Caroline and the Christmas Wishes
Chapter 5
The next three days were not very productive for either Caroline or Richard. Both were careful not to express it, but both had Friday's quick buss on their minds… and what might have been. Every day, the tension between them mounted
When it came time for Richard to leave, Caroline asked "So, Richard, what are your plans for Christmas?
"Oh I don't know, I'll probably just try running from the subway to my apartment without getting killed. Like every day. What about you?"
"Like every year, I'm flying to Wisconsin tomorrow, Christmas Eve, and back the day after Christmas." Hesitantly, Caroline ventured "And I was thinking…"
"Yes…?" Richard replied, suspiciously.
"I have an extra ticket, why don't you come to Wisconsin with me?"
"Why would I want to do that, Caroline?"
"Oh, c'mon, Richard, it'll be fun. You're not doing anything anyway and I'm paying for the ticket. Don't you yearn for a traditional Christmas, snow on the ground, fire in the hearth, Christmas tree in the living room, and a traditional feast on Christmas evening? My mom's a really good cook."
"And why would you pay for a ticket for me to go with you?"
Caroline, terrible at lying, tried to cover up the reason. "Oh, I just don't want you to be alone on the holidays."
"I'm not alone. I'm still letting Chris stay with me. And there's that thing that lives in the wall."
Once too often, Caroline resorted to pleading with doe-y eyes. "Pleeeease, Richard!"
"Alright, what's really going on?"
"Why, whatever do you mean?" Caroline replied innocently.
"There's something going on that you're not telling me about, Caroline."
"Oh, alright… Every year I'm surrounded at Christmas by happily married relatives pressuring me to get married and have kids. Up until three weeks ago, I was dating a veterinarian, so I exaggerated a little and told Mom that I was bringing my doctor boyfriend home for Christmas. I already bought the tickets, but now…"
"But now you have no doctor and you haven't told your mother yet." Caroline nodded to confirm Richard's conclusion. Richard clucked "Caroline, why don't you just tell your parents the truth?"
"Okay, so I'm spineless and I hate to disappoint people. Will you go?"
"I don't know, Caroline…"
"It is a holiday… I could pay you double-time for your hours."
"Very tempting… but how can I impersonate a doctor?"
"You're always flaunting your education… just make up some gobbledygook, no one will question you… Oops!"
"What?"
"My younger brother, Chris, is a doctor. You'd best avoid him. And to be extra safe, make up some especially obscure gobbledygook."
"And we're supposed to be dating?"
"Yeah…"
"Oh, Caroline, I don't know. That would involve touching and showing affection, you know I don't do well with that sort of thing."
"Oh, Richard…" responded a frustrated Caroline. "I don't have cooties!"
"I don't know…"
"Richard… It'll be easy… Look." With that, Caroline acted on her previous frustration and did something she had been thinking about for three days. She reached out, pulled him to her, and kissed Richard on the lips. At first, Richard just stood there, shocked. Then he began to respond. Timidly at first, but then more passionately. The more they kissed, the more they forgot about everything else in the world, and thought only of each other, in that moment. Caroline started to get a tingly feeling – first in her toes, then traveling up her body. Her knees began to weaken. Only when Richard's passion became obvious… too painfully obvious, did he find the strength to push Caroline away.
"I… guess… I could… manage… to fake that…" gasped Richard.
"Whew…! You're very… convincing" Caroline managed to get out. "Okay, then… You're coming?" Richard nodded weakly. "Let's leave from here tomorrow at nine o'clock. You have any upscale clothes to wear?"
"Just what I wear to job interviews."
"Good, bring those."
As he left, Richard wondered "Uh-oh… What am I getting myself into?"
******
On the flight to Green Bay (from where Fred, Caroline's father would pick them up and take them to Peshtigo), Caroline drilled Richard on what to say to her relatives.
"Okay, remember Richard: You're a doctor with a successful practice, you have a nice apartment in the city, but you eventually want to settle down and have kids, and move out to the suburbs. You have a Porsche, and you love the holidays with your family, and only because you're fairly serious about our relationship are you spending your first Christmas away from them. You're passionate about me, but – and this is very important, especially if you're talking to my mother – we've never gone all the way. She thinks I'm still a virgin."
"You're not…?" Richard enquired, feigning shock.
"Shaddup" Caroline retorted.
"So… This stuff is important to you – the prestige, the money, the house, the car?"
"It's important to my relatives, Richard."
"What about you?"
"I – I – I guess so. That's what I've always imagined my dream man would be like. And that he'd be passionate about me, of course."
"Oh" replied Richard, trying to hide his disappointment. "I was a fool to think that Caroline could fall for someone like me. I'm nothing at all like what she wants in a man."
******
Surprisingly, Richard was enjoying himself with the Duffy clan. They meant nothing to him, so he didn't care what they thought of him. And for once, everyone wanted to be nice to him. After all, he was quite a catch who might get 'their little Caroline' to finally settle down. Predisposed to liking Richard, he found it easy to impress them. Not being constrained by the truth did that. In fact, Richard amused himself by seeing what ridiculous lies he could come up with. Additionally, the fact that Caroline felt the need to frequently display her affection for him in public made the time even more enjoyable.
On the other hand, Caroline was miserable. She smiled gamely through it all, and no one knew how she really felt. No one except Richard, who could read her like an open book. Caroline had thought that bringing a 'boyfriend' home would lessen the subtle pressure on her to conform to their expectations. Instead, it was even worse than before. And she had another worry to contend with: The fear that Richard would somehow blow their cover.
---
After the Duffy family feast, all the relatives and guests gathered together to mix and talk in the festively decorated Duffy living room. Richard and Caroline mingled with her relatives. Each kept one ear open to the other's conversation, to make sure they didn't get any wires crossed.
"So, Doc… What's your last name again?"
"Karinsky."
"So, Doc Karinsky, I hear you and our little Caroline are getting pretty serious, huh?"
Richard responded with an ambiguous "Hmmm" and head nod.
"So, what kinda doctor are you, anyway?"
"I'm a, uh… a cuticologist."
"So what's a cuti-… a cuti-…?"
"A cuticologist."
"What's that?"
"I treat toenail fungus."
"Oh." "Uggggh!!" the man thought. "So, Doc is the, uh, toenail fungus business very lucrative?"
"Oh, sure. I've practically cornered the market in New York. 'Come to Karinsky's – There's no fungus among us!' Pretty catchy, huh?"
"Uh, yeah… Excuse me, Doc. I gotta go over there…" said the man as he hurried away.
Richard chuckled inwardly. "That's so disgusting, it'll drive anyone away before they get suspicious."
---
"So, Caroline… I hear you brought a doctor!" Aunt Edna excitedly exclaimed.
"That's right, Aunt Edna. His name is Richard, he's over there" said Caroline, pointing him out.
"Can we expect to hear wedding bells any time soon?"
"Aunt Edna…" said Caroline, displaying her ringless hand. "He hasn't proposed."
"Better not let him get away, dear. A doctor's quite a catch. Use your feminine charms to reel him in, if you know what I mean."
Like a little girl reciting her lessons, Caroline responded "Yes, Aunt Edna."
"And did you hear, my Janey had her third child, a son. You'd better get with it, you're falling behind."
"Yes, Aunt Edna…"
---
"So, Doc, I've visited New York before. Whereabouts in the city do you live?"
Richard followed Caroline's guidelines – that is: Lie, lie, lie. He started with a tiny fib, and kept on going 'til he ended up with some pretty big whoppers. "Oh… I stay at a place by Central Park… Directly adjacent to the park, actually… In a condo tower… I have a penthouse suite… Yeah, the view is fantastic."
"I bet that's great. I mean, you're in the center of the city, near all the action, but at the end of the day, you can relax, above it all, away from the noise and pollution far below you."
"Yeah, it's really nice not to be bothered with the sirens and the crackle of gunfire from busted drug deals anymore…" Richard replied wistfully. Uncle Magnus gave Richard a funny stare. "Oh, I used to live in a bad neighborhood when I was going to college."
---
"So, Caroline…?"
"Yes, Grandma Duffy?"
"Are you and this doctor fella gonna start having babies right away?"
"We're not engaged, Grandma."
"'Cause you know, you're not getting' any younger. You want to be young enough to enjoy your life after your kids leave the nest."
Caroline was embarrassed and reluctant to say much. "Grandma…"
"He's fully armed, isn't he? 'Cause if he's not, I've got some home remedies that'll fire him right up. You know, you take some witch hazel and you rub it on his…"
"Grandma…!" Caroline, her face beet red, interrupted her grandmother. "Excuse me, I have to talk to Richard about something."
Caroline walked over, took Richards arm, and dragged him away from the living room to the dining room.
Softly, so that only Richard could hear, she screamed "HEEELP!!!!"
Richard chuckled. "What's the matter? Relatives getting to you?"
Caroline appeared depressed and sighed. "I thought if I brought a 'boyfriend', the pressure would be off – or at least lessen a little. Boy, was I wrong! It's like, now they almost see the finish line in sight, they're even more anxious to get me married off and have kids."
"Isn't that what you want – I mean, eventually?"
"Sure it is – eventually. But nobody even asks one question about what I'm doing now, what my life is like. It's as if… as if my life has no worth, no meaning until I 'settle down'. Nothing I do on my own matters, the only thing that does matter is if I 'snare' a husband and raise kids."
"Well, your relatives seem to like me. One uncle even offered me a great deal if I ever wanted to buy a tractor. Of course, it's not me they actually like. I mean, I've been lying through my teeth, I don't think one thing I've told them about me is true. Oh, I take that back, I gave them my real name."
That raised Caroline's spirits a little. She chuckled "Thanks, Richard. You're the best… Well, shall we go back out there and do battle once more?"
"If we must."
---
Richard found lying to strangers liberating in a way. He was enjoying himself, people actually looked up to him. "Yes, I have a car, but driving is just beastly in the city. And don't get me started about parking… that's why I always use valet parking whenever possible."
"What kind of car do you drive?"
"A… A Porsche Carrera. Yeah, that's it, a Carrera… I get a new one every year, I like that 'new car' smell… a Porsche really is wasted in the city… That's why Caroline and I like to get away every weekend that we can, to Connecticut or Atlantic City, sometimes Vermont... Yep, that baby really hums on the open road."
"I'll bet!"
---
"So Caroline?"
"Yes, cousin Cindy?
"Are you gonna quit drawing your little cartoons when you get married?"
"Well…"
"You're gonna be pretty busy after you get married, especially after you have kids. You won't have time for all your little hobbies anymore."
Richard had heard what Cindy had said, and looked over to see that Caroline's face was as downcast as he could ever remember.
"Of course, I'm lucky with my Phillip. Some husbands don't like for their wives to have hobbies, they feel it take the wife's attention away from their wifely and motherly duties."
"Alright, enough already, that's it!" thought Richard. He walked over by the fireplace and raised his voice. "Attention…! People…! I want to say something."
Caroline rushed over, and in a soft voice warned "Richard??!! What are you doing??!!"
He replied softly "Something that should've been done two hours ago, Caroline."
Richard raised his voice again. "I have an announcement to make: I am not Caroline's boyfriend. Although anyone lucky enough to have her should count his lucky stars. She's a beautiful, intelligent, funny, successful, and most importantly, caring woman. But none of that seems to matter to any of you. All that seems to matter is that she 'catch' a successful husband and raise kids. Well, I'm no 'catch', I'm only her poor assistant. For some reason, Caroline felt the need to bring a 'boyfriend' along to placate you. I don't know why, because she shouldn't have to. She's wildly successful on her own, her comic strip is nationally syndicated, and her greeting cards are sold throughout the country. And do you know why? It's because she puts her whole heart into her 'little hobby'. You probably think she just rolls out of bed, scribbles a joke, and spends the rest of the day shopping. Let me tell you something: She goes to sleep wondering how she could have made the day's strip better, and wakes up afraid that she'll never have another idea. The first thing she does each morning is have a cup of coffee and read her strip. It's not just what she does, it's who she is. And although your comments are well-meaning, they end up being hurtful. Because, in pushing so hard for Caroline to have your idea of a wonderful life, you're totally ignoring the wonderful person that's standing in front of you."
When Richard stopped, it was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.
"Excuse me, I have to go out to the porch and get some air."
As Richard left, there were murmurs of "What was that all about?", "Well, I never!", and "Is what he said true, Caroline?" But all Caroline could think was "Wow… Somebody who actually gets me." She went after him and called out "Richard!"
Caroline caught up to him on the porch.
"Richard!"
"I'm sorry, Caroline. I've ruined your holiday. I should've just kept my big mouth shut, but I couldn't take it anymore… Well, you don't have to pay me for my time on this trip, I didn't hold up my end of the bargain… In fact, if you want to fire me, I'd completely understand."
Caroline took Richard's hand. "Richard, no… You were wonderful. Everything you said, I should've said long ago, but I just didn't have the guts. Paying you to come on this trip is the best money I've ever spent."
"Really?"
"Come here, you." Caroline put her hand behind Richard's head, pulling it towards her, and they began to kiss…
******
The day after Christmas, Caroline and Richard walked to their seats on the airplane hand-in-hand. After they seated themselves, they lovingly gazed into each other's eyes.
"So" asked Richard "Where do we go from here?"
"Although you know me better than the man I dated for years and was about to marry, we've still only known each other for less than a month. I think we should take it slow. When we get back to New York, what would you say if we started dating?"
"That would be nice… Besides, it would give Salty more of a chance to get used to me… and Annie."
Caroline chuckled "I think Annie hoped that you were a bad dream that would go away with the new year."
Richard mused "This is by far the most interesting Christmas that I've ever had."
Caroline quipped "Yep, another Christmas has come and gone. Santa can rest for a few months."
"Speaking of 'Santa' – I wonder how Chris is doing. He has such a 'Santa' delusion, he might have tried something foolish on Christmas Eve – like stealing milk and cookies, or trying to squeeze down a chimney. I hope he's okay."
Caroline was also concerned. "When we get back to New York, I'll go back with you to your apartment to check."
"Okay, Caroline". Richard chuckled when another stray though crossed his mind.
"What's so funny?" Caroline asked.
"I was just thinking – I made some wishes to 'Santa', and they all came true."
"Like what?"
"Well, I wished that a particular cop not bother me, and Chris covered for me. I wished that someone would appreciate and pay me for my artistic talent… and you did." Richard gave Caroline a short kiss. Richard smiled at Caroline and thought "Not to mention, I wished for my sincere amore… and here you are."
"That's funny. Now that I think about it, the same thing happened to me" replied Caroline. "I wished for a new colorist, and got one. And I wished for a man to accompany me to Wisconsin to meet my relatives." Caroline smiled at Richard and thought "Not to mention, I wished for the man of my dreams… and here you are."
Epilogue
Upon reaching Richard's apartment, Kris was nowhere to be found.
"Uh-oh, I was afraid of this" said Richard. "I hope he's not in trouble. C'mon, let's go."
"Wait a minute! Where are we going, Richard? To the police station?"
"No, first I want to try Bond Street, Brooklyn, the Salvation Army homeless shelter. That's where Chris was staying before I brought him home with me."
"Okay, Richard" answered Caroline as they hurried out the door.
******
When Richard and Caroline got to the shelter, they asked for one of the Salvation Army officers in charge. When he appeared, he asked "May I help you?"
Caroline replied "Yes. We're looking for Chris Glenrik."
"Chris Glenrik…? I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with the gentleman."
"He stayed here through the first week of December" added Richard. "He's an older man, with white hair and a long thick beard, and he's… well, let's just say he quite weight-challenged."
"I'm sorry, I just don't recall a man fitting your description being here at the beginning of December. Although we have a number of beds at this facility, I'd remember a man like that, 'cause we look for those types to play Santa and ring bells at our collection kettles."
"Well, Chris did play Santa. Though not for the Salvation Army, but for Macy's. He says he's so good at it, that Macy's hires him every year. That's where I met him at, and offered to let him stay at my apartment for awhile."
"Wait a minute. Macy's – the one on 34th Street? He plays Santa there every year?"
"Yeah…?" replied Richard.
"Are you pulling my leg, or did someone pull yours?"
"Why…? What are you saying?"
"Kris Glenrik… it's an anagram for Kris Kringle."
Caroline and Richard both turned to each other, their faces registering surprise, then realization.
"So it is, so it is" replied Richard. "Thank you, sir."
After the Salvation Army officer left, Caroline smiled the smile of a lapsed believer who has rediscovered faith. "Let's go, Richard."
"In a sec, Caroline. There's something I have to do first." Caroline stared at Richard, puzzled.
Richard looked upwards, took a deep breath, and shouted "Kris, if you can hear me, I BELIEVE IN SANTA CLAUS!!!"
Everyone in the shelter turned to look at the crazy man shouting. To say that Caroline was in complete shock would be an understatement. All she could do was utter "Richard…?"
Richard turned to her, smiled at her befuddlement and questioned "What…? Don't you believe…?"
Caroline could only smile and nod.
"Merry Christmas, Caroline." He gave her a quick kiss and gazed contentedly into Caroline's eyes, amazed at his good fortune.
Caroline replied "Merry Christmas, Richard".
The smiled at each other, then turned and walked away from the shelter arm in arm.
Once they had gotten outside, Caroline happily exclaimed "Look Richard, it's snowing! I love it when it snows, it makes the city seem all white and sparkly and clean."
Richard smiled again. He had smiled more in that one night than in the past two years.
They had only gone a little ways before Caroline stopped again. "Listen Richard, can you hear that…?"
"What…?"
Barely discernable over the wind, Kris's familiar voice could be heard from the night sky calling out "Ho, ho, ho!" accompanied by the jingle of sleigh-bells.
---
MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!
The End