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#Post#: 16583--------------------------------------------------
It Happened One Christmas Chapter Twenty
By: Jack Date: December 24, 2019, 4:49 pm
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Charlie smiled.
“We can do that, too.” he said.
He rubbed his hands together, looked around for a moment, then
looked back at me.
“I think this is a short cut.”
I was trying to remember the area around the bus depot. I had a
pretty good general idea of where it was, but I didn’t know the
area that well, so I was happy to take his short cut.
We cut between two buildings. The alley was narrow, and nearly
blocked at one point by two trash dumpsters. The wind picked up
again as we passed between them, making it seem like we were
going down a tunnel - or into hyperspace - again. I blinked
against the wind, but also against expectations of finding
myself someplace - or some time - else.
We came out of the alley, and I realized two things. First, I
was only a couple of blocks from home, and second, there was no
we any longer. I looked all around, but saw no trace of
Charlie. I started to backtrack, but realized there was no
alley I could have come through. I wondered again what the heck
was going on, but I turned and started home.
As I walked, I realized I hadn’t been nearly as cold as I should
have been, and now my toes and the tips of my ears and nose were
all starting to tingle. Thinking of a ‘tingle’, I reached
behind me. Between my gloves and my coat, I couldn’t even tell
I was touching my butt, but I knew I was. I hadn’t thought
about my butt being sore in a while, and it wasn’t, but I could
still feel it flexing as I worked through the fresh, piling
snow.
I should have been worrying about how bad the ‘worst whuppin’
ever’ was going to be. Considering how recently and how bad I’d
been paddled, I was sure even a regular strapping would have
been bad. That really wasn’t what was distracting me, though.
I was thinking on all the things I’d seen and heard. I was
wondering if this really was going to be as hard on Dad as it
would be on me, and I was wondering if it was part of my job to
make it easier on him. I tried not to think about how unfair it
was, and instead concentrated on what had gone wrong and what
lessons I could learn from it. At least they’d promised the
guys would still get their Christmas party, so I was the only
one having to suffer because of whatever had happened.
And then it hit me - hit me so hard my legs shook and I barely
kept from dropping to my knees. This wasn’t about being fair.
It really wasn’t even about consequences or responsibility.
This was about always trying to be better, to do better, not
just for yourself, but for the ones you loved - even when it
hurt you or hurt them.
This was about home.
I steadied myself against a lamp post for a moment, was barely
able to peel my glove free from the frost on it, then picked up
my pace.
I stopped when I saw our house. I remembered putting out the
decorations with Mom and Dad. I remembered the smell of the
kitchen when Dad made sugar cookies, the warmth of the
fireplace, the security and comfort of my room. My face broke
into a smile as I rushed to the door.
As soon as I came in, Mom leapt from her chair and rushed
towards me.
“Bailey, are you all right?”
“Where have you been?” Dad interrupted before I could reply.
“He must be freezing, Peter, give him a moment. Would you like
some cocoa, dear? Let me get a towel in the dryer for you, and
I’ll make some.”
Mom being mother reassured me. She tried to help me get out of
my cold weather stuff, but finally let me wave her off, and she
rushed off towards the linen closet.
Dad stepped forward to take her place.
“That’s a lot of snow, Bailey,” he commented. “Where have you
been?” he added in a much less accusatory tone.
Being honestly unsure of the answer, I simply replied, “Just
walking around. Thinking.”
I was quiet for a moment before adding, “I’m sorry, Dad.”
Dad had taken my coat and hat, leaned through the front door to
shake them off, then hung them on the coat rack, but now he
turned to me.
“No, I’m sorry, Bailey. And we have a visitor.”
He pointed into the living room. I finished removing my boots,
put on the pair of house shoes that sat next to the door, and
followed him in to find Mr. Potter.
“Bailey,” he said, standing and extending his hand.
I shook his hand, then stepped up next to the fireplace.
“Bailey,” Mr. Potter said. He started to speak again, stopped,
cleared his throat, then started again.
“We found the money.”
“Where?” I said, shocked and turning back to him.
“You haven’t asked how Ms. Russell is.”
Upset with myself and my self-absorption, I asked.
“We didn't know much in the way of details before you… before
you left. We only knew she’d been in a car wreck. She
apparently banged her head pretty firmly. Nothing too serious,
but she needed some stitches, and she was a bit lightheaded.
Once they were sure she didn’t have a concussion, she was given
a pain pill and she slept for several hours.”
“But she’s going to be okay?’
“Yes. There might be a slight scar from the stitches, but
she’ll be back in class as soon as the holidays end.”
“Good,” I replied, relieved that she was okay, but not realizing
I’d been distracted.
“And she has the money.”
“What!”
“Remember what you did after school yesterday, Bailey? You went
and got the money…”
“Then I went and gave her… I had to dig in my backpack for her
Christmas Card.”
“And when you took stuff out and set it on her desk, the
envelope with the money came with it, and got mixed up in her
stuff. Then you must have missed it when you re-packed your
bag.”
I looked at Dad, but it looked like he already knew. Mom came
in a second later, carrying a couple of towels that had spent a
few moments in the dryer, and put one around my shoulders and
the other over my head. It looked like she already knew as
well. I started taking off another layer and drying myself
where snow had snuck inside and melted.
“Now, obviously we know what happened now, so there will be no
hearing and on more talk of suspension or expulsion. I shan’t
apologize for paddling you…”
“No, sir.” I interrupted him. “You shouldn’t. You paddled me
for gross negligence, and it’s pretty obvious I was. It’s a
good thing it was with Ms. Russell, and that she’s honest.”
Mr. Potter seemed taken aback with my agreement, but he nodded.
Dad looked kind of shocked as well.
“I’m glad you understand, Bailey. That’s a very hard part of my
job, and it’s hard to be sure we’re always doing the right
thing. All we can do is try to make the best decision we can.”
This time I held out my hand, and we shook again before he made
his excuses and left.
After seeing Mr. Potter out, Dad came back into the living room.
“I already called your Aunt Carrie. Mr. Potter gave me the cash
for the bill she covered, and I Zelled the money to her account,
so that’s all good.”
I nodded.
“Dad, I’m sorry for leaving after you told me not…”
He opened his mouth, but I held up my hand, and he stopped.
“I know it was wrong, and I disobeyed you, but I was really
confused and upset and I just couldn’t think. I had to get out
for a while. Do you want to take care of it now?”
“I understand, Bailey. Sometimes you just have to… Take care
of what?” he said with a sudden confusion on his face, like he
hadn’t quite heard what I’d said at first.
“My whupping. I guess it doesn’t have to be the ‘worst ever’,
since you know I didn’t steal the money now, but I did disobey
you. I’d really rather just get it over with, please.”
“You would, would you?”
I nodded a bit sick, not sure if getting it over with would hurt
worse, of if the nerves from stretching it out would be worse.
“Well, you did disobey me, but… Bailey, you were in a bad
situation, and it was really unfair. I didn’t listen to you,
and I should have. You do need to understand that I had to
leave work, and I’d listened to the principal, so I was really
upset. I hope I would have calmed down and listened to you
before I gave you any whupping, but… It doesn’t matter now. I’m
glad you’re accepting responsibility for disobeying, and you
probably do deserve a whipping or something… But I think this
time, we can let it pass.”
I felt a bit shy as I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around
Dad. I think he might have been surprised, but after a second,
I felt his arms wrap around me, and he hugged me back.
“Here’s the cocoa, and I took a minute to warm up some of those
sugar… Oh, I wish I had a camera.”
Without letting go of Dad, I glanced over at Mom.
“This is something I don’t see often enough - my two boys
showing that they actually do love each other.”
She was carrying a tray with mugs (and presumably cookies) on
it, but she set it down now, crossed over to us, and wrapped us
both in her arms.
“I’m glad you’re home safe, Bailey,” Mom murmured after a long
moment.
“I am, too,” I assured her.
“Now,” Dad said, “let’s just concentrate on having a Merry
Christmas.”
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#Post#: 16585--------------------------------------------------
Re: It Happened One Christmas Chapter Twenty
By: kalico Date: December 24, 2019, 5:50 pm
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Omg I’m so happy for Bailey and that they found the money and he
went home...
Thanks for sharing this story jack it’s been so much fun to come
and see the next chapter each day
I know your very busy and thank you so much for sharing your
story
MERRY CHRISTMAS 🎄
Hugs kal
#Post#: 16586--------------------------------------------------
Re: It Happened One Christmas Chapter Twenty
By: db105 Date: December 24, 2019, 6:22 pm
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Aww, heartwarming, not buttwarming. But we can't really complain
about lack of spanking in this story, can we?
Thanks for the story, and merry Christmas everyone!
#Post#: 16587--------------------------------------------------
Re: It Happened One Christmas Chapter Twenty
By: No Way Out Date: December 25, 2019, 4:31 am
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Thank you for the story, Jack, especially for the happy ending
I'd been hoping for!
There is one thing that puzzles me though, so I gotta ask.
Please don't think of it as nitpicking:
Baileys supernatural guide is called Charlie, and in the vision
of Bailey as an adult, his son is called Charles. So one could
assume that it was the spirit of Baileys future son or at least
a christmas ghost that took the boy's appearance. But if that
was the case, wouldn't Baileys have recognized that the boy in
the vision of the future looked just like his new friend? Or
don't Charles and Charlie wear the same face? Of course it is
possible that Bailey was so impressed by his experience with
Charlie that he will name his son after the ghost in the future.
#Post#: 16589--------------------------------------------------
Re: It Happened One Christmas Chapter Twenty
By: Adric Date: December 25, 2019, 9:50 am
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[quote author=No Way Out link=topic=1653.msg16587#msg16587
date=1577269903]
So one could assume that it was the spirit of Bailey's future
son or at least a Christmas ghost that took the boy's
appearance.[/quote]
I thought the same thing when I read the name Charles - that it
was Bailey's future son, coming to tell him, indirectly, that he
was okay with his own spankings from Bailey, so Bailey should
accept that as well. I think that is a direction the story
could have taken.
#Post#: 16592--------------------------------------------------
Re: It Happened One Christmas Chapter Twenty
By: Jack Date: December 25, 2019, 10:22 am
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[quote author=No Way Out link=topic=1653.msg16587#msg16587
date=1577269903]
Thank you for the story, Jack, especially for the happy ending
I'd been hoping for!
There is one thing that puzzles me though, so I gotta ask.
Please don't think of it as nitpicking:
Baileys supernatural guide is called Charlie, and in the vision
of Bailey as an adult, his son is called Charles. So one could
assume that it was the spirit of Baileys future son or at least
a christmas ghost that took the boy's appearance. But if that
was the case, wouldn't Baileys have recognized that the boy in
the vision of the future looked just like his new friend? Or
don't Charles and Charlie wear the same face? Of course it is
possible that Bailey was so impressed by his experience with
Charlie that he will name his son after the ghost in the future.
[/quote]
I actually came to post an afterwards to the story that
addresses this.
The quick version is that I thought this incident made such an
impression on Bailey that he names his son Charles. I hadn't
thought about other ways it might be seen until Adric mentioned
it in chat one day.
#Post#: 16617--------------------------------------------------
Re: It Happened One Christmas Chapter Twenty
By: David M. Katz Date: December 26, 2019, 1:48 pm
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An EXCELLENT serial.
Jack, thanks for the effort.
I guess I don't dislike Mr. Stuart after all. Still not sure
about Potter.
#Post#: 16621--------------------------------------------------
Re: It Happened One Christmas Chapter Twenty
By: Jack Date: December 26, 2019, 2:51 pm
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[quote author=David M. Katz link=topic=1653.msg16617#msg16617
date=1577389699]
An EXCELLENT serial.
Jack, thanks for the effort.
[/quote]
Thank you very much. I'm glad so many people seemed to enjoy
it.
[quote author=David M. Katz link=topic=1653.msg16617#msg16617
date=1577389699]
I guess I don't dislike Mr. Stuart after all. Still not sure
about Potter.
[/quote]
I'll be very honest here. I was probably thinking about more
money than is really called for, but I was thinking a
Christmas/End of Semester party would be a pretty big blow out,
and the club probably isn't huge, but maybe 20 to 30 people, so
I was seeing about $100 to $150 as the amount of money missing.
To me, while six swats might have been overkill, what happened
really was simple careless - negligence - on Bailey's part, and
the amount of money puts a lot of question into it. Of course,
that's one of those things that's purely a matter of opinion,
but I also saw King's as a place that prides themselves on
integrity and discipline.
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