The clock in the hallway sounded 12 times, midnight, Christmas Eve.
Playing softly through the speakers mounted above the nurses' station,
Christmas music filtered into those rooms with open doors.

The older lady sat in her chair by the window. A thick comforter wrapped
around her frail frame. Colors flashed and spun along the walls of her
room from the gaily-lit Christmas tree in the walkway, just outside her
door.

Lora gazed past the chilled windowpane, at the snow flurries dancing on
an errant breeze. But the vision that filled her eyes was that of a
certain yellow Lab who had become her most treasured visitor.

His name was Mason and he had once been Lora's life companion. When she became too ill to care for him, her neighbors, newlyweds Tyler and Kelli, had volunteered to take him in.  Mason had always nurtured a fondness for the couple and quickly became a member of their family, while spending many hours with Lora. Happy hours they were, sitting in Lora's garden as the sun warmed them both. Or in Lora's den, a fire crackling in the hearth as both canine and human napped in its cozy glow.

Lora had been in the retirement home for nearly three years, and Mason
always visited her on Christmas day. She looked past her reflection in
the window glass and smiled. Not too long now until she'd get to see
Mason.

Closing her eyes she snuggled into the warmth of the comforter, her mind playing back well remembered scenes. Mason loved to fetch and come. Every Christmas he would gingerly pull a glass ball off their tree, trot over to her and drop his treasure in her lap. Lora never knew why he was fascinated with the Christmas ball decorations, but she had come to anticipate this loving gesture from Mason.

Christmas, the year before, when Mason came with Tyler and Kelli to
visit, he had proudly presented her with a shiny red ball. Moments after
he had brought the decoration to Lora, a nurse padded through the
doorway, a searching expression on her face. Lora held up the glass ball and the nurse had smiled and shook her head. Mason grinned and everyone laughed. Mason had plucked it from the Christmas tree in the hallway.

Comforted by her remembering, Lora fell asleep as the snow tapped
softly on her windowpane.

~*~
Their guests had left an hour ago and it was just after midnight when
Kelli and Tyler had headed for the comfort of their bed. Their party had
been marvelous but it had left them both tuckered out and the thought of
sleep was welcome.

Mason, too, had enjoyed the party, entertaining guests. Seeking out and
giving affections. Bestowing sloppy kisses on the children, and for the
adults Mason proffered his paw. It was the closest he came to giving
them a hug, without fear of knocking them down.

Kelli and Tyler had stopped telling their guests that Mason would fetch
them a Christmas ornament from the tree. For in the two Christmases that had passed, Mason did not comply. It seemed this particular "gift" was given to one person only--Lora.

As the couple made their way up the stairway, Mason followed close
behind, his long tail wagging happily. A smile on his face, he panted,
tongue out to the side of his muzzle. An expression of utter joy on his
furry face.

As Kelli and Tyler settled in for the night, Mason circled three times,
then snugged down into his soft bed on the floor, at the foot of their
bed.

Christmas morning arrived as the winter sun splintered through the
blinds of the bedroom window. Tyler groggily stumbled toward the
bathroom and stopped short. Something was not right... He turned 'round and his eyes fell on the sight of his wife at Mason's bedside. Tears wet her cheeks as she sobbed, Mason's head held gently in her hands. Mason was limp, his once animated face now lifeless.

Tyler swallowed back a lump in his throat. He walked numbly over to his
wife and Mason, dropped down on his knees, and wept into Mason's soft fur.

~*~

Lora was awakened due to the persistent nudging of her hand by a cold
wet nose. Whiskers tickled her wrist and she smiled as she opened her
eyes. There in her lap lay a multi-colored glass ball. And staring at
her was the happiest face she could ever remember. That of Mason's. Lora gingerly cupped the ornament in one hand as she stroked the broad yellow brow of her beloved Mason. She bent down over her friend and whispered, "Merry Christmas, Mason."

The nurse padded quietly into Lora's room to find the woman, lifeless,
still wrapped in the comforter. In her lap was a glass ball--the one she
noticed missing from the Christmas tree earlier that night.

Outside the frosty windowpane, the wintry sun sparkled on new snow.

~~~~~***~~~~~

Copyight by Kathy Pippig Harris
kappi00@gmail.com

Kathy is a published author.  She finds inspiration for her novels,
short stories, and poems from her family, her job, her life's
experiences -- from a diagnosis of cancer, to a diagnosis of life, and
from the furry loved ones who share her world.  And she thanks God for
them all.

--
~*~ Kappi

http://pettalestogo.com/TravelTheLinks.html

And homeless near a thousand homes I stood,
And near a thousand tables pined and wanted food.
~ Wordsworth