Dreaming of a Lost Christmas
by Jeffrey Scott Holland - part 5

Edward was in a state of shock as his car once again piloted itself down the interstate. This time they were headed back toward his house.

Grim looked at him, "Mr. Potts, I think the best thing would be to go ahead and get it over with. Do you have bullets in your gun?"

Edward stared blankly out the windshield. He did not acknowledge Grim was talking to him.

Grim raised his voice, "Edward!"

He turned, his mouth still hanging open, as if he were under some kind of spell, "What?"

"Do you have bullets for your gun?"

Edward grunted, "Yeah, why?"

Grim frowned, "Haven't you been listening? I said I think you should kill yourself! I think that would be the best solution for you. You could be with Alicia!"

Edward hurt inside, but he was also numb. It was not something he could explain. He just wanted it to stop, "Yeah... Okay... Whatever..."

Fifteen minutes later, the car finally turned down Edward's street. Edward, still staring blankly out the windshield, couldn't make his mind function properly. It seemed to have short-circuited, causing his motor skills to lock up.

As they approached his house, he caught a glimpse of a woman unloading boxes from a moving van, across the street. He did a double-take because, at first, he could have sworn he saw Alicia. His heart skipped a beat, as if it had been jump-started, and he straightened up in his seat and stared at her. He could tell from there she had big brown eyes and shoulder-length, dark brown hair.

He grabbed the steering wheel and overpowered it, pulling the car over to the side of the road, in front of his house.

Grim yelled, "What are you doing?!"

Edward gazed out the window, "That woman... She looks like Alicia."

Grim frowned and said in a rational voice, "Edward, looks aren't everything. Alicia is dead. Don't you want to be with her again? You're just making this hard on yourself."

Edward nodded and let go of the wheel. The car began to move again and pulled into the driveway. They got out of the car, Edward tried to see the woman again, but she had already gone inside.

Edward walked in the front door of his house, joined by the old man, and threw his coat onto a chair. Grim looked around, "Where is your gun?"

Edward didn't answer. Instead he just walked up the stairs and, shortly returned with a small metal box. He put the box on the table in the den and took out the gun. He inserted a bullet and cocked it.

Grim started to seem edgy. He looked at the door and then at Edward, who was just staring at the gun as if he had never used it, "Do it! Do it now!"

Edward looked up at Grim, "Now just hold on a second! This isn't something you just..."

A knock at the door cut him off. Grim looked back at the door, "Rats!"

Edward turned to the door and then back to Grim, just in time to see him vanish, "Grim?"

There was no answer. Edward uncocked the gun, laid it back inside the box, and went to the door. He opened it to find his attractive, new neighbor from across the street.

She had a huge, friendly smile on her face, "Hi, I'm Patty." Their eyes locked and Edward smiled back at her. She could have been Alicia's twin.

He melted in her presence, "You just moved in across the street, right?"

She nodded her head in the direction of the moving van in her driveway, "Actually, I'm still moving in. I saw you when you came home and was wondering if you might help me with a couple of these big boxes?"