Teresa's Christmas Miracle

This story is part of an ongoing series.

The chronological order of my stories is listed in WifeWatchman's biography.

Feedback and

constructive

criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racism, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.

There may or may not be discussion of political issues in my stories. If you are a Snowflake that feels you need to be protected from any mention of politics, then click the Back button now, and never attempt to read any of my stories ever again. You've been warned.

***

Part 1 - Prologue

4:30pm, Sunday, December 19th. The sun disappeared relatively early over the top of Promontory Point, leaving a glow in the western sky behind it. Sunset upon the western horizon of the Town & County was still half an hour away, and full darkness another half hour out after that.

As the light faded, the streetlights and outdoor lights of the house began sparkling more noticeably. The wood fire in the fire pot was a welcome source of warmth as the chill of the clear air enveloped the land. People huddled around it or went inside.

This was Cindy Ross and Carrie Carrington's housewarming party, and it was serving as a Christmas party, as well. Cindy had told me that this party was 'for just family', and that they'd have another open house for friends, colleagues, and neighbors later on, probably near the New Year. And that was wise, because 'just family' was pretty big.

Tim Jenkins was present, and he and Baby Benjamin were sticking together like glue. Tim was holding his son, and Benjamin protested whenever someone else tried to hold him; he was disquieted by the large crowd, even though he knew us all. Not even Carole could persuade Ben to come to her.

Cindy's mother Maggie Ross was there, and she brought Dr. Marvin Milton with her. Cindy's blood father Dr. P. Harvey Eckhart was also there, but there appeared to be no issues as he greeted Dr. Milton warmly when they were introduced. Dr. Eckhart told Dr. Milton that he (Eckhart) had followed Dr. Milton's mathematics career with great interest, though not complete understanding. "You study the most physical aspects of the world, and I study the metaphysical aspects." Dr. Eckhart said. Dr. Milton enthusiastically agreed.

Molly Ross Evans was there early, having volunteered to help her younger sister Cindy with preparations for the party. Which meant Molly had control of the huge kitchen, and was making great use of it. "Molly is a better chef than me and Callie combined." Cindy told me. I wisely did not agree out loud, but I did agree with that.

That meant that I brought my and Molly's sons Ross and Ian Troy with me, along with Carole and Jim, and their mother Laura. I brought my daughter Tasha, as well. Her mother Paulina Patterson brought a date... Michael Thomas McGill of the Madison & Ives Law Firm.

"How do you feel about that?" Cindy asked me quietly some minutes later.

"Doesn't bother me." I said. "I'm not sure Laura feels the same way, though."

Cindy got right to the point, and in brutally direct fashion (she's a Michaux like me, dontcha know). "What if they get married?"

"Ain't gonna happen." a voice from below said. We looked down to see Carole Diana Troy standing right there in front of us, looking over and Paulina and Michael talking to others.

"Carole," I said, "are you listening to conversations that do not concern you again?"

"This one concerns me, Daddy." Carole said without a shred of remorse in her voice. "And in every sense of the word '

concerns

'." Cindy's eyes widened at that. I was a lot more used to my daughter, and kept a straight face.

And speaking of daughters... Cindy's adopted daughter Betsy Ross, who some of us knew was my blood daughter, apparently felt jealous of the fatherly attention her brother Ben was being given. No sooner had we walked in the door when she came up to me and raised her arms for me to pick her up, which I did despite my bad back.

"My goodness Betsy!" I said teasingly. "You're getting to be too big to pick up! Your mom needs to put a brick on your head!" Both Cindy and Betsy laughed at that.

"She's going to be four years old on January 6th." Cindy said. "And Ben will be one on January 16th."

"

Four?

Four years old?! My goodness!" I exclaimed. "You're just growing up so fast, Betsy! You're a big girl now!" Betsy loved hearing that she was a 'big girl'... until I told her she was too big for me to keep holding. Fortunately, Carole helped by telling Betsy that she was too big for my bad back to hold for too long, which was true.

But the Future Iron Crowbar is a sneaky Future Iron Crowbar, and Carole made sure that she and Betsy were seen together as much as possible, which inevitably generated comments of 'those two girls look almost exactly alike!'... which is what Carole wanted them to see.

"One more year until she's five." Cindy said to me, meaning Betsy. "Then both the State and Federal Statutes of Limitations run out." I understood what she meant: even though I had a Governor's pardon and Federal Judge's immunity agreement, getting past the time limits for prosecuting the

alleged

crimes that ended up producing Betsy would solidify our safety all the more. (

Author's note: 'Film Noir'

)

"What do you want to do after that?" I asked quietly.

"I don't know yet." Cindy said.

"It's your call to make." I said. "I'll follow your lead..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Of course 'family' included Our Sheriff, whose name 'Antonio' had been given to Benjamin by his mother Cindy. Sheriff Griswold's housewarming gift was a number of adult beverages, including bourbons, Canadian whiskies (plural of 'whisky'), and a few select wines, which Laura volunteered to sample for taste and quality, and needed several samples to come to a good scientific conclusion.

And of course Cindy's fellow Crowbar's Angels were there. Teresa Croyle and Todd Burke came up with their three boys Jack, Mike, and Doug. Tanya P. Muscone and Jack Muscone came with her son Pete and his daughters Tiffany, and Jennifer.

Once everyone arrived, the house grand tour began. Betsy was beside herself with happiness as she guided me by the hand to her bedroom, which was simply furnished. Everyone 'ooh'ed and 'aah'ed over it, including Tanya. Tanya had been physically picked up and carried up the stairs by Todd Burke to the regular (non-motorized) wheelchair on the second floor, and Tanya got to see all the rooms upstairs, as well as the views from the windows that faced the backyard. Of the 'hall to nowhere' on the back side, Tanya said "I could sit and look out that window all day."

Back on the first floor, Cindy showed Tanya and everyone else the bedroom that was furnished to be 'handi-capable', as Tanya called it. Callie was helping Molly in the kitchen, and Cindy asked if she could use any help.

"No." Callie said with her beautiful smile. "My boyfriend has it all covered." Indeed, my son Jim was happily helping Callie with plates and glasses and settings. That boy bears watching, I thought to myself. But he's got the right ideas, not to mention the charm that had gotten Callie's attention.

We began matriculating outside with drinks. And that's when I saw the addition that had not been there before. A doghouse at the far edge of the garage, which was open to the very large cleared expanse down the hillside.

"Yes." Cindy said when I pointed it out. "It has a trapdoor into the garage, too. And the dog story is that Frieda Franklin's dog Barky, son of Bowser, hooked up with a neighbor's white lab named Carolina, because they got her in Raleigh, North Carolina. She just had the puppies, all solid white labs, and I'm getting two of them, a boy and a girl. They're not weaned yet, so they'll be birthday presents for the kids next month. We'll get the girl spayed as soon as she's old enough."

"What will their names be?" I asked.

"I dunno yet." Cindy replied.

Ross had been listening to our conversation, and he caused it to concern him by saying "How about George and Charlotte?"

"After Prince William and Princess Kate's kids?" I asked. When Ross nodded and gave a thumbs-up, I said "Sounds good to me. Charlotte is large and in charge in that family now, and I suspect your girl dog will be that way, too." Cindy's face showed her approval with the idea.

So let it be written, so let it be done; 'George' and 'Charlotte', the grandchildren of the redoubtable Bowser they would be...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

There was one other issue: kids were going everywhere, including down the backside hill. Jack Burke was the culprit, and had gotten Mike, Ross, and Pete to go exploring with him. Parents grew concerned, so I solved the problem.

*TWEEET!*

Yep, the Police Commander's official Police Whistle came out. I was standing on the edge of the deck above the steps that led to the backyard grass, and I had all the kids 'fall in' on the grass in front of me.

"You too, ladies." Tanya told Jennifer and Tiffany. "And you can help keep the smaller kids in line." Jennifer and Tiffany did not seem pleased with that, but they dutifully got in line with the others.

"Okay, kids." I said "These are the

roooools

. You can be inside the house. You can be on deck, here. You can be in the backyard. You can be in the fenced-in cleared area going down the hill. You

cannot

be past the fence in the woods. You

cannot

be in the unfenced front yard or on the front side of the house or garage without an adult with you. Good or good?"

"Why not?" challenged (who else) Jack Burke. "Is the Slender Man in the woods, and gonna snatch us?" That had the other kids looking around, and disquieted. The mention of the legendary Slender Man had me disquieted, too.

"I don't know, and we are not going to find out." I replied. "Just stay where you can be seen, especially if I look for you." No, it wasn't really the Slender Man I was worried about, but

anyone

who might be thinking of making mischief. Yeah, I'm paranoid about the kids. The Sheriff says it's not paranoia but a wise and sensible precaution.

I helped set up the folding chairs and tables in the dining room, formal living room, and greatroom. As it began growing dark, we all went through the line and partook of the many dishes everyone had brought. I'd brought hamburger patties and buns, and I don't think a single adult got any... not because they didn't want them, but because the kids got to them first. I helped myself to baked chicken and fixins.

"So how do

you

like the house?" I asked Callie when she sat down next to me at the foldout table in the formal dining room, one of the last free spaces.

"Oh, I love it!" Callie said, exhibiting her beautiful smile. "Cindy designed most of it... she could have a career in architecture if she wanted it... but I got to add a lot of the little touches, to make the good even better."

"You both did a great job with it." I said. "It's very comfortable, as well as aesthetically pleasing. By the way, all of us here are Cindy's family and closest friends. When are you going to have the party for your family and friends?"

"They're here now." Callie said. Then she added: "Seriously, I work with your wife. I did invite her assistant Laurie, but she had other plans. And I don't have any family at all, outside of Cindy and all of you."

She became thoughtful for a moment, then said "You know, Don, I never dared to even dream I'd have a house like this, a wife like Cindy, kids like Betsy and Ben. Did Cindy tell you about my past?" I shook my head 'no'.

Callie said "Well, my father and mother knew each other for about ten minutes behind the maintenance shed of the fairgrounds of a tiny, podunk town in Kansas. She was a teenage Homecoming Queen that went bad, got hooked on drugs, and turned to hooking to pay for her habit. She was found dead in an alley when I was six, and I was put in DFACS."

Callie: "And I can totally vouch for you whenever you call it 'DFACS Hell'. I went from one broken home to another, and I look back and wonder how some of those people got approved to foster in the first place. Anyway, when I was twelve, I was brought into a pretty decent home, middle class people. And then my foster father began fooling around with me. I didn't say anything... if I did I'd be back in DFACS Hell again. And my stepmother pretended not to know anything."

Callie: "When I was sixteen, I'd had enough. I ran away from home, and lived on the streets. A few years later I was working in a strip club when a man, one of the customers that night, approached me. He said he was an agent for an adult film studio, and he gave me a card. The other girls there told me that I

would

take one for the team and go out with him. Turns out he was legit, meaning he was an adult industry scout."

Callie: "And so I ended up in the porn industry, which is tough but a hell of a lot better than streetwalking or working the pole in a seedy, dirty bar. And then we came to this Town & County to make a film, and Life got good from there on." (

Author's note: 'The Porno Set Mystery'

)

I said "I'm glad things worked out for you. And yes, they

did

work out for you."

Callie said "And after all that, I don't want to sound like I'm complaining at all. But I

am

worried about some things, like how much longer I'll have a job with Laura."

"Laura loves you." I replied. "She says you do great work, too. So why are you worried about... oh, never mind."

"Yes." Callie said as she saw the understanding come into my eyes. "Laura isn't saying anything, but she's really feeling the pressure that Dr. Carmela and Dr. Moore are trying to put on her. Laura is trying to muster up support, like recreating the Faculty Study Group, but the Trustees rejected her for the University President post, and in a pretty ugly way. So she's not expecting much support."

I said "Well, Laura is hardcore tough. She's not the one to be pushed around."

"Neither are you." Callie said. "But what would you do if the next Mayor is a Democrat... a black Democrat, dedicated to

defunding the Police

, and the Council is majority Democrat, and committed to your destruction? Sure you can retire...

just like Laura can

... but is that what you would want?"

"Point taken." I said, resisting the urge to go into a reverie. "Point taken..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I'd noticed that Tasha had been keeping distant from her mother and Michael McGill. Not avoiding them, but just keeping to herself. Carole was continuing to keep Betsy company, so Tasha had explored the hillside with the boys for a while, then she took up station with Tiffany and Jennifer, who weren't rude to Tasha but did not really include her in their 'older girl' conversations.

Sooo, Tasha went over and sat down by Dr. P. Harvey Eckhart on the sofa in the greatroom, and found him to be a much more receptive audience. He had been talking to Todd and Teresa, but gave his full attention to Tasha when she came up. I listened in on the conversation that did concern me... as it would turn out.

"Uncle Harvey," Tasha asked, "we call Aunt Cindy 'Aunt Cindy' even though Daddy and Carole say she's my cousin. We call Teresa and Tanya our aunts, too, but they're not really. So are you really my uncle? Or are you a cousin, too?" Everyone who heard that chuckled, especially Todd.

"Well, let me explain it, young Tasha." Dr. Eckhart explained. "I am Cindy's father, just as young Donald is your father. Donald's father is my brother, just like Jim, Ross, and Ian are your brothers. So Donald is my nephew, and that makes

you

my great-niece, which is a great thing." He and Tasha high-fived.

Eckart: "And that also makes your dad and Cindy first cousins. Your dad's sister Elizabeth is my niece, and since she is Todd's mother, that makes you and Todd first cousins."

"All right!" Tasha said. She high-fived Todd. She then said "So your brother and my daddy's daddy is my grandfather that died? I remember seeing his tooomb in Ap-ple Grove. But what was his 'grandpa' name?"

I stepped up and said "That's a good question. Todd, what did you call him when you saw him? As first grandchild, you got to name him."

"I think I saw him a grand total of three times." Todd replied. "I just called him 'Granddad'."

"Good enough for Government work." I said.

Dr. Eckhart took it back up: "As to Teresa, she is married to your cousin Todd, so she's your cousin-in-law. But much, much more importantly, Teresa, Tanya, and Cindy are like sisters to your dad on the Police Force, so that's why Carole started calling them aunts, and the rest of you followed right along. They're all very close."

"And then some." I said quietly. Teresa and I fist-bumped.

"Wow, I have a

big

family on Daddy's side!" Tasha said. "On my mom's side, we just have my Uncle T-Square. Everyone else is either in prison or dead."

"Who told you that?" asked Paulina, who'd wandered up with Michael T. McGill.

"Let me guess, Little Love." I said. "I'll bet Carole told you that, as well as most of what Uncle Harvey just told you."

"Carole also says that nothing gets past Daddy." Tasha said to Dr. Eckhart. "And she's right." That brought the house down...

Part 2 - The Never-Ending Stories

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!"

shouted

the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Monday, December 20th, from the rooftop of the building at Riverside and College, with the Courthouse in her distant background. "Justice denied yet again by biased, far-right-wing judges!"

After the hard-charging intro music, Bettina began: "Last week, several Social Justice organizations, including the Citizens For Freedom FROM Religion, the Citizens For Secular Atheism, and the Students for Climate Justice (SCJ), filed lawsuits against the University, University Hospital, the Teresa Croyle Foundation, and the Guardians Group, the entity that is contracted to put on the Christmas Concert. Also named in the suit were Hospital Administrator Seth Warner, and TCPD Officer Teresa Croyle personally."

Bettina: "The Social Justice groups were demanding that the Christmas Concert, scheduled for Thursday, December 23d, be disallowed. They cited the Separation of Church and State Clause of the Constitution as grounds to demand the injunction against the concert. They are saying the concert is clearly a Christian religious service, and that University Hospital is part of the University, is on State grounds, and therefore cannot host the event."

Bettina: "However,

ultra-conservative

Judge Rodney K. Watts dismissed the lawsuits

with prejudice

, stating that the groups did not have legal standing to sue, that the Hospital and The Guardians Group had a legitimate and legally binding contract, and that the concert was not specifically religious nor exclusively Christian."

Bettina: "Upon appeal, Appellate Judge Leahy very correctly overturned Judge Watts's embarrassingly poor decision, and enjoined the concert from taking place. However, State Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Johnson,

also a far-right-wing jurist

, overturned Judge Leahy's ruling, and fully reinstated Judge Watts's ruling until the entire State Supreme Court could hear the case... next year."

Bettina: "University President Jerry Moore filed a 'friend of the Court' brief strongly supporting the Social Justice groups. But when asked why he didn't just stop the event outright, he said, quote, 'the Hospital entered a contract with these filthy Christian thugs to hold their very offensive concert, and there is nothing we can do beyond supporting the lawsuits to stop it', close quote."