Steve awoke to a small sound. It was the barely perceptible, distant tinkling of bells. He looked up from where his head was propped on the desk and saw a tiny ball of light in the corner of the office from which the sound appeared to be emanating. Strange, he thought, there was no lamp in that corner. He sat up straighter and rubbed his tired eyes. The light remained and even if there was a lamp there that didn't explain the bells, he thought.
"Who's there?" he asked at a loss for anything else to say. The light became bigger as if moving toward him and the sound of bells came closer as well. Steve stood up quickly from his desk disturbing the paperwork. "I said, who's there?" Steve asked again. The response was the sound of children laughing. Steve stepped slowly out from behind his desk and approached the light. It had moved from the corner to the center of the room and appeared to be hovering in mid-air. All sorts of strange and wonderful sounds emanated from the ball of light. He heard the sound of bells more clearly now, church bells chiming and was that jingle bells? Children were laughing and singing and there was this other sound; the sound of something crunching. He slowly reached up to try to touch the light.
Suddenly he was outside and it was cold. Not an unpleasant cold, but a brisk, pleasing cold he had not felt in a long time. The air smelt bright and fresh as only new falling snow could make it. He was in a brightly lit city square at night with snow falling softly all around him. It was beautiful. It was NY, he realized the city of his childhood. And, yes, it was just as he remembered it so many years ago. There was something special about NYC at Christmas. For a child it was a magical place. There were wonderful decorations in all the shop windows, animated scenes of winter wonderlands and santa's workshop complete with working toy trains which ran across the windows and even throughout the stores. Steve always marveled at the trains as a child, as many children did, and it remained one of his secret passions. For adults, NYC brought back all the memories of how magical Christmas felt as a child and how the world could feel full of wonderful possibilities.
Steve started to take in more of his surroundings. There were indeed jingle bells and that crunching sound was horses' hooves in the snow. The police department's mounted division had brought out the horses for this special night and were giving sleigh rides to all the children in the square. The sleighs were beautifully appointed with bells and ribbons and held numerous laughing children bundled under blankets. He watched one pass by closely seemingly oblivious to his presence. And then he heard it. He heard that unmistakable laugh. He swung around quickly and there, right before him was his dad. He could hardly believe his eyes. His dad had just finished loading up the sleigh with children and was getting ready for his swing around the square. And there, sitting proudly next to his dad in the driver's seat was himself as a child. Steve had not thought about these Christmas times with his dad in years but now all the memories came flooding back.
His dad had been a beat cop in NY. He worked hard to try to keep the city safe and to provide a good life for his family. He often came home tired from work and would just sit in his favorite chair, have a beer and listen to the radio. He didn't always have time or energy for little Steve who idolized his dad and the ground he walked on. When Steve was young he would often just sit quietly on the floor next to his father's chair and work on his coloring books or just day dream. Sometimes just being near his dad was enough. As Steve grew older, they saw less of each other and grew apart. However, Steve never lost the image of his dad as the tireless worker for justice.
On Christmas eve, however, his dad had been different. He never came home tired. He came home full of energy with a little fir tree that they would decorate with lights and paper ornaments, food for a feast and then the best of all, sleigh rides in the park for the children with Steve as co-pilot. The officers all looked handsome in their winter uniforms shepherding the young, and in some cases the not so young, onto the sleighs. Rich or poor, all children were welcome. There were fires with warm cider for the parents at various corners of the square and every once in awhile caroling would break out. And best of all Steve got to ride all night as co-pilot of the sleigh with his dad.
Steve marveled at the scene in the square. He saw his young self perched next to his dad, his idol, going round and round the square in a sleigh with real horses. Occasionally, his dad would even give him the reins to hold while they waited for children to embark and disembark from the sleigh. Young Steve was in heaven or as near to it as his mind could imagine. They rode until everyone had had enough and then the officers and their families gathered together for a last toast of cider by the fires. Steve had loved this time too. He would stand by his dad with the other men and listened to them talk about their work. Those conversations never ceased to fascinate him when he was young and he was anxious to listen again even now as he walked over to the group to ease drop. When he was young being included in these discussions had made him feel so grown up. He realized now just how much it had shaped his life.
The group broke up slowly. Young Steve and his dad took care of the horses and then as if to make the evening last a little longer, walked slowly home together through the snow. Steve watched as they departed. His younger self was now half asleep with his head propped on his dad's shoulder and a huge smile on his face. Surely, there were sugarplums dancing in his head on this magical night.
Steve sighed audibly as he watched the scene break up. It was a glorious time; a magical night. It brought so much joy to the children, cost very little and even probably reinforced good community relationships between the police and the people. But those were thoughts of the older Steve. The younger Steve knew only the joy of being close to his dad, his idol on Christmas eve.