ISBN: 9798304246811
Imprint: Independently published
A Cathy and Janice Bedtime Story
Being A Christmas Present to
Cathy and to Her Christmas Village
4. Skinny Jimmy
8. The Afternoon of Christmas Eve
Atop Town’s Hill, hidden between the movie house and the village snowman along Big Screen Boulevard, stands the dark and lonely Empty House. It's called that because no one remembers what family ever lived in it. Some say an old witch with lots of black cats used to live there, but not many people believe that. Mister Mike, who’s been around forever, said a sailor man owned the house. This sailor left long ago to bring his true love back from a desert island, but he never returned, and no one remembers his name.
Some folks say the Empty House has been there longer than anything else, even before Santa’s Land up on Santa’s Mountain. Others, mostly old folks, tell a sad story about a small family who built the Empty House. They made it their dream home, and it was beautiful inside, glowing and sparkling with lights and music. It looked as wonderful as Santa’s Castle. But one day, the family walked into the house and never came out. No one knows what happened to them.
Most kids are scared of the Empty House. They walk past it quickly, especially at night when it looks even spookier. After a snowfall, the house and yard are covered in snow, and there’s nothing to see, so people don’t look. After a movie lets out, folks cross the street in groups to stay away from the house.
But not Janice. She had her own idea about the Empty House.
It all happened when the girls were on their way to sing and dance with other kids around the Village snowman. Cathy and Doodles led them, chatting a lot and way ahead of Janice, Erin, and Karma. The big girls didn't even glance at the Empty House, but the three little ones definitely did. Their eyes were fixed on the spooky house, faces worried, and they walked quickly.
Suddenly, Janice stopped dead in her snow boots. Erin and Karma looked back at her, puzzled. “What are you doing?” Erin grabbed Jan’s coat to pull her along, but Janice remained frozen at the Empty House’s iron fence.
“This place looks so dead,” Jan said quietly. “It needs something to liven it up.” Erin tugged at her again, while Karma looked at Jan with curiosity.
“Wait! I got it!” Janice cried out, breaking free from Erin’s grasp and moved back to the fence. She pointed to a small snow drift that rose halfway between the broken-down fence and the Empty House. “Right there!” she exclaimed. The other two girls squinted, trying to see what she was pointing at. “Put a Christmas tree right there! That would change everything!”
Erin and Karma’s mouths dropped open in wonder. “That's a great idea!”
“Stop slow-poking, ladies,” Doodles called back to them, her breath forming little clouds in the cold air. But the three girls were now completely focused on the Empty House. “Hey, come on!” Doodles signaled Cathy to get her kid sister and friends to catch up. “Other kids are taking all the good spots around the snowman,” she warned.
But Janice, Erin, and Karma were already deep in discussion, their minds racing with plans for Christmas Eve and the Empty House. The idea of placing a Christmas tree there filled them with excitement and joy. They ignored the calls of the older girls, fully engrossed in their new mission.
Back in Jan’s bedroom, she, Erin, and Karma felt so excited about Jan’s idea to place a Christmas tree in front of the Empty House. Each girl had her own idea of how the tree might look and how to decorate it. Karma’s family does not celebrate Christmas, so having a tree to decorate thrilled her. She would borrow pictures and trinkets found around her family’s house for decorations—things like peacock feathers, jingle bells, and holy statues! Erin laughed at that thought. “Nothing is as fancy and bright as an Irish Christmas. Let’s decorate it with shamrocks, green ribbons, and little Irish harps!” They all giggled when Jan suggested covering it with American flags, dreamcatchers, and lots and lots of colorful strings of beads.
“But what tree?” Karma asked.
Good question. Maybe they could get their families to chip in. That idea got quickly shot down when Cathy strolled into Jan’s bedroom. “Then it won’t be your own,” Cathy said. The three girls felt lost. How could they buy such a thing? None of their allowances came anywhere near that amount of money. Besides, Jan didn’t even get an allowance because she was just too young. Cathy smiled and said, “You gals wanted a tree in front of that scary, broken-down house, well, you gals are going to have to put one there. Money or no money.” She giggled, but the three girls looked at each other. Was that possible? How might they get a tree and decorations? And put it at the Empty House? Oh, well, sometimes big sisters have a way of making things seem so hard, don’t they?
Cathy left the room, considering the whole affair concluded. But the three girls just watched her walk out, not even caring what Cathy thought. They sat quietly, each thinking hard about where they could find a tree, how to gather the decorations, and who could help. Karma suggested finding a tree in the woods and cutting it down. But how do you do that?
“Skinny Jimmy!” Erin cried out. Karma and Jan perked up. Yes, they knew Skinny Jimmy, but why him? “He’s big, tall and strong. He’s always hanging around the junkyard. He likes old cars and works on them every chance he gets. Jimmy must have all kinds of tools like saws to cut down a tree. And, I’ll bet he can carry a Christmas tree with ease.”
The two were silent until Karma asked, “You think he will do it for us?”
“Sure!” Erin exclaimed. “Let’s go ask Skinny Jimmy if he’ll help us. I met him last week in school. I’ll go.”
Janice gestured for Erin to calm down. “Jimmy’s Cathy’s age or older. You see how Cathy thinks we’re just little children; Jimmy might too.”
“Not at all,” Erin disagreed. “He’s really nice. He’ll help us. I know he will!”
The three girls shared hopeful smiles. They had a plan.
4. Skinny Jimmy
Have you ever been to a junkyard? Imagine your toy chest is filled with all kinds of vehicles – cars, buses, trucks and all the stuff that goes into them like radios, tires, lights; you name it. Then dump the toy chest all over the floor and there’s your junkyard! When you come to think of it, no wonder boys like junkyards. Skinny Jimmy likes junkyards so much he spends many hours each day rummaging around one that he often forgets about doing his homework. Sounds like a naughty boy, right? When actually Jimmy is a good and friendly fellow. And even though he’s a whole two years older than Cathy and Doodles and way older than the other girls, when Erin met him he gave her the biggest smile and shook her hand very politely. It made her feel grown up. Erin sure liked that.
Erin and Janice got totally lost when they walked into the messy and greasy junkyard. All kinds of cars were piled on top of one another they seemed to reach the sky. The dirty ground was completely soaked in oil with little puddles of brown water. The whole place stunk of oil and gasoline. Sometimes it got hard for them to walk around. Quiet too. You would think junkyards had big cranes to pick up the junk and growling machines with wide open mouths to swallow the junk, but they heard nothing. Finally, Erin called out for Jimmy. Janice joined in until, from out of nowhere out stepped Skinny Jimmy. “Do I hear girls in my junkyard?” The big kid stepped out of a pile of tires. Stepping over muddy puddles he stood before them and in front of a beat up junked car. He looked like a mighty giant to the little girls. Immediately Jimmy saw and recognized Erin from when he first met her at school. He talked with Doodles Trip when Erin and Janice came along and Doodles introduced Erin to Jimmy. “So what do you know? It’s, Erin,” He gave her a big grin. “And this is your little friend Janice, right? What brings you fine ladies to my junkyard?”
It’s not actually HIS junkyard; Jimmy’s too young to work in it no less own the place. But he’s always there so, in a manner of speaking, it is his junkyard. Go ask anyone around Massapequa Park or even in the Christmas Village ‘where’s Skinny Jimmy at?’ They’ll all say, ‘He’s over in his junk yard like he always is.’
Erin did all the telling of why they have come. She told him about Jan’s idea to place a Christmas tree in front of the Empty house. And decorate it too. But they needed a strong boy like Jimmy to cut down a tree and carry it there. “That is a good idea.” Jimmy said thoughtfully while rubbing his chin. His face scrunched up and he asked how you kids going to get a tree over to the Christmas Village? The girls bashfully looked up at him with pleading eyes and timid smiles. That made Jimmy cry, “Me? Oh, come on, please? I don’t even like the cold and there’s snow all over that place.”
“You can wear gloves and a coat and that hat you got on now. And you’ll have help too. We can get Cathy and Doodles to help you.”
That perked up Jimmy’ ears. “Doodles Trip?” He glowed. “She’s in on this too?” The girls nodded so hard their heads almost fell off. His hand went up to his chin and you couldn’t see it but wheels were turning in his head … and heart. “Yeah,” Jimmy finally said. “If Doodles Trip is in then I’m in too.”
The girls cheered and headed home to tell Karma the news. And both of them knew the first words Karma will say, “Doodles? Cathy and Doodles? How you going to get them to go along with this?”
As soon as Doodles discovered Jimmy was involved, she was all in. Cathy gave her some static but begrudgingly went along. As all the girls cheered, Cathy made it very clear that before everyone dashed off to put a tree in front of the Empty House, they must scope out the yard.
“What does that mean?” Janice asked.
“Go there first, like right now, and make sure we can get in the yard and have a spot to put the tree,” Cathy explained.
And so they did.
On their way to the Empty House, they called to Skinny Jimmy from outside the junkyard. Once he saw Doodles, he got right in line behind her as they headed toward the Christmas Village. Soon, he and Doodles were chatting up a storm like old friends.
Easy as pie, Janice and Karma simply slipped through the rails of the black iron fence. Jimmy jumped right over it. The gate would not open, so the older girls discovered a break in the fence close to the movie house next door to get in. Doodles slipped into the yard and Cathy started after her but paused.
Doodles asked why she stopped. Cathy’s head spun like a top back and forth from Doodles and back toward the side of the movie house. “Did you see that? That girl?” Doodles just shook her head no. She looked down the narrow alley between the movie house and the yard. The side yard was filled with scary-looking old trees and the movie house was just one tall wall of brick with one gray steel door. Sometimes after a movie, people would leave by that door and walk through the alley to their cars and homes.
“I saw a girl leave from that door,” Cathy stated. But there was no girl anywhere, and the door appeared to be closed tightly. Doodles again shrugged, then pushed Cathy into the yard.
The yard looked big enough for what they had in mind. Janice uncovered a sidewalk leading from the house to the street. She thought it was a good and solid place for the Christmas tree. Jimmy wasn’t so sure. He scratched his chin and said, “Y’all might be better off sticking it in the grass. I can dig a hole deep enough so the wind won’t push the tree over.” Together they walked about to spot the perfect location.
All the girls were at the Mystery House clearing snow and making arrangements for the tree placement. Out of the corner of her eye, Cathy noticed a pale, young boy watching from the side porch. She smiled at him and raised her hand just a little to say hello, and he waved back at her. Not saying a word to the others, Cathy walked up the staircase and onto the side porch. Because the porch lay on the right side of the Empty House, Cathy vanished from the sight of the others as she entered the porch area.
“Good Tuesday to you, Miss. My name is Arthur," the boy greeted Cathy. "What are you doing in our yard?" Cathy smiled but approached cautiously toward the strangely dressed boy. Besides his odd clothes, there seemed to be a hazy cloud all around him, like steam from a block of ice in warmer air. "It looks like you are planting a tree out there. My parents might not be happy about that.”
"A Christmas tree," Cathy informed him. "We didn't know anyone lived here. Do you and your parents live here?" Her words seemed to excite the boy.
"A Christmas tree? How wonderful," he said softly.
"Yes," Cathy continued, "it is my sister's idea. Do you like it?”
Just then they both noticed an adult walk into their vision from the direction of the movie house. As if spooked, the boy quickly moved back toward the house. Cathy watched him, then turned to look at the man. He seemed like any other man. She turned back to ask why the boy withdrew, only to be shocked herself. The boy had vanished. Into the house or off the porch or who knows where, but he was not there on the porch.
Back in the front yard, where Jimmy and the girls were working to set up the tree, the man who was walking by asked what everyone was up to. They were all too happy to tell him all about Janice’s idea of placing a Christmas tree here in front of the old house. The man cheered the idea and told them what he knew about the house.
“When I was a kid, my folks told me that their folks knew some old family who built this place long ago in the olden days. Their uncle worked at the Village lighthouse. The story goes that the three children went missing. Maybe they all drowned.” Then the old man lowered his voice and leaned in toward the children. As if to let them in on a secret, he added, “But that’s not all to the story. Be careful, some folks say if you’re not careful, one of the family ghosts will follow you home.” The old man then smiled, winked, and walked away. The kids weren’t sure if they should laugh or be worried. But ghosts aren’t real; so why worry?
When Cathy returned from the porch, Doodles asked what she had been up to.
“There’s a boy up there,” Cathy pointed up at the porch area. “The kid seemed strange. He dressed even stranger. And he glowed.”
Karma’s attention piqued when Cathy said the boy glowed. “Glowed?” Karma inquired.
“Yeah, Karm, he glowed.” Cathy thought to herself how nutty it had to be to say such a thing, but she just shrugged and changed the subject, “How are things going down here?”
Jimmy, on his knees while he brushed away snow and flattened the grass out with his bare hands for whatever tree they might find, said, “Some guy passed by. He told us about a family who once lived in this house.”
“Yes, Cath, he said they were called the Someold family.” Janice showed that she paid close attention to what the man said. That made Erin and Jimmy chuckle. “So what do you know? Janice did hear right.”
“Well, that’s what he said,” Janice huffed.
They all stood close around Jimmy and watched him flatten cold ground; glad he wore gloves. When it was good enough, Doodles remarked, “And that’s all there is to that.” But Janice retorted, “Next comes the tree.”
Cookies and milk, happy chatter, and excitement filled the kitchen as Christmas drew near, especially Christmas Eve. There would be songs, good food, and Santa bringing all kinds of gifts. Best of all, Janice and the girls would put up a Christmas tree at the old Empty House. Jan’s dream would become real, thanks to everyone working so hard to make it happen.
Hearing all the excitement, Dad strolled into the kitchen. He didn’t need to say a word—his face was a big question mark. While the kids cheered his arrival, Mom filled him in on the details. She explained Janice’s idea, how they got Skinny Jimmy to help, and even got Cathy and Doodles involved.
But Dad wasn’t so sure about ‘that Mystery House. “Don’t you remember the story about that broken-down place?” he asked. Mom just shook her head. The girls were all ears. “Long ago, ladies,” Dad began his tale. “Way back in the olden days, there once lived a well-to-do family in that house.” He got quiet for a second. “Not sure of the name.”
“Someold,” Janice cried out. “Someold family lived there.” Everyone but Dad and Janice laughed. Dad figured out how Jan came up with the name. “Good a name as any,” he commented, then continued.
“The place burnt down. Go ask Copilot for yourself. It was the biggest fire to ever strike the Christmas Village.” The girls froze at the scary story. “Everyone got trapped inside and burnt to cinders.”
“Oh, gosh, no,” Erin yelled.
“That’s scary!” Jan appeared sorry.
Mom expressed her shock over the tale by chiding Dad. “What are you doing, scaring the girls like that? Stop it!”
Dad began to laugh and added, “Just fooling. That’s a make-believe story, girls. After all, that house is still there, right?”
Cathy came to her Dad’s aid, saying, “That’s true. That place never burnt down, ever.”
Dad grabbed a cookie and poured a glass of milk, enjoying the girls’ reactions. “A tree in the front yard?” he finally asked. Everyone nodded. “With lights on it?” Again, they all nodded and smiled. “Nice idea, but how are you going to pull that off without electricity?”
Good question.
On Wednesday afternoon, right after school, Skinny Jimmy held an ax in his hand while the girls followed him into a wooded area down the block from Cathy and Jan’s house. Karma carried a saw. Erin pulled along a wagon over clumps of winter grass and crackling dead leaves. Once they found the tree they all thought would do, Erin would wheel it out of the woods. For now, Janice sat happily in the wagon, enjoying the adventurous ride. The afternoon had a bright, sun-filled sky, yet the air remained still and chilly. As is often the situation, snow always falls in the Christmas Village. However, it doesn't always snow around their hometown. On this afternoon, the wooded area did not have a flake of snow in it. The crisp scent of fallen leaves and pine needles filled the air, mingling with the occasional whiff of damp earth. Big trees stood tall, but smaller ones hid behind others, bushes, and tall grass—a perfect place to play hide-and-seek! You might never be seen or even found around here. But finding the right tree came hard. Everyone spread out in different directions, yet it seemed that every time one of the kids thought they had found the right tree, and all the others came running to inspect it, it turned out wrong. Too big, too small, not an evergreen, too many branches, not enough branches. After an hour or more, they were tired and took a break beside another tree that failed inspection.
Suddenly, from within the woods, from a thick bushy area where none of them could see, a small voice called out, “Choose this one!” Jimmy stood tall, peering into the bushes and past large trees. The others sat frozen in place. Whoever spoke from within the woods added, “Come, look at this tree!” All the kids looked at each other, taking a head count, but no one was missing. Who could have said that?
Like a bunch of cats fleeing from a wild dog, the kids ran into the woods. They didn’t get far when, sitting with her back toward the kids and facing a lovely six-foot-tall Fraser Fir tree, they discovered a tiny girl in a large brown overcoat. Without standing, she turned towards them, smiled, and pointed at the tree. “That’s the Christmas tree,” she announced in no uncertain terms.
And what a tree it happened to be! What makes a Fraser Fir so perfect for a Christmas tree is that each branch ends with three smaller branches. You can hang three ornaments on the end of each branch instead of just one. When you use all the branches for decorations, the tree looks more like a towering display of glittering jewels than a simple tree. The tree’s branches didn’t touch the ground; they started almost up to Janice’s belly. This height was just perfect for Jimmy to cut the tree at ground level, leaving more than two feet of bark to hold the tree up in a hole Jimmy would dig for it.
They all stood dumbfounded. Jimmy spoke first as he began to walk around the tree. “You may be right.” That’s all he said.
“Great tree,” Cathy agreed, coming close enough to count every branch. Doodles joined her; Erin and Janice followed. They appeared to walk in a circle all around the tree, eyes fixed upon it from the roots right up to the treetop, where, in their imaginations, a star shone brighter than the flashing lamp of a tall, powerful lighthouse.
Karma could not take her eyes off the strange girl. To Karma, there seemed to be a faint glow around this child. Maybe she was just very pale, especially compared to Karma’s warm skin color. Yet something about her came across as different or special. This small girl kept smiling as she watched the other children, especially Karma. Finally, the child nodded at Karma and said, “My name is Fragile. You must be Karma, correct?” Then she stood and pointed at each one in turn, correctly calling them by name. Her eyes lit up with pride because she knew by everyone’s expression she got it right.
Cathy moved close to Fragile. Looking more closely at the girl, Cathy thought she recognized the brown coat from the day before, when she saw a girl leaving the movie house. “How do you know our names?” she asked in wonder.
The kids were all ears as Fragile explained, “I saw all of you at the house. Cathy, you spoke with my brother Arthur.” Cathy’s eyes widened in surprise. Arthur did mention his family. This is his kid sister! “I watched you from my window. When you said you were going to find a Christmas tree, I felt I had to follow you. So I did. Very often, I like following people who come by our house just to see what goes on around the Village.” She paused long enough to look over the tree she found and proudly declared, “And this is it!”
Janice wholeheartedly agreed and proudly patted their newfound friend on the back. “Good choice, Fragile,” she declared.
While all the kids rejoiced over the tree, Karma pulled Cathy aside. She asked, “Is it me, or do you also see that this girl glows?” Cathy didn’t even need a glance; she nodded. Karma motioned for Cathy to bend low so she could speak close to her ear. “You mentioned that her brother glowed too, didn’t you?” This time, Cathy took a second look. Yes, indeed, like steam, but barely visible, a glow seemed to rise from the girl. Cathy bent lower to speak directly into Karma’s ear and said, “Must be a thing about that family.” Cathy stood straight up, and Karma gave her an inquisitive look. They both stood silent for a moment until Karma flatly said, “Maybe they all drink too much hot soup?”
“Fragile,” Karma stated softly, almost in a whisper but clearly enough to be heard. She looked up at Cathy and said, “We should name the tree Fragile.”
And so they did.
8. The Afternoon of Christmas Eve
Skinny Jimmy wears several hats. Sometimes he is a good son, sometimes a super baseball pitcher, sometimes a junkyard lover. Today, he is a post hole digger. At least on this Christmas Eve afternoon he is. Do you know what a post hole digger is? Even if you don’t know, I’m sure you can guess that it’s a person who digs a hole for a post. You know, those poles that hold up the fences you find around just about every yard in the world. You need two important things to get a post in the ground to hold up a fence: a post hole shovel and a guy to use the shovel. And this afternoon, Jimmy is our guy. The post hole shovel is one he found around the junkyard. It does the work all on its own because it’s electric; it runs off a battery. Just the perfect tool to dig a round hole deep enough to drop the girls’ Christmas tree into and hold it up straight.
All the girls except for Fragile stood close and watched every move Jimmy made as he dug into the cold, but not too frozen ground. All eyes were on his efforts. Fragile silently watched from the top step of the Empty House. She felt a little frightened by the strange noise the electric shovel made. It might be magical, but it sure roared like a monster! The others yacked away like a flock of noisy birds. Who brought ornaments? Which gal carried along a string of lights? Did anyone bring tinsel? What great fun this is!
“And where’s Arthur?” Cathy asked. To which Fragile simply shrugged, having no idea where her brother had been. But no one really cared as Jimmy dropped the tree into the hole. They all cheered while he straightened it out and used his feet to push dirt hard against the tree’s bark. “Your dream come true,” he said, presenting the tree to Janice. He then waved his hands and shouted, “Decorate it!”
Janice placed an ornament she had made that very morning—an orange pasted over with sticky smiley faces and a ribbon and bow Mom gave her so it would hang from a branch. After all, it was her idea to have a tree, so she had to be the first to begin the festive decorating. Then they all jumped in, singing a slow and heartwarming version of ‘Edelweiss’ as they worked. Jimmy watched the girls fly around the tree while he placed the post hole shovel near where Fragile sat. She sang too from the porch.
Karma and Doodles busied themselves stringing lights about the branches. Doodles handed Jimmy the cord’s plug to hold so it wouldn’t get underfoot. “Be nice if we had electricity for these,” Karma mused.
Fragile’s eyes widened with curiosity. “Electricity? What is that?” Jimmy glanced at her as if she were from outer space. Erin giggled at the remark.
Karma smiled. “It’s what powers the lights. It’s like magic that makes them glow.”
Fragile nodded slowly, taking in the new information. She then glanced at Jimmy, who was holding the electrical cord’s plug. “I think I know where we can find some of that magic,” she said softly, eyes sparkling with excitement.
You see, Fragile and her brother spend most of their time hanging around the Empty House. They never roam far from it. One place they did enjoy was the old movie house next door, especially on Tuesdays when a new show starts every week. Fragile jumped up and cried, “Follow me!” The group followed Fragile just a few feet next door to the movie house. She pointed to an electrical outlet on the side of the building. “I’ve seen this before, but I never knew what it was for,” she explained.
Jimmy let out a delightful cry and plugged in the cord. Even in the broad daylight of the afternoon, the lights on the tree flickered and then burst into a warm, radiant glow, casting a magical aura around it and the Empty House. It was stunning to behold and a wonder to watch. The kids cheered, their faces illuminated with joy.
As the tree came to life, so did the Empty House, its windows reflecting the twinkling lights and filling the yard with a festive spirit. No one noticed that the ethereal glow surrounding Fragile, a glow that only hinted at her true nature, grew even brighter. But just then the front door of the house flew open and out walked Arthur, his older sister, their parents, and their uncle, the lighthouse keeper. They walked in lockstep, holding tightly onto each other, the parents kissing their children. All wore radiant smiles and sang jolly Christmas songs from long ago.
Out from Janice’s little tree suddenly shot lightning directly at the house, now ablaze in golden light. The house sparkled and glowed as windows opened, showing wonderful light within and people singing and dancing in Christmas cheer. Arthur’s parents stepped down from the porch as Fragile ran into their arms.
“As if the girl hasn’t seen them in a very long time,” Doodles commented. Cathy nodded in agreement. She stepped quickly toward the porch and Arthur came right down to greet her.
Bells began to chime and songs filled the air. “Thank you,” Arthur hugged Cathy. “And especially you,” he pointed to and offered Janice his hand. “Because of you and your magical tree, we are together again. This house is no longer empty,” he shouted. “It is a Christmas House.”
THE END
Story by Joe Pegasus
Illustration Design by Joe Pegasus
Art Consultant Ocrut Kram
Art filtered by BING
DreamUp, and Crayon
Literature Proofed by Copilot.
Copyright Joe Pegasus 2024