Happy
Holidays VI
In honor of Trixie Camp 2005, I had to… This
was begging to be written. Of course it’s been forever since I have been able
to catch up on fic or the Trixie variety so who knows… someone might have done
it already, in which case, I’m doing it again. Its "short" #12 (I
think), from #22, Trixie Belden and the Mystery at Mead’s Mountain. I am
making no profit from this (obviously), and give all credit to the characters
to whom credit belongs. The beginning excerpt in italics is taken directly from
the last page of the book.
Here’s
To The Future
By
Heather
"In one happy voice, the Bob-Whites
and their friends shouted, "Happy New Year!" and then they all were
hugging each other. As Pat and Katie left to go get champagne for everyone to
toast in the New Year, Trixie slipped into her bedroom and out onto the
balcony.
Above the dark woods was the
The wind rustled through the trees as Trixie
stared out onto the white blanket stretching for what seemed like miles. Inside
she could hear the words to Auld Lang Syne being sung but her mind was far
away, drifting back to the cases they had solved in the previous months. Some
of the memories were frightening, and some, not so much so, but she remembered
all of them with a little hint of satisfaction. She heard a noise behind her
and turned her head to one side.
"Just came to see if you were going to
come back in? Pat and Katie brought champagne. You know that it’s a rare
occasion for us," her best friend laughed.
"Oh, Honey, I know. But right now… it’s
just so peaceful. Every New Year's Eve night I always stay up and think about
the last year. I ask myself if it was what I wanted it to be… maybe think about
the most important things that have happened to me over the year. Maybe
even," she reluctantly admitted, "some of the things I should have
changed. And it’s so… I don’t know. So calming to do it."
"I can understand that," Honey
said, coming to stand beside her at the railing. "I used to write in my
journal on New Years Eve night. Sometimes, I would even try and write a poem
about how I was feeling. Of course, before I met you all, the poems weren’t
exactly happy. Definitely not something I would want to read now… but sometimes
I do. It reminds me of how thankful I am for all of you."
Trixie smiled and looked at her friend,
drawing closer. "We’re thankful to have you too. I think all of our lives
have changed since meeting each other." She smiled at Honey, who returned
the grin. The two friends stood beside one another, just breathing in the crisp
night air and reflecting. Presently, Honey turned back to Trixie.
"Well, I’ll leave you alone now. I’m
going to go inside and be a little bad for… oh… at least one sip’s worth,"
she laughed.
"Okay, Honey. I’ll be here… just…
thinking."
Honey searched her friend’s face for a
moment more and went inside. She walked towards the coffee table where she
found that glasses had been set out with bottles of champagne. She poured a
small amount in one and walked over to Jim, who was standing near the fireplace
with Brian, Mart and Pat, holding a similar glass. She whispered something in
his ear and left him, a sly smile on her face.
Back on the balcony, Trixie didn’t bother
turning around the next time the sliding door opened. She had been staring at
the small Christmas tree just at the corner of the lodge that had been
decorated with natural pine cone decorations and Christmas tree lights. The
sparkling lights seemed to have hypnotized her. "
"No, there’s plenty more. But she
didn’t. I did."
She still hadn’t turned around and so Jim
could not see the smile cross Trixie’s face. She held her breath for a few
moments, not daring to hope that it was really he, but when his hand crossed in
front of her face handing has a glass, she knew she’d better look, just to make
sure that it was.
"Thank you," came her whispered
reply.
"You’re welcome. More than
welcome." He hesitated. "Do you… mind if I’m out here with you?"
"Of course not."
"Here… I brought a small plate of these
as well." He laid a plate on the railing that had a number of small petite
fours and small sugar cookies on it.
"You’re trying to get me to be double
bad, aren’t you? I’ll have to do some more skiing to work these off."
"I don’t know why you insist on
thinking that anyone has a problem with your weight but you, Trix."
Thinking he was teasing her, she looked at
him ready to swing the teasing-sword back in his direction. But his face held
no signs of teasing. She sighed. She could have told him about all the comments
she’d endured from Mart growing up, but figured it would be pointless.
Determined to make this a true New Year, she did what she normally would never
have done.
"Thank you, Jim, for saying that."
"Again… you’re welcome." He smiled
at her and reached out to brush a stray curl off of her forehead. She simply
stared at him, a question in her eyes that was not yet ready to be answered by
his mouth.
He cleared his throat. "Actually, I
have something for you. Let me go get it."
It was a minute before he returned and when
he did, he held a small box in his hands. He took her glass from her and held
it while he handed her the box. "It’s just a little something that… well…
you’ll see."
She could tell he was nervous, and after
their interlude a few moments ago, she could understand why. Her own
nervousness was riding an all time high just then. She unwrapped the box with
shaking hands, giggling a little as she glimpsed what it was. Jenny had either
already possessed, or had made a puzzle in the shape of a "J". It was
painted in bright blues and greens.
"It’s wonderful, Jim. You’re sneaky
too, I didn’t know you’d gone back to talk to them."
"Well, with a little help from Linda
and Wanda, it was not any trouble," he smiled. He started to speak again,
but then fell silent, waiting to see if she could grasp on her own how he meant
the puzzle.
She looked up at his face and grinned shyly,
her blue eyes seeking out his green ones. "It means… it means a lot
Jim." She lowered her head for a minute as one of her small feet seemed to
gain a life of it’s own, moving towards him. "It really does."
He mentally shrugged and bridged the rest of
the gap, placing first one tentative, and then another arm around her, just
holding her, one hand around the back of her head, bringing her close. They
reluctantly let go but kept one arm in place so they could turn and look out at
the trees once more.
Trixie began to speak, but a finger across
her lips silenced her. Jim took the hand at her mouth and pointed towards the
edge of the woods. A deer stood quietly looking at them for what seemed like
ages, and then slowly and gracefully slipped away.
"Beautiful," was Trixie’s only
comment.
"Very," he replied. He was not
referring to the deer.
Each knew it was getting late and that they
must get back inside, or be missed by the others. He suspected though, that
Honey had taken care of that potential problem, for no one had remotely stuck
their head out to check on them, they both began to show signs of retiring for
the night.
"Are you finished?" he asked,
indicating her still half-full glass.
"Yeah," she laughed. "A
little went a long way for me." She started to take her glass from the
railing but his hand reached out and stopped her.
"Nope. We have to do something. I watched
my parents do this every New Years." He took Trixie’s glass from her and
handed his to hers, which had considerably less in it than hers, but still a
few sips. "Okay, on the count of three, we’ll turn around and throw the
champagne over our shoulders and make a wish. That wish is supposed to come
true in the next year. Just make sure you throw only the champagne. I tried to
do it with my juice once and broke the glass when I accidentally threw it as
well," he grinned.
Trixie shook her head with laughter, but
agreed.
She held his glass and waited for him to
count.
"One… two… three."
Both turned around and tossed the contents
of the glass over the balcony, hearing the soft splats as they landed on the
snow below.
She turned back to him with a soft smiled on
her face. His eyes held hers for a moment longer than necessary.
"I hope your wish comes true,
Trix."
She nodded. "Yeah. I hope so too."
She was still too demure to give him any verbal indication of what she had
wished for. But not demure enough to let her eyes be silent about it.
His nod in silent understanding would forever be the happiest reminder of
that New Year.