A Christmas Story.(Stephen Pearmine) A new short story based loosely on actual events.

A Christmas Story.

Robert left the hospital heartbroken. The last few days he'd spent by his wife's bedside. She fought the best she could.
 His car was parked a short distance away, Robert proceeded to it. Once he was inside, he looked at himself in the mirror. He wept.
  After a while, he used a tissue to wipe his eyes, deciding to head home. For the duration of her being in hospital he'd stayed with her the majority of the time, but for two nights he went home to take a shower and to get some sleep, which the doctor advised, and that is when Robert noticed the silence of no one being there. The place was too big for him. There were three bedrooms, one that he shared with Karen, his wife, the other two for children one day, or that had been the plan. They lived in the perfect location, schools close by, pleasant neighbours, plenty of countryside. Since he was young, he'd always enjoyed fishing, and with luck, 10 miles up the road was the perfect place to do that.
  Robert started the engine.
................

  There were photos of her everywhere, in the hallway, where they both smiled while on holiday. In the living room there were several, including ones on their wedding day, another where they laughed with friends in the local pub on New Year's Eve three years ago. 
  In the fridge were a few beers. He knew it wasn't a good idea, drinking at such a vulnerable time was never a good idea. His hope had gone, and soon it would be Christmas. How would he cope without her? She was the reason for everything, a reason to get up in the morning, a reason to see her and give her a cuddle after a bad day at work. He felt broken. Robert walked to the fridge to get a beer.
  Four beers later, he was inconsolable.  
  "Why did you have to go, my love? I'm nothing without you," he said, the tears then came.
 ................

  Robert had never done social media. Honestly, why would anyone, but a mate at work told him to join a certain site which was very popular?
  "Why would I do that crap?" he replied angrily.
  Graham placed a hand on Robert's shoulder. "Look, mate. I can tell you're struggling to be in that big house on your own. Social media is a good way to communicate with like-minded people, if that's what you want. I'd never force you to do anything, mate, but I think that would help you at the moment."
  Robert had no desire to do this and said sternly, "Just drop it, mate. I'm not interested, okay?"
  Graham was disappointed by this, but kept it to himself. "Okay, Robert, it's your decision. I'm always here if you need anything."
  "Thanks, mate. That means a lot, but I'm okay," he answered. Deep down he was in turmoil.
 ................

  Three days later, Robert sat at home. It was dark outside, the curtains weren't drawn. The lights from houses and streetlamps caught his attention, especially from one house where the Christmas lights dazzled. His wife had always been a fan of Christmas. Decorations going up every year, with love and laughter in every room. Now it was replaced by lurking shadows of dread. The light had gone forever.
  His mobile phone was in his trouser pocket. He needed to take his mind off the sadness he felt. "Okay, Graham. You finally got your wish."
 .................

  At work the next day, his mate couldn't believe it. "So, you joined then?
  Robert looked at him confused. "What do you mean, mate, joined what?"
  Graham laughed out of sheer joy. "I saw it last night on the news feed where you can add new friends. I'm so proud of you, mate. It couldn't have been easy for you."  
  Robert felt embarrassed now, not realising anyone would notice as he'd just created a profile and hadn't added any friends yet. "Okay, I'll come clean. Doesn't mean I'm going to stay on there though. I thought I'd just give it a look."
  "Good for you, Robert."
  "Thanks, I think." 
  A memory suddenly came into his mind of Karen smiling, without any one noticing, he smiled back.
 .................

  That night, he went back to the social media site to see why a lot of people were obsessed with it. The first thing he did was add some friends, including his mate from work. Then in the Search box he typed in two of his interests, to see if anything would come up. Ten minutes later, he'd joined a page with hilarious videos, also a page dedicated to music. What surprised him the most was, this was a lot better than expected, there was so much on here. Robert typed in FISHING, hoping there were a few pages he could join. A local one came up. Within an hour, he was a member.
.................

  While he drove to work the next day, Robert noticed the number of homeless people on the street. Even though his situation wasn't as desperate as theirs, he understood the loneliness they felt. The thought of Christmas day on his own filled him with dread. Graham had said to him some time back that the internet was good for meeting like-minded people. An idea then came to him.
.................

  Once he got back home from work, Robert logged into the social media site and went on every page he'd joined, also his profile, then wrote a small post about being on your own on Christmas day, and if by chance you had an interest in fishing and wanted to meet up on that particular day to fish and have a chat and eat some nice food and have a shot of whiskey or two, then you're more than welcome to join me from 9am to 6pm at The Ferry Inn at the Norfolk Broads, where we can find a suitable fishing spot, free of course, for as long as you want. Also adding emotionally, in recent months, I have experienced a loss and, like so many out there, I don't fancy being on my own, so this year a little bit of company would be much appreciated.

Robert F. X

Nervously, he posted it, waiting for a response.
.................

  Robert didn't go online for the next three days, because he was apprehensive to see his, what he would now describe as, an unusual post, inviting lonely strangers to keep him company on that one day. Maybe he now realised it was a silly, desperate thing to do, which a lot of people on these sites would probably disapprove of? There were so many thoughts going through his mind, Robert didn't know what to think anymore.  When he finally had the courage to look later that evening, he saw his post had been shared thousands of times. There were also a few comments on each page he'd shared it on, congratulating him on doing such a kind thing.. The last comment on the fishing page was from The Ferry Inn itself, which read:

  We're sorry to hear about your loss, Robert. I'll look forward to seeing you on the 25th and whoever decides to join you on this very special day. And as a gift to you, all Christmas lunches will be half price for all your new friends to enjoy. Take care.

  Robert logged out, still shocked by it all and just sat there in a daze. He'd been taken seriously after all.   He looked up at a photo of him and his wife. "I miss you, Karen. You do know that, don't you?"
  Moments later, he was sound asleep on the sofa.
.................

  The next week, Robert was only back to work for three days. Christmas Eve was on a Wednesday this year, and they'd usually get off early. 
..................

  The big day was finally here. Robert was so nervous, because he was so unsure if anyone would turn up. He left his house at 9am as it was a thirty-minute drive to The Ferry Inn. This would give him about 30 minutes before anyone turned up. In his boot were two bottles of good whiskey as he'd promised, and some sausage rolls and scotch eggs and Cornish pasties for his guests if they were hungry. Also, more importantly, his beloved fishing rod and tackle and chair.

  The traffic on one road was busy, but at 9.43am he'd made it. The car park for the pub was empty. Robert parked his vehicle nearest to the building, then waited patiently. He looked at his watch every few minutes. Still, no one had turned up. Maybe this was a bad idea? At 10.32am, Robert decided to walk along the river where he could fish. By the looks of it, he was going to spend the day on his own after all.

  He peered up at the heavens sadly. "I tried, my sweetheart. Merry Christmas, Karen. I know you always loved this time of year."

  Suddenly, a commotion was heard in the direction of the pub. With sheer relief he observed many cars and vans entering the big car park, and from the vehicles appeared people carrying their fishing rods and chairs. The moment they saw him, they made their way over.

  For the rest of the day, Robert and his 163 new acquaintances chatted and drank whiskey (not too much though as they still had to drive home) and fished. At midday the pub opened and half-priced lunches were served. And by 6pm they all exchanged telephone numbers, so they could make it a regular thing, and that was that.

Once Robert got back home all he did was sit in his chair in the living room with a glass of red wine which was Karen's favourite, then raised a glass to her. "I did it, my love, and at this point I couldn't be happier. And I miss you with all my heart, sweetheart, and I always will."
She smiled at him and he smiled back.


The End.

  

---