 Rhibear ~ Madam Solo ~ Dark Brooding Girl ~ Accio Jedi ~ Gryffinclaw ~ Just a doll
20. Presents
Setting: the home of Norman and Cherie Carton; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Christmas 2082 / the home of Norman Carton; Edinburgh, Scotland; Christmas 2107
(199 words)
Norman stood, his arm around Cherie. It was so strange not to hear his mother’s voice or see her bustling about the kitchen! He couldn’t think of her, especially not tonight. Although he hid his grief for Cherie’s sake, she saw. It was written in her sympathetic eyes.
“Let’s open presents.” Cherie handed him an envelope.
Norman opened it to reveal a Christmas card in his mother’s handwriting. A small gold shield fell out. His father’s police badge. “How-?” His voice broke.
“She wanted you to have it when you got into the Auror program.” As Cherie hugged him, he hid his face in her hair, eyes closed against the unbidden tears.
Norman beamed with fatherly pride as Normandie unwrapped the package. She had just been accepted into the YATI program, making three generations of the Carton family in law enforcement.
The gold shield glinted in her hand. “It’s beautiful…”
“It was your grandfather’s. My mother gave it to me when I got into the Auror program. Now it’s yours.”
She looked up with an unreadable expression. “But doesn’t it mean a lot to you?”
Norman smiled. “I’ve held onto it long enough. He’d want you to have it.”
__________________ Old voices I had thought long since dead whisper of another life I might have led
If I could take that second chance, If I could make my life anew, If only dreams came true... |