Braxton - A Scrooged Christmas Read online

  “Merry Christmas!” everyone responded in unison, raising their glasses then taking a sip.

  As Braxton strolled the room, making light conversation, he kept his fingers crossed, desperately hoping Will and Gemma would arrive. Randomly, he would pick up murmurs from his employees’ conversations. They all seemed to be confused by his change of heart.

  When he stopped to talk to his accountant, Braxton eavesdropped on the discussion happening behind him. “Scrooge owns companies all over the US and a couple in Canada. He has never once had a Christmas party at any of them.”

  “Rumor has it, office Christmas parties were banned in all companies. What do you think changed?”

  “Maybe he had a premonition of dying a wrinkled old scrooge.”

  It was that moment Will and Gemma chose to make their appearance. When Braxton saw Gemma, he immediately noticed she was even more beautiful now than she had been in high school. The black cocktail dress she was wearing with the diamond and emerald heart necklace really made her look like a million bucks, and he wished that beauty wer on his arm.

  Call it a premonition, an omen, or the Ghost of Christmas Future, but I’m making some changes in my life, he thought as he excused himself to grab a couple glasses of champagne.

  Gemma gasped, promptly recognizing Braxton as he approached them.

  “Will, I’m happy you could make it.” His smile was big and his hands were shaking nervously as he handed the couple their drinks.

  “Braxton Snow? You’re Will’s boss?” Gemma wasn’t sure if she wanted to toss the champagne in his face, slap him, or just walk out.

  Will was instantly confused. “You know my boss?” He knew Scrooge wasn’t Braxton’s real last name, but he’d never mentioned to Gemma that it was actually Snow.

  Gemma huffed. “Know him? We dated in high school.”

  Inside, Will secretly laughed. It was all so clear to him now. Braxton knew Gemma was Will’s wife their wedding pictures were all over his screensaver, and their favorite vacation pictures sat in frames on his desk. She’s the one who got away, and he’s taking it out on me.

  “It’s been a very long time. How have you been, Gemma?”

  “How have I been? You work my husband so hard, I barely see him, and you want to ask how I’ve been? You’ve got some nerve, Braxton Snow or I should say Scrooge? Are you proud of that name, you greedy bastard?”

  There was no need for Braxton to speak until Gemma had finished giving him a piece of her mind.

  “Furthermore, why do you have it out for my husband? Will is a good man, and no one should be treated the way you treat him. You’re a terrible, rotten person!”

  “I am a terrible, rotten, greedy bastard, but I’m going to change that.”

  “Do you think one little Christmas party is going to change you? You’re a scrooge, you’ve always been a scrooge, and you’ll always be a scrooge!” She stomped on his foot with the point of her heel and stormed off.

  Will thought about apologizing for Gemma’s behavior as Scrooge grabbed his foot and did a little bounce from the pain, but then decided he deserved the exact response she had given. He turned to go after his wife, but Braxton stopped him.

  “Please, Will, I’m sure you don’t believe me, but I truly want to change.”

  “What brought this on?” Will definitely didn’t believe him, so he figured the excuse would be very comical.

  Braxton rubbed his sore foot against the back of his calf. “First, let me ask you this.” He wasn’t sure how to appropriately word his question. If what he had dreamt was true, he was certainly going to freak Will out. “Umm…well, are you…are you sick, Will?”

  Will’s reaction was instant confirmation that something was wrong.

  “How did you know that?” Will crossed his arms, feeling angry and a little violated. “Did you check my medical records? I understand my health insurance goes through you, but I’m pretty sure that’s illegal.”

  “No, nothing like that. Honestly, you probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you the truth.”

  Will put his hands on his hips. “Try me,” he demanded.

  Letting out a long breath of air, he asked, “You’ve seen the Scrooge Christmas movies, right?”

  “Of course.”

  “Christmas Eve, something very similar happened to me. The ghost showed me you and Gemma on the plane ride to Japan, sharing cake and champagne. He told me Gemma has had two miscarriages and you two can’t have kids, and he told me you’re…dying.” He deliberately left out what the Ghost of Christmas Future had shown him.

  There’s no possible way for him to know these things. Only he and Gemma knew they couldn’t have kids, and he’d discovered he had colon cancer merely a couple of days before. The only person who knew he was sick is his doctor, he hadn’t found the right time or words to tell Gemma he had terminal cancer.

  “Is it all true?” Braxton asked, but he could tell the ghost’s visit hadn’t been a dream by the look on Will’s face.

  Will stumbled as he replied, “Yes.” He was speechless and unsure how to respond.

  Unfortunately, Braxton was in the same boat. He needed to choose his next words carefully. As the ghost had said, his future lays in the hands of a dying man.

  “I want to apologize for everything I’ve put you and Gemma through. I really am”- he stopped to correct himself - “was a greedy old scrooge. It’s one of the reasons Gemma and I broke up. Not only did she want kids and I didn’t, but I also chose the out-of-state collage over her because my degree would mean I’d make more money. I know saying I’m sorry will never be enough, but I want to make this up to you.”

  “I’m not sure how you could ever do that, but whatever you do, please, do not tell Gemma about me having cancer.”

  “You haven’t told her yet?”

  “No, because I know she would make me quit this job, and the money she’s going to get after I pass away will be taken away if I quit or get fired. That’s why I put up with your shit - to ensure my wife can live more than comfortably when the cancer does take me from her.”

  “Living comfortably will mean nothing to her without you.”

  Will knew Braxton was right, but he couldn’t stop the inevitable from happening.

  “Starting Monday, I’m putting you on permanent paid leave.”

  Had Will heard him correctly? Permanent paid leave? “I…but…” Will stuttered in shock. “They can’t tell me how long I have to live, just that it’s not curable. My doctor talked about me having surgery to relieve a blockage in my colon, but it’s just that, a way to relieve some of the pain. They are putting me on chemo treatments to prevent it from growing any bigger, but who knows how long my body will continue to try fighting it. Once the cancer becomes immune to the chemo and starts growing again, there will be nothing left they can do for me. I could live another month, six months, a year - no one knows.”

  “I will pray you live much longer than that. Gemma needs you in her life. I know now how lost she’ll be without you.”

  “But you could be paying for me to spend time with my wife for years to come, throwing your money away.” He didn’t know why he was pointing all this out. After everything Braxton had put him through over the years, placing him on a permanent paid sick leave was the least he could do.

  “I don’t care, Will. I really have been a terrible person, especially to you. I can’t take back what I’ve done back, but I can change how I act from here on out. If that ghost hadn’t shown me what he did, I would have died a lonely old man, without a doubt.” He looked to the floor, noticing the dent Gemma had left in his shoe. “I still might.” The world may always see him as a scrooge; no amount of kindness could change that…could it? “In fact, I want to send you two somewhere nice. I’ve cut your vacations short on multiple occasions. Where would you like to go?”

  Two places immediately came to mind. “Gemma and I have always talked about going to Hawaii or Australia.”

  “I’ll send y
ou to both. How does that sound?”

  “That’s beyond generous of you.” With each surprise, Will was beginning to feel a little fainter. He could finally relax and enjoy the company of his wife.

  Braxton waved a hand. “Nonsense, you deserve it, but you do need to promise me one thing; promise me you’ll tell Gemma about your cancer. She deserves to know.”

  “With all you’re giving us, I have to tell her. She’ll become suspicious if I don’t.”

  “Very good. Now, go find your wife before she returns to stomp on my other foot.” Braxton chuckled at the thought, because he could see Gemma doing just that.

  An hour later, Will and Gemma returned to the Christmas party, and Braxton instantly knew Gemma had been crying. Her eyes looked greener in color than hazel due to the red surrounding them, they were a little puffy, and her cheeks were flushed pink.

  “Geez, Will, I didn’t mean for you to tell her here. What were you thinking?”

  “I had to tell her. She was on her way back to tell you I quit.”

  Gemma couldn’t look at Braxton as she softly said, “Thank you for putting Will on paid leave.” A tear trailed down her cheek as she continued, “And thank you for giving us a vacation most could only dream of.”

  Braxton desperately wanted to take her by the chin, get her to look at him, and promise everything would be okay, but he reminded himself, she wasn’t his to comfort.

  “There’s no need to thank me. I just hope you both believe me when I say I truly am sorry for everything.”

  Will cherished not just every minute, but each second he had with Gemma. They had grown closer than ever before, living life to the fullest in any way possible.

  Australia and Hawaii were two of the most beautiful places on the planet. In between chemo treatments, Braxton continued to send them to places they’d never dreamed of seeing.

  Braxton truly had become a new man. His generosity in helping Gemma and Will was extended to helping his other employees as well. He gave extra paid vacations and extended sick leave to anyone in the same position as Will. His kindness didn’t stop there. Having grown up in a horrible orphanage, he decided to make the local residential facility for children feel more like a home to them. The entire place was being remodeled, and he donated enough money for them to expand their teaching methods. Growing up without a family was one of the hardest things Braxton had to live with. If he had been adopted, he wouldn’t have had to endure the abuse that had been inflicted on him, and he also wouldn’t have been homeless at the age of seventeen. Thankfully, the local program was nothing like the one he’d grown up in.

  Anyone who questioned if Braxton Scrooge was truly a changed man had their answer the moment they saw him physically lending a helping hand in the construction of a new apartment complex for the kids who turned eighteen and still didn’t have a place to stay after leaving the orphanage. If they hadn’t found a job, he employed them, and once a year, he planned to give out three scholarships to those kids who didn’t get adopted.

  Being a straight A student in high school is the only reason he got into such a big name college, and is the one reason he didn’t have to remain homeless for long. Not all kids are lucky enough to get a full scholarship like he did, and he could help with that.

  With the new man he had become, he thought about encouraging people to start calling him Braxton Snow again, but quickly decided remaining Braxton Scrooge would always remind him of the horrible person he never wanted to be again.

  Somehow, over time, Gemma and Will became friends with Braxton. Occasionally, they had him over for dinner, and periodically they went golfing together. They also enjoyed helping Braxton with remodeling the orphanage.

  Each month, Will could feel his body growing weaker. He questioned if the chemo treatments were still working, but the doctors told him nothing had changed. That should have made him feel better, but deep down he knew something was different. They say we know our bodies better than any doctor, and maybe the cancer hadn’t grown, but he could tell his life was slowly creeping toward its end, and he couldn’t help but wonder who would take care of Gemma when he was gone. She was his everything, and Braxton had been right when he’d mentioned the money would mean nothing to Gemma without him. He could already foresee his beautiful wife falling into a depression no one could pull her back from once he passed. They had no kids, and with all their family already passed away, she was going to be left alone, without a reason to live. He couldn’t bear the thought of her taking her own life so they could be together again.

  So, one morning, Will surprised her with a puppy.

  “Oh, he is the cutest Golden Retriever I’ve ever seen!” Gemma squealed with happiness as the puppy covered her in kisses. She sat on the floor to play with him, and he bounced in her lap, sneaking in more of his lovable kisses.

  “I think he likes you,” Will said with a chuckle.

  “Look at how bouncy he is.” She couldn’t stop giggling, which truly made Will’s heart smile. “I have the perfect name for him.” She lifted the puppy in the air, and his tail started to spin with happiness. “We’re going to name you Pongo. Do you like that name, boy?” The puppy gave a little bark and he licked the air.

  “I think he likes it,” Will responded, joining her on the floor.

  He knew having a dog would help her get through his passing, but deep down he knew she would need more than the comfort of Pongo to keep her from drifting into a depression. Continuing to teach dance at the children’s orphanage would help, but even that wouldn’t fully keep her mind off him.

  How does someone keep their mind off the love of their life once they’ve died? The truth is, you can’t. That person is forever imprinted on your heart and your mind. The memories of all the good times together seem to grow stronger once the person is no longer there to share the happy moments with. The smallest things in life will always make you think of your beloved, and everywhere you turn, you see glimpses of that person, only to realize they aren’t coming back. Your mind plays tricks on you, not only during the day, but also in your dreams. When night comes, feeling peace while you’re asleep does not exist. Your loved one appears in your dreams, and you wish to never wake so you can stay with them for always. As you reach out to touch them, pull them in close for one more hug, they disappear and you wake to an empty, cold bed. How does life go on without your one reason for living?

  Will racked his brain for ways to save Gemma from all that pain and suffering. If only I could clone myself.

  A thought occurred to him, so sharp it was like someone punched him in the head. He couldn’t clone himself, but just maybe he could duplicate himself.

  An Unconventional Idea

  “I think you’re getting chemo brain, Will.” Braxton stared at him from across his office desk, unable to blink. The man has officially lost his mind, he concluded.

  “You love her, right?”

  “I’ve always loved her, and always will, but I don’t think you’re thinking through this idea with a clear head.”

  “I’ve thought about this for weeks. I have every detail organized in my head. Trust me, I’ve thought this through thoroughly, with a clear and open mind. I can’t necessarily duplicate myself, but I can duplicate my actions. Her soul is going to be lost when I’m gone if you aren’t willing to do this.”

  Braxton folded his hands on his desk, staring past Will, deep in thought.

  “Look, I’m practically giving you my wife. You just have to be me. Do what I do for her, like surprising her with flowers for no reason - always red roses tipped with silver glitter.” He pointed a finger. “Fold laundry the same way I do. She always unfolds my towels and redoes it. She always has to restack the dirty dishes in the dishwasher so she can fit more in there. Sit outside with her for morning coffee and watch the sun rise every Sunday. I want you to hold her the same way I do in bed, cuddling in so close that her hair falls over your face. I want you to love her and make love to her the same way I do, so she fee
ls like a part of me is still there. You’ll never be me, but you’ll be keeping my spirit alive.”

  “Will, I don’t know if I can do this. You’re asking me to be a completely different person.”

  “But Braxton, ever since Christmas, you’ve been growing into a new person, a better version of yourself, and I can promise doing this will make you the man you were truly meant to be. Love my wife the way I do, and she will always be your better half. She will continue to teach you how to be a man she will always be proud of.

  Braxton scratched his head, rubbed his temple, and then put his hand on the back of his neck. “I need some time to think about this.”

  Will pushed his seat back and rose to his feet. “Okay, but please don’t take too long. I don’t know how much longer I have.” As he turned to leave, he paused to say, “I hope you’ll grant this dying man one last wish.”

  A thickness in the air filled the room and caught in his throat.

  This was it. Just like the Ghost of Christmas Future had shown him, this was how Braxton got to have Gemma in his life. His fate truly did lie in the hands of a dying man.

  A few nights later, Braxton and Will were playing pool while Gemma worked on dinner. Out of Gemma’s hearing range, Braxton was free to talk to Will about his proposal.

  “I’ve thought long and hard about…” He coughed, feeling awkward about his next words, “Your one last wish.”

  Will leaned against the pool table, facing Braxton and the steps to the main level, ensuring Gemma didn’t walk in on their conversation. “And?”

  “Have you talked to Gemma about this? What are her thoughts? How does she feel?”

  He responded with the same awkward cough.