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Disclaimer: "The Pretender" and its characters do not belong to me they belong to TNT and NBC and are being used without permission. Please don't sue because I have no money.
I know this is a late Christmas story, but here it is.
The bells are ringing.
By: 24
Jarod walked down the street during the Christmas Holidays. Here he was in another town and on another pretend. He watched as parents and children walked down the sidewalk. He gazed at the happy families that were playing in the park and wondered if he would find his family. He was so tired of missing his family. He still hasn't found his mother.
He wandered into the park as the families had their picnics. He sat down on a bench and watched the fathers play with their children and watched the mothers get out the food. He wondered if he ever went on a picnic with his parents before he was stolen from his family. He watched as the mothers called their families and watched as the kids and fathers walk towards the blankets that were set out on the grass. He looked away and then back towards the families. He then got up and walked towards his motel room.
Back at his room he turned the computer on and waited for it to load. While that was happening he went to the kitchen to get himself something to eat. He went back to the computer and clicked on the Internet icon. He checked his mail and decided to send an e-mail Christmas greeting to Sydney and Miss Parker. After that he went surfed the Internet and found nothing interesting.
He then turned the T.V. on and flipped through the channels and found a show that he wanted to watch. After that was done he switched it off and got ready for bed. He slipped into the bed and quickly drifted off to nightmare filled sleep.
*****
The Next Day.
The pretend had gotten off to a good start as well as pretends go. After he was done he went to a deli shop and got a sandwich and sat on a bench to eat it and watched the families play around the park. He jumped, as there was a tap on his shoulder from behind. He turned towards the person who had tapped him and had the surprise of his life. Here stood his mother, sister, clone, brother and father. He quickly got up and hugged his mother.
"Mom. You're really here. I've spent so many years envisioning this reunion, but never thought that it would come true."
"I'm really here baby."
"I'm so happy that you're finally here."
"I am happy too Jarod. I've spent so many years in hiding not knowing if I'd ever see my first born again."
He then hugged the rest of his family and stared at the family surrounding him. He grinned at each one of them.
"Where are you staying at Jarod?"
"At the local motel. Where are you staying?"
"We rented a house down the street. We saw you and we just had to see you. Why don't you pay your bill, gather your things and come live with us for a short time."
"Okay. Give me your address and I'll get there as soon as I can."
"Okay. See you soon son."
He raced towards his car, got in, merged into the traffic and made his way towards the motel room. He paid for the room and then gathered his things and left. He got back into his car and made his way towards the house that he would be staying in with his family.
******
Christmas Day.
They gathered around the Christmas tree and waited until their mother came into the living room. They had just had a huge breakfast that consisted of waffles, strawberries with cream. They would be having turkey and all the trimmings for dinner, but now they were going to open the presents.
Major Charles passed out the presents as Margaret sat down on the couch. Jarod had already went shopping and brought presents for each of the family. After they opened the presents they went back to the park and played catch with the football. When they were tired from the game and went back to the house. The turkey was still cooking. Emily and Margaret went into the kitchen and put together the rest of the dinner. They made mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing and yams. Emily made an apple pie and a pumpkin pie. The men sat in front of the T.V. and watched a football game.
The two women came out of the kitchen and called the family into the kitchen where the table was already set. They sat down as the turkey was put on the table in front of the Major.
"Let's say a special prayer for today. Thank you for our family getting together after so many years being separated. Our only wish would have been that Kyle was here, but it is not possible. Thank you for letting us find our firstborn son and reuniting us with two more family members. Amen."
"Amen" was heard around the table as they were sitting down around the table. Major Charles carved the turkey and put it on each of the plates. Then the others put the various other sides on their plates. After the dinner was done the men cleaned the mess up and they took a walk around the block. They stopped at some of the houses that went all out with lights and other plastic figures. It was a beautiful sight to see everything.
When they got back they had dessert of the two homemade pies and a store brought Chocolate Mousse Pie. After that the women cleaned up and the men watched T.V. They finally came in the living room and watched T.V. with the men. Their parents went upstairs and turned in and some of the children did too. Jarod was the only one that hadn't yet went upstairs. He went outside and looked at the twinkling stars. He heard the bells ringing on that Christmas day as he turned to the house to go in. He turned back towards the street and looked around and then went inside to go to sleep.
The End.