Dreaming of a Lost Christmas
by Jeffrey Scott Holland - part 4

The car arrived in front of Edward's office building, and he turned to Grim, "What are we...?"

Grim cut him off, "Trust me! You'll find out soon enough!"

Edward rolled his eyes as he climbed out of the car and went inside. He walked across the empty lobby toward the elevator. The elevator door opened with a "ding" just as he was about to press the button. He looked at Grim and walked inside, "There's no one here. The whole building is shut down for the holidays." Grim ignored the comment and stood still, staring at the closed elevator door. Edward realized he was being snubbed and let out a sigh. Another ding sound came from the elevator, and Edward saw they had reached the fifteenth floor where his office was located. He stepped off the elevator and headed for his office. He had taken about six steps when Grim stopped him, "Hey! What's that noise?"

He stopped in his tracks, "What noise? I don't hear anything!"

Grim pointed at the door of Harold Walker's office, "It's coming from in there."

Edward approached the door to check it out. As he got closer, he couldhear something. It sounded like giggling and moaning. He cracked the door to see Harold, his junior partner, talking to a woman. He wasn't sure exactly who the woman was, but he recognized her from accounting. He stood quietly and peeked through the crack. Harold was lying on the couch, with the woman lying on top of him. They were kissing and breathing heavily.

The half-dressed woman said, "Oh, Harold! What about your wife? What if she catches us?"

He smiled a sly grin, "Don't worry about it. She's taking the kids Christmas shopping today."

Edward's stomach turned and he felt dizzy. He knew Harold's family quite well. Harold's wife, Sheila, was a wonderful, beautiful, intelligent lady. What was Harold doing with this young tramp, when he had such a wonderful life. He could not understand why he would betray his wife and two beautiful kids like this.

Edward thought that if only he had what Harold had, perhaps he would have a reason to wake up in the mornings. He and Alicia had never gotten around to having children and that always made him jealous of Harold. He often found himself envying Harold's life, mostly because he and Sheila had such a perfect relationship. But maybe it was not as perfect as he perceived it to be.

He couldn't take it anymore. He had seen enough. He burst through the door, "Hi, Harold!"

Harold jumped to his feet, shoving the woman on to the floor, "Oh... Hi, Edward! I didn't know you were here today! We were just..."

Edward rudely cut him off, "Yeah! I know what the two of you were doing! You make me sick!"

Harold turned a bright red and started to stutter, "I... Uh..."

Edward jumped in again, "If it weren't for Sheila and the kids, I would fire you right here and now, but they don't deserve to suffer because of something you did!"

The girl now had all of her clothes on again and stood up, "I'm just going to go and..."

Edward grabbed her by the shoulders and encouraged her toward the door, "That's great! Bye!"

Scared, she practically ran out of the room, passing throughGrim, who was standing outside the door.

A big smile appeared on his face, "Wow! It's been a long time since I did that!"

Edward glanced over at him and rolled his eyes. As Harold begged for forgiveness, and, even more, for him not to say anything to anyone, Edward turned and walked out the door. He walked past Grim and down the hall.

Grim limped after him and finally caught up at the elevators, "So, Mr. Potts... Are you beginning to understand yet?"

Edward shook his head, "No! Only that I am hurting inside, and the only thing you're showing me is that the things I saw as good and decent aren't so good and decent! You're making me feel worse!"

The elevator door opened, and they both stepped inside. Grim grinned. He almost seemed happy, "The world is a bad place, isn't it?"

Edward slumped against the elevator wall and slid onto the floor. As he sat there, tears ran down his face, "Yes! It's a terrible place! I already knew that without your help! I didn't need you to show me that!"

Grim looked down at him, "I know you did. I just wanted to help you see how bad it really is."

Edward looked up at him and dried his eyes, "Why would you do that? I thought you were supposed to help me feel better?"

Grim put a hand on Edward's shoulder, "Usually I do. I usually help people realize all of the wonderful things in life they have to live for; but after studying your case, I learned you would actually be better off dead. You have a miserable life and really do have every right to die."

Edward was in shock. He hadn't expected to hear this. He was flooded with tears, "What?!"

Grim smiled an innocent smile, "Mr. Potts, I'm only trying to be honest."