Christmas Present

It's Halloween and time for the Norris Halloween party. Bob Norris owns the company and hosts these shindigs to boost morale and have a pretty good time with pretax money.

James' Story

I'm James Evans and my wife is Mary Evans. She's the daughter of Bob Norris and that explains how I got in this company. Not at my current supervisor's position, that I earned with lots of unpaid overtime and ingenious problem solving. We're going to the party with my wife's sister Helen Miles. Her husband can't be there. He is now on parole in the next state, but can only come here at Christmas time so Helen works at the company and manages trips to our outlets in the next state.

We arrive at the party at 10:00 sharp. Management cannot be fashionably late here. Plus I have to hang the rest of the decorations and set up the bar. Mary is our designated driver, which allows Helen and me, to drink like fishes tonight. Mary goes upstairs to the president's washroom to change her costume. When she came back down she made one pistol of a change. All she has on are a veil over her breasts, and a thong to cover her bottom. Helen goes upstairs next and puts on the same costume. I'm telling you that the men here are all going be hard all night.

The girls announce that they want to mingle with the crowd and dance with several striking men. As I can't dance to save my life, I'm reduced to asking Mary to please come back to me at the end of the party. Mary says, "don't worry your pretty head about it. I may get excited, but I will only play with you."

While the girls are dancing, I take over the bar. This isn't the best of plans as I take a drink for every drink I hand out. Pretty soon I'm barely able to stand up let alone walk. Helen and one of the men from the warehouse help me into a room with a bed where I lie down. I start sweating and take my shirt and pants off. After all nobody else is likely to come in here. I fall asleep and have dreams of Mary. Suddenly Mary is shaking me awake. She is screaming at me, "How dare you fuck my sister? You bastard, I should cut your balls off. I damn well will divorce you. Just you wait. I'll never let you see the children again."

I protest, "I haven't fucked anybody. I was just sleeping my drunk off in here. I remember Helen and some guy from the warehouse putting me to bed in here, but I haven't fucked anybody."

Mary doesn't believe me. Helen has left in a hurry. Robert Norris, Mary's father, comes over to calm things down but loses it himself, He screams at me, "You bastard, you're fired. Don't even come back for your last paycheck. I oughta have the police arrest you. Just start walking. And put your pants on."

I'm at a terrible loss to understand what happened here. I mean, I was happily married to beautiful woman I had two kids, Chloe and Nicholas. And now I have nothing. Maybe in the morning every thing will be straight again.

I walk down to the police station. I've always gotten along with our police. I contribute money and time anytime they ask. Sgt. Dougherty lets me sleep in an interrogation room.

I wake up in the morning and go to work. It's no dream. I'm fired. I go to my house; Mary greets me at the door and throws my clothes at me. She is screaming incoherently, but I understand all our joint accounts are closed to me and I better get out of town before she shoots me.

I put my clothes in a trash bag and try to figure out what I can do next. Without money and car, I can't even safely leave town. It's a fifty-mile walk to the next town and they certainly don't have any jobs there. I settle for working at a temporary employment agency. They have day work that pays you at the end of each day. After two days outdoors, I find a room with a shared bath. With all the ruckus at home I'm afraid to let anyone know that I'm still in town.

Friday night comes. I find one relief. The Liquor store has cheap Puerto Rican Rum, 180 proof. You have to buy it in half-gallon jugs but you can become unconscious with only an hour of drinking. That shuts down the pain centers.

Nicholas has a birthday that this year occurs on the same day as Thanksgiving. I saved some money, not enough to buy a car and I should do something for my boy.

I buy him a Sony Play Station and try to figure out how I will get it to him. I know that in past years we went over to her parent's house for thanksgiving, but made a point of having Nicholas's birthday party in our house afterward. We had a cake and his presents on a table in the dining room. I was betting that Mary would not change that ritual.

I knew that if Mary was that mad at me, she would change the locks so my keys wouldn't work. But I knew where Mary liked to hide a secret spare set. If she hadn't moved it, I could get in the house that way. Well she had changed that location, but the basement window had not been fixed yet. I crawled through, went upstairs and opened the back door and brought my present in. I put it in the middle of Nicholas' pile. I stuck a card with my picture on it but upside down so Mary could not arbitrarily pull my present out without Nicholas noticing. It was warm in my old home but I didn't want to be caught here. I really didn't want to spend the next week at the police station as their guest.

I went back to my room. I paid the next weeks rent in cash, and settled back to my bottle.

Mary's Story

Hi I'm Mary. Thanksgiving evening we all came back to my house from my parents. I really needed to cheer up my kids somehow. My bastard cheating husband somehow had his hooks in them. The bastard had slept with my sister and actually denied doing it. The kids were crying and promising to behave if Daddy would just come back home. I was tempted to cancel Nicholas's party but my mother, Lois Norris, Told me that would be a rotten thing to do to a child, and I would pay for it in therapy later. We came in the dining room and turned the lights on. Nicholas got enthusiastic over his presents, which stopped his whine about his daddy. I started to hand him a wrapped sweater that I had gotten him, but he wanted the big box in the center. I gave him the big box and asked him to tell everybody who gave him the box. The card had no name that I could see so Nicholas turned the card over. Then Nicholas started screaming, "Daddy Daddy."

He tore open the box. There was a Sony Playstation inside and a note asking Nicholas to share with Chloe. Both of them started crying, "Daddy, Daddy."

I wanted to kill that man. I looked at my father. He wasn't angry at all. He shrugged and said; "At least he cares for his children."

I wish either James or Helen were here. I need to hit somebody. My mother actually suggested that James and I needed some counseling together. My father mentioned that Helen would be back in town for Christmas. She and I would be allowed to fight it out without violence on Christmas Eve. Goody, I just can't wait.

Helen's Story

Merry Christmas, its Helen. I get in town the morning of December 24. My husband, Jorge, and I come in my parent's house. As we unloaded my father says, "Have you and Jorge made up after your cheating with Jim?"

"What! I never cheated with Jim. Why in the world would you think that?

Then I turned to my husband, "Jorge, my father thinks that I some how cheated with Jim."

"Honey, when would you have had time to cheat with Jim?"

"Daughter, don't you remember the Halloween party, when Jim was naked in the bedroom?"

"Mr. Norris, that was Helen and I. Jim just slept through all our action."

"Why didn't I see you there?"

"You know that that trip in your state was not legal for me. My presence had to be secret. Anyway why would you think that Jim had slept with Helen?"

"Because Mary saw."

Mary walked into the room; overheard the last part of the conversation and interjected, "I saw Helen coming out of that room, and when I went inside I found her thong."

Jorge looked at Mary sympathetically and said," I'm sorry but Helen didn't make it with Jim. She made it with me. Hey where's Jim anyway."

Mary began to cry. She told them, "I threw Jim out of the house."

Mary's father, Robert Norris, took immediate charge of this situation. He called up the company security manager, George Ross.

"Hey George, I need you to find Jim today."

"Bob, we have no idea where he went when he left the company."

"Look," Dad said, "He was here Thanksgiving day for Nicholas's birthday. Use the Police. Use the Internet. Hell offer a reward. But find him before midnight and there is a bonus for all the security staff."

"Bob, you don't want to hurt him do you? I and the rest of the guys have always liked Jim."

"No. I want him returned to his family. You not likely to hear this again but I was wrong about Jim. I want my son in law back with his family by tonight and I don't care what it costs."

"We're on it."

Fearing too much damage had been done, "Now Mary, I don't want you to get any hopes up but."

Mary sobbed, "I accused him and he was telling me the truth. I cost my children their daddy. How could I have ever been so mistaken."

"Well big sister, You could have called me to complain. Did you really think that I would try and steal your husband? You know if you find him, he may not want to come home again."

"No!"

Jim's Story

While all this was going on, Jim was unloading trucks at the shopping mall. He picked up his cash at 6:30 and went to the Liquor store.

I was afraid to tempt my home security, and anyway I hadn't save enough for one present let alone the two that I needed for Chloe and Nicholas. I was feeling sorry for myself. I started drinking from the bottle just outside the Liquor store. Some little kids came by and stared at me. Just for a laugh. I lit a cigarette lighter and spray the mouth full of rum at a pile of snow. This made a flame like a dragons breath and melted the snow pile. The kids crowed around and I had to entertain them until their parents called them away from the fire-breathing bum. I had used about half my bottle so I turned to go back in the Liquor store for another bottle.

I saw a young man trying to rob the store. I shouted, "I see you dummy. I bet you like it in jail." I ducked behind a column. The store's owner jumped behind his window and called the police. I saw the young man go to the barrier window. I slammed the entry door shut. We had him trapped. The police showed up in two more minutes.

The police had me fill out a report and require me to list my name and address. Since it was Sgt. Dougherty, I was okay with this. I could depend on him not to get me into trouble. The Liquor storeowner gave me two bottles and told me, "If you can stay sober I need a permanent helper here. I don't mind your getting drunk after work, if you need to."

I went home to my room I had two and a quarter bottles. I should manage being unconscious for the whole holiday. I start my sleeping drinks and soon am out of it.

The next morning, I feel strange. This is a real bed, not a single with a pad. Somehow I am clean and in pajamas. Suddenly two noisy kids come in the room. They scream, "Daddy, Daddy, It's Christmas morning help us open the presents. Then they pile into the bed and crawl all over me hugging and poking me. They say, "Daddy's real."

If this is a dream I don't want to wake up, but I wish there wasn't a hangover in the dream. Mary walks into the room and says, "They have really missed you. I missed you too. I was wrong, can you forgive me?"

I really need to be careful what I drink. This is a very strange vision. Mary's dad knocks on the bedroom door and tells me, "You can't go away like that again. We all need you. Now you should come down to breakfast. Your Job has missed you too and is waiting for you with back pay to prove it loves you."

This is a very strange dream. What the heck, I get up and go downstairs. This looks like my own home. It seems like my kids are holding my hands as we go downstairs. They lead me to the dining room. My kids seat me at the head of the table. Mary put a plate of big Belgian waffles in front of me. The waffles are even double buttered. My kids sit on either side of me. This is Christmas. I offer a prayer, "My God bless and keep all of us together. Amen."

Mary gets up. She is crying. She hugs me and tells me, "After breakfast you will need to shave."

We all eat whatever is in front of us. The kids don't want to wait any longer for their presents. We all go in the living room and pass out the presents from under the tree. As there are no presents from me under the tree, I apologize to my family, but they say, "Daddy's home is all the present we want."

Mary's father tells me, "I bet you wonder how you woke up here this morning."

"Yeah."

"George and the boys from security put out a request to find you. Sgt. Dougherty over at the police station finally told us where to find you when we promised that we wouldn't hurt you. By the way, what did you do at the Liquor Store? The manager of the store wants to hire you. Anyway we got in your room and carried you home. We cleaned you up as best we could and put you in your own bed."

"Why is Mary forgiving me know that I'm innocent but there's no way I can prove it."

"Helen came home and told us all that the only action occurred between Jorge and her. Yes, Mary is very apologetic right now, and so am I. We should have never doubted you."

"Hey, I almost doubted me. I only knew that I couldn't perform when I'm that drunk. I mean I'm no harder than a wet noodle then. But as long as I'm home everything is forgiven and forgotten."

"You're being much more gracious than anybody I know would be Jim."

"You don't realize how hard it is to live away from home. I'm so grateful to be back. I won't mess it up for any foolish whining. Do not worry about me."

Mary come in the room, "I told you needed to shave. Now march upstairs mister and get that beard off."

"Yes Dear."

Well I get shaved and cleaned up. This afternoon we have a dinner at Mary's parent house. I'm really hungry even though I ate everything in sight for breakfast.

When we get to Mary's parents, I head for the liquor cabinet. Mary gets in my way and tells me, "Jim, I'm scared of your drinking. I know that it was my fault for the actions I took, but if you were sober you wouldn't have been so vulnerable. Plus according to all your acquaintances you have been drinking yourself to sleep every nigh for almost two months. I almost lost you because of my idiocy. Please don't lose yourself in a bottle."

"All right, but you know that I get nervous at parties and depend on the alcohol to loosen me up and make me sociable."

"Jim, I will be by your side at any event. Sociable is something I can do in my sleep. Let me do that for you and you stay sober for your kids and me. We will do anything to keep you."

"I might just take you up on that later."

"Honey, that's a favor for me. I didn't realize how much I needed you to you were gone."

"I ate like a pig at dinner, All kinds of potatoes, sweet and mashed, ham and turkey, and all the desserts. I should be comatose from all this food, but I'm still hungry. We talk with Mary and Helen's parents. We talk with Jorge and Helen. The latter explain to me what really happened. How Jorge sneaked in and had Helen in the room while I snored away. Helen apologized for leaving her thong on the floor.

Mary, the kids, and I went back to our home. The kids spent some time playing with their new toys. The novelty of having Daddy home was fading at last. We put the kids to bed about 10:30. Then Mary and I are alone

Mary gets up and speaks, "Could we save water and shower together please?"

Mary has us brush our teeth and use mouthwash before the shower. She says bad breath is a mood killer. The shower feels hot. Mary turns it cold for a second. Hell this is real. I pull Mary next to me. I don't even get to ask. Mary asks, "I've been waiting too long. I hope you're ready because I need you now."

I'm so hard; I could use my cock for a chisel. I push it in and Mary is already wet. She's crying. I ask, "if I'm hurting you I will stop now."

"No, No, I'm crying for joy. You have forgiven me for what I did to you. You're so much more than I deserve. Now take me and take me. I so want to make up for all I have missed with you."

We do it standing in shower; we dry off and go in our bedroom. I'm hard again so we do one for the reindeer and another for Santa. This is a good Christmas after all.