DREAMING OF NEW YEARS

RATED PG

Stan's arms twitched in his sleep. A clamoring was waking him from a vivid dream of Stella, and Christmases past. He clung to her image until he could no longer see her laughing, as she stood on the ladder, hanging the mistletoe. Sighing, he realized how much he missed the first kiss under the mistletoe every year.

He shifted, and the empty beer bottle fell to the floor with a thud. Rubbing his face, Stan sat up and looked at the time. He couldn't believe it was almost 11 in the morning. Christmas morning he reminded himself. Suddenly, the day didn't seem so bright.

Another noise came from somewhere outside his bedroom door, and Stan reached for his gun. Cautiously, he opened the door a crack, but couldn't see anything. Making his way slowly down the hallway, he jumped out into the living room, ready to confront whoever was there.

His mouth dropped open as he looked around the room. It was spotless. Vacuumed, dusted, the whole nine yards. Not only that, but a small tree, decorated was sitting by one of the windows. The multicolored lights brightened up the lonely apartment. That wasn't the only thing odd. Other decorations were scattered about, and looking back at the tree, he noticed a small present.

Stan set his gun down and picked up the small package, shaking it as a child would to try and guess what was inside. Unable to resist, he ripped the paper off and opened the small box. Inside was a short note, and a sprig of green.

The note was simple enough. 'Meet me under the mistletoe, 5pm.'

Stan smiled as he took the sprig out of the box. Looking around, he found the perfect spot, and dragging a chair over, hung it in the doorway. After he'd returned the chair to its rightful place, Stan rubbed his chin and decided a shave would be in order. On his way to the bathroom, he turned the Christmas music up louder.

'Yeah,' he thought 'Maybe Christmas wont be so bad after all.'

The End. Merry Christmas/Happy holidays all!

zzzaney