Christmas Eve has always been my favorite day of the year. On December 24, 1969, I was alone in my first detached home. I had a few hours left until the family reunion at my mother's house, so I decided to go on my last shopping tour.

On the third floor of the oldest and best department store in town, I bought a large basket of delicious cheeses, smoked oysters, a bottle of wine and wine glasses to take to my loved ones. As I went downstairs, the elevator stopped on the second floor, where everyone except an older couple and I got off - and a tall, handsome man in a navy blue suit got on. The elevator went down; we suddenly felt a sharp shake. The elevator shook and stopped. Here we were stuck in the elevator - just on Christmas Eve!

Thank God, there was a telephone in the elevator and the old man called the technicians, who assured us that the elevator would start again soon. Thirty minutes passed in an attempt to have a secular conversation, then we called again. It turned out that the elevator needed a new part and we have to wait a long time.

At this stage we - the elderly couple, in the person of Mr. and Mr. Phillips; John, the handsome man in the navy blue suit, and I were sitting on the floor, sharing Christmas memories. An hour passed, then two, we all talked so passionately that we forgot we were in the stopped elevator. As we took turns uncovering trifles from our past, we also shared a basket of cheese and wine. I didn't know it at the moment, but we were actually creating another unforgettable Christmas memory.

Five hours later, the elevator finally left. When the doors opened, the anxious store manager, relieved to find that we were in a good mood, handed us a basket of delicacies and promised to send us Christmas cards every year from now on.

I managed to go to my mother for the traditional family reunion - a little late, but I still succeeded. When I closed my eyes in the evening, it was not candied fruit that appeared before my eyes, but a handsome man in a navy blue suit.

On Christmas Eve, I returned to my home laden with Christmas presents. There was a red rose and an envelope tucked under the door. The envelope had the following note: "I'd be happy to help you eat the cheese basket, John." Finally, there was a phone number.

John and I got married the next Christmas night - our wedding ceremony was at sunset on a Hawaiian island. All this happened many, many years ago, but to this day we exchange Christmas cards with the Phillips family and celebrate Christmas by eating a basket of delicious cheeses and drinking wine. And always on Christmas, in the morning I wake up full of excitement and joy at the thought of the magic of Christmas day. 

K. M. Jenkins