Frank Hardy looked at his sleeping brother. While Joe always enjoyed the holidays, there was a sense of sadness in his heart that wouldn’t let him enjoy the holidays to the fullest. It was the memory of Iola Morton. No matter what he was doing he still felt guilty about what had happened. Frank remembered last holiday season when he accidentally found his brother crying. He sighed at the memory. Hopefully this year it would be different.

“Joe, it’s time to wake up,” Frank gently said, shaking his brother’s shoulder.

“Mmmmm,” Joe moaned, turning over.

“Come on Joe, we have to pick up Mom’s gift today,” Frank said.

Joe opened his eyes a little. “Alright, I’m up. Why do we have to go so early?”

“Because the mall gets crazy around this time, and we have had the gift on hold for weeks,” Frank replied.

“OK, give me 15 minutes,” Joe said.

While waiting for his brother to get ready, Frank looked out the window. The snowstorm that had come last night had turned the town in to a beautiful snow-covered place. The snow was still falling, but now at a gentle pace. As he stared out, he looked skyward.

“God, if you can hear me…Please…I wish so much that Joe can finally feel peace…”

His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of Joe thundering down the steps. He was dressed in clean clothes and hastily flung on his sneakers.

“Do you want breakfast first?” Frank asked.

“No. I’m not really hungry right now. Let’s just get that gift in case the weather turns bad,” Joe replied.

There was a hint of sadness in his voice, and Frank felt it best not to tease him. “Ok. If you get hungry, you can get something to eat at the mall.”

The trip was made in silence. Joe seemed to stare blankly out the window. Despite Frank’s attempts to get his brother to talk, Joe remained quiet. He didn’t even comment on Frank’s choice of a radio station. Frank’s felt his heart nearly break at the look of sorrow on his brother’s face. He wished so much that Joe could finally be at peace with himself.

They arrived at the mall a few minutes later. While the early morning hour did allow for easy parking, they both knew that the place would rapidly become crowded with holiday shoppers. They picked up the gift they had on hold for their mom and spent the rest of the morning window-shopping. Frank pointed out some things he wished he could get for Staci if he had the money. They had both bought their girlfriends nice gifts, but wanted to get them both something very special.

“I know Staci would love that locket,” Frank said, pointing at the window.

“I know Iola would have too,” Joe quietly replied.

Frank sighed. It seemed like nothing he did could get Joe’s mind off of his sorrow.

Joe looked up at Frank and saw the frustrated look in his older brother’s face. “Look Frank I know you’re trying to help, but it seems like no matter what I do, I can’t stop thinking about her.”

“I know little brother. I was just hoping that this year you could enjoy the holidays like you used to,” Frank replied, looking again at the locket in the window, wanting so much to be able to give that to Staci. He sighed as he thought of the gift he had been able to afford to get her, a simple box of chocolates.

Joe sighed. “I know, and I appreciate that.”

“Why don’t we go and get something to eat? You must be hungry by now,” Frank suggested.

Joe felt his stomach growl. “Well, sounds like a good idea. Want to see if Tony is working today?”

“Sure. Let’s go because I’m hungry, too,” Frank replied.

They arrived to find the pizza place already jumping with activity. Tony was moving from tables to the counter then back again. He finally managed to come over to the booth where Frank and Joe were sitting. He took their orders, and within a few minutes, had their drinks at the table. Joe just stared down, not wanting to talk about anything. Frank looked around, trying to see if he recognized anyone in the crowded place.

“Excuse me, may I share your table?” a female voice asked.

They both looked up. She was a short standing girl with shoulder length red hair and glasses. She wore a simple outfit of a sweatshirt and jeans. She had several bags in her hands.

“Sure,” Frank replied. He moved over. The girl sat next to him.

“I’m Marianna Rawlis,” she said.

“I’m Frank Hardy and this is my brother Joe,” Frank replied.

She smiled. “It’s nice to meet you. I saw you looking at the jewelry store display. Having a tough choice deciding?”

“I wish it were that, but we’re both very short this holiday season,” Frank said, thinking back to the locket.

“I here you there. I often wished I could have gotten my boyfriend a nice gift but things got tight in my family. Now I really can get nice things, only we’re not together any more,” she said.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Frank said.

“It wasn’t that type of breakup. Something happened where we could no longer be together. I see him so miserable now, and I want so much for him to move on and be happy, and forget that we were in love and instead enjoy the friendship that we had,” Marianna replied.

“It’s hard for someone to do that,” Joe said, finally speaking.

“I know, but I just want him to be the lively person that I know he can be. I guess I’m going to have to figure out a way to get a message to him,” Marianna said.

“Have you tried an anonymous letter or something like that?” Frank suggested.

Marianna shrugged, “It wouldn’t work. I’ve tried messages, but he refuses to see them.”

“Well, I think it takes time to get over a broken heart,” Joe advised her.

“I know. I just want him to be happy. You got any suggestions?” Marianna asked.

Just then Tony came over with their orders and took Marianna’s order. He left the table without having the chance to speak. Marianna looked at Joe, her heart breaking. “Oh Joe, if only I could tell you who I am. I love you so much. You don’t deserve this. You’re not the person I know any more. Where is that smile I loved? Where is the laughter that lit up your face and made it glow? Where’s the sparkle in your eyes? Oh Joe, I’m so sorry…I’m so…so sorry.”

“Are you OK?” Frank asked, noticing that Marianna looked so distant.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Marianna said as she glanced at her watch. “Oh look at the time. I had so much fun here I didn’t even notice. I’ll guess I’ll have to get my order to go.”

They watched as Marianna picked her order from the counter, paid for it and left. Joe had the eerie feeling that he had met Marianna before, but couldn’t quite place it.

“Frank, do you get the feeling we met Marianna before?” Joe asked.

Frank shrugged. “I have that feeling too. If we did see her before it probably just was very briefly.”

Tony came by with their order, and they hungrily ate the whole pie. Frank still couldn’t shake the feeling that he had met Marianna before. Perhaps it was just the holidays and his emotions were on overdrive a little. Still, as he watched Joe eat, he was grateful that Marianna’s presence had seemed to activate his brother’s appetite. He was looking at the menu again. Joe hadn’t eaten much in a couple of days, and now it looked like he was going to make up for it.

“I don’t understand why I’m so hungry all of a sudden,” Joe said, looking at the menu. Everything looked so good. He was having a hard time deciding.

“Well, what are you going to get?” Frank asked.

“Hmm, I think a burger should be nice,” Joe replied as Tony came over. Tony smiled and took the empty pan, and promised to be back soon with the burger.

Joe smiled as he thought about the last time they were in this place. Frank smiled back, glad to see his brother smiling, even though he didn’t know what for. “Frank, remember what happened last time we were here?”

“Oh, yeah. Chet ordered that new gyro that came with all those hot peppers then ran out of here?” Joe smiled, trying not to laugh out loud.

“Yeah, and the security guard nearly arrested him for trying to dunk his head in the fountain,” Frank replied, smiling at the memory.

As they waited for Tony to come back, Joe’s mind was flooded with a lot more happy memories.

“Remember that kid that used to live across the street? The one that pelted all the houses with snowballs?” Joe said, remembering that crazy winter.

“And how he managed to start one of the largest snowball fights in Bayport? Yeah, I distinctly remember you pelting me in the back of the head with one,” Frank said as he took a drink of his ice-tea.

“Remember how mad Aunt Gertrude was when a snowball came through the door when I opened it, and hit her?” Joe remarked.

“We nearly had to pin her down to keep from throwing snowballs at him,” Frank added.

Joe laughed. The noise was music to Frank’s ears. “That was the only time she ever asked us to hit someone with a snowball,” Joe said.

“I was surprised when she asked that. But we did managed to get him good,” Frank replied.

“What ever happened to him?” Joe asked.

“The Marines. He joined after he graduated,” Frank replied.

“Wow, now there’s someone I wouldn’t expect to go there,” Joe said, still smiling.

Frank agreed, “He surprised a lot of people.”

Tony had returned with the burger, and Frank watched as Joe hungrily ate it. He was right. Once his brother’s appetite returned it was going to try and make up for lost time. Joe downed the burger in a few bites.

“Feel better?” Frank asked.

“Much better. I still don’t understand why I was so hungry,” Joe said, wiping the ketchup off his fingers with a napkin.

“It’s this place. You can help but not be hungry in here,” Frank suggested.

Joe nodded. “You’re right. I don’t remember any time when I left here without eating something.”

Frank smiled, causing Joe to smile back. “Well, what do you want to do now that we’re finished here?”

Joe shrugged, “How about some more window-shopping, then the arcade?”

“Well, we’ve got mom’s gift, and we still haven’t bought one for dad. What do you suggest?” Frank asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe we’ll see something we can afford,” Joe replied.

“Well, let’s avoid the bigger shops and try the smaller ones,” Frank added.

“We could get him a wallet, but Aunt Gertrude always gets him something like that everywhere,” Joe replied.

“Hmmm.” Frank thought out loud, “This is going to be hard.”

They got up from their booth, and paid their bill. Looking around, they didn’t see Marianna anywhere. Walking up, they looked into all the stores, but weren’t having any luck in finding a gift. They had already bought Gertrude a book from her favorite series, and got small gifts for all of their friends. They walked past a lot of specialty stores, knowing they’d never be able to afford something in them.

“How about this store?” Joe asked as they neared electronics store.

“He doesn’t have much time to listen to music. Let’s try someplace else,” Frank suggested.

After nearly a half-hour, they still hadn’t found the right gift.

“We’ve looked in almost every store and still nothing,” Joe said, stopping in front of the book shop.

Frank sighed, “I know. I just don’t know what to pick for him.”

"Well, our budget is already doing that. Hmmm… I still can’t think of anything he would like,” Joe added.

“Well, we still have a couple days left. Let’s go home and relax, you look a little tired,” Frank suggested.

Joe shrugged, “So what if I didn’t get any sleep. I haven’t slept in nearly three days.”

“Which really means you could use the rest,” Frank replied.

“OK, I’ll go rest,” Joe said.

Frank followed him out of the mall, and they were about to get into their van when they saw something on the windshield, underneath one of the wiper blades. It was a gold-foil envelope.

“I wonder who it’s from?” Joe asked, as Frank looked at the envelope.

“It reads to Frank and Joe Hardy,” he replied.

The handwriting was unique in that it was in a very beautiful script form. The contents revealed to be a card with a picture of a dark-haired angel on it. The inner part read: “Angels are everywhere, don’t ever doubt it. Know that this Christmas, they will bring peace to you.”

“It’s not signed,” Frank said.

“I wonder who could have left it there?” Joe asked aloud.

“I don’t know. Let’s get this home,” Frank replied.

Shivering in the cold, Joe couldn’t disagree. They both climbed in and Frank turned the van on. Joe shivered slightly and felt the welcomed relief of heat coming from the vents. He tried to hide a yawn, but Frank could see he was tired.

“Let’s get you home. I’ll go online while you take a nap. Maybe I can find a suggestion,” Frank said.

Joe sighed and leaned back in his chair. He had hoped to get all the shopping done by now, but it was now going to take at least a couple of more days. He closed his eyes, and without meaning to, he fell asleep.

“Wake up Joe.” Frank said, shaking his brother’s shoulder, “We’re home.”

“Mmm…what?” Joe mumbled as he opened his eyes.

“We’re home. Wow, you really haven’t slept,” Frank remarked. He noticed for the first time that day, the dark circles under his brother’s eyes.

“Oh. No, I haven’t,” Joe replied.

He got out of the van and left Frank to lock it. He went inside his house, and up to his room. Just as he was about to lie down on his bed, he heard the Frank door slam. He lay down, and his eyes closed as his head hit the pillow.

“Joe, another one of those cards came in the mail,” Frank shouted as he came into his brother’s room. “Joe, did you hear me?”

Frank stopped as he saw that his brother was sound asleep. He smiled, knowing that his brother was getting the sleep he needed. He went over and took off his brother’s sneakers and set them beside the bed. He went to the closet and got a warm quilt. Coming back, he covered Joe with it. He checked to make sure his pulse and breathing were OK before leaving the room.

He went to his room, and logged onto the Internet. Shopping for their father was always hard. One site suggested cologne, but he only wore that as part of a disguise. He didn’t have much time to really a long book, and he only listened to music in the car. Sweaters and ties they had given him a lot of as they were growing up. They couldn’t get him a gift certificate because they couldn’t risk his name being used for something.

“This is going to be even harder than I thought,” Frank thought to himself.

He continued surfing. Sports equipment was out of their budget, as were tickets to sports games. He already had a cell-phone and pager. Digital cameras were out of their budget as well. There was a calendar and new lamp in his office, so those were out.

“Hmmm….nothing there….maybe this one,” Frank quietly said.

“A globe?…He’s got one…A waterproof flashlight? No… he’s got that too…” Frank thought. “Maybe Joe can come up with an idea.” He looked at the clock. “I’ve been here for almost three hours, and still nothing.”

“Did you find something?” a voice said, startling him.

Frank turned around and saw his brother coming into his room. He still looked tired, as if the nap hadn’t helped.

“Didn’t you get any sleep?” Frank asked, concerned.

“A little. It’s going to take me a while to catch up on all the sleep I missed,” Joe replied.

Frank turned back to his computer. “Did you find anything?” Joe asked again, looking over his brother’s shoulder.

Frank shook his head. “Nothing. Everything I’ve seen so far he either has, or is overpriced.”

Joe sighed. “And I was hoping to get him something nice this year.”

Frank sighed as well.

“Well, maybe we can get him a wallet photo of us with Santa,” Joe suggested, looking at the screen.

Frank thought a moment. “That’s not a bad idea.”

“Really?” Joe asked.

Frank nodded, “We’d have enough to get the wallet size, and the larger one. We can even frame that one for Mom.”

“I like it. We can go tomorrow morning, there should only be a few people then,” Joe replied.

“Then that takes care of everyone on our list,” Frank said.

“I wanted to get you something special too, big brother. I had to go into every crevice of my room to see how much I could pull together… Only $10… That’s not nearly enough to get something special for you…Oh what am I going to do?” Joe thought to himself.

“Are you OK?” Frank asked.

“Huh?” Joe asked.

“Are you OK?” Frank asked again.

“Yeah, I guess I’m more tired than I thought,” Joe replied.

“Why do you go lay back down. I’ve got some stuff to do here,” Frank suggested.

When he was positive Joe was back in his room, he went into his dresser drawer. He counted the small pile of money again. $17 all together. “This and with the $5 coupon, I’ll be able to get him that new CD he’s wanted. This will be a surprise for him. I didn’t think I’d be able to raise enough to get him that,” Frank thought to himself. He put the money and coupon away in the drawer and went back to his computer. Phil was going to come by later and pick up the money and coupon. He was going to get it for him, and sneak it back to him somehow.

Later that night Frank was having trouble sleeping. He tried to close his eyes, but something was keeping him awake.

“Who are you!?” Joe shouted to the person dressed all in white. “WHO ARE YOU?” he shouted again.

Running towards the girl with shoulder length brunette hair, he wondered if it was Iola. Yet the closer he got, the further away the girl in white would get.

“Please, tell me who you are!” Joe shouted again.

“You have to move on. You have to forget and remember only the friendship. Please Joe, please love again,” the girl said, still not turning her head towards him.

“Iola is that you?” Joe demanded. The person walked on, leaving him behind. “Iola!...Iola!”

“Iola…” Joe quietly repeated, his body covered in sweat.

“Joe?” Frank said, shaking his brother’s shoulder. He’s crying.

Joe opened his eyes to see his brother looking down on him. “Frank?”

“Are you OK little brother?” Frank said his rich brown eyes full of concern.

“Frank…,” Joe managed to say, tears flowing from his eyes. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was shaking.

Frank left Joe’s room and went into the bathroom. A minute later he came out with a glass of water and a sleeping pill.

“Here take this, it will help,” Frank said, handing the items to his brother.

Joe swallowed the pill with the water, and gave the glass back to Frank. He settled into his pillow. Frank was about to leave when Joe spoke.

“Don’t leave me, Frank,” Joe nearly begged.

“I won’t. I’ll be right back,” Frank replied.

He went into his room and grabbed his pillow and blanket. He returned to Joe’s room and settled in on his brother’s bed. Joe wrapped his arms around his brother and continued crying. Frank rocked his brother back and forth until he fell asleep again.

“Please…” Frank said from his heart again. “Please let my brother finally find peace.”

The next morning Frank woke up. Joe was still asleep. Frank crawled out from under him, and went into the bathroom. Looking into the mirror, he saw how red his eyes were. He had stayed up most of the night, making sure Joe was sleeping OK. After using the bathroom, he splashed water onto his face, and changed into clothes for the day. He put on some nicer clothes for their picture. He put some drops in his eyes, and soon the redness cleared up. Walking back to Joe’s room, he found him starting to stir.

“Joe?” Frank asked, looking over him.

“Mmm…wh…what?” Joe asked, opening one eye.

“We’re going to get that picture taken,” Frank reminded him.

“Oh, OK. Give me a few minutes,” Joe replied.

Frank nodded and went downstairs. He wished he knew what to fix for breakfast. Since there mom had been working overtime with the Red Cross, Frank felt it was up to himself to take care of his brother. Getting him to eat was the biggest challenge. Usually Joe ate anything, but lately he seemed to have no appetite. Yesterday at the pizza place had been a relief. Today might be different.

“Joe, are you hungry?” he called upstairs.

“Not really, juice and toast will be fine,” Joe shouted back.

Frank sighed. He had hoped Joe would eat more. Still it was better than nothing. He put some bread in the toaster and got some juice from the fridge. Just as Joe came thundering down the steps, the toast was ready. He took a piece and ate a large bite from it.

“Are you sure you won’t have something a little heavier?” Frank asked, hopeful Joe’s would agree.

“I’m sure. I’m not feeling too well this morning,” Joe replied, taking a sip of juice.

“Not feeling well? Do you have a headache or something?” Frank asked, a little nervous.

“I don’t know. I just feel something in my chest. Like a cold,” Joe replied, coughing a little.

“The minute you feel it get any worse we’re going to the doctor,” Frank told him, his tone leaving no room for arguments.

Joe nodded and finished his breakfast. Frank ate some as he read the morning paper. There was nothing much. It mostly talked about the Superbowl next month. The main cover story talked about an approaching winter storm, a nasty one.

“Looks like we’ll have to do the grocery shopping again,” Frank said, taking a sip from his juice.

“Another storm?” Joe asked, curious.

“Yeah, looks like a bad one. I’ll have to see the maps on the weather channel to get a good view,” Frank replied.

A few minutes later they were in the van on their way to the mall. Again Joe remained silent throughout the trip. Frank changed the music station to classical music, then to country, then to the twenty-four hour news channel. Joe just stared out the window, and didn’t move.

“He looks so sad,” Frank thought to himself. Frank pulled into the parking lot, and they went inside.

Thirty minutes later, they had their pictures. They turned out much better than they had hoped. Now, they had the perfect gift for their father. They could even give the framed one to him to keep in his office.

“Wow, these are nice,” Joe remarked, as they put the pictures back in their envelope.

“He’s going to love them. Well, now that we’re here, are you hungry?” Frank asked.

“You’ve been asking me that a lot lately,” Joe replied, coughing.

“I don’t want you to sick. If you don’t want anything here, I’ll make you some soup when we get home. Either way you’re eating something,” Frank answered.

“OK, ok. Just not too much,” Joe finally agreed.

Later at home, Frank made the soup and made sure Joe at least had a small bowl of it. He needed warm fluids in his system. It was too cold outside for him not to be eating. He sipped at his own bowl as Joe read the sports section of the paper.

“Joe, if you’re too tired, I can call Staci and we can do the grocery shopping,” Frank offered.

Joe shook his head. “No, that’s our job. I don’t mind.”

“We better go now. No telling how panicked people will be tonight,” Frank replied.

Joe nodded and they left. As they picked up the groceries, Joe still thought about a gift for his brother. He couldn’t get him socks. He got him socks every year. He didn’t have enough for a charm necklace or a watch. The new computer programs were way too expensive. He was thinking about a pair of mittens he had seen some on sale in the mall, and he would have enough for them. Thinking back he had noticed that Frank was in need of a new pair. It would be something that was nice that he could actually afford. He’d have to call Chet and ask him to pick them up for him.

“You think we should get a couple of extra cans of soup?” Frank asked, snapping Joe out of his thoughts.

“What?” Joe asked, looking around.

“Do you think we should get a couple of extra cans of soup?” Frank asked again.

“Yeah, let’s do that,” Joe replied.

Frank put in some extra cans of soup. They went down the isles and stocked up. Before leaving Frank had taken inventory, and the family was low on a lot of things. The market was already becoming crowded with people who were preparing for the storm. They finally finished, but just before they got in line, Frank grabbed an extra bottle of aspirin. Something told him to get it, but for what he didn’t know. They paid for the groceries and left. While packing the van a familiar face came up to them.

“Hey, it’s you two again,” Marianna said.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Frank asked, leaving Joe to pack the van.

“I have to get groceries for a wheel-chair bound friend. I wanted to make sure he was prepared in case the storm hit,” Marianna replied. “I’d love to talk, but I better get inside. There’s nothing worse then fighting with an old lady over a loaf of bread.”

Frank laughed as Marianna walked into the store. He looked back over at Joe who was sitting on the edge of the van’s open side door. His face looked sweaty.

“Joe, are you OK?” he demanded, taking one of Joe’s wrists.

“I don’t know, Frank. I just feel tired all of a sudden,” Joe replied, his voice sounding dry.

“OK. Well the groceries are packed. Get buckled in, and I’ll return the cart,” Frank replied.

Joe nodded but didn’t say anything. Frank returned the cart, and came back, noticing that Joe had already fallen asleep. He may have been catching a cold, something he was still prone to. He was debating whether or not he should go see the Dr. Bates, the family doctor. “I’m just probably overreacting. He’s going to catch a cold once in a while. No need to have him rushed to the hospital every time,” Frank thought.

After driving home, it took Joe a lot of effort to get the bags into the house. When Frank offered to put the stuff away, Joe accepted, and he went to his room to lie down. Before dozing off, Joe called Chet, who had agreed to pick up the mittens since he was on his way to the mall. Joe felt that the room had gotten too warm, yet his skin felt so cold. “What a perfect time for a fever,” Joe miserably thought as he covered himself with a blanket.

Frank came up a few minutes later with a cool glass of water. “It must be a cold,” Frank thought to himself. He set the glass on the nightstand and felt his brother’s forehead. “He’s burning up!” Frank ran to the bathroom and got an aspirin. There was only one left in the bottle. He was grateful that something had told him to get more aspirin, but what or who? He came back to Joe’s bed.

“Joe.” He said gently, shaking his shoulder, “Joe, you need to take this medicine.”

Frank helped Joe sit up. With a sip of water, he was able to swallow the aspirin.

“You’ll start to feel better soon,” Frank promised him.

There was a knock at the door. He set the glass back on the nightstand, and went to answer it. It was Phil!

“Hey Phil, what’s up?” Frank asked.

“Well, the computer program I ordered came in, and I thought I could pick up what you needed at the same time,” Phil explained.

Frank nodded and went upstairs. He came back down with the money and the coupon.

“I’ve got extra wrapping paper. Want me to wrap it before I bring it over?” Phil asked.

“If you could I’d appreciate it,” Frank replied. His eyes looked tired.

“Is something wrong?” Phil asked.

“It’s Joe. He’s depressed again. He’s barely eating, he can’t sleep, and I think he’s sick again,” Frank answered.

Phil sighed. He too had hoped that Joe would enjoy the holidays. “Don’t worry, Frank. He’ll brighten, up. Hey look I better get going if I want to survive the crowds.”

With that Phil left, leaving Frank in the living room to think about what was going on. Their mom had decorated the living very beautifully. She always enjoyed putting up the tree and setting out cards. She had set out candles, garland, and lots of other pretty things. He sat into a chair and turned on the weather channel. The main story of the day was the storm that was due to hit tomorrow. The weather maps showed a very intense front that was moving towards the northeast. So far they had predicted that the storm would leave six inches of snow or more. It would be great for those who liked snow on Christmas Eve but not for those who would be traveling. Their father would be coming home from his latest case tomorrow morning, hopefully avoiding the snow storm, and their mom would be working until that afternoon.

“I just hope the fever breaks up tonight, I don’t want my brother to be sick on the holidays again,” Frank thought.

“Who are you?” Joe demanded of the brunette-haired girl dressed in white. She still had her head turned around.

“Please Joe.” Came the gentle voice, “You have to let go. It’s hurting me to see you so sad. I need to see you love again.”

“Iola, is that you?” Joe demanded.

He ran towards the girl. Yet the closer he got, the further away she’d pull back.

“Come back to me Iola, please!” Joe cried out, tears streaming down his face.

“I can’t Joe. You’re destined for someone else. Someone who will love you with all their heart. Please, you’ve got to open your heart to her,” the girl tearfully asked him.

“Iola! Iola!” Joe shouted. “Iola…”

The image faded away, and once again he was left in darkness.

“Iola…” Joe’s voice choked out.

Frank dabbed at his brother’s sweaty forehead with a damp towel.

“Joe…Joe, wake up,” Frank pleaded.

Joe slowly opened his eyes. “Frank?”

“Are you OK?” Frank asked, still dabbing at his brother’s forehead.

He looked up into the concerned eyes of his brother and knew he had to say something, “I’m…OK.” He managed to say.

“You’re burning up. You might have to take some more aspirin, but later, it’s too soon,” Frank said.

Joe closed his eyes. A small headache he had when he feel asleep was now throbbing in his temples. He massaged his temples.

“Headache?” Frank asked.

“Yeah,” Joe mumbled.

“Did you have a nightmare?” Frank asked, noticing that Joe seemed to be a little unnerved.

Joe thought for a moment. He didn’t want to lie to his brother, not after all they had been through. Yet how could he tell him he had dreamt about his dead girlfriend? He sighed.

“You want to talk about it?” Frank asked, sitting down on the edge of Joe’s bed. Joe just shrugged and looked down at the quilt that Frank had covered him with. “It’s Iola again, isn’t it?” Frank asked. Joe took a deep breath as tears formed in the corners of his eyes.

“I know she meant a lot to you. But you’ve found someone very special now. I think Iola would want you to move on.”

Joe sniffed. “I know. She wouldn’t want me like this. But, I can’t stop thinking about her. I can’t stop feeling that in some way I should have done more to try and save her.”

Frank hugged him. He was shocked to feel the heat coming from his brother’s skin. Sweat was pouring off of his back. “I know you did everything you could. You nearly killed yourself trying to save her. I just couldn’t let you get hurt.”

Joe tightened his grip on Frank, remembering when his brother had to knock him unconscious in order to keep him from trying to reach the flames. Frank rubbed his back, trying to soothe him.

“Maybe you should take a shower, it might help to cool you off,” Frank suggested.

“I think I will,” Joe replied.

“You do that, I’ll go make dinner,” Frank said.

Joe disappeared into the bathroom and Frank went downstairs. Just as he was deciding what to make someone knocked at the front door. It was Phil. He came inside to warm up.

“Hey, you were in luck. The item you wanted was on sale, and I got the last copy,” Phil said, smiling. He handed the wrapped CD over to Frank.

“You’re the best. How can I thank you?” Frank answered, smiling back.

“It’s the holidays, there’s no need. Did you finish your grocery shopping?” Phil asked.

Frank nodded, “Yup. Thankfully I didn’t have to fight any old ladies.”

Phil laughed. “I know what you mean. I was in there awhile ago and two of them were arguing over the price of a pound of tomatoes.” Frank laughed with him. “I better get going. I don’t want all my hard-fought stuff to spoil.”

After Phil had left, Frank could here that Joe was still in the shower. He went into the kitchen to decide what to make. He had to make something that would jump his brother’s appetite. “Hmmm, I wouldn’t mind soup again. He seemed to eat that. I can make some tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Hopefully if he’s hungry after that I’ll heat up a frozen pizza or something like that,” Frank thought to himself.

As he was making the sandwiches, his brother came into the room.

“Mmmm, grilled cheese,” Joe remarked.

“Yeah, and I’m also heating some tomato soup. Can you get out something to drink?” Frank asked.

Joe set out glasses of ginger ale while Frank put the sandwiches onto plates, and poured the soup into bowls.

“I’ll turn on the TV, maybe there’s an update on the snow,” Joe said.

He turned the TV on to the weather channel. The main story of the day was the snow storm that had intensified over night. It was now going to pack at least 30 mph winds and drop at least eight inches of snow.

“Wow,” Joe remarked sitting down and taking a sandwich. “I just hope dad’s flight comes in before the storm strikes.”

“He’s got an early morning flight. We have to pick him up at the airport,” Frank replied.

“I know, I just wish it wasn’t so early,” Joe replied.

Frank smiled, knowing how it was to get his brother up early. “Don’t worry, I’ll drive there, you can drive back.”

Joe swallowed a bite of sandwich. They didn’t realize it, but there was someone watching them through the window. “Oh Joe, I can tell you were crying. This has got to stop. I’m sorry I kept coming to you in all those dreams. Maybe I was still trying to hold onto you as well. I’m going to let you go my love,” Marianna thought as she watched the brothers eat dinner.

“I hope you made plenty,” Joe remarked, finishing the rest of his sandwich.

“Why do ask that?” Frank asked.

“Because I’m hungry again, very hungry,” Joe smiled.

“Don’t worry I got some pizzas in the fridge. I hoped you’d still be hungry,” Frank said, smiling back.

“Think we’ll have another snowball fight?” Joe asked, sipping the last of his soup.

“Who knows? Judging by the size of the incoming storm, we’ll have plenty of snow for snowballs,” Frank replied.

Frank went to bake the pizza while Joe retrieved a DVD from his room. It was one of their favorite movies. In a few minutes it was ready. They ate the pie quickly.

“Hey Frank, it’s starting to snow!” Joe remarked, looking out the window.

“So it is. This must be just the beginning of it. Let’s hope dad can get in on time. He may have to fly into Boston if things get too bad in the city,” Frank remarked.

“Hey Frank, you’re not going to believe this, but I’m still hungry. I don’t know what’s wrong,” Joe remarked.

Frank laughed. “Your appetite is probably trying to catch up for the last few days. Set out a couple glasses of water, I’ll put some popcorn to pop.”

Frank made the popcorn while Joe watched the weather channel. He was interested in the maps that showed the very big storm heading towards the northeast. After Frank was finished making the popcorn and brought it to the living room, they discussed the weather. He didn’t mind describing things like weather maps to his brother. After the weather channel switched to talking about the west coast, Joe turned on the movie.

It was in the middle of watching the movie when someone knocked at the front door. It was Chet, dropping off what he had promised to pick up for Joe. He had even had it giftwrapped for him.

“Thanks, Chet I appreciate it,” Joe said.

“No problem. Are you feeling OK? You look a little pale,” Chet asked.

“I had a fever this morning, but it’s gone now,” Joe replied.

Chet wished the family a happy holidays before leaving. Joe put the package underneath the tree.

“Who was that?” Frank asked.

“One of Santa’s elves dropping off a gift,” Joe replied, smiling. Frank smiled back, and started the movie again.

The movie was almost over when there was a knock at the door again.

“I wonder who that could be, it’s late,” Frank thought out loud.

“So do I,” Joe added.

Joe answered the door. To his surprise his father was standing there!

“Dad!” Joe shouted, giving his father a hug.

Frank heard this and immediately came over. “Dad, how did you get home?”

Fenton gave his eldest son a hug. “Well, I finished the case early and was planning to come home tomorrow when I heard about the storm coming in. By shear luck I was able to catch an early flight. I took a cab home”

Seeing that his father was shivering, Frank went to make some hot chocolate. Joe took his father’s bags and set them in the hall closet. Fenton tiredly sat down on the sofa after taking off his wet coat and boots. He sank into the soft cushions, grateful for a change from the airplane seat.

“Are you OK, Dad?” Joe asked, sitting in a chair.

“Yeah, I’m just a little tired. What about you? You look pale,” Fenton said, looking at his youngest son’s face with concern.

“I had a fever this morning, but I took some aspirin,” Joe quietly replied.

“A fever?” Fenton’s eyes went wide. “Are you feeling OK? Did you see the doctor? Why aren’t you in bed?”

Joe smiled. “I’m fine. I don’t need to see the doctor. I took some aspirin, and I feel better. I’m down here so I could watch a movie.”

Frank came into the room with the mug of hot chocolate. Fenton gratefully sipped at it, the warm liquid feeling good going down.

"I’m really glad you’re home, dad. The weather report keeps getting worse. We thought you might have had to fly into Boston,” Frank said, sitting down in a chair.

“Well, I was very lucky that the seat I had opened up at last minute,” Fenton replied.

“We’re glad to have you home now,” Joe remarked.

Later that night, the nightmare that had plagued Joe for several days returned.

“Iola! Please tell me if it’s you,” Joe begged.

“You have to love again, Joe. I have to let you go. You need to feel peace in your heart. You need to be free,” the girl replied.

“Oh Iola, don’t go, I love you so much,” Joe cried out.

“I need you to stop grieving. I need you to go on. I need to see you happy,” she replied.

She began to fade away like she always did.

“Please! If you’re Iola tell me! Iola!....Iola!” Joe cried out.

“Joe?” Frank quietly said. He thought he heard Joe calling out.

“Iola!...Iola!” Joe repeated again.

Frank sighed. “He’s having another nightmare. God, he can’t take anymore. Please, Iola wherever you are…please help him.”

Frank got out of bed and went to the bathroom. He got the bottom of aspirin, a face cloth and filled a small bowl with water. Just as he was about to wipe down his brother’s face, there was a knock at Joe’s bedroom door. Frank opened it, knowing it’d be his father.

“I heard Joe. What’s wrong?” he demanded.

“He’s having another nightmare. I think it’s being caused by the fever,” Frank replied.

“Fever? I think he should go to the hospital,” Fenton said, going over to check on his son.

Frank inwardly sighed. Now he knew why Joe was so quick to say he was feeling OK. It seemed like every time he had a cold or a fever, someone wanted to take him to the hospital. God knows how many times he felt that way. He watched as his father put his hand on Joe’s forehead.

“He’s burning up! Go get a glass of water. I’ll cool him down,” Fenton said, starting to dampen the cloth.

Frank nodded and went downstairs. He looked at the phone and saw Dr. Wilson’s number on speed-dial on the phone. He shuddered and pushed all the bad memories away. He filled a glass with cold water and took it back upstairs. He came up to find Joe still talking out.

“Iola…please say you’ve come back…Iola, is that you?...” Joe tossed his head. His damp blond hair plastered to his forehead.

“Baby, can you hear me?” Fenton gently asked, dabbing at Joe’s forehead.

Frank swallowed. “Dad, here’s the water.”

“Give me a hand,” Fenton said.

Together they sat Joe up and get him to take the aspirin. Frank was scared at how hot Joe’s skin was. He looked out the window and saw that the snowfall had increased dramatically. The blizzard was moving in early.

“Iola…” he mumbled.

Fenton looked like he wanted to cry. “I thought he had finally moved on.”

“He wants to, but something is stopping him each time,” Frank replied. His heart nearly broke at the look on his father’s face.

Frank took his brother’s hand. “Wake up Joe,” he begged.

Joe tossed and turned.

“Iola…why are you doing this?” Joe demanded.

“I love you so much. But that type of love is killing you inside. I have to be the one to let go. You’ve found someone very special. Love her,” the girl told him.

“Please Iola, I want to hold you,” Joe pleaded, tears coming full-force.

The girl came to him. He still couldn’t see her face. All of a sudden glorious wings sprouted from her back. Then he was surrounded by the most beautiful light he could ever have imagined, and felt so peaceful, like he was being wrapped in love. He felt the warmth of the light spread everywhere. His heart felt as though someone had simply taken away all his pain.

“Go now. Your family is waiting for you,” the girl said, and she vanished.

Even though she was fading, even though something told him it was Iola, there was no more pain in his heart. There was no more grief, nor anger, nor guilt. He just had this sense that she had let go. Now, he was free.

“His fever is coming down,” he heard his father say.

Joe opened his eyes a little. He still felt cold. “Frank…dad. What’s happing?” he asked.

“You had a bad fever. You’ve been mumbling for the past hour,” Fenton replied. He was relieved. Now they wouldn’t have to risk traveling in the storm.

“I think I’m fine now, you can go back to sleep,” Joe urged his father.

“Are you sure? I can stay with you,” Fenton said.

“I’m sure now, go get some sleep, you’re probably tired from the flight,” Joe replied.

Fenton hugged both his sons before going back to bed.

“Joe, what happened?” Frank asked, looking down at his brother with concern.

“I don’t know, Frank. I think I just need to sleep,” Joe said, yawning.

“OK. If you need anything just ask,” Frank said. He checked Joe’s forehead once again before going back to sleep.

Joe closed his eyes. Instead of seeing the beautiful girl cloaked a white dress, he saw himself competing with Tony Hawk for the championship. Side by side in the doubles skateboard vert event…

Joe awoke the next morning to the smells of pancakes and orange juice. “Mom?” Joe thought. He changed his clothes and went downstairs. Sure enough, his mom had a breakfast of pancakes waiting on the table. Frank and their father were already sitting down.

“Mom, when did you get home?” he asked, giving her a kiss on her cheek.

“A couple of hours ago. I don’t know how I made it home, this storm is bad,” Laura replied.

“It’s a good thing you were able to. The weather report this morning said they had to shut down the airport and the train station,” Frank told them.

“Thank goodness you were able to come home early,” Laura remarked, looking at Fenton. She set down a cup of coffee next to his plate, and sat down in her chair.

The spent the rest of breakfast just talking about the upcoming holiday and previous holidays. Fenton had called his sister, but she was staying at her cousin’s house. The storm had completely stopped her from coming. Laura had inwardly smiled at that. While Gertrude was a nice person, she became very bossy, especially during the holiday season. She felt it was going to be nice just for her own little family to have their own holiday.

The rest of the day was spent watching the traditional holiday movies. There were even some new ones that they were able to watch. During a break, Frank turned on the weather channel to get an update on the storm. The storm had dropped nearly three inches of snow on their area and was expected to drop at least six more before it moved out to sea.

“It looks like a lot of people are stuck where they are,” Joe remarked.

“Yeah, that’s why the supervisor told me to go home. They had a lot of volunteers there that were single and could handle the needs,” Laura added.

Fenton gave her a hug. “I’m just glad you were able to get home safely.”

“We all are,” Frank added.

They watched a couple more movies before deciding to turn in for the night. Frank got into bed wondering if Joe was going to have another nightmare. He did seem peaceful after the fever had broken last night. Hopefully he’d be able to get some sleep. Tomorrow was Christmas day, and Frank knew Joe wouldn’t want to spend it in bed. He was still worried about the gift he had gotten for his brother. He had wanted to get him something nicer than the CD, but it was all he could afford.

“At least it’s of his favorite artist, and it was on sale. He’s been waiting that CD since he heard it was going to come out. Thank goodness Phil was able to get the last copy,” Frank thought. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Fenton cradled his wife to him as he slept. He had never felt so peaceful since last Christmas, when he knew Joe was going to recover. The snow storm had left his family safe, they were well supplied, and every one was feeling great. He sighed and closed his eyes, knowing that even though the peace would be rare, he would still enjoy every moment that he could get.

Joe still worried about the gift he had gotten Frank. His big brother meant so much to him, yet he was only able to get him the mittens. He hoped that they would fit. Joe closed his eyes, wondering if he would see the beautiful girl dressed in a white dress. Yet, she didn’t come to him. Instead he saw himself of a warm beach. He had just taken out a windsurfer and was catching big waves. His brother was in his own windsurfer next to him. Everything was perfect…

Joe was woken by the next morning by a hand on his forehead. It was Frank.

“Hey, Merry Christmas,” Joe quietly said, smiling up at him.

“Merry Christmas to you too,” Frank replied. “You don’t have a fever this morning. Did you sleep OK?”

“Great, I haven’t slept that good in awhile,” Joe honestly replied.

“Good, let’s go downstairs. I think mom as the usual big Christmas morning breakfast waiting,” Frank told him.

Joe changed into sweats and joined his brother downstairs. After eating breakfast they went to the living room to exchange presents. Their father had given them each a cellphone sized GPS unit. Now if they ever had to leave the van or follow someone, they wouldn’t get lost. He had given Laura a locket and a beautiful dark red sweater. Laura had given Joe a gift certificate to the sports store and given Frank a gift certificate to the electronics boutique. Their mom loved the new robe the brothers had given her. They all thought Fenton had tears in his eyes when they presented him with the new pictures of themselves with Santa. He promised to always keep the wallet picture with him.

Joe opened his gift from Frank. “Oh wow. When did this come out?”

“Yesterday, I had Phil pick it up from the store,” Frank replied, happy that Joe loved the gift.

“It’s great. Here’s yours,” Joe said as he handed the wrapped box to Frank.

Frank opened it. He was surprised at the gift of mittens. He thought back to his old pair which had worn down to the point that they weren’t really keeping his hands warm.

“Thanks Joe, I really appreciate these. Now my fingers would go numb in the cold,” Frank replied, smiling.

Joe smiled back until he noticed to small gifts under the tree that he hadn’t noticed before. He got up.

“What’s wrong Joe?” Frank asked.

“I don’t know,” Joe replied. He picked up the two small boxes. One was tagged for Frank, the other for himself. They had been wrapped in paper with angels all over it.

“Mom, did you put these here?” Joe asked.

“No sweetie, Fenton did you?” she asked, looking at her husband.

“I have no idea,” Fenton honestly replied.

“Frank?” Joe asked, looking at his brother.

“I wouldn’t know,” he replied.

Joe handed the box to Frank and opened the one that had been tagged to himself. The box was revealed to be a small jewelry box. He opened the lid and found a charm necklace. The circle charm had writing on it, but only one half of it was on the chain.

“This is weird,” Joe remarked.

“I don’t think so,” Frank answered.

His wrapped box revealed to be the same type of necklace only it appeared to be the other half of the charm that Joe’s had. When the two halves were put together the words spelled out: Brothers -Best Friends.

They both immediately put the chains on. Both were perfect fits.

“I wonder who could have left these here,” Joe remarked.

“Santa?” Fenton suggested, causing everyone to laugh.

Then Frank looked inside the jewelry box. A picture of an angel had been imprinted on the underside of the lid. Joe’s revealed an identical picture.

“Maybe an angel sent you those necklaces,” Laura said.

“Maybe an angel really did,” Frank replied. Joe smiled, knowing who he was talking about.

Later that day, as Fenton helped Laura prepare Christmas dinner, Staci and Vanessa made a surprise visit to the house. Staci had brought with her ingredients to make plenty of cookies.

“How did you manage to get through the snow?” Frank asked, looking at Staci. It was then that he noticed she was wearing cross-country ski boots.

“I skied over here. The snow is just as good as if I went to the mountains. It beats trying to drive over here. And besides, I was able to carry all my things in my backpack,” Staci remarked.

Vanessa smiled at her. “I was considering that. But I just had snow tires put on my jeep, so it was no trouble getting over here.”

The girls took off their wet things and went to the living room to exchange gifts. Staci had given Frank a new computer program, and had given Joe a Yankees hat. Vanessa had given Joe a beautiful dark blue Yankees sweatshirt, and had given Frank a new book on advanced java scripting.

Staci opened her gift. It was indeed a box of chocolates. Leaning over, she kissed Frank, yet something told her to open the box. She carefully peeled the plastic wrap off the box and opened the box to the smell of fresh chocolate. To everyone’s surprise there was a small jewelry box in the middle. Staci’s eyes went wide as she saw it.

“Did you put this in here?” Staci asked, looking at Frank.

Frank was surprised. He had given the box of chocolates to the lady to wrap, other than that, there was no way someone could have opened the box to slip the jewelry box inside. “I’m just as surprised as you are,” Frank remarked.

Staci opened the box. On the small velvet cushion was the locket that Frank had been admiring in the store window.

“It’s beautiful, thank you,” Staci replied, her eyes shining. She kissed Frank again, and he helped her put the necklace on.

Frank looked again for a minute at the box of chocolates. On the back of the lid, was the picture of an angel! It was a small picture, but it looked exactly like… but how could she have known? Frank could only smile, and say thanks in his heart to a person who had made his Christmas the best ever. He looked over at his brother, who had the glow of the holidays shining in his eyes, a glow that had finally returned after being lost for so long.

Joe felt odd at first. This was the first time in a long time that he had a sense of peace instead of turmoil in his heart. Like the guilt had simply been wiped away. He couldn’t remember much of what he had dreamt that night. He did remember seeing an angel, but didn’t remember the face. He just knew that somehow the pain had simply vanished.

He watched as Vanessa opened her gift. It had been just a small gift set from the Body Shop. Yet, as Vanessa went to smell one of the bottles, she noticed a small box that had been neatly tucked into the corner of the bag. She pulled it out.

Joe as surprised as everyone else. The gift set had been sealed. There was no one the box could have been placed inside. He watched Vanessa’s eyes go wide as the small box revealed. It was the locket he had been admiring as well. He helped Vanessa put the locket on. He still couldn’t believe that someone put that inside. He was tempted to ask Frank, but he looked just as surprised.

“Say, Vanessa, since these guys gave us such nice things, we don’t we make them some holiday cookies?” Staci suggested, standing up.

“Sounds good,” Vanessa replied, getting up with her.

“Great! I’ve brought lots of stuff to make all sorts of treats…” Staci said as Vanessa followed her into the kitchen.

“Frank, did you see a picture of an angel on that box?” Joe asked.

Frank nodded, “Yours had one, too?”

Joe nodded, “Who do you suppose put the jewelry in them?"

“Well, let’s just leave it at that, and enjoy that someone helped us get those gifts,” Frank replied.

Joe smiled and looked at the angel on top of the tree. It seemed oddly familiar.

“Is something wrong Joe?” Frank asked, sounding a little concerned.

“No, in fact, I haven’t felt this much peace in a long time,” Joe replied, smiling.

Frank smiled back. “Well, then how about a game of DDR?”

“You’re on!” Joe replied, his smile becoming bigger.

As they set up the game, they didn’t notice the face that was looking at them through the window. “You’re free now my love. Always try to be happy.”

She walked away. Marianna looked skyward. “Thank you.”

She continued walking towards down the block, facing the sun. The sun seemed brighter to her. Everything was more alive than she ever had imagined. She continued walking knowing that she had made peace with herself. As the image of the next person she was to help came to her mind, she knew that she was now and forever more, a guardian angel.

It was later that night when Joe came into Frank’s room. He had just settled in for the night.

“Is something wrong Joe?” Frank asked.

Joe came in and sat down on his brother’s bed. “I’m not sure. I’ve had this feeling of peace and I’m wondering if that’s bad.”

Frank sat up and grabbed Joe in a hug. “No. That’s never bad. You deserve it little brother.”

“I just keep dreaming of an angel with dark hair who keeps smiling at me,” Joe remarked, lying down next to his brother.

“Maybe she’s your guardian angel,” Frank suggested as he covered them both with blankets.

“You think so?” Joe asked, looking up at Frank.

“Hey, maybe it’s something or someone telling you to be happy,” Frank replied, smiling down at him.

“Yeah, maybe she is,” Joe replied, trying not to fall asleep.

“If I’d could, I’d like to thank her,” Frank said.

“Why?” Joe asked, his eyes half closed.

Frank put an arm around his brother. “Because she helped to bring you truly back to me. You’re finally at peace.”

Joe smiled faintly “Yeah, she did.”

There was a pause between them.

“Think we’ll ever see her again?” Joe asked, finally closing his eyes.

Frank smiled down at him. “Yeah, we will. I have this feeling we will.”

“I hope so too. I love you big brother,” Joe said, his voice drifting off.

“I love you too little brother,” Frank quietly replied.

As he held his sleeping brother, Frank looked out the window. All the stars were out that night, and they seemed to be brighter than ever. “Thank you,” he said from his heart. He closed his eyes, and joined his brother in dreamland.

End