Barbara, Fred`s fifty-something secretary, dressed in what she surely thought was a smart outfit, could be barely seen behind mountains of paperwork that covered her entire desk. She had been working in the office for more than two decades now, that meant she sat at the same desk for more than twenty years day after day doing the same thing - sorting, filing, preparing and checking divorce documents. The volume of it meant that 1952 wasn't a good year for married people. Such monotonous type of work seemed tedious beyond belief, but not for Barbara. She seemed to be still enjoying it.

Something she saw in one of the papers truly caught her attention. She stopped in her tracks, her eyes narrowed and she suddenly frowned. She brought the paper closer to her and looked at it closely as if she had never seen anything like it before, as if she just made a discovery. Moments later she casually pushed the paper aside and continued her robotic movements , perplexed expression was gone and her face went back to it's normal state - emotionless.

Carol sat in a chair by the window, desperately trying to make herself comfortable. She observed olive green walls that were in an urgent need of a fresh coat of paint; still-life paintings that hung on the wall and really didn't fit in with the rooms décor; beige carpet that seemed to be falling apart from an old age; dreadful burgundy flower curtains that made the room look even more tasteless than it already was. `Depressing` - she thought. She had the very same thought every time she sat in that chair waiting. Her divorce lawyer, Fred, was late. This was becoming a trend of his. She lighted her fourth cigarette. Waiting made her tense.

Barbara didn't seem to take any notice of her being there; she was so immersed in the world of bureaucracy, Carol felt she had no right to interrupt her, even if it was just to ask where the hell Fred was and how long will she have to wait.

He rushed in trough the door and immediately apologised for being, yet again, late. His face was red and sweaty as if he just ran a marathon.

`Can we make this quick, Fred? Is there something I need to sign?` - Carol was anxious, slightly annoyed even. It was her fifth or eight meeting with him within the last two weeks and she simply felt exhausted. Fred had promised her the divorce from Harge will be quick and painless, however it seemed to be dragging for months. She couldn't work out why. Both her and Harge agreed to have a joint custody of Rindy, their soon to be five year-old.

`About the house...` - said Fred in his monotonous and emotionless voice, that was so suitable for a lawyer, it was almost ironic. He was a good lawyer and Carol paid him a good chunk of money but recently she found him to be intolerable. Not because of his lateness and bad time management, but simply because he was failing to deliver his promises.

`What about it?` - Carol asked with a quizzable look. `I don't care about the house. We'll sell it, or he can buy my half off me. I'll sign the papers now if he wants me to. Does he?`- her tone was rising.

`No, no. I don't have the papers just yet, we're still...`- he tried to elaborate but Carol wasn't having any of it.

`Look, Fred, I want this over with. You do what you need to do, what you get paid for and what , I hope, you are competent to do.` - deep breath. `Call me once it's done`- she moved towards the door. Fred knew she wasn't the one to argue with. Afterall he felt sympathy for her, even though she was certain he wasn't capable of such feeling. They shook hands in an agreement before she left his office. An agreement that he will do whatever it is in his power to finalise the divorce and custody matters before Christmas.

She sat in her car thinking. These meetings always made her so emotionally drained she felt she can no longer continue. It's been months since she and Harge separated. She wasn't as strong as she may seemed or thought she was. Most importantly, underneath it all - her well established facade - was a very emotional and fragile soul. She came across being aloof, even distant, and she frequently wondered did she ever let anyone see her softer side? Will she?

Carol started the car and tried to push these thoughts aside; not think of her failed marriage, the divorce battle yet to come, her little angel Rindy being ripped apart, tossed from one house to another, but of something positive. `Right. Christmas.` - she murmured. She thought of satin bows, red and green, how she'd tie them nicely around presents she'd wrap. She thought of giant glass baubles, that'd she'd hang on the Christmas tree with Rindy and how marvellous it'd look. She imagined picking a Christmas tree, the biggest she could find, and how it's scent would fill the house. She envisioned wrapping presents and writing festive greetings. Her mind wandered as far as what those greetings will say. She'd scribble something personal and sweet in each one of them. Just when she finally felt at ease, it hit her that this might be her first Christmas alone. She knew she had Rindy till Christmas Day before Harge takes her to his parents house. She also knew that Harge, whether the divorce will be finalised by then or not, will try to pursue her to spend the holidays with him and his abnoxious family. Her face became sad. She vividly remembered last Christmas, his pretentious mother making derogatory remarks just about anything Carol did - whether it was the way she dressed, the way she ate, talked, breathed, moved... She never liked Carol and , truth to be told, Carol never liked her. She never thought of Carol as a 'suitable' wife for Harge or a good enough mother for Rindy. Just the thought of having to spend a day with her in the same room was revolting. Spending Christmas alone wasn't such a bad idea.

`I have Abby.` - the thought comforted her. Her good old Abby, only true friend and confidant. Friends since they were little girls, close as sisters however very different personas. Abby was always very easy going while Carol was more reserved and aloof. Regardless of their personalities being diametrically opposed, they managed to keep their friendship alive for years and seemed it grew stronger as the time passed. Only Abby knew how utterly alone Carol was, long before the divorce gained it's momentum. Only her knew how to truly reach Carol, yet she still fell flat. Carol's mysterious and fey nature was a conundrum to Abby but her love for Carol wasn't undiminished because of that.

Carol contemplated where Abby was. She'd missed her. They saw each other last Tuesday before Abby hit the road for another trip of hers, this time off to Philadelphia. To see her friend Mary, whom she met last year at a party, she said.

She drove home to get changed and hoped Abby was free to meet her for early drinks at Metz's, their favourite restaurant in the the city.

`Maybe tomorrow night then. Call me. Bye.` - Carol put the phone down. Abby had said no, she was setting off to her parents for dinner and won't be back till at least 9pm. And then she has a party to attend to, which Carol has been invited to. `To cool off ya know, we'll have a blast!` - Abby said vivaciously. Carol smiled, she admired Abby being so childlike.

She wasn't attending any parties tonight. There was nothing to celebrate. All she wanted was to have a couple of drinks while Abby babbled about her trip to Philly and what a blast she had, how many interesting people she met and what was next on her travel itinerary. Abby's jabber was somewhat therapeutic.

The clock hit 12pm. The house was oddly quiet. She could barely hear the housekeeper's clatter in the kitchen. Carol slouched on the sofa in the living room smoking. She had her eyes fixed on the log burner. Suddenly her expression changed. In a blink of an eye, as if she just got hit by lightning, she got up and ran up the stairs.

Carol came down wearing her favourite dress, mid-calf navy one, which according to Harge's mother was ostentatious and not suitable to be worn in public. The dress accentuated her slim figure but was far from anything pretentious. Carol never considered her attire, not even her ecru mink coat, extravagant.

She made a decision to drive into town and buy Rindy a Christmas present.

It was starting to snow as she was turning out of her driveway.

The snow got worse and worse the closer she got to the city. City centre was manic. The traffic was unbearable. Funny how a few snowflakes caused such chaos. Moreover, every traffic light was red. Every car in front drove too slow. Every car behind sounded it's horn. Pedestrians, like a flock of sheep, wandered through the streets in a desperate search of their shepherd.

Carol's jar of patience was running low rapidly. Driving was not an option and after an agonising struggle she finally managed to park her car blocks away from her destination. She stood by the car considering her next move . The idea of finally getting Rindy's Christmas present that she so very much wanted, especially since Carol left it for so long, propelled her out of her stillness.

Now Carol was the one of the flock, that lost sheep, navigating across an ocean of holiday shoppers as if they've just remembered that Christmas was in a week's time. Some were rushing through the streets as if they were running for their lives, some were slowly strolling daydreaming. `Frankenberg's! Frankenberg's! Frankenberg's!` - Carol sounded like a broken record murmuring to herself; passers-by must've thought she was nuts. She knew exactly where the store was but this time it was taking her twice as long to get there, as if she was stuck in a maze and moved in circles.

Her feet started to ache and now she hated herself for leaving the car. She stopped to light a cigarette and a few long drags later she literally got bulldozed by a group of young women rushing into the nearby store. Who , by the way, didn't even stop in their tracks to apologise for such a rough contact. Carol could barely keep her lid on.

Moments later, in about 30 yards in front of her, there it was - Frankenberg's. She had finally arrived.