“Who the hell left the alarm clock on?” groaned a restless Aaron Wales.
The former theater actor turned sales manager rolled over and pounded his fist on the blaring clock radio. Much to his annoyance, it read 6:00 a.m. That was usually the time he had to get up just to be at work on time. Christmas morning was one of the few times when he could sleep in. Now, with his ears still ringing, he sighed as he laid back in bed.
“Merry Christmas, indeed,” he muttered.
Neither his tone nor his mood was very festive. That wasn’t entirely because he’d been jarred from a peaceful sleep, either. Christmas had been extra stressful for the past couple years. It was stressful enough, getting together with family and finishing all his shopping in time. Both he and his wife, Violet, came from big families that loved to go all out when it came to celebrating the holidays. It was usually so joyous, but for Aaron, there wasn’t much to celebrate.