Andrea Zuckerman chewed the end of her pencil thoughtfully as she ran her eyes down the list one more time. She'd been working on this for weeks now, systematically going through the list of names and trying to eliminate them one by one. Motive and opportunity that's what all of the detective shows she'd ever watched had taught her. All she had to do was find the person or persons who had both of those things. Then of course there was the little matter of proof. She sighed and put the pencil down, rubbing tired eyes.
"Hey chief, how about some help over here." Brandon asked hopefully. It was late afternoon on Christmas Eve, and they were supposed to be helping get the house ready for tonight, for the traditional, but very last minute Christmas Eve dinner. His mom had disappeared in to the kitchen earlier this morning, and hadn't been seen since. At one point Brandon had ventured in there, but had been sent out with strict instructions not to come back. His father was at the office, and Brenda had done a disappearing act, which left the task of preparing the dining room squarely on Brandon's shoulders. He'd succeeded in cajoling Andrea into coming over early to help out, but so far she'd spent more time frowning over her list than actually doing anything useful.
"You know when you agreed to help out, I figured that might involve actual helping" he said meaningfully.
"I'm sorry Brandon." Andrea was contrite "It's just that this legacy key mystery has really got me beat". She frowned "I'm sure there's something I'm not seeing, if I can just.."
Putting aside the napkins that he'd been trying and failing to fold, Brandon gently took the list from her. "Andrea, it's Christmas, why don't you take a break, just for the holidays. Come on Christmas isn't a time for work, it's a time to kick back, relax, take it easy."
Her lips curved in to a smile "We don't celebrate Christmas Brandon, you'll have to come up with a better argument than that."
"Okay" he sighed. "I'll make you a deal. You forget about the legacy key, at least until after tomorrow, and then when Christmas is over, I'll do everything I can to help you solve the mystery." He held out his hand "What do you say chief, do we have a deal?"
Laughing she shook his hand "Okay Brandon you got yourself a deal."
"Great" his face relaxed in to a smile. Now come fold these napkins would ya, they're killing me". He held up his pathetic attempt in case she needed more convincing.
"You know I'm so glad your mom decided to have the dinner this year after all" Andrea commented, setting a perfectly folded napkin down on the table.
"Yeah me too" he responded earnestly. "It was touch and go for a while there." He hesitated then said quietly "You know I wasn't sure Brenda was gonna pull out of it this time. I've never seen her like that before, I thought maybe.." His voice trailed away not wanting to finish the sentence.
Andrea squeezed his hand, glad that after all this time he still felt able to confide in her. They might not have a romantic relationship, but what they did have was pretty special. "But she did pull out of it Brandon. It's gonna be tough but she'll get there, Brenda's a fighter, and besides she has you on her side." She smiled "I think she's gonna do just fine".
He nodded; glad once again that he had Andrea in his life. She was his safety net, the person he could turn to when things got a little crazy. "You know what chief" he said with a smile, "I think you might be right."
"Speaking of Brenda, where is she?" Andrea asked suspiciously. "Wasn't she supposed to be helping us?"
Brandon shrugged "She said she had to go out for a while. I guess she needed some time to think."
***
"Looks like you got a late Christmas card" Kelly announced brightly, holding out both the card and a steaming cup of coffee.
"Thanks Kel." Dylan wiped his oil stained hands clean before taking both card and cup from her. He'd been working on the bike for the last couple of hours and it was looking pretty good. He on the other hand was looking in need of a bath.
"Who would send a card this late on Christmas Eve?" Kelly wondered aloud. She considered for a moment. "There's no postmark or address, just your name, so whoever it is must have put it through the letter box themselves".
Dylan smiled at her amateur sleuthing "Tell you what Kel, how about I just open it, save the brain strain." Setting down his coffee, he tore open the envelope and peered inside.
"So. Don't keep me in suspense! Who's it from?" Kelly couldn't contain her curiosity. From the way he was staring at it like his life depended on it, it was obviously from someone important.
Closing the envelope, and hastily stuffing it in his pocket, Dylan turned sad eyes on her. "It's not a Christmas card" he explained stiffly. "It's a sobriety key from Ben." He hesitated "I didn't tell him about the other night".
"Oh." She shifted awkwardly, wishing now that she hadn't made such a big deal out of it. "Well we both know there's gonna be set backs sometimes" she said carefully. She'd spent enough time with Jackie over the years to know that it was something you had to expect, had to deal with. She smiled "But that's all it was Dylan, a set back."
"Yeah maybe." He said softly, a far away look in his eyes.
"Hey come on, you've been doing great for the last few weeks, don't let this spoil it." She kissed him lightly on the cheek "I'm proud of you Dylan." She sighed. There was sadness in his eyes that she hated to see. "Please just forget about that night, it's in the past, it doesn't matter. What matters is the future, our future. Now promise me you'll forget about it"
Dylan sighed "I promise."
"Good". Her relief was obvious. "Now I'm gonna go take a bath before dinner, so you might wanna think about finishing up here". She smiled seductively "Clean off some of that oil and I just might let you scrub my back".
***
David Silver got up from the couch and began to pace the room restlessly. He checked his watch again "Donna, we're gonna be late if we don't go soon" he shouted.
"I'll only be a minute David" her voice floated down to him.
Sighing heavily, David resumed his position on the couch. They'd been following this exact same routine for the last half-hour and were still no closer to leaving. He was actually nervous about tonight, and sitting waiting like this was only adding to his anxiety. He had been shocked when Donna told him that they were invited to the Walsh house for Christmas Eve dinner. Whilst he was more than glad that Donna and Brenda had made their peace, David still felt a little awkward about the whole thing. After all he was Kelly's stepbrother, and whilst Brenda might have reconciled with Donna, he suspected that he would be less welcome.
He felt a little guilty agreeing to go to the party at all; it was almost as if he was betraying Kelly. He sighed. She'd called round earlier to drop off the Christmas gifts, and of course a birthday gift for Donna. She'd been delighted that Brenda and Donna had made up, and had insisted that they go to the party, but he'd seen the sadness in her eyes, knew that she wished she could join them.
"Okay I'm ready" Donna's voice startled him out of his reverie "So how do I look?"
He turned round, and gasped at the vision that stood before him. She wore a red dress that sparkled under the light, and clung in all the right places. Her long blonde hair was shinning, and the tiny diamonds that glittered at her ears and throat lit up her face and nervous smile. As he looked at her appreciatively, he realised that her radiance didn't come from the dress or the jewellery, it came from her. Her eyes glowed with happiness as though she were lit up from within. David offered silent thanks to whoever or whatever had made Brenda forgive Donna. He sighed happily. No matter what he got for Christmas this year, nothing would come close to the gift of seeing Donna happy again.
"You look beautiful" he breathed.
"Thank you David. You know you're looking pretty good yourself." She smiled "Now hurry up, we're gonna be late."
"Not so fast." He instructed taking hold of her arm "You see I just happen to have some mistletoe here and you know what that means."
"I do" She laughed, leaning in for the inevitable kiss.
***
As she soaked in the bath, Kelly wondered if she'd made the right decision. She hadn't told Dylan about the Christmas Eve dinner at the Walshes' because she wasn't sure how he'd react. What if wished he were there with Brenda? What if he resented her for alienating him from his friends? She didn't want to give him any reason or excuse to go back to Brenda. She frowned, wondering if this was the way it was always gonna be between them. Was she destined to spend her life with Dylan constantly doubting his feelings for her, always looking for proof of his love?
If she was honest, she wasn't really sure how she felt about the dinner herself. She'd made a show of being happy about it in front of Donna and David, and in a way she was happy. If the dinner was going ahead, then Brenda must be feeling better about things. She felt so guilty about how badly she had hurt Brenda. She and Dylan had almost destroyed her, and Kelly had been worried that Brenda might not be able to find her way back from that. She smiled ruefully, she should have known better than to write Brenda off like that. Brenda was tough, a fighter, she had more strength and self-belief than anyone Kelly had ever known, she would always survive.
As happy as she was about the dinner, there was still a part of her heart that was aching. Brenda had cut her out of her life completely, and when Brenda had been upset, Kelly had known that Brenda cared about their friendship. Now it seemed that Brenda was happily moving on, that she didn't need her, no longer cared about the friendship. She sighed. She was being ridiculous, and selfish. She had no right to expect anything from Brenda, she had been the worst kind of friend, and Brenda would be better off without her. She had made her choice, she had chosen Dylan, and she'd known what the consequences would be but, it still hurt.
So caught up in her musings was she that she didn't hear the door bang as Dylan left.
***
The house was a blaze with light and colour, and a magnificent tree took centre stage in the window. As he got closer he could hear the sounds of music and laughter coming from inside. Careful to remain out of sight, he peered through the window. What he saw reminded him of the final scene of every Christmas movie ever made, it was the epitome of a family Christmas. At the table, Steve and Brandon were laughing together, fighting over the remains of the turkey. David and Andrea comfortable on the couch were deep in conversation. The consummate host, Jim Walsh circulated the room, exchanging pleasantries as he topped up empty glasses. Nat dressed for the occasion in his Santa suit was helping Cindy and Steve's mom, Samantha Sanders to clear away the empty dishes. Dylan smiled ruefully at the sight of a former TV star with her sleeves rolled up helping with the dishes, but then in the Walsh house, especially at Christmas, everyone felt like part of the family.
Through the crowd of happy revellers, he saw her. She was over by the tree talking to Donna. To him she had never looked more beautiful, and his heart longed to be with her. The coloured fairy lights cast a magical glow over her, as if she were lit from within. Her eyes shone as she smiled warmly at Donna, and Dylan realised with a sudden pang that she was happy. She was happy without him, and she didn't need him. He backed away from the window unable to watch anymore, it was too painful.
He didn't really know why he'd come here tonight, what he'd expected to find. He certainly hadn't expected this, to see Brenda happy and surrounded by friends and family. Would he have been happier to find the house in darkness, Brenda miserable and alone? Much as he had hated to see Brenda so upset, in some ways this worse. Since their relationship had ended he had felt the void where Brenda used to be. Whilst Brenda seemed to have been able to fill the space left by him, he still had a Brenda shaped hole in his life, a hole that he didn't know how to fill.
He felt around in his jacket pocket until his fingers closed around the tiny velvet box. Pulling it free, he regarded it contemplatively. He had bought it for her, no one else, and tonight he had decided that he was going to give it to her. He wasn't even sure what it meant, why he was giving it to her, he only knew that something inside was telling him that he should. Now though he wasn't so sure it was the right thing to do, maybe he should just stay out of her life altogether. He started to walk away but only took two steps before changing his mind. He wanted; no he needed her to know that he still cared. Carefully, quietly, making sure he wasn't seen, he placed the tiny box just outside the front door. "Merry Christmas Bren" he whispered sadly.
Jamming his hands in his pockets he headed slowly back to where he'd parked the bike. As he did he pulled out the envelope and tipped the contents into the palm of his hand. He knew he shouldn't have lied to Kelly earlier but he just couldn't tell her what was really in the envelope, not yet anyway.
***
The last to leave, Donna and David lingered at the door with Brenda, exchanging Christmas wishes. David wrapped one arm around Donna's shoulders and pulled her close, with the other arm he kept a tight grip on the sack load of gifts they had amassed between them. He sighed happily. It had been a wonderful evening, and despite his earlier misgivings, Brenda had been warm and welcoming towards him. Tomorrow was Christmas, and more importantly Donna's birthday and he had a big day planned for the two of them. He shifted the load of gifts that he was currently balancing rather precariously, trying to get a better grip "Come on Donna, it's getting late and I think Brenda wants to get to bed." He grinned "There's nothing worse than party guests who outstay their welcome".
"Don't worry about me I'm fine" Brenda protested as she tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn. It had been a rough few weeks and she was tired, but tonight was the closest she had felt to normal since she had found out about Dylan and Kelly, and she didn't want the night to end.
Donna laughed "David's right Bren, you're exhausted, and anyway we've got plenty of time to talk". She hesitated, then looked at Brenda earnestly "I'm just glad you're talking to me again, I really missed you Bren."
Brenda smiled "I missed you too Donna" she admitted.
Donna looked contrite "I'm so sorry Bren. I know I should have told you."
Brenda brought a finger up to her lips "Shush Donna, you've already apologised. I know it wasn't your fault, you were just stuck in the middle". She frowned "I thought we agreed to forget all about it."
Donna sighed "I know we did Bren, it's just that I feel so bad about..."
"Donna" Brenda interrupted firmly "You're a good friend." She smiled "Now go home before David drops all of your gifts all over the driveway. They all laughed and it felt good.
"Merry Christmas Bren" Donna said happily hugging Brenda.
Brenda returned the hug "Merry Christmas Donna. And happy birthday" she added with a smile.
As she watched Donna steal as kiss as she relieved David of some of his load, she realised how glad she was that she'd forgiven Donna. Her problems hadn't gone away, but her mom was right, they were easier to handle with her friends around her. Still she envied them, having each other, loving each other. She felt the tiny flicker of hope begin to wane as she remembered last Christmas with Dylan, and what had happened since. Refusing to give in she forced her gaze up to the night sky. There the thousands of stars like lights on a Christmas tree reminded her, there was always hope and where there was hope there was life.
Yawning again, she turned to go back inside, and it was then that it caught her eye. Sitting at the very edge of the doormat was a tiny velvet box. Puzzled she bent down to retrieve it, and turned it over in her hands looking for a gift tag, anything to tell her who it was meant for and who it was from, but there was nothing. Curious she lifted the lid and peered inside. She gasped in surprise. Nestled inside the box was the broach that she had fallen in love with at the end of the summer, the masks of comedy and tragedy. She glanced around sharply looking for him, but the street was dark and deserted. She didn't know what this meant, didn't know what she wanted it to mean, but a tiny piece of her heart was filled with love at the thought of him. "Merry Christmas Dylan" she whispered softly.