"Jesus wasn't born in a barn..." 

"You're a damn liar Marvin. They had him in a manger, I remember learning that in Sunday School." 

Claire blanched as she strung popcorn onto worn out fishing line, laboring to not break the popped kernels in her rough fingers. Marvin was irritating her as he usually did. He was a nice enough manager but he talked about God and aliens and conspiracy things far too much. The job didn't pay enough for her to listen to his crap as much as she did. It especially didn't pay enough to be decorating with these tired out Christmas wares. 

Marvin took out his dog-eared pocket New Testament. 

"True, but when they fled to Bethlehem, the old Sunday School version was pure bullshit." He said excitedly. "The term 'inn' didn't mean a motel like you'd think. Kataluma or 'inn' in Greek, meant more of a large room within a house. And mangers were often indoors. They kept some animals inside at night. I'd bet on my life that Jesus was born in a room in the kataluma. No dang barn." 

"Ok. If you say so.." Claire replied. 

She held out the sad strand of popcorn and shook her head. Placing it on top of the faux branches, she exhaled silently. This made the saggy tree look worse. 

"What's your reluctance Claire, to believe?" 

This took her by surprise. Marvin usually rambled but never asked why she didn't, on any topic. He was too much of an eccentric. She finished draping the sad popcorn string and turned to face the older man. 

"Who says I don't believe?" She asked. 

"You change the subject or get 'busy' whenever I bring up the Lord." He said, matter of fact like. 

She snorted. 

"Hell Marvin. You'd think I'd hurt your feelings or something..." 

The front door clinked open, the uneven glass catching on the opposite pane as a potential guest entered. They both shifted their attention to a man who appeared to be drunk. 

"Say, do you's guys have a half hour rate? I don't need it for a full hour. Got a girl outside..." 

The man stumbled slightly, then steadied himself on the counter. He looked on the verge of homelessness but he had a rickety car running out front. Marvin frowned, he didn't like prostitution and would turn obvious johns away. His jaw flexed. Wanting to give the guy the boot, he paused to calm himself down.

"We don't rent rooms for activities that you're looking to do sir." Claire finally said. 

She was the front desk clerk and it was her job to interact with the prospective guests.

"Oh really...Miss judgment...I have something to tell you..." 

The man pointed at her but didn't get another word out as Marvin was on top of him, gripping him hard by the front of his jacket. The glass shook on the doors as they were flung open, the threadbare rug underneath sliding sideways. 

"You ever come back here and talk to my staff that-aways I'll shoot you so fast you'll never be able to get it up again!" Marvin said, his voice loud but controlled. 

The man and an equally drunk woman sped off, spitting up loose rocks as they did. 

"Fucking tweakers.." He muttered. 

Marvin was the night manager, and sometimes the day one too. He took no crap from anyone. He'd done his time and had been around every type of criminal you could imagine. The inebriated man wouldn't be back. 

"Thanks." Claire said, watching him fix the rug and doors. "I think I'll go do my walk through now." 

Marvin replaced her behind the counter and handed her a small canister of mace. 

"You need me, just holler." 

🎄🎄

The motel had an odor to it. 

Claire crinkled up her nose as she walked the outdoor 'hallways' that connected rooms. It wasn't any one thing that made it stink. Cigarettes, booze, stale fast food and long forgotten garbage all commingled, creating a unique aroma. It was poverty and it was middle of nowhere. You couldn't eliminate the effects of either. 

The desert at night was freezing. 

"For crissakes...it might snow." She muttered. 

Tugging her worn out cardigan tighter around her body, Claire swung quickly around the back of the building. She squinted as the back street light was blinking rapidly. It was eerie. Seeing nothing of consequence, she turned back towards the office. Maybe she could convince Marvin to let her brew a fresh pot of cheap coffee instead of warming cups up in the microwave. 

The tiny bell over the door jingled roughly as she entered back into the warmth inside. Marvin was thumbing through the pocket Bible again. He really wanted to go all faith tonight, Claire mused. Yesterday had been politics and conspiracy theories. 

"Anything out of place?" He asked her. 

"Nope. Everything is still dingy." She retorted, her sad attempt at humor. 

There's wasn't much laughter in her life. She worked 8-10 hour shifts, then went home in the morning and slept in her rented room. It was a separate space in her landlords modest 2 bedroom rambler. Built in the 50s, it hadn't been renovated except to add a separate door leading to where she lived. She had a small en-suite that she could scarcely stand in without bumping into the shower and wall, and it was Pepto bismol pink. 

The town, if you could call it that, had about 30 residents. A long forgotten stop that mostly died out on as time marched on. Claire and Marvin hadn't been born there but rather found themselves one of the 30. Sometimes life is funny like that. 

"It's almost Christmas....are we going to get a bonus this year?" She asked carefully. 

Last year the owner, an old local that was probably going to kick the bucket any day, had given all 5 employees a 100$ bonus in cash. Claire used it to buy a bus ticket to the big city over 40 miles away and then splurged at Walmart. 

"Dunno. Tried calling him yesterday and got his voicemail, might need to go by his house after work. Make sure he's alive." Marvin answered. 

"Don't say that Marvin! Thoughts can become reality. I saw that on Oprah the other day." 

Marvin closed the Bible and handed her a stack of paper towel napkins and an off brand bottle of window cleaner. 

"The whole 'universe can be altered by our minds' thing ain't true Claire. Sometimes bad shit happens and no amount of 'positive vibes' as some say will change it." 

Claire took the window cleaning supplies and got to work on the front doors. 

"You know I understand that." She muttered, suddenly swallowing a lump in her throat. 

She wiped vigorously, trying to quiet her mind. Marvin was making this shift difficult. Which she didn't appreciate. But she felt something was going to happen, beyond the things he was saying. She just couldn't pinpoint what. 

🎄🎄

Cold air seeped in as she worked. Her cardigan was doing a terrible job keeping her warm. Maybe she'd buy a thicker one if she got her bonus money...the thought made her feel a tad better. 

"Looks like we got a guest. Pretty nice car too." Marvin said, breaking Claire's laboring trance. 

She straightened up and looked at the sedan idling mere feet away. It was sleek and black. She'd never seen such a car up close, not in all her 19 short years. Trying not to gape, she returned to her post behind the counter. A tall handsome man exited from the drivers side. He quickly walked inside, the glass doors rattling as he entered.

"Evening. Please tell me you have vacancy....we've been trying to find a room for hours. Everything and I mean everything has had no vacancy!" The man said.

"We do have rooms. Can give you your pick actually." Claire stammered, thrown off by the unexpected guest.

The man waved towards the sedan.

"You coming from the city?" Marvin asked.

Suddenly the passenger door opened and out stepped a beautiful young woman. She smiled in Claire's direction and opened the back door, only to take out a young girl. Cinnamon red brown hair and big blue eyes greeted them as the child smiled. 

"Oh my Lord." Claire softly said, almost inaudibly, as she gripped the counter.

She didn't know what to think. Nor what to do. She could only flash to a long buried memory.

Oh help me.

**If you are reading this on any site other than Wattpad, this story was stolen without the authors permission or compensation. Regardless, I wish everyone a merry Christmas and holiday season. Even if you pirated my story! 😂🎄