A Claus For Love

Busy Beverly's Christmas Preparations

It was Christmas Eve, and Beverly Ives was putting the final touches on her cozy house, making sure everything was ready for Santa to arrive that night. After having to deal with her parents' funeral arrangements a few months back when they died within a few weeks of one another, she thought a home far from the big city would be a perfect way to relax, so she found the nicest little cottage surrounded by snow-covered pines and made her home there. This was her first Christmas in her own house after living in the big city, and even though she wished her parents could see how happy she was in her new home, she was eager to experience a Christmas that felt like she was living in a greeting card. Not only that, but she was hoping to possibly catch a glimpse of Santa as he filled her stockings and put her presents underneath the tree, which was something she never got to witness as a child or teenager. As the chilly winter breeze made the snowflakes dance outside, Christmas music was playing on her grandfather's old radio, which was perfect background music as she took a tray of freshly baked gluten-free gingerbread cookies out of the oven. After setting them on a small plate and pouring a glass of apple juice, wanting to twist her childhood Christmas traditions for fun, she carried the plate and cup to the lamp table beside her reclinable easy chair and set them there.

This was just one of the last things left on Beverly's to-do list to make her house presentable to Santa, and even though she was now in her early 20s, she was full of childlike excitement at the thought of having him stop by her house. She had done everything to make her house appear both fancy and humble, and although she wasn't a neat freak, she had tackled everything from simply vacuuming the rug to cleaning her cottage's fireplace and entrance to the chimney. After making sure the mantle on her fireplace was polished and dusted, she decorated it with some fake holly & ivy from the nearest crafts store before setting a couple of family heirlooms on each end. Even though she was celebrating Christmas on her own this year, she had also hung up a sprig of mistletoe just for fun, and it was nice to imagine herself sharing a kiss with someone while standing underneath it.

The last thing she needed before putting all the pieces together was to write a letter to Santa, and that was when she continued a tradition she started when she was in high school: On top of being simple and antimaterialistic with her wish list and only asking for a small number of things each year, she started her letters each year with wishes for her family before mentioning hers; she wished for a worldwide cure when her mother had cancer (which was later cured), she wished for a job for her father when he lost it, and she asked Santa for a new car when their old one broke down. This tradition was a secret until her mother found one of her letters, and while her parents were surprised when they discovered her routine, they could see that it highlighted how selfless their daughter was. She kept that tradition going for the rest of her life, and even though she was now living without her parents, she continued to write a letter that started off with requests for her extended family before moving to her.

Regardless, she made sure her letter was well-written before placing it on the same tray as her cookies and juice, and she carried them to the mantle for her fireplace before neatly setting everything up. After she placed some carrots for the reindeer on a plate as a last-minute treat, she made sure she had everything else in order from the chimney to the tree, and she hung a stocking by the fireplace before she finally heaved a sigh when everything was done. With that, she turned up the music on her grandfather's radio before dancing around the house, doing some last-minute cleaning while she swayed.

While watching the nearest church's Christmas Eve service as it was live-streaming on the internet, Beverly sang along to the Christmas hymns as she changed into her favorite nightgown, her inner child about to burst with excitement as she did a last-minute check of everything in her house. This was going to be an unforgettable Christmas, and she couldn't wait. Once the church service was over, she put her laptop away and turned on the TV to catch the local news, turning her radio's volume down so she could hear the news. As she got comfortable in her reclining easy chair with a blanket from her maternal grandmother draped over the headrest, she watched the usual news reports go by and smiled when she saw a story about how bright and colorful everything was in other parts of the world.