“Our firm must move with the times, Jacob. Renting an automaton will cost us half of what hiring a human clerk will, including the coal to power it. They are less error-prone, as well. Many London businesses are doing so. It’s in The Times.” Scrooge handed the newspaper clipping and his calculations to his partner.
Read it now
Belle’s steps slowed as she neared the grand house. Had her heart not already been racing from hurrying to make it in time, it surely would be now. Her stomach tightened. Too many years had passed. What if he had forgotten her?
She pulled her shawl closer, shielding herself from the frigid snowfall,
Some people count their blessings. Ebenezer Scrooge preferred to count his money, and that’s exactly what he was doing as quitting time approached on Christmas Eve.
He’d programmed the holo-projector to display his wealth in a variety of ways—as thousand-dollar bills strewn on a king-sized bed, as bars of gold, or in today’s selected fashion, as stacks of Canadian two-dollar coins.
They found him, arms curved inward as if protecting something, but the fire that left him a charred husk had destroyed what he’d cradled: A Ricky Henderson rookie card, the most precious of all his collection.
Together forever.
I close my eyes, and sigh. Then, I delete the file.
Ebenezer Scrooge hated many things, including Christmas, carolers, cheer, children, and the words “limited-time offer.”
Oh, and one more thing—chaos. As in what happened when his router suddenly gifted him a high-pitched whine and then died. An overheating his cold existence was not familiar with. His orderly life was abruptly unplugged.
Recent Comments