Remembering Harry

 “Maybe I chose the wrong year to play Santa’s helper. Guess I can’t back out now,” she thought, while entering the mall.

The best part about Christmas to Elisabeth, is giving. It’s the one time of year where most people are kind to each other and don’t mind spreading a little cheer. Elisabeth adores driving through the Emerson’s neighborhood, just because they celebrate with caroling, egg nog, tree trimming parties, hanging lights around the roof top, wreaths on their front doors and plastic Santa Clauses on their lawns. In fact, this marks the 35^th year—the hospital staff, where Elisabeth works, will put on a talent show for the children. Who could ask for a better year ending and a new year beginning? A Christmas party, that leaves everyone drooling for more, passing out candy canes, building gingerbread houses, and reading Christmas bed time stories to the children, makes Elisabeth forget about. Harry.

Walking through the mall, Elisabeth’s skin radiates, a bright orangey kind of color. People passing by with shopping bags in each hand. Hands drooping down from the weight of their bags. One woman’s shopping bag ripped, because of all the junk, it had in it, holding on to the bag with her left hand and a giant chocolate chip cookie with her right. There's a trail of clothes behind her, she looked down and ate the last bite of her cookie. Crumbs fell. She even tried to catch the crumbs with her salivating tongue hanging down and mouth opened wide. Her bag slipped from her hand. She got down on her knees and grabbed her clothes and stuffed them into her ripped up bag. Which made no sense, the clothes would only fall out again.

 Elisabeth felt sorry for the woman. Didn’t do her any good to hold on to the bag, when she had an extra bag, so she handed it to the woman. Most shoppers had worked up a healthy appetite by now, and found themselves heading for the food court, to stuff those talkative growling bellies and dive back into shopping.

 Before Elisabeth made it to the toy store, Elisabeth’s smile sagged, her feet dragged and began pulsating, as if someone poked her with pins and needles. Her back, felt as if someone took a saw and began cutting on it. But nothing would keep her from making, every child’s Christmas dream come true.

Elisabeth spotted an empty mall bench, near the entrance of the toy store and sat there.

She then took off her shoes and rubbed her back to relieve the throbbing pain.

“I can’t wait to soak my feet, in a nice warm bath. If I sit here a moment. I think I can make it,” Elisabeth thought. After shopping awhile even the most comfortable shoes, will begin to pull and scrape every nerve.

After her ten minute shopping break, Elisabeth slid her shoes back on and tied them up, in a perfect knot. Elisabeth stood up and walked inside the toy store. She paused in the entrance, observing the view of the toys. "Harry would have loved this," she thought. She smiled again.

-

This toy store had toys that could talk, at the push of a button. Toys that glowed in the dark. Stuffed animals. Dolls with pretty dresses. Action figures with shields. Puzzles, board games and bikes. Video games. And much more. It was toy heaven. Elisabeth didn’t know where to begin. So, she pulled out her Christmas’ wish list, each child had a different request.

Elisabeth’s hands and eyes searched for the list. She pulled it out, then the list, fell to the ground. She reached down to grab it and some teenaged boy’s monstrous sized feet left his signature footprints on it, ripping it apart.

Elisabeth’s heart sank to her knees, head dropped down in disappointment. The teenager continued walking, oblivious to the boulder, he used to crack Elisabeth over her skull .

Elisabeth now even more determined than ever, to make sure this would be the best Christmas for the children. She grabbed a rolling basket, and searched each aisle, for what she thought each child might want for Christmas. Pretty soon her basket were full of toys. However, one special boy at the hospital, named Eugene, who Elisabeth remembered, asked for an action figure doll. Not any action figure. A Marines’ action figure doll. And under no circumstances, was Elisabeth going to let little Eugene down.

Elisabeth asked the sales clerk for the aisle, with the Marines’ action figure doll. The sales clerk offered to show her, himself, but Elisabeth insisted she could find it on her own.

“Aisle thirteen,” the sales clerk said.

Elisabeth pushed her basket, the wheels on the basket locked up and she kicked it, then it unlocked itself. Elisabeth headed toward aisle thirteen, but so many shoppers were on aisle thirteen, that she entered from the opposite end.

When Elisabeth made it to aisle thirteen, she reached in for the last Marines’ action figure doll, midway the shelf, held the doll close to her heart, all for some man to come and snatch it out of her hands.

Elisabeth pleaded with the man, who snatched the Marines’ action figure doll, but he told her, he had a kid at home too.

“I’m sure you can understand. My little boy, Eugene, he’s very sick and all he wants for Christmas is a Marines’ action figure doll,” Elisabeth said.

“I would love to help you. But my wife, is going to be pissed, if my kid doesn’t have that doll for Christmas,” the man said.

Elisabeth left at once, holding her bags of toys, and rushed out the mall. Her body seemed to have been drained, of every pint of blood, she had. Her body felt lifeless.

Shopping didn’t feel the same anymore. She sat in her car and listened to the radio before heading home.

The following day, Elisabeth spent the entire day, wrapping gifts for the children at the hospital. Each gift had to be wrapped, just as the major department stores did it. With a bright, shiny bow. No wrinkles. No tears. The creases pressed just right. An urge to stop, convinced Elisabeth to sip her homemade honey-lemon tea, joined by memory flashes, which broke her focus and her desire to wrap vanished. In fact, she used a pair of scissors to slice up all the wrapping paper.

-

Elisabeth was running out of time, to find that Marines' action figure doll. She called around, in state, out of state. No one had a shipment of that doll. "Poor Eugene’s Christmas will be ruined, if he doesn’t get that action figure doll," Elisabeth thought.

Christmas Eve's night, the hospital’s staff, all dressed in Santa’s hats, goofy Christmas sweaters and jingle bells around their necks. The children sat in chairs, waiting to open their Christmas’ presents.

While the hospital staff and children were singing Christmas carols together, a pudgy man entered the east wing of the hospital.

“Excuse me. I’m looking for Nurse Elisabeth,” a man said.

“Nurse Elisabeth?” the nurse asked.

“Yes. Nurse Elisabeth,” the man said.

“Are you sure, you have the right hospital?” the nurse said.

The man scratched his head.

“This is the East Memorial isn’t it?” the man asked.

“Yes!” the nurse said.

“A woman by the name of Elisabeth Housack, said I could find her here,” he said.

The nurse batted her eyelashes.

“Elisabeth Housack?” the nurse asked.

“Yes!” the man said.

“Elisabeth Housack’s son, Harry, was a Marine, killed in Afghanistan ten years ago. Her grandson’s, a patient here at the hospital, Eugene. She used to be the head nurse, but after her son died, she stopped working. Her husband Harry Sr., used to dress up as Santa Claus here at the hospital, every Christmas holiday, until he died.”

“Well, she gave me this note, with her name, the hospital’s name, address and telephone number. I bought the last Marines’ action figure doll, three days ago, that she wanted for her grandson, Eugene. I felt bad and would like to leave this for little Eugene,” the man said.

The nurse hugged the man and kissed him on his cheek. The man’s fat cheek turned red and all his crooked, yellow teeth sparkled.

“Eugene will love this. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,” the nurse said.