The Christmas Stars

Part 1

Chapter One

Stella hit send on her last remaining assignment and sat back in the uncomfortable standard issue dorm desk chair. She rubbed her eyes, then moved her head from side to side to stretch her neck. She rolled her shoulders forward and back. As she stretched away the tension of research, citation formatting, and proper grammar, she could feel the stress float away.

She pulled her straight dark brown hair back and used the orange cotton scrunchy on her wrist to put her hair up in a ponytail. It was Tuesday afternoon and she was now officially on Thanksgiving break. The hall was quiet. Her dorm room was at the end of the hall on the third floor of the red brick building. Her roommate, Alice, had left earlier that morning in a whirlwind of suitcases, coconut smelling tanning lotion, and hugs. Alice was off to meet her family in Florida for a holiday cruise.

Stella and Alice had never met prior to the start of the school year. The housing office claimed they had a tried-and-true method of matching roommates, but Stella couldn’t for the life of her guess how they thought she and Alice were a good pair. They got along and didn’t argue or fight, but they did not share any of the same interests or priorities. Alice’s side of the room was packed with posters and knick-knacks containing witty or inspirational quotes. Her bed was stacked high with decorative pillows and stuffed animals. Every inch of her space was filled with color and texture, to include a multicolored rug on the floor and Christmas lights hanging year-round.

Stella’s side of the room was bare in comparison. She used a flower print quilt on her bed that her grandmother made and she had a few framed photos of her parents and friends from back home. Instead of being filled with decorations, her shelf was stacked with books, homework assignments, and notepads. On her small desk she kept her laptop, a cup of pens, and an external hard drive for extra storage.

Alice had bleached blonde hair and was constantly experimenting with different styles and highlights. She was shorter than Stella and was constantly trying new diets to avoid the dreaded freshman 15 weight gain. 

Stella grabbed her phone from the desk and unplugged the charging cord. She stood and approached the half-packed bag on her bed. She glanced at the phone screen to check her notifications and saw Alice was already posting pictures from the airport. Stella liked the photo and smiled, not at the photo, but in her own anticipation of returning home for a few days.

Stella checked the bag and then began to finalize her packing. Instead of swimsuits, she was packing sweaters. But that was fine with her. Thanksgiving was the start of the Christmas season. It should be cold in her opinion. She still had clothes at home and was only going to be there for a few days, so she folded a few outfits carefully into the bag and then went to the bathroom to collect her toiletries. 

Her bag packed, Stella shut down her laptop and slid it into the same pink backpack she had used all through high school. Her mom had offered to buy her a new one for college, but why replace something that wasn’t broken? She shut off the desk lamp and ensured everything else in the small room was unplugged, to include Alice’s flat iron and the essential oil diffuser. Technically the diffuser was against dorm rules, but that is one item of Alice’s that Stella appreciated. At least it always smelled nice in their room. Stella made a mental note to bring back some pine and cinnamon scented oils so their room would smell like Christmas after the break. Stella reached behind Alice’s bed, fighting through the pile of pillows to unplug the strand of Christmas lights. That should be everything, she thought. She shook her head. What would Alice ever do without her? She laughed to herself.

Stella hitched her backpack over one shoulder and rolled the suitcase down the hallway to the central elevator bay. She took the elevator down to the main floor and then stepped outside. The door clicked shut and locked audibly behind her, signaling that it was time to go home and be with family.

There was a briskness in the air. The sun shone brightly and the sky was a clear deep blue. However, a crisp breeze sent reminders of an approaching winter. Winters in Nebraska came suddenly and without mercy. The leaves that still clung stubbornly to tree branches were shrunken and brown. Fallen leaves brushed and scratched along the sidewalk in small gusts of cool wind. The grass, vibrant and green at the beginning of the semester, had turned a dull yellow. Stella loved the smell of leaves mixed with woodsmoke from a farm house somewhere in the distance. She loved the fall, when the heat and humidity of the summer finally broke. But most of all, she loved that fall signaled the arrival of winter, and with it, Christmas.

Stella’s little car was old, but reliable. She had grown used to the dented front fender and signs of rust under the faded paint. Her dad made sure that despite appearances, the car was shipshape under the hood. Stella knew as soon as she got home, he would ask her when she last changed the oil and would check all of the fluids.

She dug the keys out of her pocket, jiggled them in the lock until she heard the click, and loaded her bags into the trunk. Before she left for school, her dad had purchased a battery jumper for her and instructed her to keep it charged and in the trunk at all times. She quickly tried to remember the last time she had remembered to charge the device. The car’s old stereo was still sitting in the trunk from when she had finally gotten an upgraded replacement without a cassette player.

Someone from across the parking lot called out and she looked up and saw Steve, who had been in one of her classes the previous semester. He seemed like a nice guy the few times they had chatted during class. He was always doodling in his notebook during the lectures and had to ask her for her notes after class. Maybe she should get to know him better, she thought.

Only a few cars remained in the lot. Stella was apparently slow to turn in her final assignment, or maybe everyone else took their work home with them.

Stella stepped into the driver’s seat, plugged in her phone, and started the car. The seat cover always seemed to slip to one side and then it bunched up under her uncomfortably as she drove. She pushed up off the seat and tried to readjust the cover under her. She let the car warm up and adjusted the air to warm up the interior.

She normally had a rule of no Christmas music until after Thanksgiving, but was in such a good mood, decided to make an exception. No one would ever know. She opened her phone and set the music to her brand-new Christmas playlist, curated very carefully over the last few months, and shifted the car into drive. Creating the playlist without being able to listen to the songs had been torture, but had fueled her anticipation for the season that much more. Alice thought she was crazy. In Alice’s world, if you wanted to listen to Christmas music in July, then you listened to Christmas music in July. But to Stella, Christmas was to be looked forward to and savored throughout the year. The music began and she pulled forward out of her parking spot through the empty row in front of her. She turned left out of the lot and headed towards home.

Chapter Two

Ruby stood in the open doorway of their two-story red brick home and called out, Charles, come inside. It’s getting too cold! She dried her hands with a white dish towel and stuffed it into the pocket of her apron. She had just finished making the pie crusts and setting them in the fridge to chill, ready for Thanksgiving. The front lawn sloped gradually down to the street where a hedge separated the yard from the sidewalk. Large mature maple trees covered the yard in shade during the summer while a trio of evergreens in the far corner provided color to the yard year-round. Carefully tended flower boxes lined the walkway that led from the driveway to the front door. 

Charles turned to his wife with a big grin and waved as he wrapped more lights around the maple tree trunk in the front yard down at the base of the driveway. He was almost done putting up Christmas lights and was grateful it hadn’t turned snowy on him like it had last year. This year he had decided to heed his wife’s warnings about his age and paid a neighbor boy to climb the tree and put lights up in the branches. Last year he almost fell when the ladder slipped. Luckily, Stella had been outside and ran over to reposition the ladder as he wrapped his arms around a branch.

I’m just about done! he called out. Just a few more strands and it will all be finished before Stella gets here.

He was excited to show Stella the light upgrades this year. It was one of their favorite things to do together. Last year Stella helped him buy a bunch of LED lights on clearance after Christmas. The lights advertised the ability to connect to a computer and dance in time to music playing in the application. They could change into all different colors and patterns. Charles was pretty sure he had everything set up and connected correctly. He had spent hours the week before watching tutorial videos online and had prepared a detailed lighting design template. He took the folded template out of his back pocket and unfolded it against the tree trunk. He studied the drawing and compared it to his work on the tree. Satisfied, he refolded the paper and stuffed it back into his pocket. He was hoping Stella would just be able to plug in, add some music, and start the show. He looked at his watch. She should be on her way, he guessed.

It really was starting to get chilly. There was a bite to the air and he could see his breath, which he couldn’t when he had started. The sun hung low in the autumn sky. Having been reminded of the cold by Ruby, he suddenly started to feel it. He coughed and sniffed and then looked at Ruby guiltily.

You’ll catch the death of cold, she scolded. You are just getting over a cough. At least put on a warmer cap. Ruby reached inside the door to the coat rack in the entryway and pulled a ski cap from a hook. She held it out as Charles trudged through the yard up to the door and took it from her hand.

Thanks darlin’ he said. He stepped in closer and gave Ruby a kiss with cold dry lips. I’ll be done soon. She’ll be here before long, and I want it to be ready.

I know dear, Ruby replied. I’m sure it will be perfect. She shook her head, knowing she could never get him to stop even if she tried. But at least she got him to put on a warmer cap. She turned inside and shut the door.

Chapter Three

The drive home started on clear streets around campus, but soon Stella found herself stuck in holiday traffic, everyone working their way through town to the freeway. For some reason, everyone seemed to be leaving the city for Thanksgiving. Many were also still working, so normal congestion just added to the vacationers. Stella would not let the stop and go traffic get her down. It wouldn’t last long. She turned up the Christmas music and sighed with contentment.

Let it snow, let snow, let it snow! she sang along with Vaughn Monroe at the top of her lungs. Stella preferred the classic version of the song and enjoyed singing in the privacy of her car. She looked to her left and saw a group of young teen boys in the backseat of a dark gray SUV laughing and pointing at her. She smiled and blew them a kiss. She could almost hear their exclamations as one punched the other in the shoulder and they all laughed and gave her a thumbs up. The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole came on and she joined in.

Stella made it through the city onto the freeway and traffic thinned with each exit as she headed west. She found herself travelling alongside minivans with back windows completely blocked by suitcases and pillows, and crossovers with rooftop cargo carriers. Big rigs rumbled by in a never-ending flow, shaking her little car in their slipstream. Stella watched dads driving and moms turned in their seats, tending to children in the back. Over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house we go, Stella sang each time a loaded car passed her by. She checked the clock on the radio and figured she would be able to make it home in time to see the Christmas light set up. She resisted the temptation to drive faster. Not only did she not want to start her break with a ticket, her little car protested loudly whenever she topped 65.

Chapter Four

The sun was just dipping below the horizon when Stella turned onto her street. The big maple tree in her yard was visible down the block and she used it as her landmark for home. She slowed as she approached the house and turned right into the driveway. Her dad was leaning over the juniper bushes behind the mailbox. He heard her car and stood up. He grinned and waved excitedly. Stella stopped and rolled down the driver’s side window. A blast of cold air hit her face and she shivered involuntarily.

Hey sweetie! Charles called out. You’re just in time. I’m on the last strand.

Dad, it’s freezing out here!

Oh, it’s just a little chilly, he replied and rubbed his