Wreck the Halls

Miracle

Calvin and I had been sitting in the waiting room of the hospital for an hour. I was so worried. My hair was drenched with sweat and my armpits were too. Calvin was keeping calm, though. Either because he had no feelings, or because he was trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm sure it's nothing, Ricky." He said, sweetly, as he patted my shoulder.

"Yeah, because passing out unexpectedly is nothing." I shrugged, "You know. Happens all the time."

Calvin leaned back in his chair a little, "Ricky?"

"Hm?"

"I never got my turn."

"Your turn?"

"To tell why I love Christmas. Remember, at the campfire? Everybody got to tell but me."

I rubbed my hands together and leaned forward in my chair, before putting my face in my hands, "By all means, Calvin. Tell me now. It might be a good way to get my mind off things."

Calvin smiled, "I was hoping you'd say that."

Calvin cleared his throat, "'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except for Ricky."

I frowned and sat up in my chair.

"We were eight, and I heard you downstairs in the kitchen making a bowl of cereal. Remember that?"

I nodded, "I guess so, sure."

"I walked up to you and asked why you were up so late. You said you couldn't sleep because you were upset, you wouldn't tell me why, though. I said I would stay up with you. You pretty much ignored me while you ate your cereal, but then I finally decided to say something. I said, 'Hey, Ricky. Do you want to open one present now? Mom and dad won't notice.' And you said,"

"'I couldn't care less what we got for Christmas, Cal.'" I interjected.

"Exactly." Calvin laughed a little, "Then I said, 'Well, just humor me.' And surprisingly, you actually did. We walked over to the tree and you picked out one from mom and I picked out one from you. You opened yours, and I remember the look on your face. Pure disappointment. And the way you were like,"

"'A pair of socks. Yippee.'" I said, laughing a little.

"Yeah, yeah! Just like that! And then I opened mine. The one from you. Do you remember what it was?"

"A book of some sort, right?" I answered.

"You didn't know what book it was? Oh, I remember that! You shrugged and said, 'I just took the first book off the shelf at the bookstore and threw it in a box. Merry Christmas.'"

I laughed at myself.

"It was The Christmas Story. I never really understood what Christmas really meant until I read that book. It totally changed my perspective not only on Christmas, but on life. After that, I felt- I dunno - I felt different. The spirit of Christmas was so much more real! And exciting! Ricky, you gave me the best present anyone could ever give! The gift of understanding! I mean, you helped me know my purpose. That story made me feel so much joy and love and happiness. But..."

I shook my head, "But, what?"

"But I never understood why it was only me. So I always tried to get you as excited about Christmas as I was. But it never worked. Plus, the fact that everyone called me clinically insane didn't help out very much."

"You are insane."

"I know," he admitted as he smiled a bit, "but that's not my point. I just want you to have the same spirit I have. I feel like I need to give you back the gift you gave me. But I still don't know how."