Unholy Nights: A Twisted Christmas Anthology (52 page)

I tried to hear Spencer's reply but the tinny voice from the telephone was almost indecipherable over the roaring in my ears. From the corner of my eye I saw some nurses rush in, but I was confused as to why their faces were masks of horror.

My heart seized in my chest and tremors wracked my body.

The phone fell from my grasp and the clatter of it hitting the floor reverberated in my brain like the sound of a gunshot.

*

S
pencer

For the rest of my life I will never forget the sound of my wife's voice as she spoke her final words to me. She sounded broken, defeated. And I'd done that to her. To us. I'd brought her to the point where she was ready to call it quits.

I don't think I'd ever felt lower, or more helpless, in all my years.

The clatter of her phone sounded through the speaker in mine, but it wasn't until I heard the panicked shouts of nurses across the line that I was kicked into movement. The snow was practically pelting me as I ran across the hospital parking lot to the front doors.

I kicked myself the entire way to the elevators for leaving Sera, even if it was to do something that I knew would make her immeasurably happy. I hoped that I would at least get the chance to explain, to make it up to her. If given the chance I would spend a lifetime making it up to her.

When I reached the elevators, only to find them all in use I roared in frustration, startling the patients and orderlies around me. Paying no mind to them, I flew to the stairs and took them two at a time to the third floor.

I burst through the doors and raced down the hallway only to be stopped by nurses at the nurse's station with another clipboard full of paperwork.

"Mr. Flaherty, Mr. Flaherty," I strained to hear them over the buzzing in my head. "I need you to fill out this urgent information about your wife."

Their words circled around me, faint and garbled. Like I was hearing them through water. "No. Something's wrong with her. I have to get to her."

I pushed through the crush of doctors and nurses and ignored their disgruntled huffs. Two doors away from Sera's room I slowed to a stop. A team of doctors and nurses were leaving, all of them with defeated slumps to their shoulders and grim frowns drawing their faces.

If possible, my heart dropped even father into my stomach.

A young nurse looked up as I approached. "Mr. Flaherty." But I could tell by the tone of her voice that it wasn't good. I pushed passed them as she tried to tell me about metal toxicity and neural damage.

Brain damage.

Sera.

I hesitated in the doorway and had to force myself closer to her bed. She was shrouded in shadows, but my Sera was angelic even when shrouded in darkness. Her hair was fanned out around her on the pillow and her face, even though it was pale, was beautiful. I'd never known a woman to be more beautiful.

There was a chair next to her bed and I could do no more than fall into it. Her hand lay on top of the blanket. It was ice cold when I enveloped it with both of mine. I rested my head on our hands.

I couldn't bear the thought of her never coming back to me.

"You were right," I muttered into our clasped hands. "It doesn't matter to me. The money, the work, the promotions. You are the only thing that matters to me. I'd give it all up for you. I did give it up for you. I wasn't here when you woke up because I couldn't wait to tell Terry in person that I couldn't keep working so much overtime like I have been."

I brushed a hand along her face. "I realized this afternoon on the way to go get Micah that I'd rather be broke and happy, than lose you. I can't lose you. I'd do anything, baby. Please." My voice broke. "Please come back to me."

The only sound in the room aside from the constant beep of her monitors was the tick of a watch. The thought of it sent a fresh wave of pain through me. I dug it out from where I kept in my back pocket. The damn thing was more trouble than it was worth, but I didn't tell Sera that. She was convinced that I was late because of work, but I didn't have the heart to tell her that the goddamn watch was always off time. I fixed it, constantly setting it back to the right time, but no matter what I did it was always off.

I held it in one hand as I held her hand with my other. The sound of the hand keeping time with the seconds that passed grew inordinately loud.
Tick, tick, tick.
It grew so loud that it was the only thing that I could hear.

Before my eyes I watched as the second hand slowed to a stop, held, then began to move backwards. It rewound slowly at first, then faster and faster until time rewound and I felt Sera move.

My stomach twisted into knots and I couldn't force myself to look up.

"I'll come back under one condition," I heard her say with a rough voice. "Please, don't ever, ever feed me sushi again."

Epilogue

the following year

I don't know how it happened, but I'd landed myself back in the mall the day before Christmas Eve. You'd think a seasoned shopper like myself would know better, but sometimes we just don't learn valuable lessons.

"Do we really need to do this?" Spencer asked.

Clearly a year hadn't instilled in him the value of a good shopping spree.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Spence. We've been talking about it all year. I want to buy back your watch chain and you've been bitching about getting those earrings back for me since the day I got home from the hospital. It'll only take a second."

He tagged my waist with an arm and pulled me to his side. "Only because you asked so nicely," he teased. "So where is this place at?"

"It's across from the electronics store. I can't believe you've never been there," I said, guiding him towards it. "With you love for antiques, I would have thought it'd be your favorite place in the world."

"Wait do you mean Timeless?" he asked.

I stopped in my tracks. "Yes." I tilted my head to the side and studied him through narrowed eyes. "I thought you hadn't been there before."

"I hadn't." He held his hands up. "Well, not until that day last year. I went after I met you at the food court to browse before getting our nephews gift. Actually, it's where I got your necklace."

My mouth dropped open. "You're kidding. What are the odds?"

We resumed walking and I expected that it would look the same as last year with the festive decorations and cheerful holiday signs. Only in place of their beautiful window display, there was only dust and broken glass.

"Huh." I peered through the window as Spencer investigated the front door. Dust caked the checkout counter and I could hardly see through it on the window. It was completely bare aside from scraps of paper and spare pens that littered the floor. The walls were water damaged, plumes of black bloomed from a drip at the ceiling. "That's weird. They must have shut down. Let's go ask management to see if they left a forwarding address. Maybe they moved close by."

We walked hand in hand through the throngs of shoppers to the mall's business office. After pleading with an understanding secretary, she guided us to the back where an older man with salt and pepper hair and a wrinkled suit sat behind a desk sucking back coffee.

"Good evening, my name is Patrick Winslow. What can I do to help you?" the manager gestured to two chairs in front of the desk.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Winslow, I'm Spencer and this is my wife Sera." He extended a hand which the manager shook. "We both purchased something from the antique store that was open last year around Christmas. It was called Timeless and run by a couple named Ulrich and Petra Kloss. We were wondering if they left you any forwarding information. We'd like to get their address or phone number if possible."

There was a brief silence while the Mr. Winslow clicked away on the computer. He then sighed and pressed a hand to his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Flaherty, but there doesn't seem to be any record of a store by that description. Last year or otherwise. Could it have been another store?"

We shared a confused look. What in the world?

I recalled the subtle scent that surrounded me when I first walked in the store, the soft music that played in the background, the lavish pieces of jewelry and the heavy furniture. "There's no way. I remember it pretty clearly. Anyway, thank you for your time. We hope you have a Merry Christmas."

*

W
e arrived home later that evening and could talk of nothing other than the mystery surrounding the strange couple from the antique store. Snow swirled around my ankles as we dashed through it and into the house. I shook out my jacket and hung it up on the coat rack beside the door.

For no other reason than to get my hands on his body, I decided to help Spencer out of his, too. "What do you think of that? We aren't crazy, are we? I know for certain that they were open last year."

"Maybe their records were wrong. Or maybe we are crazy. I blame the sushi."

I hummed in response as he unwrapped my scarf, lingering on my neck and sliding it slowly from my shoulders.  "Maybe."

I stoked the fire in the living room and settled into the couch across from the Christmas tree. This year the house was empty, though only until the next morning. Micah was spending this Christmas morning with us, as it should be. Throughout the past year we'd grown infinitely closer as a family and even more so as a couple.

"What's this?" Spencer held a small Christmas present he'd pulled from under the tree.

"I don't know," I answered. "I've never seen it before. I haven't put anything down here yet. Santa doesn't come until tonight. Trying to keep that alive for as long as possible."

"I know, me, too. I haven't even wrapped my gifts yet. I was waiting so that he didn't go tearing into anything."

He sat down beside me and I snuggled into his side. He threw an arm around my shoulders and settled the gift into our laps. It was simply wrapped in red paper with a white bow.

"There's a note." I pulled the white slip of paper from where it was hidden underneath the ribbon.

"What does it say?" he asked. "It's not another broken watch is it?"

"As long as it's not another killer necklace," I joked.

"
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Flaherty,"
I read. "
We hope this letter finds you in much better spirits. We've enclosed something that we hope will always remind you that there are no gifts in this world more precious than sharing your life with someone you love. Don't take it for granted and always cherish it. We would hate for you to make it on our list again. Don't disappoint. Sincerely, Mr. and Mrs. Kloss.
"

Inside the box were a pair of pearl encrusted diamond earrings and a priceless gold pocket watch chain.

~

A
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About The Author

Nicole Blanchard loves receiving gifts from strangers so long as they don't come with an ominous warning or risk of decapitation. She also enjoys taking full advantage of the fringe benefits of being on the naughty list in her spare time.