Chapter Seven.
Sunny – the Ghost of Christmas Future.
My phone beeped at two o’clock, and I looked around for the Ghost of Christmas Future. The old man appeared, who’d first spoken to me.
“You?”
“Me. I’m Ernest, the Ghost of Christmas Future. Shall we see what yours might hold?”
“Might?”
“Nothing is set in stone, son. It’s never too late to change things.”
“It’s not?”
“No, Sunny, it’s not. Come on, boy, let’s see what misery awaits you, because I can sure as hell tell ya, with your attitude it ain’t gonna be full of joy,” Ernest stated.
I didn’t want to go, but Ernest poked me in the forehead, and the room swirled.
“Where am I?” I asked, looking around. I was in a house I didn’t know or recognise. Actually, it was a right shithole.
No sooner had I spoken than an older version of me stomped past.
“Callie, I told you I’m busy this weekend,” I snarled down the phone.
“Sunny, Bean wants to see you. It’s been fuckin’ six months since the last time. Are you a father or not?” Callie’s voice demanded.
“I don’t do fuckin’ Christmas, Callie. I’m not coming,” I growled down the phone.
“Sign the divorce papers, Sunny. I don’t know why you’re dragging your heels. Jack asked me to marry him, and you’re holding us up.”
I flinched at Callie’s words.
“Jack?” I snarled. “Since when has Jack been hanging around?”
“Since you walked out on me and Bean on our first Christmas.”
“You fuckin’ told me not to come back!”
“I told you not to come back. Ever since we stayed at Christmas Village, your attitude and behaviour have worsened. Who’d want to live with you, Sunny? It’s been three years now, and enough is enough. Sign those papers.”
“But Jack?” I howled at her.
“There was nothing between us. It’s been a slow boil. We became a couple this year, and we’ve fallen in love.”
“You loved me!”
“I did, Sunny, not anymore. You’re not the man I fell in love with. What I have from Jack is different from what we had, and that’s okay. A slow burn that I know will last rather than the fire I had with you. Bean and I need steady and dependable,” Callie replied, and I flinched.
“You can have the fuckin’ divorce,” I snarled and cut the call.
“No!” I exclaimed in horror. I turned to Ernest. “I can’t lose Callie.”
“Looks like your attitude will cost you your marriage,” Ernest said.
“Callie is mine; I claimed her!”
“Seems future Callie and your child think differently,” Ernest retorted.
Before I could argue, the house disappeared, and I stood in a living room I recognised.
Mom walked in, smiling at the decorations, but sadness mingled with her joy. Behind her came Liv.
“Gran, are you okay?”
“I will be sweet pea in time.” She shook her head. “I could just shake your father,” Mom replied.
“You heard?”
“Callie called to tell me and to invite us to the wedding. Sunny has thrown everything away. He grows more like Primal with every passing minute. Chance has told me that the brothers are worried about him.”
“Dad barely talks to me anymore. And forget Christmas. I don’t understand how he could have changed so much. Did he not want to be a dad again? Did Callie trap him?” Liv asked desperately.
“No! I know for a fact your dad wanted a family with her. But he’s got Primal in him, and his bastard genes have risen in your dad.”
“But Primal didn’t raise him! You and Bullet did,” Liv protested.
“I agree, but at the end of the day, he has Primal’s bad genes in him,” Mom said.
“Have you heard from him? Is he even going to visit?”
“Chance said he’s staring at the bottom of a bottle. I don’t expect him at all this week,” Mom said.
“It’s so tragic, Gran. He’s thrown everything away because he can’t get over himself. I don’t even know how to tell him I’m pregnant. No doubt Dad won’t be happy about it.” Liv sat down and wiped tears from her eyes.
“I don’t care if he is. I’m over the moon, sweet pea. This baby will be loved, and Callie is excited, too. You know she and Bean aren’t going anywhere,” Mom said.
“Yeah, but she’ll be with Jack and not our family anymore. Dad really messed this up.”
The scene faded, and I stared at Ernest. Horror and grief were rushing through me.
“Is this set in stone?”
“No. Not yet. But it will be unless you change your attitude.”
“I’ve seen enough,” I said to Ernest.
“But I’ve saved the best for last,” Ernest said and smacked me in the head.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“Where you will finally see the truth.”
I looked around. We were out in the open. It was snowing and cold, but I didn’t know where I was. I blinked as the thick snow began to ease, and I saw the lights of the Christmas Village below.
Ernest prodded me in the back, and I began walking towards the Village.
I noticed the tunnel was dark, with half the lights off.
A frown crossed my face as I finally reached the hotel and entered it.
Concerned, I searched the hotel looking for signs of life.
I finally found Simon and Fiona in the office.
“There’s no choice,” Fiona said, wiping tears from her eyes.
“No. I can’t see another way, honey. I’m sorry. We gave it a good go, but we’re not taking bookings, and hospitals won’t send their children here,” Simon stated.
“The ghosts are out of control. Nobody can control them, and they’re haunting relentlessly now,” Fiona replied.
“We had such high hopes, but it’s time to admit defeat. We gave it a good run.”
“Those damn ghosts, why won’t they just let people be happy? It’s almost as if that nasty man Callie was with cursed us with his misery. It doesn’t matter how many times we have Callie come back; she can’t get rid of them,” Fiona said.
“Exorcisms aren’t working; they’re too strong,” Simon added.
“It’s time to close our doors,” Fiona said.
I watched as she walked to the wall and touched each photo pinned to it.
“So many children we managed to help and make their dream of a last Christmas come true. Such a shame to lose everything.”
“I know, honey. We gave it our best shot.”
Everything changed, and I stood in a graveyard.
“Oh, hell no!” I exclaimed. “I remember this from the films! Ernest, we can skip this part.”
“Can we?” Ernest asked as he walked away. I chased after him until Ernest came to a stop at a plain headstone.
In front of it, Liv stood with a child in her arms, and two more stood beside her. A man approached, his face hidden in shadows.
“Let me take them, babe,” he said and took the children’s hands. Liv smiled sadly and handed the baby over.
“Love you,” she whispered.
“Love you, too,” he replied and moved away.
“Well, Dad, here we are. I wish I knew what to say, but everything feels angry to me. You had the fuckin’ world and threw it away. Why? Was it really because of Primal’s genetics or because you just became a sullen bastard? There was never any explanation for it.
“But you lost everything. Bean hasn’t seen you since they were just over a year old.
Fifteen years, Dad, you ignored them. I’ve not seen you since Carrie was born, and she’s fourteen.
You had so much love and turned it all away, and did your best to ruin it.
Luckily for me, Callie is a decent person.
Even though she and Jack had more kids, they kept me and Gran close.
Even while you walked away. I don’t get it…
“You even threw Hellfire away. For ten years, you’ve not been one of them.
A decade, Dad. Hadn’t you lost enough time?
Hell, I didn’t even know you had died until we were tracked down to be informed of your death.
Look at your stone, your date of birth, your death, and your name.
Nothing about being a dad or granddad or loving son.
Not even a carving of the Hellfire patch.
You drank yourself to death. Dad, what broke so badly inside you that nobody could fix it?
I wish I knew. But I’m not going to look back and live with regrets.
“Gran told me to live and be happy. That’s what I’m going to do, because I believe you once wanted that for me. I wish you could have seen the kids. Once upon a time, you’d have loved them. Bye, Dad, thanks for my childhood; you at least made that happy,” Liv said and wiped a tear from her cheek.
Then she placed a rose on my grave and walked away.
“I get the point, Ernest,” I snapped as I swallowed hard.
“This could happen. Only you can change it,” Ernest said and disappeared. I glanced around the lonely, miserable graveyard and swore I wouldn’t end up here. I blinked and looked at the sun coming through the window as it rose.
The bedroom door opened, and Callie walked in. She looked tired and sad.
“Are you okay?”
“Fine,” she clipped.
“I’ll run you a bath.”
“Don’t bother, I’ll do it myself,” Callie replied.
“Woman, I said, sit down and let me look after you!” I ordered.
Callie looked at me in surprise. She must have seen something in my face because she nodded and sat.
“I’ve thought of an idea, but I need to check the footage. I believe I’ve figured out what’s bothering the ghosts,” I called from the bathroom.
“You have?”
“I’ve had a night to think about things. Nobody wants to be forgotten, right?” I knew damn well I didn’t. That lonely, unmarked grave bothered me more than I could say.
“True.”
“Then I think I might have a solution.”
“What brought this on?” Callie demanded from the doorway.
I turned to stare at her. “Maybe, having time to consider things properly has led me to the conclusion I’ve been a raging asshole.”
“Ain’t gonna argue there, Sunny,” Callie quipped. Her spirit flared in her eyes, and I smiled. There was my woman.
“Come on, let me tuck you in, and then I can get to work.”
“Fine,” Callie said as she shucked off her clothes and stepped into the bath. I lavished attention on her and finally tucked her into bed.
“I’ll make things right, Callie, that’s a promise,” I swore.
Callie nodded, yawned, and fell asleep.
◆◆◆