{"id":10387,"date":"2024-12-14T12:17:39","date_gmt":"2024-12-14T18:17:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/?p=10387"},"modified":"2025-11-29T12:19:56","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T18:19:56","slug":"christmas-pizza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/christmas-pizza\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Pizza"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

By D. L. Gollnitz<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

            A knock hit the front door of the small house. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Maria hurried to answer, calling out to Avaria, her little granddaughter, nicknamed Ava. \u201cHush, child. This might be your Tio Jes\u00fas!\u201d she said to the child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Yanking the door open, Maria hoped to see her son. The young man waiting on the uneven porch was tall, huddled into his shoulders. Snowflakes dotted his thick eyelashes and long dark hair extended below the red cap on his head. His breath formed a mist of condensation in front of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Maria shrunk away from the wind that blew a flurry into her face. \u201cOh Jes\u00fas, what are you doing standing there? Come \u2013”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cMa\u2019am? One cheese, two cokes?\u201d the young man asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Maria looked into his face. \u201cYou\u2019re not my son.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cNo, ma\u2019am. Nick\u2019s Pizza delivery. I have your order.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cYou have the wrong house,\u201d Maria said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Ava came to her grandmother\u2019s side, clinging to Maria\u2019s tattered apron, the one that meant she was busy in the kitchen. \u201cAbuela<\/em>, you promised pizza,\u201d she pleaded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cHush, get out of the cold, child.\u201d Maria dipped her chin in embarrassment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Ava sidled back into the living room and stood in front of the small Christmas tree, smiling at the only decorations, twelve glittery paper triangles that fluttered on their pipe cleaners in the draft from the open door. The tree smelled like Christmas, and she was proud of her artwork she\u2019d made herself in Sunday School. They made her abuela happy, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Through the short hallway, Ava could overhear the conversation at the door. The delivery man asked about the address, and her abuela told him it was correct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cBut I didn\u2019t call for pizza.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Stepping closer, Ava could see the man squinting at a piece of paper taped to the pizza box and heard him say, \u201cSays here the order came in thirty minutes ago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Maria closed the door without replying, tears welling in her dark eyes. Ava came nearer and hugged her grandmother. \u201cIt\u2019s okay, Abuela. I forget things, too. Does Uncle Jes\u00fas make pizza?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            In the living room, Ava and Maria sat together on the worn couch. Wind rattled the windows and fat snowflakes splattered against the glass. Ava pulled a quilt from the arm of the couch and draped it over her grandmother\u2019s lap. She snuggled closer and closed her eyes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Ava could feel her grandmother\u2019s heavy breathing as Maria drifted into sleep. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            A pounding on the door startled Ava, but Maria was undisturbed. Ava walked quietly to the door, curious but a little afraid of who might be waiting outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            A pizza box and two cokes sat on the mat by the door almost out of reach of the snow. A bag of breadsticks perched on top of the box. Nick\u2019s Pizza was spelled out in red on the bag along with \u201cMerry Christmas\u201d that someone had printed in big letters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cAre you my Tio Jes\u00fas?\u201d Ava called to the man\u2019s back as he hurried away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            He turned toward her and waved. \u201cHave a blessed night!\u201d he shouted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D. L. Gollnitz<\/em><\/strong> is a former educator, author of two published novels, and quilter. She was born in New England and now lives in the Midwest with her husband.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Christmas<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By D. L. Gollnitz<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2212,2],"tags":[6,38],"class_list":["post-10387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-holiday-fiction","category-original-online-fiction","tag-christmas","tag-holidays"],"yoast_head":"\nChristmas Pizza | Faith Hope & Fiction<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/christmas-pizza\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Christmas Pizza | Faith Hope & Fiction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By D. L. Gollnitz\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/christmas-pizza\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Faith Hope & Fiction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FaithHopeAndFiction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-14T18:17:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-29T18:19:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/Christmas-Pizza-Pix.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@TrishCrisafulli\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@TrishCrisafulli\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Faith Hope & Fiction\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FaithHopeAndFiction\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TrishCrisafulli\"],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/faith-hope-fiction_logo.png\",\"width\":350,\"height\":350,\"caption\":\"Faith Hope & Fiction\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/\",\"name\":\"Faith Hope & Fiction\",\"description\":\"Quality Online Fiction, Poetry, and Essays\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/christmas-pizza\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/Christmas-Pizza-Pix.jpg\",\"width\":548,\"height\":399,\"caption\":\"Christmas Pizza Pix\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/christmas-pizza\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/christmas-pizza\/\",\"name\":\"Christmas Pizza | Faith Hope & Fiction\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/christmas-pizza\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-14T18:17:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-29T18:19:56+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/christmas-pizza\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/christmas-pizza\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/christmas-pizza\/#webpage\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/#\/schema\/person\/a28900e37a2e4337aea039daa94ac8c4\"},\"headline\":\"Christmas Pizza\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-14T18:17:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-29T18:19:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/christmas-pizza\/#webpage\"},\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/christmas-pizza\/#primaryimage\"},\"keywords\":\"Christmas,Holidays\",\"articleSection\":\"Holiday Fiction,Original Online Fiction\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/#\/schema\/person\/a28900e37a2e4337aea039daa94ac8c4\",\"name\":\"Editor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d985ff28de14b81d66b57434d9cdd54aeb6d753f9c7d8c8dfac6c91165988dab?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Editor\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10387"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10392,"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10387\/revisions\/10392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}