Another short Christmas-y burst

Someday I'll weave all these little snippets into something more, but for now they're just the many couples that live in my head and feel the need to tell me their stories. These two, Sean and Brian, will be woven into a book soon enough I think. This was in response to a prompt in a writing community on LiveJournal. The prompt was to grab the book nearest you, and work a line from it into your story. As it happened, the book that was closest to me was "The Gift of the Magi"...so I used the last line from the story.

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Christmas Eve, and the house was packed to the rafters. Everyone did their own thing, most of the traditions were gone. It didn't even feel like Christmas anymore. Sean gazed around the living room, decorated the same as it had always been, the same as he remembered from Christmases past, right down to the worn O. Henry book on the mantel. He lifted it down and skimmed over the pages.

After, he closed the book, ran his thumb over the cover lovingly. Every Christmas, every single one without fail his mom had read the story aloud on Christmas Eve. At first he and his brothers had listened avidly. He still remembered the awe with which they'd listened to the story, each year was like they were hearing it for the first time.

"Wow mom! She sold her hair to get him a watch fob, and he sold his watch to buy her hair combs!"

She'd always smiled sagely, and looked for all the world like an angel fallen to earth.

Then, they got older. Sean first, and then the others. Mom still read the story aloud, but like as not he and his brothers listened with half an ear, or not at all as they drank beer and watched football on TV. Her expression was always pained when she finished, but Sean hadn't really notice.

....."Mom?"

She looked up, harried and tired, a strand of hair in her eyes. Now they were all grown she got up a Christmas feast for the whole rabble. His brothers were married with oodles of kids, Sean was the only one who hadn't settled down.

"What Sean?"

He handed her the book, "Would you read it again?"

"I don't know Sean...I can't get the kids together to sit still long enough...and besides...it doesn't have its magic anymore."

"It does," he said firmly, and he nodded over to where Brian sat by the fire. "Besides, he hasn't heard it yet..."

She smiled indulgently, "Who's to say he'd like it?"

Sean cocked his head to the side, "He would, trust me." He waited for Brian to look their way, and then he beckoned.

Sean sat as enraptured as if hearing it for the first time, and he could tell by Brian's silence that he was caught up in the story too.

"Everywhere they are the wisest. They are the Magi."

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