The boys were delivering newspapers. It was Josh’s route and the boys helped him in exchange for part of the profits. The route had been built into something huge. The boys had divided up and gone door to door selling paper subscriptions. Each boy had a section of town as his responsibility. The route was laid out so that each section ended at the town square.
They alternated so that the boys knew the entire route and could cover for each other in an emergency.
Now it was three days before Christmas and the weather was brutal. There was a foot of snow on the ground and it was still snowing. The temperature was fifteen degrees.
“I’m froze!” complained Tommy while plopping down on a bench.
“My goosebumps have goosebumps!”
“Mine too!”
“How’d we do?” asked Josh while turning his back to the wind.
“Boy, your customers are nice. I got 2 boxes of candy, 4 rolls of lifesavers and, a five-dollar bill,” answered Tommy, “too bad Christmas comes only once a year.”
“I got gift cards at Micky D’s, Arby’s, and Wendy’s. I also got 2 five-dollar bills,” said Jason.
“A big box of chocolates, a Micky D gift card, and a five-dollar bill,” said Billy.
“Good! I got candy, 2 five-dollar bills, and the new Avengers DVD,” offered Josh.
“With what we already have and two more days until Christmas, who knows how much we will get.”
The next two days the boys made a killing. They piled it high in Josh’s room. There was so much stuff Josh had a hard time keeping his little sister out of it.
“Go away!” he ordered, “I’ll give you some after we divide it up.”
She pouted and went to her room. But not before she went crying to their mother.
“Josh, why won’t you give her any candy?” his mother asked when she came to his door.
“I told her I’d give her some after we divide it up.”
His mother nodded and walked away, “just make sure that you do!”
“I will. I promise.”
“Billy, what’s the total?” asked Tommy.
Billy got the clipboard and began to read.
“Twelve boxes of candy, ten rolls of lifesavers, four boxes of Christmas cookies, Four movie tickets, the Avengers DVD, and $45 cash. And last, but not least, an envelope addressed to Billy.
“Open it, Billy!” urged Tommy.
Billy tore it open, removed a piece of paper, read it, and blushed. He tried to shove it in his jeans pocket and was tackled by the other boys.
“Ouch! Quit kicking me, Billy!” cried Tommy.
“I got it!” shouted Jason.
“What does it say?” asked Josh.
“It’s Sarah Wilcox’s phone number!”
“Gimme that!” ordered Billy while trying to get out from under the boys.
“Sarah Wilcox! You gotta be kiddin’ me,” said Tommy, “she’s the prettiest girl in school.”
The boys were arguing back and forth when the phone rang. Josh’s mother answered and came to the bedroom door.
“Josh, it’s for you.”
“Who is it?”
“Mr Waverley. He said he was the circulation manager for the paper.”
“I wonder what’s wrong?” he said while going to the phone.
Josh was on the phone for a few minutes and then came back into the room.
“Okay! Which one of you clowns did it?”
“Did what? What’s wrong?”
“Who has been throwing the papers in a snowdrift?”
Everybody immediately turned and stared at Billy.
“What? Why are you looking at me?” he asked.
“Josh, who has been complaining?”
“Mrs. Jenkins over on Tulip Street.”
“Who had that section today?”
“Not me,” said Tommy.
“Me either,” added Jason.
“Nor I,” said Josh.
“Billy!!!’
“Why? I don’t understand,” asked Josh.
“She didn’t give us anything for Christmas,” he said.
“Billy, she’s a widow. Her husband passed away a couple of months ago,” said Tommy.
“She is?” he asked with a tear in his eye.
“This is her first Christmas alone,” said Jason.
“Billy, the newspaper is upset. They are talking about taking the route away from me,” said Josh.
“Is there anything we can do?”
“I don’t know. Did you do this to other customers?”
“Yes.”
“Billy!!!”
“I’m sorry.”
“Not good enough. We gotta make this right.”
“How?”
“Gather all of the goodies. It’s Christmas. Let’s play Santa Claus.”
The boys left and began walking the route.
“Billy, show us every house where you threw the paper in the snow,” ordered Josh.
Billy began pointing out the houses.
“Okay, Billy! Now you take a box of candy, go to the door, apologize for what you’ve done, wish them a Merry Christmas and give them the box of candy,” ordered Josh, “ Oh, and we are also replacing their wet newspaper. We have the money.”
Panic crossed Billy’s face.
“No way! I can’t do it! They hate me!” he pleaded.
“Too bad! Would you rather we beat knots on your head?” threatened Jason while balling his fists.
“Okay! Okay! I’ll do it,” he shyly said, “but man, am I afraid.”
Billy went to the first house, knocked on the door, and waited. The door opened and he began talking to the homeowner. He gave them the candy and the money for their wet paper.
Billy came back to the other boys.
“That was hard. i thought they would be mad at me. But they forgave me. Said it was Christmas. Told me to keep the candy.”
And so it went. It took hours and the last house was Mrs. Jenkins.
Billy went to the door, knocked, and waited. The porch light came on and the door opened.
“Yes? Can I help you?” she asked.
“Ma’am, I’m awful sorry. I threw your paper in the snow.”
“Why would you do that? I don’t even know you,” she asked.
“You didn’t give us anything for Christmas,” he said, “a lot of people gave us something.”
“I’m not celebrating Christmas this year. My Fred passed away and I don’t know what to do,” she answered with a tear in her eye.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” said Billy.
“Come in, it’s cold out there,” she offered.
“I can’t, my friends are out there waiting for me.”
“They can come too. I’ll make some hot chocolate,” she coaxed.
Billy retrieved the others and they sent the evening with her. They ate cookies and drank steaming hot chocolate. They could sense her loneliness and tried to talk to her. All she would talk about was Fred.
“It’s getting late and our parents will be worried and it is Christmas eve,” said Josh, “we need to leave.”
“Merry Christmas,” she said, “Oh, and I will withdraw my complaint with the newspaper.”
“Thank you and Merry Christmas to you too!”
“Oh, and boys, please don’t throw my paper in the snow.”
The boys glared at Billy.
“We can guarantee it will never happen again. Isn’t that right, Billy!!!”
June 24, 2023