Ebenezer stood over the grave of his former friend and partner, Jacob Bearer. The two had known each other for close to twenty years yet Ebenezer only came once a year, on the anniversary of Jacob’s death, so he could pay his respects. Jacob had died on the morning of Christmas Eve close to seven years ago. Ebenezer had had him buried on Christmas Day despite the protests of the clergymen. After about ten minutes he walked to his car and headed out towards his business, and home. He and Jacob had bought the old building the reason now slipping his mind. After Jacob’s death Ebenezer had occupied the apartment above complaining of having to make the commute to work everyday. The sign’s, business cards, and general advertising still read Calaway and Bearer. Everyone had commented it sounded more like the name of a funeral home than a wrestling supply store. He scowled as he headed down road at the many decorations that were all over the place. He had to ride with the radio off to get away from the constant Christmas music. He hated the holidays, didn’t matter which one. On Easter he put out rotten eggs, on Halloween he hid in the bushes and scared anyone that dared to try and trick or treat, and at Christmas he raised prices rather than putting anything on sale. Of course regardless of whether it was Halloween or not people we’re still afraid of him. At 6’10” he was incredibly intimidating. His long red hair was now streaked with silver, beard long since turned gray. His cold green eyes had been rumored to set someone on fire if he stared at you long enough. He guided the large black car into his spot by the door and then went inside. His assistant, Paul Cratchit was bent over his desk shivering slightly in the cold air. The younger man looked up when his employer came in.

“ Morning Mr. Calaway.”

“ What are you working on?”

“ The invoices you left on my desk.”

“ I expected those finished yesterday.”

“ Yes sir, I know sir. It was so late when I finished with the other.” Before Paul could finish Ebenezer held up his hand.

“ I don’t want excuses, I want results.”

Paul cringed as his boss slammed the door to the office. As Ebenezer’s door slammed the entrance burst open revealing Fred Jacobs and his very pregnant wife Caroline, who was carrying to bags with her.

“ Paul Cratchit, buddy how are you doing? How’s the family wife and kids ok? You remember Caroline.”

“ How could forget her. Merry Christmas to both of you, we’re worried about Rey but I’m sure he’ll be fine. Have the doctors said when you’re due Mrs. Jacobs?”

“ Call me Caroline. They say I’m due anytime now. Fred here is hoping the baby is born in time for Christmas. But I don’t think he’s going to get his wish. I’m hoping for a New Years baby.”

“ Hey it’s not Christmas yet. I can still get my wish, and that would be the best gift you could ever give me.” He gave her a hug and kissed her on the cheek. “ Is the old man here?”

“ He’s in his office.”

“ Geez there’s a shock.” Fred opened the door to the office and gave his Uncle a huge grin. “ Merry Christmas Uncle.”

“ Humbug, it’s a bunch of nonsense.” Caroline appeared in the doorway holding the two bags.

“ Merry Christmas Ebenezer.”

“ Who the hell are you?”

“ Uncle, this is Caroline my wife? You were at out wedding, no wait you had to work, well then you had to be at our engagement party, no you were working then too. Damn Uncle.”

“ Was she always this fat?”

“ She’s pregnant.”

“ Then why is she here? She can’t do any work.”

“ We didn’t stop by to do work. She wanted to wish a Merry Christmas and bring you something. Besides if she goes into labor I want to be there. The weather’s not so good this time of year.”

“ Well what did you bring?”

“ Lunch, I made your favorite for you.” She set the bag down with a broad smile on her face. He looked at the bag and then his nephew.

“ Can she cook?”

“ Of course why would you ask something like that?”

“ Because I need to know whether or not I should schedule time in to go to the hospital for food poisoning.” Fred momentarily lost his smile and but Caroline’s never faded.

“ Yes Uncle she can cook. Now we to head to pick up a few last minute things for Christmas dinner, we’re expecting you there.”

“ Good bye Ebenezer, I’ll see you tomorrow.” He acknowledged their departure with a grunt. They one last stop at Paul’s desk.

“ Here’s some lunch. Now I expect you to eat it all up.” Fred stopped and thought for a moment.

“ Hey Paul, would you all like to join us for dinner tomorrow night? I mean I doubt my Uncle will be there and even if he is we have more than enough food for you and your family.”

“ I’ll have to talk to Lauren about it. Thank you very much.”

It was close to ten at night when Paul finally finished his work. When he came into Ebenezer’s office the bag that had been left by Caroline was still on his desk and he was still in the same spot.

“ Sir I finished the receipts.”

“ Fine”

“ The weathers getting bad so I think I’m going to head home for the night. Would you like me to lock up for you?”

“ Of course, and I expect you here tomorrow.”

“ Yes Sir.” Paul walked out into the Parking lot after locking the side door. He kicked clumps of snow as he walked to his old beat up car. He made sure to drive extra slow so he wouldn’t skid on any black ice. When he finally got home his wife, Lauren, and five children greeted him, including the youngest Tiny Rey.

“ Thank God you made it home. We were so worried. How was your day?”

“ Long, Fred and Caroline stopped by today.”

“ How are they, has she had they baby yet?”

“ No not yet but she’s due any day. They brought me lunch.”

“ They are always so nice. It’s hard to believe they’re related to that nasty Ebenezer Calaway.”

“ Laurie.”

“ Well he’s not a patron saint. He gave Lana nightmares for two weeks after last Halloween and if he thinks that Sean’s going to work for him he’s got another thing coming.”

“ I know, Fred asked me an interesting question.”

“ Oh really what was it?”

“ He was wondering if we would have Christmas dinner with them. They said they had more than enough food and I’m sure Caroline would love to have our help seeing as she looks as if she may pop.”

“ You’re sure they don’t mind?”

“ They asked me. I’ll call Fred right now and tell him. I hope he can come and get you all.”

“ Why would he have to?”

“ Mr. Calaway wants me to work tomorrow.”

“ Paul no.”

“ Daddy you can’t it’s Christmas!” Molly, Trish and Rey were all giving him sad looks.

“ That Ebenezer Calaway is a rotten bastard.”

“ Sean watch your mouth.”

“ Yes mother.”

“ Come on now lets all go to bed. Santa can’t come if we’re all awake.” The children all rushed upstairs and the to parents followed to help them get ready.

Ebenezer worked till it was close to midnight. He heard a noise clank above him and he stopped.

“ What the hell was that?” He stood up grumbling about Paul not locking the doors correctly. After checking them he went upstairs to see what was the matter. Everything was still and quiet. He shrugged his shoulders and got ready for bed. He heard the clank again followed by a moan. He walked out to find the source and took two steps back when he saw what it was. Before him was his deceased partners ghost wrapped in chains.

“ Ebenezer”

“ Jacob? But how? This can’t be real It must’ve been the food that girl left me.”

“ No I’m very much real and I’ve come to give you a warning.”

“ Oh?”

“ You must change your ways.”

“  Really? Or what I’ll meet with a terrible fate?”

“ Yes.”

“ Sorry not buying it, why are you wrapped up in that chain?”

“ This chain is made up of my sin’s and wrong doings. If you do not change your ways then you’ll end up like me.”

“ Still not buying it.”

“ Then you will be visited by three ghosts. If you still have not changed by the last ghost then your fate will be sealed.” Before Ebenezer could get another word in Jacob vanished. He stood there for a minute before turning to his bedroom. He fell into a restless sleep. His clock chimed one am and he opened his eyes. Before him stood a gargantuan figure Ebenezer sat up and looked at him.

“  Who are you?”

“ I am the ghost of Christmas Past, but you may call me Andre the Giant, or just Andre. I’m here to help you change your ways.” A large hand reached out grabbing his wrist a pulling him towards the window. With one leap they were standing in a snow covered field. He remembered this place. Ebenezer turned when he heard a familiar laugh.

“ It can’t be.” Just as the words passed his lips and beautiful woman with long strawberry blonde hair crested the hill.

“ Come on Ebby!”

“ Belle sneak attacks aren’t fair and you know it!” Ebenezer saw himself, twenty years younger come after her.

“ I remember this day, why are you snowing it to me?”

“ Just watch.” He watched himself tackle her into the snow and then give her a passionate kiss. Another figure crested the horizon.

“ Ebenezer! We have to go.”

“ No, stay here with me.”

“ Mr. McMahon is expecting me. I have to go.” They were both sitting up and she was the first to stand.

“ What about us? What about our plans?”

“ We can still go through with them. They’ll still be around when I get back.”

“ But I won’t. I can’t be with you if you’re always working. That’s your excuse for everything. You need to make a choice work or me.”

“ Don’t make me watch this please. I understand I made a mistake with her.” Andre took no pity on him and forced him watch to his younger self-break the young woman’s heart again by walking away. In a flash they were back in his bedroom. Ebenezer was visibly shaken.

“ I never should’ve walked away from her. She was the best thing in my life.”

“ What happened to her?”

“ She met someone else and married him. Why did you show me that?”

“ Why do you think? What did you learn from it?”

“ I’m not sure.”

“ Give it sometime and think it over.” A bright light filled the room and when it faded Andre was gone. Ebenezer looked at his clock seeing that it was quarter till two. He decided to take a shower and get dressed hoping to shake off what he had just seen. When he came back out his room was bathed in a warm light from thousands of candles. He looked up to she a beautiful woman dressed in all red velvet and holly woven through her dark hair.

“ Hello Handsome.”

“ Hello. Which ghost are you?”

“ I’m Krystle the ghost of Christmas present. Nice to see that you dressed warm cause we’re going to be outside for a while. Ebenezer heard her snap her fingers and poof they were outside Cratchit’s house, more specifically his bedroom. Krystle magnified their voices so they could hear.

“ Paul don’t go in tomorrow. If he fires you then you can find a better job. I’m sure Fred would be more than willing to help you out.”

“ Fred’s told me that if we need help with Rey’s bills to let him know. I just don’t want to burden him with it. Especially after tonight.” Ebenezer turned and looked at Krystle.

“ What happened? What’s wrong with Rey?”

“ You’ll see. Rey has the beginnings of Leukemia.”

“ He’ll live won’t he?”

“ With proper care yes, but with the insurance plan you’ve got that boy on I doubt it.” With another flash of his fingers they were in a hospital room. He saw his nephew holding Caroline’s hand. Glen’s face was cut up and he was covered with bandages. Caroline was bruised beyond belief.

“ What happened?”

“ They were in a car accident. Someone slid on the ice and hit them head on. She was forced to deliver the baby early.

“ They’ll be ok?”

“ Perhaps.”

“ What do you mean perhaps? I seriously doubt me changing my ways has anything to do with them getting better.”

“ It has everything to do with it. If you have faith, love and compassion for someone else then it will help in more ways then you’ll ever know. If you believe that Caroline, the baby, and Rey will get better then they will. It’s when people lose hope that things get bad.” They both turned when Fred let out a cry of relief and Caroline opened her eyes.

“ Hi”

“ Hey.”

“ Look’s like you got your Christmas baby.”

“ Yeah, but I don’t like the way it had to happen.” Before he could hear anymore she snapped her fingers taking him back to his bedroom.

“ What are you doing? Take me back!”

“ Sorry sugar plum. You still have one more ghost to go and doesn’t like to be kept waiting. But if he finishes with you early tell him stop on by my place. She gave him a gentle tap on the nose and then disappeared. He looked at the clock 2:45. Ebenezer looked around for a minute unsure of what had just happened. He picked up the phone and called Fred’s cell phone praying for any answer. As his voice mail picked up the line went dead. The room was filled with an eerie light. He turned to see a figured dressed in a hooded robe. He swallowed hard and put the phone back in its cradle.

“ I take it you’re the third ghost? Look I ‘d really like to stay but my nephew’s in the hospital and I need to…”

“ Aw shut your mouth Jabroni!” The figure peeled off its hood to reveal a man in his late twenties. “ I’m the most electrifying ghost, Dwayne “ The Ghost of Christmas Future” Johnson. I’m here to show your monkey ass the future.” He cocked his eyebrow and they were in a cemetery.

“ This is where Paul’s buried.”

“ That not who all’s buried here.” Dwayne pointed to a large tree where he saw an older Cratchit family, Fred without Caroline.

“ What happened?”

“ Because of your health plan Rey couldn’t get the treatment he needed so he died.”

 “ Why am I not with them?”

“ You are.”

“ Where?”

“ Look down.” Ebenezer looked down and jumped back in horror. He was looking at his own grave.

“ How?”

“ Robbery. You refused to hand over the money so they guy shot you.” Ebenezer saw Fred walking towards him. His once gleeful smile and appearance was gone. He looked tried and haggard.

“ He’s coming to see me.”

“ Nope.” Fred stopped at a white marble grave with a beautiful statue of an angel cradling a child. A small little boy ran up to him and hugged Fred’s neck.

“ Tell me the story again, tell me about mommy again.”

“ No, she didn’t, she couldn’t have.”

“ Massive internal bleeding, she never lived to see her son.” For a minute Dwayne sound remorseful. “ It’s a shame too, there were big plans for her.” Ebenezer turned his back on the scene before him.

“ How do I change it? Bring them back?”

“ You already know the answer. Jacob Bearer gave you the chance already. Instead of taking it you acted like an idiot. Now it’s time for you to shut your mouth and know your role.”

“ Excuse me?” The ground beneath his feet began to shake and it opened to reveal a fiery whirlpool beneath him. He turned and saw Fred and his son retreating away, along with the Cratchit’s. Ebenezer called after them but they never heard. Slowly he was pulled down when he was all the way in a massive chain began to wrap around the vortex. It seemed to have now end. Then he remembered Jacob’s words. This chain is made up of my sins and wrong doings. If you do not change your ways then you’ll end up like me. As the never ending Chain descended on him he called out to Dwayne.

“ Wait! I’ll change! I’ll do whatever you want, please stop this!” The ghost cocked his brow and Ebenezer’s eye’s shot open.

He looked around for a minute. He was home, in his bed with the morning light streaming in through his window. The phone jarred him out of his senses for a minute.

“ Hello?”

“ Mr. Callaway this is Adam Copeland from your insurance company. I need to double check on your reduction of coverage for a Mr. Paul Cratchit.”

“ Reduced? I don’t want it reduced, give him the best policy your company has.”

“ Are you sure about that sir?”

“ Positive, one other thing can you tell me what day it is?”

“ Sure it’s December 25, Christmas Day.”

“ Then what in the hell are you doing at work? For god sakes go home.” He hung up the phone and hopped out of bed. He showered and then headed back to the phone to call his nephew.

“ Hello?”

“ Fred, where are you?”

“ Uncle Ebenezer? I’m at the hospital with Caroline.”

“ Are you two alright?”

“ We’re fine. She went into labor shortly after we left you. She gave birth to a healthy baby boy.”

“ You two weren’t in a wreck?”

“ Of course not. They said we could come home today so we’re still on for Christmas dinner. Are you coming?”

“ Of course wouldn’t miss it for the world. Listen there is a few things I need to do first.”

“ Uncle the business can wait.”

“ I’m not talking about the business. I need to look up an old friend. I’ll see you tonight ok? Oh and would you call the Cratchit’s for me and tell Paul not to come in and to come to Christmas dinner with us?”

“ Sure no problem. Uncle is you feeling alright?”

“ Best I’ve felt in years.” He said goodbye and rushed over to the phone book. After a few hours of calling around he found the one person he was looking for, Belle. She lived a couple of hours away; he made it there in forty-five minutes. For a minute he thought about what he was doing then shook it off. He rang the Doorbell and waited. The door opened to reveal Belle to him. She still looked the same barely aged at all.

“ Can I help you?”

“ Belle I came to apologize to what I did to you twenty years ago.”

“ Ebenezer?”

“ Yeah, I made the wrong choice that day. It’s something I’ve regretted my entire life. I had no right to walk out on you, to choose so silly old job over you. If I could do over again I’d tell McMahon to go stuff himself. You meant more to me than life itself. I know you’re a married woman now and I guess that’s my punishment for leaving but can you find it in your heart to forgive me?”

“ You drove out here to tell me that?”

“ Yeah”

“ Well I suppose I can forgive you and for the record I’m not a married woman anymore.”

“ Really?”

“ Really, my husband chose work over me to. More specifically his secretary over me.”

“ So you’re single?”

“ Yes”

“ Well can I make things up to you by having you to Christmas dinner?”

“ Hold on.” She shut the door and after ten minutes reopened it wearing her jacket and a chiffon red dress. He smiled at her and then scooped her up carrying her to the car.

That night Fred, Caroline, and their baby Mark, the Cratchit’s, Ebenezer and Belle all sat down to Christmas dinner together. Ebenezer had given Paul a substantial raise and promised to hire him an assistant in the New Year. He also had found a doctor to personally care for Rey and told the Cratchit’s that there life insurance. The four ghosts stood behind Fred watching the festivities unfold before them. Ebenezer stood up to give a toast.

“ I’d like to make a toast to Caroline, for bringing this beautiful child into the world, Lauren for preparing this wonderful meal, Paul and his family for putting up with me, Belle for forgiving me and hopefully beginning something new with me, my dear departed friend Jacob, and finally to the past, present and future for teaching me so much.”

Andre looked on “ Here here.” The other three ghosts turned to Dwayne and looked at him for a second.

“ Just out of curiosity how did you finally get him to change?”

“ I have my ways.”

“ You scared the living hell of him didn’t you?” He flashed them a brilliant smile before disappearing.

On years all of them celebrated again, this time however it was a Christening and a Wedding. Paul and Belle were named Mark’s godparents and then Caroline, Trish, Molly, and Lana stood as Belle’s bridesmaids while Paul, Fred, Sean, and Little Rey all stood as Ebenezer’s groomsman. Ever since Paul’s visit Ebenezer had gone to see him every week to fill him in on everything. The doctors were able to stop the Leukemia from spreading and returned Rey back to perfect health. By the next Christmas Ebenezer had bumped Paul up to Partner and brought Fred in as well. Everyone stopped and looked when the painters changed the sign from Calaway and Bearer to Cratchit, Calaway, Jacob’s and Bearer.

                                                                  The End