Lonely This Christmas Read Online Free Page B
Author: Krissie LaBaye
Elaine finished her speech like Emily Pankhurst at a suffragette meeting. When Judy clapped furiously and cheered loudly, the two girls fell about laughing. There was a lot resting on the school disco, and Judy hoped that after it neither of them would be left disappointed. Little did either of them know, but the forthcoming disco would be the event that would change Judy’s life forever.
Chapter Nine
When Judy opened her eyes and checked her watch she was astonished to find that it was just going on to 9.45pm. She had been relaxing for several hours, and yet it had only seemed moments ago that she had closed her eyes. She realized that she was smiling to herself, and it was as though she was looking forward to the school reunion every bit as much as she had looked forward to that Christmas disco she had just been reminiscing about. Whereas back in ’74 there had been feelings of trepidation mixed with the excitement, today she had no such anxieties. She didn’t worry anymore about not looking perfect and she wasn’t afraid of falling foul of the school bullies either. If any of them were at the reunion she’d hold her head high and not let them spoil her night.
As she flicked the TV channels, Judy could not find anything to take her interest. Switching off the TV she decided to have an early night, because tomorrow she had a late start at the store. She was meeting up with Elaine in town, before the start of her shift, so that they could go shopping for an outfit for the City High Christmas school reunion. She had a few ideas in mind, but Elaine could be quite persuasive and would probably encourage her to choose something just a little bit crazy. She half expected Elaine to suggest that they searched for something in canary yellow, but that would definitely be out of the question.
Just as Judy was turning off the living room light, her eye caught the photograph above the fireplace. It looked as if Bruce was smiling directly at her, and as she walked across the room it was as though his eyes were following her. She was suddenly overwhelmed by panic and a mixture of other emotions. Even though Bruce seemed to be smiling at her, she was suddenly overcome by a feeling of guilt. Guilt, that she was really looking forward to exciting times ahead, that he was no part of. Right then, she wished so very much that the crash hadn’t happened, and that Bruce was still alive.
She turned out the living room light and walked into the hallway to check that the front door was locked. As her hand touched the handle, she was instantly taken back to that fateful night almost exactly ten years ago.
Chapter Ten
It was a dark December evening and the children were already in bed. Judy looked out the window to see if there was any sign of Bruce. He had gone to a meeting to drum up some new business in the afternoon, and was going to do a spot of late night Christmas shopping before returning home. It was pitch black outside, but there was a thin layer of snow on the ground which was sparkling under the street lights.
There was no such thing as 24 hour opening in those days; but most of the larger stores in town were open until 10 pm at the latest, in the weeks leading up till Christmas. That time had come and gone, and there was still no sign of Bruce. Anyway, Judy knew that Bruce wouldn’t want to stay out any longer than necessary. He had promised to be home no later than 8.30 that evening, and that deadline had passed hours ago. Bruce should have been home by now. They had agreed that she would pop a casserole in the slow cooker and eat together when he got home. The smell of the lamb and vegetables was making Judy’s stomach rumble uncontrollably, but she wanted to wait until Bruce got home before she ate. Noticing that the contents of the slow cooker were beginning to over thicken, with a deep sigh Judy switched off the wall socket.
As the hands on the clock ticked, the noise appeared to be growing louder with
Chapter Nine
When Judy opened her eyes and checked her watch she was astonished to find that it was just going on to 9.45pm. She had been relaxing for several hours, and yet it had only seemed moments ago that she had closed her eyes. She realized that she was smiling to herself, and it was as though she was looking forward to the school reunion every bit as much as she had looked forward to that Christmas disco she had just been reminiscing about. Whereas back in ’74 there had been feelings of trepidation mixed with the excitement, today she had no such anxieties. She didn’t worry anymore about not looking perfect and she wasn’t afraid of falling foul of the school bullies either. If any of them were at the reunion she’d hold her head high and not let them spoil her night.
As she flicked the TV channels, Judy could not find anything to take her interest. Switching off the TV she decided to have an early night, because tomorrow she had a late start at the store. She was meeting up with Elaine in town, before the start of her shift, so that they could go shopping for an outfit for the City High Christmas school reunion. She had a few ideas in mind, but Elaine could be quite persuasive and would probably encourage her to choose something just a little bit crazy. She half expected Elaine to suggest that they searched for something in canary yellow, but that would definitely be out of the question.
Just as Judy was turning off the living room light, her eye caught the photograph above the fireplace. It looked as if Bruce was smiling directly at her, and as she walked across the room it was as though his eyes were following her. She was suddenly overwhelmed by panic and a mixture of other emotions. Even though Bruce seemed to be smiling at her, she was suddenly overcome by a feeling of guilt. Guilt, that she was really looking forward to exciting times ahead, that he was no part of. Right then, she wished so very much that the crash hadn’t happened, and that Bruce was still alive.
She turned out the living room light and walked into the hallway to check that the front door was locked. As her hand touched the handle, she was instantly taken back to that fateful night almost exactly ten years ago.
Chapter Ten
It was a dark December evening and the children were already in bed. Judy looked out the window to see if there was any sign of Bruce. He had gone to a meeting to drum up some new business in the afternoon, and was going to do a spot of late night Christmas shopping before returning home. It was pitch black outside, but there was a thin layer of snow on the ground which was sparkling under the street lights.
There was no such thing as 24 hour opening in those days; but most of the larger stores in town were open until 10 pm at the latest, in the weeks leading up till Christmas. That time had come and gone, and there was still no sign of Bruce. Anyway, Judy knew that Bruce wouldn’t want to stay out any longer than necessary. He had promised to be home no later than 8.30 that evening, and that deadline had passed hours ago. Bruce should have been home by now. They had agreed that she would pop a casserole in the slow cooker and eat together when he got home. The smell of the lamb and vegetables was making Judy’s stomach rumble uncontrollably, but she wanted to wait until Bruce got home before she ate. Noticing that the contents of the slow cooker were beginning to over thicken, with a deep sigh Judy switched off the wall socket.
As the hands on the clock ticked, the noise appeared to be growing louder with
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