Danny & Annie and the Christmas Tree

By Mark Lanham

The story of Danny and Annie takes place on Christmas morning in their living room. They are in their final year, celebrating their final Christmas in the closing hours of their final day on earth. As they commemorate this very last Christmas morn, Annie makes a wish to live their lives all over again. The wish is granted but not in a way foreseen by either of them. Their adventure begins at the ages they were when they first met in early childhood and ends with them having spent a lifetime together in marriage. Along the way, Danny and Annie face trials and tribulations, both new and old.

This story is about how new beginnings can have old endings and how old endings can have new beginnings.

Some of the characters Danny and Annie encounter during their perilous journey show themselves, at times, to be treacherous and dangerous. Other characters show themselves to be open and honest with their most common trait being a timely response to a desperate need.

The overriding theme is Danny and Annie's journey together, culminating in an encounter with the Grantor of wishes and prayers. This story hopes to reveal the crucial balance between grace and obedience during our walk of life in faith.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098080297

Book preview

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Danny and Annie and the Christmas Tree

Mark Lanham

Copyright © 2021 by Mark Lanham

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Christmas Morning

The Journey Begins

The Garland Path

Calling Mr. Keeper

The Three Wise Men

Story Time

Winter of Life

The Fullness of Time and Promises

Chapter 1

Christmas Morning

The coldest Christmas morning on record had arrived, and Annie was putting her final touches to the family Christmas tree. Dan had poured her and himself some eggnog for a quick breakfast. Annie wished he’d made some hot coffee instead to greet such a cold day, but Dan traditionally served eggnog each Christmas and insisted she join him in his little celebration. Some years ago, Annie had bought two delicate long-stemmed rose-colored glasses, and she only brought them out for special occasions. Christmas Day was one such occasion. Dan brought the eggnog over, served on a little silver tray, and placed it in the center of the coffee table. The love seat and coffee table were positioned in the center of the living room, facing the wall on which hung the television. The Christmas tree was nestled in the corner next to the TV. Dan settled in on his side of the love seat to watch Annie as she finished her decorating. He savored his eggnog as he admired the love of his life. Annie always seemed to make his heart flutter, no more so than on this day.

He adored Annie and how she had poured her heart and passion into the decorating of their home each Christmas. She did this so the kids and grandkids would feel as if they had stepped into another world from another time. Annie succeeded magnificently in her endeavor as evidenced by the awe reflected in the grandkids’ faces each time they visited. Her Christmas dinners were extravagant, and her place settings were a beauty to behold. But now the kids had long since grown and had moved far away. What started as a visit each holiday season evolved to a visit every other Christmas, as the kids began splitting family time with the in-laws. The grandkids became less and less beholden to spend Christmas with their grandparents as the years passed and as they grew up all too quickly. These last several years had gone by with a blur. Danny and Annie hadn’t any Christmas guests in this fading twilight of their lives. Yet Annie still decorated this Christmas as if there would be a house full of family.

Dan had ceased decorating the outside of the house some years ago. Advanced age with failing mobility robbed him of this joy, but he still liked adding his own touch to the indoor celebration. He had long been a fan of HO-scale model trains since childhood but switched to G scale as an adult having spent great care and time setting up a circular track under the Christmas tree. A very large plush red tree skirt with a wide white border had been placed under the tree with the train tracks centered directly on that border. While seated on the love seat, one could see the train stopping at the station Dan had placed on the backside of the tree. A little creative tree trimming provided just enough clearance that allowed for a nice enough view. The train would sit at the station for a few seconds, and the locomotive would blow its whistle just before leaving. While traveling around the front of the tree, the little train would let out a puff of smoke as the whistle blew again. Dan was proud and satisfied with himself for his skill in timing the speed and activities of his little railroad. He had significantly reduced the speed of the train so that an observer could enjoy the special, limited edition, Christmas Tree Express and its detailed decorative features.

While Annie didn’t share Dan’s enthusiasm for model trains and didn’t particularly like a train going around under the tree, she did have to concede since there were no longer any presents being placed there as had been the case in the years before. This fact had removed her excuse for denying Dan his locomotive wish. After all, Dan didn’t care much for her extravagant Christmas village, yet he still participated in setting it up each year. He would even offer ideas and feedback on how the setting could be arranged and presented.

They had but one pet in their waning years. Lucky Penny was just a kitten when Annie found her several years ago, abandoned, behind the back tire of her car one morning. She was just about to get in and leave for volunteer work when she spotted Penny peeking out from behind the tire. This five-week-old furry caterpillar of a feline had apparently been left there by her mother for some reason of nature. Luckily Annie had caught a glimpse of Penny out of the corner of her eye. Otherwise she would’ve been a flat Penny. She learned that this fur baby had been separated from her mother before being weaned, and therefore, Annie bottle-fed Penny for a couple of weeks until she could eat canned cat food mixed with a little milk. She raised Penny with TLC, and they were inseparable for a few years. Penny became a little more independent as she aged but still demanded lap time each evening. Annie usually obliged. Well-fed, Penny refused to hunt the mouse that had recently moved in about the same time the cold snap arrived.

Along with the freezing weather came the heavy snow. The mousecapades began shortly thereafter. Dan figured he’d better take care of this new critter before Christmas. He also wanted to rid the house of the little rodent prior to any encounters Annie might have with him. The thought of Annie screaming every time she caught sight of the hurrying and scurrying Mr. Mouse was more than he wanted to bear. If Penny would only do her job, he would mutter to himself. It sure would make things easier for me. Dan had made several attempts this holiday season to dispose of this unwanted guest. Earlier, he had gone down to the local hardware shop and asked the owner, Jim, how best to execute this extermination. There had been much snow, with more in the forecast, so he figured he’d better purchase several options instead of trying one at a time. Dan didn’t like the idea of being snowed in with his new little nemesis, and he wanted several means of forced eviction or extinction at his disposal.

The first series of attempts involved the age-old trusty, tried-and-true mousetrap. Dan’s problem was that mousetraps were made not with metal catches for the trigger mechanism anymore but rather with plastic. The plastic ones were supposed to be better because they were made with two settings. The traps had a very sensitive setting for younger hands and a not-so-sensitive setting for slightly older hands. For very old and shaky hands ravaged with advanced carpal tunnel syndrome, both settings would be better labeled impossible and slightly less impossible. ow! was the expression Annie would hear repeatedly while in the other rooms as she went about her daily chores. Dan set the first trap where he and Annie had seen Mr. Mouse crossing the floor along the baseboard near the TV. Penny’s curiosity made this location impossible. He then tried several other spots around the house with no success. It was either Penny would show more interest in the trap than Mr. Mouse or the trap was placed erroneously in areas not frequented by this little squatter. After several days, Dan decided to gather up the traps and try something else.

Next up in Dan’s little bag of horrors was the poison. Just trying to find a place where Penny would be safe from her own curiosity was proving to be a rather daunting task all of its own. He tried sprinkling the poison pellets in locations Penny couldn’t possibly reach, but these same places either were inaccessible to the little critter or were outside the known transit routes that Mr. Mouse had established. Dan gave up on the poison after leaving it in so many places he began forgetting where all the locations were. He then gathered up all he could find and all his spotty memory would allow. Knowing Penny, he couldn’t bear the thought of being responsible for the cat’s demise.

Dan’s last option was to use the sonic emitter doohickey. This contraption did little more than drive Penny to the bedroom whenever it was turned on. It also seemed to make the neighbor’s dog howl each time he tried using it. Annie seemed, coincidently, to get a migraine each time as well. He was sure the mouse must be carrying little mousy earmuffs on him or something. Mr. Mouse seemed undeterred in his route running schedule, so Dan decided to cease driving everyone crazy and threw the sonic thingamajig out with the trash. I’ll get you after Christmas, Mr. Mouse. You just wait, Dan said under his breath as he slammed down the trash-can lid. Annie’s migraines seemed to subside shortly thereafter too.

And now this Christmas morning, with no sign of the mouse, Dan watched Annie give the Christmas tree a final going over. He sipped his eggnog and was delighted with the warm glow of the fireplace located on the other wall. He had gotten up early, before dawn, and was about to crank up the heater when he remembered it was Christmas. He decided a nice fire would be a better start to this most special day. A couple of weeks earlier, as always, he’d made sure to set up the Christmas tree across the room from the fireplace for safety’s sake. Dan went outside just before this sunrise and gathered his firewood. He felt bundling up was unnecessary since he would only be out for a few. Besides, putting on all those clothes would be such a delay in setting the proper mood before Annie arose. She was an early riser, and Dan knew she was sleeping in a little. He also knew her version of sleeping in was much different than his, and she’d be up and about any minute now. The frigid air was a surprising shock to his aging body. He rubbed his chest as he felt a sharp pain in the center of his back. I used to work outside in this all the time when I was younger, he thought. I don’t remember it being so cold. I can sure feel it now.