Christmas day changes.

Dennis slowly opened his eyes. When they focused on the clock Dennis jolted fully awake. “8:30 Am? I never heard you.” he muttered to the old fashion alarm clock examining it's bell. “I can not believe I over slept.” he sighed putting the clock back on the small pine table that served as his bedside junk drawer. His wife Jill's side of the bed, the perpetually neat side, looked as if it had not been slept in. “Jilly bug?” he called out. The empty house replied that she was not there. Dennis crawled out of the warm bed and dressed in a pair of dark Grey sweatpants and a Forrest green wool sweater. The lingering smell of bacon,eggs and buttermilk biscuits drew Dennis to the kitchen. the moment his bear feet landed on the cool floor he rushed to bury his feet in the warmth of the kitchen rug. Dennis grasped the counter for support when he saw several plates, a greasy frying pan and a myriad of cutlery items in the sink. He lifted a plate from the sink and examined the buttery biscuit crumbs, bacon grease and nearly dried egg yoke covering the plate. “in thirty years of marriage, Jill has never left dirty dishes in the sink. What is going on?” he said. The plate answered with a clink as it slid against the other plates in the sink. Dennis reached for the dish soap but quickly jerked his hand back. “no wait, breakfast first.”. he poured himself a large glass of milk and then opened the well used cookie tin. He absentmindedly reached into the tin as he looked out the window onto a snowy morning. Pulling out a hand full of nothing Dennis slapped the counter. “that's right I need to pick up a couple more of Anna Kay's special Christmas cookies. She promised to make me a few Santa cookies with camo hats.” he said. Gulping down the rest of his milk Dennis rushed out of the kitchen. He rushed back in and grabbed the dish soap and filled the sink with warm soapy water before rushing back out of the kitchen.

The cool crisp air tickled Dennis's face as he made his way along the country road that led into the small town He and Jill had called home since their wedding. Beautiful white snow blanketed the area every where except the streets and sidewalks Making a perfect winter wonderland. Several puffs of blueish Grey smoke riseing above the tree tops and a long piercing whistle announced the impending arrival of the daily mail train. Dennis smiled and trotted his way to the railroad crossing. Rubbing his hands excitedly Dennis gazed eagerly at the bend in the tracks. When the train came into view Dennis started waving. the train finished turning onto the straightaway that led into town, the engineer

leaning out the cab window. his bright red and green Christmas scarf swaying in time with the rocking of the engine. “Marry Christmas Marry Christmas Happy Holidays!” Dennis joyfully exclaimed. The engineer looked directly at Dennis but gave no response. Dennis shouted his greeting even louder. Still the engineer ignored him. Dennis's arms crashed to his side. “marry Christmas and Happy new year.” he said forlornly as the train passed by. “Mr. James always waves at anyone he sees along the route. He says that is the best part of his job. What in the name of the Christmas King is going on today?” Dennis asked. the only response was a low distant whistle as the train pulled into town.

Dennis walked into town on auto pilot. The bells on shop doors and cheerful holiday conversations brought him back to reality as strange as that reality was. He stood and absorbed the storybook Christmas scene that was his little town's main street. The normal pre Christmas activities were in full swing. Children chased each other with the “bestest ever made “snowballs in each hand. Dogs chased the children plotting the best way to intercept the snowballs. The shops were dressed in their Christmas finest of holly, pine cones, evergreens and golden ribbons. Cheerful bell laden wreaths bounced against the shop doors singing out like a hand bell choir. Dennis smiled with delight at the familiarity of Christmas. “Hey William.”Dennis called out noticing his best friend walking past the library. He jogged across the street towards William. Just as he approached the other side of the street, Arron the greengrocer's delivery boy nearly ran into him with his bike loaded with a delivery. “Hey Arron watch what you are doing. You know better.”. Dennis shook his head and turned back to William. “William wait up won't you, you have got to hear about the strange morning I am having.”. Dennis rushed to catch up with William. Falling in step with him Dennis relayed the strangeness of the not hearing the alarm and over sleeping, the undone dishes in the sink and Mr James's nonresponce to Dennis's Christmas greeting. “Oh yeah by the way how is Lilly and that new baby of yours doing?”. William stopped and rubbed his arms as he looked out over the town square. He then turned and entered the greengrocers shop. Dennis stood gobsmacked. “now this is getting old.” Dennis looked around. "every thing looks right but something seems very off.”he informed the cool crisp air. He made his way to Anna Kay's cafe. The door opened just as it always did. The little bell jangled just as it always did. The perfectly mixed aroma of fresh baked cookies, perfectly cooked sausages, warm cheesy biscuits with smoky ham filled his lungs just as it always did. Dennis took in several calming breaths of normalcy and headed for the counter. He smiled when he saw Anna Kay holding up a Santa Claus cookie with a camo hat in place of the traditional red. “well here you go Father Richardson. You might as well have these, I have no one to give them to.” Anna Kay said placing the cookies on Father Richardson's plate. “ well they are not the most traditional designed but we can not let them go to waste.” father Richardson said solemnly. Dennis stepped back in uncomprehending shock, surprise, and disbelief. he bumped into a table. He reached back to grasp it as a wave of nausea crashed over him. Looking around him the cafe seemed to expand, contrast and twist about all at once. “this is not right. This is not right. this is not right.“ Dennis repeated to himself like a mantra. He slowly left the cafe trying to keep his wits about him. Dennis retraced his steps back through town. He double checked to be sure Arron did not run him down. He crossed the railroad tracks pausing to be sure he had been standing in a place where Mr James could see him. “there is no way he could not have seen me.” Dennis muttered looking back up the tracks.

Light flurries started to fall as Dennis arrived back at the head of his driveway. The once empty driveway was now full. Dennis slowly made his way up the driveway. A smile returned to him as he realized the cars were those of each of his children. Entering the house Dennis's nerves started to sooth at the murmuring voices. “Jilly Bug, what got you in such a hurry that you forgot the dishes. Don't worry about them I put them to soak and I will finish them up for you.” he called out as he headed towards the voices in the dining room. His world twisted, toss, turned, flipped, flopped, and went wonky again at the sight he found. Yes there was his beautiful bride Jill. Their son Benjamin rubbing her shoulder. Sara was sitting on the floor with her sons Hunter and Oliver playing with the dinosaur figurines Dennis had given them for their third birthday. Dennis's youngest son Travis was cradling a mug of hot chocolate the peppermint stick giving away the identity of the contents. What had caused the scene to topple Dennis's reality was the coffin lining the back wall. “Jilly, Benjie, Travis, Sarah Bug, hunter and Oliver The whole family is here, so who could possibly be in the coffin”Dennis mused. He slowly approached the coffin and looked in. Everything about the day finally made sense for Dennis when he looked down and saw himself gazing back up at him. “I can not believe that your father is gone. It happened so quickly. He took a nap yesterday and a massive heart attack took him.” Jill said. Sarah sniffled. Travis sat down next to his little sister and pulled her into his arms. Dennis nodded his head in understanding and quietly left the room allowing his family to move on with their lives.