Christmas Reminder
by Cowgirl

Alexis pulled on the collar of her cashmere coat willing it to stay put, snug around her neck as she walked briskly towards her last stop on the way home to her darling Kristina. Emily had agreed to watch her while Alexis finished up what was left of her Christmas shopping. The wind whipped at her body like a pair of phantom hands teasing her with the icy chill that was now Port Charles, New York. She shivered and quickened her pace as she made her way through the parking lot of the large chain bookstore slash coffeehouse, slash music store. When had everything become so damn commercial? she thought to herself remembering her days as a teenager making trips into town with the other girls from her boarding school and slipping silently away to the small but cozy bookstore that lay nestled in the middle of a crowded New York City block. Now you can literally walk into one building and find everything from a book to a washing machine.

Finally she reached the door and stepped into the throng of people milling about the store. Jazz music filtered out through speakers in the ceiling and the smell of various coffees wafted from a small café in the corner of the store. Alexis stopped and thought for a moment. What the heck she asked herself and idled up to the counter where a young clerk was busy at a cappuccino machine. A sad smile crossed Alexis' face as she remembered when she used to drink cappuccino all the time. Now there was no one around to make it for her. Finally the young man behind the counter turned and raised his eyebrows at her. "What can I get you, ma'am?"

Alexis quickly perused the menu board that hung above the clerk's head. "Let's see ..." she said, trying to make a decision quickly. "I'll try one of those eggnog lattes."

"Coming right up," the boy said and went about making it for her.

Five minutes later, latte in hand, Alexis was wandering around the bookstore in search of something for Nickolas. She wanted to get him something about their heritage now that he was head of the Cassadine family, so to speak. After searching the history section for what seemed an eternity she found a book that would be suitable. Taking a sip of her latte, which was quickly becoming her favorite drink, she headed towards the children's books. She glanced at all the storybooks and the picture books ranging from pop-up to touch and read books and smiled. Kristina was far too young to read yet, but still, maybe just a couple that Alexis could read to her. It was never too early to read to a child, right? she asked herself before picking up a Christmas themed book called The Miracle of the Christmas Snow People. It had brightly colored pictures on the cover as well as inside and Alexis' heart warmed at the thought of reading it to her daughter.

Glancing at her watch, Alexis winced at the amount of time she had actually spent gazing around the store and headed toward the front to check out her finds when her eyes fell upon a table in the center of one of the aisles. It had a piece of poster board taped to the front of it with red and green lettering that said: Give the gift of the classics this season. Shrugging her shoulders, she moved towards it and began to sift through the titles that were piled on top. Most of them she had already read and the rest she couldn't think of anyone she currently was on speaking terms with that would appreciate them. Of course, she chuckled at the thought of buying the copy of Moby Dick and tying it up with a pretty red satin ribbon to give to Luke Spencer. It seemed fitting for him somehow. She was about to move away from the table when her purse brushed against the stacks, knocking one of the books to the floor. She sighed, bent down and picked it up, preparing to throw it back on top of the heap when her heart lurched. It was a copy of Romeo and Juliet. She tried several times to put it down and walk away, but that book, the title, the story ... she couldn't help but think of the memories that the book drudged up. Him telling her about taking his mother to see the ballet. Her telling him his life resembled the tragic tale.

"I would have remembered you."

"I would have remembered you, too."

She tucked it under her arm with the rest of her finds and headed toward the exit.

Sonny was definitely not in the Christmas spirit on this particular day. After his umpteenth run-in with Faith Roscoe for the year and the troubles that were afflicting his best friend and his sister and their marriage, he couldn't help but feel somber. Even his reunion with Carly, something that should have been a happy occasion, didn't have the exact feeling that he had hoped for. Something was just not quite right about it. All he wanted to do was go home, get into some comfortable clothes and relax with a scotch. But Carly had called and informed him that she had seen an ad in the paper for a video that Michael was clamoring for this Christmas. It was over at a bookstore in the center of town and Carly had called ahead and reserved a copy that needed to be picked up tonight. Sonny had promised to stop and get it on his way home from the warehouse.

He smiled as he remembered Michael's excitement as Christmas drew near. He and Carly had taken him to see Santa at the mall earlier in the week and Sonny had listened intently as the man in the red suit had let out a hardy laugh and asked Michael, "So, what do you want for Christmas?"

It had warmed his heart when the little boy had said he had everything he wanted, his mom and dad and his little brother. Santa had smiled and told him what a wonderful and unselfish boy he was and persisted. "There's nothing else that you want? A little something for yourself?"

Michael had thought for a moment. "I wouldn't mind having some dvds for the player that my dad bought me for my birthday. I've watched all the ones I have so many times."

So here he was in the middle of a hoard of last minute shoppers, waiting in line for his turn to pick up his video and go home. The line was long, but was moving at a fairly decent pace. He stood, shifted and looked around aimlessly as he waited, his eyes coming to rest on a small bin of books that were marked down. His hand lightly touched down on the books, skimming over the tops of them until he came to the last one. He picked it up and froze. The title, The Popcorn Diet: 101 Ways To Prepare Your Favorite Snack, caught him off guard. For absolutely no reason whatsoever, he decided to purchase the book. His mind drifted as he stood waiting for his turn to pay.

"But if you're not here, who - when I rant about any number of things, there will be no one here to talk me down. And if I have nothing to eat but popcorn in my kitchen and I'm starving to death, there won't be anyone here to whip me up a great meal that has all the food groups in it."

"Well, I'm just thinking that - you're the only person I can trust."

Sonny snapped out of his reverie when he realized the clerk at the counter was talking to him. "Sir? Sir can I help you?"

Sonny looked at her. "Uh ... yeah. I have a video on reserve ... the name's Corinthos."

Alexis decided to make one more stop on her way home, and now she was standing at the counter at Kelly's waiting for Liz to bring her take out order from the back.

Finally, the younger girl emerged and hoisted two large bags on the counter. "There's enough food for an army in here, Alexis," she said with a smile.

Alexis reached in her purse, extracting her wallet. "Emily is watching Kristina and I assume my nephew will be by to pick her up, and I don't cook ... so ..." she said with a smile as she handed Liz the cash and headed for the door.

"All right, Carly. Yeah .. .I'm there now ... uh huh, two pies ... I'll get them," he said with a roll of his eyes as he clicked his cell phone shut. He opened the door of the limo and climbed out. A bag containing one single book that he had no idea why he purchased was still clutched in his hand. He walked briskly up to the door of Kelly's and gave it a forceful yank, sending the person on the other side crashing into him, sending packages everywhere.

Sonny took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," he said as he bent down to pick up the scattered items on the ground.

"That's all right .. .neither was ..." Alexis said, stopping abruptly at the sight of the person she had just crashed into.

Sonny looked up and immediately locked eyes with Alexis. "You okay?" he said tentatively as he continued to gather up both of their spilt belongings.

Alexis gave a stiff nod. "Fine," she replied as she grabbed her things from his hand and attempted to move away.

Sonny caught her arm. "Alexis."

Alexis pulled her arm away and stood rigid. "Accidents happen."

He nodded and wiped his free hand across his mouth as a young couple maneuvered around them to get out of the diner, but stopped in the doorway, the young man pointing up at the mistletoe that hung from the frame. The girl giggled and pecked him on the cheek and they moved on.

"I have to go," Alexis said tersely.

"Yeah ... me too. Uh ... Merry Christmas, Alexis."

Alexis' first reaction was to tell him where he could shove his Merry Christmas, but then thought, 'tis the season ...

"Merry Christmas, Sonny," she answered, her voice showing only a hint of warmth. She walked at warp speed away from him. Sonny looked after her for a second before continuing on his way into Kelly's.

Alexis took her cup of hot chocolate from the kitchen to her bedroom, setting it on her bedside table. She was exhausted and sleep was the only thing on her mind at the moment. Sleep and the encounter with the man she once held dearer than anyone who had ever entered her life. She closed her eyes and shook thoughts of him away. She opened her eyes and looked down at the bags filled with her purchases from earlier. She took them all and hid them back in the recesses of her closet. All except one, the small bag that contained a certain book she had purchased. What she thought she would do with the book she had no clue. Why she bought it in the first place was a mystery to her. She had even had the clerk bag it separately from her other purchases. Slowly she picked up the bag and reached inside pulling out its contents. A look of surprise crossed her face as she examined the book. It wasn't the one she bought. How on earth did she get this book? She and Sonny had both dropped packages when they crashed into one another ... it would be an odd coincidence if they had both bought a book at the same store and happened to pick up the other's purchase in the collision they had. She shook her head and looked down at the hardcover that was still in her grip and read the title: The Popcorn Diet: 101 Ways to Prepare Your Favorite Snack.

She chuckled at the irony. If she had his purchase, then he had hers.

"I would have remembered you."

Sonny sat in the darkened living room, his family long since gone to sleep. The fire in the mantle was slowly turning to embers clinging to what was earlier a cozy fire. He sipped his scotch and craned his neck around to release some of the tension he felt there. His head swung slowly over to his desk and he stood up, moving to it. Opening the drawer, he took out the bag he had shoved in there earlier, the bag from the bookstore. He reached inside the bag and pulled out the hardcover. He shook his head at the fact that he had even bought the damn thing. It's not like he was going to run over and give it to her. He looked down at the item and furrowed his brow. This was not the book he bought. He thought for a moment and then reality washed over him. He and Alexis must have exchanged bags when they collided at Kelly's earlier. He chuckled and looked down at the book, Romeo and Juliet. He swallowed a small lump in his throat as he realized that she would have the book that he had purchased.

"I would have remembered you, too."

He closed his eyes and whispered, "Merry Christmas, Lex."