The Christmas Key

For the Marco Beach Boys and Girls, the first three weeks of December have always been a special time to take a breath, reflect, and to polish up for the new year. Over the years and the holiday seasons, some Christmas stories shine brighter than others do, but this is a Marco Beach Christmas story that conjures the spirit of the holidays into the realm of the supernatural.

From England, the beachside condominium looked great online. It was on Marco Island, and available for the first three weeks of December. After an extensive search throughout the Caribbean, Mexico, and Bahamas, Lucy crossed her fingers and clicked the mouse. The decision-making process was over. The deposit was on the way, the reservation was complete, and even though the holiday was going to be expensive, Lucy knew she and her son Evan needed a break. They were alone now for the second year and the previous holiday season had proven disastrous.

London was a wonderful city and full of life, but for Lucy and eleven-year-old Evan, a Christmas without a husband and father was unbearable. Charles was lost to them during a time when the hospital was overwhelmed, and although Charles was a doctor, he was not immune to the virus that was claiming so many. Visiting and watching other families at Christmas was torturous, so the decision was simple: A getaway for two to the warmth of the tropics. Bask in the sun, walk on a beach, and swim in the Gulf of Mexico.

When Lucy and Evan stepped out into the humidity of the tropics at the Miami Airport, the breath of a new life became a warm embrace. After chasing the sunset across much of Florida, and watching the end of the burning light as they were topping the rise over the bridge to Marco, a sudden wave of anticipation was another new experience that was difficult to describe.

Once the car and the driver from the airport pulled away, the December moon was a silver path glowing on the water. Rising in the elevator alongside bundles of luggage for the three-week holiday, Lucy smiled because she could sense and feel her son’s excitement and relief.

When the door to the beachside high-rise was open and the newcomers were inside, Lucy walked to the sliding doors and stepped out into the moonlight and the tropical evening. There was a noticeable presence in the air. It was more than the vibrancy and delight of a holiday. It was more than the moonlight on the water, and it was more than the ghostly glimpses that were a constant haunting of the last two years.

“Mother,” Evan was standing in the doorway to the balcony. “What do you suppose this is for?” Resting in the palm of Evan’s hand was a large and very old golden key. The key was not actually gold but it was from another era. It was what many call a skeleton key because it could open many different locks, cabinets, and doors.

Lucy took the key and walked back into the light of the apartment. “Where did you find this?” she asked.

“It was on the table in the kitchen,” Evan reached for the key; there was something about it he wanted to hold.

The following day was perfect. The December weather was wonderful and Lucy and Evan went walking on the beach and swimming in the sea. Evan, however, was not able to venture far from his golden key. He brought it everywhere like a treasure. The old key was either brass or bronze and needed polishing, but it was like the tropical air; there was something precious about it, but it was something no one could see.

When the mother and son from England were back in the high-rise and overlooking the beach, Lucy made a call to the local rental agent about the mysterious key that her son found on the kitchen table. “No,” the lady that was the rental agent confirmed. “I inspected the apartment before your arrival. There was no key like that anywhere in sight. I would have seen it. It must be from the building supervisor. He has all kinds of keys. I’ll give him a call…”

During the following two weeks, Lucy and Evan explored Marco Island. They collected seashells, walked on the beach, and even got a sunburn, but they also began to look for the lock that was waiting for the golden key. With the days of the holiday beginning to dwindle and Christmas almost at hand, the young English mother and her son visited everywhere there might be an old door or a cabinet with a hidden mystery.

The building supervisor who was indeed always carrying many keys came to the apartment and made a careful examination of Evan’s key. The supervisor explained he had no idea how the key from a time-gone-by ended up on the modern high-rise kitchen table, but he gave the old brass a good polish so it really did shine like a golden key. 

On the last day of their holiday, Lucy and Evan walked into an antique and consignment shop and suddenly saw the chest. The old chest was new to the shop. They learned it came in the day before. A crew of construction workers who were working on a hurricane renovation stumbled onto several beautiful antiques, but the aging chest was disappointing because it would not open. 

The aging heirloom seemed to beckon and Evan soon found the tarnished lock. With only a glance at his mother, Evan inserted and turned the key, and the chest popped open with a rusty creak. Atop a collection of mildewed and dusty books from another century, a single envelope waited. There was no stamp, postmark, or address. Evan carefully opened the delicate correspondence and began to read from a single page.

My dearest son,

Please know that I will always cherish you and your mother, and even though we are apart for now, rest assured in the knowledge that someday, we will be together again. Care for your mother while I am away, and please hold dear all that she teaches and prepares for you. My voyage ahead as a doctor in a foreign land will be full of challenges, much like the challenges you will face through every season of our lives together and apart. God bless you and your darling mother and know I will be with you always in my thoughts and prayers.

Your loving father Charles.

When mother and son finished reading the letter from a hundred years before, there were tears of joy, but no words. As Christmas was only two days away, Evan and Lucy suddenly knew; the most special holiday ever had made an early arrival.