The Christmas List: A Novel
: Chapter 19

Kier smiled at Linda as he passed her going into his office.

“Good morning, Linda.”

“Good morning, Mr. Kier,” she replied awkwardly. His changed demeanor was still unnerving to her. A few minutes later she paged him. “Mr. Kier?”

“Yes?”

“May I come in?”

“Of course.”

A moment later, she stepped inside his office carrying a file folder. “I’m done.”

“Done?”

She walked up to his desk. “With the list.”

“You’ve finished it already?”

“It’s all right here. . . .”

He took the folder from her. “I didn’t expect it so soon.”

“The people on it were never that far from my mind.”

Kier opened the file and glanced inside. There were five names on the memo, each with their own page and a brief description of their circumstances. He was surprised to see so few names. He looked back up at her. “Only five?”

“Think of them as the finalists.”

“Finalists?”

“Mr. Kier, if you want a list of all the people you’ve hurt or offended, I’ll drag in the file cabinet.” Linda herself was surprised at her own forwardness. “I’m sorry. These are the ones who would keep me up at night.”

“Fair enough,” Kier said. He read their names aloud.

Celeste Hatt

Eddie Grimes

Estelle Wyss

David Carnes

Gary Rossi

“I put their contact information under their briefs.”

He thumbed through the attached pages. “The first one here, Celeste Hatt—there’s no contact information.”

“That’s because I can’t locate her. But I’ll keep trying.”

Kier continued reading.

“When are you going to start?” Linda asked.

Kier looked up. “Tomorrow morning. I’ll be working at home for the next few weeks, Tim knows and I expect between you and him things will run smoothly. If you need anything signed, just bring it by the house. On second thought, why don’t you just come by the house every day. Say, around four.”

“Okay. Do you need anything else?”

He closed the folder. “No, that’s all for now.”

She turned to leave.

“Linda.”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

She smiled cynically. “Tell me that after you’ve seen them,” she said and walked out of his office.

Kier opened the folder again and looked at the list. Five names. Five damaged lives. Five lives connected to his own. It was his plan to reach each of these people before Christmas and make things right. This was his Christmas list.