"A Child's Christmas" by Mat Twassel (Mmtwassel@aol.com). The author says he hadn't originally intended to write a Christmas story, but he was disappointed that Mark Aster didn't give us Pat and Julie and Keda and Tommy enjoying Christmas and felt compelled to do it on his own. So he borrowed the gang from the Allen sisters, and the result is a delightful story that reads almost like one Mark would have written himself. The author points out that if Mark wants to sue him, he hopes that maybe Julie Allen will consent to be his lawyer.

The story begins with Our Hero (to whom the author gives the cryptic, almost laconic name "Al") returning from his day's work as a department-store Santa Claus, accompanied by a delightfully bratty child named Malcomb. The adults do Christmassy things with the kids and sexy things with each other. The NBC Today Show is currently running a series about turning 40; and from what they say and from what happens in this story, we can safely conclude that Al has not yet reached that age. The author does an excellent job of imitating Mark Aster, with perhaps a touch of John Steinbeck at the very end.