Christmas Carol

Fredericksburg was freezing. That was the first thing I noticed as I walked out of the Shopping Center and into the waning evening night bustle at the end of Main Street. It was much colder than I expected, especially after having spent most of the day shopping with Mickey inside the warmth of the shopping mall. The contrast between that inner warmth and the outer cold tugged at me with immediacy I had not quite …

…him amble noisily down the street, the twilight closing around him, and then we headed the opposite way toward our car. On a distance street I saw a candle glowing in a window, and wondered if it was warm where the homeless man would sleep tonight. And we were not much bothered by the long chilly walk home anymore. Because the homeless man's song had made Virginia seem less frozen on this frozen winter night.