Bookends: Christmas
By Shotzette and Missy

Christmas Past
By Missy

Laverne glanced at her watch. Was this the right school? Lenny had told her Roosevelt Elementary, and that seemed right.

She rushed through the foyer, taking a right and following music into the school auditorium. Nervously, she straightened her faux-cashmere turtleneck and red skirt; she had come right from the plant without changing.

A flood of relief filled her when she saw Lenny's waving arm. The suitcase at his feet told her that he had, for once, followed instructions; they would be ready to fly to Milwaukee, so that Skye could meet her grandfather and her guardians could spend their holiday relatively stress-free in the old Knapp Street building, which Laverne's father had generously offered them for the week....on the pretense that she was going alone.

A whole week alone with Lenny, and he hadn't even told her he loved her yet. It was, indeed, a hell of a risk for her to go with him, but she wanted Skye to get to know her better.

Lenny kissed his girlfriend's cheek. "You look great."

"So do you!" She squinted through the bright lights to the stage. "Which one's Skye?" The children's snowflake costumes made each of them indistinguishable.

"She's not on yet."

The Pre-schoolers all bowed before leaving the stage. :Laverne's gaze fell to the swollen face of the principal, whose ill-fitting suit reminded her of her own elementary school pageant.

"And now the kindergarten class will present a small selection of holiday favorites."

A line of students filed in from both sides of the stage; even though Laverne had only seen Skye once, in a picture in Lenny's wallet, she instantly recognized the little girl. Slightly taller than her classmates, with shiny, freshly-washed, long blond hair, she also wore Lenny's strong Nordic features and had his blue eyes. Laverne would have sworn up and down that Lenny had given birth to the child all by himself; there wasn't a trace of Karen in her.

Skye climbed up onto the risers, her eyes scanning the crowd for her father. She found Lenny, and they both began waving enthusiastically to each other. Laverne then noticed the golden garland halo encircling the girl's head, and the hastily stapled-together sheets draping her body. Definitely Lenny's handiwork; the seams were crooked.

The school music teacher stepped in front of the class and raised her arms, conducting them in a round of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Their voices blasted forth in only the way a group of enthusiastic four-and-five years olds could. Lenny was transfixed. Laverne concentrated on the discordant voices and tried to ignore the flash from Lenny's Polaroid Camera.

She waved each developing picture in the air, making sure they were good and piling them in her lap. "Remember when we did this?"

He grinned. "Yeah...We all had reindeer antlers."

"And Squig kept lookin' up Shirl's skirt!"

Lenny shrugged. "He wanted ta know about girls!" He glared at the stage, "any of them try it, tho, an'..."

"Remember second grade? You fainted right off of the stage."

"Yeah, an' at the church pageant you threw up on Baby Jesus."

Touche. "I was nervous. We both were." She kissed his cheek, unaware of Skye's frown.

The songs continued on, right into "The First Noel" and "Frosty The Snowman." The fourth and final carol was "Santa Clause is Coming To Town", and when they finished Lenny led the entire audience in a standing ovation.

While the principal introduced the first grade class, Lenny leapt from his seat and ran up the Fire Exit aisle, right to his daughter. She leapt right into his arms, and they embraced each other so thoroughly that Laverne was touched. She couldn't make out what they were saying to each other, but Skye had tucked her head against the lee of Lenny's neck, and he was talking to her as she sucked her thumb. It was up to her to collect the mound of jackets and baggage.

She was met, instantly, by Skye's scrutinizing face.

"Who's the lady?"

Lenny smiled sheepishly at Laverne. "I told ya about her, honey. This's Laverne."

"Oh." She bashfully stuffed her hand in the pocket of her corduroys, eyeing Laverne with curiosity.

Laverne smiled awkwardly. "Hi...Skye." She winced, realizing that it rhymed. "Uh...That's a pretty halo you got on."

"Daddy made it for me." Her little hands tightened upon a forearm she could not get her fingers entirely around.

"Oh...that's...good." She said lamely. For Lenny, whose life skills before fatherhood hadn't even extended to correct sign-making, it was a terrific step in a positive direction.

"When are we gonna go to grandpa's?" Skye asked, As Lenny plucked a couple of suitcases from the ground, leaving Laverne to haul her own behind him.

"Tonight, Skye. We're gonna go to yer Grandpa's tonight, and Laverne's commin' with us."

The little girl pouted. "Why?"

"Uh...cause...I want her to!"

Skye's little gaze turned even darker, and Laverne gulped reflexively. This wasn't going well.

***

"Lenny!"

Laverne ducked out of the way of Oleg Kosnoski's burly arms as they wrapped themselves around his son's shoulders. Little Skye was squashed between two barrel chests as the men exchanged vigorous, back-slapping hugs.

"My son, you look good. Is that a tan?"

"Yeah; you walk around in the sun a lot and ya get one." His eyes darted to Laverne, who knew exactly why he was so tanned. There was a benefit to having a fire escape that faced a windowless back alley...

"And here's little Skye!" he plucked the girl from Lenny's arms and planted a kiss between her eyes. "Like your father, you look!"

She smiled, rubbing her eyes. "You're nice."

"She talks!"

"Dad, she's five."

That age meant more to Lenny than anything in the world. The meaning reverberated between Oleg and Lenny. The older man nodded, and Skye curled her sleepy head against his shoulder.

"Six in July." Lenny continued.

"The Eighteenth?"

"Yeah." In an instant, Skye was asleep. "Where are you staying?"

"In the Old Knapp Street building. Laverne's dad got it in the divorce, so he's lettin' her use the old apartment."

"Hers?"

"Yeah. Me an' Squig's got condemned by the state."

"You never could keep a clean room. But it's nonsense for you to leave now! You stay here."

"But dad..."

"You stay here. Karina and her husband are coming for Christmas Eve, and they'll want to see the little doll."

"Dad, we ain't the only ones stayin' here."

"What? Who do you have with you?"

Laverne peered around Lenny's arm, and, as he had often done, he took her by the arm and pulled her forward. "Dad, you remember Laverne DeFazio."

He gave Laverne a once-over and snorted. "Yes, yes, Frank DeFazio's little girl. The one with the trampy skirts. Hi."

Laverne clenched her fists. "Hi yourself."

"What are you doing here? Did Frank send something?" As he spoke, he carefully lay a sleepy Skye onto the couch and tucked her in.

"Uh, no...Dad, me an' Laverne, we're..." Lenny raked his mind for a way to describe his relationship with Laverne. He sure as hell couldn't call them just friends anymore, and he wasn't just her lover. He sure as hell loved her and they were dating, but half of their friends still didn't know. "Significant Others."

Laverne eyed him. "I was gonna tell him we're just dating..."

"Oh. So instead of just teasing my son, you're sleeping with him. A step up."

Laverne's jaw dropped.

"Dad! How did you-"

"I read magazines. Leonard, it's two in the morning." He patted his son's shoulder. "You and I are gonna have a nice talk in the morning, but now's too late. I'm gonna go back to bed."

"But where're we..."

"You can have the roll-away from the closet." He deliberately glared at Laverne. "I have it set up in the kitchen."

***

Laverne grunted, spooning more tightly against Lenny's front. There was one benefit to sleeping this way; they were incredibly close, and if his knees weren't pressing into her kidneys, their position would be very comfortable.

"Laverne? You asleep?"

She tried to turn, then realized that there wasn't any room. "Len, I ain't ever slept when I'm in the same bed with you."

She felt the mattress shift, and suddenly the support she had was gone. His smile was almost visible in the dark as he hovered over her. "Good!"

She felt the top button on her PJ's snap open.

"Len!"

"Skye's asleep, and she sleeps like a log."

"But..."

"My dad's asleep..."

"BUT..."

"Laverne, you ain't never worried about the neighbors before."

"Do ya think that the bed can take it?"

He smirked. "I think so. It's been around fer twenty years now."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I used ta sleep on this when my sister had sleepovers."

"Yeah?"

"Uh-huh. In the closet."

"Oh Len..." She muffled her words as a more dramatic Oh Len escaped her lips. The heat swimming through her blood increased, and...

"DADDY!"

In a second, the heat was replaced by the cold, and the blood thrumming through her veins turned from arousal to embarrassment. She was thankful for the high counter tops as she quickly re-buttoned the front of her PJ's.

"Skye, what's wrong?"

"I had a bad dream!" She wept.

"Aww! What happened."

"I was in a plane and it was fallin', and you went -boom- right out the window!"

"Who told you that could happen?"

"Uncle Squiggy."

Lenny groaned audibly as he started to unzip bags. "Where did I...aha!"

"JEFFERY!"

"There ya go. Now, go back to sleep, honey."

"Daddy?"

"What, honey?"

"Stay with me?"

The words were as tiny and pathetic as the ones Laverne had cried to her own father years before. She tried to accept them as she curled onto her cold lonely mattress, falling to sleep seconds after the light flicked off.

**

Plit. Plit. Plit.

Something was smacking Laverne in the eye. Annoyed, she stirred against whatever was striking her eye, in the vain hope of getting more sleep.

Plit

She surrendered, opening her eye just as another Cheeri-O smacked against it.

"Ow!"

"Skye! That's not nice!"

"You said 'wake her up'." The girl said. "I did, see?"

Through one eye, Laverne watched as Lenny handed her a dishtowel. Mopping the milk and cereal from her face, she frowned at the little girl.

"I didn't ask her to do that." Lenny said lamely. She watched him slide a sweater over his tee-shirt and felt her blood thrum.

"You didn't say no."

Lenny took the cereal from his daughter. "That's enough. You and me are goin' out shopping this morning and you've gotta get yer strength." And he winked at Laverne. "It's a surprise."

Skye sighed, putting on boots. "Daddy says there's snow here and not in California."

"That's right." Lenny said, helping the little girl with her cumbersome coat.

"How come Grandpa said to put on our nice tee-shirts?"

"Well, honey, I didn't want ta say this in front of your granddad, but he's kinda loony."

"Oh. Okay!"

Laverne shook her head as Lenny reached over the counter and kissed his girlfriend. Skye gaped at them, but he smiled. "Come on, let's go singin'."

And Skye and Lenny danced out of the apartment, singing 'Here We Come a Wassailing'.

Laverne waited until the apartment lay silent before jumping to her feet. She rolled up the bed and got dressed, then strolled back into the kitchen.

She was alarmed that Oleg didn't have any Italian cookbooks. She shrugged; surely she could remember her Nonna's Macaroni from heart. What a nice Christmas Eve lunch it would be.

With a smile, she began work.

***

"...Middle of December and it's seventy degrees out. Laverne, what's wrong? Nothing should be wrong, because whatever you got on smells real good!"

Laverne looked up from the mess before her on the counter, wiping her eyes. "Don't touch anything!" She grabbed the plates from Lenny's hand and dumped the macaroni down into the garbage disposal. "The meat was bad; no one told me the meat was bad!"

Lenny had come around the counter and was embracing her. "My dad never shops, anything in there had to be bad. I had to run out and get milk for the cereal this morning!"

"I didn't know, Len, I swear..."

"Where's my dad?"

"In the bedroom."

Lenny gave her a strange look.

"The doctor said that he'll be fine, now that it's all out of his system."

"Your significant other poisoned me!" a voice shouted from the bedroom.

"Dad, she didn't do it on purpose!" Lenny crossed the distance between the living room and the bedrooms, trying to

"Bullshit! I've known that little witch since she was six years old, and she ain't ever been nothin' but trouble to you for years. She broke your heart on regular occasions. She just extended it to breaking my stomach!"

"Dad!"

"She was awful to you, Leonard! She's a chippie, and a tramp! She's worse than that Karen!"

Even Skye gasped from her position behind the kitchen counter. Laverne's reaction was instantaneous.

"That's it!" She wiped her hands on her apron, doffed it, and ran to the door.

"Vernie! Don't..."

"I've had it up to here with your dad, Len! Maybe if he weren't such a JERK, I'd stick around, but I ain't gonna spend more time where I ain't wanted."

She left him standing in the doorway, and Lenny made a move to go after her. But from the corner of his eye, he saw Skye stuffing a brownie into her mouth, probably the only good thing on the counter.

He crossed the distance between them and smacked her hand gently with one motion. "No! It'll ruin yer dinner."

Wailing from his daughter and moaning from his father obliterated the last of Lenny's sanity.

***

"Gimmie another round!" Laverne shouted. The waiter gave her a concerned look, but poured the Chianti, which disappeared down her throat like its three other brothers. The warm buzz singing through her veins almost obliterated the memory of Oleg's accusatory words.

"Lousy wife...well, he picked a great one, he should talk!" She muttered to herself, slugging down more of the Chianti. "Where the hell did Reana Kosnowski go, anyway? The dark side of the moon?" No, she supposed that her company would have found the witch by now.

"Well, willya look at DeFazio! Back in town for a day, and she's already rollin' in the gutter!"

Rosie didn't expect the fist, which lodged in her hip. But it sent her wincing onto a barstool.

"You always did have lousy aim when you were drunk."

Laverne glared at Rosie. "Whattya want, Greenbaum?"

"Nothin'. I wanted to chat. Catch up."

Her smile was bleary. "Ogden getting in a little 'private practice' time with his nurse?"

Rosie glared. "It just so happens that he's entertaining a group of his peers down in the Mermaid Lounge."

"Another proctologist's convention?"

Rosie sighed. "Yeah." Laverne belched, and she wrinkled her nose. "Ya smell like a gin factory!"

"Gotta be better than what you smell like!"

"Okay, enough with the fighting. I don't wanna wreck my nails."

Laverne smirked, quaffing the rest of her drink. "One more!"

"No way." Rosie announced. Laverne glared at her, but Rosie said to the bartender. "You serve her and it's on your record. I happen to know a guy running for Selectman, and so help me-" The bartender, unimpressed, strolled away.

"Who do we know that's runnin' fer selectman?"

"Fonzie!"

"Fonzie?!"

"Sure. He got mad because some twerp in the capitol wouldn't let Pinky do her stunt show in town square 're somethin'." She shrugged. "Anyway, that's why he's doin' what he is."

Laverne shook her head. "The whole world's gone crazy."

"Nah. Yer still the same bimbo."

"SHUT UP!" Laverne cried, and the entire bar came to a standstill.

"Geez, DeFazio, quiet down."

"You're the second person today ta call me a bimbo, and I ain't!"

"Laverne, don't you get it that I'm kiddin' you?"

Laverne just shrugged.

"You havin' a bad day?"

"Does poisoning your 'significant other's' father count for anything?"

"Geez; which unlucky sap got it this time?"

"I worked in a restaurant for half my life; when it counts, I get so nervous I don't sniff the meat!"

"Which guy?"

"Oleg Kosnowski."

"Yer finally datin' Lenny? Talk about the bottom of the barrel!"

"Rosie: shut up."

"Nah. Besides, I don't mean it. Hector, that was scrapin' the bottom of the barrel."

"You're hard to be friends with, Rose." She muttered. The alcohol was making her maudlin, and she wiped away a tear.

"Shit, don't cry. Uh...Me and Ogden went through stuff like this."

"Really?"

"Yeah, his mom was a real bitch. But I waited a year, and she kicked the bucket, and I got this stole." She fondled the brandy-colored piece of fur. "To be honest, Laverne, I kinda understand Mr. Kosnowski. You did treat Lenny pretty bad when we were kids, and even when we were older." She held up a hand. "No, let me finish. But you're probably a different person right now. It's going to take him awhile to get over that old picture he has of you. But it happened with my mother in law and it'll happen with you."

"But I thought you hated her."

"I did. She didn't know that." She smirked. "If you don't forgive Oleg, it don't matter. You ain't ever gonna see him."

"That ain't all of it." Laverne groaned. "Lenny has a little girl."

"He has a kid? He reproduced? Is she a monkey or an amoebae?"

"Shut up! That ain't funny; Skye's a great little girl. She just doesn't like me yet."

"Time, Laverne; it's all about time."

Laverne heaved a sigh. "But then...Len and me...we ain't said 'I Love You' yet, and it's been four months..."

"Has he ever said he loved you?"

She flashed back to those memories from Milwaukee and California which she had carefully buried. "Yes."

"But you said..."

"I...Why am I telln' ya this?" Laverne wiped her eyes. "I've been a real dope." She stood up. "I got a great guy and a good little girl watin' fer me back on Wilson, and I'm gonna go to them." She paid her tab quickly, but turned on her heel. "Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"Merry Christmas."

***

It was raining outside, and Laverne huddled beneath awnings, dashing from one building to another. Not quite paying attention to what she was doing, she bumped face-first into a Hawaiian-shirt clad chest.

"Excuse me..." She glanced up. "Lenny?"

"Vernie! I been looking all over for you..."

"What's goin' on? Where's Skye?"

"With my dad. He's better."

"But what about din-"

He held out a bag of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

"Aww, Len...I wanted everything ta be nice, and I wrecked it!"

"Vernie, you didn't wreck nothing!" He wrapped an arm around her. "My dad...he's like yer pop. They both think we're just swell people, but sometimes we ain't. I know ya meant well, and soon, my pop's gonna get over it.

"You know Rosie said that to me?"

"You saw Rosie? Aww, you fought and I missed it?"

"No! You're such a dope!"

"And you're a great girl."

She withdrew from his arms. "A great girl...is that all I am to ya, Len?"

"What? Vernie..."

"I came all the way here to be with you on Christmas, to a place that ain't even home no more. I left my Pop with Edna, and God knows what they're gonna do to each other..." She sighed. "But ya know what? It's my fault. You've been givin' yer heart out over there, and here I am, not liftin' a finger."

"Whatt're you tryin' to say, Vernie?" He awaited the blow.

"I'm saying that I love you."

They both froze at her words.

"You...me?"

"Uh-huh."

They both smiled an equally dopey smile. Before she could stop him, he'd picked her up and swung her around, holding her to his chest. "Len!"

"What?"

"Do you?"

"What do you think?"

She laughed, then shivered. He noticed that she was cold, pulled her inside of his open jacket and zipped it over the both of them. She gave him an odd look.

"What? It's warm!"

"Good point."

He nuzzled the top of her head. "I love you, Laverne DeFazio. And I know it's the first time you ever really loved anyone but Randy..."

She shivered at Randy's name. Well, she wasn't the only one coming with a scar; Karen was Lenny's Randy, in a way. Around his shoulder, she could see a star glowing at the top of a tree.

"Vernie?

"Mmm?"

"Look up."

She tried to, and could almost make out the greenery hung on ribbons over her head.

"You know what that means?"

"Yup."

"Make a wish, Vernie."

She closed her eyes. When his tongue touched hers, it came true.

FIN




To 1977
To 1976











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