Christmas Story
 by Eileen

"ROLLIE!!!  C'mon!! Hurry up or we will be late!!"  The young blonde woman yelled upstairs to her boss/partner/friend.  She was getting impatient and it showed.

"Ange, what  is the big deal?  I mean it's not like you have never seen it before."  Her partner took his time coming down the spiral staircase that led from his living quarters to the main floor, which housed the workshop.  Rollie was attired in his standard garb: black shirt, black pants and black work boots.  The attire seemed to fit his mood.    "Ange, I have been thinking.  I don't think that I want to go this time.  I mean I have a lot to do now.  We have those two movies coming up at the end of the month…" he never got a chance to finish due to his partner's outburst.

"WHAT!?" Angie flew across the workshop.  She had been standing at the door just waiting for Rollie to come down so that they could leave.  "What?  Why?  I don't get it!!  We have been doing this since  we met; my dad started us on this.  NOW, you want to stop?" The young blonde slammed her black leather gloves on the table and marched right up to Rollie.  Her Cuban temper, being *very* well known to Rollie, came out in all its glory.  When she was steamed, like she was now, her face could go from a golden hue to a danger warning red.  In addition, her fists clenched and unclenched at a furious pace and the pulse at the base of her neck could be seen racing.  Oh yes, when Angie was this furious, she only spoke Spanish.  "Qué?  Por qué no? No creo esto. Tue eres imposible, Rollie!!  No tiene nada en tu cerebro!!"

Rollie was used to this and just waited until the wave of anger subsided a bit.  Being around  Manny prepared him for Angie's outbursts.  "Manny was much worse" he noted to himself.  The thought crossed his mind that maybe it was because Manny had a very deep voice and still had a Cuban accent which made it all the worse when he was furious.  "Ange, let me say something.  I don't think…"

"Rollie, cierre tu boca!!  No deseo oír tus excusas!!  You—you just  have no clue." She was beginning to calm down; English was being spoken once again.  Angie had moved to the other side of the room just to put space between; she was afraid of what she might do to him.  "Why?  This is the third time this week that you bailed on me.  I thought you liked going to see The Tree.  You used to like doing that.  What is going on with you?"

"Nothing is going on with me, Angela.  I just don't want to go, ok? Besides, *we* have a lot of work that needs to be done by the end of the month.  I am going to stay here and get it done.  You can go, if you want to."  He turned away from her to sit at his desk to go over the script for their new movie.

"Yeah, I am going to see The Tree and the Rockettes and the Christmas Show at Radio City.  I'll find someone else who wants to go with me.  Rol, I dunno but it seems as if you have no Christmas Spirit anymore.  I just hope you get it back before Thursday, which  is only two days away."  She looked anxiously at her friend.

"Um…no.  I don't think that I am going to celebrate Christmas at all this year."

"Rol!!  You are telling me now?!  I can't believe you.  GOD DAMN YOU!!  I told Luce that I wouldn't go skiing with her to stay here with you, I told Ivonne that I couldn't go to Boston because *we* were celebrating.  Not to mention the fact that Kit and her family invited me to DC to have the holidays with them.  I could have gone to any of those places, but no I turned them down to stay here with you!  You don't want to celebrate the day, but I do.  Now I have no one celebrate with.  NOT ONE PERSON!  Merry Christmas."  The door reverberated through out the entire building as she slammed it on her way out.

The tall Australian just looked at the spot, where the person he was the closest to had just vacated, and murmured, "Bah Humbug."
 

Four hours later found Rollie still working on the same gadget that he started on when Angie left.  "If she had stayed here, we could have gotten some more work done but she *had* to go see that damned tree."  Exhaling a deep breath, the FX expert put down his tools and moved to the lounge for a bite to eat.   As the man put on the kettle on, the phone rang.  "Blue.  Speaker Phone.   Tyler, here."

"Rollie, hey!  Just calling to see if we are still on for tomorrow."  The friendly voice was Det. Francis Gatti, one of Rollie's many police friends.

"Thursday?  What's on then??"

"You're kidding, right?  It's Christmas Eve, you know, Santa, tree, lights, Rudolph.  Christmas?  You forgot?"  Frank was dumbfounded that anyone could EVER forget when Christmas was.  Well, it was hard at least when you had three small children.  They were constantly asking when Santa was coming, how was he getting down the chimney and is Santa going to bring a birthday gift for the Baby Jesus.  "Well, I guess we all forget days and all.  So, you and Ange are coming over dinner.  I know that I invited you guys last month and I reminded Angie last week, but Sarah, wanted me to remind *you*.  Still coming?"

"Frank, I wish I could but I have so much work that needs to be done for my next movie that I don't think that I have the time to do anything but work.  I'm sure that Angie will be there though.  She seems to be into it this year."  Rollie answered his friend politely but wanted to end the conversation as soon as possible; he looked bored and annoyed while talking.  "Frank, I'm sorry but I have to go.  I got too much to do.  I'll talk to you soon." he abruptly ended the phone conversation.

Looking around the loft at all the work that needed to be done, Rollie muttered again to himself what a waste of time 'this special time of year' is.  "The day could be used to meet deadlines and fix mistakes.  God knows that all the other saps are not working, this could be a great way to get a jump on them.  But my lovely assistant would rather look at an overgrown pine tree that has lights on it.  Go figure."   Spying the script, he picked it up and headed for the VR chamber.  "It's the one place that I know *won't* have anything remotely related to Christmas."
 

"Rollie.  Rollie, wake up."

Rollie heard something in the far recesses of his mind, the part that wasn't fully asleep.  The tall man has managed to scrunch himself into the small chair in the small chamber and promptly fell asleep.  Rousing himself, he felt all the twinges and aches of falling asleep in an uncomfortable postion.   "Angie?  That you?  Thought you would still be mad at me.  Ange?"

"Rollie.  Rollie"

"Who is that?  Where are you?  What have you done with Angie?"   He knew right away that it wasn't his partner but yet the voice wasn't threatening and he did feel some peace from it.

"Rollie, it's me.  It's Manny.  Como estas, Rollito?"  The figure of Manny Ramirez came down off the screen to sit in the once empty chair to the right of Rollie.  He just sat down as if he was invited and gave Rollie an approving nod.  "You look well.  But I see you still haven't learned how to eat properly.  I take that to mean that mi'ja hasn't learned how to cook yet.  That will come in time, as well.  But you know time is the one thing that we don't have much of tonight.  Come along, we have much work to do. "  The man got up to leave the chamber.  Noticing that Rollie was still in a state of shock, he motioned for the younger man to follow.  "Rollie, ahora mismo!!  Rapido!  I have precious time here with you.  I don't want to waste one moment.   We have work to do."

Rollie was still sitting in his chair, not believing his eyes.  He looked like he had seen a ghost.  "Bloody hell, he is a ghost!"  He raced out of the VR chamber  and down the stairs to see Manny at the workstation.  His mentor was staring at a picture that was taken three weeks before his death; it was taken at Montauk during their last get-away before working for Nick Breen.  Manny looked up to see his protégé's face and sadly smiled.

"We were all so happy here, eh?  What has happened to you, Rollie?  You used to have such a good spirit at this time of year.  You couldn't wait for us to bring the decorations out of storage.  I had to stop you and Angie from arguing over who was doing what.  It was annoying but now…now, I miss it.  I miss putting up the tree with you.  I miss seeing Angie opening her gifts on Christmas morning.  You do remember the good times?"

"Manny, um…don't think that I don't want you here but you are dead.  I saw you die.  I saw the explosion.  You can't be here; it is physically impossible."  He came down the steps and purposely avoided Manny.  Rollie moved to the other side of the warehouse in order to evade eye contact with the ghost.  "Are you some bad dream that I am having?  It must be that; I am probably dreaming in the VR chamber.  Ange must have put in a program about you, I mean about her dad.  I just got into it by mistake, fell asleep watching it and now it is just in my sub-conscious.  Good.  Ok, now that I know what has happened, I can wake up."

"No, Rollito.  I am not a ghost or an apparition or a figment of anyone's imagination.  I am real and I am here to help you.   I want you to be the Rollie that I love, the Rollie whose heart is open and loves this season.  You need to be that Rollie again.  Now, are you going to answer my question?  Do you remember any of the good times?  The ones with Angie and me, the ones with your parents, with Mangela?"

"HA!  Knew it.  I knew this was a joke or whatever.  If you were the 'real' Manny then you would know that I didn't have a great childhood.  As for Christmas with my father, don't think so.  The man never was or will be around for any holidays.  So, any more brilliant questions?"  He turned vicious eyes on the man that was standing on the other side of the room.  Rollie looked like he could kill.  "I don't know what you are or who you are but I want you out of here.  NOW!  Get out and stop destroying the image of my friend!!"

"If I was someone other than Manny, how did I know about Mangela or that I called you Rollito?"  The figure moved closer to Rollie, who was now backing up.

"That stuff is easy to find out.  I mean anyone working on shoots with us heard you call me that name dozens of times.  As for Mangela, he visited me here in NY often enough that he would be known by people.  Plus I talked about him and The People when I talked about home."

"True, but would those same people know what happened the Christmas that Dingo had with us?  Better yet, why don't I show you?"  Then the man just disappeared in front of Rollie's eyes.

The logical portion of Rollie's mind, the part that could put together a highly scientific machine, the part that could find ways to track lost people,  was amazed and dazzled by the 'trick'.    During the time he was looking for Manny frantically, Rollie was trying to guessitmate how the trick was done.  "There are no mirrors, no gas, no trap doors.  How did he do it?  Why did he do it?  WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!"  He was roaming the lower level of the studio searching for a clue that would tell him what was going on right now.

"Rollie, come up here.  I am waiting for you; we are wasting time.  We can play later."  The voice called from the VR chamber.  Rollie went upstairs, slowly at first until he heard Manny calling to him, reminding him of the little amount of time they had tonight.

When he entered the chamber, Rollie noticed how quiet Manny was.  He noticed that the screen was lit and a program was running.  "I could have sworn that I closed all the programs before l left before." Rollie thought to himself.  The program didn't seem familiar to Rollie but whatever it was, Manny seemed much more at ease then when he first arrived.

Manny motioned for Rollie to come in and take the empty seat beside him.  Manny was still watching the program.  Rollie sat down uneasily, not too sure of what was going to happen next.  When nothing occurred but the program still running the same program, he decided that now was a good time as ever to get a  good look at his friend. The younger man noticed for the first time the deep green velvet shirt and the dark wool pants that clothed Manny.  They seemed to have been made with great care.  The shirt, which looked soft to the touch, made Manny's coloring all that much richer.  The pants showed that he was still in good shape…still.  Even his shoes looked like they were of the best quality.  The dark leather on his feet matched the leather belt that encircled his waist.  It accented the narrowness of it, another sign of Manny staying in good condition just like he always had.

What struck Rollie the most was how peaceful, how calm, how serene Manny appeared.  He remembered his mentor many a time running around the loft yelling at no one in particular and at everyone in general.  In fact, the arguments that Manny had with some of their directors were the stuff that legends were made out of.  Manny refused to budge if he thought a gag was not going to be right; if all the participants were at risk, then he was even more dedicated to his stand.  Chuckling out loud at the memories, Rollie just shook his head.

"Find something amusing, Rollie?" Manny questioned the younger man.

"Nope.  It's just that I have proof that you are not who you say you are; you can't be Manny Ramirez."  Seeing the raised eyebrows of the man sitting to his left as an invitation to continue his train of thought, Rollie did so.  "The Manny that I knew, and loved, was never this calm or this relaxed.  He knew how much time and effort setting up the gags took.  He would never just sit down and watch some dumb home movies."

"Really?  You noticed that too, huh?  You're right.  I lived for my job, my career.  Sometimes it took the front seat of all my priorities.  It became the be-all and the end-all for me towards the end.  But I did the best that I could."  Turning his attention back to the screen, he added, "Rollie, if I was so busy all the time then, when did I ever take home movies?  In fact, how could I have taken them of you as a child?  I didn't know you then.  You said that Dingo and Anne were too poor to have that type of a camera.  So, then how are we watching this?"

THAT got Rollie's attention.  Playing on the screen were what seemed to be 'clips' of his childhood.  He saw himself as a child; laughing and giggling the way small children do when they are happy.  In these same 'clips' were his parents.  But they were acting different, like a family.  These were the memories that Rollie didn't remember due to his age.  Rollie was amazed to see Dingo home and being the loving husband and dutiful father.

"How did you get this?  Did Dingo give you this?"  He was talking to Manny but not really speaking to him.  The words were coming much slower and deliberate then before.

"Oh, they were given to me by a mutual friend.  He is very concerned about you.  He has your best interest at heart."

"Oh."  It was the only work Rollie could think of to answer his friend.  He was too pre-occupied by what the screen was showing.  It had been showing him at school, playing with his dog, Blue;  basically, it showed Rollie as a happy child.

The next 'clip' was of Christmas.  It was easy to tell that this was one of his earlier ones because in the background the voices of a little boy (with a thick Australian accent) could be heard asking, "Why? I want to help you, Mummy.  I can do it.  I want to help you.  Can I please?"

The reply, which came from a sweet melodic voice, was "Because sweetie, you are too little to put the decorations on the outside of the house.  Daddy is doing that.  But we can go outside and help him.  Would you like to do that?"

"Ok.  Come on Mummy.  Let's go outside and help Daddy."  Then the screen showed the small boy taking his mother's hand and leading her outside.  It was apparent that the child was cherished by his mother.  She had such a sweet look on her face while she gazed at Rollie.

Manny glanced at his young friend and noted the unshed tears in his eyes.  It had been hard for Rollie to acknowledge his mother's death at such a tender age.  "Maybe that is why he and Angela got on so famously; it must have been the common bond of losing mothers so young in life" he thought to himself.  The man then went back to looking at the screen once he heard the sound of laughter again.

"Rollie!  Stop, I mean it.  I'm serious, I will do it!"  The words were meant to be menacing but the tone was hardly anything like that.

"Ow!!  Angela, that is not fair!!  We said that frozen food was out this time.  You are cheating again."  He hoped the scowl he threw her way would slow her down a little.

"Sorry, Rol.  Not my fault that you believe anything someone tells you." came the smart ass remark from Angela Ramirez, as she caught the bag of frozen peas that bounced off Rollie's head.  She was younger but still had the same effervescent personality.  Her blonde hair was down to her shoulders, well at the least the strands that came out of her ponytail.  Her bright blues eyes showed the enjoyment she got from the torturing her friend.

"Oh yeah?  Ok, two can play at this game, m'dear."  With that, Rollie took the aerosol can off Manny's desk and started to shake it.  "You sure you want to play hard, Ange?"

The young woman had seen Rollie take something from her father's desk but couldn't recognize it.  Now that he held it out for her to see, she became afraid.  "C'mon Rol.  I didn't mean any harm by that.  I was just kidding."  Angie had started to back up as Rollie started to advance.  "You know, my dad wouldn't like it if you shot that stuff at me." she warned.

"What makes you think my dad would like what you did to me, huh?" he retorted.

"You're older.  You are supposed to be wiser, more mature than I am.  I guess that just proves that you are a bad influence over me.  Hmm…maybe my dad won't let you stick around the loft that much anymore.  He might think you weren't responsible.  I don't think he would want his only child, his little girl to have such corrupt people, such horrible influences in her life."  She had decided to try a different approach; she was going to play on his sense of loyalty and respect for Manny.  "It is a dirty trick to play on him, but hey, I don't want that stuff in my hair or in my face" she justified to herself.

"If that ever happened, if your dad decided that I was a bad influence over you, you know what?" he asked her with a smirk on his face.

"What?" she questioned cautiously.  Whenever Rollie got that smirk on his face, he was up to no good.

"It would be the first time in nearly seven years that I would have peace and quiet.  I wouldn't have some dumb little girl tagging after me, asking me some of the most stupidest questions that I have ever heard."

"HEY!!  That's mean.  Rol—" she never finished her sentence.  Rollie had taken the can of whipped cream and shot it right into her face.

"Gotcha!!"

The peals of laughter and screams of threat could be heard all the way out to the curb.  When Manny and Dingo walked in, the sight that was there astounded them.  Their children (who really weren't children) were having a food fight, on Christmas Eve nonetheless.  As an observer, it was hard to tell who was actually winning; if it was the blonde girl who had whipped cream in her hair or the tall young man who had a slight bruise on his cheek.  "What the hell is going on here?"

"Um…Hi Daddy!!"  Angie gave Rollie a look that said, "We're dead!"  She was hoping that her father still bought the little girl routine of telling daddy how much she loved him; it always got her out of trouble before.

"Don't hi Daddy me, young lady!  Look at this place.  We go out for two hours and …and…my loft looks horrendous!!"  The FX specialist could only gape at his walls and the floor.  The mess was unbelievable, not even one of his gags that blew people up looked like this…ever.  "It looks like a hurricane blew through here."  The man was simply speechless.  "I swear you two regress back to being children whenever Christmas arrives; I should remember this and not let you two near each other next year."

"Yeah.  It's called Hurricane Rollie-Angie."  Dingo came up from behind Manny,  The sight of the loft did take his breath away; he was glad he didn't have to clean it.  No matter what arguments he and Manny had in the past, the two fathers would stick together on this one.  "I would suggest that the two of you clean it up.  Now, that way poor Manny here doesn't have a heart-attack.  Rollie, I am surprised at you.  I would think that your Mum raised you better than this.  You are older, you should know better."  Those very words, said not more than five minutes ago, gave Angie a little smug attitude and gave her accomplice a look that said "Told you so! Nyah nyah!"

"Dingo, I don't think he is totally at fault here."

"He shot whipped cream at her.  It's all over her hair, poor thing."  Dingo by now had come to stand between the villains and was giving Angie a hug in consolation for the awful way his son treated her.

"Yeah, right.  If that was the case, why does he have a bruise on his face?  How come the cream is not on the bag?  Plus there is the fact that someone is going to be starting college in the fall, so that someone should also know better. And before you start, Angela, there was no self-defense, so don't even push me.  OK?"

It was Rollie's turn to look smug; Angie on the other hand looked miserable.  She hated being in trouble, especially if her father was the one doling out the punishment.  The two parents moved to one side of the warehouse that Manny had set up as the kitchen/eating area.   They seemed to be deciding what they should do with their wayward offspring.  Manny turned and told them, "Ok.  We aren't going to do anything.  Since it is Christmas Eve, I am going to let this slide.  Dingo and I will go and cook tonight's dinner while the two of you clean this place up, ok?"

The two young people were smart enough to know when they were beaten and at the same time were getting away light.  They quietly got the mop, broom & dustpan, furniture polish, window cleaner and began their chore.  It had taken them nearly an hour to accomplish it but it looked good.  "You know, Rollie, I am sorry that I hit you in the face with the bag.  I thought for sure you were going to catch it.  Did it hurt?" Angie asked.

"Nah, not that much.  I'm sorry about the whipped cream.  Thought for sure your big mouth would have caught it."  He just smiled and kept on going.  Turning around he added, "You really didn't think that I would buy that!  Of course, you knew that I wasn't going to catch it; that was the reason you threw it.  Angie, please.  After all, I am *so* much wiser than yourself.  You said so yourself."  As he headed for the kitchen, Angie could hear him chuckling to himself, as if he was proud of his little joke.

"You want to be wiser?  You got it!"  She picked up the pail that held the dirty water and rushed to the kitchen behind Rollie.  "Hey, Tyler.  Here's your Christmas gift from me…EARLY!!" As she went to throw it in Rollie's face, she didn't see Dingo step in front of Rollie and the water hit him square in the face.

"Dingo!!  I am soo sorry!!  I am…I meant to hit Rollie."  The young girl was near the verge of tears as the intended object of her missile was busying laughing.

"It's ok, Angela.  I know that he can be a real pain in the arse, if you will.  Please allow me to assist you in your quest."  Doing so, he took the pail from her hands and walked up to his son and tossed the rest of the contents at Rollie.

Manny had been standing behind Rollie and therefore hadn't seen the earlier confrontation between Angie and Rollie.  So, when some of the water got on him, he immediately berated Angie.  "How many times do I have to tell you not to throw water around here?  You don't know where it might land.  Angela, now stop."

"Sorry, Manny.  That was my dad doing that.  Really, I am sorry."  Rollie tried to be serious, really but the sight of his boss with water dripping down his face was too much for one person to bear.  Rollie lost his fight with the giggles and slid to the floor in a fit.

"Oh, this is funny?  OK…my turn!!"  Manny Ramirez, FX specialist and businessman, was now reduced to having water fights with family and friends in his kitchen. He took the hose from the kitchen sink and sprayed Rollie.  "Feel better?  I do."  He turned and gave Angie the same look he had just given Rollie.  "Oh, why not?  Merry Christmas, dear daughter!"

"DADDY, NO!!" she squealed as she ran to her nearest protection, Dingo.  He got it square in the face again.  "You hit Dingo, Papa."  The man was as wet as water and smiling all the while.  Giving Angie a hug, he said "Merry Christmas, everyone."

The sentiment was echoed by the other three people, until Dingo got them all wet by shaking the wine, that was to be used for dinner and spraying them.  Which is how the 'clip' ended.  That was it, the program had ended.

Finally, Manny spoke up, "See, Rollito?  There were good times at Christmas.  Don't let them be forgotten.  Your mother, your father, and me are always with you thru the memories of the past.  Please, go back and think about this idea of yours of not celebrating Christmas."

"Are you going to stay this time, Manny?  You said that you would play with me later.  I could show you all the stuff that me and Ange have done the last couple of years.  It would make your head spin."  Rollie looked at Manny and tried not to cry.  He had been happy when the 'clip' was going on; he didn't want the time to end.

"No.  I want to but I have to go now.  Remember, what I said about memories.  They can help you, Rollie.  Don't worry, I watch over you and Angie all the time.  I miss her.  I miss both of you.  Tell her that and I love her."  Manny Ramirez had left as quietly as he came.  Before Rollie could blink, his mentor was gone.  All Rollie had were the memories of the clips and the memory of talking to Manny once again.

"It couldn't have been real. Manny is dead. I saw him die." Rollie said it reassure him that he wasn't losing his mind.  He got up anyway, walked to the screen touched it and whispered, "But I hope it was."

Rollie fell out of the chair and hit the floor hard.  He ended up face down, which in a way shocked him.  He should have hit the chair next to his.  The VR chamber wasn't that big that all 6'2" of him could stretch out and not hit a thing.

Turning himself over, he took in the area.  "What the hell am I doing back on the main floor?" he muttered.  The night was getting harder by the moment.  Trying to get up and figure out what was going on, he heard another voice that was familiar to him, "Rollie!!  Over here!"

There sitting on the kitchen table was Rick Forsythe, his stuntman friend.  "How's it going? Hey, man, what 's wrong?  Looks like you've seen a ghost or two."  Rick laughed at his own joke.  Rollie just looked at him then looked away then back again.  "Sorry, not allowed to do jokes anymore.  But since today is a special case, I'm allowed.  So, what's new?  Got any brewskis?  I am so thirsty.  C'mon sit down.  We'll kick back and see what happens.  Just like the old days."   Rick made himself comfortable and took out two beers from Rollie's refrigerator.   He made his way back to the table and put them down.  Giving one to Rollie, he noticed that his friend was still not talking.  "Ok, what gives?  I know you, Tyler.  You can't stop talking but I show up and now you aren't talking.  What is it me?  <sniff, sniff>  Think I need a new deodorant?  Maybe I should get that new one: Heavenly Scent.  Get it!? Heavenly Scent, jeez I am still good with the jokes."   Looking up, he noticed that Rollie had left the kitchen.

"Oh, God.  I am losing my mind.  First Manny appears out of nowhere, now Rick.   Why me?  What did I do that was so bad that I need ghosts to come here and talk to me.  Rick, why are you here?  Why aren't you haunting someone else,  like Luce?  Go bother her for awhile."   As Rollie went to sit down on his couch, Rick was already there, stretching out like a cat getting ready for a nap.  Only thing is Rollie had no clue that his friend had moved like the wind.  "Holy Mary!!  Will you people stop doing that to me?!  If you have to move, tell me before you bloody well do it.  You're going to give me a heart attack.  I need a drink.  Where did you put that beer?"
 

"Rollie,  bud.  What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?!  I am seeing my friends and talking to them tonight who are dead, that's what's wrong!"  Rollie took a healthy swig from his can of beer.  "Aren't you going to join me?  You're the one that had the bright idea."

"Nope.  Sorry, no can-do.  Not allowed to drink while on duty, union rules you know.  Besides, I really can't touch the stuff.  I pass right thru it."  Rick shook his head sadly.

"Ok, I saw you take the cans out of the fridge and put them on the table.  Don't tell me no!  I saw you; don't let me think that I am going nuts."

"No, no…hey, relax bud.  I did move them but only because it had been so long since I held a nice cold one.  Man, I miss that.  Is it good?" He looked longingly at the can in Rollie's hand.

"Yeah, it is.  Rick, um…why are you here?"

"Why?  Don't you miss me?" he asked with a crooked grin.

"You know that I do.  I—I—I can't believe this!!  I am not even questioning this.  You are dead. I was there, I went to your funeral.  You can't be here."  He had put his beer back on the table and started to roam the loft.  Rollie kept looking back and forth at Rick, who was still stretched on the couch like the cat who ate the canary.  "Why, Rick?  Why me?"

"Because you, my friend, need some help.  I'm here to see that the job gets done."  Rick had moved off the couch and headed for the stairs.

"Help?  What kind of help?  Rick, come back here!  What kind of help?"  Rollie questioned his friend.  But Rick was already up the staircase that led to the VR chamber.  Upon seeing where Rick was headed, Rollie muttered, " Great.  Just bloody great.  Here we go again" and followed his friend's lead.

"Hey.  All right.  Pop a squat and then we can get started.  Now, what I want you to do is…"

"No."

"No?"  Rick looked stunned.  "You're not supposed to disagree.  That is not how this works."

"No.  I want to know why you are here."  He held up his hand to Rick's face, "don't tell me that you are here to help me.  That much I know.  But I need to know what kind of help.  Just don't lie to me, ok?"

"Rol, I am not going to lie to you.  You need to get that Christmas spirit of yours back.  So, it was decided that the three of us would be the best ones to get it done and done right, I might add."

"Three?  First there was Manny, now it is you.  Who is the third?  There is going to be someone else, when are they coming?"

"Yes, of course.  That is how the story goes.  Don't you remmeber?"  Rick gave Rollie a very dirty look.   Taking a deep breath, he continued, "A Christmas Carol?  Charles Dickens?  Is any of this ringing any bells?  Well, that is what we are doing now for you.  Now, shaddup.  I got something to show you.  Questions after the show.  Ok, Lights!", all the lights were lowered, "OK, roll'em!!" and the next set of 'clips' started.  Seeing Rollie's gaze, he added quietly, "It is the closest that I am ever going to get to being a director, so humor me?"

Rollie finally settled into his chair opposite Rick and waited for the 'clips' to start.  Sitting down, Rollie got a good look at Rick.  He was still as he was when he passed on.  His hair was still short, he was still on the chunky side and the smile was still there.  Just like Manny, he was dressed in a deep green velvet shirt that was tucked into his black wool pants.  He too seemed to be at peace and was enjoying where he was…wherever that may be.

As he watched the screen come to life, he recognized the Gatti house.  It was nighttime and their whole street was lit up including their house.  The outside had been decorated with icicle lights on the eaves with an illuminated walkway that led right to the front door.  Santa and his reindeer were on the front lawn waving to all the passer-bys.  The house looked friendly and warm; it had that Christmas glow to it.

The next shot was of the inside.  He could see Frank leading their smallest girl from the bathroom and he heard, "Great!  Good girl!  I am very proud of you.  Hey, Mom, guess what?  Go on, honey, tell Mommy."

"I peed in potty all by myself." the little girl said.  She seemed to be very proud of herself.  "Santa bring me a thpecial gift, Daddy.  Bye." and then she ran to go play with her sisters.

"Sarah, our baby isn't a baby anymore."  He took a good look at his wife of ten years and sighed contentedly, "but in a way I'm going to miss it.  But not this peeing in the potty business, anyway." he smiled.  His smile reminded Sarah of a smile that she had seen not more than three minutes ago.

"So, then you have called everyone?  They are all coming Christmas Eve, right?"  In her mind, Sarah was going down the checklist of the guest list, not to mention the amount of fish needed for the "Night of the Seven Fish".

"Yeah but Rollie might not show." there was a trace of sadness in his voice.

"Why?  Is he sick?  Did he fall from the staircase again?  Remember when he did that?  Oh my god, do you realize that was nearly three years ago?"  Sarah kept on talking but Rollie couldn't hear her.  Rick had turned down the volume, from where he couldn't tell.

"WOO HOO!!  That was a blast!  There you were trying to string those lights all over this chamber and then you missed the rung on that ladder.  It *was* funny, stop scowling at me!"  Rick kept on chuckling at the memory.  "What was priceless was when Ange called me and Luce.  Here was the great FX specialist and ex-stuntman, who never had a serious injury due to any gag, laying on the floor in agony because he didn't know how to string lights inside a house!"  Laughter erupted on one side of the room but eventually the whole room was full of it.

"Ok, ok.  I remember the whole thing; no need to bring up how bloody stupid I was." Rollie said once he got his laughing under control.

"Yes, there is.  Because that is something I would do.  OOO….gotta turn the volume up.  This is something you need to hear."

Rollie turned his attention back to the Gattis just as Rick was tying to turn up the volume on their conversation.  Sarah and Frank were now in their kitchen, talking about their Christmas Eve plans.  Sarah had a not so happy look on her face while she was talking and Rollie, for what seemed to be the umpteenth time in his life, wished for the ability to read lips.  "Rick!!  Are you going to turn up the volume or not?  Sarah doesn't look happy; did Frank say something that upset her?  What happened?"

"Ok, got it under control now.  Hey, you know I don't do this very often so catch me a break, ok?" the stuntman said in a huff but got control of himself and answered Rollie's questions, "Yeah.  He did say something that unnerved her.  Wanna eavesdrop?"

"Are we?  Eavesdropping, I mean.  Maybe we should stop."  Rollie seemed uncomfortable with that idea.  He liked the Gattis; they were the only family that he knew that actually enjoyed being with each other.

"Nah. Not tonight.  Trust me, Rol.  We are not eavesdropping; you want to hear this."

"…the poor thing!  Is she ok?  I can't believe him.  Why?"  Sarah sounded upset.  She looked at her husband as if he could give her the answers.  She hoped that whatever the answer was, it would justify this heartbreaking moment.

"Honey, I don't know the full reasoning.  I mean, he said he might, *might* not come to the party.  That is not a definite no but when I called Angie later on, she seemed to be under the impression that Rollie just didn't want to celebrate Christmas at all."

"What?!  No Christmas?!  That just doesn't sound like him; he used to love this holiday.  I can clearly remember him telling me how much he loved coming here on Christmas Eve because of the girls.  Now he doesn't?   Are you sure it has nothing to do with us?  You think maybe we did something that upset him and he is just saying that?"

"No.  Angie said that he has bailed on her three times this week; they were supposed to go visit The Tree."  He came around from where he sat at the table and moved to the stove where Sarah was baking cookies for the next day.  Frank wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek saying, "I have no clue.  But all I know is if he doesn't, Angie will be totally alone and miserable.  Now I know that we said it was family only this year for Christmas, but you think we could make an exception…"

"Of course!!!  She is like family.  The girls love her; she is the only one that will play with all three at one time.  Angie is going to make a great mommy one day. You know, I think Mira is alone this year too.  So, think maybe we should invite her too?"  Frank knew how much this holiday meant to Sarah; it was her favorite one out of the whole year.  Sarah came from a big family and loved having everyone and anyone come to visit.  For her, that was what made the season that much more special.

"That is why I love you so much.  You have the best heart in the whole wide world, you know that?"  Frank had never been more proud of being her husband than now.

A loud wail pierced the air.  The two parents ran to the living room to see their middle child, Concetta (Connie for short), crying in the middle of the room.   "Sweetie, what's the matter?  Did you fall?  Are you hurt?"  The list of questions that parents ask crying children continued until Connie had calmed down.

"Pumpkin, tell Daddy what happened?  Ok, I promise that I won't get mad, ok?" Frank coaxed the child.

"Daddy, the TV said that there was no Santa.  It was in the newspaper called 'The Sun.'  But I saw him at the store with Mommy and Jo and Sally!!  Daddy, Santa is real, right?  He didn't die, did he?"  the child was so forlorn that just looking at her hurt.   Sarah had tears in her eyes; she didn't want this moment to come…ever.

She knew that eventually her children would learn the truth of St. Nicholas but she had hoped that Connie would not find out this young.  "She is only four!!  That is too young." were the thoughts running in her mind.  Their oldest, Josephine (or Jo for short) was five and had not had an inquiring question about Santa Claus and therefore the Gattis figured that they had at least three to four more years before the heartbreak had to be done.

"NO!!  Santa didn't die. I promise you."  As much as Frank wanted to laugh, he didn't because his daughter found this to be very important, "She still believes, thank God!" he thought to himself.  He knew that this was a moment that could decide whether or not his child still was just that.  If she stopped believing, then she might tell the other two girls and some of the fun of the day would be gone.  "Honey, I know exactly what you are talking about.  In fact, that newspaper *proved* that Santa is alive and that he comes to everyone's house on Christmas Eve.  The man who runs that paper wrote a letter to a girl named Virginia and explained to her why Santa doesn't live here in America.  I can't remember all of it, what he told her, but I do know that the little girl liked his answer."   He had moved to the couch and put his little girl on his lap.  She was still sniffling and looking at Frank like he had all the answers in the world; he must have them, Frank was her daddy.  And everybody *knows* that daddies know what is best.

"Daddy, are you sure?  You wouldn't lie to me, right?"  Connie needed just a bit more convincing to be sure of this.  She knew Mommy and Daddy wouldn't lie to her or her sisters on purpose.  So if Daddy said so, then it must be true.  But it didn't hurt to ask again.

"Hey, you know what?  I am a police man, right?  And the police help people and make sure the bad guys don't hurt anyone." Seeing Connie nod her head in agreement with him, Frank continued, "We also find the truth; we make sure no one is lying to the law, like to the judges at court.  So, if I do that, I would know by now that someone was lying.  But I haven't heard of anything like that.  Of course I know that Santa is alive.  Trust me, Connie, Santa is going to be here on Christmas Eve."  THIS made sense to her and it was obvious because of the huge smile that lit up her face.

"Thank you, Daddy!!  I knew you had the answer, you wouldn't lie to me.  Can I go and tell Jo and Sally  about Santa?"  she looked eager to share the good news with anyone that would listen.

"Sure but first give me a kiss.  Ok, off you go" and he released her from his father-like bear hug.  He looked up and spied his wife wiping a tear away.  "I'm not looking forward to the time when we *have* to tell them.  Are you sure they have to know?  I like it like this; I love seeing them on Christmas morning going Ooh!!  Aaah!!  It is such a kick to see them so happy.  I just don't want to do that to them."  Frank wiped away one of his own tears.  Clearing his throat, he added, "I know that the day is more than that.  Hey with my family, how could I not?  Mario is a priest and Ma goes to Church nearly everyday since Pop passed on.  But to me, Santa *is* Christmas.  I mean, Christmas is supposed to be God loving the world so much that he gave us His only Son.  Well, Santa loves the world so much that he gives to the whole damn planet.  I'm not talking about the gifts; he gives us, including the adults, a good example of how to give and love all no matter what."  By the end of his moment, Sarah was in his arms crying lightly.  Frank just held onto his wife as he too was moved by the moment.  "Know what?  We may not have a mansion but we got each other, the kids, our health and Christmas!!  Let's go make those cookies!"

"Ok, but first go call Angie, Mira and anyone else that doesn't have anywhere else to go on Christmas Day."

Frank smiled, nodded his head and promised his wife.  The two adults laughed when they heard the girls whooping it up; Connie must have delivered the good news to her sisters.  "Hey, girls!! Want to help me and Mommy bake some cookies for Santa?  You can lick the spoon when we are done!"  The last promise was the one that made all three come running into the living room.   Sally, the youngest at two, ran right to Frank who picked her up and the whole family went to the kitchen to bake.  Then the image faded and slowly the screen went blank.

"Makes you wonder 'What if..?'.  I know I do."  Rick moved in the chair and positioned himself so that he and Rollie were face to face.  "There are times when I think what would it be like if I were still here.  Would Luce and I be together?  Would we have been like that?  I still miss her; I miss her a lot.  You know that I still pop in her from time to time.  Like now."  He turned his head back to see the screen and up popped Lucinda in her hotel.  She was on the phone but again the volume was down.  "Damn!!  I gotta learn how this thing works.  Ok, got it!"

"Yeah, Ange.  I'm having a good time.  So, listen don't worry about Rollie.  You do that too much; let him stew.  Go out and have some fun.  Didn't you say that the Gattis are having some kind of Christmas Eve thing?  Go!!  Don't sit home and brood.  I mean this is not exactly easy for me either.  I always think about Rick at this time of the year the most.  I don't know why but I know that I still miss him.  It's a lot easier than it was the first year.  Ok, look the others are ready.  We're going to dinner then some dancing.  Ooh!!  I wish you were here, but I will call you Christmas Day!  Have fun!  Bye!"

"Miss you too, babe." Rick said to the screen.

"Was that hard for you to see?  You miss her that much?"  Rollie looked at his friend.  He knew that Lucinda still missed Rick and was wondering if he missed her as much.

"Nah.  I miss her but I can still see her and I know that she still loves me." He finished with a big grin.  "But now, did you get any hints from this?  No one wants anyone else to be alone.  See how those Gattis are?  I tell you this, when I first met Frank, I thought he was a bit of a wimp.  You know, he was always going home to the wife and kids but now, I see him and think that he has it all.  They know the real meaning of Christmas. I want you to think about this, ok?  Now, what about Angie?

"Angie?  What about her?"

"You left her without anything to do on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.  So, the Gattis are inviting her over to their house for both days, whether or not you show up.  They are also are inviting others to their house.  People meet at these things, couples hook up….get the hint!?!"  Rick was staring at Rollie so intently that if looks could kill, the FX man would have died on the spot.

"Gpt it" came the soft reply.
 

"Good.  Ok, time's up.  Gotta motor.  Give Ange my best. Say hi to the Gattis.  I would say give Luce a hug from me, but I don't want her to get the wrong idea, right?"

"Rick, do you have to go?  You can't stay a little while longer?  There is so much more that I want to ask you, so much that I need to know.  I just want to talk to you."

"Hey, don't worry. You will get your answers soon, I promise."  He moved to the screen just as Manny had arrived earlier but before he did go, Rick added "I love you, man."  The words brought a smile to both his and Rollie's face; they both remembered Rollie's words at the memorial for Rick. Then Rick was gone.

"I love you too."  Looking around, he was alone. No Manny, no Rick and no Angie.  "But I wonder how long I am going to be alone and who is next?"

Rollie had not been able to get any sleep since Rick had left.  "Would love to know how he and Manny did that appearing-disappearing act.  If I could do that, business would be good." He thought with a smile.   But he was getting tired from the wait.  The anxiety of who the next 'visitor' would be was also getting to him.  Every little sound, each noise would set Rollie off; he was jumpy and nervous.  "I guess that you have to be asleep before one of these guys comes to visit you.  But now I can't get to sleep.  Maybe I should take a walk up to the VR chamber.  That is where the other two found me."

He went up the spiral staircase, slowly.  He was dreading what was or WHO was up there.    Rollie opened the door hesitantly, what he saw there was not what he thought would be there.  "I should not be surprised at this though, the whole night has been one huge bloody surprise.  But still…" his brain wondered.  He went in even though every bone in his body was trying to get him to go the other way.  "Uh, hi.  How's it going?"

"Rollie.  I was beginning to doubt that you would show up.  Manny and Rick told me that you were a bit slow to accept them but eventually you came around.  So, like what you see?"  The voice came from the chair that had been occupied by Manny and Rick and now by Leo McCarthy.  But unlike the previous two visitors, Leo was not dressed well nor was he well kept.  His clothes were dark and messy.    There was no green shirt or rich leather belt. His suit still retained the odor of gun powder from the day he was killed.  The powder burns had scarred his clothes and his hands. Nor was there any smile upon his face.

Rollie found it hard not to stare at Leo's face; it had been damaged in the blast that had killed him and it stayed that way.  "Um…yeah, sure."  He tried to smile but couldn't.  There was no welcoming smile from Leo, no sense of peace from the beyond.  Rollie Tyler was definitely afraid of this man that had been his friend.  It seemed the blast had scarred more than his clothes.

"C'mon let's get this over and done with.  Let's go."  Leo moved closer to the screen and waited for Rollie to accompany him.  "You coming or not?"  The voice seemed impatient and a little bit belligerent.

"Me?  You want me to join you?  The others, Manny and Rick, they showed me stuff on the screen…" Rollie started to say but Leo interrupted him.

"Yeah, well, I do things different.  They have one idea and I have another.  We were told that it didn't matter how the case got done as long as it got done.  Now either you are coming now or I am leaving now.  Which is it?"  The ghost, Rollie had decided Leo was a ghost-not a friendly spirit, was standing in the screen with his right hand extended waiting for Rollie's answer.   It took Rollie only two seconds to make his mind up…he leaped the distance to grasp Leo's hand.

It had seemed an eternity since they had departed the VR chamber and Leo had not said a word.  His hand was cold to the touch and harsh.  Rollie was afraid to shift his eyes towards the other man for two reasons; the first was he was nervous of what was out there and the second was Leo was definitely scary.  Like the Halloween monster he made earlier this year for the Gattis' party…scary.  Turning his focus to what he was doing, his scientific brain took over again.  This part kept the rest of him from falling into a state of hysteria.  Rollie couldn't tell if they were floating, flying, or soaring and he wanted to know the secret behind it.  There was a haze around them, so Rollie couldn't pick out landmarks to determine where they were.  "If only…"

"If only you could figure this out, your company would be the next best thing since sliced white bread.  Right?"  Leo chose now to come out of his self-imposed silence.  But still he would not look at Rollie.  "I know what you are thinking, 'pal'" the emphasis on pal was not friendly, "you want the secrets to the tricks they used and this one.  Well, get the thought out of your head.  It ain't happening.  Ok, before we get there, you know what is going on, right?"

"Yeah.  Manny said that a mutual friend is worried about me, has my best interests at heart.  Rick said that the three of you were chosen to get this 'case'" he snidely remarked.  He was tired and didn't like the way Leo was acting, "If he can be like this so can I" he thought to himself.  But out loud he told Leo, "Rick also said that it was something like that Charles Dickens story 'A Christmas Carol'.  But other than that, I don't know too much else."  While talking to Leo, Rollie was trying to peer through the haze to find out where they were headed.

"That's all they told you?!  Jeez!!  They left it up to me, well fine.  Like I wanted to do this anyway.  Ok, hold on, we are coming in for a landing."  Then the ground came rushing up to them; Leo landed on his feet but Rollie was not expecting the ground that quickly.  He fell but his stuntman instincts kicked in, so he rolled and took the fall well.  "Ok, let's go.  We got some walking to do.  Along the way, I will explain you what is going on.  Hurry up otherwise, I am leaving you behind," then he started to walk.

"Ok, I am coming.  Now, you said you were going to tell me more.  So, what is there to know?" Rollie said after he caught up to Leo.

"It's like Rick said.  We are doing 'A Christmas Carol' just for you.  Happy?  Let's pick up the pace a bit, shall we?"

"Leo, why?  I know all about the story but why me?  I don't get it."  He was having some trouble keeping pace with Leo.  After looking down, Rollie realized that Leo was not walking but floating across the ground. "Hey!!  That's not fair.  You want me to walk faster but you aren't even walking.  If you want me to keep up, either you walk or let me do---that!" He demanded pointing to Leo's floating feet.

"Fine, fine.  I'll walk.  I never realized what a cry-baby you are.  The reason we are doing this is because 'someone' is worried about you and your lack of spirit this season.  Before you ask anymore questions, here is the skinny.  Manny did Christmas past, Rick did the present and I get to do the future. We are to show you what you are missing or will miss.  Get it?"

"Why are you so snippy?  If you didn't want to be here, then why are you?  Were you made to come here?  Ok, fine.  I believe, I completely want to celebrate Christmas.  There, your job is done.  Let's go back."  By this point, Rollie was fairly screaming at the man he had once considered his closest friend.  He was fuming.  He had started to walk away, but did a about-face to talk to Leo again, "You said you were my friend.  Was that a lie?  Was that some ploy so I could help you with all of your cases?  Tell me, Leo.  Is all of this an annoyance?  Am I?"

Instead of answering any of Rollie's questions, Leo asked him, "Will you come over here and look at this?"  He was standing outside a house looking in what appeared to be the living room window.

"It's a window.  Big deal." Rollie was in no mood to be a peeping-tom.  He wanted this night over and done with; it was frightening at first then it was ok.  Now with Leo, it was pure agony.  The salvation for the night was that he got to Manny and Rick one more time. He made his way over to where Leo was standing, since he just was not about to move from it.  "Ok, I am here.  I see a window, can we go now?"

"No, look inside.  Tell me what do you see?"  Leo's voice had gotten softer and not hostile.  He was watching Rollie adamantly

"Ok, move over.  I see a Christmas tree, some lights, food, drink.  It looks like a party.  And?" he asked glancing over at Leo.  The response he got was just Leo eyeing the window again.  Sighing out loud, Rollie went back to the window.  "Leo, I don't know what else you… Hey, there's Francis.  I—this is his house?  Doesn't look like it; I've been there would have recognized it.  Even if he re-did the inside, the outside is still not the same."

"It's his new house.  He got a promotion at work; new position, new salary.  He seems to be doing ok, wouldn't you say so?"

"Yeah, looks like.  Ok, Frank got a new house.  I'm happy for him; he deserves it.  What else do you want me…" the FX specialist never finished his question.

"What?  You were going to say something?" Leo cupped his hand behind his ear in a mocking manner.  He knew what Rollie was looking at, but wanted to hear him ask about it.

"Um…ok, so this is Frank and Sarah's new house.  How…I mean when did they get it?"

"Question when *do* they get it.  Remember, I am the Ghost of Things yet to Come—Christmas future.  This hasn't happened yet, but it just very well might, if…"

"If?  What do you mean if?" Rollie had finally turned away from the window and was giving Leo his undivided attention.  "How can these things be a *maybe*?  If we can see them, then they are already are written down.  We can't change what is already set in motion."  He started to walk in the opposite direction of the house; he was heading in the direction from which they came.

"Not we, you.  You *can* things.  Nothing is written in stone, not even the Ten Commandments.  Trust me. I've seen them.  They are not in stone, ok.  So, if they aren't in stone then this," he made a sweeping gesture with his hand back towards the house, "is not yet done.  Rollie, this can be changed.  But maybe we should listen in first.  Ready?"

"Leo, we don't have to.  Really, let's just go and try to figure out---" again the former New York detective stopped him.

"Too late. I want to hear.  But you know, I am a bit chilly.  Let's go in."  Leo, for the first time since he arrived at Rollie's loft, seemed to be enjoying his little 'visit'.   "Ready for some egg nog?"

"Oh no, not again.  I didn't get over the last flight, do we have to go like that?"  Rollie was beginning to whine, this was the last thing he wanted to see or hear.  He put his head in his hands as if that would make Leo stop this. "Leo, I really don't think that this is a good idea."

"Open your eyes.  We're here.  See?  This isn't so bad.  Hey, food looks good.  Then again, Sarah was always a great cook.  Au, I know him.  What's his name? You remember him, right, Rollie?  Who is he?"

"His name is Tony Rizzo and he was a cop in your preceint.  You know him, so stop the act, ok?!  Why are you so interested in this?  Why are you so happy with this?"  Rollie was definitely irritated and wanted out of there.

"No.  We have to stay for this.  Just stop fidgeting; you always fidget.  It makes me nervous.  I always hated when you did that.  Ok, now unlike the other two, I have full control of the volume at all times.  Let's listen in."

The two men moved to the back of the room, the same room that Rollie had seen thru the window.  Rollie took the corner and slumped into it, looking very much like a person who just did not want to be there.  Leo, on the other hand, was mingling amongst the guests.  He was pointing out to Rollie people that they knew, former police buddies and family members on either Sarah's or Frank's side.  "ROLLIE!! C'm here!"

"Leo!  Will you be quiet?" Rollie yelled but in a hushed whisper.

"Hee hee!  They can't hear us.  We are at a place that  is neither here nor there.  We are like in animated suspense.  So, don't worry boutit.  C'm here."  Leo's New York accent was coming in really thick now, which meant that he was having immense fun.  He only got like that when he was deep into fun, deep into a case or deep into his cups.  "Rollie, this is going to  be the better angle.  Now will you get over here?"

"Since when did you become such a sadist?  I was always under the impression you wanted to get people out of pain."  He made his way over to Leo, looking at the home that the Gattis had made for themselves.  The room had a brick fireplace and was done in a light cream.  The furniture was cream with tapestry design to it.  The whole room was inviting and friendly.  "I am feeling out of place here, can we go?" He asked making himself comfortable in the other corner.

"You are out of place because you are all in black while the rest of the people in here are in *festive* colors.  You should learn what the word *festive* means.  Look at these people, Rollie.  They are wearing black but not on the inside.  They are having fun, just like we used to.  Now here comes the moment of truth."

In thru the doorway came Sarah with Angie bringing in appetizers for the other guests.  Both women were smiling and giving each other glances as if they shared some secret.  Sarah was wearing a deep red silk blouse with black skirt.  Both were covered by her Mrs. Claus apron that she had put on a few hours ago to keep her outfit food free.  She had put on some weight since the last time Rollie had seen her.  "It was only a couple of days ago that everyone looked and acted normal" he muttered under his breath, which got him a jab in the ribs from Leo and a "ssh!".

It was seeing Angie that gave Rollie reason to pause.  She was just downright beautiful, there was no other way to say it.  She was wearing a periwinkle shirt that buttoned down the front that was tucked into her black pants, which had a matching periwinkle stripe down the side.  Her blonde hair was a bit longer but not overly long; it was now in a bob that reached her chin.  Angie was wearing the diamonds earrings that her father had given her on her sixteenth birthday.   But the diamonds were not the only things glittering on her.  Angie Ramirez had a smile that if harnessed could light up Times Square at New Years.  There was hardly a trace of makeup on her but yet she stood out amongst the women at the party, at least in Rollie's mind.   "I wish I had seen her like this before…" But Leo in keeping with their sparring of old, told Rollie to "ssh!"

After trading dirty looks, the two men settled down to watch the rest of the party unfold.  Not too much happened, a few gifts were given to the girls who by now were no longer babies but girls in grade school.  The adults were amused at how the girls were easily impressed and how animated they were over the gifts.  A few hours later, after the children went to bed so Santa could come, the adults had the party to themselves.  It was then that Frank asked the room for quiet.  "Sorry about that, but I have an announcement.  I get to do this because I am involved. "which prompted him to put on a huge smile, "Two of my good friends, Angie Ramirez and Tony Rizzo are announcing their engagement tonight."  The room filled with good wishes and applause for the young couple.  Leo started to applaud himself getting caught up in the spirit of the moment.  He was all set to walk over and wish them well when he saw that the corner was empty.

Waking around the well-wishers, Leo followed his friend out of the living room.  By the time he caught up to him, Rollie was hyper ventilating.  "Leo, before you say another damned word, I have to get out of here.  Do you hear me?!  I have to get!  NOW!!"  He was not yelling or screaming but roaring.  Leo just nodded his head and walked out the door with the motion for Rollie to follow.

Angie felt some kind of jolt to her system; not like an attack but closer to as if she had heard a scream.  A scream that something or someone was in immense pain.  Tony seeing the look on her face, came to her side "You okay?  You seem a bit out of it?"

"Yeah, I'm fine.  Really.  I have no clue what it is; probably nothing.  I am sure that it will pass" She smiled as she accepted a buss on her cheek from her intended.

Outside, Rollie was just pacing on the front lawn.  He was livid and it showed in his face.  His jaw was clenching and unclenching at tremendous speed, the color of his face was beet-red, but the scariest thing was the hate in his eyes.  "You bloody bastard.  You knew, you knew!!  How could you do this to me?  Why?"

"You never told her, huh?  Why, Rollie?"  These words were spoken softly.  It was a dramatic turnabout from his arrival.  Leo was now less agitated and more friendly.  He also appeared to be in some kind of pain himself.  "Why didn't you ever tell her?  She had a right to know about how you felt for her.  You told *me* but not her.  Rollie, I thought you had more sense than this."

"I don't believe you!  You drag me here, which is only God knows where, while acting like a royal pain in the arse.  You have made it really clear that you didn't want to be here, you have been nasty to me, rude to me, and now you want to know why I didn't tell someone what I feel?  I don't understand you.  You make me see that…that…thing.  What did I ever do to you that made you hate me so much?"

"Rollie, first of all I don't hate you.  Please, I don't hate you.   I think you should try to relax and don't tell me no.  You are upset and yes you have every right to be.  C'mon let's calm down a bit and then we will talk."  The two men just stared at each other, Rollie's panting could be heard.  It took him five minutes to bring himself under control.  They heard neighbors wishing each other well and saw the houses twinkling against the black background of night.  Each man was lost in his own thoughts before looking at each other again.  "You're right; I didn't want to be here.  But not  because of you….because of me.  I want you to go back to the window and tell me what you see.  I'm not asking you to look at Angie, ok?  Please?  Just go see what is there."

Rollie did as his friend asked.  He trudged back to the window and peered in.  All he could see were happy faces of friends, family and co-workers. Moving so he could get a view of the whole room, he noticed people that he didn't see when he was inside.  Rollie saw VanDuren, a few other plains clothes that had partnered with Leo from time to time and in the far corner (one that Rollie didn't occupy earlier) he saw…  "Leo, I'm sorry.  I didn't' see her before.  Is that her husband?"

"Yep.  Colleen is now married, I think two years last month.  That is in *this* time.  Rollie, you were becoming me in your time.  I was married to my job; everything was for it, all the time.  I never took a vacation like you did with Angie like that time you guys went to Montreal for that Laugh-fest.  I would do anything for my job and I did.  I paid the highest price; I lost out on what could have been a family.  I never spent a lot of holidays with Colleen."  He gave Rollie a little push to get a view of the house and its guests.  "I never did this with her.  I know I went parties with her, but I never was there with her.  Make sense?  I never told you this, but she asked me to marry her.  At first I was insulted, I mean the man does that.  Then I got to thinking, hey why not let her ask?  I said I had to think about it.  It would mean I had to give up a lot of things.    I had decided yeah and was going to tell her two nights later.  But in between was the bust that went bad and, well the rest is history."  His voice had become much softer and tears had formed in his eyes.  "I don't want you to make the same mistakes that I did.  I want you to be happy Rollie."

"Um…Leo, I" his voice cracked and Rollie tried to clear it. On the third try he got it.  "I am so sorry, mate.  I didn't know…I didn't know."  He had stated to cry for his friend and all that might have been.  "Um…I know that she is in there getting engaged.  But uh, do you know where *I* am?"

"No.  The guess is back in Australia.  After Dingo died there, you went home and never came back.  Left her high and dry.  No one could ever figure that out, but they did see it coming.  Christmas 1998 was what started it; after that she became an employee, doing the 9-5 thing.  No more vacations, no more secrets, no more fun, no more friendship.  All because you couldn't, you wouldn't accept the fact that some of your friends died.  Rollie," the older man grabbed Rollie's face firmly but gently between his hands and made Rollie look him in the eyes, "we never left you!  We are still with you, just not in person.  You have got to go back and realize what is important to you.  Your work, your job or" with a nod of his head to the window, "or the people in your life, especially certain people."

"I know, I know.  I will.  I promise.  I don't want to be alone, Leo, with no one not knowing, not caring about me.  It's just that, I miss you all of you.  It gets harder each year that you guys are not here.  I want everyone back here; I want to see all of you again.  Is that so wrong?"

"No.  But if this missing us interferes with you having a good life, then it's not worth it.  You have to live your life as if we were still here.  If Manny, Rick and me were still here, would you go to that party?  Ok, probably not, the four of us would end up at a pub like that year Angie went to her friends for Christmas Eve.  But they want you, I want you to have fun and enjoy life.  Don't waste a beautiful opportunity with a beautiful person. OK?   It's time for me to go, but remember pal, I am *always* with you."  Giving Rollie a kiss on the cheek and a bear hug, Leo had left the same way that Manny and Rick did, quietly and quickly.

Rollie awoke to the phone ringing.  "Bloody hell!!  My head hurts!  Whoever that is had better have a damned good reason for calling me so bloody early."  He got up off the couch and moved to the phone.  "Tyler."

"Rollie?  Hey, it's Frank.  I hadn't heard from you all day and was beginning to wonder if you were avoiding my phone calls.  Are you?" The voice on the other end asked nervously.

"Huh?  What?  What do you mean all day?" He queried as he frantically looked at his watch.  "Three o'clock?!  It's three o'clock, how is that possible?  I couldn't have slept the day away, did I?"

Frank was happy to hear that his friend was not avoiding him but at the same time concerned.  Rollie never slept the whole day away unless he was sick; this was a man who didn't even sleep eight hours in a night.  "Hey, you ok?  I mean you aren't sick or something?  If you are, then you don't have to come to the party tonight, you know."

"Nah, I'm fine.  Party?  That's tonight?!" He now looked at his calendar.  He had a smile on his face, "It's the twenty-fourth, right?  I didn't miss it, I didn't sleep through it?"

"No, if we didn't hear from you by the time we got off shift, Mira and I were coming there to make sure you were ok.  So, then you still are coming to my party?"

"Yes!! Yes, yes.  I'll be there, don't worry about me.  Do you need anything for me to bring?"

"Nope, just yourself.  Angie is coming earlier to help Sarah bake and get the finger foods started.  She has your truck, tried calling you but no answer.  So, she told me to tell you.  She had to go pick someone up for the party."

Rollie got an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, "Huh?  For the party?  Oh, you needed her to get someone for you?"  He was praying that it was the answer he wanted.

"Um…no Rol.  It was to get someone for her.  She said she was bringing someone.  Sorry, thought you knew."

"No, I didn't.  But then I wouldn't know because I told her I wasn't going.  Is it ok if I still come?"  That uneasy feeling was creeping into his stomach again.  If Frank told him no that the situation might not be good, he was definitely going to give the three 'ghosts' hell.

"Of course!!  Rollie, we want you there.  The girls would be heartbroken if you didn't come.  I expect you around nine, ok?  Glad you are coming.  See you then."

"Yeah, see ya."  Then he ended the phone conversation.  "Three o'clock.  Only gives me like five hours to go find something for Angie.  God, I hope I can remember what she wanted." He muttered to himself on his way up to shower and change before heading out to the stores.

It was closer to nine thirty when he showed up at the Gatti residence in South Ozone Park.  They were seven blocks off of Liberty Ave but still close to CrossBay Blvd. where Rollie picked up some wine for the party.  He had taken his sports car, since Angie took the pickup, and he made record time from lower Manhattan to the far reaches of Queens.  "Wow.  How do they take all the noise from JFK?  It would make me bonkers." He wondered out loud to himself as he got out of the car.  Just to be sure, he went back to the curb and looked up and down the block; nothing looked the way it did last night.  "So far, so good."

Once inside the house, again he did a quick inventory of the home.  It still had the crack on the inner door, the one he and Angie made while playing hackey sac with girls one night baby-sitting.  He gave Frank his coat and the wine before being ushered into the home.  "A few people are here already.  Mira is coming later; she wanted to clear up her desk before coming here.  My cousins and Sarah's brother and girlfriend are here, you already know them, so no more introductions.  I have to go back to the kitchen to see how everything is going.  Need a drink?"  Frank asked.

"Uh, yeah, what kind of beer you have?" Seeing that Frank didn't have Bass he chose the Samuel Adams, Cherry Wheat.  He got reacquainted with Frank's family, not having seen them since *last* Christmas.  Mira walked in around ten and the two of them started up a conversation.  It was nearly eleven when he realized that he hadn't seen Angie yet.  Grabbing hold of Frank on one of his ventures away from the kitchen he asked him, "Is Angie here yet?"

"She called just before you got here; she is running late.  Boy, didn't even realize how late it was.  Well, she said that if she was that late, she wouldn't stop by.  I'm sure everything is fine.  But I'll give her a call just in case."

"You know where she is?  How come?"  Rollie was getting suspicious.   Looking around the room, he noticed that Tony Rizzo wasn't there yet, either.  Back came the horrible feeling in his stomach.

"Hey, you ok?  You look like you are going to be sick.  Was it the shrimp?  Or maybe the sole?  I told Sarah not to serve the shrimp and sole on the same platter.  The shrimp should have went with the *crab*.  Hey, go upstairs.  I got some Pepto-Bismol in the medicine cabinet, should do the job."  He moved quickly to the kitchen.

He did go upstairs to get the pink medicine, hoping that maybe it would coat his stomach in the chance that Angie did show up with Tony Rizzo.  On his way to the bathroom, he heard giggling coming from the door on the left.  Seeing how it was opened, he peeped in.  Rollie could hear Connie and Jo telling Sally all about Santa and Rudolph.  "Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?  It's late.  If you aren't in bed soon, Santa won't come.  You know this.  Plus, if Mommy and Daddy hear you still talking, you are going to get in trouble."

When he first popped his head in, the girls squealed.  But seeing it was one half of the world's best baby-sitting team, they rushed to greet him.  "Rollie!  You made it.  Daddy said you might not come, but you did.  I am so happy" came from Jo.  Connie agreed, "Rollie, if you didn't come, no one would be up here talking to us.  I'm happy too."  But she blushed as she said it, Connie had a crush on Rollie.  Sally just plopped herself on Rollie's lap; he had decided that it was easier to sit on the floor, it was closer to their height anyway.  Sally, pulled on his sleeve until she had his attention, "I peed in the potty myself."

"You did?  Well, I am sure that Santa is going to know and might even give you something special.  So, have you been good girls for Mommy and Daddy?  Santa is going to ask all of us when he gets here, and since I don't want to lie to Santa—"

"because if you do, then you won't get your gift, right Rollie?" asked Jo.   Remembering the situation from last night, Rollie agreed and the girls proceeded to tell him what angels they were.  He knew what hellions they could be, he baby sat them a few times.  Obviously, that didn't matter to Santa, only being good for Mommy and Daddy counted.

"Rollie, what is your Christmas wish?" Jo wanted to know.  The others quieted down as the Australian got pensive.  Holding them in his arms, he said "Well, I already have some of it.  I am here with my good friends, so whatever else I get is secret between me and Santa, ok?"  The girls agreed that Santa keeps secrets and after making sure they all got a Christmas kiss from him, went back to bed.

Rollie forwent the medicine and went back downstairs to the party.  "If Ange isn't here, then I'm going home.  Maybe I can call her and apologize to her then.  That is if she is still talking to me" he mused.  He stopped and chatted with Mira for a few moments before heading to the kitchen.  He tried to get Frank's attention but he was talking to some of his cousins.  So, he pulled Sarah aside to tell her he was going home.

"Home?  Santa, hasn't gotten here yet, you can't go.  You know the rules, no one leaves until Santa comes.  Besides, Angie called like twenty minutes ago to say that she was on her way.  I had to talk her into it; she thought it was too late to come over.  Frank said that you weren't feeling well before, any better?"

"Yeah, I am, thanks.  Did she say about what time she would get here?  Did she find her friend?"  He hoped he didn't sound as nosy as he was.

"She should be here any minute now.  Yeah, her friend finally showed up. He was running late which caused her to be late.  Oops, sorry I have to get Frank to hand out more food.  Hey, if you still aren't feeling well before Angie gets here, want one of us to take you home?  It's not a problem." Sarah offered.

"No, no.  I'm fine."  He knew why Sarah offered.  He must have turned pale at the mention of the word 'he' when they were talking about Angie's friend.  Rollie went back to the party and took a quick scan, no Tony Rizzo.  "That's it. I'm not sticking around for the great entry.  I'll call them tomorrow and apologize."  He went back upstairs to get his coat, and tell the girls to go back to sleep AND give them another kiss, before heading out.

On the way downstairs, he heard Frank greet Angela.  "Hey!!  Was beginning to wonder if you were going to stand me up tonight.  Glad you made it.  Too bad you missed the girls but Sarah will be glad that you came.  Oh, I got a present for you. But before I give it out, where is yours?"

Not wanting to hear her mention Tony, he called out to her.  "Hey, Ange.  What's going on?"

"Hey, where do you think you are going?  C'mon the night is still early.  You hardly ate a thing; is your stomach still bothering you?  Did Sarah tell you that we would take you home if you were still sick?  Hey, the kids are asleep, so that won't bother us."  Frank was babbling; he didn't want Rollie to leave just yet.  He had seen the taller man coming down the stairs with his coat and the panic mode went off.

"They aren't asleep.  They are too excited about tonight.  They are cute, though.  Wouldn't let me go until they got a kiss and my secret Christmas wish."  He said this mostly to Frank but Angie heard it too.  He hadn't acknowledged her since the greeting on the stairs.  "No. I'm feeling better, really.  I think I am bit tired, that's all.  I guess sleeping away the day can wipe you out."  He wanted that to be a joke between him and Frank but when Angie heard that, her eyes bugged out.

The three of them heard giggling coming from upstairs.  Frank smiled and said, "I know it's Christmas.  But they are still too little to be up this late.  Tomorrow afternoon they will all be cranky as hell and if that happens, Sarah gets cranky.  Then I call you Tyler to see if you can make me go poof!" He made a gesture with his hands similar to that of a magician.  "Excuse me, but there are three little girls who need to get back to bed before Daddy and Santa get up there."  He said this loud as he went up the stairs; by the time he reached the room there was no more giggling.

"You slept all day?" It was the only thing that she could think of.  He never did that except when he was sick.  If he was sick, then it would explain a lot.  "Are you ok?  What was Frank talking about?"

"Oh, that.  I wasn't feeling well before.  He thinks it might have been the fish.  But I think it was the nap.  So, um, Sarah told me that your friend showed up.  Where is he?"  He was trying to be nice and civil, even though it was killing him.

"He is outside trying to help Tony Rizzo with his car.  We saw him on Liberty Ave.  It seems his car broke down. I think it's the transmission he said, anyway we pushed him here.  I mean I couldn't let the guy hang out there on Christmas Eve and it is only a few blocks from here, right?"

"Right. Exactly."  Now he *was* sick.  If the friend wasn't Tony, then who the hell could it be?

"Oh, here he comes.  Are you ready?" She asked Rollie, who just returned the smile she gave him.  "Hurry up!!  He wants to leave.  Sorry, about this, Rol.  I didn't know that his flight was delayed.  Otherwise, we would have been here earlier than you.  Ok, this time he is coming.  Ready?"   With that in walked Dingo Tyler.

"DAD!! What?  How did you get here?"  Even in his shock, Rollie had moved to embrace his father.  The two Tylers had not seen each other in over a year, not because of choice but because of timing.  "You look good!  You…are here!!  I can't believe this." he said as he hugged his dad again.

"Was he surprised?  Did we get him?"  Frank hurried down the stairs to greet the older Tyler warmly.  "Dingo, nice to see you again.  Let me take your coat.  I heard something about Tony?  Where is he?"  Angie and Dingo explained to Frank about the car.  Frank and two of his cousins went outside to help the police officer fix his car or at the very least, determine the problem.  In the meantime, Sarah ushered in the new arrivals.  Dingo was greeted by Mira and the others as well; the rest of the party knew that Rollie's father was coming as a surprise for him.

"So, how did you manage this?" Rollie turned back to the one in charge.  "I never even got a phone call or a card from him and yet you know when he is coming into town…." The amazement was evident in his voice.

"Actually, he did call you about two weeks ago.  You were out of the loft and we got to talking about you and Christmas.  I mentioned that you weren't your usual self and then when we were talking, I got an idea.  I asked him to come here for the holidays.  I figured it might just chase away your blues.  You get like a kid when your dad shows up."  They were still in the front hallway talking; neither one wanted to break the moment.

"You did that for me?  You got him to come to NY, for me?  Angela, that is the best gift anyone has ever gotten me.  Thank you, thank you."  He hugged her tightly to him and just held her while he whispered, "Thank you.  This means so much to me.  You have no idea what this means.  Thank you so much."  He bent and kissed the top of her head, then her forehead, then her nose.  "I…I don't have a gift for you.  I tried, I really did.  I feel awful.  Angie, I promise I will make it up to you.  I know that I have been a real SOB lately and I am sorry.  I hope you haven't made plans for tomorrow; if not, maybe the three of us could find someplace to eat and—"

"I have everything for tomorrow.   I got the tree and decorations out; me and Dingo decorated the loft before we came here.  And you are right, you *are* going to make this up to me."  She smiled up to her friend.

"Actually, I was going to do this later but I was thinking about changing the business.  Your dad left it to me under the guise that you get some of it back at the age of twenty-five.  How about half of it?  I mean we keep saying we are partners, why not make it official?  We could go to the lawyers on Monday and… Are you ok?  Why are you crying?"

"Because that is something that I never expected you to do.  This is *your* business even though my dad left it to you.  You turned it around to fit you and now you want to give me some of it?  Rol, this is so…" her voice choked on the unshed tears that were threatening to fall any second.  "Thank you, thank you." She jumped up to give the man a kiss on his cheek and a hug at the same time.

The two heard giggling from the top of the stairs.  Turning around, they saw the girls sitting there just watching them.   Connie came half way down the stairs and asked, "Rollie, did Santa come by and give you a gift?"

He looked at the young woman in his arms and thought of the night before and smiled at the girls, "Yes, Santa came by and gave me his gift.  Merry Christmas, girls."