Gilbert Morris Read Online Free PDF Page A

to Christmas, but he always liked Andy Williams. At least he could carry a tune.
    â€œHello, Ben.”
    â€œHi, Sal. I just came to clear out a few things.”
    â€œHow’s your dad?”
    â€œI was there this afternoon. He’s about the same.”
    Sal Victorio, the editor of the paper, looked more like a Mafia hit man than an extremely able editor. He was literate to an incredible degree, but he always looked as if he were about to pull out a gun and shoot someone. He had mentioned once to Ben that his grandfather had been in the Mafia, but his father had gotten away from that life. He had sent Sal all the way to Harvard University and was as proud of his son as if he were the president.
    Ben said, “I haven’t been on a trip in a long time. I’ve got to buy some new luggage.”
    Sal removed the cigar from his mouth, stared at it for a moment, then jammed it back in. He always kept a cigar exactly in the center of his mouth, and it looked now like a gigantic fuse attached to some monstrous bomb. It also

smelled like burning rope, since Sal did not believe in wasting money on good cigars. “You heard about Sam?”
    â€œYou mean our Sam?”
    â€œThat’s right. Sam Benton.”
    â€œWhat about him?”
    â€œHe had a heart attack.”
    For an instant Ben thought he had misunderstood his boss. “Was it serious?” he asked finally.
    â€œIt could have been worse.” Sal shrugged his beefy shoulders. “The doc says he’s going to be all right, except he’s gonna have to have a bypass.”
    â€œBut he always eats right, and he does those exercises. He’s a health nut.”
    â€œLooks like that doesn’t make much difference. He didn’t even have a pain. He went in for an annual check-up, and the doc did an EKG. Told him he was either gonna have a heart attack or he was having one right then, and Sam never felt a thing. It made him kind of mad, but he’s got to have that surgery.”
    â€œSorry to hear about that. Right here at Christmas, too. Be tough on his family.”
    â€œIt’s gonna be tough on you, too, Ben.”
    For a moment Ben stared at his boss, and then a suspicion began to rise in him. “Now wait a minute, Sal!”
    â€œYou’re the man.”
    â€œWhat are you talking about?”
    â€œYou’re a smarter guy than that. You’ll have to fill in until Sam can come back.”
    Disappointment mixed with anger began to stir in Ben Raines. “You’ve been promising me a vacation for two years, and I’ve got everything set up. I’ve even got the ticket.”
    â€œI’m sorry, but that’s just the way it is. By the way, you’ll have to do the Christmas story.”
    The paper had one big Christmas story as a tradition. It was something that Sam Benton usually did and that Ben had always said he couldn’t do.
    â€œI’ve been looking forward to this vacation for six months.”
    Sal took his cigar out then lifted his eyes toward Ben Raines. “Sam took over for you when you had mono for a month.”
    There was no answer for that, Ben knew, nor was there any way out of this. He was going to have to stay in Chicago, and he was going to have to write the Christmas story, and he would have to put up with all of the phony Christmas trappings that went on every year, but there were some things a man had to do. He straightened up and tried to force a smile. “Why sure, Boss, I’ll take care of it.”

Chapter Three
    Do you really think angels look like that, Dad?”
    Willie Raines twisted his head around and looked at the picture on the wall to his left. It was a picture that Ben was familiar with, for it had been in his parents’ room as long as he could remember. The painting showed a young boy and girl about to step into a dangerous chasm, but over them hovered a bright shining winged figure, his hands outstretched as if to