Joy to the world, the lord is come
Let earth receive her king
Let every heart prepare him room
And heaven and nature sing

IN the morning, Grandma was up before Sarah, a happy little smile on her face. She laid the table with a freshly brewed pot of tea, toast with scrambled eggs and slices of papaya.
“Thank you, dear Lord, for this meal,” Sarah prayed as they sat down to a nice little breakfast.
The next few days, Sarah began the cleaning and packing as she rearranged and decorated the little house. It now had a festive look and from an old radio she had found, beautiful Christmas songs filled the air.

A promise to her grandma was being fulfilled as Christmas drew closer.
An unexpected tragedy had awoken Sarah to the fact that in life comes changes and challenges. If you want a change for something better, you have to work to make that change yourself and not wait for someone to do it for you.

After the tragic loss of her husband and her baby on the way, she had felt lost; the grief and trauma were too deep for her to handle alone at her young age, so with advice, she spent time with her mother-in-law and a few other relatives in New Amsterdam. The comfort of family was what she needed until her baby was born. She almost suffered another nervous breakdown after the baby’s birth because the father was not with them anymore.
Four months later, she had managed to pick up the pieces of her life and with her finances running low, she had decided to return home to her grandma. As her thoughts went back to that day at the park, she remembered Raj and without knowing why it brought a smile to her lips.

One of life’s changes, maybe?
In her journal she had noted reconnecting with her friends and being more interactive with society. ‘I lost my partner in life,’ she rued with deep regrets. ‘Now I have to walk this road alone but along the way a few kind hands to hold would be good. The first step she had to make was to go back to work, that would set the tone and pace of laying a solid foundation for her child. Two weeks later, after sending out applications, she got a call from the manager of the Pegasus Hotel where she had worked as a server and was reinstated in her old job.
“This is so great,” she exclaimed thankfully, “I have to work hard and stay strong to make life better from here.”

So she strove daily in her quest, keeping positive thoughts in her mind, finding her own little joys with her baby daughter, church and close friends.
The festive time was a very busy period for the hotel, being fully booked for lunches, dinners and cocktail parties. She was one of the servers for a special staff dinner for a tech company, and as the drinks were served she noticed Raj at the table that seated the CEO and Directors of the company. He was looking sharp in a well-fitted suit that made him look very handsome.
“Impressive,” she expressed to herself.

As the dinner got underway, she tried not to look his way, but as she began serving a table next to his, he called her, “Miss.”
She turned around and answered cordially, “Yes,sir.”
There was a slight smile of recognition on his face as he looked at her but she tried not to smile back, just holding a pleasant look.
“Another bottle of wine, please,” he requested in that same deep, smooth voice.

“Yes, sir,” she nodded.
The wine was served, and he said to her in a low tone so only she could hear, “You can smile a little. It’s Christmas.”
She did, just slightly so only he saw the smile and moved on to continue serving the other tables. At the end of the dinner, the guests began leaving but Raj stayed a while longer and then left with the group from the head table, nodding his head a little at her, maybe to say ‘Goodnight’
As she was leaving work for the night, the receptionist called her, “Sarah.”
“Yes.”

“A gentleman left this note for you.”
Sarah took the note, not sure who it was from, then smiled when she saw what was written, “It’s raining and it’s chilly, a taxi is standing by to take you home – Raj.”
“This is so nice of you,” she said, relieved.
It had been a hard day; she was tired and waiting on the bus would have taken a while. That night as her eyes closed in sleep, she murmured, “I still don’t understand this attraction towards him.”

The next day was a full day again for her, taking grandma to the doctor for her usual check-up and doing a little shopping. The Christmas rush was on, and Georgetown’s shopping areas were crazily busy. She had to send home grandma with a church elder son’s taxi so she could get some shopping done. She took a bus home later, and navigating the pot-holed street due to the heavy rainfall, with shopping bags in both hands, was kinda tricky. Her foot slipped at one point and she almost fell.

“Darn!” she exclaimed in annoyance, “When is anyone coming to fix these bad streets?”
She reached home safely, put her bags down and said, frustrated, “Some improvement is really needed in this community.”
“You can take up the initiative,” Grandma said.
“Oh yes, I will,” Sarah accepted, with a determined glint in her eyes.
Isabella reached out her arms to her and as she held her daughter in her arms, she said to her affectionately, “In my life, you are my little joy.”
And lying in bed that night, looking at the stars through her window, she asked. “What else is there for me?”
Raj’s image flashed in her eyes but she shook her head with a doubtful smile, “Maybe not.”
Life does not always bring you roses but one can dream and, who knows, magic can happen.

Later that week she was working at the Poolside restaurant and bar and did not see when Raj walked in. A live band was playing, the place was almost filled and all the servers were busy. Once again, he called her as she was attending to another table. She heard him on the second call and turning she saw him sitting at a table with a very beautiful girl.
“Oh,” Sarah exclaimed silently, not surprised but slightly disappointed, “Yes, sir.”
“Can you take our order?”

“Yes, but I have two table orders to fill.”
“We can wait.”
She nodded with a cordial smile, noting that the girlfriend wasn’t pleased about the wait. As she served them drinks, Raj spoke to Sarah in a warm, friendly tone, but when the meal was served after a little wait, the girlfriend’s tone towards Sarah became a little condescending. The evening didn’t go too well for Raj, and after paying the bill, he said quietly to Sarah, “Sorry about that.”
“That’s okay,” she said and gasped at the generous tip he left for her.

And so it was, one of the most eligible bachelors in town – his masculinity, a statement that charms the mind – coming in with different dates, incredibly beautiful girls, but the server, a simple and beautiful girl, held his interest.
On the last week before Christmas, as Sarah was coming out of work, she saw Raj waiting in the lounge. He was on his phone but ended the call when he saw her and asked, “Can I offer you a lift home?”

“What happened to your girlfriend?”
“She left in her own ride to a friend’s party I didn’t want to be at.”
“Oh,” she hesitated a little and he said, “You’ve finished late, and you’re tired.”
“Yeah,” she sighed, “Thanks.’
On the way he asked her, “How’s Isabella?”

“Oh, she’s doing fine, getting a little more mischievous.”
“I can imagine,” he said with a little laugh.
There was a pause as she relaxed in the posh comfort of his luxury car, feeling the tiredness drain slowly from her body, “‘I feel I can just sleep here.”
“I have a better idea,” he said with a little jest.

“No, you don’t,” she said, sitting up a bit.
He looked at her and stated, “You know I never really get to talk to you, don’t even have your number.”
“Why do you need to, I’m not in the rich class of your girlfriends. I’m just a simple, working-class girl.”
“You’re in a class of your own, that’s unique and I like that.”

She looked at him surprised, not sure what to say and on reaching her home, he asked her, “Any special plans for Christmas?”
“Hmm, not really.”
“Well, then, can you and Isabella spend Christmas with me?”
Once again, she was surprised, not being able to answer, but it had been her wish for something new and special in her life.
He was waiting patiently for her answer, and she said, a unique and new feeling in her heart, “I would love to.”