A Ghostly Plea For Appreciation.
Based on a post by SandyMarl, in 4 parts. Listen to the ► Podcast at Steamy Stories.
A Christmas Ghost Story For Scrooge
Dana got ready to roll the movie as The Chix settled in. "What's the movie?" asked McNally.
"A Christmas Carol, it's the classic tale by Charles Dickens."
"Damn. Not a Christmas movie? Did I ever mention that I am so over Christmas right now? Bah Humbug!"
Annie snorted, "McNally, you make a better Scrooge than Patrick Stewart."
"I'll drink to that," McNally said as she tipped her stemware to wash down a handful of popcorn. "Let me say it again, Merry Fucking Christmas, because I am so done with Christmas."
"Merry Fucking Christmas" was echoed around the room, followed by giggles among gathered good friends as the opening scene played.
Annie was dabbing at her eyes as Tiny Tim cried out in the movie's final scene, "God bless us, everyone!"
As the credits rolled, Annie turned to McNally, "Well, Ebenezer Scrooge, do you still hate Christmas? Or did the ghost of Christmas Future shake you from your Bah Humbug! ways?"
"I don't hate Christmas; I just get worn out by this time of year. Christmas has been going on since before Halloween and that's way too long, even for a vibrant spirit like me," replied McNally.
"Are you still so entrenched in your 'Bah Humbug' world-weary ways Ebenezer McNally or is it possible that visitations of the cinematic Ghost of Christmas Past, Present and Future have softened your hardened holiday heart?" pried Patricia.
"Don't be picking on McNally, she's just been more emotionally honest. I have heard Scrooge speaking through all of you. Chix, take a look inside and tell me if Christmas hasn't lost its magic for all of us this year, or for that matter, several years running." Dana's call for introspection brought the room to silence.
Dana continued, "Let me play Ghost of Christmas Past; let me take us back to time when we were young, and Sander and I stretched our budget and bought this cabin and had The Chix and their boys up here around Christmas time? Remember those times?"
"Those were the good days," recalled McNally. "I remember Orlando mixing exotic cocktails for everyone to try. The guys kept making sweet drinks and urging us girls to taste one new one after another. I'm sure they were in cahoots, working on the theory that 'Christmas candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.'"
Patricia chimed in, "Yeah, I remember that year, I remember laughing a lot of silly laughs and being chased around the cabin and out into the snow by three horny abominable snowmen until I finally let one catch me and haul me off to his lair where he threw me on the bed and ravaged me."
"I sort of remember that too - only I think I enjoyed Orlando's cocktails too much too soon to fully remember every detail. But I have a vague memory of laughing on my way to a strange bed as I hung over Nelson's shoulder as I pounded on his back as a captured maiden, but not really feeling much distress. I remember trying to help Nelson undress me, but I was too giggly, so he just ripped my clothes off."
Dana reminisced, "Anybody remember the year we all wore those sexy Santa's Naughty Elf costumes?"
"I still have mine in a closet somewhere I think," snickered McNally. "We put on a pretty good show for the guys that one year when we performed in those outfits. Thanks to Annie for sewing them," McNally tipped her glass toward Annie.
"It was your choreography McNally, and your audacious moves that gave me the confidence to bump and grind along with the rest of the Chix. I'd never have been able to even think of doing something so feminine and sexy if it weren't for you McNally," complimented Patricia.
"I still get wet every time I hear Eartha Kitt sing 'Santa Baby' and I think of how hot we Chix looked and how mercilessly we teased those boys," chuckled McNally.
"Speaking for me," said Patricia, "I'd say all of that dance practice and the sexy dance tips from everyone else showing me how to strut my wares. Our sexy little routine was well worth it a little later that night." All The Chix giggled and nodded with Patricia, each recalling the thrill of having their men rush the stage and cart off the four costumed naughty little helper elves for a roll in the sheets.
"Dana are you sure you're alright with us bringing up these memories?" asked Annie in a cautious tone.
"Annie, I've already told you that good memories and present friends are what are important to me tonight."
"Allow me to play the Ghost of Christmas Present," said Dana in a soft voice. "If the Ghost of Christmas Past has drawn for you scenes of past holiday lovers, good times and Christmas cheer; what do you see when the Ghost of Christmas Present hovers above your lives tonight and points to your actions and attitudes of this present Christmas?"
The Chix again sat thinking in silence.
McNally answered Dana's challenge first, "Well, I've already told everyone my grim view of this present Christmas. There is a poverty of spirit where I operate; Christmas has become nothing but joyless deadlines for me. I'll confess, 'Bah Humbug!' is truly what the Ghost of Christmas Present is pointing at in my life."
"Or would Scrooge use a more contemporary phrase, maybe something like 'Merry Fucking Christmas?" needled Patricia.
"Yeah but..." Annie joined in, "...Those really were Merry Fucking Christmases in the past - literally. Those years when we all used to come up here with our hubbies and enjoy playing games and cooking together, remember? And it seems like every night ended in a night of passionate love making," she added wistfully. "Why did we let that slip away? Where did the holiday love magic go?
"I have a confession too, McNally has nothing on me, I'm just as much of a Bah Humbug personality as McNally - if not more so. Only I'm just a Scrooge still in the closet. I guess it's time I came out to my friends. It was me who first suggested that I'd be ready to exchange Nelson for someone to clean my house. Honestly, how Scrooge-like is that?
"The Ghost of Christmas Past showed that Scrooge rejected his old flame, Belle, to pursue a respectable wealthy status above love. Like Scrooge, I've let the passion for my old flame, Nelson dim, and for what? A respectable status of a well cleaned house? I've been saying 'Bah Humbug!' from inside my Scrooge closet.
"I chided McNally for her poor attitude when we first drove up this afternoon," recalled Patricia. "But then I fell right in with her complaining about my grueling holiday schedule and all I had endured. So, I guess that makes me not only a Scrooge, but a hypocrite as well. How's that for a bare-bones confession to the Ghost of Christmas Present?"
Dana's Christmas Ghost
"Excuse me," declared a mildly irritated McNally, "enough indulging in this group psychotherapy playing with literary ghosts. I can't stand it any longer, I've gotta find out from Dana if Sander's ghost is really visiting us here."
McNally's abrupt demand brought a heavy hush to the room.
All eyes were locked on Dana. "All I can say is that I came up to our cabin for the first time since the accident. I hoped I was ready, but I wasn't sure. The real reason that I invited everyone to join me was so I couldn't back out, even if I wanted to, since I had extended an invitation to The Chix. Patricia, Annie, McNally; you're my insurance as I forced myself to be a brave widow.
"I came two days ago for solitude. I thought I would be alone up here. I hoped I'd be brave enough to finally be alone with my thoughts. I was going to force myself to stay here until reinforcements arrived in the form of a carload of wild, raucous and fun-loving Chix.
"To my surprise, I had it all wrong. I was not alone here. Sander was waiting for me. It was good to find him here; he has been a comfort for me. I told him I was sorry for making him wait. He let me know that he understood why I waited. He assured me that it was alright for me to wait, coming only after I was ready.
"When Sander came to me the first night, he comforted me, bringing good memories of us in this place, like the Ghost of Christmas Past. He reacquainted me with faded memories of Patricia and Will, Annie and Nelson and McNally and Orlando all gathered in this place with me and Sander back in those days at the beginning. The images he brought to me made me feel grateful for all of you.
"I told Sander that those were lovely, warm memories, some of the best; but that they were far in the dim past. When Sander wrapped those memories around me; I felt warmth and saw a radiating brightness, happy for what we had once shared together. He said that that is why he had to brighten them for me; otherwise, neither I nor anyone else in those images would be able to clearly see them as they once were.
"I began to cry as those bright images of our past passions and fellowship with our friends began to fade before my eyes. I cried even more at the fear of losing him and everything good once again.
"He warned me that squandered time, tyranny of the mundane and careless love will steal from the human soul, draining the treasures of passion and good memories, leaving murky, pathetic sketches in place of those forgotten treasures. Sander let me know that I still had all of you wrapped around me to shield me with love. He was pleased that The Chix had taken such good care of me after he was taken from me.
"Sander told me he could not keep the past images bright, the power to do so was only given to the realm of the living.
"I cried in my grief and in my fresh fear of loss. I tried to hold him, but of course, I could not. I pleaded, 'How can I keep those memories of you and warm feelings bright?' I didn't know how to find the power to keep from losing all that was meaningful to me. I cried, 'Please Sander, show me, show me how not to lose you and everything again. Don't let me drain away into the murky darkness where all warmth and love have been stolen from the human soul.'
"I cried, kneeling on the floor. Sander said nothing as he stood close to me as a kind and gentle spirit with a comforting patience waiting for me to finish my hot tears. When I wiped away my tears and looked into his face, he pointed and guided me to look for my answer. I saw The Chix checking their messages, returning calls, checking their calendars trying to squeeze in a meeting, an appointment and a Christmas cookie exchange. I saw that we were rushing to the shopping mall, ordering online, checking our phones and returning home exhausted, drained of warmth and love, leaving nothing for those around us.
"I was shown Will, Nelson and Orlando taking the cars in for servicing because it was time. I saw these men checking their messages and making out-of-the way runs to pick up store items and a few groceries because their wives had sent them a text message. I witnessed The Dix on their own initiative coming home with a takeout meal that they served to their exhausted wives and then taking out the trash the night before pickup without a reminder. The guys were up late at night, opening the bills and writing the household checks and balancing the accounts, toiling like the loyal Bob Cratchit, Scrooge's unappreciated clerk. I had been shown Christmas Present. I was sad to have seen that exhausted misery spread to all of our present lives.
"I cried, 'Oh Sander, where is the joy and the love for our friends? Everyone looks so exhausted and joyless and without hope or purpose. Tell me Sander, what is going to happen to them?' Sander looked sad and did not answer me.
"He began to fade into the darkness, and I begged with renewed tears, 'Sander please don't go, please don't leave me alone again.' But he was gone.
I crawled off the floor, lifting myself into bed and cried myself to sleep. I remembered his words, 'Squandered time, tyranny of the mundane and careless love will steal from the human soul, draining the treasures of passion and good memories and leaving murky, pathetic sketches in place of those forgotten treasures.'
"When Sander slipped away from me that night, I understood that he had shown me that the same was happening to Orlando and McNally, Will and Patricia and also to Nelson and Annie. His visit was a warning. Just as I lost Sander, everyone here is facing a Christmas Future where you will discover that you've lost all that really matters in life.
"Sander came again the next night. I was glad to see him. I wanted to know if it was too late for our friends to rekindle the love that had somehow drained away. 'Please, Sander, tell me that there is yet hope for them this Christmas Season,' I begged.
"He showed me some bright and warm memories from long ago, some personal and some with The Chix. He showed me those visions to let me know that I still had love and support from you guys. But I was haunted by those visions of Christmas Present that I'd been shown the night before. He was happy that I was so well cared for now. And yes, he was happy to know that I got surprised by some needed loving attention from a partridge, a turtle dove hunter and an old barnyard rooster who had a few tricks to make a French hen cackle. Yet, the peril of the bleak Christmas Present remains, unless friendship and love is cherished and attended, it too will soon perish, and I'll see my friends fade away into murky darkness as Sander had.
"Again, I looked into his gentle eyes and asked, 'There is still time isn't there? We haven't squandered our time, it's not too late, tell me sweetheart, there are warm and bright memories of love and affection still to be made, nourished and cherished.' Sander smiled his warm smile of assurance that I had missed so much, and I was happy.
"I woke, realizing that the sun was shining off a fresh morning snowfall and I threw off my heavy quilt. I sat up in bed, remembering that on our last morning together; Sander had been working on something secret that morning before the accident. I remembered asking him, 'Sweetie buns, what are you working on the hill behind the cabin?'
"He smiled that warm, smug smile of mischief on that last morning that we were together and told me, 'I've got a Christmas surprise to show you tonight, it has to be revealed once it is dark. So, you'll have to wait until we finish a few runs on the slopes this afternoon.'
"Of course, we never came back here together. I had forgotten about Sander's promised secret Christmas surprise until yesterday morning. When Sander told me he had a Christmas gift waiting for me after dark, he was holding an electrical extension cord behind his back with his mischievous smile stretched across his ski slope tanned face. 'I'll plug this in to brighten your night tonight, as a token of how you have brightened my life,' he said. Recalling some of his last words, I jumped out of bed and checked this morning; that cord is still lying on the deck where Sander left it last year.
Annie was crying, as usual, but so were Patricia and McNally.
Dana reached for her purse and pulled out her phone and looked at her messages and began to text, as The Chix took a few moments to rein in their emotions and check their composure before speaking or asking Dana any questions.
Annie brushed her cheeks, "Oh Dana, that is the sweetest, saddest story I've ever heard... Excuse me, I can't stop weeping... I don't even know if these are tears of joy or grief... excuse me, I don't know what to feel or say," she said as the flood gates reopened.
Patricia felt it was her role to wade in and tidy things up and drain the emotional swamp in which they all found themselves wallowing in. "Dana, it sounds like you've started to find some peace after last year's events. I am glad that you shared with us how you are coping with Sander's passing..."
"Patricia, Jesus Christ on a bicycle! Don't be such a cold and analytical mother hen all the time for us Chix. Dana's story is not about coping, it's about us - all of us and all that we once had and what we might lose, including Will, Nelson and yes, Orlando too. Dana, your conversation with Sander really got to me there..." McNally paused, looking emotionally rattled.
"I guess everyone can tell, your story about Sander got to me also," said Annie after managing to dry out enough. "I feel like McNally. Dana, what you said really touched me; I don't know what to say... Yes, I actually do, I want to say that what Sander said is right; my joy has been stolen from my soul, I feel drained inside, I have let the things I hold most dear fade away. I am Scrooge - and I'm sorry, but so are all of you."
Turning to Patricia, Annie asked, "Don't you feel what McNally and I feel? Don't you feel that you and I and McNally, and certainly Dana, have lost something precious? Together as The Chix, we are a sum greater the whole - and that has, or should, include our husbands. I believe Sander told Dana to warn us all before it is too late. Patricia, don't you feel like me that we should do something before the Ghost of Christmas Future makes the vision of an estranged and murky end to all that we enjoy a grim reality?"
Patricia teared up and nodded silently. Then lifting her head, she asked Dana, "Is there hope? Did Sander give you hope for us?"
"There is hope. There is still love here, and where there is love, there is hope. Sander showed me that the future can be changed by what we do now. Sander showed me that there is hope for us, hope for The Chix."
"And... And... What is that hope?" asked McNally. "And... And... And I got lots of questions about you and Sander up here in this cabin, but first - that was a gripping Christmas ghost story with Sander, but it seemed kind of weird that as soon as you finished driving your emotional steamroller full speed over our sympathies that you then broke character, ignoring us to check your phone. Isn't checking your messages part of that tyranny of the mundane that Sander warned you about? Who is so important that you were texting them rather than dealing with us in this room and our emotions?"
"The Ghost or the Ghosts of Christmas Future," was Dana's curt, cryptic reply.
"You asked about our future, you asked about hope; I don't know exactly how to answer those questions," said a thoughtful Dana. "But I know where I want to look for starters. There is Sander's unrevealed Christmas surprise waiting for me - or us, on top of the hill behind the cabin. It was Sander's last gift. Everyone, dress in your ugliest Christmas sweater and pull on some holiday woolies and come with me to see what's up there.
"What do you think it is, Dana?" asked Annie.
"I think it is wonderful and special, Sander was so good at that kind of thing. Other than that, as I said, I only remembered it this morning. I think that it's fitting that it happened to be left there to be revealed to me in the future. I think it's a sign."
Bright Angel On High - The Gift Of The Ghost Of Christmas Future
The four Chix marched up the trail behind the cabin, following in the footprints Dana pressed into the fresh, moonlit snow that was smooth and crisp and even. All the ladies came to the brow of the hill, ready to mount the crest, expecting to view Sander's waiting surprise. Dana let out an exasperated half sight, half scream. "Ah! I forgot - or didn't think to remember that I needed to plug in the cord that Sander had run up the hill to his surprise gift." Dana broke down crying, "Everything is ruined. I wanted to see Sander's last gift and now the surprise is ruined." Dana buried her head in her mittens as her shoulders shook in choking sobs of disappointment and grief. "I failed Sander and his memory," she wailed.
Annie, McNally, and Patricia swarmed around Dana, throwing their arms around her to console her. Patricia was about to explain to Dana that the problem could be solved, she would just go back down and plug the cord into the electrical socket and fix the oversight. Simple. No need for tears. Patricia's unhelpful words pointing out the simple fix to Dana's overwrought emotions never passed her lips.
"Ooh, look!" gasped Annie. "There it is! Look Dana, it's beautiful. Look up in that big Christmas tree, it is so magical. It's from heaven." Annie was hopping and pointing into a spruce on the other side of the dark clearing. Dana looked up, her legs turned to jelly, her heart shot out of her chest, taking with it every last oxygen molecule from her lungs. Dana stood in silence surrounded by her friends but felt as if she were floating to the stars as she marveled at Sander's creation.
The figure of a magnificent, bright angel glowed from the boughs with a million tiny, warm lights. Dana threw her hands to her cheeks in stunned amazement, feeling a wash of warm blessings surge through her body.
"Absolutely amazing," marveled McNally. "Oh Dana, this is so inspiring. Sander sure had an innovative spirit combined with his refined talent to create such a masterful surprise. It's the most gorgeous, stunning angel I've ever seen. I know this is quite meaningful to you."
The Chix huddled tight in the brisk night air, spellbound in wonder under the illuminated gaze of the angel on high.
A Wild Ride Down
They jumped in unison with a startled twitch as the crystalline silence was shattered by a male voice ringing out from the dark woods behind the spruce where the angel floated.
The voice made a short, "Ho!" sound. Followed by a second male voice, echoing the same "Ho!" and then another mysterious "Ho!" was spoken by another man.
The women stared into the gloom beyond the angel. Was it a sound effect by Sander's angel or was someone watching them from the woods? "Hello. Who's there?" shouted Patricia.
Her question was answered by three quick 'Ho, Ho Ho's' from three hidden men. Three dark figures rushed from the shadows toward the women, pushing three toboggans in front of them. Annie, McNally, and Patricia clustered close in around Dana in a scared, defensive move.
In an instant Nelson, Orlando and Will burst into recognizable range of their wives, scooping them up and depositing each of them onto the toboggans. Orlando gave Dana a tug, throwing her behind McNally. With a whoosh before any of the ladies knew what was happening, they found themselves careening downhill in the darkness along the path which they had climbed a few minutes earlier. The night air was filled with screams and laughs as The Chix and their Dix flew with abandon down the wooded slope. The Chix shrieked like young schoolgirls at their quick abduction and wild ride.
At the base of the slope, to avoid hitting the cabin, the men had to tip the toboggans, spilling everyone into the snow. Still in a breathless uproar, the ladies scrambled to their knees and feet and began to dump snow on the guys as they continued in a giddy, frolicking mood.
The men rose from their vulnerable positions and the women ran. The men chased and the women got caught and tackled into the snow, where there was a flurry of rolling and tumbling bodies amid whoops and high spirits. The Chix all ended up getting pinned beneath their man and enjoying it before they were extracted and lifted to their feet.
"C'mon inside everybody!" shout a gleeful Dana. Nelson wrapped one arm around Annie and one around Dana as he ushered the two toward the cabin's deck.
"Wait! The gifts, damn it, we've got to recover the gifts," moaned Will.
"Are they at the bottom of the hill with the sleds, or did they fall off back uphill?" asked Orlando.
"Hell, I don't know Orlando. Send the women folk inside, we'll have to bring 'em in once we find them," replied a less than gracious Will.
"There're gifts for us?" asked Annie as she broke out from under her husband's arm and led the way to look for her lost gift in the snow drifts. McNally and Patricia were joined by Dana as they turned to search for their gifts too.
"I found one," announced Will as he stooped to dig it out of the snow. "I think this one belongs to..."
Patricia gave him a boot in the bum, forcing a frozen face plant into a snowbank. She whooped with delight at her playful stunt and then turned on her heels as Will chased her and brought her down into the snow on top of him where he copped a feel and rolled his wife over and gave her a spank with his gloved hand.
Dana found a wrapped gift, "I found one! Who wants this present?"
McNally raced over and said, "I'll take that mystery gift," snatching it from Dana's upheld arms.
Nelson looked and said, "Oh no you don't McNally, that is supposed to be Annie's." He gave chase and McNally tucked her box under her jacket and ran.
Nelson quickly caught up to McNally in the drifts and swooped down on her, rummaging under her jacket feeling for the stolen box. McNally shifted and made sure that Nelson got to squeeze a couple of wrapped wonders in his search before he found Annie's intended present.
"Hey Nelson, what are you doing with my wife?" asked Orlando in a mock menacing tone as he strode over to McNally. He pulled her out of Nelson's clutches, grabbing her hand and lifting her up.
"Come with me young lady, I got something better for you. Help me find a lost partridge parcel and I'll make sure he finds a nice nest in your pear tree."
McNally turned her head to Nelson, "Sorry Nelly-boy, it was fun while it lasted, but I just got a better offer." She pecked Orlando on the cheek as they went off arm-in-arm in search of the last spilled Christmas package.
"All presents, present and accounted for!" announce Orlando as he plucked a gift box from beneath an overturned toboggan.
"Y'all c'mon, my offer still stands, everyone inside," yelled Dana. Nelson rushed back to put his arm around Dana and escort her inside as the rest of the reunited Chix and Dix tramped through the snow following them into the cabin.
Inside, Dana announced, "I'm going to be making a batch of my rich hot chocolate, the traditional drink for ski cabin gathering of The Chix and The Dix." Everyone cheered as Dana stepped into her kitchen.
Orlando opened the cupboard, "Hey Dana, what happened to the bottle of peppermint schnapps that used to be here?"
Dana tipped her head and pointed her finger into the hollow of her cheek, giving Orlando a ditzy look; "I wonder, who around here would remember that old bottle of peppermint schnapps you gave to us after all these years?"
McNally, right on cue, "I've got a good memory for things like that - in fact that 'old bottle' that we gave you and Sander has just come out of the closet and has already made his presence felt. He's right here." McNally lifted the schnapps bottle off the coffee table and showed it to her inquiring husband. "It's like this old bottle is helping rekindle memories of good times past and maybe a talisman for reigniting passions that have faded."
"That old bottle holds the Ghost of Christmas Past, out of it pours hope - it's not too late for us!" surmised Patricia. The Chix all yelled an enthusiastic cheer at Patricia's words, which Orlando, Will and Nelson found puzzling.
"But he is almost used up I am sad to say," informed McNally as she shook the schnapps bottle.
"Not to fear, I packed his younger brother," mentioned Orlando, "it's in with my stuff where we parked down the road, waiting for Dana's 'all clear' text. I'll bring it up later - unless we need him to rescue us right now."
"The new bottle comes with the Ghost of Christmas Future inside," proclaimed Annie, "I feel that out of that bottle will pour a bright and renewed future for all of us." Annie's thoughts brought another hearty cheer from all of the ladies. The men were mystified by the response, but pleased the girls were getting worked up over some spirits in a schnapps bottle.
"Hey guys, when do we get to open our presents?" asked Annie.
The men all looked over to Dana. Dana exploded into a sweet, sly smile. "Here's the plan y'all; I'm making a double batch of traditional hot chocolate, the first round we drink to Christmas Past and use up the old bottle. The second round, we drink to Christmas Future, and we break out the new bottle. Orlando, you are excused to go get that bottle right now. But don't tarry, there are a bunch of eager beavers waiting to open up their gifts." She gave a salacious, knowing wink to each man. "Now git, Mr. Partridge, the night is young, and we can't start the festivities without you."
Orlando drove the car up to the cabin from its hiding place where they waited for Dana's text to tell them they should get in place at the top of the hill to surprise their wives. He came waltzing in with the unopened peppermint schnapps bottle. The women served the steaming mugs to their men, McNally distributed an even pour from the old bottle into each cup so that there was enough of the elixir to go around before the last drop dripped into her foaming mug.
Dana lifted her stein, "A toast to the fond and wonderful memories of good times past!"
"I'll drink to that," said Patricia with a laugh. "There, I beat you to it, McNally." Everyone laughed.
When the second round was poured and fortified, Dana offered a second toast, "A toast to fond memories of old, may they only serve as a foundation for the many bright and wonderful memories to come, bringing a future filled with hope and passion for all!"
The Chix were eyeing the wrapped packages in the center of the room, and after some reminiscing and conversations, Annie again asked, "When are we going to get to open those packages?"
The men deferred to Dana. Dana put her stein down and surveyed the room with a sweet and sly smile that had reemerged. "First, I know I invited Patricia, Annie and McNally up here on the pretense that I would tell you girls in person how much I enjoyed being on your naughty list. I want to thank you for turning our Christmas cookie exchange into a hubby exchange. There is no way to really find the words to say how special and loved and deliciously naughty the gift of your men made me feel on this dread holiday without Sander. Each of the guys was special, tender, loving and fun and fulfilling. And since there is no way to tell you how it felt, I took the advice from an old writer's adage; show, don't tell.
"I know in some circles re-gifting is considered a social faux pas, but in this case, I feel it is a wonderful, shared secret among the best of friends. I ask you to open up your packages and enjoy. As it has oft been said around here lately, Merry Fucking Christmas."
McNally, Annie, and Patricia tore into their boxes, squealing in an excited tempered with shy embarrassment at the contents that had come back their way. McNally's box contained a couple of fresh, juicy pears, a bottle of lubricant that Orlando had artfully relabeled 'Partridge Oil' with instructions that said, 'pairs well with pecker and pussy'. Annie's box had a rich assortment of dark chocolate candy turtles, a small bottle of chocolate syrup and a little note instructing the owner to apply a liberal amount on her 'doves' as bait if she wanted to be a 'master baiter' and charm a fabulous trouser snake. Patricia was delighted to find a vibrating egg in her box, curious beyond belief and surprised by the fast-rising tide of wetness under her longjanes.
"Oh! Dana, you didn't get a gift," sympathized Annie.
"Oh, but I did. I've already peeked inside all of your packages - if you know what I mean, and I think you do; that's why I know everyone is in for a wonderful night on this Fourth Day of Christmas. My gift is to enjoy being the one to transform all of us Scrooges and bring the joy back into our lives, like Christmas Past. My hope has been fulfilled; I see that Christmas Future is now bright.
"God bless us, everyone!" cheered Patricia, repeating Tiny Tim's final line of Dickens's Christmas Carol.
All seven joined in, repeating the blessing, "God bless us, everyone!"
"But still. Dana," Annie persisted, "I feel that it's not the same for you or for us without Sander. If Sander is still alright with it, I think maybe sometimes I can put my ol' goat Nelson here, out to pasture. That's if you need or want some intimate care now and then. Just ask." Annie blushed, put her hand on Nelson's leg and looked at her husband before lunging to hug him tight as she shed a tear.
"McNally are you going to match Annie's and my offer to our lonely friend?" asked Patricia with a playful smirk.
"As I said after The Chix cookie exchange, 'It's three or it's zero when it comes to The Chix hubby exchange. Of course, I'm in and I'll speak for Orlando on this as well."
"This is only the Fourth Day of Christmas," figured Nelson, "what are we going to do for the remaining eight days?"
"There are seven of us here, it seems fitting that I heat up the hot tub, it seems like the perfect place to find 'Seven swans a swimming'. I'm game if the rest of us are," offered Will. Will's idea was greeted with hearty laughs of ascent.
"I can't wait to find out what someone will do with 'five golden rings,''' said McNally, giving a sexy little shimmy shake.
"I like the idea of 'maids a milking'" contributed Orlando as he licked his lips in an overtly sensual manner and flexed his fingers in a breast-milking motion.
"Not before we all get to have our 'lords a leaping,' that includes Dana," negotiated Patricia.
"Dana are you alright with this?" asked Annie, not sure if their widowed friend was feeling excluded.
"Annie, I'm fine, I really am. But I'm feeling a little bit shy about participating in the hubby exchange. But I'm also excited to sample the spicy variety now and again with what you Chix are willing to share with me. I love The Chix and The Dix."
McNally plucked the pair of pears from the box in her lap, holding them by their stems and dangling them in front of her nipples which were showing through her top. "Orlando here has some low-hanging fruit to pick, if you'll excuse us," she mentioned in a husky voice.
"I've got a new egg, and I'm in the mood to get laid," Patricia said as she held up her vibrator.
Nelson stood and took Annie's hand to escort her to their room. Annie paused, "Dana, are you going to be lonely and sad tonight?"
"I don't think so. I'm quite happy right now. You kids run along and have fun, I think I'll go back up the hill and be with my Sander Angel."
Dana, put on her hat and gloves, turning to everyone in the room, "Who do I have to thank for remembering to plug in Sander's bright angel gift?" She looked from face to face to face. No one acknowledged the deed.
"Dana, we were all with you at the top of the dark hill, you know that" said Patricia after a long silence.
"We were hiding in the woods for about ten minutes after you texted us, Dana. We were waiting for you to show up, we didn't know what to expect," offered Will. "It couldn't have been anyone in this room."
Annie let out a gasp and covered her mouth, gaping in surprise. "Do you think it could have been..."
"I'm sure of it. It's a sign," said Dana with a beaming smile. "Excuse me, I think Sander is waiting for me, I don't want to keep him waiting," as she closed the door behind her.
A Merry Fucking Christmas
Dana slipped back into the cabin after spending some time with Sander's angel. There were quiet moans and soft purrs seeping out from under closed doors when she tip-toed down the hall. In an understated, but audible voice, she called out, "Merry fucking Christmas, and to all a naughty good night."
Dana heard laughs and giggles coming softly from behind three closed doors. "Merry fucking Christmas," came the response called back to her from behind three closed doors. She slipped under her covers, warmed by sweet memories and hopes for the future while visions of sugar plums danced in her head.
Based on a post by SandyMarl, for Literotica.
