Sparky's Gift

"Thanks, Dale," I said. I looked at Jane. "I took your present back. I'm sorry." She shook her head.

"Don't worry about it," she said. "I probably deserve that, given the way I treated you. Besides, having you back home with me is the best gift I could ever have."

"You can thank Sparky for that," I said.

"Yes, we can, can't we?" she asked. We hugged each other for a moment and as we did so, I heard a little girl's voice in my head.

"Merry Christmas, Marvin Coolidge. I'll be keeping an eye on you," she said. I looked and saw her standing in the room, wearing the same red dress. Sparky stood next to her and looked up at the girl, her tongue hanging out. The girl reached down and petted Sparky, then suddenly disappeared. Neither Dale nor my wife saw her.

After Dale left, Jane took me upstairs and screwed my brains out. She looked me in the eye as she stroked and sucked my cock.

"This is all I want for Christmas," she purred.

"It's all yours, baby," I said.

"Damn right it is," she said as she snuggled next to me.

"By the way, I knew that wasn't you in those pictures Roger sent," I said.

"How did you know that?" she asked. I looked at her.

"Seriously?" I asked. "How long have we been married? And how long have you kept that pussy of yours shaved? I knew right off the bat." She snickered.

"Yeah, I did that just for you, you know," she said.

"Just be glad we didn't have to prove it to your dad," I said. She laughed out loud.

"I am," she said. "Believe me, I am glad."

The next day was quite busy. Jane took a personal day, so we went to the bank and put the accounts back to the way they were and applied for two new credit cards. Then we went to her attorney's office and had him shred the divorce papers. Fortunately they hadn't been filed.

"Something told me to hang on to them," he said.

We then visited my attorney, who was preparing a defamation lawsuit against Roger based on the faked photo. He agreed to add Jane, citing the photos he claimed were of her and said he would give Darla and Theresa a chance to join the lawsuit if they wanted.

The next stop was Stone's Jewelers. I ran into the shop as Jane waited in the car. The owner recognized me as I came in and smiled when I asked if he still had the necklace I returned. Fortunately, I still had the check as I hadn't deposited it yet.

"You know, it's the funniest thing," he said. "Something told me I should hang on to this, so I did. Are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely," I said. We made the exchange and I headed back to the car, putting the box in my coat pocket.

From there, we went to Rupert's Auto to meet the insurance man. The truck was a horribly twisted wreck and I wasn't surprised when he told me it was a total loss. At least it was paid for and I had gotten my money's worth out of it. I signed the paperwork, got my things out of the truck and was told to expect a check in the mail.

It was fairly late in the afternoon when we got home. Dale's truck was on the curb and there was a brand new Ford F-150 4X4 dual cab pickup in the driveway. I wondered who else was there. We parked in the garage and went inside, where Dale was waiting for us.

"Whose truck is that?" I asked. Dale smiled as he pulled out a set of keys.

"Yours," he said, handing me the keys. "I figured it was the least I could do. And besides, it wouldn't do to have my new Chief Operations Officer driving that old pickup you had." I looked at him, shocked. "Yeah," he added, "you're my new COO, son. Starting immediately. Hell, you're the only one who can keep the place running."

"I don't know what to say," I said.

"Say thanks," he said with a smile.

"Thanks," I said. He laughed and slapped me on the back.

"I'll be over Christmas Day," he said. "Hope you like the new rig." He kissed Jane and petted Sparky on his way out. Jane and I checked out the truck. It was dark blue, my favorite color, and it was equipped with just about every accessory one could fit on the thing.

"Take me for a ride," Jane said, bouncing on the passenger seat like a little girl. I went inside, put the leash on Sparky and we all drove around town, showing off the new truck. We ended up at Sonic, where we ate a messy hamburger like we used to do in high school. I heard someone calling my name from a car parked a couple stalls down.

"Marvin?" Jerry asked. "Is this yours?"

"Yeah," I said. "Maybe we can take it out the next time we go hunting."

"Damn right," he said. "This is nice. I heard the good news, by the way. Congratulations."

"Thanks," I said. I told him about the lawsuit and asked if he and Darla wanted to join.

"Hell yeah," he said. "Count us in."

"I heard you had a little discussion with ol' Roger," I said. He nodded his head.

"You could say that," he said. "I think he knows better than to pull that shit again." We laughed and talked shop for a bit before he left. "See ya, Jane," he added as he left.

The next day was Christmas Eve, and the boys had flown in from college. We took the new truck to pick them up from the airport. It was a bit crowded with two boys, Sparky, Jane and myself, but we managed.

Dale came over early the next day and we had a nice family Christmas around the tree. Jane's eyes widened when she opened the gift I bought for her. I was just as surprised when she pulled out a long box from one of her hiding spots and handed it to me. It was a .54 caliber flintlock, something I had wanted for a long time.

We all exchanged gifts, and yes, Sparky also got presents since she was just as much a part of the family as everyone else.

After dinner, we all sat down and watched football. Even Sparky got into the act, barking at the teams as they went back and forth on the field. Finally, the day ended and Dale headed out to his truck. I walked him out and thanked him for the new pickup.

"You're welcome," he said. "By the way, how DID you know those pictures Roger sent out were fake?"

"I've been married to Jane for 20 years," I said. "Believe me, I knew right off it wasn't her." He thought about it for a moment before it hit him. His eyebrows went up as the light went on in his head.

"Got it," he said. "Say no more. See ya January 2^nd," he said, shaking my hand. "I'm heading out to do some skiing so I'll be out of town. Think you can stay out of trouble in the meantime?"

"I'll do my best," I said.

A few days later, when the snow had melted a bit, I took Sparky for a walk in the park down the road from us. I saw someone sitting on a bench with his head in his hands. He looked up as we walked down the concrete path. It was Roger. Furious, he got off the bench and came toward us.

"You fucking son of a bitch," he yelled as he prepared to hit me. "Thanks to you, I'm fired and I can't get a job anywhere in this two-bit town." The next thing I knew, Sparky ran toward him and knocked him down. Her teeth were bared and her nose was within inches of his face. Roger looked frightened and tried to back away, but Sparky wouldn't let him go.

"Well," I said calmly. "Should I have her rip out your throat or tear your balls off?" Roger looked at me with fear in his eyes.

"Please," he said. "Call her off. I'm sorry, man. Really, I am. It was all just in good fun."

"Fun?" I asked. "You damn near destroyed my family as well as a few other people. It wasn't fun for us, believe me. So, what's your choice?"

"Look, call her off, please," he begged. "I'll leave town, I'll do whatever you want."

"I think that might be wise," I said. "Leave. Now. And never show your face in this town again."

"I will," he said. "I'll pack up and go away right now."

"Smart choice," I said. I looked at Sparky. "Sparky," I said. "Heel." Sparky immediately got off Roger and stood by me, looking at Roger. I petted her and praised her as Roger got up and ran to his car. I heard later that he had moved to a town about 50 miles away where he got a job as an assistant manager at a fast food restaurant.

Jane had a good laugh when I told her what happened. Of course that didn't stop the lawsuit against him. Realizing that his goose was well cooked, he offered a settlement a few months later. It wasn't what we had asked for, but we knew he would be paying for years -- perhaps until he started collecting Social Security. We accepted the offer and moved on with our lives.

The night of my encounter with Roger, I sat in my chair watching television and thought about that little girl. I knew I had seen her before, then it suddenly hit me. Sparky was one of several pups taken to the shelter after her owners were killed in a tragic accident. The shelter worker we dealt with even had a picture of the family and gave it to us.

I pulled out our photo album and began looking through it, when I saw the picture. There was a group of five pups, one of them being Sparky. Next to the pups were three people -- a man, a woman who apparently was his wife, and a little girl wearing a red dress and a white blouse. The little girl had one hand on Sparky as she smiled at the camera. It was her -- the same girl I saw on the road and in my house the other day.

Chills went up and down my spine for a moment. I looked up for a moment as a tear fell from my eye.

"Thank you," I said quietly, realizing that if it weren't for Sparky I probably wouldn't be alive right now. Whether she knew it or not, I felt as though my new life was her gift to me and I was forever grateful.

"You're welcome," I heard the girl say in my mind.

Note: Anyone who has read my stories know that the bad guys usually end up burnt to a crackly crunch... I decided to try a different approach given the season. Sometimes forgiveness can be better than retribution.

So, in the spirit of the season, Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate, happy holidays to those who may not and to all, a very good night. Even those in what a couple commenters have called the "Perpetual Bitch Brigade."