Connections Jan 2015 | Page 87

evening. He'd given pretend names to all the people. He watched them unwrap Christmas presents and chuckled as 'Uncle Charlie' got drunk and escorted to bed. It was nearly 11:00 and time for the children to go to bed. A small blonde girl held onto her mother's hands, she turned, looked out the window and waved at Jerry. She mouthed "Merry Christmas" to him. He jumped. He'd completely forgotten they could see him, as well. Every year Jerry would sit in front of the house and watch the Christmas festivities. He loved the way the family got along and loved each other. He loved the squeals of delight as Jerry watched the kids open their Christmas presents. He loved how Uncle Charlie got drunk and escorted to bed, but, mostly, he loved the little blonde girl's wave at the end of the evening. When Jerry turned eleven years old his Christmas's had taken a brand new turn. At 11:00 when it was time to put the Children to bed, the blonde haired girl looked up at her Mom. Her mother nodded, the little girl put her coat on and ran outside. She held something in her hand and handed it to Jerry. Jerry flashed a meek, shy smile at her and opened up the paper object. It was a picture of her family. There were two boys and two girls in her family (including herself). A huge picture of the house and the picture window. A stick figure of a little boy sat on the curb in front of her house. The title read: my family. Jerry burst into tears and hugged the little girl. He looked up in time to realize the whole family watched him as Mom wiped away the tears from her eyes. By the time Jerry turned seventeen years old he'd gotten a job at a coffee place there in town and walked inside. One of the girls he worked for was sixteen. She had blonde hair and blue eyes. There was something incredibly familiar about her, but Jerry couldn't put his finger on it. The holiday season came upon them and Charlotte, the blonde haired girl approached him with a paper object. Jerry, filled with excitement, opened the paper object. Inside was a picture of her family and a small stick figure of a little boy sitting on the curb in