AUTHOR'S NOTE: thank you so much clicking on this story! This is my first completed work on this site, so feedback would be great! I hope you like it. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! And a special thank you to our military and their families who are home and away this season. Thank you for your great sacrifice!

Home for the Holidays

When I was a kid, we used to decorate the Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. We would all drive out to Hal's Used Car Lot which was yearly converted into Kerr County Christmas Trees from the last week of November through the last week of December.

My mom would help me slip my favorite purple mitten onto my hands. My dad would wind the scarf around my neck as my mom zipped up my thick jacket. When I'd stepped into my thick black snow boots, my mom, dad, brother, and I would all pile into the family's Ford pickup truck and drive to pick up our tree.

At the lot, we'd wind our way through the hundreds of trees that had just been driven into town, my father walking in front, me jumping from boot print to boot print that he left behind.

Most years, my brother, Nathaniel, and I would get bored halfway through the searching process and start a game of tag. Being five years older than me, Nathanial always won.

By the time my parents had picked a tree, Nathaniel and I would stumble through the branches of the great Christmas trees, red faced and exhausted.

Christmases like that ended when I was eight, the year my parents got divorced and my father moved three states away to live with the secretary he had been seeing behind my mom's back.

After that, Nathaniel, who was thirteen, would walk with me to the Christmas tree lot, a fresh hundred dollar bill tucked into the pocket of his jeans. We'd reserve a tree and then my mom would pick it up sometime between the customary Friday after Thanksgiving and Christmas week. Every year, the pickup date got later and later and the decorations on the tree became sparser and sparser.

This year though, there isn't a tree because this year, Nathaniel isn't even going to be home for the holidays. Six months ago, he was deployed to Iraq to serve our country and he isn't due home for another two months.

Nathanial writes me letters all the time. More than he writes mom, even. I told him that mom didn't give me money for the tree this year and that I'm not going to ask because it's too different without him here. He says we'll have our own unofficial Christmas when he gets back from service.

But that's not my problem right now. My problem is he isn't coming home for Christmas so I will be stuck spending a two week break from school with my mom who hasn't really been herself since the divorce long ago.

So, standing in the entrance to my first period classroom on the Friday before our Christmas vacation, I am not the type of person you would like to run into.

I don't waste my time with small talk as I make my way to a desk secluded in the far corner of the classroom and pull out my essay from the night before.

"Good morning class!" Ms. Harrington said from the front of the room, "Everyone pull out your essays and pass them up to the front."

I passed all of the papers forward to the front desk and watched as Ms. Harrington, a muscular blond woman with ratted hair scooped up each other stacks of paper. She clicked back to her desk in her tall boots that laced up her calves and stacked the papers on her desk.

"Alright, everyone please take out your questions on last night's reading for a head start on the homework. You don't want to have homework over the break!" Ms. Harrington commanded.

She settled herself down in her seat and took out her green pen to begin grading papers. The room around me jostled as people pulled out their binders and begin to hustle to finish their homework.

The girl on my right, Alexis Cambridge, scribbled furiously on a sheet of lined paper and flipped through the book to find answers. I imagined that she had a lovely Christmas holiday planned; one that included a complete family and a fire in the fireplace. And it probably included a nicely decorated Christmas tree, too.

Nathaniel and I weren't close before our parents got divorced. In fact, we were quite the usual siblings. Nathaniel was always busy with some sport or he was out with his friends. We were far enough apart in age that it wasn't strange for us to merely cohabitate in the same house, without ever establishing a real relationship.

All of that changed, however, when dad's affair was blown right out of the water.

To this day, I don't know the details, I just know that it was horrible. I remember my mother and father screaming at each other and I remember hearing her crying in the middle of the night. He spent that night away from the house and then the next morning he had come back and I'd assumed that everything was about to get back to normal. After all, everyone's parents fought sometimes.

But I was wrong. It was a Saturday morning, the day he came home, and I had been in my room watching television. I decided, at about noon, that I was hungry and had trounced down the steps and into the foyer of the house, by the front door to discover many large suitcases, like the ones my dad used for business sitting by the front door. I could hear voices in the kitchen, so, like a naturally curious eight year old, I followed them.

Nathaniel was sitting at the kitchen table, tears in his eyes, and my mother and father were talking in low, hushed voices.

Immediately, Nathaniel's eyes locked on mine.

My father followed his gaze, and saw me standing there.

"Bridget," he said lamely, as though my name was the only thing that could pop into his mouth.

He loosened the already loose tie around his neck and cleared his throat. I realized, with astonishment, that he was still wearing the same suit he had been wearing the day before.

I slid into the high stool beside Nathaniel and felt his large hand clamp down on mine.

I was then thoroughly confused because, up until that moment, I could not remember a single time my brother had held my hand.

"Bridget…" my father began again, "I was just telling your brother that I'm going to be going away for awhile…"

The rest of the conversation passed as only those do. It ended with my father kissing both my brother and I on the forehead and turning toward the door, promising to keep in touch. With one last reproachful look at my mother, he was out the door, walking toward the taxi that already held all of his belongings and a tall slender woman who I could clearly remember meeting before.

It wasn't until later that I made the connection. The slender, tall, blond woman was Michelle, my dad's secretary. She was everything that my mom was not; therefore, she was enough to tear my family and childhood to shreds.

"What's up guys?" Katie said as she slid into the seat beside me at our usual bench for lunch.

"I want to ditch," Melody said dramatically as she took a sip of the soda she'd just purchased.

"You have two classes left," Katie pointed out logically.

This in and of itself was strange because usually I am the logical one, but I didn't say anything.

I took a sip from my chocolate milk carton and listened to the conversation hum around me, alternately thinking about my failure of a day and my brother.

I thought back to the time I was 10 and Nathaniel was 16. It had been pouring outside for a week straight with only ten minutes let up at a time, maximum.

I'd been working on my multiplication facts when the phone rang. It was my dad.

I heard Nathaniel talk to him for a little while, not more than a few moments before passing the phone off to me.

I stared at if for a second before saying hello.

"Hi, Bridget!" my dad's overly cheery voice said from the other end of the line, which I then knew to be very far away, "How are you kiddo?"

"I'm fine," I said stiffly, "How are you?"

"I'm good," he said slowly.

There was a long silence as he tried to think of what he could possibly say next. When it came to picking up young secretaries, my dad was a pro, but apparently, when it came to speaking with his own daughter, he fell sadly short.

The conversation lasted for a few more minutes as he quizzed me about soccer, which I had quit two months before; school grades, which were not a very great conversation holder; and my mother, who was a last ditch attempt at bonding with an estranged daughter.

He made some lame excuse about having to go tend to something in the kitchen and hung up quickly.

I hung up the phone and then sat there for awhile.

"Why did dad move out?" I asked Nathaniel who had come to take the phone and hang it up once more.

"He met someone else he wanted to live with," Nathaniel said quickly, "Let's go outside."

I stared at him for a moment, certain that he was only kidding with me, there was, after all, a torrential downpour coming from the heavens.

"I'm not kidding," he said, reading my mind.

I raised my eyebrows skeptically before getting up from my seat and following him to the front door.

"We're going to play tag in the rain," Nathaniel explained before opening the door, letting in a gust of cold air.

"You're it," he said, tapping my shoulder before sprinting out into the rain.

I stood stationary for a moment before running out after him, I was not about to get bested by my brother.

As I chased him through the rain, part of me knew that he was letting me catch him, and he wasn't running as fast as he could to catch me. He was, after all, on the track team, baseball team, and football team.

But that didn't occur to me at all. All that mattered was the conversation with my less than present dad didn't matter and I had transported back to a point in my childhood where everything was perfect.

When we were finally out of breath and thoroughly soaked, we walked back into the house, careful to wipe up any puddles left behind. Once in the bathroom I could see how ridiculous I looked. The wind had blown my hair around in all directions and the water had then plastered it like that to my head. My cheeks were flushed and my hands were completely numb.

"Yoo-hoo!" Katie said, "Bridget? You there?"

I blinked hard.

"Yeah, of course," I said quickly.

"You were off in another world there," Melody said worriedly.

"I'm okay," I replied with a quick laugh, "I'm just super tired. Ready for break and everything."

They both looked at me critically but their investigation was cut short by the sounding of the lunch bell, sending me off to my fifth period.

"I'll see you guys in the assembly, right?" Melody said to the both of us.

"Yeah," Katie said, "Regular spots?"

"Definitely," Melody answered as she gathered her books from her lunch table.

"See you guys there!" I called over my shoulder as I turned and walked toward my next class.

As soon as I reached my fifth period, science, the teacher had us gather by the door and head to the gym for the holiday assembly.

Holiday assemblies at Kerr High School tend to be, well, less than interesting. In fact, they're downright boring. They consist of performances from the orchestra, a quick dance from the dance team which had usually been thrown together way too quickly, and a bad skit down by the drama department. Most students spend the assembly texting or talking to their friends, myself included.

We all filed through the double doors and I made a beeline for the corner top bleacher where I could already see Katie and Melody seated.

I find my seat and listen to Katie and Melody talk around me until the lights dim. As usual, the crowd is silent, hoping that this year's assembly will be better. The dance team comes out, and it's all down from there. People begin to talk, and from the top bleacher, little specks of light are visible as people are pulling out their phones.

I think of my fondest memory of Nathaniel. It, by chance, happens to occur in this very gym.

When I was a freshman in high school, I didn't have a date to homecoming, but all of my friends did.

Some offered to skip out, but I told them earnestly to go on ahead.

I was prepared to spend that night at home alone until Nathaniel came down the stairs and sat next to me on the couch.

I looked over at him and realized that he was wearing a tux.

"Hot date tonight?" I asked casually, though I knew it was unlikely. He would have told me if he had a hot date planned.

"Actually, yes," he said with an air of mystery.

I turned to face him completely.

"Who?" I said with curiosity dripping out of that single syllable.

"You," he said as he set a ticket to homecoming on my lap.

I furrowed my brow in confusion.

"I had your friend, Katie, get it for me. Your dress is upstairs. Your friend, Melody, helped me out with that one," Nathaniel said, "I would have picked it out myself, but I'm not exactly the type you want buying you a dress. I can't help much with your hair either. But you have an hour and a half to get ready, so you better hurry up."

I stared at him for a second longer before realizing what he was saying.

"Go!" Nathaniel instructed.

I had hurried up to my room, pulled on a nice blue dress, gone into the bathroom and quickly curled my hair. In the course of one hour and fifteen minutes, I was ready to go.

"Your limo awaits," Nathaniel said as he snapped a picture of me coming down the stairs.

I stepped out onto the porch to see Nathaniel's pickup truck, the one that used to haul my family to buy a Christmas tree.

"Ok, so maybe it's not a limo, but its pretty close," Nathaniel conceded.

We got to the school gym with time to spare and Nathaniel danced with me when I wanted and got me punch when I was thirsty, like a perfect gentleman. And by the end of the night, over half of my friends had blossoming crushes on my brother.

"I think it's almost over," Katie said from beside me.

"Thank God," Melody said irritably, "This is worse than last year's."

Melody dropped her head onto her hand and stared, glossy eyed, out at the choir which was finishing up the final chorus of Jingle Bells.

"That was brilliant. Thank you, choir!" Principal Everson said enthusiastically, "Now, one more thing before we go."

The groan through the gym was clearly audible. Principal Everson pretended he had not heard and continued.

"I think you will all really enjoy this," Principal Everson said, "Today we have a very special guest with us. Please welcome Private Nathaniel Hawthorne!"

My head snapped up instantly. I turned to look at Melody and Katie who were looking at me with shocked expressions. I looked back to the front to see my brother walking into the room from the back gym door.

I stood up instinctively. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes as I stepped forward and landed my foot on the bleacher below me. Why did I have to be so high? I carefully stepped around other students who were still applauding, and made my way towards the ground. I nearly tripped on the last bleacher, but held my balance.

I looked up to see Nathaniel's lips turned up in a small smile, probably because of my near fall, and his eyes twinkling.

I ran forward until I was in his arms, my arms hooked around his neck and his arms wrapped around me from behind.

I felt myself shaking with sobs of pure joy as he squeezed me tighter and kissed the top of my head. I leaned back to check to make sure that he wasn't fake. His brown hair was buzzed to where he looked almost bald and he was still dressed in his army fatigues, but he was definitely Nathaniel. His blue eyes were the same and his smile was the same and his laugh was the same.

"Surprise," he said quietly as he quickly brushed a tear from my eye.

I laughed and cried at the same time as Nathaniel stepped back and went over to the principal. The two shook hands and it was then that I realized that the entire Kerr High School student body was still applauding, most of them on their feet, whooping and hollering.

Someone gave my brother a microphone and he the moment he began speaking, a hush quieted over the crowd.

"Well first of all, I'd like to thank Principal Everson for letting me come here today and surprise my sister. Bridget had no idea I was coming. I also want to thank you all for being a great friend to my sister while I'm away…"

He spoke for a little while and then received another standing ovation as he walked over and put one arm around my shoulders.

"You're a star," I said with a laugh.

"So are you," Nathaniel said with a bright smile, "Now, what do you say we go to Kerr Country Christmas Trees and buy ourselves a tree!"

"You know, Nathaniel that sounds like the best idea you've ever had" I said, still beaming ear to ear.

And then, I walked out of the gym and out into the parking lot.

I guess this Christmas isn't going to be so bad after all.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks for reading this far! Review and tell me what you think. Thanks to all servicemen and families once more! Merry Christmas!