Stamford...

Trips walked into his large house and headed for the kitchen. He needed some ice for his head and a stiff drink, again...for his head. His hands shook nervously as he poured a large glass of rum and wrapped some ice in a towel. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Kowalski hovering over him, so he went to the den to watch television and rest while he drank.

He slouched into the overstuffed, black, leather couch and hit play on the VCR by accident. "What's this?" An old tape began to come into focus on the plasma television screen. "I didn't even know we had a VCR." He blinked as he drank his rum and watched the fuzzy images in front of him. The date in the corner read December 24, 1985. "Shit, this is old. Heh, lookit me. High school wrestling champ." He smiled slightly and began to doze off in his comfy seat.

"Wake up! Wake up, Paul! It's Christmas!" Huh? Steph?" He groaned and looked around.

"No, it's not Steph." A female voice answered in a thick Texas accent. "Git your ass up."

"Don't play with me, woman. What time is it?" He looked around as his eyes began to focus. He stared blankly at the blonde woman in her flowing white dress with fur trim.

"6 am…December 24th 1985 sleepy head." Trips opened his eyes wide to see Ms. Debra staring down at him. "Recognize this place?"

"Holy, shit."

"1324 Concord Terrace, apartment 24a. Home sweet home." Ms. Debra smiled. "They can't hear or see you, sweetie. If you try to touch them, you'll go right through it." She chuckled as Trips tried to take a cookie off a plate by the fake silver Christmas tree in the corner. "We're you a good boy this year?"

"I, I don't remember." He whispered and looked around.

"Let's see. You were the school wrestling champion. That's good, but…"

"But what? What did I do? I was a good athlete."

"Trips, you broke a kid's leg the day before a meet so he had to forfeit the rest of the season. Jimmy Myers? Ring a bell?"

"Jimmy? That was a total accident. I offered for him to play football with us at the park. I can't help that he was clumsy and fell like that." He shrugged. "Look at me. I was a good lookin' kid back then."

"You were alright. Look at your little sister Alice. She was adorable." Debra smiled. "Oh, here come the parents! Or just your mama. Time for presents." She sat in the corner with him and watched.

"Mommy, is daddy coming over today?" Alice asked as she yawned.

"Yes, in a few hours. That's why you get to open your gifts so early. Come on, open them up." Ms. Levesque smiled and handed out the boxes.

"This was so long ago. I can't believe I'm seeing this." Trips whispered.

"Why are you whispering? They can't hear you!" Debra laughed loudly. "Let's go forward a little, shall we?" She raised her hand and moved it in a slow motion across her body. Trips watched in wonder as the action in the room sped up as if he were fast forwarding a movie. "There we go."

"No honey, your brother isn't coming back. You are, but he's staying with daddy. You can take your doll if you want." Mrs. Levesque helped the young girl get her coat and boots on while her brother sadly placed his presents by the door with his suitcase.

"Why do I have to live with dad? I want to stay with you, mom," Young Paul asked sadly.

"He can take better care of you than I can right now. It's what's best for you. He has a nice new private school picked out where you can play football and wrestle and really make something of yourself. I'll see you every chance I get." She hugged them both and walked them out the door to the waiting car.

"I didn't want to go, but it was the right thing to do." Trips shrugged. "Who knows what I could have become if I had stayed here."

"You mean a young man who cared about his sick mother and sister? Yeah, that's really something to be ashamed of." Debra nodded and passed the time again. "Let's go a head a few years. 1989."

"Wait? Sick?" He was confused.

"Are you coming to see us this year, Paul? We miss you."

"I miss you too. Um, put mom back on the phone?"

"Hello? Paul? Hi honey, are you coming home? Should I make extra food?" Mrs. Levesque asked with a hopeful voice.

"I really don't know yet. Some friends in Boston asked me to come down and visit. And dad asked me to have dinner with him and Sharon."

"Oh, okay. I understand. Let me know if your plans change. Study hard for your final exams and everything. Bye." She hung up and shook her head.

"He's not coming, mom? We never see him anymore. I think he's embarrassed. The last time he came here, he only stayed an hour and he wouldn't even sit on our couch." Alice sighed.

"He's busy with college and his sports. I'm sure he wants to be here, but he's got a lot to take care of. It's better this way. Less to worry about, so there's less to do. I need to rest. Wake me up in a few hours to take my medicine?"

"Wait? Mom was sick? What's wrong with her? I never knew she was sick."

"You never asked." Debra responded and looked up at his face. "She had cancer, Paul."

He looked shaken up. "But she got past it. She's still alive."

"Alice took care of her. Let's look at Alice for a moment." Debra waved her hand and put them in Alice's bedroom. "What do you see, Paul?"

He looked around the room slowly. It was an average sized bedroom, but compared to his room at his father's house, Alice lived in a closet. There was a chair in the corner with a waitress uniform draped carefully over it. The bed was made neatly with an old looking doll rested on the pillows. There were a few posters taped to the walls from rock bands, but the room was lacking something.

"What's missing? No pictures from dances or parties. No pictures of friends or boyfriends. She's how old now? 15? She doesn't seem to have much fun for a girl her age. She spent all her time taking care of your mother, so she never got to do what the other kids were doing. What do you think, Paul?"

He frowned and looked at the doll. "If she wanted to, she could have. I want to leave." He set the doll back down and looked at Debra. "Come on, let's go."