(Because I prefer names, the characters will be named William and Margaret.
This one-shot is inspired by the song His Favorite Christmas Story by Capital Lights (one of my favorites!) Lyrics are italicized.
22:45 is 10:45 PM for ya folks!)
Delaware, December 24, 1937
William stood next to the punch bowl. He'd been watching a girl in a red dress and matching red lipstick since the moment she'd arrived.
He checked his watch. 22:45. It was now or never.
William walked up to Margaret, who was speaking with her friends, and gently tapped her shoulder. "Hello, Miss. I was hoping you would say yes to a dance."
Margaret smiled. "I'd be delighted." She glanced to her friends. "Excuse me."
She took William's hand, and as though fate were with them, the carolers began to sing The Fairy on the Christmas Tree by The Three Sisters, unknowingly a favorite by both William and Margaret.
The two swayed across the room as the band played and the carolers sang.
Margaret had never left the town she'd grown up in, delighted by the new, exciting events.
William had been all over, but the pretty girl dancing with him offered a sense of joy he'd never known.
The two had unknowingly fallen in love with the other.
When the clock struck midnight, the party ceased.
William smiled. "I'm afraid I must bid you adieu. Thank you for dancing with me."
Margaret returned his smile. "I had the best night of my life. Thank you for asking."
"Goodbye, Miss."
"Goodbye."
The two went their separate ways, likely never to see each other again.
Two Years Later
William sat alone in a diner eating Christmas dinner.
He glanced up to see a young waitress with a sparkling gleam in her eye.
It was her favorite day of the year, and though she was working on Christmas, her smile and joy never wavered.
The waitress walked up to the lone man. "Sir, can you shed a little holiday cheer. Would you mind telling me a Christmas story?"
William smiled, knowing the exact story he wanted to tell. "Well, I've got one. Here's my favorite Christmas story about a girl with no name."
The waitress smiled, ready to hear the story. "Go on."
"I met her up in Delaware in 1937. She was wearing red lipstick to match her pretty dress. December twenty-fourth at a quarter to eleven's when I finally gained the courage to ask her to dance."
"Oh, that was wonderful! Thank you. I'll leave you to your meal."
---
As the years passed, William told the story of his mysterious dance partner to all who were willing to lend an ear. He shared with the locals, and everyone he met.
He became known as the Christmas Story-Telling Traveling Man.
---
By the time he was 53, he had settled down.
The only company he had were the neighborhood kids who gathered around to hear what his life had been like on the road.
Every Christmas Eve, without fail, the children showed up before dark. Each and every year, William told of the mysterious woman he'd danced with years before.
It was his favorite Christmas story called 'The Girl With No Name'.
William smiled and began the story. "I met her up in Delaware in 1937. She was wearing red lipstick to match her pretty dress. December twenty-fourth at a quarter to eleven's when I finally gained the courage to ask her to dance."
20 Years Later
William laid in a hospital bed as he took his last breaths. 'Twas a cold Christmas morning.
The neighborhood children had grown, leaving William alone once more.
The only company he had was a little old nurse sitting by his bedside, holding his hand.
William turned to the nurse and asked, "Ma'am, could you share a little holiday cheer?"
All he wanted to hear was a simple Christmas story. But the words she spoke brought tears to his eyes, as it was the very story he'd told since that December night years before.
Margaret drifted back, remembering that night. "I met him up in Delaware in 1937. Though I never caught his name he was a traveling man. December twenty-fourth at a quarter to eleven I'm so glad he got the courage to ask me to dance."
William smiled at the nurse he now knew to be the woman he'd danced with that Christmas Eve long ago and breathed his last.
Margaret closed William's eyes, glad she'd been able to be with a lonely old man in his last moments.
