Wishing you all a happy and blessed Christmas

Chapter 1

Sitting in the drawing room warming himself close to the roaring fire and sipping on the whisky he’d poured himself Myles reflected on the last few hours. It had been an eventful day beginning with the capture of the Santa Bandit and ending with ……… what had it ended with? A million thoughts racing around his brain, an interesting family evening and an hour being brought face to face with the reality of Christmas. Every aspect of the day had made him think and ponder and wonder and see his friends in a new light.

Thankfully the Santa Bandit case had been wrapped up a little before lunch, he should have stayed behind to help with the paperwork but Jack had told him to go home, ‘I have a flight booked for this evening, I’ll finish up here, you go, you have a long drive………’
He knew Jack would have the paperwork tied up tight to allow Santa to spend a week or so in jail. Each one of them would be back in DC after the holidays to ensure everything was watertight before the case went to trial, allowing Mitch and his elves to enjoy a long stay in a prison where they could reflect on the misdemeanours which would undoubtedly result in them receiving a sackful of coal every Christmas for the rest of their lives.

Being a forward planner he’d had his gifts wrapped and loaded in the car by early morning along with his cards and bags to allow him to set off as soon as possible to spend a few days with his family.

As he did each year he informed his co-workers where he would be but this year they hadn’t risen to the bait. Most years there were gasps of admiration and questions as to who he might meet and greet there but this year there had only been a general acceptance that this was his yearly destination.

The drive had been long, almost 9 hours in total, his only company the classical CDs he played and the wandersome thoughts as he headed home.

Except now more than ever he wasn’t sure it was home. Here with his family were unrealistic expectations and disappointment. In DC was a grudging acceptance and high praise when things went well.

In DC he could attend a party and not feel out of place, here he knew he would feel uncomfortable as he was paraded around to society events.

This year Christmas had been different; this year Sue and Lucy had opted to throw a party, not only for the team but for other friends too and he’d found himself chatting with Charlie and Sue’s parents as well as others he might normally have never passed even the time of day with.

At their party there were no discussions about the latest ‘must-have’ piece of equipment or the latest fashions, well if you ignored Tara and Lucy discussing the merits of green over red. Not that he really had the first clue what they were talking about but it was fun to watch the animated conversation from afar and agree with Sue’s dad Phillip that women would never change.

He hadn’t wanted to go but Sue had worked her magic, was she ever getting under his skin he marvelled; fast becoming more than simply a colleague, pointing out that he was the only one not showing up and that she would really like him to be there.
Finally he had agreed and been pleasantly surprised; everyone had mingled and once Sue and Jack arrived the silly games had been forgotten. The food was wonderful, the decorations tasteful and he’d found himself having the best time ever.

And today he’d driven home to see his family; but a part of his heart was still in DC. Not that he was in love or anything, he knew his bridges had been well and truly burnt there, his entire fleet of ships sunk but something held him and he had no idea just what it was.

Tapping the beat of the music on his steering wheel he contemplated the forthcoming holiday. Having opted to take three days off his stomach was beginning to churn with anxiety as the car ate up the miles. He loved his family but wasn’t so sure they loved him back. Oh they loved him when he was successful, when he graduated top from school then again from Harvard, loved him when he spent too many years in the family business but didn’t love him so much when he opted to join the bureau, didn’t love him when he spent some time overseas with the SWAT team missing a number of important social occasions and they certainly didn’t love him when he got himself shot and they had to drive down to DC to check up on him. More than once his father had complained about missing a round of golf or time on the ocean in his sparkling yacht until finally he’d decided not to tell them unless he was dying. Which, so far hadn’t happened.

The presents had been ordered on line arriving at his home already wrapped and boxed along with a sumptuous card taking the strain out of gift buying. He couldn’t remember the last time he went to the mall and shopped; what anyone saw in spending time being pushed and shoved only to find the store either didn’t have what you wanted or you had to wait in a very long queue to purchase it he would never understand.

His family were always easy to buy for; each year they sent a list of acceptable gifts and he picked one.

This year his mother had requested an all singing, all dancing sewing machine which to his untrained eye seemed to do everything but weave the material in the first place.

His father had asked for a fancy piece of equipment for the latest yacht; what it did he wasn’t sure in fact he was wondering if it wasn’t simply some ‘must have this to show off to my friends at the club’ piece of kit rather than something vital or useful but it was on the list and so it had been purchased.

His sister had requested a piece of art work for her soon to be built house and that along with a week long ticket for a high class spa had winged its way to her current house. So far he’d not received an acknowledgment from her which didn’t surprise him since they weren’t exactly close. Truth be told he couldn’t remember the last time he saw her or even spoke to her; it had to be at least a year and he wouldn’t see her this year either. He wasn’t sure where she was going; his mother had told him more than once obviously gloating at how successful she was as a lawyer. She was either about to become a partner or had just become a partner; either way she was definitely a success as far as his parents were concerned and she was either in Italy or Spain this year.
‘No doubt mother will give you the play-by-play account of her life compared to yours’ he muttered to himself, ‘make you feel really good about yourself…….’

His brother had asked for flying lessons and he’d paid for a complete course, not because he had a lot of love for him but because he had learned fairly early that it was less stressful to just pick the most expensive item on each list and buy it without asking questions or expecting any thanks.

Initially he had played the game listing expensive items but a few years ago he had changed the rules. It had become tiresome spending almost all the vacation thanking his family for their gift so now he listed a few items and returned them in exchange for a refund buying himself something he wanted but his family would never approve of.

Checking his watch he smiled in relief; having to work late on Christmas Eve meant he would avoid some of the social gatherings his parents hosted each year. Growing up he remembered more social gatherings than he wished at which he and his siblings were dragged out and their achievements paraded for their friends and neighbours. Each year was a spitting competition between the adults; whose child had achieved the highest grades in school or college, or earned the most in business or climbed the promotion ladder fastest. The year he’d joined the bureau was the first year he wasn’t dragged out and paraded like a poodle and it had been the best Christmas ever.

It wasn’t often he envied Jack how could you envy a man born in Wisconsin when he himself was Boston born? But this time was one such occasion. He loved his family, often spoke of them and too them, brought them in to the pen to meet the team and took them to lunch and dinner every time they visited. Each time he was due to head home he was like a kid at Christmas. Their love for each other was painfully obvious as was their pride in their son. He knew that Jack had never been pressured to achieve straight A’s in every class at school or college, knew that for his parents his best was always enough and he was never asked to give up the bureau for his parent’s choice of career.

Sue’s parents were very similar to Jack’s, oh he knew there was a degree of tension between Sue and her mom but her dad was very warm and caring and incredibly proud not only of all that his daughter had achieved but the person she was.

Pulling over an hour from his destination he exited the car and stretched his legs reflecting on the Christmas plans of his team mates. Lucy and her gram were joining Sue and her parents for Christmas lunch along with Tara, Charlie and Troy while Darcy and Bobby were joining D and Donna. All he could do was hope that he wouldn’t regret going to the Cape instead of spending the day with the team. Both D and Lucy had invited him to spend the day with them before learning that he was heading to the Cape but as he travelled further from DC he wondered at the wisdom of refusing in favour of Christmas with his family.

Sipping the coffee he’d purchased he mentally berated himself unsure just why he was so morose this year. Sure it didn’t tend to be a great experience but family was important to each of them and he couldn’t bring himself to pull out just yet. ‘Maybe when you have a wife and children’ he murmured to himself unwilling to allow his children to become a part of this lifestyle. He appreciated some aspects of his childhood, the good schools, the chance to go to Harvard, the financial security he had always enjoyed and still did but the constant pressure and the one-upmanship in which his parents participated was not something he wanted for his children.

Dumping the coffee cup in a nearby trash can he returned to the car and resumed his journey blasting the CD player to take his mind of his musings.

Chapter 2

After leaving his gifts beneath the tree Myles carried his bags up to his room refusing the services of Martin their servant. His relationship with Lucy had made him look long and hard at himself; she had been a breath of fresh air and his biggest regret in life. Unlike his other girlfriends, not that he’d had too many, she hadn’t been high maintenance hadn’t been from his usual circle of friends and had begun to prick at his over inflated ego and expectations in life. She’d howled with laughter when he’d talked about the servants who had waited on him hand and foot during his childhood and who continued to do so every time he returned home.

Except after a long and heated tirade from Lucy he’d changed a little, insisting on doing most things for himself despite the wrath of his parents who didn’t understand why he would have a problem with ordering servants around.

‘So Myles what have you been up to?’ Myles thought long and hard about the response aware that his father Phillip didn’t really want to know; he was simply making polite conversation now the family were gathered around the log fire.

‘Same old, same old’ he mused, ‘chasing the bad guys and keeping the world safe…….’

‘Don’t you think it’s time you stopped playing at being a spy and found a real job?’ his mother suggested, ‘like Charles here…. no reason why you couldn’t go back in to banking………’

‘Other than finding myself bored to tears mother?’ he tried hard not to snarl aware his mother was only following the family line. There was only one task in life of any value, well two if you took into account marrying and raising children, and that was working in finance and raking in huge amounts of money to flash around.

‘Your mother worries……. and she’d like to see you settled with children…… do you have any children yet?’ his father asked ignoring the scandalous look on Myles’ face.

‘No father I don’t have children yet and I haven’t yet found the right woman…..’ Myles muttered through gritted teeth wondering when it would be appropriate to cite a headache and head to bed.

‘Well, we’ve invited Georgina over for tea tomorrow with her parents…….. such a nice, well mannered young lady, she would be a perfect wife you know Myles…..’ his mother explained softly.

‘Not interested mother, you know we didn’t work out the last time’ he thought back as he spoke; she was very high maintenance and would never visit DC telling him it was far too noisy and dirty for her delicate lungs and she spent way too long telling him to stop playing with guns and get a real job. It had lasted a couple of months and the only reason he’d not broken up sooner was because he wouldn’t do it long distance and couldn’t get home due to a big case the team had. Each phonecall and email was the same; full of complaints about his job and lifestyle and suggestions for a new job in her daddy’s business followed by all the places she wanted to visit when they were married. He wasn’t sure they’d have time for anything but travel judging by the list but he’d held his counsel and broken up with her at the first available opportunity.

Then he’d asked Lucy out, ‘and look how you messed that up’ he muttered to himself.

‘You only have to hang around long enough to father a couple of children’ his father murmured, ‘then you can get out and go back to playing the field……..’

‘Like Charles you mean?’ Myles glared at his older brother who basked in the praise of his parents. He’d been married for four years and fathered two sons before his wife had discovered he was having an affair with not one woman but two and kicked him out of the family home. He was now supporting two boys he rarely ever saw, not because she wouldn’t allow it but because he didn’t really want to.

‘Exactly’ his father nodded seemingly oblivious to the slightly sarcastic tone in Myles’ voice.

‘I’ll pass if it’s all the same to you……..’ Myles closed his eyes and wished he were back in DC. Paperwork on the Santa Bandit would be better than this torture.

‘Do you like the tree Myles?’ his musings were interrupted by his mother’s voice and Myles wanted to kick himself; he’d failed the test, forgotten to congratulate his mother on the splendid tree and decorations

‘It’s beautiful mother, I was trying to find the words to describe it; exquisite, ravishingly beautiful, as are the decorations around the house.

‘Oh yes your mother fell on her feet this time’ his father smiled, ‘found an excellent tree trimming company. They provided the tree, trimmed it and hung our decorations, colour co-ordinated the whole house………’

Myles swallowed back the words forming on his lips as he reflected on the team decorating the pen. There had been much laughter, vast amounts of coffee and donuts consumed as the men argued about what should go where and the women gave out the orders which each one meekly followed.
He smiled remembering Lucy telling them about their tree and Levi’s wagging tail, ‘that tail is lethal to decorations’ Sue chuckled. The tree had looked a little odd with the lower branches bare but that wasn’t important; what mattered he realised was the love with which it had been decorated.

‘Another drink Myles?’ Charles lifted the bottle of whisky glaring as Myles shook his head. Charles was the image of his father with jet black hair and green eyes and was, or so Myles had been informed named after the future King of England. He guessed with parents named Phillip and Elizabeth that it was more than possible particularly with a daughter named Anne. Why he’d been named Myles he wasn’t so sure, it should have been Andrew or Edward if they were following the royal names. He chewed his lip, he wasn’t so sure about the name Andrew but Edward Leland had something of a nice ring to it.

‘No. I won’t thank you………’ checking his watch he realised it was already 10.30.

Turning as the door opened he smiled at Mercy, Martin’s wife. The two of them had been around as long as he could remember and had been something of a stabilising influence as he grew up.

‘We’ll be going now Mrs Leland………. we’ll be very quiet when we come home…..’

‘Thank you Mercy’ Elizabeth nodding, waiting until the door closed before turning to Myles, ‘they’re off to church…….. religious you see……. all this lifestyle and they say it’s not enough………. they want more……. where are you going?’

Myles leaped to his feet and grabbed his keys calling to Mercy as he opened the door, ‘wait up Mercy I’d like to come with you……. if that’s ok?’

‘Always room for one more around the manger Master Myles………..’

‘Myles please’ he begged before dashing up the stairs to grab his coat.

TBC

What an intriguing look at the lives of the rich and fabulous...

Well... at least in the way that the Leland family sees themselves.

I love the ending of this post... It is very appropriate, Myles did seem to have a bit of a turn around after this episode. So well done!

Chapter 3

‘It’s good to have you with us Myles,’ Mercy smiled ‘I can’t remember the last time you came …….. must have been about 10 years old……..’

‘I think you could be right’ Myles nodded. He’d attended the afternoon crib service with Mercy and Martin until one year when Charles had teased him mercilessly then punched him hard breaking his nose as he did so. He’d vowed then never to go again and he hadn’t. Anne had continued until she was 12 then stopped declaring church boring.

‘Things are different this year’ Mercy smiled.

‘How so?’ as much as he’d used the opportunity to attend the midnight watch service to avoid any more painful small talk he found himself genuinely interested.

‘We have a new pastor…….’

‘Yes I remember father saying there was a new man in the pulpit, a Brit I believe?’

‘Well, we couldn’t continue with the old one…….. on account of him being dead’ Mercy smiled.

‘Yeah I imagined the place would begin to smell after a while although the sermons would be short’ Myles chuckled ‘so tell me about him?’

‘Well when the old pastor passed on the elders posted the vacancy on the web……. it’s the way things are done now’ Martin smiled.

‘And we had a loooooooooong list of applicants, some they were able to dismiss quickly, some were called for interview and to preach a sermon, but there was always a reason why they said no…..’

‘And then they opted to speak with Jimmy, they wanted to interview on line with him living so far away and all that but he was coming over for a conference so he came one weekend, had the interview and then preached……. and that was a sermon they didn’t want…….. the old man, he’d stand on ceremony with all the nobs, not Jimmy. He says when you know the King you don’t bow and scrape to anyone else……..’ Mercy chuckled loudly as Martin took up the story

‘Anyhow, they decided they didn’t want him…… couldn’t live with a man who didn’t give them the respect they believed they should have……. but the King, well he had other ideas…….. they took the vote and I guess they’re all feeling sorry for him….. each one of them, they decided that they’d vote for him so they didn’t have to say rejection was unanimous……. so he gets voted in unanimous like………. course there was nothing they could do when they realised what it was they’d done……. they tried wanted to recast their votes but Steve, he’s one of the more humble elders, he says it’s Divine will and he’s in……….. best thing that bunch has ever done…….. of course some have left, they don’t like to be told they’re like the rest of us, don’t like to be told they’re forgiven sinners like the rest of the world, but others, well they’ve come to church looking for love and hope and joy…….. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with this year. You’d best hold on to your hat master Myles……..’

‘Myles, please’ he swallowed hard unsure if he really wanted a heavenly kick up his posterior.

‘So, why’d ya come?’ Mercy asked softly as they continued the walk to the church.

‘I don’t know’ he admitted, ‘well maybe I do…….. with all the gifts, the trimmings……. everything we have something was missing……. maybe this is it?’

‘Maybe it is’ Martin nodded.

‘We have a new woman on the team…….. she goes to church…….. she can be annoying at time, she has a warm, fuzzy outlook on life at times, always believes things will work out, goes to the memorial room sometimes just to pray……. tells me she prays for me every morning……. and before we go on raids………. and I was truly awful to her when she started but she keeps on praying, tells me she’s forgiven me…….’ he mused softly.

‘She sounds like a very special woman’ Mercy smiled.

‘She is’ Myles agreed, ‘we’ve talked a little about Christmas at work, when we’ve put the decorations up…….. Bobby……….’

‘Bobby? Is he the one you call koala boy?’ Mercy teased.

‘That’s him, he says his mom always says ‘it’s the season for a reason’……… I’m not getting the reason. We have plenty of season, heck it starts back in august when the toys are on sale but the reason? It’s not there anymore……. unless you go looking……’

‘Wise men still seek Him Myles, it’s the fools who think they have it all sewn up, have all the answers in life…….’ Martin nodded.

‘Mercy, Martin, good to see you’ Jimmy greeted the older couple with a warm smile and a huge bear hug before turning to greet Myles.

‘Myles’ he murmured softly not feeling the need to add anything further.

‘Good to see you Myles…….’ the handshake was warm but the hug, to Myles’ relief was missing.

The small church was packed already with only one available seat which Mercy and Martin offered to Myles who declined before tapping a teenage boy on the head.

‘Move, make room for this couple please……..’

About to argue the boy saw the gun strapped to Myles’ side and he hastily moved away allowing the older couple to take a seat.

‘They’re servants mister’ he groused as he walked past Myles.

‘They’re old and I know you were brought up to respect you elders’ Myles retorted,

‘My dad’ll speak to you….. do you know who I am?’

‘I do……… your father is a federal judge…… do you know who I am?’ the boy shook his head sullenly.

‘Well you go ask your father and then bring him over to see me…….’ he watched as the boy swaggered over to his father who turned, looked at Myles and cuffed his son around the ears. The judge had made money through his job and clever financial investment while the Lelands were old money and for now that still counted.

‘Good to see you all’ Jimmy stood at the front of the church his British accent clearly distinguishable. With his finely tuned ear Myles surmised that he was almost certainly from the city of Liverpool which would explain why he wouldn’t stand on ceremony with people.

From his vantage point at the rear of the church Myles could see a smattering of the upper classes of Cape society, a handful of politicians, a number of very rich families, judges and other self made men as well as those who were obviously in service and those who didn’t look as though they fitted in to either category.

They sang the usual carols which Myles allowed to touch him in a new way as the age-old story was retold through song and scriptures before Jimmy rose to his feet again.

‘Before I begin the sermon, which I promise will be short enough to allow you all home in time to return tomorrow morning for the Christmas morning service……’ he smiled and allowed the congregants time to chuckle among themselves before continuing, ‘before I begin, I want to ask a question…….. but before I ask I want you to know I’m not asking for a show of hands…… how many of you are here tonight because you believe it’s the right place to be? Not because of any faith you have or because you want to be here but simply because you or your family have always come or because you want your friends and neighbours to see you here? Because you want them to know you come?’ he paused as a number of people coughed and shifted uncomfortably in their eats.

‘That’s ok, you may not like the rest of this sermon but you’re in good company, two members of the Christmas story didn’t want to be in the stable that night either. They wanted to be tucked up in bed in a nice, cosy inn.’ He flicked some slides up on the screen behind him revealing pictures of a local inn with tasteful decorations and comfortable beds.

‘Instead they got this………..’ the next pictures revealed a stable at the local riding school, complete with close-ups of dust, dirt and dung and a feed trough full of half-chewed hay.

‘The Christmas story is one of squalor, of dirt and mess, of noise and pain……… but also of love and hope….. Mary didn’t have gas and air or an epidural; she went through raw pain to deliver her child. She didn’t have an army of midwives on hand, she had a man, Joseph who was almost certainly terrified and probably not a whole lot of use as she puffed and panted her way through labour. She didn’t have a beautiful hospital bed in which to deliver she had a straw strewn dirt floor with a bunch of animals as her audience……… I don’t know too many people who would be willing to allow their child to be born in anything less than a ten star hospital with all the available medical equipment on hand……… God sent his son to be born in a backwater town in a stable……… when you go home later take a look at your cards, ask yourself do the stable scenes look real or is there a heavenly glow about them? Is there even the slightest hint of dirt and muck?’

‘When the baby arrived there was no safe, clean plastic crib to lay him in, instead he was wrapped in a few bits of cloth and placed in the feeding trough…….. and it wasn’t lined with clean hay or straw it was lined with whatever the animal hadn’t eaten, and it was full of animal spit and slobber as they chewed the hay……. that place was full of infection………… but that was where He was born………’

‘The first visitors weren’t friends and family, chances are both Mary and Joseph had been abandoned by their families when news of the pregnancy got out. Both would have brought shame on their families for having a child out of wedlock….. how things have changed……… the first visitors were shepherds, the lowest of the low in Jewish society, the only thing lower than a shepherd was a pig herder………. mostly they were unable to get a job doing anything else, most were thieves sent out to the fields to keep them away from the towns and temptation…….. they were the scum of the earth…….. and yet it was to them that the angels went with the good news……. and when they had seen Him they told everyone ……… the wise men get a star, the shepherds got a heavenly host of angels……. I know which I would prefer…… the shepherds weren’t religious, they didn’t attend worship every week as some did, but when they saw Him it changed their lives……… later in his life Jesus described himself as the good shepherd, not the good banker or the good judge or the good taxman…….. but the good shepherd, he identified himself with the lowest of the low, hung out with the poor, the children, the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the disabled……… all those who knew they needed him in their lives………. the rich and powerful didn’t want him in their lives……. they were happy with the adulation of men as they attended the temple…….. are you a shepherd or a rich, powerful man? Amongst all the trimmings of Christmas have you missed the reason for the season? Are you celebrating the birth of the Saviour but leaving Him out of the celebrations? Have you spent so much on gifts trying to give the best or most expensive gift, or have you asked for the most expensive gift you can? Let me tell each of you, the best gift has been given by God……… the child in the manger, the son of God is the biggest and the best gift you can ever receive……… the child in the manger, God’s extravagant gift to his creation, tells us that God loves us, whatever we may have done, whatever our station in life…….. God doesn’t judge us on how much we earn, our most expensive suits or material possessions; let me tell you there are no pockets in shrouds, you can’t take it with you…….. he judges us on what we have done about the best Christmas present ever given……….’

‘Christmas isn’t about religion, Christmas is about relationships…… and more importantly about a relationship with God…….. God doesn’t want your money, or your possessions, what would God do with a hundred or so yachts when he owns the oceans on which they sail? What would he do with dozens of planes when he created the skies in which they fly? He wants your heart, he wants your heart to beat in step with his…….. he wants to see you give your money to help the homeless, the disabled or the destitute….. how many millions can you spend in a lifetime? How many cars can you drive at any one time? When you give him your heart everything else will have less importance…….’

As he stopped speaking he flicked through a number of slides; some were of people obviously in poverty from many countries, others were of orphanages with children and babies tied to cots dressed only in thin clothing, others were of people with disabilities and others of older people in hospital bed.

‘You see these pictures but what do you think? God says ‘I love you…… I love you as much as the president or the multimillionaires who live around here… with God there is no class, he loves us equally………. I’m not asking you to go home tonight and give away your millions, although if you choose to I won’t dissuade you…..’ he paused for nervous laughter from the congregants, ‘but I am asking you to go home and think long and hard about the reason for the season. Where does He fit in to your holiday? It’s His birthday and yet he’s on the outside looking in through too many windows………… have you shut the door on him or is he at the centre of your Christmas?’

‘If he wasn’t already moved by the sermon which had given him plenty to think about Myles found tears pooling in his eyes as Jimmy spoke again.

‘Tonight, the worship group are going to have to think fast, we were going to close with Silent Night but instead we will close with Amazing Grace…….. ok it’s not a carol but it speaks of God’s love and mercy, His grace to his creation. A hymn written by a former slave trader who realised his need for God’s grace and mercy……..’

Amazing Grace
Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I'm found;
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fear relieved.
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares,
We have already come.
'Twas grace that brought us safe thus far,
And grace will lead us home.

The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.

When we've been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we first begun.

Rising to his feet with the other congregants Myles allowed the words and music to seep in to his soul and his rich baritone voice rang out through the church.

‘Well, Christmas morning is here, happy birthday Jesus’ Jimmy smiled at those before him, ‘I pray that each of you has a very happy and a very blessed Christmas and I don’t mean that in a material sense……. it’s my prayer that each of you here allows the child in the manger, the man on the cross, the son of God risen from the dead to touch your soul………..’

Chapter 4

‘He’s an interesting character’ Myles chuckled as the three of them made their way home. He hadn’t intended to stay so late but Mercy and Martin had invited him to stay for mulled wine and mince pies and he’d found himself deep in conversation with Jimmy, not about faith as he’d expected but in an animated conversation about American football and basketball.

‘He is’ Mercy agreed, ‘he was bought up in care, lived in a children’s home until he was 18, saw some of his friends killed by drugs….. when he left the home he was on the streets for a couple of years then one night he found himself sleeping outside a church….. the pastor found him, invited him in, offered him some casual work helping fix the church building and offered him a place to stay…….. that’s where he met his wife………did you know he had an OBE from the Queen for his work with drug addicts and gangs in Liverpool?’

She could see Myles was impressed at that piece of news ‘course he didn’t tell us that when they interviewed him, his previous pastor told us when he came over a couple of months after he’d started……… if this bunch had known that they’d have bitten his hand off to have him here…….. not that he ever talks about it unless some nob’s giving him grief for not paying him enough respect because he’s got millions in the bank or a flashy yacht, then he tells ‘em straight. ‘when you know the King of kings and you’ve talked to the Queen about drug addicts and gangs in Liverpool you don’t bow and scrape to someone with a few quid in their pocket…..’ some of 'em think they’re gonna get to heaven because they have money, he wants ‘em to know it’s not gonna happen, give ‘em fair warning…….. ‘What have you done with the baby?’ is what he asks ‘em……… most of ‘em haven’t done anything yet but he says since God doesn’t give up on ‘em then he won’t either……..’

Sitting in the drawing room Myles reflected on the last few hours; his parents and Charles had gone to bed by the time he arrived home which suited him; he needed time to be quiet and think.

‘God, I don’t do this often…… well you know that, you’re God……. not that I need to tell you that, you know…….. I mean about you being God and me not doing this often…… I’m not ready yet …… to give you my heart……… it’s not my way to make emotional decisions……. what he said tonight made sense…… more than I thought it would……. I will think about it…… about Him……’

‘I know Myles, I created you and I love you….. I’m right here Myles, I’m not going anywhere…… I love you Myles and I’ll be waiting right here for you………’

Tears pooled in his eyes unable to remember when anyone told him they loved him; the voice had been warm and gentle, loving and compassionate, not the angry voice he’d expected to hear from God, ‘and when you’re ready I’ll welcome you in to my family……’

Watching the flames flicker Myles closed his eyes and allowed God’s love to begin to seep in to his soul. This was truly a Christmas to remember, the reason for the season was beginning to make sense.

FADE

Beautiful, Cath...

Simply beautiful.

So beautiful. I loved this from beginning to end. Myles's change from the jerk he was at the beginning to the kind heart he became has always stuck in my mind.

Just wonderful.

Lindsy

I do so love an introspective Myles story and you've really captured him here. The growth, the change in thinking...all since a certain Miss Thomas entered the scene. This is the perfect place for him to have begun to make the changes that we've all noticed in the rest of the episodes. I think you just created Myles turing point -- quite brilliantly I might add.

kav

This was beautifully written. I loved the look into Myles' home-life with his parents and how he's changed since knowing the team.

Wonderful!

Merry Christmas!

Wow, what a touching Christmas tale! You really showed the depth that Myles has and what could happen if he allowed himself to let go of the expectations on him. Great job!

Cath,
What a wonderful portrayal of the meaning of Christmas. I could so easily see that trip to the Cape turning out just like that for Myles. Well done!

My thoughts, exactly. Lovely story, Cath!

I agree with the others, Cath, a beautiful story of Myles coming to terms with his life and family. This was wonderful, exactly like I imagine Myles would talk to God and would account for the change in him in later episodes, as Kav mentioned. Excellent writing!

Lynn

that was wonderful truely wonderful Cath
Lin

Cath, this is another beautiful story!! You have captured Myles perfectly!! We had already started to see the change, just a little, in Myles, and your tale fills in his inner thoughts and feelings that led to his changing even more!! Sue would have definitely opened his eyes to the rest of the world, allowing him to see the shallowness he and his family had toward themselves as well as others!! You have seamlessly led us into the new Myles!!!

Thanks for sharing!!!

Joy

I loved this story Cath.

You wrote Myles change of heart brilliantly and I loved the message he heard from Jimmy.

Loved the insight into Myles thoughts and family life.
Friends are the family you choose for yourself.
I loved the church visit too

Dianna