57 year old Lydia Mae Valentine smiled with love at hearing the voice of her daughter Tonya on the phone.
"Hi Mama, how are you?" Tonya asked.
"Hi baby, I'm fine. I'm getting along. Thank you for the dinner plate." Lydia said. "The chicken was delicious."
"It was no problem, Mama." Tonya said. Her mother's vision wasn't completely gone but it was close to it. Tonya knew that soon her mother would have to move in with her.
It was two days before Christmas and it had been somewhat of a rough holiday season for Lydia so far. Two years ago, she and her husband of 40 years, Elvis, had been involved in a terrible car accident. Elvis was killed and Lydia's sight was severely impaired.
After the family buried Elvis, Lydia Mae recovered in the hospital and went through a lot of therapy to get better. When she finally came home, it was a big adjustment for her to undertake. She had to learn how to feel her way around the house and to use a walking stick to help get around. Whenever she needed to go out, one of her children would take her.
It was all very big changes for Lydia Mae but she took everything in stride, keeping a smile on her face and thankful to still be alive. However, she missed her husband and she was sad when she thought about him. It was hard to get used to an empty bed.
Elvis was a large bear of a man; almost six and a half feet tall and weighing over 250 lbs. Lydia Mae was a beautiful, soft mocha-skinned woman; not tall at all at a bit over five feet tall and quite voluptuous at 180 lbs. Elvis loved wrapping his big arms around her at night. The couple made sure they cuddled in bed in some form every night. Sometimes, Elvis would bury his head in Lydia Mae's generous bosom and go to sleep listening to her hearbeat. Other times, it was the other way around.
Of course, Elvis kept her sexually satisfied too. They put in plenty of practice over the years, as evident in the family brood of ten children. The kids knew they had loving parents and smiled at the couple when they saw them together. Lydia Mae missed Elvis's touch in bed and that was a huge adjustment to make as well. She knew she would never remarry again so she would need to find another way to relieve herself in bed without a man.
That issue was solved one day when Lydia approached Tonya and made a request.
"Baby, I you to do me a favor." Lydia Mae said to Tonya.
"What's that Mama?" Tonya asked innocently.
"You promise you won't get grossed out?" Lydia asked.
This piqued Tonya's curiousity. "See that's not fair. You can't say that to me then I say no, knowing that it possibly could be gross. But no I won't. Tell me." she said with a laugh.
Lydia Mae sighed. "I miss your Daddy. Lord have mercy I do. I miss his touch. I get a little lonely at night, you know." she said.
Tonya's eyes got big. She held up her hand. "Mama!! STOP!! I don't think I wanna hear anymore." she cried out.
"See? You are embarrassed." Lydia said sadly.
Tonya sighed and relented. "Okay Mama, I'm sorry. What it is?"
Lydia swallowed and asked, "Do you think you can get me one of those... playtoys the young gals use when they don't have a man?"
Tonya's hands flew to her mouth. She couldn't believe what her mother was asking of her. "MAMA!!" she exclaimed, then started to giggle. Her mother still had quite a voracious appetite that would never go away. She shook her head. "Of course Mama, anything for you. I'll get you something good."
She bought her mother a couple of toys and showed Lydia how to turn them on and off but that was it. Tonya didn't want to know anything else.
Not too far away in a rundown apartment building, 45 year old Bobby Lee Jefferson stretched out his long legs trying to work out the pain in his fragile knees as he sat on his old sofa in his apartment. He was seething. His VA check was very late and the rent was already past due. His landlord had already pounded on his door and made eviction threats. He had been late with the rent several times because of bureaucratic ineptitude. With this being Christmas Eve and knowing nothing could be done right away, Bobby Lee resigned himself to the fact that he was going to be evicted this time. He buried his face in his hands.
Former SSG Robert Lee Jefferson was a U.S. Army vet of 15 years who had been struggling to make it since he was medically discharged back in 2000. He had served with the Airborne Rangers and had seen combat during the Kosovo War. He did not want to get out and he missed his comrades-in-arms. However, as time went along he barely kept contact with any of them nowadays. He felt alone and discarded. He had done a lot of hellraising back in his day and had two kids with a couple of European women but Bobby Lee didn't know a thing about them. Other than that, he had no other family and spent his days alone and bitter.
He was a tall, rangy, lean man whose dark wrinkled skin showed the stress and hardships he had been through over the years. He was a recovering alcoholic who was also suffering from PTSD. He tried his best not to drink when he was down because he was afraid of what he was capable of when he was in that state. Stress made him have other ideas sometimes. Like now for example. He hoped he could come up with some money to pay the rent soon.
Bobby Lee decided that he needed some air to clear his head and went out for a walk. He had to come up with some kind of plan to get some money. He had a pretty sketchy work history since his discharge and wasn't working right now. He didn't know anyone he could borrow money from and all that would've done was put him into more debt.
The December air was crisp and cool and everyone was out and about getting ready for the coming holiday. Bobby Lee watched all of the families cheerily going along buying their gifts and he was envious of them. He had always spent his time alone but there were times where he wanted someone to share his life with. Maybe things would've turned out better for him if he did have someone.
The more he walked and saw folks spreading Christmas joy, the madder he got. His luck sucked and he wished it on everyone else but himself. Boy these people are spending some money, he thought. If I had a bag of these presents, I could sell them and get some money. Bobby Lee thought about doing some panhandling. He looked the part. He looked down at his old Levi's, black t-shirt and his old Army field jacket. But his pride wouldn't let him do such a thing. Bobby kept trekking.
He came up on a big oak tree on a corner a couple of miles from his apartment and saw a nicely maintained older house with a picket fence. There were a couple of cars parked along the curb and a bunch of people were milling about. Bobby Lee stood and watched. They were a pretty big family. Gifts were being taken into the house. A couple of women were hugging an older woman as the gifts and food were brought in. Hmm, Bobby Lee thought. She must live here and those are her children. Obviously, this is where the Christmas party and dinner was going to be held.
Bobby Lee growled to himself as he saw how happy they all were. He backed up to conceal himself behind the oak tree and watched them. Children ran around excitedly in the front yard as they watched the presents brought inside the house. Bobby Lee rubbed his nose as he scowled at the festivities. Why did they deserve to be happy if he couldn't be?
An idea came to him suddenly. The house looked pretty old. He could easily break in and take the presents. Yeah, he thought. He could wait until late tonight and get them. He continued to watch the family. Soon everything that would be at the house had been taken inside and they prepared to leave. The older woman kissed and hugged her children and they all began to get back into their cars. The older woman felt her way back into the house and the door closed. The cars drove off and Bobby Lee smiled to himself. Looks like she lives alone, he thought. No problem. He turned and began to walk back to his apartment, scheming on how to break into the woman's house.
When he got back to his apartment, there was a sheet of paper taped to his door. Bobby Lee stared at it blankly. Sure enough, it was an eviction notice. He angrily snatched the notice off of his door and went inside. He went into his cabinet and pulled out a bottle of Scotch. He grabbed a glass and filled it to the brim with the strong liquid. He stood there and gulped it down. He then went and plopped down on his sofa. The drink made him feel a bit better about what he planned to do. Yes, he thought. The Grinch was here.
He got up and went into his bedroom. He reached under his pillow and grabbed the loaded Colt 1911A .45 caliber pistol he kept there. The gun was a gift from one of his old Army buddies when he was first discharged. Bobby Lee took the gun and went back to his sofa. He stared at it and decided that the old woman was not going to give him any trouble if she awoke. The gun will just be a precaution. He smiled as he decided how he'd put his plan into action. He poured himself another drink and sipped on it as he waited for nightfall to come.