light of love - part 1
Light of love (part 1)
By Marea67
Pairing: Nora, Kitty, Tommy, Sarah, Justin, Rebecca, Holly, the children, Robert, Jason, Scotty and naturally Kevin
Rating: Totally G, unless you get offended by some kisses.
Summary: It’s Christmas. I don’t care which God you believe in, just remember that the light of love is always ‘on’ and it is the strongest light there is. Just accept it. Let it in and let warm you.
Disclaimer: Don’t own the Walkers or the McCallisters, or the Wandell.
Please: Don’t nitpick if things are not really possible. Allow some artistic freedom. It’s Christmas. Believe in miracles. J
*****
Tioman, 5 days before Christmas.
Jason lights one of the candles. With everything outside not hinting that it is even remotely close to Christmas, he has this strong desire to light some candles here inside this small chapel. He concentrates on every movement, almost reverently. These little lights never fail to make him feel all warm inside.
He thinks of Robert. Practical Robert. He shakes his head. He is worried that his brother takes on more than he can handle. He knows that his brother is ambitious and stands for what he believes in. But what bothers Jason is that Robert’s relentless work will end up alienating him even more from his children.
He hopes that Kitty can keep control over Robert just enough to make sure that Robert also takes time to unwind. He has faith in Kitty. One thing that Jason has learned is that the Walkers are not used to playing second fiddle to anyone. If Kitty is like Kevin, Robert will not stand a chance if Kitty has put something in her mind… He smiles as he remembers how conniving Kevin could be if he wanted some time alone with Jason.
At moments like these he misses Kevin, but other than that, he hardly thinks about Kevin at all. In this mostly muslim country it is too dangerous to be open about your homosexuality. The church had warned him not to do anything, that might suggest that he had a male lover in America. So he has no pictures of Kevin anywhere. Maybe that was also the reason for their break up. Kevin had become this abstract ‘thing’ somewhere on the other side of the world. Kevin became ‘unreal’ amidst everything he had seen here, the amount of work that needed to be done and his renewed believe in his religion.
He became used to hearing Kevin two, three times a day on his answering machine. He only started to miss Kevin, when Kevin stopped calling. That is when he became worried.. It was then, and only then, that he realized that he had not spoken to Kevin in several weeks. That he began to wonder if perhaps Kevin had been as nauseatingly worried by him, as he was now feeling about Kevin. That he suddenly felt guilty. That he had called Kevin….
He stares into one of the candle lights. He puts his hands together and starts to pray. He prays to God, asking God to protect Robert and Kitty. And then, after a moment’s hesitation, he asks God to let Kevin find the happiness he deserves …
Walker house, 4 days before Christmas
“Oh, honey.” Nora sighs. Kitty looks miserable. She’s been sick for two weeks, but managed to be with Robert. Until she collapsed nearly two days ago and Robert, not accepting any further excuses, sent her home to be with her mother. And although the flu-bug seemed to be leaving her system, she still looked like death warmed over. “Really, Kitty, you waited way too long with this…”
Fearing another speech about ‘taking better care for yourself’ coming up, Kitty was more than happy when Tommy came in.
“Hey, what are you doing here? Weren’t you supposed to go with Julia to see her parents..?”
Tommy shook his head.
“No thanks, the idea of spending Christmas with them just horrified me. I told Julia I had a lot of work to do. Ahm, mom, can I eat here at Christmas? ”
“Off course… though I have to say it will be quiet this year…”
“Why?” Tommy asked, he couldn’t imagine a quiet Christmas party in this house. Nora’s shoulders dropped a bit as a sad look came to her face.
“Saul is gone to be with mother. Joe has the children, so Sarah will be alone. Robert is on his campaign, so Kitty is alone. Julia and Lizzie are with Julia’s parents, so you will be alone. Justin will go to some veterans-meeting with someone else, so he will not be here. Rebecca will be with Holly, so she won’t be here either.”
“Well, that leaves us with one happy couple. Kevin and Scotty.” Tommy grinned.
“You haven’t heard?” Nora looked from Kitty to Tommy.
“They broke up?” Tommy asked astounded.
“What did Kevin do this time?” was Kitty’s sharp question.
“Nothing. And no, they didn’t split up. Well, yes, they did, but more literally. Scotty is near New York. The restaurant he works for, what’s-it’s-name, sent him to their restaurant there, so he would learn some other skills. He was supposed to stay for a week and then return. He would have two days off with Christmas. Kevin was very happy. He and Scotty have been working too hard lately. Kevin had some awful difficult case. So he was mostly away during the daytime, Scotty working the evenings, they hardly saw each other. They were so looking forward to Christmas….”
“Mom, cut the story short, please. My head is ready to explode and I cannot handle too much info. “ Kitty complained. Tommy made a hand movement that marked that he agreed with her and that his mom should hurry up.
“The management was supposed to arrange Scotty’s return ticket… They forgot and now Scotty cannot fly home. Everyone wants to be home. Planes are booked and there is even a waiting list, in case there are cancelations. He will have to stay in the New York branch until the day before Christmas, so he cannot leave earlier. The first available place was on a plane the day after Christmas. So Kevin will be alone as well.”
“Awww.” Went Tommy and Kitty simultaneously.
McCallister ‘headquarters’ somewhere-God-knows-where-in-this-campaign,3 days before Christmas.
It is quiet at last. He did his speech and he talked to people after that and he shook hands and he smiled and he waved and …. He was extremely tired. He checked his phone. No calls from Kitty yet. No text-messages either. He missed her. With her around him, it always seemed more enjoyable. She would know things, tell silly trivia, have wicked comments that made him smile and made long days like these bearable.
He nearly dropped the telephone when it rang unexpectedly.
”Robert?” The voice sounded very little, but Robert knew who it was.
“Jason? Oh my God. Jason! How are you? Where are you? Will you be home for Christmas?”
“I was supposed to be, but the church decided differently.” Jason sounded as tired as Robert felt.
“This must be one of the saddest Christmases EVER.” Robert said. When Jason asked him why, he gave a quick run-down of what happened to him and the Walkers, however he didn’t mention Kevin. He did not want to hurt his brother, but Jason wanted to know.
“What about Kevin? You didn’t mention him.”
“Jason…”
“No really, Robert. It’s alright, if he is happy I don’t mind. Things didn’t work out between him and me, but these things are between us and have no bearing on you or Kitty… understand that? What about Kevin?” So Robert told Jason.
“Robert, is it me or are you bit satisfied with this outcome?” Robert wasn’t a liar, so he admitted:
“Yes, I cannot say that I feel much compassion for Kevin or Scotty after what they did to you. Sorry.”
“Don’t do this for me. I made mistakes as well as Kevin did… And, personally, I think it is very sad. You shouldn’t be separated from your loved ones at Christmas.” Robert felt reprimanded and was about to retaliate, when Jason continued: “I have to go, my time’s is up. Call you as soon as possible. Take care of Kitty and, for my sake, be a little nicer to Kev. Bye.”
The silence that followed was strange. Robert felt as if he missed Kitty even more. Still no calls from her. He hadn’t spoken to her since yesterday afternoon. Was she alright? Well of course, if anything bad had happened the Walkers would have called him. If not Nora, then Sarah, Tommy or … Kevin… God, was this what Kevin had felt? This concern? Could it be that Kevin had been waiting just as impatiently for a call from his brother, as he was now awaiting a call from Kevin’s sister? … It was less than 24 hours since their last conversation, but Kevin had sat through these feelings for days… weeks…
Robert suddenly remembered how distraught Kevin had been when he had accidentally mentioned that Jason had called him… The thing was, Robert could call Kitty and there would be a great chance that she would pick up. Grumpy over being awoken by the telephone, while she was sleeping off her illness. But what if the person on the other side never picked up the telephone?
His phone rang again. He saw who was calling him…
“Kitty!....”
Tioman, 3 days before Christmas
As he entered the small chapel Jason’s mind was still on the conversation he had had with his brother. It had been a long day. He was tired. He took a handful of long candles and stuck each one in the sand and he started to light them. One for every person he wanted to ask a blessing for. Robert. Jack. Sophia. Kitty. Kevin. Nora. Sarah. Paige. Cooper. Tommy. Julia. Lizzie. Justin. Rebecca.
As he watched the light coming from those 14 candles, he smiled because for the first time in weeks he felt very peaceful. He picked up one more candle, stuck in the sand, guarded it’s small flame for a moment until it grew stronger. He lit this one for Scotty, because it was the time of the year to forgive and let go.
“Dear God, please, protect them. In these days before Christmas I pray for a miracle. Let your light of love spread out and unite them again.” He smiled at the, now, 15 candles and walked away. He carefully closed the door to the chapel. In the quiet chapel, everything remained as it was for a moment. Than the light of the candles flickered as if there was draft somewhere, except there wasn’t any.
Sarah’s house, 2 days before Christmas, morning
Sarah gave the telephone an annoyed glance. But when she saw who was calling her, her curiosity won. She picked up.
“Joe??”
“Hi Sarah, Sorry to bother you, but it’s Gabe. He came back from school yesterday, sick and feverish, throwing up and feeling downright miserable. The doctor is not sure what is wrong, but it may be contagious as we are now coming down with the same symptoms. It may be better if Paige and Cooper don’t come to stay now. They might get sick as well. Is it a big problem if they stay with you over Christmas?”
“No, no, ‘course not.” Sarah replied.
“And I was wondering if… well, if things are better around here, could I perhaps have them with New Years Day?”
“Sure. If things are better. We will simply swop weeks, that’s all… Take care of Gabe.” Sarah hang up and started to laugh. She danced around the kitchen humming ‘Jingle Bell Rock’. She would have her children for Christmas! Yes! She elegantly whisked her mobile phone from her kitchen table. Pushed one of the speed-dial buttons.
“Mom….?”
The winery, 2 days before Christmas, early afternoon
Nora couldn’t be in a better mood. Her grandchildren would be home for Christmas. She had been grinning like an idiot all morning, but now had returned to more serious business. She had received a phone call from Kevin. He had papers that needed signing by Tommy and Holly and he was swamped in work at the moment and he wanted the papers in the mail before Christmas and would it be very inconvenient for her….? ‘Course not. So, she had picked up the papers from Kevin’s office and left for the winery.
She didn’t see Tommy, but ran into Holly.
“Oh Holly, here are some papers that need signing by you and Tommy.” Holly quickly went over them, saw what they were about. Yes, Kevin had already send a draft of it by email. She quickly put her signature on it.
“Tommy is somewhere back there.” She pointed towards some people at the other end of the vineyard. “He should be on his way back. So if you want to wait? He is with some customers.”
“Oh, alright. I won’t disturb them.” Nora smiled.
“Coffee?”
“Yes, that would be lovely.”
“You look happy.” Holly observed.
“Yes, I received a phone call from Sarah a few hours ago. Her children were supposed to be with her ex during the Christmas holidays, but that has changed. I will have my grandchildren with me for Christmas...” Nora looked so pleased, that Holly couldn’t help but laugh.
“Congratulations, Nora. Seems Santa dropped off an early present…”
“Yes. What will you do for Christmas?”
“Oh, just Rebecca and me, I’m afraid. Nothing fancy.” Nora nodded. She felt less uncomfortable around Holly lately and she really liked Rebecca. She saw Tommy had approached the house and he was apparently saying his goodbye’s to the customers, standing near the cars and shaking hands, laughing.
“I’d better go out there and get him to sign these. Kevin will be happy and I’ll be out of everyone’s way.” Nora was about to leave, when she turned back to Holly.
“Holly, don’t take this the wrong way. It’s just… I’d like to see everyone together at Christmas and I was thinking.. Maybe… You and Rebecca can have dinner with us?...I don’t want to impose… It’s just… well.. you know..” She stood there flapping her hands. What was she thinking? Holly would never ever accept.
“I will ask Rebecca what she wants. Can I call you later?” Nora nodded. At least it wasn’t an immediate refusal.
( End of part 1)