Note: See Part 1 for all pertinent info and the disclaimer.
Part 9
Monday, December 1, 2003
Foxy Roxy's Hair Haven
"Come and trim my Christmas tree
With some decorations bought at Tiffany's
I really do believe in you
Let's see if you believe in me
Boo doo bee doo"
Natalie stood back, watching Roxy dance around, singing, as she swept up hair.
"Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing"
Janelle walked in and raised an eyebrow. She walked over to Natalie and nudged her, "Hey, how long has she been at it?"
"A ring
I don't mean on the phone"
"The Queen of Karaoke and now apparently Christmas Cheer? Ever since I got back from lunch."
"Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight"
Natalie shook her head as Roxy shimmied around. "Roxy, you're freaking out the customers!"
Janelle took a quick look around the salon, "What customers? Most people are shopping."
"Potential customers."
Roxy looked at her and smiled.
"Hurry down the chimney tonight."
Roxy danced over to Natalie and laid her head on her shoulder.
"Hurry down the chimney -- tonight."
Natalie rolled her eyes and pushed Roxy's head off of her shoulder, "You done or are doing another encore?"
"I'm done. For now. With that one." She laughed, "C'mon, baby, you've gotta get in the Christmas spirit."
"Have a holly, jolly Christmas --"
"Oh God, Roxy, please, give it a rest!"
"-- It's the best time of the year."
"You sing one more line and I'm quitting."
Roxy stopped and frowned. She jabbed a finger at Natalie, "You know, you sure know how to be a Grinch."
Natalie gaped, "I am not a Grinch."
"Scrooge?"
"I'm not a Scrooge either."
"Then lighten up, will ya? There are exactly twenty-four days until Christmas and I bet that you don't have a single decoration up at the cottage. And you probably haven't even done any shopping yet either. Am I right?"
Natalie simply said nothing, glancing away and tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear, her lips pressed into a thin line.
Roxy grinned, "I'm right; you don't!" She grew serious, "Listen, honey, I know that you're still feeling down and that maybe you don't feel like spreading the holiday cheer and that's fine. But you're gonna have to deal with me and everyone else who cares about you bringing as much holiday cheer and all that good stuff to you as we can, got it?"
"I don't really have any other choice, do I?"
Roxy grinned and shook her head, "Na-uh."
Natalie sighed, "Fine. But please try to keep the caroling to a minimum, okay?"
"Whatever you say, baby." Roxy sashayed back across the salon and began singing again:
"Bells will be ringing, the glad, glad news
Oh what a Christmas, to have the blues"
"Oh, this song's filled with tons of Christmas cheer," Natalie muttered.
Janelle shrugged, "Maybe she's singing it just for you."
"My baby's gone
I have no friends"
"Hey, Rox, could you sing something a little more depressing? Thanks."
Roxy put the broom back in the closet and gave Natalie a look, a hand on her hip, "Hey, you feel like being a downer, this is what you get. I'll get back to the more festive stuff later."
"I have no friends
To wish me greetings, once again
Choirs will be singing, Silent Night
Oh, Christmas carols, by candlelight"
Janelle shrugged her coat off and went into the back room. Natalie sat down behind the desk at the front of the salon. Roxy checked all the supplies at the work stations.
"Please come home for Christmas
Please come home for Christmas
If not for Christmas, by New Year's night"
Natalie laid her head back against the back of the chair and looked up at the mural of Roxy painted on the wall above her.
"Friends and relations
Send salutations
Just as sure as the star shine above"
Natalie sat up and turned around, facing the wall, and stared at the mural, her head cocked slightly to the side, studying it. She reached up and ran her fingers over the paint. Paint that Cristian had mixed.
"This is Christmas, Christmas my dear
The time of year to be with the one that you love"
They had been sitting on the ottoman in the library at Llanfair. In front of the fireplace.
"I always hated Christmas."
"How come?"
"You know, it's never what you expected. When I was a kid, I used to wish that it could be just like the ones on the toy commercials. You know, they all come running down the stairs in their robes and opening Christmas presents. I always thought it'd be cool if somehow I could get put into the TV and I could spend Christmas with their families."
"Yeah, I used to wish the same thing."
She looked at him, surprised, "Really?"
"Yeah, but just for the -- you know, the commercials with the remote-controlled car. That one." It had been his attempt to get her to smile. To cheer her up.
"You know the weird thing, though? I mean, last year, I'm here and I have -- I have that Christmas and I got the robes and the Christmas presents underneath the tree and --"
"Wasn't as great as you thought it would be?"
"I -- I broke Jessica's special ornament, and she was pretty upset. I mean, it was an accident."
"You didn't mean to."
"No, no, I didn't. I said I was sorry but, you know, she was still upset. I got to tell you, though --"
"What?"
"I really wasn't sorry. I mean, Jessica had everything. She always had everything. And I resented that."
"Maybe I am a Grinch," Natalie mumbled to herself, her fingers still lightly tracing over the mural. Lines that Cristian had sketched underneath it.
"Then will you tell me, you'll never roam
Christmas and New Year will find you home
There'll be no more sorrow
No grief or pain
'Cause I'll be happy that it's Christmas once again"
They were still on the ottoman.
This could have been a great Christmas. Their first Christmas together. Well, sort of together. Cristian had finally broken up with Jen and told her that they were in love and that they wanted to be together. But she was married to Mitch. And Jessica had run off and no one had a clue as to where she was.
Somehow she'd managed to find the hope that everything would work out. That things would get better. That this would be her last sad Christmas. That next year would be different. Next year -- she'd be happy. And she and Cristian would really truly be together; they'd celebrate their first real Christmas together -- as a couple.
"You know, all this is going to be over soon. Mitch is going to be behind bars and then Jessica will come back, and finally, you and I can be together."
"We are together. Merry Christmas." He'd pulled her closer to him and they'd continued to sit there, cuddling.
Natalie pulled her hand back and sighed. The bell above the door jingled and she turned to see Rex walking in. "Hey."
He leaned forward, his hands on the desk, "Hey, sis. You want to grab some lunch?"
"I already had lunch."
"Oh. Coffee break?"
"What are you up to?"
He looked at her innocently, "Nothing! Can't a guy take his big sister out for a meal or a cup of coffee without having some ulterior motive?"
Natalie arched an eyebrow, "This is you we're talking about."
He straightened up, "Okay, see, now I'm offended. All I wanted --"
"Rocking around the Christmas tree
At the Christmas party hop"
Rex's expressions soured, "What the hell is that?"
"Mistletoe hung where you can see
Ev'ry couple tries to stop"
"Roxy's idea of getting into the holiday spirit or something like that."
"Are you kidding?"
"Rocking around the Christmas tree
Let the Christmas Spirit ring"
"Nope."
Rex and Natalie peeked behind the partition to see Roxy dancing around.
"Later we'll have some pumpkin pie
and we'll do some caroling"
"Hey, Mom, give it a rest, will ya?"
Roxy stopped, "What is wrong with the two of you? Did I raise you both to be such -- I don't know -- anti-yuletide whatevers? And I don't need no smart comments from either of you on how I didn't raise you."
"No offense, Roxy, but when I was growing up, your favorite thing about Christmas was the eggnog. And that was only if there was rum in it. You never came to a single one of my Christmas pageants and let's not even go into how the only way the house got decorated was if I did it, you'd verbally rip my home made decorations to shreds then later actually do so while you were drunk, and that you always treated Christmas day like it was any other day."
"That was then and this is now. Stop living in the past, honey bunch. I'm going to make up for all those sucky Christmases -- to both of you. You gotta remember that this is the new and improved Roxy!"
"Well, if you're in the giving mood, I'm in the receiving mood," Rex said.
Natalie swatted him on the arm, "Rex!"
"Hey! What?" He rubbed his arm.
She gestured at Roxy, "You really want to encourage this behavior?"
He grinned, "I think it's great that Mom's gotten into the holiday spirit."
Roxy smiled, "Thanks, Rexy."
He shrugged, "Besides, I don't work here so I don't have to listen to her sing all the time."
"Hey!" Roxy glared at him.
Natalie glared at him, "Traitor."
He shrugged again and gave her a cocky smile, "Sorry, sis. You enjoy yourself. I gotta go find me a lunch date."
"What about me?"
"You turned me down and you mocked me." He shook his head.
"And I'm sorry but please get me out of here before Roxy drives me crazy with all these Christmas songs." She looked at Roxy, "You don't need me here, do you? I mean, Janelle's here, so I can go."
Janelle waddled out of the back room, "Sorry, but I can't stay."
Natalie and Roxy looked at her, "Why?"
"My water just broke."
"Oh my God."
"You're not going to have the baby in here, are you?"
"Do you need me to drive you to the hospital?"
Roxy and Natalie looked at Rex.
"What? The woman's in labor."
"That'd be great. I'll see you two later," Janelle said as Rex ushered her out.
Roxy and Natalie watched them leave. Roxy looked at Natalie. After a moment she began:
"Bring a torch, Jeanette, Isabella"
Natalie stared at her, "Is there any end to this madness?"
Roxy shook her head.
"Bring a torch, to the cradle run!"
Note: The dialogue from the Crisalie flashbacks were from the December 24, 2002 Christmas episode. Lyrics for "Santa Baby" by Joan Javits, Phil Springer, and Tony Springer. Lyrics for "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Johnny Marks. Lyrics for "Please Come Home for Christmas (Bells Will Be Ringing)" by Charles Mose Brown and Gene C. Redd. Lyrics for "Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella" (traditionally in French: "Un Flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle") by ???.