the base and hadn’t been back to check on it. Mostly, because he had lost twenty pounds, so very little he had would fit and he couldn’t use either vehicle.

His only true home, that of his parents, had been sold off years before and he had no desire to go back to Florida for a visit let alone to live. Humidity, bugs, snakes and gators all amounted to a place to stay far away from in his opinion. He looked blankly back at the cabby for a couple of seconds, “How about you just drive toward the city for a few minutes while I give it some thought.”

The guy shrugged, “Hey it’s your dime.”

Quinn snorted, “Yeah, like every half a second or so. I know. Just drive.”

“No prob.” The guy pulled away from the curb, took the entrance to the freeway and easily merged given the fact very few were crazy enough to be running around in this kind of weather.

Before Quinn had really developed a plan, the tall buildings of downtown could be seen intermittently between the gusts of heavier snow. “You know what; I need to find a hotel close to a department store and a grocery store, preferably one that will let me pay for a week or two.”

The guy looked at Quinn through the rear view mirror. “Well I know of a few nicer places, but they ain’t cheap and there ain’t no stores like you want real close by.”

“I’m on foot until I find a car.” Quinn responded, “And the single bag I have is all I have for clothing at the moment. I don’t really need nice. Hell, I lived in single NCO base housing for most of my life. I just want a place with decent locks and not too many cockroaches.”

The guy gave a hard laugh, “Well that opens things up a bit more.” He took the next off ramp. “There is a Wal-mart super center up here with a couple of pay by the week joints that have full kitchens. They ain’t noth’in fancy and sure as hell not in the greatest neighborhood.”

“Perfect.”

Minutes later the cabby pulled into a snow covered lot. “There is this place and another a block up and right across from the Wal-mart, but there is a bar right next to that one, and I hear that place is full of street walkers. Besides, this one has a coin laundry joint attached.”

“I may have a bum arm, but I can still walk an extra couple of blocks.” Quinn smiled. “Thanks.” He paid the fare and dropped the guy an extra twenty.

The cabby smiled, “Awesome, thanks, this will give me the extra cash to get my girl the little cooking set she wants for Christmas.”

Quinn winced as he pulled his bag out of the back. “Glad to hear it. You take care and drive safe.”

The cabby waved, “Will do, have a Merry Christmas.”

Quinn nodded, but said nothing. Instead he hustled into the lobby, spotting a thin guy behind the counter sucking hard on a cigarette with a full astray in front of him. The guy looked up with a bit of disinterest. “You need a room?”

Quinn nodded toward the sign saying units available with full kitchenettes. “Actually I wanted a place for a few weeks.”

The guy shrugged, “Sure, I got a few units. He looked at his board and then over to Quinn’s arm, “Looks like you may want one on the ground floor, huh?”

“That would be nice.” Quinn responded.

“Well I got a studio style unit for $240 a week or a smaller corner spot across from the pool. It goes for $215. We only change bedding once a week, but will do so more often for $5 a shot. Basic cable is provided, but the TV is small and in a locked cage, so if you want a better picture, bring in your own set and unscrew the cable from the back of the one in your apartment.”

“I’ll handle my own bedding and a small TV is fine. You do discounts for a month?”

The guy snorted, “Sure, what the hell. It’s only three days till Christmas. I’ll give you the smaller for $820 if you pay in full today. It ain’t much off, but it’ll give you a couple of free days.”

Quinn almost walked out at the mention of the most useless day of the year, but realized no matter where he ended up staying he’d hear something about it. At least this place wasn’t wasting time with gaudy decorations. The only sign of the coming money wasting season was a small tree on the corner of the desk with a few bulbs and no lights. He pulled his debit card, “Deal.”

Fifteen minutes later, Quinn dropped his bag on the bed and glanced around the room. He grunted in annoyance, knowing he was going to have to buy some cleaning supplies in addition to personal bedding and probably a cook set, but all things considered it could have been much worse.

He locked up and headed over to Wal-mart with his empty overnight bag, knowing he would have to put much of what he bought in it. Half a block later, he knew his next major purchase would have to be an automatic transmission car. There was no reason to deal with transporting groceries when he had more money than he figured he would ever need considering he had his father’s inheritance, a military retirement, and had spent very little over the past twenty-three years.

Keeping his head down to fight off the blowing snow, he made it into to the supercenter and shook off the snow; cringing once again as his elbow moved the wrong way. He then went over to the greeter, showing the ancient looking woman his empty bag.

She gave him a smile and nodded telling him it was no problem bringing it into the store.

Turning to grab a cart he tripped, not having seen the kid kneeling next to the display of new DVD movies until it was too late. He fell hard but managed to twist, purposefully falling on his good side. Still the twinge of the jolt was almost enough to take his breath away.

He rolled over on his back and fought off a wave of pain filled nausea only to see a dark haired boy with buck teeth and a nasty black eye looking at him with near terror in his big green eyes.

As a security guard came over to check on things, the kid held up his hands, showing they were in need of a washing and shook his head. “I didn’t mean to mister.”

Quinn took a couple of breaths and shook his head as he noticed the security guard eyeing the boy, “Hey, you didn’t do anything wrong. It was all me. I didn’t see you there.”

He grabbed the rail for keeping the carts contained and pulled himself up, ignoring the hand of the guard. Leaning over the rail to fight back the urge to puke again, Quinn motioned everyone to get back from him. Before he got his bearings back to once again apologize to the youngster, there was no sign of the kid. Straightening up, he glanced over at the guard and greeter. “I’ll be fine. I’m just not used to having only one arm.”

“Are you sure you are OK?” The guard asked carefully. “You look a bit pale.”

Quinn glanced down at the sling. “Comes with having a pound and a half of busted chopper and shrapnel dug out of your arm; then having your elbow rebuilt. After surviving the crash and a two hour firefight before being medivaced, I think I can get over tripping on some kid.”

The guard nodded, “Alright, but if you need anything let us know.” He paused, “And thanks for your service.”

Quinn nodded his thanks as he finally grabbed a cart, put his empty overnight bag in the top, and made his way into the store. Everywhere he looked, there were Christmas this or Christmas that out. ‘Four days until most of the crap gets stuck in clearance aisles,‘ he thought as he once again had to maneuver the cart with his single good arm around some green and red display stuck dead center in the frozen food section. His ire really went up as he even found a display of Christmas designed paper towels stuck square in the middle of the paper goods aisle. Fighting off the urge to kick the whole cardboard bin out of the way, he finally got his cart around it.

Muttering to himself, he once again tried to figure out why people allowed a religious holiday to be hijacked by a bunch of money grubbing corporations and rich braggarts. In his opinion, it was no better than Muslims allowing their religion to be taken over by those wanting to spread death.

Christmas was just one more thing the Muslim terrorists pointed to as what was wrong with the west, and was probably the only thing Quinn agreed with them about. Buy this, buy that, oh look I can even put Santa on a bath curtain just so all you stupid people out there can waste yet more money on something utterly useless eleven months out of the year and then only useful for showing off the other month. It was sickening.

Knowing the storm still raged outside, he moved on being extremely careful on what he bought. He knew he needed to stick everything in his bag while still having the basics to survive a day or two. He worked his way across the store. Twice he saw the boy he had tripped over, both times alone looking at toys. First the boy was looking at the Transformer toys. The second time the kid was gazing at Hot Wheels with an almost longing.

Quinn couldn’t help but smile as the kid’s attention was so riveted, he didn’t even notice Quinn, nor anyone else. ‘No wonder I tripped over him, he is in his own little world and so am I.‘ It was actually kind of comforting knowing he was not alone in tuning out the world on occasion.

Finally, he guided the cart to the checkout counter only to once again encounter the child he had stumbled over. This time the kid was doing what most other kids do; he was holding up a candy bar asking his mom if he could have it.

The woman, certainly too young to have a kid his age, was a bit too skinny and dressed like she should be at a strip club instead of a store. She finished purchasing cigarettes before finally responding to the boy, “Brice, you’re lucky to be getting lunch while school’s out. I ain’t got the cash for crap like that.”

The boy hung his head and put the candy bar back on the shelf.

Quinn scowled as the woman paid for half a dozen cans of canned raviolis, spaghetti and meat balls, and chili-mac then shoved the bag over for the boy to carry. Her aggravation over having to buy the stuff was written all over her face and her trashy make-up didn’t hide it in the slightest.

As he got his own stuff scanned, he couldn’t help but notice the boy glance back at the candy with a bit of regret. He shook his head, grabbed three of the chocolate bars and added it to his purchase while quickly loading his empty bag with things as they came off the scanner. The second he swiped his debit card and got his receipt he moved to the door at a rapid pace.

At first, he thought he had lost the kid and the mother, only to discover the little guy was off to the side trying to tie his shoe while blowing on his obviously cold fingers. Quinn made his way over to the two, only to realize just how poorly the kid was dressed. His tennis shoes were old and ratty looking, not to mention the totally wrong thing to be wearing when the snow was already over half a foot deep. His coat was way too thin, torn and no cleaner than the hands Quinn had seen earlier. Even worse, the kid’s jeans had a large hole in the right knee. The fact he could see skin told Quinn the kid didn’t have any long johns either.

Totally disgusted over the fact the woman had just spent almost twenty bucks on cigarettes when her kid needed clothing, he made his way over. “Excuse me.”

The boy’s eyes went wide with fear as he saw Quinn. The boy scooted back just enough to put his mom between himself and Quinn.

At the same time, the mother looked up and snarled in a nasty tone, “Yeah?”

Quinn fought hard to keep his cool, but a glance at the clearly scared boy allowed him to bite back a sharp reply. “I just wanted to apologize for stepping on your boy back in the store and wanted to make sure he was OK.”

The woman glanced over her shoulder, “Seems fine to me.”

Quinn clenched the fist on his good arm and instantly saw the boy flinch. Taking a breath, he pulled the three candy bars out of the front pouch of his bag. “Well hopefully this will make things right.” He paused and glanced over to the woman, “As long as it is OK with you.”

“Why would I care? It ain’t my money.” She fired back as she moved out of the way so Quinn could easily hand the candy over.

The boy looked up, astonished. “Wow! Thanks mister!” He reached out and snatched them as if he was afraid the offer would be withdrawn if he didn’t react instantly.

Quinn reached out and ruffled the boy’s hair, “Sorry about earlier.” Even as he spoke, he could feel the boy tense up. He withdrew quickly and struggled to keep a smile knowing there was nothing more he could really do for the kid.

The boy pocketed two of the bars and eagerly unwrapped the third, blowing on his cold fingers as he ate.

Quinn quickly turned away, happy to have at least done something kind for a kid who certainly didn’t get much in the way of love. ‘Some people just shouldn’t have kids,‘ he thought as he hefted the bag over his shoulder and turned back into the snowy day. The second he was back in the rented room he dropped his bag, glad to have it off his shoulder and even happier to be out of the wind and snow.

He rubbed over the cast covering his elbow wishing he could rub the aching joint. The doctors had warned him about this, saying it would be worse in cold and wet weather. As he broke out the new bedding and cleaning supplies, he found himself fighting off the urge to take a pain pill. Yes they were prescription, but Quinn hated drugs, even legal ones.

After five hard hours of cleaning and fighting to make a bed with a single arm, he finally grabbed the pill bottle and tired to grip it with his bad hand while pushing on the top with his good hand. Having no success, he switched cursing under his breath as the top simply wouldn’t budge because he didn’t have the needed strength in his injured arm and hand to hold it properly. Just as he started to try to grip the cap with his teeth, the sound of women yelling just outside his door interrupted him.

He glanced out only to see the mother from Wal-mart just outside the fenced off pool area arguing with another woman. He was about to turn away from the scene when he spotted the boy leaning up against the fence around the pool, shivering and crying. The pain temporarily forgotten, he pulled open the door and stepped into the icy cold night.

Both women instantly looked up. The boy’s mom quickly stuffed something into her purse while the other one moved her hands behind her back. Off to the side, the boy looked up, snot and tears running down his face, clearly not recognizing Quinn.

Eyeing both women, he spoke not hiding his anger over the fact there was a kid probably only a few minutes from having frost bite, crying his eyes out while the two of them were doing some kind of dishonest business. “Ladies, I really don’t know or care what the hell you are doing, but little Brice is freezing his nuts off while you two bicker.”

Brice’s eyes went wide at the mention of his name, but tears continued to spill down his cheeks. Even in the dim light, Quinn noticed the boy’s black eye was actually worse than it had been earlier in the day and was certainly more swollen.

Dressed only in shorts, a tee shirt, and his ever present sling, Quinn made up his mind that whatever was going on with the boy had to end and end now. He stepped all the way out from under the overhand and into the snow. Anger, over everything he was seeing, allowed him to ignore the fact he was now standing barefoot in just under a foot of snow. “So what is the major malfunction here?”

Brice’s mother responded, “Not that it’s any a your biz, but I’m trying to find a place to stick him while I work. If you’re so damned worried, then why don’t you babysit him for the night?”

“You don’t even know me woman.”

The other woman grunted in annoyance, but otherwise remained silent as Brice’s mom shrugged, “No, but you’re new here, so you had to pay for a week to get a kitchen unit and I know you got enough extra cash to buy the brat candy, so you ain’t broke.”

“But…”

The woman’s face twisted into a nasty smirk. “But what? You come out here acting the fool, wanting to know what is going on, pretending like you care or something. So here’s your chance to put up or shut up.”

Desperately wanting to knock the woman’s nasty smile clean off her face, he hardened, “Fine, how do I get a hold of you in an emergency?”

“He knows my cell.” She jerked her head in Brice’s direction. She then dug back into her purse and tossed Quinn a key. “I’m in room 207 of the Sweet Water just up the street if you want to send him to get a change of clothing, but I’m gunna need the place to myself in a few hours.”

“No, I’ll buy him something decent instead of cigarettes.” Quinn stated, tossing the keys back to her.

She let out a bit of a humor filled snort. “You ain’t insulting me none, cause like I said earlier, it ain’t my cash, so I really don’t give a shit.”

Quinn let out a light snarl as he turned his back on the sorry excuse for a human being. He moved over to Brice. “Let’s get you out of this weather.”

The mother glared at her boy, “Hey, you were the one bawling like some two year old over not wanting to stay with Gretchen, so are ya gunna go with the guy you have talked about all day as being so nice or do you go with Gretch?”

Brice shook his head wildly, while still looking at Quinn with a great deal of fear. Before more could be said, he allowed Quinn to guide him out of the bitterly cold evening.

With the boy safely inside his room, Quinn looked back over his shoulder only to see both woman walking away, continuing to argue. He shivered, realizing he was standing in snow with no shoes. He quickly entered his apartment and closed the door.

Suddenly Quinn stopped as his eyes fell on the still crying but nowhere near as upset child. ‘What in the hell did I just do? The closest I have come to taking care of a kid is tossing a ball around at base housing a couple of times.‘

Letting out a deep breath, Quinn watched as Brice wiped his eyes and tried to stop sobbing, but it was clear he was very scared. “Hey, take it easy, buddy.” Quinn spoke in a much softer voice. He opened the door to the bathroom, “I don’t really know what is going on, but you need to get yourself cleaned up a bit and thaw out.”

Brice looked up with dirty tear streaked cheeks and managed to speak in between sobs, “Are you gunna hurt me?”

Quinn felt his jaw drop, heart break, and a deep burning anger flare in his chest all at the same time. While he knelt and put his good arm around the child, the other half of him wanted to chase after the two women and strangle them. Forcing as much anger as he could out of his voice, he shook his head, “No Brice. As long as you are under my care, no one is going to hurt you.”

Brice bit back another couple of sobs and looked right into Quinn’s eyes. Doubt and hope were mixed together in look and voice as he squeaked out a single word, “Really?”

Quinn gripped the boy tightly, “While you are here you are safe.” Quinn was cringing slightly as he realized the kid had a bit of a foul smell to him in addition to looking grubby. “Now I think you should get yourself cleaned up a bit. Once you are warm enough, we need to go back out, get you some new things to wear, some food, cause I really didn’t expect a vistor, and a sleeping bag or something for you to sleep in tonight.”

The boy shook his head, “Don’t waste your money, mister. I’ll just sleep on the floor with my coat…”

“No chance.” Quinn stated forcefully, yet with a smile. “But thanks for trying to save me some money. Now get cleaned up and when you come out I want your mom’s cell number.”

Brice shrugged, “OK, but she won’t answer.” His voice dropped to just above a whisper level. “She never does for me.”

Quinn found himself speechless. For a little kid to have to admit something like that to a total stranger was just about the most disturbing thing he had ever heard.

Brice came out, not smelling any better, but definitely looking cleaner. He recited his mom’s cell number so Quinn could program it in his phone, and then looked up. “What now?”

“Now we go shopping. You up for another blast of cold?”

Brice looked a bit surprised but quickly nodded and pulled the hood up on his jacket.

Quinn frowned at the boy’s expression but remained silent as they both moved at a quick pace toward the blue neon sign, neither wanting to spend an extra second out in such awful weather.

Once out of the cold, Quinn had Brice grab a cart and headed straight for the clothing. Having no clue how to buy kid’s clothing, he took the easy route. He went up to the oldest lady he could find working in children’s clothing and pointed down at Brice. “Sorry to do this to you, but he is visiting me, his bags were lost, he has been in the same clothes for a couple of days, and I know nothing about boys’ attire.”

The grandmotherly woman shook her head, “Oh my, well I am sure we can get him everything he needs. What did you have in mind?”

Quinn glanced down at the boy, knowing just by what he was seeing the little guy needed new everything and more than one set of it. “Well, since it’s been a couple of days already, I’d like a few days worth at least. Let’s say three days clothing, a warm coat, gloves, hat, shoes and boots plus some long johns and whatever you can think of… Oh, and something to sleep in.”

“What about socks and underwear?”

“Definitely.” Quinn stated while putting on a fake smile, realizing he would have forgotten underclothing.

The woman nodded, “OK, do you have a budget?”

“Let’s try to keep it reasonable, but I really don’t know what to expect. Say two to three hundred?”

“Oh, I am sure we can get it done for less than three. Would you like to be involved in what he picks out?”

Quinn let out a sigh, “Just make sure nothing Christmassy. He needs to be able to wear it well after this season is finally over. No skimping on shoes, boots, or a coat though. This storm is supposed to stick around for a couple of days last I heard.” Quinn dug out his pill bottle and once again tried to open it, “I’d like to sit for a few; my elbow is killing me and I can’t even open my pain pills.”

Brice quickly came over and held out his hand, “I’ll open it for you, if you want.”

Quinn gave the boy a genuine smile, “Thanks Brice.”

With a quick twist in the boy’s small hands the cap was off and the bottle back in Quinn’s hands. Quinn shrugged at the woman, “So much for child proof.”

“Yeah, another wonderful government idea, huh.” She laughed then pointed. “There is a water fountain up front, if you need one. This will probably take half an hour or so.”

“Good enough, I have to grab a few other things for us anyway.”

By the time Quinn got back, there was a pile of clothing and winter gear next to Brice and he was trying on some shoes. The woman looked up, “There’s your Uncle.”

Brice looked up with some relief, then glanced nervously over at the stack.

Quinn simply nodded, “You like it all and it fits, right?”

The woman responded, “Quite the frugal nephew you got here, he was really careful in trying to pick out the least expensive stuff, but I finally convinced him to get a couple of heavier jeans, since it looks like his knees tend to do a number on the ones he’s been wearing.”

Quinn paused, “Brice, if there is something nicer you want, now is the time to get it. But remember, you are going to have to carry it all and this sleeping bag too.” Quinn pointed to a large travel bag and sleeping bag. “My carrying bag is already full, so I can’t help you.”

Brice nervously went back and got a new hooded jacket and a hat with the Transformers logo on it, putting back the much cheaper hat on the rack as he did so.

Quinn gave a reassuring smile and nodded toward the cart. As Brice was loading the cart, Quinn thanked the woman and headed to the checkout. Once out of earshot, he looked down, “So I am your uncle huh?”

“She really talked, so I had to make up stuff. I told her my step dad hit me and mom sent me to be with you for a while.” He looked down at his feet, “Sorry.”

Quinn patted Brice on the back lightly, “Hey, I told one when we first came in too. You’re fine. But I would like to know how you got the back eye, and why it is worse now than it was earlier today.”

“Gretchen’s … um… boss.”

Quinn could tell by the way the boy hesitated, the guy was almost certainly a pimp, but he had already guessed both Brice’s mom’s and Gretchen’s line of work. Still, his eyes hardened, “Both times?”

“All three.” Brice whispered. “Two yesterday and one today. He hits me all the time and stuff. That’s why I was crying.”

“Tonight, you are safe.”

“Then what?”

“Let’s just worry about tonight, OK?”

Brice nodded then frowned as he realized Quinn had already bought the stuff in the cart and had loaded his big shoulder bag

When asked, Quinn simply shrugged, “I figured it would save time since I have only one good hand to load my bag with.”

Brice quickly forgot about it as Quinn picked up three more candy bars and put them on top of the mound of clothing, “Tomorrow. You had enough today.”

The trip back was silent, but Brice’s excitement over having new clothing caused him to really open up once they got back to the hotel. After several minutes of the boy showing him everything his $293 had bought, Quinn finally held up his hand, “I’m glad you’re happy, but you need to get in the shower before you put any of this on…” Quinn stopped as he saw the boy looking at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Can I take a bath instead? I don’t know how to shower.”

“You’ve never had a shower? How old are you?”

“Only eight, turn nine in February though.”

“Whatever is better for you, just as long as you come out clean. But I’d be happy to show you how a shower works.”

Brice shook his head, “I’ll take a bath. I promise I’ll get really clean.”

Quinn gave Brice a warm smile, “I trust you. Just make sure you really scrub, though. OK?”

“I will. Um mister?”

Quinn looked over, “How about you stick with uncle or Mister Alexander. Did you need something else?”

“OK Uncle Alexander,” Brice grinned, “I was just wondering if I can take a long one. We had no hot water the last few days.”

“As long as you want!” Quinn snickered then tossed him the new pajamas. “You’ll need those when you get out.”

Brice grabbed a pair of boxers and almost hugged the PJ’s before closing the door to the bathroom.

Quinn plopped down on the chair by the wobbly desk and looked out the window at the snow. The boy’s question about ‘then what’ was haunting him. He came up with a few ideas, but nothing that would really help Brice.

With no easy answers, he dropped the sleeping bag down close to the base board heater and tossed both of the hotel pillows down for Brice, having bought his own earlier in the day. Quinn then smiled as he put down a dozen Hot Wheels on the bag then started a few burgers; figuring he didn’t really need to know what the boy liked, since every boy would eat a burger and some fries.

A full hour later, Brice emerged from the bathroom and sniffed the air. At the same time he saw the toys and rushed over to them and gazed down as if afraid to touch them.

“Let’s get some food into you, then you can play. And, yeah, those are yours.”

Brice ran over and wrapped his arms around Quinn’s waist. “Thank YOU!”

Two hours later, Quinn drifted off to sleep to the sound of Brice quietly playing with his new toys.

Morning came and with it the smell of eggs and sausage. Quinn sat up and looked around, rather startled to find Brice standing on a chair so he could easily reach the small stove top, cooking. He started to say something but stopped himself as he watched the boy add some milk into the eggs and put them in a pan like he had been doing so for years. Finally he cleared his throat, “So you know how to cook at age eight?”

“Mom don’t cook, but the lady we hung with before Gretch did. She showed me how to make lots of stuff. Too bad she got busted; she was way nicer than Gretch.”

Brice served Quinn breakfast in bed then climbed in next to him to eat. The boy then grabbed the remote and found Rudolph on and giggled happily.

Quinn frowned, but endured the show. When Frosty was lined up as the next show he climbed out of bed. “I’m going to grab a shower. When do you think your mom will come?”

“You don’t like Christmas do you.” Brice asked, ignoring the question.

Quinn took a deep breath, “No, I hate it. There is no good reason for Christmas other than for people to try to sell stuff and make money. All you have to do is look at Christmas junk already being put out before Halloween to realize the only thing important about it is how much they sell and the rest of us buy. Besides, if it was really about a loving God, then people should treat others the same way all year round, not one day of the year.”

Brice looked a little sad but responded quickly, “I’ll change the channel.”

“No, I’ll be in the shower and I don’t want to spoil a cartoon because I am a grouch. We’ll just wait to hear from your mom.”

Brice shrugged, “OK, but don’t count on it.”

The day wore on and snow continued to fall. By the time evening fell, the storm was still going, but there was still no word from Brice’s mom. Three times Quinn slipped into the bathroom only to have the number Brice gave him go straight to voice mail, the woman’s voice stating “This is Val, ya know what to do, and so do I. You’ll hear from me or you won’t.” The message ended with a stupid giggling sound.

Brice, on the other hand, didn’t appear to be even slightly concerned. He watched TV, played with the toys Quinn bought him, and even went out to play in the snow a couple of times; taking full advantage of the warm coat and clothing.

As Brice bedded down for the second night, Quinn found himself in a bit of a panic and full of questions. How long was he supposed to take care of the kid before contacting someone? Who would he contact if he had to? How had the kid turned out as decently as he had up to this point with such a horrible home life? Most importantly, was there anything he could do long term to help a kid he was rapidly growing fond of?

A knock on the door woke Quinn, but it took a second harder knock to really get him conscious. He moved to the window and glanced out, seeing a cop. A glance at his cell phone told him it was 3:18. Quinn opened the door getting a blast of wind and snow. He shivered, but couldn’t help but notice a second cop with a bandage on the side of his face that showed fresh blood. “Can I help you?”

The officer spoke firmly. “Are you in custody of Valerie Hays’ son?”

“Yes.” He stated with wide eyes, “What happened?”

“We found her pulling out her hair with a body in her room. She told us where you were at and that she had given you custody of her son, but didn’t give us your name before she freaked, smashed my partner with a lamp, jumped through the window of the place, and fled. We were hoping she may have come here.”

Quinn shook his head, “Sorry officer, but I haven’t seen her for the last two days.” He looked over to Brice, still sound asleep. “What about Brice?”

The officer shrugged, “You are his guardian, right?”

Quinn took a deep breath. “Nothing that makes it official.”

“Sir, we, my partner and I both heard her say she gave you custody. If this is not true, then we will take him…”

Quinn glanced back to the boy sleeping on the floor, not showing any signs of waking, his little hand still clutching one of the Hot Wheels. He took a deep breath and turned, “No, he’ll be far better off with me. But somehow I will need to make this legal.”

The injured officer nodded and handed over a small bag. “This is Brice Hays’ birth certificate, social security card, and shot records. We found them in Ms. Hay’s belongings. As long as you are willing to help us, we’ll be willing to testify in court to her saying she gave you custody.”

“You don’t have to bribe me, but the best I can do is her cell number and contact you if she shows up.” Quinn stated taking the items.

“We’ll take the number and have a cruiser out here for the night in case she shows up.”

“Thank you officers.” Quinn paused, “I do have some instant coffee, if you’d like to talk to Brice and see if…”

The injured officer glanced down at the motionless form on the floor and shook his head. “No, this would be better coming from someone he knows. Just contact us if he comes up with anything.” He held up the paper with the cell number, “Thanks for your help.”

Quinn shut the door as the officers turned away and spoke softly to himself. “She’ll have to come back for him.”

Brice turned over announcing he was not really asleep, “She won’t come back for me.”

Quinn quickly sat beside Brice and put his arm over the boy’s shoulders. “Why would you say such a thing?”

“Mom told them stuff so you could keep me.”

“Oh come on…”

Brice shook his head, “No, it’s Christmas Eve! I asked God to find me someone who was nice when we ate at a church on Thanksgiving. Mom heard me and said she’d be happy to get rid of me. God sent you!”

“No Brice, I am no angel.”

“Uh huh!” the boy argued and started to cry, “You even said you don’t like Christmas because it’s not about God or being kind all year. You are my Christmas present! I know it!”

Quinn gripped the boy and gave him a kiss on the top of his head. As he held Brice until the boy fell asleep he realized he had been wrong all these years. There was a reason for Christmas. It was about hopes and dreams. Looking forward and believing in something greater. Even if it was just a single day, it gave a huge portion of the world something it badly needed: Hope.

If this story touched you in some way, let Kyle know. LeeColo at Gmail dot Com

If you are using webmail please include, on the subject line, [CR] [name of story]. This let’s the author know 2 things: Where you read the story and which story you are writing about.

1,260 views