"Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!" – Theodor Seuss Geisel, How the Grinch Stole Christmas
December 25, 2020
"This has been the best Christmas ever!" Robbie and Laura sat entwined together on the sofa watching the flames of their evening fire. Christmas carols were playing softly in the background.
Laura disentangled her right arm in order to lovingly rub Robbie's leg. "What an odd thing to say Robbie. It has been a Christmas without family, without presents, no big Christmas dinner." She pointed at their empty fish and chips plates, prepared from packets out of the deep freezer. They had a day of virtual visits with family.
"I Iove my kids, I love our grandchildren and goddaughter Flavia, but I quite like having you all to myself on Christmas." He squeezed her a bit tighter.
"I know how much you love Christmas. You didn't miss things?"
"We didn't miss a thing. Last night Lyn filmed Jack reading 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' by Dr. Seuss, to his sister Susan. Today they showed us their gifts and you and Jack played a game of online chess. We got to see Billy and Bijou in Australia riding their new bikes while Ken and Ryan cooked an Outback Christmas feast. And the grand finale was Flavia dancing her version of The Nutcracker on Zoom for us." He planted a kiss on the back of her neck. "And we did roast chestnuts over the open fire."
A familiar shiver ran down Laura's spine. "Christmas means a little bit more now."
Robbie spoke so softly it was almost a whisper. "It means a lot more." The past no longer haunted him.
December 18, 2006
Since the death of his wife, Robbie Lewis hated Christmas. Now the dreaded day was only one week away. His daughter Lyn had to work Christmas Day and they were supposed to meet up on Boxing Day to exchange gifts. Like Robbie, Lyn had difficulty forgetting her mother's death while Christmas shopping a few years earlier.
Hard as he tried, Robbie could not get himself assigned a work shift on Christmas Day. The schedule had been created well in advance of his return from the British Virgin Islands. He regretted coming back to Oxford.
Val was gone, Morse was gone, Strange was gone, his kids grown and flown. There was no one except…
Robbie almost smiled as he recalled the greeting he received from Dr. Laura Hobson his first day back in Oxford. She teased him about his loud shirt; it almost felt like a normal work day for a moment. Later in the case, she expressed genuine concern for the resolution of Val's unsolved case and for Robbie's well being. When she touched his arm, he recoiled, both wanting and not wanting to feel something.
Robbie planned to spend Christmas Day alone, drinking alone, mourning alone. Out of nowhere came the germ of an idea, a fantasy really, he would spend Christmas Day with Laura, just friends of course, but close friends. The conversation would be light and humorous, they could be drinking buddies, forget about life for awhile. And maybe even…
No! Robbie dismissed the idea. He was sure that Laura would either be off skiing in the Alps with a boyfriend or spending it with her brother Brad and his family. Laura doted on her niece Caroline and nephew Brian. Why would she ever want to spend Christmas with an old grouch like him?
Why indeed?
Very early the next morning, Dr. Laura Hobson strode purposely through the nearly empty halls of the Oxford Police station. She interrupted DC Hooper sleeping through his night shift desk duty. Robbie once told her he was sure Hooper would never rise any higher in the ranks. Too set on her mission to berate the inept Hooper, Laura ignored him and headed for the office shared by Robbie Lewis and James Hathaway. Passing the coffee machine she spied Robbie's former Sergeant, Ali McLennan, talking with a uniformed officer. Robbie's office door was unlocked and left ajar. James had come in early to create a diagram of clues in their current case and was now outside having a cigarette. He was expecting a report from Dr. Hobson and left the door open for her. He hoped she would come while he was out as he was still a bit afraid of her.
Laura gently pushed open the office door and seeing no one was in, left her autopsy report on James' desk then went and stood by Robbie's desk. She looked at the photo of Val and almost left without delivering her invitation for him. Plucking up courage she placed a green envelope on his desk. Robbie's name was printed in her bold handwriting.
Just as he finished his cigarette, James was called away on a false alarm and did not return to the office until much later.
Minutes after Laura left the building to head to the morgue, someone else entered Robbie's office and quickly snatched the green envelope away. When James returned, he found the autopsy report on his desk. The top of Robbie's desk was empty except for Val's photo.
December 25, 2020
"I have a confession to make Laura."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "A confession? Don't you want James, he was the one studying to be a priest." Then she saw how forlorn he looked. "Sorry Robbie, go ahead."
"It's just that I regret all the Christmases that might have been, if I hadn't been such a fool, stuck in the past. Someone else could have swept you off your feet before I got in there."
Laura recalled a memory and took a moment to decide whether to bring it up for discussion. "Well we could have had a Christmas together many years ago, just the two of us, if you hadn't ignored my invitation."
Robbie shook his head. "What invitation?"
"One I left on your desk, your first year back from the BVI attachment. It was in a big green envelope."
"I don't remember getting an invitation. If I did I would have loved to spend Christmas with you, I even fantasized about it." Her saw her smile. "Not like that, just would have loved to spend the day with one of my best friends, someone who knew Robbie Lewis from the past, not the broken man he became."
"Robbie, I always wondered why you never said anything, perhaps I pushed things too much. I did mean it to be just friends but wondered if it could be the start of something more. It did hurt that you never said anything about it." Her face was sad for a moment. "Of course the next time I invited you to something, my special birthday party, I did it in person so you couldn't be a coward and ignore it." She stroked his tie and kissed him. "I forgive you for ignoring my Christmas invitation."
"Hey, I didn't ignore it, I never got it."
"Oh right, sorry."
"I'm sorry; I was miserable that Christmas and really needed a friend."
"I wonder what happened to the invitation."
"Someone must have taken it." He raised his eyebrows. "Not James."
"No, not James." She sighed. "I did see your former sergeant, Ali McLennan in the building that morning."
Robbie frowned. "She sometimes came in for a chat about old times. She wouldn't have taken something off my desk, not the Ali McLennon I knew."
Laura gave him a sympathetic look. "She wasn't though, was she?"
"I'd like to explore other suspects."
Laura nodded. "Okay, there was something odd that happened. The day before I was having lunch with my friend Ellen Jacoby and one of her colleagues. I asked their advice about inviting you to spend Christmas with me. Ellen gushed about how you sounded like such a sweetie and suggested I give you a formal written invitation. I had planned to just phone you up or stop by for a chat and ask you. Her friend, as it turns out, said she met you on a case, she was a witness. She also sang your praises and agreed that the invitation must be written and suggested hand delivered while you were not there to receive it, that you would be less likely to say no right away." She scrunched up her eyes trying to recall the conversation. "They both insisted on it."
"Do you think Ellen took it?"
"No, Ellen was still obsessed with Alec Pickman. Besides, she was a good friend; she wouldn't betray me like that." As soon as she uttered those words, she recalled that her friend Ligeia had betrayed her, resulting in the darkest day of her life.
"What about the other woman, what was her name?" Robbie had an idea.
"Hmm, was it Hyde? Oh no, not Hyde, it was Jekyll."
Robbie searched his memory back to his first case after returning to Oxford. "Kate Jeckyll, a sleep scientist. I do believe she was interested in me."
"Was she really now?" Laura put her arms around Robbie protectively. "After a murder at her sleep clinic she left to work with Ellen at a wellness clinic." She looked puzzled. "Would she even have known where your office was?"
"I questioned her at the station, perhaps she followed me there after the interview, but I think I would have known if I had someone tailing me."
Laura sighed. "We may never find out who it was but it doesn't matter."
Robbie punched the arm of the sofa. "Doesn't matter! I'd like to catch the Grinch who stole that Christmas from us."
"Maybe it wasn't meant to be, just like our Opera weekend and the Friday night dinner at mine." She grabbed his arms and looked directly into his eyes. "Robbie, everything that happened or did not happen in the past has led us to this perfect moment now. I wouldn't change a thing."
"It is perfect now, isn't it. I feel kind of guilty, there are so many people suffering this year."
"Robbie, this may sound odd, but I believe our being happy is a comfort to others."
Osborn the dog plodded over to the sofa and stood before them wagging his tail.
Robbie reached down to pat Osborn's head. "We make him happy anyway."
"I'll take him out for his walk. Why don't you call James and have a catch up."
While Robbie talked to James, Laura went to the kitchen to get a bottle of their best brandy then upstairs for a bag and some ribbon. Following her woman's intuition she did a search on her phone for an address. She went downstairs with her package, donned a coat and put Osborn on his lead. They headed out into the night.
Stars were twinkling in the night sky as they made their way down the road. Laura was warm despite the cool air and appreciated the stillness of the night. Osborn's keen canine hearing detected the sound of bells in the distance. When they passed their neighbor Donald's house Osborn gave a cheerful 'Happy Christmas' bark to his friend. He had not seen his pal in a long time except on walks and then from the opposite side of the road. Osborn knew something was going on that worried his humans and it had something to do why they stayed home most of the time and did not have visitors. They continued past their usual stopping point and made a few twists and turns. Osborn wasn't sure where they were going but he trusted Laura just as he was sure she would keep him safe from whatever was happening in the world.
They came to a block of flats and Laura searched the numbers and found the unit she wanted on the ground floor. Most of the doors had decorations and lights but the one Laura was interested in was plain and in need of paint. She set her package down in front of the door and turned to go. Laura intended for her gift to be anonymous but Osborn had a better idea and he poked his head into the bag.
"Osborn, that's a gift for someone else, not a treat for you. Let's get on home before Robbie sends out a search party for us."
While speaking with James, Robbie told him about the mystery of the Grinch who stole their Christmas many years ago. After hearing all the evidence James had two suspects in mind before choosing one. Robbie agreed with James. "That must be the answer."
"Are you going to tell Laura?"
"Maybe after a bit, let her think about all those women and try to figure out who was so besotted with me they would steal her invitation."
"Be nice Robbie."
"I'm just kidding. I'll tell her, but she wasn't actually all that interested, said she didn't care. I would have thought she'd want to strangle the Grinch."
On the way home with Osborn, Laura called her brother Brad and told him about the mystery and her hunch about who stole their Christmas. "I had my suspicions and retraced my steps that day and came to a logical conclusion. Robbie will eventually find the same thing."
"Are you going to tell Robbie you solved it yourself?"
"No, I'll let him think he solved the case. Being a good detective is important to him. It will be my Christmas gift to him."
"Only he won't know about." Brad agreed those were the best kind of gifts.
The Grinch Revealed
Late on Christmas night the Grinch heard a noise and scowled at the sound of children playing with toys. But there were no children on the doorstep, just a package someone took time to prep. After opening the wrapping, the bow and the bag there lay some fine brandy with a shiny tag. Puzzling and puzzling to solve the mystery the only answer could be from history. For on the brandy bottle was written, 'You Are Forgiven'.
And the Grinch with his Grinch feet ice cold on his beat, stood wondering why he didn't want them to meet. The brandy on the doorstep was a gift for his past, forgiveness and hope he wanted to last. His Grinch heart grew in size that day as an itinerant doctor showed him the way. This left him feeling his life could be more, and next year he would be nicer, he swore.
January 2021
Robbie picked up the post. Along with the usual adverts was a large envelope marked 'personal'. He opened it to find a very short hand written note on plain white paper, a green envelope with his name on it and an item he thought was lost.
Inside the green envelope was an invitation from Laura Hobson to spend Christmas Day with her in 2006.
On the plain white paper was scrawled, "Sorry it's a bit late, Sir. Sorry Doctor."
The last item was Osborn's id tag which had Robbie and Laura's names, their address and phone number.
Inside his now decorated flat DC Hooper toasted himself with some fine brandy while he made his New Year's resolutions. He smiled at the thought of Lewis and Hobson together with their clever dog Robson (spelled Osborn).
Merry Christmas Robson fans! Best wishes for a healthy and NORMAL New Year.
Happy Trails-H