There Was No Job But There Was Christmas Magic

 Charlotte was certainly puzzled when she saw that red Christmas ornament in her suitcase. She had no idea where it had come from. She didn't have time to waste thinking about it. She picked it up and put it in her coat pocket and promptly forgot about it. She needed to get busy and get down the street hopefully to get the job as a waitress. Oh how she hoped she would get it. Her children had already said that they were hungry. She told them that she loved them and would try to bring home some food for them on her way home. "Now be good children and I'll be back soon. These nice people will take care of you while I am gone."

She easily found the place. When she walked in, the cafe was empty, but a nice lady was behind the counter and said, "Hello there. What may I get you?"

Charlotte said, "I heard that you were in need of a waitress. May I apply for the job?" The lady laughed and said, "Do you see any people in here? I don't have enough customers to keep me busy let alone hire someone. I'm sorry, but I have no idea who told you that I needed help. Times are tough nowadays. Would you like a cup of coffee, maybe a fresh roll? They are just about ready to come out of the oven. I had a friend that made them from scratch. She said they were a Christmas gift. I would love to share them with you."

The tears were falling down Charlotte's cheeks. She was tired, beat down, and now no job. Why had that lady told her a lie? She wiped her face with the back of her hand and said, "Sure, could I have three of those rolls? My children are at the boarding house and they are hungry."

The lady said, "We don't have a boarding house in our little town, dear. The only big house in town is owned by a mean old man that is so stingy he won't even celebrate Christmas with his bookkeeper. The poor guy; he has a little boy that could sure use a Christmas gift. He doesn't have enough money to buy him one. Are you sure you are alright? I'd better go get you something to eat. I think you need food and something hot to drink. Take your coat off and warm up a bit. I'll be right back."

The nice lady nor Charlotte noticed when the magic red ball dropped out of her coat pocket onto the floor nor that a bright light and an angel appeared watching over her.

At the North Pole Mrs. Claus was handing Santa Claus a red Christmas ornament as she kissed him goodbye. "Here, dear, I think that a little more magic is needed this year. Make sure you drop it off where it is needed the most. Remember when you dropped off one of these magic red balls in England? That was about three hundred years ago, wasn't it? Boy, that was a sad state of affairs, wasn't it?"

"If I remember right, that little boy's name was Chardon. He was a son of an inn keeper. In those days it was little more than a tavern. There were a lot of men gambling and drinking. Chardon's mother was having a hard time there. Men sometimes yelled at her and even hit her. It made Chardon so angry that he wasn't big enough to help her when his father did nothing about those men abusing his mother. Remember, Santa, when a rich nobleman came in? He had gotten into a fight and didn't want the king to find out. He had given Chardon a red ruby. It was very valuable. The nobleman told Chardon to hide his horse and never tell anyone that he had been there. Chardon did as he was told. As he was outside hiding the rich man's horse in the stable he made himself a promise. "Someday I am going to get on a big ship and get my mother and me out of this country. We need to be free and able to be happy. We need a miracle."

Chardon looked over his shoulder and watched some noisy men playing a sport in the alley between the two buildings. He heard his father yell for him and went back into the inn to see what he wanted.