Sara’s 12 Days of Christmas… and Illness
Monday, December 8th: The First Day Of Christmas
Sara sneezed, something she wasn’t too happy about. This winter was being hailed as one of the worst in history. The media had been reporting killer cases of the flu, something she wasn’t too fond of either because of the fact she still hadn’t gotten her flu shot yet. And now with the shortage on the life saving vaccine, she was in hot pursuit of a clinic that still had some on hand. She hadn’t found one on the entire island of Manhattan, and the closest meant going all the way to New Jersey, a trek she wasn’t about to take in this weather with her bike. Paying for a cab to take her out there was out of the question as well. Where the hell would she find the money? Christmas shopping for her friends had nearly drained her bank account, and her next paycheck wouldn’t be coming for another four days. That left her in the cold, without a flu shot, and miserably sick with something she could only hope was a minor cold.
Sara hurried her pace down the street towards the precinct, wanting now more than ever to be in the confines of the dreadful building. She wanted the warmth that drew everyone there, and after a small lunch only consisting of coffee and a pastry, she also wanted to see if her partners had any food left to share. It had been nearly three days since Sara had eaten a full meal, but she never let on to the fact that she was slowly starving herself, praying that one of these days she’d win the lottery and get the hell out of the situation she was in even though she still loved her job and probably wouldn’t give it up.
Her footsteps echoed against the marble floor as she entered the building. A sigh of relief escaped her lips while the warm air blasted her frozen face. Sara was glad to be back inside and away from the frosty winter chill. She quickly made it back to her office where Danny and Jake were sitting, quietly eating lunch on their desks, something that struck her as odd, but she didn’t say anything until she looked at her own little area to find the small box wrapped in red and green paper with a tiny silver bow on top. Naturally, she glanced over in their direction to see they were just as intrigued as she was about the package sitting on her desk.
“When did this come in?” Sara asked, pointing to what she could only assume be a gift as she sat down at her desk.
“I dunno,” Jake replied. “I went out to grab lunch with Danny, and when we came back, it was sitting there on your desk. We swear we don’t know where it came from.”
Sara smiled. “Right,” she replied. If anything, they were probably both in on it, having realized that her mooching during lunch only meant that she had been going hungry. Sara grabbed the small box and opened it in a rush, having completely missed the card that sat below it. “Oh, my God!” she cried. “Godiva chocolates! You guys!”
Jake and Danny glanced at each other, bewildered. “It wasn’t us,” Danny honestly spoke up.
“Maybe the card will give you a hint as to who sent it,” Jake added, seeing the envelope that she had missed beneath the pile of gift wrap.
Sara snatched up the card, and with one quick motion, had the envelope open. Inside she discovered the most delicately made card she had ever seen. The paper was some kind of old parchment dyed pink with cutout poinsettias. The front read in beautifully scripted letters “On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me…” When Sara opened the card, the inside was just as ornately decorated as the front and read in the same script “A box of Godiva chocolates.” She couldn’t help but blush as she re-read the card, trying to figure out who had such magnificent handwriting. But with her nose itching, the threat of a sneeze coming on quite suddenly was inevitable. She put down the card and grabbed a tissue just in time to put it close to her face.
“Jeez, Pez, that was awful. You coming down with something?” Jake asked.
“No,” Sara retorted as she threw the tissue and the gift wrap into the garbage and opened the box of chocolates to grab a few. Her stomach was still growling from its lack of food, but chocolate was definitely a nice way to keep it from getting too loud.
“You gonna share?” Danny asked as he tried to reach for the box.
“Hell no!” she replied, quickly holding it close to her and keeping it out of range from everyone.
“Come on, how many times have I brought you coffee?” he protested.
Sara had to give in. Danny always seemed to know when she needed a caffeine fix and brought her a cup. It was time that she returned the favor. “Alright,” she reluctantly answered. “But you can only have one.”
“What about me?” Jake asked, a little too hopeful.
Sara glared at him. “And what have you done for me?” She waited for him to answer, but all she got was nothing, just like she had expected. “That’s what I thought.” She saw the pitiful look he gave her as he turned around to face his desk and realized she was becoming the Grinch with her behavior. Feeling bad, she leaned over and extended the box in his direction as well. She didn’t know what had gotten into her. It might have been the lack of food, or maybe the lack of her Christmas spirit, but the biggest possibility of all was probably the cold she was catching. She shook off the thought and sat back in her chair.
Chapter 2: Tuesday, December 9th: The Second Day Of Christmas