Xmas Spirit by Tonya Hurley Read Free Book Online Page A

I’m always the one who cares. Working overtime, taking people under my wing, or did you forget that? That place wouldn’t exist without me!”
    Without even realizing it, Charlotte had herself made the exact point that Virginia had come to make.
    “I haven’t forgotten.”
    “Okay, then you understand. I’ve done my part. So please take me home.”
    “To the Great Beyond?” Virginia said hopefully.
    “To my bedroom,” Charlotte answered, looking away.
    Virginia held out her hand one last time, and Charlotte grasped it. The pair were instantly transported once again back to where they began. The disappointment in the little ghost’s face was obvious. Virginia was reluctant to say any more about the situation at the compound since it would only fall on deaf ears anyway. Charlotte crawled into bed.
    “I just came to say I need you. We all need you.”
    “And I need to be here.”
    “What will I tell the others?”
    “Tell them what you told me: Sometimes wishes come true.”
    As the light and snow swirled around Virginia once again, she left her friend and her mentor with these parting words.
    “Be careful what you wish for, Charlotte.”

6
Jingle Hell

    Gift Receipt
    Christmas is a season for generosity, not only of wallet but of spirit. A time when even the smallest gesture—a card, an invitation, even just a smile—speaks volumes. When a heartfelt “Merry Christmas,” sincerely said, can mean more than the most precious offering. We may spend all year searching for the ideal present, but it is often the case that the greatest gift, the one inside us, is the hardest to find.

    “What are we going to do?” Wendy Thomas asked as she walked down Hawthorne’s main drag, eyeing the shop windows for an expensive gift and desperately trying to figure out a way to pay for it.
    “I don’t know. I am totally broke,” Wendy Anderson complained.
    “What about that Christmas club money you saved?” Wendy T. asked.
    “Don’t you remember? I spent that on dermal fillers for my toes so I can wear those superslutty high heels my parents are getting me for Christmas.”
    Wendy A. pulled out the catalog ad for the shoes and displayed it proudly.
    “I heard those give you Barbie feet.”
    “I know, right?” Wendy Anderson concurred enthusiastically.
    “Do you think anyone is hiring?” Wendy T. was exasperated and unusually focused on the task at hand.
    “Are you seriously suggesting that we get a job? I’m not sure I even know you anymore.”
    “Petula is not joking, Wendy. We need to come up with some scratch for a gift ASAP or we’ll be exiled. Christmas Eve is tomorrow!”
    “Do you have anything to sell?”
    Wendy Thomas pulled on her pink plaid fedora thinking cap.
    “Hmmm,” she wondered. “I do have that box of blank T-shirts we were going to use for the Fall Ball fund-raiser.”
    “You mean our Cruel-Tees idea?”
    “Yeah, customized disses, put-downs, and unfounded gossip ironed across T-shirts. I remember.”
    “Wear your snark on your sleeve,” Wendy Anderson said proudly.
    “Catchphrase!” they said in unison.
    The two bimbots broke out laughing hysterically and gave each other a high five, impressed with their own ingenuity.
    “Can you believe we almost got expelled over that?”
    “I know,” Wendy Anderson said. “It’s so hard to start a small business these days.”
    “Maybe it was because we only carried child sizes,” Wendy Thomas wondered. “I didn’t think that was weight discriminatory, but whatever.”
    “Well, there’s no time to do custom work right now anyway.We need to get paid, pronto!”
    “I don’t know if there is anything left to do but pray.”
    “Okay, close your eyes,” Wendy Anderson began, clasping hands with Wendy Thomas and shutting her eyes tightly, head bowed. “Lord, how are we going to get some goddamned money for Christmas?”
    Wendy Thomas opened her eyes a crack, just enough to see a banner hanging at the funeral home across the