It was two days before Christmas as the snow fluttered down in the small town of Bayport. Seventeen-year-old Joe Hardy made his way into Water’s Edge Nursing Home to greet his beloved Iola. Armed with a killer smile and two red roses, the blond haired teenager walked through the front doors and to the nurse’s station.

"Do you know where Iola Morton is?" Joe asked the attending nurse.

"Wow! It looks like you have something special planned for when she gets off work," the nurse commented. "I wish my husband would do that. Young love."

"Actually one rose is for Iola and the other one is for Amelia. I thought I would pick her up one. I didn’t see her sitting in the entry way today. Is she okay?" Joe asked. Ever since Iola began working at the nursing home on weekends, Joe would pick her up after work to spend some time with her. On one of his visits, Joe met a charismatic lady named Amelia Jenson. Many of the residents and staff considered Amelia a spunky and classy lady, but she was also know for being a little on the "loopy" side. Joe just felt sorry for her since she did not ever seem to speak of any family. So while he waited for his dark headed girlfriend to finish her shift, he would sit and talk with Amelia.

"Oh! She is just fine. She just wanted to spend some time in her room. I think that she is just down today so that flower might be just what the doctor ordered," the nurse said with a smile. Amelia had those days. She was terminally ill with cancer and came to the nursing home to receive around the clock HOSPICE care six months ago. However, she seemed just as spunky as anyone half her age.

"Tell Iola that I will be in her room when she is ready to go then. Thank you," Joe politely told the nurse and turned to go down the hall.

It broke his heart to see the many people there. One was a teenager just like himself who was severely retarded. Everyone called him Corky and he was the youngest resident. Joe never thought about people his age being in a nursing home, but Iola pointed out to him that some families did not have the patience or the skills to properly care for some of the residents. But the nursing home was not like the typical nursing home. It seemed like a true home and Corky got plenty of attention from his many adopted "grandparents". It made him feel very lucky for what he had.

Soon he reached the door that had the familiar "Welcome Friends" wreath on it. He peeked in to see a small fragile lady with the most beautiful white hair. She reminded him of his own grandmother that had died a few years back. Maybe that is why he liked Amelia so well. She was looking down, lost in her own thoughts and did not see the youngest Hardy.

"Miss Jenson?" Joe said softly, trying not to startle the older lady. Her hazel eyes shot wide open and a smile quickly spread across her face.

"Oh Joe! I am so glad to see you. Just sit down here and chat a spell," she exclaimed, happy to see a visitor. Joe handed her a rose and she blushed as she held the flower like it was glass.

"You didn’t have to go and do that. I am way too old for you my young boy," She replied.

"I wouldn’t say that Amelia. I bet you was quite the date back then. Why I bet some lucky guy around here would be honored with your presence," Joe commented as he pulled up a chair. Amelia had a private room, but it was still a small room with her bed, television, radio and rocking chair.

"I was quite the dish, but that was back then. I hope that you got one for your sweetie too," Amelia said, looking up at Joe with affection. "She is so lucky to have such a nice gentleman for a bo. You have such beautiful blue eyes. I bet your mother is proud of you. Where did you get those blue eyes?"

Amelia’s words made Joe turn beet red. "My mother has blue eyes. My brother got my father’s brown eyes. I guess it was a fair trade."

"I bet your brother is as nice as you are. You must have great parents. What is it that they do again?" Amelia asked. She was forgetful at times. Joe had told her the answers a million times over the past few weeks, but he was always happy to answer them again.

"My mother, Laura, is a volunteer for the American Red Cross. My father, Fenton, is a private investigator. My brother and I sometimes help him out," Joe added. Amelia’s eyes cocked up at him in a weird way.

"Aren’t you a little young to be investigating criminals?"

"You sound just like my Aunt Gertrude," Joe replied remembering his older aunt who made an appearance every now and then. He loved his aunt dearly, but she could drive all of the Hardy clan up the walls. "We are very careful Amelia. We also watch out for each other. You could not ask for a better partner than Frank."

"It is nice to see brothers that get along," Amelia said softly. "You will have to bring him by sometime so I can meet him. I bet he is a charmer too just like you."

"I will if I can ever get him away from Callie and his computer! Lately he has not had too much time for me. I was hoping to go and get mom and dad’s Christmas presents picked out together, but it seems like he is always busy," Joe said softly. It was true. For once, Frank was too busy to pay much attention to his younger brother. Joe could not believe how much it bothered him after wishing sometimes that Frank would give him space. But now that wish was coming back to haunt him.

"I understand that one. Everyone is busy. My question is this, what can make you so busy that you miss out on the ones you love the most? Time is precious and it stops for no man. Someday you will both leave the nest and he is going to regret missing out on this time with you. He will come around though. You just wait and see. It is just the Christmas fever," Amelia answered with a concerned tone. Joe could tell that she spoke from experience.

"I call it Callie fever actually," Joe quipped. Frank was spending a lot more time with Callie, his brown haired girlfriend of almost four years.

"Talk to him then. Don’t waste time. If you have a good relationship, just tell him how you feel. I bet he does not even know," Amelia suggested as she pulled her white sweater jacket more around her. Joe had to smile. Amelia looked so much like his grandma with her blue dress and knee high hose that was rolled down to below her knees. Her blue slippers topped the look off.

"I will try. But that is enough about me. How are you doing?" Joe asked.

"Just the usual. Sitting here in this chair, catching up on my soaps and watching time slip away," Amelia said with a smile.

"You watch soaps?"

"You bet young man. I get more romance out of them than I did in a lifetime!" Amelia laughed. Joe grinned at the spunky older lady.

"So this is the woman you have been seeing behind my back!" a female voice blurted out behind them. From the doorway, a pixie faced brunette made her way in the light. Dressed in her nurse’s aide uniform, Iola Morton still could take any young male’s breath away. Joe smiled as he stood up and gave her a peck on the cheek and handed her the other rose.

"Oh Joe! Thank you. That was so thoughtful of you," Iola said giving her boyfriend a hug.

"How do you keep up with him? He investigates crimes, he plays sports and he gets strange women flowers," Amelia said with a chuckle.

"You are not a strange lady to me Amelia. You are my friend," Joe said, leaning over and giving Amelia a peck on the cheek and a small hug. Amelia again blushed red from the attention. "I guess we have to get going. I will see you tomorrow night since Iola has to work Saturday afternoon."

"Are you taking her anywhere special tonight?’ Amelia asked.

"No, I am just going to drop her off and head back to the house," Joe replied. "I am going to take her out tomorrow night instead."

"I think I am mixing my days up. Now today is Friday right."

"Yes, Amelia," Iola answered. "Christmas Eve is Sunday. Can you believe that?"

"As I said, time flies by. I hope that you have your Christmas shopping done," Amelia added. Both teenagers nodded that they had. "I just love Christmas secrets! Well, I am not going to hold you up anymore. You be careful taking her home and getting home yourself. I would not want to have to come out and have to visit you in a hospital you know.’

"I will be careful," Joe reassured her. "See you tomorrow and behave yourself!"

Amelia laughed as she got up slowly and started to make her way to her bed. The teenagers left Amelia to get ready for bed.

After opening the door to the black van the brothers shared for Iola, Joe steered in the direction of the Morton farmhouse. Iola talked about her job and how things were going at the nursing home. Joe was tickled to see Iola so happy. She took the job just to see if she was interested in nursing for a career and it turned into a second family for her. Iola talked so much about the nursing home on the way home; Joe did not even get a word in edge wise.

"Here I have been doing all the talking tonight!" Iola said as the van turned into the driveway of the Morton house.

"It is okay. I am just glad that you found something that you like as much as I like investigating and helping dad," Joe said, putting the van in park. "I am really proud of you."

Iola just smiled and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.

"What! Is that all I get?" Joe teased. Smiling coyly at her boyfriend, she leaned over and passionately kissed him.

"How was that?" Iola said, as she remained just inches from his face.

"I don’t know. I think I need a replay," Joe commented. The couple shared another long and passionate kiss. "Wow! I could do this all night long," he quipped as he leaned in for another kiss. But a porch light blinded them both. Looking at each other in the light, they both laughed at Mr. Morton’s signal to come in.

"It looks like it will have to wait until tomorrow night," Iola said with a sigh.

"Is that a promise?"

"You bet. I think that we could skip the movie and go and share some private time along the lake. That would be nice with the snow and full moon," She said as she got out of the van. "See you at five!"

Joe watched as she walked up to the porch and waved to let him know that she made it to the house safely. This was going to be a great Christmas.

Frank Hardy was still in Callie’s car as Joe turned the corner of Elm and High Streets. Seeing a great opportunity, Joe turned the van headlights off and eased the van down into a lower gear. He could see that the windows were steamed up from the cold weather and the warm bodies inside. He waited until he had the van directly behind Callie’s green sedan and turned on the high beams. The two shadows inside the car quickly separated and the familiar form of Frank Hardy jumped out of the passenger seat. Joe could see the scowl on his older brother’s face as he struggled to not seem too amused. He had planned many jokes on his brother and his girlfriend so this one should not surprise them. Leaving the motor running, Joe stepped out of the van.

"Gee Frank, I am sorry. I didn’t know that you guys were in there," Joe said in his best innocent voice. But Frank and Callie did not find it so amusing.

Callie leaned out the window and looked back at Joe. "I hope you enjoyed yourself. Now if you don’t mind, would you please move so I can get home."

"Sure thing Callie. Your wish is my command," Joe said, bowing down to her and walking back to the van to move it. Frank waved good-bye to his girlfriend and waited for Joe to park the van.

"Okay, you got her this time. I hope you know that she is going to be out to get you now," Frank said, grinning at his younger brother’s antics.

"I got HER! I got you BOTH that time," Joe fired back as Frank clapped him on the back of the shoulder playfully.

"So how did your date with Iola go?"

"I just picked her up from work and took her home. I spent some time with Amelia though," Joe told his brother as they walked in the front door of their modest two story brick home. White Christmas lights outlined the cozy home and icicle lights draped from the second level roof. A lone Santa figure stood by the chimney just as it had stood every Christmas since the boys were little. The house was quiet, so the boys walked quietly into the living room. Even though their father would be in tomorrow from Washington D.C. for the holidays, their mother still had to put in some last minute hours at the Red Cross in the morning. They did not want to wake her up. Frank turned the Christmas tree lights off while Joe turned the stairway lights off and they both went to their own bedrooms.

Joe waited until Frank got out of the conjoining bathroom before he changed for the night. Amelia’s words haunted him. He knew that he should talk to Frank about his feelings, but he was just not the type to do that. Even though he loved his brother dearly, Joseph Allan Hardy was not the type to be wishy-washy. Frank did appear to be acting better, even after his little joke.

Joe brushed his teeth and turned off the light. "Night!" he exclaimed to his brother as he walked to his bed and got in. But sleep did not come to Joe. Amelia’s words haunted him again.

She was right. They were both growing up. Gone were the days that the brothers fought each other to the bottom of the stairs to see what Santa brought for them. He remembered crawling into bed with his brother on those stormy nights in the summer and the peaceful snowy nights of winter. He remembered the fights as well as the times that he was truly grateful for having an older brother.

"I guess I should get used to Frank leading a life on his own without me," Joe said to himself as he lay on the bed. But he truly did not believe that or wanted to believe that. But then his thoughts went back to Amelia, sleeping in her bed at the nursing home with no family to call and check on her. No one to call her own.

Just then the bathroom light came on and Frank appeared in the doorway of Joe’s bedroom.

"Joe?"

"Yeah Frank?"

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," Joe said as he sat up on his bed. Frank came in and sat down at the foot of the bed.

"I was just thinking that we have not went Christmas shopping for mom and dad, not to mention Aunt Gertrude," Frank said softly. "Would you like to go tomorrow and see what we can find? It seems like I have not really spent any time with you and I thought it would be nice. Lunch is on me?"

"I thought you would never ask," Joe said excitedly.

"We will leave at nine that way we will have plenty of time to shop, grab something to eat, catch a movie and then be home in time for our dates," the eldest Hardy directed his brother.

"Great! I would really like that," Joe replied. It was like Frank was reading his mind. Frank got up and started to walk back to his own room, but Joe stopped him. "Uh, Frank, could we add someone else to that list?"

"Who?"

"Amelia. You know, that lady I met at the nursing home. She does not seem to have any family and I would just like to pick something small up for her," Joe asked.

"That sounds fine to me," Frank replied as he turned to go to his room again.

"Um, Frank?"

"What Joe?"

"Do you think you can come with me to the nursing home’s Christmas party? Amelia just wanted to meet you?"

Frank was startled by Joe’s request. He knew that Amelia was having a good influence on his younger brother. "Sure. Count me in." Frank turned off the bathroom light.

"Um, Frank?’

"Now what?" Frank said with an aggravated tone.

"Thanks."

"No problem brother," Frank answered softly and went on into his bedroom.

Joe felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Amelia was right. He did need to discuss his feelings with his brother, but this was just as good. From his bed, Joe looked out the window. The street light shone brightly like it always had all his life. But this time the night sky sparkled with diamonds that floated down slowly in front of his window.

"This is definitely going to be one of the best Christmas’ ever!" he thought as he pulled his quilts up over his head and fell into a peaceful slumber.