Four Christmases

By Loretta Livingstone

Four short, sparkling seasonal tales to warm your heart.
A little book of Christmas delights.
Joey's Christmas: Will Joey's heart be broken?
Sophie's Reward: Will Sophie survive the tedium of this Christmas?
Street Christmas: What if...?
A Very Special Christmas: Anisha's first Christmas in the UK. Will it be as lonely as she thinks?
(Sophie's Reward also features in the book, 'Beautiful and other short stories'.)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Loretta Livingstone
• Release date: Dec 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201713898

Loretta Livingstone

British author Loretta Livingstone lives in the Chiltern Hills with her husband, Iain. She writes poetry, short stories and novels, and says of her work, "Above all, I like to leave my readers with smiles on their faces." Find out more about Loretta from her website or from her profile on Goodreads. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Book preview

FOUR CHRISTMASES

FOUR SHORT SEASONAL TALES

by

Loretta Livingstone

Copyright © 2014 Loretta Livingstone

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author, except in the context of reviews.

All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Cover image © Cherry and Troy Christensen

Table of Contents

Joey’s Christmas

Sophie’s Reward

Street Christmas

A Very Special Christmas

About The Author

Joey’s Christmas

––––––––

Joey sat up in bed clutching Rabbit tightly. Downstairs, a door slammed. The TV was turned up a notch, but he could still hear the muffled, angry voices. Knuckling sleep from his eyes, he climbed out of bed and padded across the carpet in his bare feet. He put Rabbit down and grasped the doorknob with both hands. Turning it quietly, he slipped out, picked up Rabbit and sat shivering at the top of the stairs.

Will you keep your voice down! his mum hissed. We don’t want Joey hearing us.

A tremor shook Joey's small frame, and a treacherous tear rolled down his nose and plopped onto the floor. He looked solemnly at Rabbit. Rabbit stared back with his knowing button eyes. Joey was almost too grown-up for Rabbit, but sometimes he still needed his comfort. It was the third night in a row his parents had woken him up with angry voices.

Georgie says his mum and dad kept shouting, he informed Rabbit. And then his daddy left and got another little boy. Rabbit looked sympathetically back at him and said nothing. Joey leaned against the bannister, listening in despair to the subdued but angry voices downstairs, his thumb in his mouth, Rabbit on his knees. His head drooped forward as his eyes flickered and closed.

Bang! He jolted awake, eyes wide, and scampered back to bed seconds before the door opened and his mum peeped in at him.

Scrunching his eyes up, he pretended to be asleep until the door closed with a soft click. Please God, don’t let my daddy leave. Don’t let him find another little boy, Joey sobbed, curling into a tight, little ball under the duvet. Please, God, please.

The next thing he knew, his mum was kissing him gently on the forehead. He opened his eyes. It was morning.

Wake up, sleepyhead. Her big grey eyes smiled into his as he looked blankly up at her. Come on, we’ve got heaps to do today. I have to finish your costume. You’re going to be the best shepherd in town, Joey.

He blinked owlishly at her. She shook his shoulder gently. Come on, up you get.

Eileen watched her small son as he sat up and yawned. Bless him. He must be nervous, look at his little pinched face.

Will daddy be coming? A doleful sniff.

He’ll try to, darling. Now, come on, up you get. You’ll be fine. The best shepherd ever. She put her arms around him