Although I was still very upset by Stephen’s failure to follow through on his promise that we’d be married, all that week I prepared for Christmas. I don’t do elaborate decorations, in fact nothing like what Stephen had been used to seeing at Mike Fisher’s house, but I set out my table top Christmas tree, and on the server in the dining room, my Nativity Scene. A hearty Poinsettia on the living room coffee table rounded out the decorations that year. In the Florida room, which is where we’d spend most of our evenings, the 15 or so Christmas cards that had arrived were the focal point of my holiday décor.
I had to work all that week leading up to Christmas, including that Saturday. So on Sunday morning, Christmas Eve, I got up early to start my preparations for our Christmas dinner. I baked the desserts and finished the last of the house cleaning. At the time, I had been doing some redecorating and painting around the house… I was re-hanging some paintings and other art on the walls that afternoon when I remembered that I hadn’t bought any ginger ale (Stephen likes ginger ale), so I decided to run out to the store to get some.
I was gone about 40 minutes, and when I returned home, as I opened my front door, I heard a loud crash. I didn’t think twice about it though, as I had hung a large painting over the bed earlier in the day and I was doubtful about the size of the hooks I’d used… when I heard the crash, my first thought was, “that picture just fell…” But as I opened the vestibule door, I saw the source of the noise. On the floor at the foot of the staircase were several boxes (Christmas gifts for my family) that had been in one of the guest bedroom closets. Within a fraction of a second, I realized that I had a burglar in the house with me and that he was probably standing just out of sight on the staircase.
As my heart was racing, so was my mind… what to do? Then almost without thinking, I shouted, “I’m gonna go out, so you can!” And with that said, I slowly backed out of the front door. Just as I stepped across the threshold, I saw the burglar step off the stairs and run towards the back of the house. I called the police from my cell phone while standing on my front porch. When I told the operator what was happening, she said a car was on the way and then she asked what I was wearing… I couldn’t help asking her why she wanted to know, and she explained she wanted to inform the responding officers so that I wouldn’t be mistaken for the intruder. I promptly told her that I had on black twill slacks, a plaid shirt, a black sweater and a beige jacket. She told me to wait outside for the police who should be arriving in a moment.
The call to 911 lasted less than a minute and though help was on the way, I felt frightened to be outside in the cold waiting for the police. I called Stephen and he answered almost immediately… I told him what was happening, and he said he was on his way… he told me to stay on the phone with him and he told me not to worry, I’d be alright and he was on his way. As I talked to Stephen, I walked towards the back yard thinking I could tell the police in which direction the burglar had gone. When I reached the gate, in the darkness I couldn’t see much in the yard, but then noticed some movement at the alley gate next to the garage.
The burglar was huddled in the corner next to the locked gate which he couldn’t get open. Suddenly, he turned and saw me looking at him and he ran towards me out of the narrow passageway between the fence and the garage. As I described this scene to Stephen, he told me to run, but I couldn’t seem to move my feet. The burglar didn’t come towards me as he cleared the garage, but instead ran to the other corner of the yard where the fence is only four feet tall. I watched transfixed, as the burglar struggled to climb the ornamental fence. In hindsight, it was almost comical to see him struggling to get a leg over the fence as there was no place to get a foot hold through the vertical pickets. In a brief moment of insane thought, I wanted to go give him a leg-up, just so that he’d be gone.
Finally, the burglar made it over the fence and just as I watched him run down the alley, I heard a police cruiser come to a screeching halt in front of the house. I told Stephen to hold on as I walked towards the police with my hands up saying I was the homeowner. I told them the burglar had just run down the alley and I pointed in the direction he’d gone as I told them what he was wearing… in a flash the two police officers took off running for the corner. I put the phone back to my ear and Stephen said he was in the car and on his way. He told me not to go into the house until the police came back as the thief might not have been alone. I told him I wouldn’t and that I’d be waiting for him. As I hung up, I felt “safe and loved” and I thought to myself, maybe what Stephen’s been saying can work.
A minute or two later, I saw the police walking back towards the house, the burglar had escaped. They asked if I’d gone back in and I told them I hadn’t. They asked me to wait on the porch as they searched the house to ensure no one else was hiding anywhere. In a few moments they came back downstairs and waved for me to come in. They asked me all the particulars: what had happened; the time I discovered the break-in; my name and contact information, etc. They showed me the window in the Florida room that the burglar had broken to gain entry into the house. He’d thrown a huge chunk of concrete through one of the largest windows in the house.
The police were really kind and complimented me on the work they could see I’d put into the old house. They asked me if I was living there by myself… I said, “Yes, but I hope that’s changing soon…” I didn’t say more than that and I let them assume whatever they wanted. They asked me not to touch anything in the house if I could help it, as CSI and detectives where coming. The officers said they’d try to get the burglars finger prints and collect a DNA sample from the blood he left behind as he cut himself climbing through the broken window. They said the detectives would arrive shortly and asked if I’d be okay by myself… I told them someone was on the way and with that they left.
After the police left, I stayed at the front door watching for Stephen, and in a couple of minutes, he arrived and I was relieved. He ran up to the door and came in asking me if I was okay. As I shut the door, he put his arms around me and told me everything would be okay, he said he loved me (and I believed him). I told him we had to be careful and not touch anything as I took him back to show him where the burglar had broken in. It was very cold that night and the house was freezing as cold air rushed through the broken glass. We went and sat in the living room to wait for the detectives and CSI technicians.
I lit the fireplace to give us some warmth, and as we sat in the dimly lit room with the shadows from the fire dancing on the walls around us. I felt more safe than I had ever felt in my life… to paraphrase Stephen, I felt like I was “not alone in the world.” He told me as he drove to the house, he was scared something might happen to me… He said he didn’t know what he’d do without me. Then he gave me a kiss, saying he was glad I was okay, and that he’d prayed for that as he was driving. As we were sitting there waiting for the detectives, through the windows we could see a few snowflakes beginning to fall, it looked like a white Christmas would be arriving later that night.
As we watched the snow softly falling creating a fluffy white blanket over everything, the detectives pulled up in front of the house. I went to the door and invited them in and they asked me to show them where the burglar had come in. I took them through the house while telling them what happened and they and I sat at the dining room table as they filled out their report. Stephen was still in the living room sitting next to the little Christmas tree. The detectives called the CSI techs asking them how long before they’d arrive and were told they we already on their way. While sitting at the dining room table exchanging pleasantries with the detectives, the CSI guys arrived.
When the door bell rang, I listened to see if Stephen would go to the door… When he didn’t, I went and I escorted them to the detectives in the dining room. I excused myself and I went to the living room to ask Stephen if he was okay. He said he was and that he was going to wait for me there until the police were done. I said, okay. The detectives had me show the CSI officers the two bedrooms the burglar had ransacked and when I did, I left them to do their work of trying to collect fingerprints. The detectives said the CSI team would take over from there and that after they’d done their work downstairs and in the Florida room, I could board up the broken window. I thanked them for their prompt response as I showed them to the door.
I went to the living room and I told Stephen what was happening and that I loved him. He whispered that he loved me too just as we heard the CSI techs come down the stairs. They said they wouldn’t be too much longer and then we could board up the window. I left Stephen to gather my tools and I went out to the garage to see if I had some suitable lumber to close up the window opening. When I went back into the house, the police technicians said they were through inside and wanted me to show them the part of the fence where the burglar might have touched it. I showed them and they thought they’d be able to lift prints from the smooth surfaces of the fence pickets. While they worked, I measured the window and out in the yard, I cut some plywood and a 2x4 brace to fit.
I went inside and asked Stephen to help me by holding the board up from the inside while I drilled the holes to insert the bolts through the board and the brace. While I was doing this, the CSI techs had moved to the other corner of the yard where the burglar had managed to the climb the fence. Just as I finished fastening the board, their flashlights gave out and I told them I’d get them one from the house. When I came back with my lantern, they asked if I could open the gate so they could get to the back of the fence. I did and I held the lantern for them. As I was standing there watching them work, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something on the ground peaking through the snow… shining the lantern on it, I discovered the burglar had dropped his gun while climbing over the fence. The CSI techs carefully bagged and tagged it and commented on what a lucky escape I’d had… I agreed.
The CSI guys finished up and left and I told Stephen about the gun in the alley. He hugged me and said thank goodness I thought to go back out of the house. Together we started to clean up the mess in the house. In the Florida room, there was glass everywhere, it was like finely ground glass that embedded itself in the fabric of the sofa and chairs and pillows. We finally decided to try to vacuum it out of the fabric and that worked. Then we moved the furniture out of the room so we could clean the floor and then put everything back. Then we dusted the furniture in the other rooms and wiped down the doorknobs and door frames which were covered by the finger print dust that the CSI guys had used. We finished sometime after midnight, and Stephen asked me if he could stay the night with me. I smiled as I held him in my arms and said, “Please do stay with me, Dearest…”
After we showered, I got on my knees at the side of the bed to pray and Stephen joined me. I thanked God for protecting me from harm that day and for sending me my true love after such a long wait... I asked God to bless and keep us both, and bless our love… And as we both said, “Amen” we climbed into bed in the still chilly house. As we listened to the gentle hum of the furnace running in the basement, Stephen snuggled up behind me and held me in his arms and said, “Merry Christmas, Dear Heart, I love you.” I turned and kissed him and said, “I love you too, with all my heart.” And in his arms, I drifted off to sleep that early Christmas morning…
I had to work all that week leading up to Christmas, including that Saturday. So on Sunday morning, Christmas Eve, I got up early to start my preparations for our Christmas dinner. I baked the desserts and finished the last of the house cleaning. At the time, I had been doing some redecorating and painting around the house… I was re-hanging some paintings and other art on the walls that afternoon when I remembered that I hadn’t bought any ginger ale (Stephen likes ginger ale), so I decided to run out to the store to get some.
I was gone about 40 minutes, and when I returned home, as I opened my front door, I heard a loud crash. I didn’t think twice about it though, as I had hung a large painting over the bed earlier in the day and I was doubtful about the size of the hooks I’d used… when I heard the crash, my first thought was, “that picture just fell…” But as I opened the vestibule door, I saw the source of the noise. On the floor at the foot of the staircase were several boxes (Christmas gifts for my family) that had been in one of the guest bedroom closets. Within a fraction of a second, I realized that I had a burglar in the house with me and that he was probably standing just out of sight on the staircase.
As my heart was racing, so was my mind… what to do? Then almost without thinking, I shouted, “I’m gonna go out, so you can!” And with that said, I slowly backed out of the front door. Just as I stepped across the threshold, I saw the burglar step off the stairs and run towards the back of the house. I called the police from my cell phone while standing on my front porch. When I told the operator what was happening, she said a car was on the way and then she asked what I was wearing… I couldn’t help asking her why she wanted to know, and she explained she wanted to inform the responding officers so that I wouldn’t be mistaken for the intruder. I promptly told her that I had on black twill slacks, a plaid shirt, a black sweater and a beige jacket. She told me to wait outside for the police who should be arriving in a moment.
The call to 911 lasted less than a minute and though help was on the way, I felt frightened to be outside in the cold waiting for the police. I called Stephen and he answered almost immediately… I told him what was happening, and he said he was on his way… he told me to stay on the phone with him and he told me not to worry, I’d be alright and he was on his way. As I talked to Stephen, I walked towards the back yard thinking I could tell the police in which direction the burglar had gone. When I reached the gate, in the darkness I couldn’t see much in the yard, but then noticed some movement at the alley gate next to the garage.
The burglar was huddled in the corner next to the locked gate which he couldn’t get open. Suddenly, he turned and saw me looking at him and he ran towards me out of the narrow passageway between the fence and the garage. As I described this scene to Stephen, he told me to run, but I couldn’t seem to move my feet. The burglar didn’t come towards me as he cleared the garage, but instead ran to the other corner of the yard where the fence is only four feet tall. I watched transfixed, as the burglar struggled to climb the ornamental fence. In hindsight, it was almost comical to see him struggling to get a leg over the fence as there was no place to get a foot hold through the vertical pickets. In a brief moment of insane thought, I wanted to go give him a leg-up, just so that he’d be gone.
Finally, the burglar made it over the fence and just as I watched him run down the alley, I heard a police cruiser come to a screeching halt in front of the house. I told Stephen to hold on as I walked towards the police with my hands up saying I was the homeowner. I told them the burglar had just run down the alley and I pointed in the direction he’d gone as I told them what he was wearing… in a flash the two police officers took off running for the corner. I put the phone back to my ear and Stephen said he was in the car and on his way. He told me not to go into the house until the police came back as the thief might not have been alone. I told him I wouldn’t and that I’d be waiting for him. As I hung up, I felt “safe and loved” and I thought to myself, maybe what Stephen’s been saying can work.
A minute or two later, I saw the police walking back towards the house, the burglar had escaped. They asked if I’d gone back in and I told them I hadn’t. They asked me to wait on the porch as they searched the house to ensure no one else was hiding anywhere. In a few moments they came back downstairs and waved for me to come in. They asked me all the particulars: what had happened; the time I discovered the break-in; my name and contact information, etc. They showed me the window in the Florida room that the burglar had broken to gain entry into the house. He’d thrown a huge chunk of concrete through one of the largest windows in the house.
The police were really kind and complimented me on the work they could see I’d put into the old house. They asked me if I was living there by myself… I said, “Yes, but I hope that’s changing soon…” I didn’t say more than that and I let them assume whatever they wanted. They asked me not to touch anything in the house if I could help it, as CSI and detectives where coming. The officers said they’d try to get the burglars finger prints and collect a DNA sample from the blood he left behind as he cut himself climbing through the broken window. They said the detectives would arrive shortly and asked if I’d be okay by myself… I told them someone was on the way and with that they left.
After the police left, I stayed at the front door watching for Stephen, and in a couple of minutes, he arrived and I was relieved. He ran up to the door and came in asking me if I was okay. As I shut the door, he put his arms around me and told me everything would be okay, he said he loved me (and I believed him). I told him we had to be careful and not touch anything as I took him back to show him where the burglar had broken in. It was very cold that night and the house was freezing as cold air rushed through the broken glass. We went and sat in the living room to wait for the detectives and CSI technicians.
I lit the fireplace to give us some warmth, and as we sat in the dimly lit room with the shadows from the fire dancing on the walls around us. I felt more safe than I had ever felt in my life… to paraphrase Stephen, I felt like I was “not alone in the world.” He told me as he drove to the house, he was scared something might happen to me… He said he didn’t know what he’d do without me. Then he gave me a kiss, saying he was glad I was okay, and that he’d prayed for that as he was driving. As we were sitting there waiting for the detectives, through the windows we could see a few snowflakes beginning to fall, it looked like a white Christmas would be arriving later that night.
As we watched the snow softly falling creating a fluffy white blanket over everything, the detectives pulled up in front of the house. I went to the door and invited them in and they asked me to show them where the burglar had come in. I took them through the house while telling them what happened and they and I sat at the dining room table as they filled out their report. Stephen was still in the living room sitting next to the little Christmas tree. The detectives called the CSI techs asking them how long before they’d arrive and were told they we already on their way. While sitting at the dining room table exchanging pleasantries with the detectives, the CSI guys arrived.
When the door bell rang, I listened to see if Stephen would go to the door… When he didn’t, I went and I escorted them to the detectives in the dining room. I excused myself and I went to the living room to ask Stephen if he was okay. He said he was and that he was going to wait for me there until the police were done. I said, okay. The detectives had me show the CSI officers the two bedrooms the burglar had ransacked and when I did, I left them to do their work of trying to collect fingerprints. The detectives said the CSI team would take over from there and that after they’d done their work downstairs and in the Florida room, I could board up the broken window. I thanked them for their prompt response as I showed them to the door.
I went to the living room and I told Stephen what was happening and that I loved him. He whispered that he loved me too just as we heard the CSI techs come down the stairs. They said they wouldn’t be too much longer and then we could board up the window. I left Stephen to gather my tools and I went out to the garage to see if I had some suitable lumber to close up the window opening. When I went back into the house, the police technicians said they were through inside and wanted me to show them the part of the fence where the burglar might have touched it. I showed them and they thought they’d be able to lift prints from the smooth surfaces of the fence pickets. While they worked, I measured the window and out in the yard, I cut some plywood and a 2x4 brace to fit.
I went inside and asked Stephen to help me by holding the board up from the inside while I drilled the holes to insert the bolts through the board and the brace. While I was doing this, the CSI techs had moved to the other corner of the yard where the burglar had managed to the climb the fence. Just as I finished fastening the board, their flashlights gave out and I told them I’d get them one from the house. When I came back with my lantern, they asked if I could open the gate so they could get to the back of the fence. I did and I held the lantern for them. As I was standing there watching them work, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something on the ground peaking through the snow… shining the lantern on it, I discovered the burglar had dropped his gun while climbing over the fence. The CSI techs carefully bagged and tagged it and commented on what a lucky escape I’d had… I agreed.
The CSI guys finished up and left and I told Stephen about the gun in the alley. He hugged me and said thank goodness I thought to go back out of the house. Together we started to clean up the mess in the house. In the Florida room, there was glass everywhere, it was like finely ground glass that embedded itself in the fabric of the sofa and chairs and pillows. We finally decided to try to vacuum it out of the fabric and that worked. Then we moved the furniture out of the room so we could clean the floor and then put everything back. Then we dusted the furniture in the other rooms and wiped down the doorknobs and door frames which were covered by the finger print dust that the CSI guys had used. We finished sometime after midnight, and Stephen asked me if he could stay the night with me. I smiled as I held him in my arms and said, “Please do stay with me, Dearest…”
After we showered, I got on my knees at the side of the bed to pray and Stephen joined me. I thanked God for protecting me from harm that day and for sending me my true love after such a long wait... I asked God to bless and keep us both, and bless our love… And as we both said, “Amen” we climbed into bed in the still chilly house. As we listened to the gentle hum of the furnace running in the basement, Stephen snuggled up behind me and held me in his arms and said, “Merry Christmas, Dear Heart, I love you.” I turned and kissed him and said, “I love you too, with all my heart.” And in his arms, I drifted off to sleep that early Christmas morning…
"Fear Eats the Soul"
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