Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Disclaimer/Setting/Summary: See chapter 1.
Author's Note: I couldn't leave you all (or rather, the three people who read this) hanging after such a short chapter, especially after Pam's lovely review. Again, thank you all so much, keep them coming!
Chapter 8
Will, Grace, and Jack left soon after, promising to return with their presents and to return after Karen and the kids visited Stan in prison. With the help of several maids, Olivia and Mason managed to put all of their presents in their own rooms. Karen carried the portrait from the kids carefully up the two flights of stairs, already mentally picturing where it would go in her bedroom.
Karen glanced at herself in the mirror once more, spritzed on a bit more perfume, slipped the ring from Stanley on her right hand, and wrapped her mink delicately around herself. She grabbed her purse and met the kids in the foyer. Minutes after she buzzed Driver on the intercom, he informed her that the limo was ready. As a whole, the Walker crew traveled down to the first floor and climbed into their limousine, each eagerly anticipating seeing Stanley.
On the ride to the prison, Karen noticed Mason examining his watch furtively, twisting the little knobs. She watched as Olivia looked at herself in the tinted limo windows, twisting her head to and fro, the sunlight sparkling dazzlingly off of her diamond earrings. Then Olivia paused, looking horrified.
"Karen…I didn't get my dad anything!" Olivia exclaimed.
Mason paused. "Neither did I."
"Don't worry, honey," Karen said. She opened her large leather purse and produced several small presents. "I got your father a gift from me, of course, and then I got him a wallet and a book to read. So whichever you'd like to give him, you can."
"I'll give him the book!" Olivia said excitedly.
"That leaves the wallet for Mason. Here you go, sign your names on it," Karen instructed, handing each a present and a pen.
"Thanks, Karen," Mason said, signing the tag on the present. Olivia echoed the sentiments.
There wasn't much traffic on the roads, owing to the fact that it was Christmas, so they arrived at the prison in record time. Olivia's shaking hands belied her assurances that she wasn't nervous, and Mason was quieter than usual. Karen bravely led the kids into the waiting room, giving their names and waiting for the guard to escort them to the visiting room.
A security guard entered the waiting room and Karen looked up. Despite her earlier anger at Stanley, she was eager to see him. Instead of approaching Karen and the kids, as she'd expected he would, the guard instead walked to the uniformed man behind the desk. They had a few minutes' hushed conversation when the man behind the desk walked over to Karen.
"Mrs. Walker, may we speak to you for a moment?" the man, whose nametag read Steve, asked hesitantly.
Karen stood up obligingly and walked to the other side of the small room, still within earshot of the kids. Mason and Olivia glanced at each other nervously. This couldn't be a good sign.
"Mrs. Walker, I'm afraid you can't visit your husband today," Steve said apologetically.
"Excuse me?" Karen asked, her voice low and quiet. The children looked at each other again; this, too, was not a good sign.
"You see, your husband, with the help of another inmate, was caught attempting to confiscate a ham from the kitchens earlier today," Steve explained. "He's on probation, momentarily."
Karen's eyes widened fractionally. "He's done this before, I don't understand why it's a big deal now."
"That's precisely the point, Mrs. Walker," Steve continued bracingly. "After his first offense, he received a warning. This is his second time and we acted appropriately."
"But-but-but," Karen sputtered. "It's Christmas! He hasn't seen his children in weeks!"
Mason and Olivia looked at each other sadly.
"I'm very sorry, Mrs. Walker, and I realize it's Christmas," Steve said consolingly. "But we can't cut slack for certain inmates and not others. We can only hope that this punishment will deter Mr. Walker from future indiscretions."
"I don't care about the future, I care about right now, and right now, it's Christmas, and I want to see my goddamn husband!" Karen exclaimed, her hands balling into fists. She had to seriously contain herself from throwing a full-out tantrum, complete with whines, stomps, and tears.
Steve looked down at his hands, a small frown forming on his face. "I'm very sorry, Mrs. Walker."
"You can't be all that sorry, you bastard, you're keeping me away from my husband on Christmas," Karen said, throwing her hands into the air. "Happy Birthday, Jesus!"
Karen turned on her heel and stalked back over to the children. She yanked her mink from the chair, draped it over her arm, and stomped out of the room. Olivia and Mason hurriedly followed her.
"I feel awful, Steve," the security guard said.
Steve nodded, glancing at the door the Walkers had exited through. "Me, too. But that's how it has to be."
Karen sat in the limo, sipping the martini she'd thrown together in seconds. She hadn't even considered drinking earlier; it had been such a good day. Now, as anger coursed through her veins like hot lava, Karen needed something to soothe her nerves.
She couldn't bring herself to look at the children. She huffs from Mason and the sniffs from Olivia told her enough; the children were as hurt and disappointed as she was. She looked at her ring angrily. It seemed to signify nothing but false hope and empty promises now. How many times was Stan going to do this to her?
Driver pulled up in front of the manse's building and Karen allowed the children to exit before she did. She stood on the sidewalk, allowing the cold to sneak past her mink coat and chill her to the bone.
Olivia turned to her stepmother, tear-streaked and red-nosed. Against her will, Karen looked down at her.
"I'm sorry, honey," Karen said softly. Olivia stepped forward and lunged herself into Karen's arms, squeezing her tightly, trying her best not to get her tears on the mink. Karen hugged her in return, softly stroking her hair. Mason, however, looked away from Karen and entered the building.
"Come on, honey, let's go inside," Karen suggested softly. Olivia stepped away from the hug and wiped her cheeks, following Mason into the building. He stood waiting for the elevator, still clutching his father's present. Olivia noticed this and looked down at the present, perfectly wrapped.
"Stupid present," Olivia mumbled, throwing it against the wall and walking to stand next to her brother.
Karen sighed and picked up the present, entering the elevator as it opened moments later.
When they reached the manse, the Walkers entered the foyer. Rosario walked in to greet them, wondering why they were returning so quickly. One short head shake from Karen told Rosario to keep her mouth shut. She took the children's coats and hung them up in the closet.
"So, kids," Karen said, rubbing her hands together. "Are you hungry?"
"I think I'm going to go upstairs for a little bit, Karen," Olivia replied. "If that's ok."
"Me, too," Mason chimed in.
"Oh, oh sure, that's fine," Karen said brightly. "I'll let you know when dinner's ready!"
Olivia smiled weakly and followed her brother up the stairs.
Karen sighed and deflated once the children were gone.
"What happened?" Rosario asked carefully.
"Stan got caught stealing a ham, so he's being punished," Karen explained. "We weren't allowed to see him."
Rosario's jaw dropped. "The pig couldn't wait one more day for a stupid ham?"
"Apparently not," Karen replied. "Oh, Rosie, I felt so bad."
"I'm sorry, Miss Karen," Rosario said. "I know you wanted to see him."
Karen nodded sadly. "Looks like I won't get what I want for Christmas after all."
Rosario shook her head. "I guess not."
Karen felt a familiar burning sensation at the back of her eyes and quickly said, "Um, Rosie, I think I'm going to go upstairs, too. Let me know when dinner's ready." Before Rosario could reply, Karen hurried up the stairs.
Karen entered her large bedroom and slammed the door shut. How dare Stanley do this to her and the kids, on Christmas no less? Karen slipped out of her mink and tossed it on her bed. She tore the new ring off of her hand and whipped it across the room. It hit the oil painting on the wall with a clink and fell to the ground.
She stepped out of her heels and paced back and forth on the carpet, her mind focused on their fruitless visit to the prison. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take.
"Miss Karen! Will, Grace, and Jack are here!" Rosario called out. Karen walked down the stairs moments later and greeted her friends in the foyer. No one mentioned Stan or the failed visit; Karen guessed that Rosario had explained the situation to them.
"Come on, let's go in the living room! We brought your presents!" Grace exclaimed, bouncing into the living room.
Karen smiled. "I got you all presents, too."
Jack's eyes lit up brighter than the Christmas tree when he opened his gifts. "Peter, Paul, and Mary, leather pants! Oh my gosh, Karen, how'd you know? And these pajamas? Love them! We'll have to go on our spa day really soon!"
Karen grinned. "I knew you'd like them, Jackie."
Will and Grace opened their respective presents and gushed accordingly. Grace couldn't hold out for too long, though; soon, she had devoured the chocolates from Godiva.
"Karen, I love these decorations," Will said. "They'll really liven up my office."
"Yeah, honey, I was hoping you could get rid of all those law books you have," Karen said. "They really just don't belong in an office like yours."
"You mean a law office?" Will asked.
"Yeah, honey," Karen said. "Just throw them out, they're useless."
Will grinned. "I'll try, Karen."
"Your turn!" Grace exclaimed. She handed Karen her present. "I know it isn't much and you'll probably hate it, but…"
Karen opened her gift and found a large, leather-bound book in her lap. "Honey, what's this?"
"It's a scrapbook, Karen," Grace said. "We've known each other for a while now and I wanted to remember all of the good times we've had."
Karen smiled as she flipped through the book. "Oh, honey, you even put in some of those cute little paychecks you give me! That's so sweet!"
Grace laughed. "I'm glad you like it, Karen."
Karen set the book carefully on the coffee table and accepted Will's present. She gasped as she opened the vintage bottle of wine. After visiting many wine vineyards, including some owned by Walker, Inc., Karen considered herself a connoisseur of sorts. As such, she knew how expensive and delicious this particular wine was.
"Oh, thanks, honey," Karen said. "This is lovely."
"Try not to drink it too fast," Will said with a wink.
Karen smiled and accepted Jack's gift. She laughed aloud as she opened the box to reveal fishnets, stilettos, and a strappy leather bustier. "Jackie, are you sure this gift wasn't meant for you?"
Jack smiled and rolled his eyes. "Duh, Karen, I already have all of that stuff. No, silly, it's for you! We can play dress down!"
"Uh, Jack, don't you mean 'dress up?'" Grace asked.
"No," Jack replied, shaking his head.
"Don't ask, Gracie," Will advised.
"There's more in the box," Jack said, as Karen made to put the box on the floor.
Karen looked confused as she pushed aside the tissue paper. She pulled out a CD. "What's this, poodle?"
"It's a CD of my favorite songs," Jack explained. "Sung by yours truly. I know how much you love my voice."
"Isn't it amazing how Jack can make everything about himself?" Grace asked Will as Jack pointed out various songs on the track listing.
"Yeah, I can't imagine what it'd be like to have a best friend like that," Will replied sarcastically.
"Tell me about it," Grace said, nodding. Will shook his head and grinned at her.
The foursome looked up as Rosario entered cautiously. "Miss Karen, you…you have a visitor."
Karen looked puzzled. "Well, let whoever it is in, Rosiola."
The guest in question entered the room and Karen's jaw dropped. "Steve?"