Here is the last Chapter 9 of the short story, The True Meaning of Christmas from my book, An Angel Among us. I hope you have been enjoying this sweet story and that it puts you in the spirit of giving this Christmas. If you haven’t read this book yet, I hope you will grab your copy soon and enjoy the rest of the 14 stories this year.
Chapter 9
Clarinda jumped up from her warm bed and looked around and realized where she was but something wasn’t right. Oh my God! She just remembered she forgot to bring Mrs. Antonelli’s wash? How would she get paid so she could buy the children gifts for Christmas? She must tell Mrs. Antonelli.
Clarinda ran all the way down the stairs and stopped at the foot of the stairs when she saw the Antonelli’s hugging and crying. She wondered what was wrong. Were they upset because she and her siblings were there?
She coughed to get their attention but didn’t move. The Antonelli’s turned around and were surprised to see Clarinda standing there staring at them and looking a little upset.
They went over to her and took her into their arms and hugged her. Clarinda hugged them back but was surprised at their gesture. She stepped back and said, “Excuse me Mr. & Mrs. Antonelli, but I almost forgot to tell you I finished your wash and left it at my house. Do you want me to go get it so you can pay me? I need to buy my brother and sister and mother a gift for Christmas.”
“Oh, no, dear sweet child. You will never have to wash or do anything like that again. We will take care of you and your siblings and your mother for as long as we live and you will never want for anything. May God bless you all. You will always have a home here, too, if you ever need us.”
Clarinda couldn’t say a word she was shocked at what these nice people had just said. All she could do was cry and run into their arms and kiss them and thank them again and again but added, “Can we go visit our mother in the hospital on Christmas Day? I don’t want her to be alone.” Clarinda looked on the verge of tears just talking about her sick mother.
“Oh, dear sweet child, of course. We were going to tell you tomorrow about what we planned to do. We are going to go shopping for new clothes for you and your siblings and buy each of you a present to give to your mother for Christmas. We will bring a Christmas dinner to her and we can all eat together. I am sure the hospital will allow us to eat together so we can celebrate the holiday as a family. When we get back we will go over to your house and decorate and buy some new things for your rooms and for your mother too. We want your house to look like new for when your mother returns home.” Angela had tears in her eyes as she explained their plan.
“Oh, Mr. & Mrs. Antonelli, this is the best Christmas I have ever had! Thank you so much! Now I can go to asleep! I can’t wait to tell Andrew and Brenda that we are going to see Mama and celebrate Christmas together. Good night and Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas to you, too, sweet child!”
Angela and Leonard hugged and cried as they talked excitedly about what they were going to do and buy for the children and their mother for Christmas. They had never remembered feeling such pure joy. They gave thanks to God for bringing these children and their mother into their lonely lives. They vowed from this day on to always give to those in need not just at Christmas time but all the time.
Leonard looked at his lovely wife as she beamed with joy and said, “I often asked myself – ‘What is the true meaning of Christmas?’ Now I know – the true meaning of Christmas, besides being the day of Jesus’ birth of course – is giving to others in need.”
THE END
I hope you enjoyed my Christmas story. Please check out An Angel Among us for 14 more entertaining short stories with a twist and a surprise ending. Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a healthy & Happy New Year!
Thank you so much for stopping by to read this post. Feel free to come back again soon. I appreciate your kind support and any reviews you may post wherever my books are sold.
Blessings & Hugs! Stay Safe, Stay Well and God Bless!
READING GIVES YOU WINGS TO FLY! SOAR WITH JEMSBOOKS ALL YEAR THROUGH! HAPPY READING!
Janice Spina aka J.E. Spina
Award-Winning Author
Jemsbooks for All Ages!
Jemsbooks.com
Jemsbooks.blog
Jjspina(at)comcast(dot)net
AMAZON.COM AUTHOR PAGE (All books)
AMAZON.COM JE SPINA NOVELS PAGE
JEMSBOOKS 
Such a lovely story, thanks so much.
Thank you, Darlene! I’m happy you enjoyed it! ❤️ HNY! 🎆
❤
Unfortunately, I couldn’t read all the story, but just reading the last, was enough for me that it must have been a great story. My husband and I become covid just before Christmas and then a day later I got food poison, from a plate with barbeque chicken brought over by our Nabours. Albert was okay. And this combination and the Chemo tablets i am taking, weakened my body and i feel, well, you can guess how i feel.
Well, Merry Christmas to you and family.
So sorry to hear what you are going through. I pray that you will regain your strength and good health. Happy to hear you enjoyed my story. ❤️🙏🎆🎄