No Peace and no Joy for Peter Babblebrook at Christmas

Dear Readers:

This is my first post in 2019 so I would like to wish you and your family a joyful, bright, healthy and happiest new year ahead.

I´m going to start the new year with a story that should have been posted in the middle of December. However,lack of time and inspiration and some problems uploading photos with bloggger didn´t let me have it ready until now. It was only after decorating Tanya´s and Munchie´s cottage for Christmas when I started thinking about a couple of follow-up stories.Today´s story is the first part.

The cottage was decorated for Christmas, the presents were bought, the cards were posted, all the baking was done and the just-baked cookies were packed in their boxes.
The next task on Tanyas´s to-do list was to 
get everything ready for Christmas dinner.
This year was going to be very special for her. She was looking forward to celebrating Christmas Day with her family at her own place and she wanted to be the perfect hostess.

After having a cup of hot chocolate and a short chat with Munchie, Tanya took a box of cookies and left her cottage to go visit her brother.

Tanya has two twin brothers, Peter and Rockie.Rockie lives far away but Peter has been living in Sweet Berry Valley since last summer.I´m sure some of you will probably remember him preparing cocktails at his beach bar.

Tanya knocked on the door but nobody answered.Last time she met her brother was a few weeks ago. He wasn´t as cheerful as usual and Tanya tought some of her just-baked cookies would help him cheer up. 

"He might be having a nap" She thought while she tried to get a glimpse of the interior of his brother´s rented cottage.

Luckily, she had a key .She expected to find his brother asleep on the sofa."It will be a nice surprise for him to wake up in front of some of his favourite cookies" Tanya said to herself as she openened the door.

But the one who was surprised was her. She was  so shocked at the state of her brother´s place that she even dropped the box of cookies she was holding.

"For goodness´sake!! How can you live in such a pigsty ,Peter Babblebook!!" She exclaimed looking around.
Dirty plates, pizza leftovers, empty drink cans... The state of the place was appalling and so was the smell.

In the middle of this mess, a fresh daisy lying on a chair caught Tanya´s attention. 
Around the delicate flower there were some photos of her brother with his last girlfriend, Peace, at the beach.Peter had met this girl on one of her trips and he offered her a job at his beach bar.It wasn´t the first time Peter´s summer romances didn´t last longer than three months so Tanya didn´t take her brother seriously when, last summer, he told her he had met the love of his life.

All of a sudden everything made sense to Tanya. "No Peace, no love, no joy at Christmas… my poor little brother is heartbroken" She mumbled staring at the picture trying to find a way to bring "Peace" back to her brother´s life.

She had to talk to Peter so she decided to wait for him but at the same time she couldn´t stand the idea of having a chat with her brother in such a messy and dirty place. She looked for some cleaning stuff but she didn´t find any so she went back to her cottage and came back fully equipped to leave her brother´s place clean and tidy.

She put away all the rubbish, 

she mopped the floor energetically

and she picked up  a map of Sylvania that was on the floor. When she picked it up, a small piece of paper slipped from the map.

"It´s Peace´s address and her phone number !! Tanya felt a rush come over her body.

Tanya kept cleaning. She was really impatient to meet her brother.She had so many questions to ask him.She tried to stop all the what if thoughts but they kept coming to her head   "What if Peter  got in contact with her and she never replied  or what if she did and  told him she didn´t want to have anything  to do with him anymore…?"

When she finished cleaning, Tanya went for a walk.She needed some fresh air. She was starting to get worried about her brother. "Where could he be?" She went to the Village  Square. She even asked some villagers but none of them had seen him for the past few days. She went to the supermarket and asked The Robinsons. They told her he had been there a couple of days ago. "He didn´t buy any food, he just bought some cans of beer. He looked down and quiet" Wilbur said."I asked him if he was looking forward to Christmas and he didn´t say anything to me. He just paid and left the store without even saying goodbye." Fliss added.
Tanya was grateful for the information and   bought some food to prepare some sandwiches and salad for her brother.

She was hoping to find Peter at home but when she arrived at his cottage there was no sign of him.

Tanya had just finished making the sandwiches when the door opened. Tanya felt so relieved when she saw her brother.
"What are you doing here, Tanya?" Peter didn´t sound  very happy to meet her sister at his place.
"I came to bring you a box of your favourite cookies. I´ve just baked them this  morning." Tanya answered.

Peter noticed Tanya had something in her hand. "What´s that piece of paper?" She gave it to him. She was curious to see her brother´s reaction.

"PEACE´S ADDRESS!!?? Where was IT? I couldn´t find it anywhere!!" Peter couldn´t hide his excitment.It seemed he had a winning lottery ticket in his hands.

"So that means you never got in contact with her, Pete?" Tanya asked her brother who all of a sudden seemed to be in a much better mood.
"I never did, I didn´t have a way to contact her"
"What are you waiting for? You have it now! Go and call her! There´s a phone number."
"That´s her workplace phone number. She works at a travel agency" Peter explained.
" Peter, if you really like this girl, write to her,call her, DO something! It´s not healthy to just drown your troubles in pizza and beer!
"Tanya, she had my address too and she never wrote to me. That must mean something. Don´t you think so? I was hoping to get a Christmas card at this time of the year but not even that.Actually,I expected to spend Christmas with her! 
"Come on , Pete! What if she had lost your address too? You have nothing to lose.Imagine she feels exactly the same as you do".Tanya tried her best to encourage her brother to get in contact with Peace but Peter seemed quite reluctant to do it. 

Before leaving her brother´s cottage, Tanya had one more look at Peace´s address and number. Then, she gave it to Peter.

"Don´t lose it again Pete and think about it. 
The holiday season is the perfect excuse to
call her and wish her"Merry Christmas". 

Peter apologized for the bad state of his cottage and thanked his sister for cleaning it and for the sandwiches and cookies.

"Peter,I´ll see you on Christmas Day! Come early, please!. I´ll need help with all the cooking" Tanya told her brother before leaving.
"I´m not in the mood for celebrations, sis!" He answered back.
"Peter! It is Christmas!. It´s all about being  with your loved ones.I´m your sister and I love you. Rockie, Crystal and the kids are coming too. I´m looking forward to spending Christmas Day with you all so please don´t spoil it!." 

When he was about to close the door, Tanya stuck her head in and insisted once more: "Call her, Peter! A phone call could bring "peace" into your life again!"
Peter sighed and rolled his eyes.

Instead of going back home,Tanya went to the  nearest phone box. She was sure Peter was not going to get in contact with Peace, at least not just yet. she had the urge to do something to help her brother.She was gifted with a very good memory but just in case, she kept repeating Peace´s number on her way to  the phone box.

Tanya dialed the number.She was nervous."Come on Peace, pick up the phone, please!". Tanya repeated impatiently.
Finally, she heard a soft voice: "Sylvanian Tours, Peace Taylor speaking. How can I help you?"

Tanya was silent for a moment but she reacted quickly.
"Hello Peace. My name is Tanya Bablebrook.I´m Peter´s sister. We´ve met a couple of times at the beach last summer. Do you remember me?" Tanya asked with her fingers crossed waiting for an affirmative answer.
"Of course, I do. How is Peter? I miss him SO much!" Peace said. 
"Do you? Really? Listen...the reason I´m calling you is…

Tanya told Peace how her brother felt about her and why he wasn´t able to get in contact with her.
Peace told Tanya she had been waiting for a letter from Peter but as she never got it she thought he had forgotten about her and she didn´t dare to write to him in case he had a new girlfriend.
Peace promised she would write to him soon.
"Thank you for calling Tanya. Hope you have a lovely Christmas" Peace sent her best wishes before hanging down the phone.
"The same to you. Have a wonderful Christmas,Peace!". 
Tanya felt a great relief."I would write to him soon, I promise" Peace´s words  were still ringing in Tanya´s head after leaving the phone box. She couldn´t wait to see her brother´s face after reading the long- awaited letter.
There was still hope to see them together again.

To be continued…


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