AUTHOR NOTE: Sorry it took so long to start this. The plot was hard to figure out. Hopefully this will be done before Christmas. :)

A BOB PATAKI CHRISTMAS CAROL

CH1:HOW HE WANTS IT

He doesn't care what you think. He doesn't care what anyone thinks. All of you can eat it for all he cares. He does what he wants to do and how he wants to do it. You see when he was young he had to follow a lot of orders. A lot of rules. He was always pushed by his old man to the standard he wanted of him. What "Little Bobby" wanted did not matter. "Little Bobby" was a Pataki. And ALL Pataki's were winners. But no matter how hard he worked he was never good enough to fit in his dad's standards.

"Is that it? A real Pataki can do better than that." His father always berated him.

But at some point he finally had enough, he wanted to do things his own way. But instead of shaking off his father's beliefs, he worked hard. He had a family, though he thought they were ungrateful, (except his oldest daughter, a true Pataki.) He worked hard for them. Because Pataki's were winners, and nothing was going to stop Bob from winning. After his military service he built his business from the ground up. Doing it his own way, everything as HE wanted it. Because at Big Bob's Beepers, his domain and kingdom, he was king. He was Big Bob Pataki, the Beeper King.

It had not been easy all these years. In a world where the general wants newest iPhone made his beepers far harder to sell. But even though he had work a lot of extra hours, he was always able to get enough suckers to keep his business a float. And that was just fine with him. In fact he was planning to make another deal for ads to be back on the air. He had to stop a few years back to budget reasons. The economy was even affecting his business as well as everyone else. But after working tirelessly, he had finally saved up enough to bring Big Bob's Beepers back on the map.

Even now, on Christmas Eve. Bob was working in his office, working towards the end of the next generation of suckers. But Bob knew his work would come with…. Distractions…

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

"What do you want!" He hollered. "Don't you see I'm trying to WORK!"

The door creaked open, to reveal his new assistant.

"Bartlett! What is it this time?"

"Sorry Mr. Pataki, it's just everybody wanted me to ask you about letting us out early tomorrow. You know, it being Christmas Day."

"It's it a bit late to bring that up." Bob said.

"I know sir; it's just that it did not bother me before…." Bartlett said weakly. "It's just that I noticed you had scheduled us way earlier than usual. None of us would be there to see our kids open there presents."

Bob grinned devilishly, a smirk that rivaled the Grinch. "Well BOO freakin HOO!" He said mockingly. "When I'm working, you all are working. "

"But sir…"

"Hey! Hey! HEY! No buts you ungrateful leech! You all had better remember where the income that paid for your kids presents came from!" Bob scowled.

"Yes sir…" Bartlett said as he walked out. "You don't like Christmas very much. Do you?" He said daringly.

Bob smirked. "Are you crazy? I LOVE Christmas! All those suckers willing to spend all their money for the perfect gift." Bob chuckled a bit. "Christmas is good for business." He said while rubbing his two fingers with his thumb.

His depressed assistant just nodded in agreement closed the door.

Hours later Bob walked home in the cold. His car had trouble and needed repair, Bob just needed to take care of it later with his budget not permitting to deal with the expense right then.

Kids who were playing in the street, snowball fights, building snowmen and snow angels. They would stop as Bob passed by. It did not use to be like that, it must be because he was much more irritable in his older age. He didn't care. In fact, he considered it respect.

But the respect would end at his door. When he made it home and got inside, his wife Miriam was on the couch as usual. And his daughter teenage daughter, whose name escaped him, was busy in the kitchen talking to her football headed boyfriend on the phone while reading her comics.

"Get off the phone." He said.

"Not now Bob." She said ignoring.

"Get off the PHONE NOW."

She stared at him realizing where this was going. "Arnold, I gotta go. I will call you back tomorrow." She smile and blushed. "I love you to, Football head. Have a merry Christmas." She said in a sweet tone that made Bob sick.

She hangs up and looks up angrily at her father. "Why do you always have to do that?"

"Don't look at me like that little lady. I pay the phone bill."

"Bob, this would not happen if you would let me have a cell phone. " She said.

Bob laughed. "Not in this lifetime, Olga."

She snapped. "Dad, my names Hel-" And then she stopped herself. "Never mind." She said as she went upstairs to her bedroom.

At that very moment a familiar voice greeted him. "Merry Christmas Daddy!"

"OLGA! My beautiful PERFECT daughter!" Bob said as he embraced his oldest daughter.

Olga Pataki was special; a real winner. Everything she touched was pure success. Heck, everything she touches turns to gold in his opinion. Everything she did was perfect. She was perfect. Olga was his whole world.

"Merry Christmas sweetheart! You look great!" His wife said behind him in a welcome tone.

"Looks like you finally got up, Miriam." He said. She simply glares at him.

"Be nice daddy." She tells him in a soft voice. "Thank you mommy, but I look the same as I always do. " She replies to her mother with a smile. "Where's Helga?" She asks when she realizes the her sister is not present.

Bob frowns and becomes slightly irritated. "She's in her room, whining about me getting her off the phone with her boyfriend." He growls.

"Oh, my baby sister is really growing up."

"Yeah sure, whatever." He says disinterested as he walks away.

"Is daddy alright?" Olga asks her mother.

"Don't worry sweetheart." She says in a monotone. "He's always like that."

When Bob goes to the living room, he finds his paper and sits in armchair to relax. While he relaxes Olga approaches him quietly to hopefully strike up a conversation.

"Hi daddy."

"Oh, hi Olga." He says barley looking at her.

"I was thinking we could take a walk tomorrow morning after we open presents." She says with a smile.

"No sweetheart, I can't. I got to make sure my employees come to work." He replies. Then he smiles devilishly. "That way I can fire anyone who doesn't come in."

"Daddy! That's terrible!"

"Naw! It's good business." He says trying to comfort her. "I need to know who is not going to commit Big Bob's Beeper's!"

She frowns, she's not getting anywhere. "Daddy… um…. Why don't you just close the store for the day and-"

"OLGA, I already had this SAME TALK with your MOTHER." He said with a stern look. "Now look, I'm trying to get the business back to what it used to be. That's not gonna happen if I'm wasting my time on CHRISTMAS!"

Her eyes were beginning tear up. "Daddy, it's not Christmas. It's family…. I came back home to spend time with you."

Bob was not thinking, his blood boiling he got up and snapped. "THAT'S ENOUGH LITTLE LADY! I'M NOT WASTING MY PRECIOUS TIME!" He hollers at her as tears roll down her face. "YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN THE OTHER GIRL!

"BOB! YOU WILL NOT YELL A T OUR DAUGHTER!" Miriam screamed with a fight in her eyes.

"You stay out of this. I have heard enough from the both of you." He said trying to unnerve his wife. But failed miserably.

"What's wrong with you Bob? Your daughter just wanted you time to spend us. But you can only think of yourself." She spat at him. He had simply frozen. "I wasted my youth on you. You ruined my LIFE! And I let you. I let you… because I loved you." Bob continued to stay still, frozen. Only now he had a frown.

Miriam looked at him with contempt. "I don't love you anymore. You aren't worth it."

Bob just stood there, his heart sank. And then his sadness turned to anger. But instead of speaking, went into the bedroom leaving Miriam satisfied and Olga completely mortified. Helga had been watching the entire time. She had no idea the night would turn out like this. But then again she had always known that something was wrong with her family.

Miriam decides it's best if they don't spend Christmas there and calls the owner of the sunset arms, Arnold's grandfather if they could stay that one night and he agrees.

After they leave Bob finds himself… alone. Bob decides that he should get some sleep for the night.

Bob goes to get undressed as he begins to hear a moan.

"Who is THAT!" He called out.

The moaning continues, slightly louder.

"I SAID WHO IS THAT!"

The moaning ignored him for a while, and became a whisper that seemed right next to his ears. "I'm sorry…..I'm sorry…."

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" He screamed in terror.

But the voice continued to haunt him. Which led to Bob running to hide in his room. But as he charged he ran straight into his mirror, only to be greeted by his reflection, his refection who bore a strong resemblance to Bob's father.

But the nightmare got worse when image spoke. "I'm sorry son… I'm so sorry."

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Bob hollered. The ghost only continued to speak to him. As the ghost came out of the mirror. "I'm sorry son… I had failed you as a father." The ghost said. "But I will make things right. Because I have sent three ghosts to haunt you."

Bob just froze.

"I want to help you…. Because your my… little Bobby."

TO BE CONTINUED...