Remembering WENN #4: Christmas is Waiting
by Rita Widmer
Disclaimer: Remember WENN belongs to Rupert Holmes, the actors that play them, and those folks that never figured out what a good movie is at AMC. The story idea comes from the episode Christmas in the Airwaves with the mention of Christmas 1939 and the blizzard. The plotline is my own.
All comments are welcome, and I'll thank you all ahead of time for any comments. Merry Christmas all! I will be gone for the next week and I wanted everyone to have a Christmas story to read for the holidays.
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"We interrupt this broadcast for a special news bulletin. Those of you planning to do any traveling tonight, if there is any way you can wait until morning, please do. If you have to drive, please be careful," announced Mackie.
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Betty sat at the one and only window at WENN. Noticing that she was crying, Victor walked up to her. He put his hand on her shoulder. "Betty, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, Victor. Just a little home sick, that's all. I've never been away from home for Christmas before."
"Having been an orphan since I was eight, I can't tell you that it will get easier over time. However, sometimes you can find a family in other places who will be a comfort for you."
"How did you lose your family?" Betty asked as she finally turned around and wiped a stray tear off of her face.
"I was an only child. My parents were coming home from dinner when the buggy went over the side of the bridge. It was snowing, just like it is now."
"I'm sorry. I know how hard it must be. I lost my mother just before I went to college. My father wouldn't tell me how she died. All I know is that she was in Germany at the time."
"Hey, you two," Celia interrupted, "are you going to join the party?"
Taking Betty's hand, Victor smiled. "I think we have a party to join."
"Swell! Let's go." She faked a smile and followed Victor out the door. If Betty couldn't be happy at the moment, she could at least look the part.
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Everyone was finishing opening their gifts as Betty sat down. It was lots of fun, but Betty looked withdrawn. She'd been upset all day and it was hard for her to get in a happy mood again.
"Betty, are you okay? I drew your name for the gift exchange." Victor handed her a small package.
Betty opened it and found a snowglobe with a little girl on a sleigh. Underneath it was a small box. Inside was a lovely necklace that had a little cross on it. "Victor, you shouldn't have. They're both so lovely." Betty almost thought about hugging him, but decided that might not be proper.
"You really like it? I've never had to shop for a lady before, so I had trouble picking something out."
"I love it. Thank you, Victor."
In a corner of the room, as quiet as possible, Jeff took a tiny box out of his pocket. "Hilary, I know we said no gift exchanging this year, but I saw this and had to give it to you."
Hilary looked at him and took the box. She opened it up, and found a small ring inside. It was beautiful. Jeff took the ring from her and tried to fit it on her ring finger. "Jeff, you could never pick out rings the right size. You would think with your past you could remember that."
"Hilary, I thought it was the right size," Jeff argued. He then tried improvising. "It's supposed to be a pinky ring. I just forgot." Hilary held out her hand again, and he put the ring on as the music began again. "May I have this dance?" Jeff took her in his arms and guided her onto the dance floor.
Mackie was dancing with Eugenia, but was having trouble trying to keep her off his feet. She kept missing his cues and on his next move she accidentally stepped on his feet. Luckily, he was a wonderful actor and was able to keep a smile on his face during the whole song.
"I hope I didn't step on your feet too much," Eugenia said at the end of the tune.
Mackie grimaced, but quickly covered. "Don't worry about it, Eugenia. It was a very nice dance."
The party came to an end. Everyone decided to settle down for the night as well as they could without any beds, blankets, etc. As quiet decended, Betty sat back down at the window. Instead of crying like she'd wanted to do earlier, she found herself feeling peaceful.
"Victor is right. You can always find a second family, and mine is right here at WENN." She knew now that this would never be a short term job and she would be happy here. Before she knew it, she fell asleep beside the window.
When she woke up, she noticed the snow had stopped, and the city was covered in white. She had to tell everyone else. It was also time for them to start the day's programming.
Running into the Green Room and the studio, she couldn't contain herself. "Everyone, it stopped snowing! Merry Christmas!"
Remembering WENN Series
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