| Gloria squeezed Jack’s hand, gently laughing to herself as several droll thoughts stirred in her mind. Jack threw a glance at his friend, silently questioning her. “You know, Jack, if you had happened to sneeze a moment before that shooting star zipped by, or perhaps knelt down to retie your boot laces, you would never have noticed it. And then you wouldn’t have followed your star all the way to Charlie and Alice, nor spilled the beans about their secret engagement to your sister Loretta –” © Copyright 2008 Thomas J. Prestopnik “Who apparently broke her promise a month later when she told your mother Jenny all about it!” Jack said with a laugh. “But I forgive my sister.” “You had better!” Gloria replied, flashing a smile. “Otherwise my mother would have followed Charlie Murdock to a different college and never have met my father. And then I, unfortunately, wouldn’t have been born.” “Well, glad I could help,” Jack replied, adding the last piece of popcorn to his string. Jack held up the one end for Gloria to see. “Now look at that. It’s finished. Just enough string left so you can tie it up with one of your fancy knots.” “Nice job, Jack. I guess we now know which one of us talks too much and which one of us works.” “Well, someone has to listen too, I suppose.” He handed Gloria the untied end of the garland. “Let’s see what kind of decorating you can do with that.” “I’m sure it’ll look impressive above the front desk,” Gloria said, winding some of the remaining string between the last two pieces of popcorn and securely tying a few knots to hold it together. She wrapped the garland in a series of large loops around her left wrist. “I’ll run out and give this to Angela. She said she’d display it for us.” “Maybe you might return with a cup of decaf coffee for me?” Jack playfully asked. “And a ham sandwich, too? You’re probably hungry after skipping that chicken something-or-other for dinner.” © Copyright 2008 Thomas J. Prestopnik “Now that you mention it…” “I’ll see what I can round up, Jack,” she replied, getting to her feet. “I’m sure the kitchen is still open.” Gloria grabbed hold of her cane and took a step forward, glancing out the window. She suddenly froze as her eyes took note of a distant blue light far down in the valley under the frozen winter sky. “Oh my…” she whispered. “At last.” “What is it?” asked Jack, looking up with concern until he noticed that Gloria’s face glowed with a mix of awe and delight. “The special moment I’ve been waiting for,” she said with giddy excitement. Gloria set her cane aside and grabbed the pair of binoculars, gingerly stepping toward the window. She gazed at the patch of blue through the binoculars as it came into focus. Gloria signaled to Jack, not taking her eyes off the ethereal light. “You’ve got to see this, Jack. I think you’ll find it interesting.” “Will I?” he said, pushing himself out of his chair and standing next to Gloria. He studied the moonlit snowscape. “What am I looking at?” Gloria pointed out the window. “See that blue light way down near the edge of the river in Sage Harbor?” Jack stared out the window, squinting. “Oh, yeah… I think I do see it. What’s that, a fire or something?” “A blue fire? Of course not, Jack. Look through these and you’ll see everything clearly.” Gloria handed him the binoculars. “Here’s hoping that you’ll see something spectacular.” © Copyright 2008 Thomas J. Prestopnik “Hey, that’s my line,” Jack said with a grin, his thoughts briefly shifting to 1966. He envisioned his eight-year-old hands tentatively ripping the red foil wrapping off of Aunt Marge and Uncle Dave’s Christmas present, only to discover a white cardboard shirt box. Jack offered a forced smile and a stifled sigh that Christmas evening as he lifted the cover and removed the folds of tissue paper underneath, preparing for another sweater–or worse. Then in the background, he heard the steady voice of his Uncle Dave the moment his eyes spotted the new gift. “Here’s hoping that you’ll see something spectacular, Jack,” he said amidst the sparkle of Christmas lights while Jack’s parents and Aunt Marge looked on with smiles. Jack, kneeling dumbstruck among the shredded foil paper scattered on the living room rug, simply stared at the sleek and shiny pair of black binoculars connected to a leather strap, his face frozen in pure joy. The adventures that awaited him called out like a bird in flight. “Are you all right, Jack?” Gloria’s voice pulled him into the present. Jack looked up. “Hmmm? Oh, guess my mind was wandering again, Gloria. Not that that’s anything new. Now let me take a look out this window at what’s got you so excited tonight,” he said, staring at her out of the corner of his eye. “But don’t think I forgot about you fetching me that coffee and ham sandwich!” “Oh, you…” Gloria chuckled. “Just look!” © Copyright 2008 Thomas J. Prestopnik Jack held up the binoculars and scanned the path of the river, the lenses automatically focusing upon each object they hit. Then Jack located the blue light, his intake of breath automatic. He stared at it in pristine silence, his thoughts instantly inhabiting a collage of moments from his past, living and breathing them simultaneously as if the laws of time and space had been temporarily suspended. “Is that really…?” “Yes, Jack. That’s the Townsend building,” Gloria softly said. “Still proudly standing and bathed in blue light. It’s been refurbished. There’ll be a grand opening on New Year’s Day. But every night until then it’ll be spotlighted in a different color as part of the celebration.” “It’s beautiful…” he whispered, too much in awe to say anything more. Jack finally handed the binoculars back to Gloria. “How did this happen?” “My son Jay,” she proudly replied. “This was a project he and his wife’s firm took on. After all these years, the right time, opportunity and business climate finally presented themselves. Jay got to tackle one of his childhood dreams.” “And one of mine,” Jack said wistfully, gazing out the window again. “Still, I’m glad one of us got to restore that chunk of granite to its rightful glory.” “Well don’t think that you didn’t have a hand in his success, Jack Mason. After all, if you hadn’t seen that shooting star, then my son Jay wouldn’t have been born either!” © Copyright 2008 Thomas J. Prestopnik Jack shrugged, his forehead pasted to the window. “I never thought of it that way, Gloria.” He looked up at his friend. “All right. I guess I’m entitled to some of the credit.” “Of course you are,” she replied with a laugh. “And it’s well deserved, too.” Gloria placed the binoculars back on the tray table before grabbing her cane. “Now what about that coffee and ham sandwich? Still hungry?” “If you’re still buying,” Jack said, easing back into his chair. “I’ve had enough popcorn.” “All right, dear,” Gloria said, ambling out of the room. “I’ll finish up my string when I get back.” “And I’ll enjoy the pretty blue light outside,” Jack replied, stretching his arms and flashing a grin as Gloria left. He leaned his head back and gazed out the window, eyeing the tiny blue light as if it were a distant star he was admiring as a child from his backyard. Jack smiled, recalling the many times his father had taken him to visit the Townsend building after one of their lunches at The Dancing Chicken. Those hours together were some of the vintage moments from his childhood. Jack imagined himself strolling along the river harbor just across the street from the Townsend as a warm summer breeze swept the concrete walks. He could see men and women shuffling off to a business meeting under the shadows of the black and silver awning. Jack closed his eyes and drifted off into a soothing sleep, hearing the soft swish of a revolving door, the snapping flags fastened to the glistening white boats and the cry of distant seagulls above the sun-splashed river. © Copyright 2008 Thomas J. Prestopnik He opened his eyes moments later, noticing the light outside. It now moved slowly, apparently getting closer. Jack went to the window and realized that it wasn’t the blue light after all. Something else drifted across the moonlit snow, a diminutive figure nearing the back of the retirement home. It suddenly stopped. Jack looked closer and thought he saw a hand signaling to him. Then he smiled, recognizing the young girl. He moved closer, but the snow beneath his feet didn’t feel cold, nor did the glare of moonlight hurt his eyes. He stopped when he reached the girl, recalling the familiar butterscotch plaid skirt and the yellow ribbon in her brown hair. Jack stared at Julie Almega, delightfully bewildered yet feeling as if he had seen her only yesterday. “How can you still be this way?” he asked, noting the smooth skin of her face and comparing it to the wrinkles and discolorations that time had painted on the back of his own hands. © Copyright 2008 Thomas J. Prestopnik “This is how it is done, Jack–with someone from your past. I was chosen to guide you the rest of the way,” Julie said. “This is not really how I exist anymore.” Jack nodded. “I sensed as much. And I’m pleased that it’s you.” “Thanks,” she replied with a smile. “Now others are waiting to see you again, especially Charlene.” “I’ve missed her, Julie, each and every day since she left me.” Jack turned around and stared at the back section of the Harbor View Retirement Community’s main building. Through the large glass window pane he could see his body reclined in the easy chair in the sun room, his eyes forever closed. “When Gloria returns…” © Copyright 2008 Thomas J. Prestopnik “She’ll find you, Jack, and will be sad at losing a friend she had known for such a short time. But she’ll also be thankful and very happy,” Julie said with a reassuring smile, “pleased that she had the chance to know you and learn about your life–and how important it was to her own.” Julie gazed down into the valley at the glowing blue light. “That is a beautiful building, Jack.” “Even more so now. It was one of those wonderful childhood dreams I never got to finish. Kind of like that snow castle in my backyard.” © Copyright 2008 Thomas J. Prestopnik “Oh, but look! You did finish it–in a roundabout way. You see, Jack, you had other important jobs you were destined to fulfill instead, especially the one as a father. But you couldn’t possibly have realized it at the time,” she said. “Will, Elaine and Scott were three of your most important projects, and the ripples you’ll have sent through time because of them…” Julie looked up, her face tinged with moonlight. “Well, you’ll learn shortly just how important a link in the chain you’ve been, Jack Mason. Something to be proud of for sure. And you can take my word for it.” © Copyright 2008 Thomas J. Prestopnik “If you insist,” he said with a wink. Then Julie held out her hand. “And now, Jack, if you’re ready…” “As I’ll ever be,” he said, placing his hand into hers. Slowly the pair walked along the moonlit field as a meteor blazed a fleeting trail across the cold December sky. Then their bodies faded like gauzy mist welcoming the warm and tender touch of a spring sunrise. THE END © Copyright 2008 Thomas J. Prestopnik |
| ~ CHAPTER 14 ~ |
| A CHRISTMAS CASTLE |
| by Thomas J. Prestopnik © Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved. |
