When Kevin arrived at the truck stop, he parked and walked the rest of the way home. As he walked through the familiar streets, he noticed how things had changed. People were smiling, looking at the store windows adorned with mistletoe. Finally, he reached the door of his apartment and pressed the doorbell a few times before hiding behind the wall, eager to surprise Laura. But as time passed, no one came.
Confused and concerned, Kevin dug through his pockets for his keys and unlocked the door himself. “Hello? Is anyone home?” he called out. “I’m home! Surprise, my love!”
There was only silence. Dust had settled everywhere, indicating that Laura had not been home for a week or more. Kevin grew increasingly worried. He ran to the landline phone on the table, where he found a note. I’m sorry it didn’t work out, he read in his wife’s hand. I realized I deserved more. I met someone else and have found happiness. I wish you the same. Goodbye.
Kevin repeated the last word to himself several times before crumpling up the paper and throwing it against the wall. He spent several days drinking, his mind caught between dreams and reality. He even thought he saw Laura looking in through the window, smiling at him, which caused him to almost fall from the fourth floor as he climbed onto the windowsill.
It’s unclear how long he would have continued if it weren’t for his elderly neighbor, Mr. Feist, who had grown tired of the noise.
“Oh, it’s you, Mr. Feist,” Kevin yawned as he opened the door on Christmas morning.
“Well, I came to wish you a Merry Christmas,” he said, nonchalantly walking into the apartment. “I see you’ve been celebrating for a while now.”
“I’m tired of this,” Kevin said shamefacedly. “My wife left me, and I’ve been drinking. Care to join?”
Over whiskey, Kevin told him the chaotic story. “Was I not making good money?” he asked. “Hell yeah, I was. Did I take her to Spain? I sure did. Gifts? Tons. Maybe I did miss something. Maybe it’s because I’m an orphan. I grew up in an orphanage, but that’s not my fault.”
Mr. Feist took another glass. “That’s not it, Kevin,” he replied softly. “There are fickle women. They swear eternal love to you today, and tomorrow they’ll find someone better. She wasn’t the one for you if she left you. Why grieve for her? You should be glad such a burden has been lifted. God gave you this wonderful gift, life. Enjoy it.”
Kevin admitted the old man was right. “I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble. I won’t be here tonight. I’m leaving town.”
The conversation had a better effect on him than any medicine. On Christmas Eve, when families gathered in their cozy homes, Kevin was driving through the snowy highway in his truck, so eager to get away that he didn’t pay attention to the ice. The road was empty. To distract himself, he turned up the music. To the left, a bright firework shot up from behind the forest. Kevin considered this an answer to his own silent congratulations to the world and smiled.
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