The Christmas Wish

Barry sat at his desk and looked at all of the paperwork needing his signature. He was an incredibly successful investor and had given up any chance for a family to make more money. When he was young, his father instilled on him the need to do better than the father did. That was a difficult task as Barry's father was very wealthy on his own. The drilling meant that business came first at all costs. It was Christmas Eve and Barry was at his office doing work. He never took a day off but gave it to his workers. Barry was no Grinch nor was he a Scrooge. He just did not have a family to celebrate with.

Barry did marry his high school sweetheart Val after college. She also was ambitious and was very eager to spend the money on status symbols. After fifteen years of marriage the couple got a divorce. It was friendly as both of them just fell out of love. She did get half of his fortune and thought it could buy her some happiness. Barry then went back to work to earn back the money he gave to his ex-wife. It had been ten years since the divorce and Val had since found a young man whom she married. The young man only cared about the money and not Val. Val wanted company and found she was lonelier than ever before. Barry never remarried and just concentrated on his work.

Barry heard a knock on the door and told the person to enter. It was Val and she looked quite sad as she took a seat across from the desk. "I walked into my own bedroom and saw that idiot I married in bed with another woman. He then yelled for me to get out and started ranting about how I never give him any breathing room. I can't believe I left my own bedroom instead of throwing that bum on his ass." Val then remembered why she left as the apartment was drab and lonely. She figured he might as well live in it as she didn't want to. Barry gave Val a kiss on her cheek and wished her a Merry Christmas. "We both did this to ourselves. We have no children or family now but we do have millions of dollars. You married a beach bum and he treats you like dirt." Val started to tear up and Barry felt really bad as he wanted to cheer up his ex-wife.

"Hey, we still have each other. I know we went our separate ways but we still love each other and are good friends. I think I need to take a break from this work for now. I do have something to show you that will cheer you up." Barry opened up a drawer in his desk and pulled out a cheap music box with a twirling Santa on the top of it. It opened up so someone could put in trinkets and other tiny items. Barry had bought it for Val years ago as a gag gift and they both laughed at how cheap it was. But deep down they loved the simplicity it represented. "You know what Val? I wish we had a family and lived in one of those nice little cozy houses we see in all of those Christmas specials." The music box then started to play and quickly stopped catching both Barry and Val off guard.

A young woman entered the office and told Barry she had some papers for him to sign for charity donations. "What happened to Sally?" Barry had asked. "You gave her the night off and I am a temp who needs hours for Christmas shopping." Barry signed the papers and the young woman told Val she also had some papers to sign. They were also for charity so Val did the same as Barry did. The young woman then quickly ran out of the office smiling and Val went to look out the door to see where she was going. The hallway was completely empty and Barry figured the young woman ducked into one of the break rooms. "Val, why not come to my place and spend Christmas with me there? I usually do work and it might be nice for me to actually enjoy a day with someone I care about." Val smiled as Barry took her arm and they went out the door.

The apartment had a coldness about it as Barry had no decorations or any decor for the manner. He did not believe in that stuff so they headed for the bedroom to go to sleep. "Your bedroom is bigger than a house and so cold. I guess I will stay in the guest room tonight." Barry informed Val that was the guest room. He also agreed cozy was one word that did not describe his apartment. The two went to sleep for the night in their separate rooms.
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"Hey Dippy! Some old hag is in the living room!" Val's husband Jack got out of the bed thinking his wife returned again. He put on his robe and saw it was strange woman looking around the apartment. "What are you doing here?" The woman looked at the rather hefty Jack and asked him the same question. "Val signed this apartment over to me so I could sell it for her. I thought you knew only her name was on the title." Jack's eyes lit up and he ran to the small safe to retrieve the rest of the cash on hand before he left. "I'm sorry but I also removed the cash and donated it all to the local food pantries. It will feed so many people this time of year and last for several months." The woman poked Jack in his belly and laughed. "I can see you have had enough food and can spare some."

Jack quickly got dressed as the young woman he was with glared at him. The older woman started to tell Jack some more bad news. "By the way, all of the credit card accounts have been canceled as well as the bank accounts closed. What you have on your back is what you get. You can find some other rich widow to sponge off of but that would mean going on a diet and back to the gym." The young woman screamed at what a scam artist Jack was. "I thought this all was going to be yours!" She left quickly as Jack ran after her. The older woman started to laugh as she magically transformed into the young woman who had asked Val and Barry to sign the paperwork.
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Barry woke up in a warm cozy bed and saw the sunlight peeking in the window. He then realized Val was in the same bed and was startled to see a small fireplace with a warm fire going. He was not in his bedroom nor his apartment. Barry also did not know how he got there as well. Val woke up and wondered the same thing. Only she loved the bedroom and wondered if Barry had done this as a Christmas gift. The aroma of bacon, eggs and pancakes were in the air which caused Barry to get out of bed and put on the cozy robe. He walked into the hall and heard some voices coming from another bedroom. They were those of young males so Barry opened up the door.

Barry saw three teenaged boys with pointed ears engaged in a pillow fight. The boys were all wearing boxer shorts and when they saw Barry smiled at him and shouted "Hi Dad!" to him. Barry walked up to the blond boy and touched the ears. They were real and the boy laughed as he told his father it tickled. Meanwhile, Val had heard a couple of girls giggling and met up with them in the kitchen. They also had pointed ears and asked her how they were doing cooking breakfast for the family. They also called Val Mom which made her tear up. Val ran out of the kitchen only to bump into Barry.

"I think we are dreaming or this is some kind of wonderful cosmic joke. There are three teenaged boys about 15 upstairs having a pillow fight. They have pointed ears and called me dad. The ears are quite real as I touched them. I think these are all elves if I am not mistaken." The one girl popped her head out of the kitchen and shouted "Pixies. Us girls are pixies and the boys are elves. You are our parents as you wished to have a family." Barry and Val sat down to have breakfast with their new found family. They then got dressed and headed outside as they were all going into town to do some shopping.

The barn had a large sleigh with reindeer attached to it. The sleigh bells were also jingling and made Val feel like a little girl again. The mountains in the background were beautiful and the trees all seemed to twinkle as if they all had Christmas lights on them. They then drove up to one of those quaint towns that are on Christmas postcards. They were only supposed to exist on TV and in the books, not in real life. The town was populated by teenaged elves and pixies who were singing and dancing. Barry and Val joined in the fun and realized a wish they always had came true. They now had a family.

"What about our things back home? What about that idiot husband of mine?" The young woman who was in the office appeared before Barry and Val. "It is all going to charity as you both wished. This is your home now and we are all your family. I have other wishes to grant but will visit you periodically. As for that husband of yours, he was last seen chasing another rich widow to try and marry. He has a lot to learn about life and living it. You don't need money just love and family."

Barry held Val's hand and looked at his new home. He was happy for the first time in a long while. Now he had a family to care about and love.