Ask in one story and ye shall receive another! LOL Anyway.... since there are rules about having more than one story open in the Holiday Challenge at a time..... 
I've decided that you shall get a few.... teasers? before you actually get my real story... They would be missing scenes and I'm just about decided that you'll be able to know where they'd fit into the big story.... Enjoy! (so yes, this is a story fitting the requirements of a short story.... It stands very well on it's own and so will blend in perfectly to the tapestry I like to call.... Bobby and Tara! :santa: ************************************************************************
Friday, 12/8.... 7 or 8 ish.... Tara's apartment
Bobby reached up into Tara’s closet and got the box down that was marked ‘Christmas Decorations’. He sneezed as a layer of dust flew off the top of it into his face. He felt a little odd, starting to decorate without her. She was out late with the girls, putting final touches on their assignment for tomorrow. ‘Oh well…’ he thought. ‘Maybe I don’t really need to decorate, just get everything out and ready to decorate. Certainly can’t put any of this out covered with dust.’ He grinned as he imagined the look on her face when she realized he’d waited for her. He checked to make sure that he’d retrieved all of the boxes from the shelf. He found one more shoebox tucked way back in the corner. He pulled it down and chuckled at the tape on the lid. “Christmas Memorys” he read aloud. The writing looked like Tara’s, maybe from when she was smaller. He gently wiped the dust off of it and set it with the rest of the decorations. Bobby’s jaw dropped slightly as he re-counted the boxes. He wondered if Tara knew that she had 15 boxes of varying sizes, full of Christmas decorations. What he knew was that she had just come home the day before with 2 bags full of more lights and new decorations that she’d fallen in love with while shopping at Target. Bobby shook his head, “Ah Tara luv. What am I going to do with you.” He mumbled, recalling that he had about 5 boxes of his own decorations. He started to carry the boxes out to the living room and wipe the dust off of them. His eyes kept returning to the Memorys box. ‘She did say to go ahead and decorate.’ He rationalized as he went over to the box and picked it up. He turned it over gently in his hands. He took a deep breath as he opened the lid.
Bobby didn’t really know what he expected to find. But he certainly wasn’t prepared for the hodge-podge of items that were nestled in the box. He pulled out a few ornaments that looked as though they were made in school. He chuckled over the little baby mouse in a cradle that was made out of half of a walnut shell; she’d glued a scrap of Tigger fabric to it, ensuring that her little mouse would share her personality. His breath caught in his throat as he looked into the little silver memory catcher. Her school picture looked out at him through the cut out opening in the silver potpie pans. She’d sprinkled it with glitter liberally. He shook his head. Seemed to him that in her desire to always be her own person, she’d probably had quite the fight with her teacher when she sprinkled it with pink and purple glitter. He gently blew the dust off of her picture and he studied her carefully. Pigtails sticking up every which way, dirt on her nose and she was missing her two front teeth. But the twinkle in her eye was one that he recognized; she had it in her eye all the time. “Ouch!” he hissed, pulling his hand quickly out of the box. He looked down to see a strange ornament. He gingerly pulled it out, chuckling over the mass of toothpicks stuck into a little Styrofoam ball, making it look more like a porcupine than a snowflake. Granted, it was supposed to be a snowflake he supposed due to the spray snow that was flaking off of it onto his pants as he was holding it. He gently laid it onto the table and pulled out a packet of papers. He set the box aside as he took a look at what he was holding.
He glanced briefly at the various Christmas cards from friends and grandparents. One of them stopped him cold. He recognized it. His mum had sent this card design out for years. He flipped it open and looked inside. His jaw dropped open as he realized why there had always been such a connection between him and Tara.
“Wishing you a Sunny Christmas! Maybe you should come here; it’s the middle of summer. I hope all your dreams come true, Tara luv. Merry Christmas! Bobby”
He traced his boyish scrawl with the tip of one finger. His pen pal. How could he have forgotten that lonely girl in Oregon who was his pen pal for 6 years? She told him all sorts of secrets about the kids at school. She confided in him that her teachers didn’t understand that she learned best when bouncing in her chair. She’d spattered her letter with tears the day that her 4th grade teacher had tied her into her chair for the day and didn’t let her go out for recess. He didn’t know how he had not known that she was Tara. He tried to think back in his memories to find the point when he stopped getting letters from Tara. He slapped his palm on his forehead. “The move.” He gasped. “I tried to write her when we moved to Sydney and the letter came back to me as address unknown.” His eyes widened as he put 2 and 2 together. She had told him the night before Thanksgiving that she’d been shipped up to her grandparent’s house in November when she was 12. They had moved in October when he was 14. He didn’t find the pencil box with her address in it until November and he almost cried in frustration when the letter came back to him in January. He shuffled through the rest of the letters, noticing that most of them were the letters he’d written her. He tapped the last one against his chin. It had been returned to her as address unknown in January 1987. He noted the Washington address. She had tried to get ahold of him to let him know she had moved. He hesitated as his hand wavered over the back of the envelope. Did he dare to open it? It was after all, addressed to him, he was just getting it 20 years after it was sent. He chuckled. This was the sort of thing that news stories are always told about. Long lost soul mates finding each other after 60 years. At least he found her sooner rather then later. He ran his hand through his hair, causing it to stick up on end before he swiftly slit the envelope open and pulled out the letter. His hand shook slightly as he opened it and he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he could start reading it.
Dear Bobby,
I hope that this holiday season finds you well. How are things down under? I apologize if you’ve tried to send me a letter and you’ve gotten it back. My mom died in a car accident in October and Dad decided that I would be better off being raised by my Gram and Poppy. It’s not so bad here in Washington. I think it rains more than it did at home. I’m scared, Bobby. Dad joined the Oregon National Guard, I think it’s because he’s tired of having nothing to do. But it might be because I remind him too much of Mom.
My new school is ok, I guess. No one’s tried to tie me to a chair, in case you’re wondering. (He paused to wonder at this, it sure sounded like Tara had never forgotten the chair incident and he was worried about her. Maybe that’s why she never sat still for more than a moment, he mused.) I haven’t made any friends yet. So far, to them… I’m just the strange girl that lives with her grandparents. Oh and have I mentioned that they run a fruit stand off of the things they grow on their acreage? So, everyone buys their fruit there and I get laughed at when I go to school because they saw me trying to do my homework and sell apples at the same time. I hate school.
Bobby, I want to run away. I think about it all the time. My clothes aren’t the same as the other kids. Gram seems to think that it’s not worth the money to buy me things that she sees as fad. She says that if they’re still in fashion next school year, she’ll buy them for me then. I don’t want to be the only 7th grader wearing acid wash jeans with zippers at the ankles because that’s when I got them and everybody else is wearing baggy jeans. She doesn’t believe in buying clothes more than once a year either. Sounds like I might get a Christmas dress or an Easter dress… YUCK! It’ll probably be all frilly and stuff too. (Bobby chuckled. He’d probably just uncovered the reason her closet was full to bursting with in style clothes and dresses that avoided frilly at all cost.)
I finally got her to agree to let me go on the bus into Seattle. I told her all my friends were going. Only, since I don’t have any friends… I was going by myself. They have this neat museum at this place called Seattle Center. It was built for the 1962 world’s fair. Did you know Elvis was at that world’s fair? He made a movie about it. Anyway, they have this really cool thing too, it’s called the Space Needle and you take this little elevator up to the top of it and you can walk around and look out over the entire city. There’s a restaurant that revolves too. I think I’d get sick if I was spinning while trying to eat. Oh, back to the museum, it’s a science museum. They have a lot of cool stuff about electronics and things. I kinda think electronic stuff is cool. What about you? They also have this cool laser show that they play for a matinee on Saturdays. I love to go watch the laser shows. I’m going to save my fruit stand money so I can go watch it every once in a while.
I’ve been here for almost two months and running away is all I can think about. I took all my money with me last Saturday and packed some clothes into my backpack. After the laser show, I decided I needed to pick a direction to go. I did think heavily about heading to Australia, after all, you did tell me I should visit in last years Christmas card. Is it really summer down there right now? Sounds great. I finally decided that I needed to visit my dad. He hasn’t called or come up since he brought me here. Actually, he didn’t even bring me here; he stuck me on a train and shipped me up here. Maybe he should have just sent me freight… maybe I wouldn’t have made it. (Bobby paused as a chill ran down his spine at her sentence. He couldn’t believe that he had forgotten her. He traced the tearstain on the paper where she had started crying while trying to finish her letter to him.) I’m sorry, I ramble a lot when talking as well, is it any wonder that it carrys over to my writing? But I couldn’t find the right bus to take to the train station. I only made it as far as the Holiday Inn by the highway. I ended up calling Poppy and begging him to not tell Gram where he’d picked me up.
Anyway, Bobby. I just wanted to thank you for writing to me. I know I haven’t written back that often and there’s been quite a gap between your last letters. But I re-read your letters when Mom died. They really helped. Are you sure you’re not pulling my leg about having a pet Dingo?
TTFN That’s TaTa For Now… as Tigger would say.
Forever yours, Tara
Bobby sat in stunned silence as he let the letter drift into his lap. He paid no attention to the tears that were making their way down his cheeks. He wondered briefly if he still had any of her letters with him or if they were all at Mum’s. He made a mental note to call her soon if he didn’t locate them when he went home. He didn’t notice the sound of the key turning in the lock and Tara’s voice drifting in from the hallway. He blinked, as the room was suddenly flooded with light. “Hey you.” Tara greeted him. “Oh, I see you’ve found my boxes. Thank you for getting them down off that impossibly high shelf.” She teased as she put her bags down and took off her coat. Tara frowned, as Bobby hadn’t said anything to her yet. “Bobby?” she asked as she walked towards him.
Bobby cleared his throat. “Hey Tara luv.” He rasped. He shook his head to clear the wool gathering thoughts that had invaded his brain. “Are you aware that you have 15 boxes of decorations and you brought 2 more full bags home last night?” he asked her, turning his face up to see her.
Tara shrugged. “You know what I say. Why decorate at all if you can’t decorate completely.” She said. She looked at him in confusion. “Um, Koala Boy? Why are you crying?” she asked worriedly.
Bobby rubbed his hand over his eyes. “Tara, do these things look familiar to you?” he gestured towards the ornaments he’d pulled out of the box.
Tara’s eyes widened in excitement. “You found them!” she cried joyfully. “You found my memories box! I usually only get down a few boxes that I can reach easily. I haven’t been into this box for years.” She reached over him and grabbed the memory catcher, giggling at the dirt that was on her nose. He handed her the mouse. “I remember him! I called him Martin. Martin Mouse. He hung on a little hook in my bedroom because I couldn’t stand the thought of him being shut up in a box for 49 weeks out of the year.” She looked down at him. “But that still doesn’t explain why you were crying.”
Bobby gathered the letters up and tapped them on the coffee table. “Next question, Tara luv.” He said, offering her the letters. “Do you recognize these?”
“Sure, I do.” She nodded. “Christmas cards from friends and family. Letters from a pen pal I had when I was in school.” She said in explanation.
“Where was your pen pal?”
Tara frowned. “Australia. Why?”
“What do you remember about your pen pal, Tara?” he asked, watching her eyes carefully for her response.
Tara grinned. “He was 2 years older than me, he lived with his mom and stepdad and he had a pet dingo, from what I remember.” She said, still confused at his third degree.
Bobby wordlessly pulled the Christmas card that he’d recognized from the pile and handed it to her.
Tara scanned it briefly, looked up at him and shrugged. “Yeah, so?”
Bobby smiled a slow lazy grin that usually drove her insane and kicked off an hour-long makeout session. “Anybody else you know that grew up in Australia, is 2 years older than you, lived with his mum and stepdad and had a pet dingo?” he asked her seriously.
Tara’s eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped open. “Bobby? You’re Bobby? My pen pal Bobby?” she blathered once she’d made the connection. “But, I thought you didn’t need me anymore and you ditched me. I got the last letter I sent you back…” she trailed off.
Bobby nodded and reached for her, pulling her down to sit next to him on the couch. “I know.” He said, softly. “I got the last letter I sent you back too.” He pressed a kiss on her forehead. “You moved to Washington in November of 1986, right?” Tara nodded. “We moved to Sydney in October of 1986. I didn’t know where my pen pal box was so that I could send you a letter sooner. By the time I found it, it was already mid November and I received my letter back in January because you had moved.” His hand lazily trailed up and down her arm, causing her to shiver as she processed what he had just said. “I read the letter, you know.” He said, looking down at her when she turned her face up to look at him. “It was addressed to me and in the box.”
Tara shrugged. “Well, its intel is also 20 years old now and hardly a view of my cheery disposition.” She grinned at him.
“True, and now I’m just dying to know how you ended up with such a cheery disposition after the things you used to write to me.” He said, laying a kiss lightly on the tip of her nose. “You really thought about coming to Australia when you tried to run away?” he asked her.
Tara nodded. “Every time I attempted to run away, I always tried to figure out how much money I would need before I could afford to buy a plane ticket to Australia." She shrugged. "I never even thought about needing a passport. I never had enough and I’d always lose my nerve before I could find the right bus to the airport. I never made it farther then the Holiday Inn.” She reminisced, tears starting to fall from her eyes.
“Shh, it’s ok, I’m here now and if you need to, you can write me email all day long to let me know how you’re feeling.” He reassured her. He cupped her face in his hands and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. “And no running off to Holiday Inn without me.” He warned her, pressing a tender kiss to her lips.
Tara smiled at him through her tears and shook her head. “Never running away again.” She murmured. “And my tastes have certainly expanded beyond Holiday Inn.” He chuckled again as he resumed rubbing her back, exerting a calming influence on her again.
They never got around to decorating that night as she fell asleep in his arms on the couch. He never moved from their place on the couch, surrounded by all of Tara’s memories of Christmas… good and bad… as he’d never be able to navigate the obstacle course he’d created in her living room if he was carrying her. He pulled the couch blanket over them before he drifted off to sleep as well, holding Tara in his arms to shield her from the dream demons that might attack during the night.
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The next story in the series is: Miracle on 34th Street... located at the corner of 34th and 34th. LOL (It's on page 2 of this Christmas and Winter challenge section.)
The End
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very touching!
Oh -- all the what if's....would they have met earlier? Say in college? Would they have helped each other through Quantico? Would Darcy have ever been???? 
It boggles the mind!
Loved this and have started on the next already! 
