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Date Posted: 12:10:12 12/20/09 Sun
Author: Debi
Subject: The spirit of giving
In reply to: Debi 's message, "A Christmas Story" on 12:02:53 12/20/09 Sun

Excerpt from Downtown Babylon, copyright 2009, Debi Matlack, all rights reserved. Posted for sharing and critique purposes only.
#############

The Christmas tree stood on the stage, bare except for colored lights. Molly had a box of clear plastic, snap together ornaments behind the bar and a bunch of hooks.

The back door opened, letting in a brief stab of light, then it closed and the interior went back to its normal dimness. Jimmy stopped, watched her accordion pleating a pair of twenty dollar bills and turned to the tree and read the sign posted on the wall beside it.

“ ‘Help make Elijah Bristol’s Christmas a great one. Buy an ornament and help us decorate his tree.’” Jimmy dug in his wallet and dropped a twenty on the bar. Molly grinned and handed him a hook and an ornament. Jimmy stuffed the bill inside and hung it on the tree, coming back to watch what she was doing. Another couple of bills became a body and a skirt, with twist ties and paper clips holding the angel together. Molly stood the little figure up on the bartop.

“How much money is in that little thing?” Jimmy turned the angel, estimating her worth by identifying the bills that she was constructed from. His eyes widened. “Molly, you can’t afford that.”

She shrugged. “Claudia and Thad can’t afford Elijah’s chemo either. Besides, this place is paid for so I can spare some.” What she didn’t tell him was that, with Gil not around, she hadn’t spent much money at all, aside from the usual expenses of inventory, payroll and upkeep. Indulging herself had ceased, due mostly to a lack of interest. Molly wasn’t much of a shopper anyway. Without dinners out and birthday and Christmas gifts to pay for, the little indulgences that went with being in a relationship, she needed an outlet, someone or something to care about. Declan was great company, but his conversational talents were a bit lacking.

Again, she gave a fleeting thought to what she had with Gil. She’d pretty much decided that fuck buddy was the term that came closest to describing their relationship, though Molly was reasonably sure that fuck buddies didn’t feel a physical ache when their partner was absent. Making an effort to rip her thoughts from that well worn path, she returned to the matter at hand.

“By the time Christmas rolls around, I want that bastard to be groaning with money. And gifts too. They all need stuff and don’t have any money for any of it.”

Jimmy ducked behind the bar, kicking the kegs under the taps to gauge how full they were. “Got some of that taken care of. My buddies at the bike shop are doing a toy drive.”

“Jimmy, that’s so cool! Thanks!” Molly gave him an impromptu hug and he blushed to the roots of his grey hair.

“Nah, it’s nothin’ they weren’t already planning to do. I just told ‘em about Elijah. Poor little critter, sick like that.”

“Jimmy, you’d have been one cool dad, you know that?”

He cast her a sideways glance, a crooked little smile lighting his craggy features. “Thank you, Miss Molly. I appreciate that.”

Declan paused by the Christmas tree, sniffing around the base of it. Molly turned her attention to him, raising her voice to be heard over the Christmas music playing.

“Don’t you dare, you piece of shit! Lift your leg on the tree and die!”


By early that night, the tree bore quite a few new ornaments and a couple of wrapped packages. Ana had left coupons for meals from the diner, as well as an ornament of her own. Other business owners came by, stopping for a drink, even if they didn’t usually patronize her bar, all of them with a gift, some money, a card. Molly’s campaign was well on its way. It didn’t hurt that a majority of the city had been plastered with flyers. She had even gotten a call from a local television station, wanting to do a story about Elijah and his family. Molly had given them Will’s number, leaving it to him to decide. It wasn’t her place to make that choice for them. It would probably get them a lot of attention and maybe a lot of support. The citizens of the city were generous with their help, especially for children and military.

Tom Roark came in, his friend Catherine accompanying him as always. He stopped in front of the tree, read the notice and turned to Molly.

“Gimme a couple of those ornaments.”

She handed them over and he and Catherine both stuffed bills inside. Then he got out his cell phone and made a call. Catherine listened in, a smile growing on her face. Closing the phone, he asked Molly, “You got any Christmas music performances planned?”

Molly shook her head in reply.

“You do now. You tell me the day and I can make arrangements for some good live music.”

Now she was intrigued. “Who would that be?”

He grinned. “My kids. They put themselves through college performing and I know they’d love to help out with this.”
“I hate to ask like this Tom, but are they any good?”

He produced his phone again. Poking at the keys for a moment, he finally nodded. “Here you go.”

Pouring from the little speaker was a warm honeyed harmony, how many voices Molly wasn’t sure, but even the Eagles would have been jealous of how Seven Bridges Road sounded coming from them. She stuck her hand across the bar and Tom shook it.

“You got yourself a deal. Tell you what. We were planning a Christmas party for the family next weekend. That enough notice for them to be here?”

“I don’t see why not. My daughters shouldn’t be a problem, my son is a doctor, but I think he’s free then. I’ll let you know for sure here in just a bit.” He retired to a table and pulled out his phone again. Molly shook her head in wonder.

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Replies:

[> [> Super story, Debi! I love Molly's generous heart, and the story is a good reminder of what the spirit of Christmas is all about. -- Page, 15:02:29 12/20/09 Sun

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[> [> Great scene Debi. Inside for a few crits>>>> -- susiej, 15:56:52 12/23/09 Wed

>The Christmas tree stood on the stage, bare except for
>colored lights. Molly had a box of clear plastic, snap
>together ornaments behind the bar and a bunch of
>hooks.
>
>The back door opened, letting in a brief stab of
>light, then it closed and the interior went back to
>its normal dimness. Jimmy stopped, watched her
>accordion pleating a pair of twenty dollar bills and
>turned to the tree and read the sign posted on the
>wall beside it.
I knew who you meant when you said "watched her" but I'd change it to Molly because it made me pause a moment.

>“ ‘Help make Elijah Bristol’s Christmas a great one.
>Buy an ornament and help us decorate his tree.’” Jimmy
>dug in his wallet and dropped a twenty on the bar.
>Molly grinned and handed him a hook and an ornament.
>Jimmy stuffed the bill inside and hung it on the tree,
>coming back to watch what she was doing. Another
>couple of bills became a body and a skirt, with twist
>ties and paper clips holding the angel together. Molly
>stood the little figure up on the bartop.

again, I got a little confused on the transition from Jimmy to Molly- "Another couple of bills..." It all made sense on a reread but at first, I thought huh? I didn't understand what she was doing. Maybe say- Molly formed a bill into a small body. Another became a skirt.
After that everything went smooth. I saw it all very clearly, so maybe it was me having trouble getting into the scene, but i thought I'd let you know.


>“How much money is in that little thing?” Jimmy turned
>the angel, estimating her worth by identifying the
>bills that she was constructed from. His eyes widened.
>“Molly, you can’t afford that.”
>
>She shrugged. “Claudia and Thad can’t afford Elijah’s
>chemo either. Besides, this place is paid for so I can
>spare some.” What she didn’t tell him was that, with
>Gil not around, she hadn’t spent much money at all,
>aside from the usual expenses of inventory, payroll
>and upkeep. Indulging herself had ceased, due mostly
>to a lack of interest. Molly wasn’t much of a shopper
>anyway. Without dinners out and birthday and Christmas
>gifts to pay for, the little indulgences that went
>with being in a relationship, she needed an outlet,
>someone or something to care about. Declan was great
>company, but his conversational talents were a bit
>lacking.
>
>Again, she gave a fleeting thought to what she had
>with Gil. She’d pretty much decided that fuck buddy
>was the term that came closest to describing their
>relationship, though Molly was reasonably sure that
>fuck buddies didn’t feel a physical ache when their
>partner was absent. Making an effort to rip her
>thoughts from that well worn path, she returned to the
>matter at hand.
>
>“By the time Christmas rolls around, I want that
>bastard to be groaning with money. And gifts too. They
>all need stuff and don’t have any money for any of it.”
>
>Jimmy ducked behind the bar, kicking the kegs under
>the taps to gauge how full they were. “Got some of
>that taken care of. My buddies at the bike shop are
>doing a toy drive.”
>
>“Jimmy, that’s so cool! Thanks!” Molly gave him an
>impromptu hug and he blushed to the roots of his grey
>hair.
>
>“Nah, it’s nothin’ they weren’t already planning to
>do. I just told ‘em about Elijah. Poor little critter,
>sick like that.”
>
>“Jimmy, you’d have been one cool dad, you know that?”
>
>He cast her a sideways glance, a crooked little smile
>lighting his craggy features. “Thank you, Miss Molly.
>I appreciate that.”
>
>Declan paused by the Christmas tree, sniffing around
>the base of it. Molly turned her attention to him,
>raising her voice to be heard over the Christmas music
>playing.
>
>“Don’t you dare, you piece of shit! Lift your leg on
>the tree and die!”
>
>
>By early that night, the tree bore quite a few new
>ornaments and a couple of wrapped packages. Ana had
>left coupons for meals from the diner, as well as an
>ornament of her own. Other business owners came by,
>stopping for a drink, even if they didn’t usually
>patronize her bar, all of them with a gift, some
>money, a card. Molly’s campaign was well on its way.
>It didn’t hurt that a majority of the city had been
>plastered with flyers. She had even gotten a call from
>a local television station, wanting to do a story
>about Elijah and his family. Molly had given them
>Will’s number, leaving it to him to decide. It wasn’t
>her place to make that choice for them. It would
>probably get them a lot of attention and maybe a lot
>of support. The citizens of the city were generous
>with their help, especially for children and military.
>
>Tom Roark came in, his friend Catherine accompanying
>him as always. He stopped in front of the tree, read
>the notice and turned to Molly.
>
>“Gimme a couple of those ornaments.”
>
>She handed them over and he and Catherine both stuffed
>bills inside. Then he got out his cell phone and made
>a call. Catherine listened in, a smile growing on her
>face. Closing the phone, he asked Molly, “You got any
>Christmas music performances planned?”
>
>Molly shook her head in reply.
>
>“You do now. You tell me the day and I can make
>arrangements for some good live music.”
>
>Now she was intrigued. “Who would that be?”
>
>He grinned. “My kids. They put themselves through
>college performing and I know they’d love to help out
>with this.”
>“I hate to ask like this Tom, but are they any good?”
>
>He produced his phone again. Poking at the keys for a
>moment, he finally nodded. “Here you go.”
>
>Pouring from the little speaker was a warm honeyed
>harmony, how many voices Molly wasn’t sure, but even
>the Eagles would have been jealous of how Seven
>Bridges Road sounded coming from them. She stuck her
>hand across the bar and Tom shook it.
>
>“You got yourself a deal. Tell you what. We were
>planning a Christmas party for the family next
>weekend. That enough notice for them to be here?”
>
>“I don’t see why not. My daughters shouldn’t be a
>problem, my son is a doctor, but I think he’s free
>then. I’ll let you know for sure here in just a bit.”
>He retired to a table and pulled out his phone again.
>Molly shook her head in wonder.

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[> [> Awww! Very sweet! And truly the spirit that should be around all year long. -- Esther, 10:34:00 12/30/09 Wed

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