Disclaimer - I do not take credit for the characters Kelly, Jill, Sabrina,
Charlie and Bosley. These characters are the creation of Aaron Spelling
Productions. I have created all other characters that appear in the story.
Christmas Eve
Kelly stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom as she ran her brush through her hair for a final time. She wasn't looking forward to the next two days that lied ahead of her, but just like every year, she had to get through them. The truth was, December was the hardest month of the year for her. Between her birthday at the beginning of the month, Christmas Eve and Christmas and then News Years Eve, she was constantly faced with reminders that she didn't have a family to share all of those events with. It was bad enough that she didn't even know if the birthday she celebrated every year was actually her own, but then she had to get through Christmas and New Years as well. Before she had met Sabrina, Jill and Bosley, she had seen Christmas as a time to buy herself that one thing that she wouldn't be able to afford otherwise. There was no celebration, or big gathering, only a trip to the mall the week before. Then she meet Sabrina, Jill and Bosley, and Sabrina came up with the idea that they should all have dinner on Christmas Eve together. She said it would just be a nice tradition to start amongst them, but Kelly suspected it was more like a move to make Kelly feel more comfortable at the holidays. Unfortunately, the Christmas Eve dinner had become an annual thing, and now, 2 years later, she was once again getting ready. Every year they alternated whose place it would be at, and this year was Jill's turn. After checking herself in the mirror one final time, Kelly walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen where she made sure her wallet was in her purse before putting it on her shoulder and picking up her keys. After picking up the 3 perfectly wrapped gift boxes, she walked out the front door and walked over to her car. It was just about getting dark outside, and the houses on her block were turning their Christmas lights on. Kelly had always enjoyed the look of the houses all decked out for Christmas. She remembered when she was younger sitting at the window of the orphanage at night when she was suppose to be sleeping and looking out at the houses around them with their Christmas lights on. At the time, she believed they were fireflies gathering in formation around the houses, but even now that she knew the truth, the image was still beautiful. Hesitating, she turned the key in the ignition before backing out of the driveway. During the drive over, she tried to gain a peak into the lives of all the people whose houses she was passing. Occasionally, she would see a husband or wife open the door to let their relatives in, or through a window she would see families gathered around a table, indulged in the food they were eating and whatever conversation had been brought up. She always wondered what it would be like to be inside, instead of just a passer byer, but she had long since accepted the fact that the closest she would ever come would be having Christmas Eve dinner with Sabrina, Jill and Bosley.
When she arrived at Jill's house, Sabrina and Bosley were already there. As she parked her car behind Sabrina's, Kelly once again considered driving away and disappearing until after New Years Day. She could only imagine how worried Sabrina, Jill, Bosley and Charlie would be though, so instead she got out of the car with the presents and walked into the house. Jill had set it up so that her Christmas tree was to the immediate left when you entered the house. Having to walk by it in order to make her way over to the kitchen where everyone else was most likely gathered, she placed her gifts underneath the tree with everyone else's. Then she walked into the kitchen where Jill and Sabrina sat at the table, each reading the label on different bottles of wine, and Bosley stood at the stove, stirring vigorously with one hand and checking something on a back burner with the other. Jill was the first person to notice Kelly's arrival, taking a brief moment from her reading to look up.
"It's about time you got here. We were starting to think you were going to stand us up." Jill stated, obviously joking around.
"We agreed on 7 o'clock I thought."
"Don't listen to her. She's just upset that Bosley told her that the bottle of wine she bought was worth less then she bought it for." Sabrina added in.
"It is not. The label states it right here.Considered to be the finest of all Virginia wines." Jill tried to argue.
"Since when have you ever heard of a Virginia wine!" Sabrina argued back, shutting Jill up as she did so.
"So Bosley.what are you making this year? Another one of your burnt turkeys?" Jill joked with Bosley, trying to change the subject. The year before, he had forgotten about the turkey in the oven, and had burnt it beyond recognition.
"You all think you are so funny." Bosley commented back.
"Is there anything you need me to do Jill?" Kelly asked politely. She hated sitting around doing nothing, all that ever came out of it were more thoughts to depress her.
"No, I think we're good. As soon as the chef is done, we can eat." Jill replied, slightly disappointing Kelly in the process. As the conversation continued, Kelly started to only pay half attention to what they were saying. Instead, she looked at the faces of the three people around her, the closest thing she had to a family. They all had fun together, and Kelly couldn't imagine her life without them in it, but even spending Christmas Eve with them didn't make the holidays any easier for her. At the beginning of the month, they had thrown a surprise birthday party for her with the help of Charlie. A lot of her old friends were there, and she had to admit that she had had a lot of fun. It didn't make up for the fact that the birthday she was celebrating was just an educated guess that the nuns had made though. For all she knew she could have been born in February, or even October. Nobody could tell her a definite answer, so instead she just had to accept the educated guess.
"Kelly! Are you coming?" Sabrina asked. Apparently, Kelly had gotten lost in her thoughts and missed the fact that the others had gotten up and headed into the dinning room. Quickly, Kelly stood up and walked over to Sabrina as they headed into the dinning room together.
"There's something I want to talk to you about later, ok?" Sabrina stated.
"Yeah sure." Kelly replied. After that, the two of them sat down at the dinning room table with the others as Bosley carved the turkey. During dinner, they talked about a bunch of different things, but a lot of it was the same thing that they talked about every year. Then, when they were finished, Jill and Bosley volunteered to clean up the kitchen while Kelly and Sabrina cleaned off the table. It only took them a couple of minutes before they finished, and then Sabrina went into the kitchen to see if there was anything else they could do while Kelly sneaked out the back door, and leaned on the railing as she looked out to the ocean. The waves were calm that night, and the moon's reflection on the water rippled with the surf. The ocean was the one thing that had drawn Kelly to California in the first place. It had a calming effect on her, especially at this time of year. Wanting to get closer, she walked down the steps and across the sand so that she was just far enough away from the lights of the house to appreciate the beauty of the ocean and the moon. As she was walking, Sabrina had walked out the back door, apparently looking for Kelly. When she noticed Kelly standing on the beach, she too walked down the steps and joined her. At first they stood there in silence together, and Sabrina wondered if Kelly even knew that she was there.
"You know, I was wondering how you were going to disappear this year. I forgot that there were miles of beach right in front of us." Sabrina commented.
"I'm not trying to disappear. I was just trying to appreciate the beautiful night." Kelly tried to defend herself.
"Kelly. We've been having Christmas Eve dinner together as a group now for three years. We all know how you get over the holidays."
"I'll be fine. I just wanted to get some fresh air."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"Ok. About tomorrow though, do you have any plans?"
"No."
"Why don't you stop by my dad's then. It's only going to be the two of us this year, and we'd love the company."
"That's all right. I was planning on just helping out at the church again."
"Well if you change your mind, the offer always stands. Now come on, the others are going to wonder where we went."
"Ok. I'll be right there."
With that, Sabrina went back inside, leaving Kelly alone again. Sabrina was one of Kelly's best friends, but even her couldn't change the holidays for Kelly. Things were better now that she had met them, now at least she had a place to go on Christmas Eve, but it didn't change the fact that Christmas was still spent by herself.
Not wanting to worry everyone else, Kelly also made her way back inside just in time to open the gifts. As usual, everyone loved the gifts Kelly had gotten them, and the gifts she had gotten in return were just as nice. By now, it was already 10:30 and Kelly had hopes of attending the midnight Christmas mass at her church. Wanting to stop home before then, Kelly said her good byes before walking out to her car. Along the way, Jill and Bosley had both also offered to have her spend Christmas with them, but just like Sabrina, Kelly had turned both of them down. Christmas Eve was one thing, but Christmas day they would all be with their families, and Kelly would feel out of place. Trying not to let her thoughts bother her anymore, Kelly went to mass and then immediately afterwards, found herself going to bed. She knew the next day would be even harder, mostly because she would be spending most of it alone. When she was a child, this would be the time that she dreamed of Santa Clause, and how just maybe he would bring her mother or father to her on his sleigh. The dream never came true, but even as an adult, she still had it every year on Christmas Eve night, a tradition that she didn't break that year either.
Christmas Day
Kelly woke up that morning at the same time that she did every morning, 7AM. At first she just lied in her bed, staring up at her ceiling, warm and comfortable underneath of her covers. After a couple of minutes, however, she sat up and realized that she couldn't hide from the day ahead of her in her bed. Instead, she got up, put her robe on, and walked into the kitchen where she began to make a pot of coffee. Once she had a cup, she would get changed into an old pair of jeans and a tee shirt, pull her messed up hair into a pony tail and then head over to the police shooting range for some target practice. Ever since she started working for Charlie, she made it a goal for herself to go to the shooting range once a month, and in her mind, what better day then Christmas. Knowing that very few people would be there, she could skip taking a shower and putting make- up on and just go as she was.
When she got to the police station, the place was practically abandoned, just as she expected it would be. Occasionally she would come across a rookie stuck working on the holiday, but most of them Kelly didn't recognize. Either she was getting more and more removed from the force, or there had been a lot of promotions that past year. Either way, she walked beyond them all, saying the occasional hello, but mostly going straight back to where the shooting range was and taking her place at her usual area. There was never a lot of people back there on Christmas, especially Christmas morning, herself and one other police officer being the only exception. His name was Daniel, and although Kelly had dated him briefly, she knew very little about him. She ended up spending an hour there, leaving before she had finished all of the ammunition that she had brought. Normally, she went through 20-25 rounds in an hour there, but that day she had only gone through 15, only because her mind wasn't into it. Once she got home she jumped into the shower, did her hair, applied her makeup and then decided on her clothes for the day. Appearance didn't mean as much to her, only because she was just going to the church to help out at the annual Christmas party for all of the foster children and their foster families. Based on this, she put on something simple and then walked into the kitchen where she picked up her purse and took out her gun. Normally, she didn't leave the house without it, but Christmas morning was an exception. If she couldn't feel safe going to a Christmas party at her church, then there was no where that she could feel safe.
After hiding the weapon in one of the drawers in her bedroom, Kelly grabbed her keys and headed out. Helping out at the church had become her only Christmas Day ritual, but unfortunately, it only lasted for a couple of hours. She was later getting their this year, so she wasn't surprised when there were already people there, the parents conversing while the kids made a visit to Santa Clause. Seeing tables that needed to be cleared off, she quickly started to work, not wanting to stand around and do nothing. Right when she was finishing the job, however, an older nun approached her from behind, and tapped Kelly on the shoulder as she approached her.
"Forget how to say hello?" the nun asked, causing Kelly to turn around and hug her enthusiastically.
"Sister Catherine. I didn't see you anywhere."
"I was busy playing with the kids over there. This is Sarah's first Christmas with her new foster family, and I wanted to make sure she had a good time. Kind of like I did with you when you were a child."
"That was a long time ago Sister."
"Indeed. To think, here you are an adult, and a private detective. You always were one to get into things, like the time you broke into my office."
"Nobody said I was an angel." Kelly replied sarcastically. Had Charlie known her when she was a child, he never would have provided her with that nickname.
"Is that why you're here, to make up for your devilish ways as a child?"
"Of course not. I come every year to help out. It gives me something to do."
"I know that, but I thought you had other plans this year. Didn't you mention a guy in your life?"
"Greg, but we broke up the week after my birthday. Things just didn't work out." The truth was however, that they had broken up because of her inability to commit. He had wanted her to spend the holidays with his family, but even though she hated being alone, she couldn't see herself just intruding into another family.
"What about your friends then. Couldn't you spend the day with any of them?"
"They all offered, but I just feel too awkward." Kelly replied.
"Awkward? If it were going to be awkward, would they have asked you Kelly?"
"Awkward for me, not them."
"No it wouldn't. I've known you for a long time Kelly. This isn't about you feeling awkward, it's about you feeling sorry for yourself."
"No." Kelly knew she was speaking the truth though. Kelly had never tried to spend Christmas Day with anyone else. When she was little, she hid in her room, no matter if she was in the orphanage or at a foster house. Then, when she was older, she would break up with her boyfriends if the issue came up, and used the time to move around to a new location.
"Yes. Spend today with your friends Kelly. If you don't, you'll only make yourself miserable, and how many more years of that can you actually bare?"
"I've already told them I wasn't coming though."
"They'll appreciate the surprise then. I can't let you stay here Kelly. You need to move on, make a family of your own. I know you've started, but Christmas doesn't change anything."
"I guess I could go to Sabrina's. She said it was just going to be her and her dad so it wouldn't be like I was crashing a party."
"Kelly. They invited you. You wouldn't be crashing the party."
"I know. I've meet Sabrina's dad before though so it wouldn't be as strange for me."
"Go then. It'll help make the holidays be a little more joyous."
"All right. Thank you sister."
"That's why I'm here, to guide lost children, both young and old. Merry Christmas Kelly."
"Merry Christmas."
With that, Kelly gave her a quick hug good-bye before leaving the church. Sister Catherine was right, Kelly was feeling sorry for herself, and that was why she had avoided finding a place to spend Christmas. For the past three years alone Sabrina, Jill and Bosley had each asked her to spend Christmas with them, and she was sure Charlie would offer the same invitation, if it didn't require finally seeing his face. Every year though, she had denied the invitations, and instead stayed at her house, curled up on the couch with a book and a cup of tea and imagined what she would be doing if she knew where her family was.
The ride to Sabrina's dad's house wasn't a long one, so Kelly didn't have much time to get scared and turn around. Instead, she pulled into the driveway after stopping for a bottle of wine to bring with her. Sabrina's dad didn't own a large house, but seeing it was just him living there with the occasional visit from Sabrina, it seemed to fit. For awhile, Kelly just sat in her car as she starred at the front door. Sabrina's car was parked in front of her, so she knew she would be there, but for some reason, Kelly was still nervous. Knowing that much more time alone would cause her to turn the car around and go back to her yearly rituals, she got out and walked up to the front door. It took her a few seconds before she knocked, but then once she did it seemed like an eternity before someone answered. When the door did open, it was Sabrina and she seemed shocked to see Kelly there.
"Kelly, hi!"
"Hi. I'm not intruding or anything, am I?"
"Of course not. Are you here for dinner?"
"If the invitation still stands."
"Of course it does. Come on in."
Nervously, Kelly walked in as Sabrina took her coat. While hanging it up, Sabrina's dad walked over to see who was at the door."
"Who is it Bri?" her dad asked.
"You remember my friend Kelly, don't you dad?" Sabrina replied.
"Why yes. You work with Bri, don't you Kelly?"
"Yes."
"It's good to see you again. Are you staying for dinner?"
"As long as its not too much trouble."
"Of course not. I promise, everything was ordered out. Sabrina has been no where near the stove."
"I'm not that bad dad."
"I beg to differ. So Kelly, how have you been."
On that note, the three of them headed into another room, Sabrina smiling at Kelly as they walked. She was glad that Kelly had decided to accept her invitation and not spend another Christmas alone, and now that Kelly was there, she was glad that she had went. It still wasn't having a family of her own, but it was a nice change from all of the past Christmases. December would never be an easy month for Kelly, but in the past three years, it had gotten a little better. Sister Catherine was right, Kelly had started to establish a family of her own. She had Sabrina, Jill, Bosley and Charlie to depend on, and they would do anything for her. In a way, it was almost as if Santa Clause had finally given Kelly the one gift that she had always wanted. She may not have found her parents, but she had found people that cared about her, and for Kelly, that was the best gift that she could get.
Christmas Eve
Kelly stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom as she ran her brush through her hair for a final time. She wasn't looking forward to the next two days that lied ahead of her, but just like every year, she had to get through them. The truth was, December was the hardest month of the year for her. Between her birthday at the beginning of the month, Christmas Eve and Christmas and then News Years Eve, she was constantly faced with reminders that she didn't have a family to share all of those events with. It was bad enough that she didn't even know if the birthday she celebrated every year was actually her own, but then she had to get through Christmas and New Years as well. Before she had met Sabrina, Jill and Bosley, she had seen Christmas as a time to buy herself that one thing that she wouldn't be able to afford otherwise. There was no celebration, or big gathering, only a trip to the mall the week before. Then she meet Sabrina, Jill and Bosley, and Sabrina came up with the idea that they should all have dinner on Christmas Eve together. She said it would just be a nice tradition to start amongst them, but Kelly suspected it was more like a move to make Kelly feel more comfortable at the holidays. Unfortunately, the Christmas Eve dinner had become an annual thing, and now, 2 years later, she was once again getting ready. Every year they alternated whose place it would be at, and this year was Jill's turn. After checking herself in the mirror one final time, Kelly walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen where she made sure her wallet was in her purse before putting it on her shoulder and picking up her keys. After picking up the 3 perfectly wrapped gift boxes, she walked out the front door and walked over to her car. It was just about getting dark outside, and the houses on her block were turning their Christmas lights on. Kelly had always enjoyed the look of the houses all decked out for Christmas. She remembered when she was younger sitting at the window of the orphanage at night when she was suppose to be sleeping and looking out at the houses around them with their Christmas lights on. At the time, she believed they were fireflies gathering in formation around the houses, but even now that she knew the truth, the image was still beautiful. Hesitating, she turned the key in the ignition before backing out of the driveway. During the drive over, she tried to gain a peak into the lives of all the people whose houses she was passing. Occasionally, she would see a husband or wife open the door to let their relatives in, or through a window she would see families gathered around a table, indulged in the food they were eating and whatever conversation had been brought up. She always wondered what it would be like to be inside, instead of just a passer byer, but she had long since accepted the fact that the closest she would ever come would be having Christmas Eve dinner with Sabrina, Jill and Bosley.
When she arrived at Jill's house, Sabrina and Bosley were already there. As she parked her car behind Sabrina's, Kelly once again considered driving away and disappearing until after New Years Day. She could only imagine how worried Sabrina, Jill, Bosley and Charlie would be though, so instead she got out of the car with the presents and walked into the house. Jill had set it up so that her Christmas tree was to the immediate left when you entered the house. Having to walk by it in order to make her way over to the kitchen where everyone else was most likely gathered, she placed her gifts underneath the tree with everyone else's. Then she walked into the kitchen where Jill and Sabrina sat at the table, each reading the label on different bottles of wine, and Bosley stood at the stove, stirring vigorously with one hand and checking something on a back burner with the other. Jill was the first person to notice Kelly's arrival, taking a brief moment from her reading to look up.
"It's about time you got here. We were starting to think you were going to stand us up." Jill stated, obviously joking around.
"We agreed on 7 o'clock I thought."
"Don't listen to her. She's just upset that Bosley told her that the bottle of wine she bought was worth less then she bought it for." Sabrina added in.
"It is not. The label states it right here.Considered to be the finest of all Virginia wines." Jill tried to argue.
"Since when have you ever heard of a Virginia wine!" Sabrina argued back, shutting Jill up as she did so.
"So Bosley.what are you making this year? Another one of your burnt turkeys?" Jill joked with Bosley, trying to change the subject. The year before, he had forgotten about the turkey in the oven, and had burnt it beyond recognition.
"You all think you are so funny." Bosley commented back.
"Is there anything you need me to do Jill?" Kelly asked politely. She hated sitting around doing nothing, all that ever came out of it were more thoughts to depress her.
"No, I think we're good. As soon as the chef is done, we can eat." Jill replied, slightly disappointing Kelly in the process. As the conversation continued, Kelly started to only pay half attention to what they were saying. Instead, she looked at the faces of the three people around her, the closest thing she had to a family. They all had fun together, and Kelly couldn't imagine her life without them in it, but even spending Christmas Eve with them didn't make the holidays any easier for her. At the beginning of the month, they had thrown a surprise birthday party for her with the help of Charlie. A lot of her old friends were there, and she had to admit that she had had a lot of fun. It didn't make up for the fact that the birthday she was celebrating was just an educated guess that the nuns had made though. For all she knew she could have been born in February, or even October. Nobody could tell her a definite answer, so instead she just had to accept the educated guess.
"Kelly! Are you coming?" Sabrina asked. Apparently, Kelly had gotten lost in her thoughts and missed the fact that the others had gotten up and headed into the dinning room. Quickly, Kelly stood up and walked over to Sabrina as they headed into the dinning room together.
"There's something I want to talk to you about later, ok?" Sabrina stated.
"Yeah sure." Kelly replied. After that, the two of them sat down at the dinning room table with the others as Bosley carved the turkey. During dinner, they talked about a bunch of different things, but a lot of it was the same thing that they talked about every year. Then, when they were finished, Jill and Bosley volunteered to clean up the kitchen while Kelly and Sabrina cleaned off the table. It only took them a couple of minutes before they finished, and then Sabrina went into the kitchen to see if there was anything else they could do while Kelly sneaked out the back door, and leaned on the railing as she looked out to the ocean. The waves were calm that night, and the moon's reflection on the water rippled with the surf. The ocean was the one thing that had drawn Kelly to California in the first place. It had a calming effect on her, especially at this time of year. Wanting to get closer, she walked down the steps and across the sand so that she was just far enough away from the lights of the house to appreciate the beauty of the ocean and the moon. As she was walking, Sabrina had walked out the back door, apparently looking for Kelly. When she noticed Kelly standing on the beach, she too walked down the steps and joined her. At first they stood there in silence together, and Sabrina wondered if Kelly even knew that she was there.
"You know, I was wondering how you were going to disappear this year. I forgot that there were miles of beach right in front of us." Sabrina commented.
"I'm not trying to disappear. I was just trying to appreciate the beautiful night." Kelly tried to defend herself.
"Kelly. We've been having Christmas Eve dinner together as a group now for three years. We all know how you get over the holidays."
"I'll be fine. I just wanted to get some fresh air."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"Ok. About tomorrow though, do you have any plans?"
"No."
"Why don't you stop by my dad's then. It's only going to be the two of us this year, and we'd love the company."
"That's all right. I was planning on just helping out at the church again."
"Well if you change your mind, the offer always stands. Now come on, the others are going to wonder where we went."
"Ok. I'll be right there."
With that, Sabrina went back inside, leaving Kelly alone again. Sabrina was one of Kelly's best friends, but even her couldn't change the holidays for Kelly. Things were better now that she had met them, now at least she had a place to go on Christmas Eve, but it didn't change the fact that Christmas was still spent by herself.
Not wanting to worry everyone else, Kelly also made her way back inside just in time to open the gifts. As usual, everyone loved the gifts Kelly had gotten them, and the gifts she had gotten in return were just as nice. By now, it was already 10:30 and Kelly had hopes of attending the midnight Christmas mass at her church. Wanting to stop home before then, Kelly said her good byes before walking out to her car. Along the way, Jill and Bosley had both also offered to have her spend Christmas with them, but just like Sabrina, Kelly had turned both of them down. Christmas Eve was one thing, but Christmas day they would all be with their families, and Kelly would feel out of place. Trying not to let her thoughts bother her anymore, Kelly went to mass and then immediately afterwards, found herself going to bed. She knew the next day would be even harder, mostly because she would be spending most of it alone. When she was a child, this would be the time that she dreamed of Santa Clause, and how just maybe he would bring her mother or father to her on his sleigh. The dream never came true, but even as an adult, she still had it every year on Christmas Eve night, a tradition that she didn't break that year either.
Christmas Day
Kelly woke up that morning at the same time that she did every morning, 7AM. At first she just lied in her bed, staring up at her ceiling, warm and comfortable underneath of her covers. After a couple of minutes, however, she sat up and realized that she couldn't hide from the day ahead of her in her bed. Instead, she got up, put her robe on, and walked into the kitchen where she began to make a pot of coffee. Once she had a cup, she would get changed into an old pair of jeans and a tee shirt, pull her messed up hair into a pony tail and then head over to the police shooting range for some target practice. Ever since she started working for Charlie, she made it a goal for herself to go to the shooting range once a month, and in her mind, what better day then Christmas. Knowing that very few people would be there, she could skip taking a shower and putting make- up on and just go as she was.
When she got to the police station, the place was practically abandoned, just as she expected it would be. Occasionally she would come across a rookie stuck working on the holiday, but most of them Kelly didn't recognize. Either she was getting more and more removed from the force, or there had been a lot of promotions that past year. Either way, she walked beyond them all, saying the occasional hello, but mostly going straight back to where the shooting range was and taking her place at her usual area. There was never a lot of people back there on Christmas, especially Christmas morning, herself and one other police officer being the only exception. His name was Daniel, and although Kelly had dated him briefly, she knew very little about him. She ended up spending an hour there, leaving before she had finished all of the ammunition that she had brought. Normally, she went through 20-25 rounds in an hour there, but that day she had only gone through 15, only because her mind wasn't into it. Once she got home she jumped into the shower, did her hair, applied her makeup and then decided on her clothes for the day. Appearance didn't mean as much to her, only because she was just going to the church to help out at the annual Christmas party for all of the foster children and their foster families. Based on this, she put on something simple and then walked into the kitchen where she picked up her purse and took out her gun. Normally, she didn't leave the house without it, but Christmas morning was an exception. If she couldn't feel safe going to a Christmas party at her church, then there was no where that she could feel safe.
After hiding the weapon in one of the drawers in her bedroom, Kelly grabbed her keys and headed out. Helping out at the church had become her only Christmas Day ritual, but unfortunately, it only lasted for a couple of hours. She was later getting their this year, so she wasn't surprised when there were already people there, the parents conversing while the kids made a visit to Santa Clause. Seeing tables that needed to be cleared off, she quickly started to work, not wanting to stand around and do nothing. Right when she was finishing the job, however, an older nun approached her from behind, and tapped Kelly on the shoulder as she approached her.
"Forget how to say hello?" the nun asked, causing Kelly to turn around and hug her enthusiastically.
"Sister Catherine. I didn't see you anywhere."
"I was busy playing with the kids over there. This is Sarah's first Christmas with her new foster family, and I wanted to make sure she had a good time. Kind of like I did with you when you were a child."
"That was a long time ago Sister."
"Indeed. To think, here you are an adult, and a private detective. You always were one to get into things, like the time you broke into my office."
"Nobody said I was an angel." Kelly replied sarcastically. Had Charlie known her when she was a child, he never would have provided her with that nickname.
"Is that why you're here, to make up for your devilish ways as a child?"
"Of course not. I come every year to help out. It gives me something to do."
"I know that, but I thought you had other plans this year. Didn't you mention a guy in your life?"
"Greg, but we broke up the week after my birthday. Things just didn't work out." The truth was however, that they had broken up because of her inability to commit. He had wanted her to spend the holidays with his family, but even though she hated being alone, she couldn't see herself just intruding into another family.
"What about your friends then. Couldn't you spend the day with any of them?"
"They all offered, but I just feel too awkward." Kelly replied.
"Awkward? If it were going to be awkward, would they have asked you Kelly?"
"Awkward for me, not them."
"No it wouldn't. I've known you for a long time Kelly. This isn't about you feeling awkward, it's about you feeling sorry for yourself."
"No." Kelly knew she was speaking the truth though. Kelly had never tried to spend Christmas Day with anyone else. When she was little, she hid in her room, no matter if she was in the orphanage or at a foster house. Then, when she was older, she would break up with her boyfriends if the issue came up, and used the time to move around to a new location.
"Yes. Spend today with your friends Kelly. If you don't, you'll only make yourself miserable, and how many more years of that can you actually bare?"
"I've already told them I wasn't coming though."
"They'll appreciate the surprise then. I can't let you stay here Kelly. You need to move on, make a family of your own. I know you've started, but Christmas doesn't change anything."
"I guess I could go to Sabrina's. She said it was just going to be her and her dad so it wouldn't be like I was crashing a party."
"Kelly. They invited you. You wouldn't be crashing the party."
"I know. I've meet Sabrina's dad before though so it wouldn't be as strange for me."
"Go then. It'll help make the holidays be a little more joyous."
"All right. Thank you sister."
"That's why I'm here, to guide lost children, both young and old. Merry Christmas Kelly."
"Merry Christmas."
With that, Kelly gave her a quick hug good-bye before leaving the church. Sister Catherine was right, Kelly was feeling sorry for herself, and that was why she had avoided finding a place to spend Christmas. For the past three years alone Sabrina, Jill and Bosley had each asked her to spend Christmas with them, and she was sure Charlie would offer the same invitation, if it didn't require finally seeing his face. Every year though, she had denied the invitations, and instead stayed at her house, curled up on the couch with a book and a cup of tea and imagined what she would be doing if she knew where her family was.
The ride to Sabrina's dad's house wasn't a long one, so Kelly didn't have much time to get scared and turn around. Instead, she pulled into the driveway after stopping for a bottle of wine to bring with her. Sabrina's dad didn't own a large house, but seeing it was just him living there with the occasional visit from Sabrina, it seemed to fit. For awhile, Kelly just sat in her car as she starred at the front door. Sabrina's car was parked in front of her, so she knew she would be there, but for some reason, Kelly was still nervous. Knowing that much more time alone would cause her to turn the car around and go back to her yearly rituals, she got out and walked up to the front door. It took her a few seconds before she knocked, but then once she did it seemed like an eternity before someone answered. When the door did open, it was Sabrina and she seemed shocked to see Kelly there.
"Kelly, hi!"
"Hi. I'm not intruding or anything, am I?"
"Of course not. Are you here for dinner?"
"If the invitation still stands."
"Of course it does. Come on in."
Nervously, Kelly walked in as Sabrina took her coat. While hanging it up, Sabrina's dad walked over to see who was at the door."
"Who is it Bri?" her dad asked.
"You remember my friend Kelly, don't you dad?" Sabrina replied.
"Why yes. You work with Bri, don't you Kelly?"
"Yes."
"It's good to see you again. Are you staying for dinner?"
"As long as its not too much trouble."
"Of course not. I promise, everything was ordered out. Sabrina has been no where near the stove."
"I'm not that bad dad."
"I beg to differ. So Kelly, how have you been."
On that note, the three of them headed into another room, Sabrina smiling at Kelly as they walked. She was glad that Kelly had decided to accept her invitation and not spend another Christmas alone, and now that Kelly was there, she was glad that she had went. It still wasn't having a family of her own, but it was a nice change from all of the past Christmases. December would never be an easy month for Kelly, but in the past three years, it had gotten a little better. Sister Catherine was right, Kelly had started to establish a family of her own. She had Sabrina, Jill, Bosley and Charlie to depend on, and they would do anything for her. In a way, it was almost as if Santa Clause had finally given Kelly the one gift that she had always wanted. She may not have found her parents, but she had found people that cared about her, and for Kelly, that was the best gift that she could get.