Levon was up early.  He finished his cup of coffee and grabbed his jacket but before he opened the door to leave, he
glanced over at the corner of the room at the small, unadorned pine tree standing there.  A sudden rush of Christmas spirit
had hit him as he drove past a corner lot just before it closed.  The little tree was off by itself instead of with the taller trees
with nice full branches.  He was drawn to the little tree and now here it was in his living room.  Levon chuckled to himself as
he left the house.  LaFiamma would tease him for a month if he knew.

          Joe was running late.  He rushed through his shower and gulped down his juice.  He shouldn’t have watched that
movie last night.  When he got home after a long day he only wanted something to take his mind off his work.  Even
though it was the holiday season, he turned on the T.V. and began to switch from channel to channel, watching each
program until he lost interest.   It worked.  He felt his mind relax and he was about to turn off the set until he saw Jimmy
Stewart.  In a moment he was caught up in the familiar story and he watched the movie to its end then fell asleep full of
warm Christmas spirit.  Lundy would love to know he stayed awake watching “It’s A Wonderful Life.”  Before he got to work
he knew he better think of a different excuse for being late.

* * * * *   *   * * * * *

          "Lundy, is it me or does the Christmas season just seem to bring out the worst in people?"  Levon slowly looked up
as his partner entered the office complaining.
          “Is this a general comment or do you have something specific in mind?” he asked.
          “I ran into O’Reilly on the way up and he says already this morning there’s neighbors arguing about decorations and
dozens of fights over parking places.  Whatever happened to ‘Peace On Earth; Goodwill To Men?’”  Joe’s phone rang
before Levon could answer and he grabbed the receiver impatiently.
          “LaFiamma,” he answered as he sat down and picked up a pencil and pad.  “Ma’am?  Could you repeat that,
please?”  Levon leaned back in his chair and watched Joe as he spoke to the person on the phone.
          “Could you hold on for a moment, please?”  Joe held the phone away from his ear as he pushed the hold button. 
“See what I mean, Lundy?  Someone tried to break into this lady’s house while she was there.”  He shook his head then
put the receiver back up to his ear.
          “Mrs. Randall, I’m going to….”
          “No, LaFiamma!”  Levon jerked forward in his chair and reached for his phone.  “Let me take care of this.”
          “Mrs. Randall, you say someone tried to break in?”  Levon asked.  “We’ll be right there.”
          “What are you doing?” Joe asked after Levon had hung up the phone.
          “We need to take this one, LaFiamma.”  Levon reached for his hat and jacket and walked towards the door.  Joe
hesitated a moment, then followed him to the elevator.

* * * * *   *   * * * * *

          “Okay, Lundy,” Joe asked after they were on their way.  “You want to tell me what’s the deal here?”
          “About ten years ago, Mrs. Randall lost her husband and son in a car accident.  She’s fine financially but every year
a couple days before Christmas she always has a break-in.  A couple officers go check it out.  They sit and talk for a while
and she gives them cookies for their kids.”
          “She’s lonely.  There’s a lot of that at Christmas.”
          “Yeah, well, Reisner sort of adopted her and we take turns checking out her break-in.”
          “And this year it’s our turn.”
          “You got it.”

* * * * *   *   * * * * *

          Levon turned onto the quiet street in an older part of Houston.  He stopped in front of a pretty white house with a
neat front yard.  As they approached the front door of the house a woman opened the door.
          “I remember you,” she said with a smile.  “You were here a couple years ago, weren’t you Sergeant….”
          “Lundy, ma’am.”
          “And this is…?”
          “My partner, Sergeant LaFiamma.”
          “Please, won’t you both come in?”  Levon and Joe followed her through the door but she stopped a few feet into the
room then turned and looked at the two detectives.
          “I’m sorry to have to tell you…I didn’t exactly tell you the truth on the phone.”
          “Ma’am?” Levon asked while Joe tried to hide the smile that threatened to appear.
          “I was afraid you wouldn’t come if I told you the truth.”
          “And what is the truth, Mrs. Randall?” Joe prompted.
          “This morning I walked down to the store to pick up a few things and while I was in the checkout line a young boy put
a few things down that ended up in my groceries.  The clerk noticed and accused him of stealing.  I told the clerk he was
with me and he was going to help carry my groceries.”
          “Then what’s the problem, Mrs. Randall?” Levon asked.
          “I’ll show you.”  They followed her across the front room to a small dining room.  The young boy sat at the table with
his head pillowed on his arms on the table.
          “He’s asleep,” she explained.  “He carried my groceries and then I gave him something to eat.  While we were
walking he told me his name is Jack and he has a little sister.”
          “I still don’t see what …”
          “Sergeant, it’s Christmas.  Do you know what he added to my groceries?  Two apples and a banana.”
          Before Joe or Levon could say anything,  Jack began to stir.  As he opened his eyes, he saw the two men and was
instantly on his feet.  Levon stopped him as he started to run for a door.
          “It’s all right, son.  No one’s gonna hurt you,” he assured the boy.  “We’re friends of Mrs. Randall.  She thought you
might need a ride home.”  The boy looked over at Mrs. Randall.
          “They’re police officers.  They’ll be sure you get home safely.”  The boy relaxed a little then looked up at Joe and
Levon with an expectant glow in his eyes.
          “Do I get to ride in a police car?” he asked.
          “Sorry, kid,” Joe said, “just a dusty red truck.”
          Mrs. Randall handed Jack a bag as they started to leave.
          “Don’t forget your groceries,” she said.
          “Thanks, Mrs. Randall.”

* * * * *   *   * * * * *

          “So, Jack,” Joe asked as they drove, “how’d you get this far all by yourself?”
          “I go with my Mom to her work sometimes.”
          “Is she at work now?”
          “No.  She hurt her ankle and she can’t go to work till it gets better.”
         “Here we are,” Levon said as he stopped in front of a small, run-down apartment building.  He and Joe followed Jack
to the front door and waited for his mother to answer.  The woman who answered had a soft cast on her ankle and was
using a crutch.  Her face went through several different emotions when she saw her son.
          “Jack, where have you been?  Are you all right?” she asked as she reached for Jack.
          “I’m fine, Mom.”  When she was satisfied he was okay, she looked up at Joe and Levon.
          “Is there something wrong?” she asked.
          “No, Ma’am,” Levon answered.  “A friend of ours, Mrs. Randall, asked Jack to help her with her groceries and she
was worried about him walking home alone.”
          “Look, Mom!”  Jack handed her the bag he was holding.  She looked in the bag then looked back at her son.
          “Jack….”
          “It’s from Mrs. Randall,” Joe volunteered.  “He helped her carry her groceries.”  She looked at Joe for a moment,
then Levon and then her son.
          “Thank you,” she said as she looked back at the detectives.  “Thank you for taking care of my son.”
          “Our pleasure, Ma’am,” Levon assured her.


          “Did you get a glimpse inside, Lundy?” Joe asked when they were back in Levon’s truck.
          “Yeah,” he answered as he started the engine.
          “Pretty grim.”
          “Yeah.”

* * * * *   *   * * * * *

          Joe watched Levon as he sat across from him.  Levon had both elbows on his desk with one hand holding his chin
and the other turning a pencil over and over, tapping the end on the desk at each turn.  As Levon concentrated, trying to
resolve something in his head, Joe waited for the explosion that was sure to come.  As expected, Levon stood up abruptly
and grabbed his hat.
          “I have an idea,” he announced.  “Coming?”  Joe looked up at Levon and smiled.
          “’Bout time,” he said as he stood up then walked out alongside his partner.

* * * * *   *   * * * * *

          Mrs. Randall was just a little confused when she opened her door and saw the two detectives, especially since
Levon was holding a small Christmas tree.
          “Morning, Mrs. Randall,” Levon said brightly.  “This little tree here needs a good home.”  Mrs. Randall smiled and
opened her door wider.
          “Come on in, Sergeant.”
          "While we're here there's something we'd like to talk to you about," Levon said as he went inside.
          “Mrs. Randall, just let us know where you would like us to set the tree,” Joe told her as he stepped through the
doorway after Levon.
          “I’ll make some coffee,” she replied as she closed the door.

* * * * *   *   * * * * *

          “Okay, Lundy,” Joe started as they knocked on the apartment door, “Mrs. Randall was easy.  Jack’s mother might not
be so easy.”  Before Levon could answer the door opened and a little girl looked up at them.
          “Could we talk to your Mom?” Levon asked.  The little girl turned and looked at her mother sitting on a small sofa
inside.
          “Is there a problem?” her mother asked.
          “No, Ma’am.  Could we talk to you for a minute?”
          “All right.”  Joe and Levon stepped inside and the little girl closed the door behind them then ran over to sit next to
her mother.
          “Mrs. Randall really appreciated Jack helping her yesterday,” Levon began, “and she thought maybe you and her
could work something out so that Jack could help her a couple times a week.”
          “I don’t know, Sergeant.  It’s a little far for Jack to go.”
          “That’s why we thought that if you could talk to Mrs. Randall you might be able to come up with some kind of
arrangement,” Joe explained.
          “Now?”  Joe and Levon both nodded.
          “But I can’t leave Jack and Sally,” she reminded them.
          “Of course not,” Levon answered, “they can come too.”  She looked up at Levon and sighed as Jack came from the
other side of the room.
          “Please, Mom,” he asked.  “Mrs. Randall is a real nice lady.”
          “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to talk to her.”
          Joe helped Jack’s mother into the truck while Levon saw to Jack and Sally.
          “Don’t worry, Ma’am,” Levon said before he started the engine, “if you need a ride home, we’ll be there.”
          “Subtle, Lundy,” Joe whispered, “real subtle.”

* * * * *   *   * * * * *

          Christmas Day found Levon and Joe sitting on one side of the room and Jack’s mother sitting on the other side with
her foot cushioned by a pillow on a footstool while Mrs. Randall shuttled back and forth making sure everyone was
comfortable and well fed.  The lights blinking on the tree were not as bright as Jack’s eyes as he showed Joe how the
lights flashed on his police car as he played with it.  Sally sat next to her mother holding her new doll.  The volume on the
T.V. was turned down but the faint sound of Christmas music still moved through the room.
          “Would anyone like pie?” Mrs. Randall asked as she came back into the room.  Joe started to get up from the sofa.
          “I’ll help,” he said.
          “No you won’t.  You two have done enough already.  Just stay put.  Maybe Jack can help me.”
          “You bet!” Jack said as he followed her to the kitchen.
          “Now, this is Christmas, Levon,” Joe observed.
          “Sure is,” Levon agreed as he slowly got up and moved towards the television.
          “What’re doing?” Joe asked.
          “Don’t you want to watch this?”  Levon nodded towards the screen as the words “It’s A Wonderful Life” appeared.
He turned up the sound and returned to his seat.
          “Merry Christmas, Joe,” he said as the movie began.  Joe looked over at his partner; Levon was watching the movie
with just the trace of a smile on his face.  He thought Levon couldn’t possibly have known, but there was that sarcastic
smile.  Joe decided to just enjoy the movie.
          "Merry Christmas, Levon."

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