The Christmas List: A Novel

Sara Ellen Kier, wife, mother and friend, passed away early on Christmas Day, surrounded by those she loved most. Sara was a woman of grace, love, and forgiveness. She will be dearly missed by all who knew her. She is survived by her loving husband, James, and her son, James Kier II.

Sara was buried at the Salt Lake cemetery three days after Christmas. True to their promise, four days later Jimmy and Juliet were married. Kier was part of the wedding party. At the rehearsal dinner the night before, Jimmy gave an emotional tribute to his mother, then raised a glass for a toast. “My mother was my past, for which I will always be grateful. My father is my future. To the future.” Kier raised his glass, his eyes filled with tears. “To the future,” he said.

Kier moved back into the home he and Sara had built. He went back to his condo only once, to get his things, then sold it, with its furnishings, that February.

Kier found Jimmy and Juliet’s first home for them—a beautiful, newly remodeled basement apartment in the home of young single mother—Celeste Hatt.

The following summer, as a birthday present, Kier took Jimmy on a long overdue father-and-son excursion—a fishing trip to Alaska. They filled their freezer with enough salmon and halibut to last several years and created memories that would last a lifetime. The day after they returned home, Kier asked Jimmy and Juliet to come by the house where Kier surprised his son with his real birthday present—a one-thousand-square-foot art studio, stocked with the best art supplies money could buy, built in the basement of Kier’s home.

“I’ve heard that great artists need to suffer,” Kier told Jimmy at the studio’s unveiling, “and I can’t think of any better way to accomplish that than for you to move in with me.”

Jimmy laughed, then embraced his father. The truth was, the studio was Kier’s way to keep his family close. When Jimmy spent time at the studio he and Juliet would often stay the evening with Kier, eating dinner and visiting. Kier and Juliet became close friends and two years later, when Juliet gave birth to a daughter, Kier became a devoted grandfather, reserving most of his Friday nights to watch his granddaughter, Sara Grace.

Linda took Kier up on his offer and for the next year worked half days at home. It proved to be a greater blessing than either of them anticipated, as her husband, Max, passed away just fourteen months later. She was forever grateful for the time they were able to spend together in those final months. Today, Linda is James Kier’s greatest advocate and fan.

Kier decided he was not satisfied with the results of his initial contacts to the list, so a few weeks after getting back to business, he set out to finish what he’d begun. He started again with Grimes, though prudently this time, by phone. His first and second attempts weren’t much more productive than his initial visit to Grimes’s house (Grimes screamed obscenities, then hung up), though less painful. Finally Kier had Lincoln send Grimes a certified letter threatening to file assault charges if he didn’t appear at a meeting at Kier’s office and, as an added measure, had it delivered by an off-duty police officer in uniform. Grimes arrived at the appointed time and location—angry, anxious, and outnumbered by Kier’s staff, which included two burly project foremen who were there to ensure the peace.

In front of everyone, Kier formally apologized to Grimes, then made him an offer he would have been a fool to refuse. Grimes didn’t. Today, Eddie Grimes manages all commercial projects for the Kier Company. On the one-year anniversary of his employment, Kier took Grimes out to lunch at his table at Rossi’s. The men shared a fine meal, drinks, and laughs. Then Kier gave Grimes an unexpected gift: stock equaling 3 percent of the Kier Company. Grimes, physical by nature, hugged him. The two men have become the best of friends.

With Linda’s assistance, Kier tracked down Gary Rossi’s wife, Melissa. She was more forgiving than Rossi’s sister. Kier returned to her half ownership of the restaurant, a check for the profits due her, and created scholarship funds for each of her three children. Now, as one of Kier’s business partners, Melissa and her three children attend the Kier Christmas party every year.

Kier never went back to see Estelle Wyss, though he did make a donation to a charity in her name, a scholarship endowment through the University of Utah that funds an Italian study abroad program for one young woman each year.

Kier never visited Carnes again. Carnes’s book, Predator or Prey, was released nationally the following May. To Kier’s dismay the book was dedicated to him; Carnes was true to his word and sent him a signed first edition copy. There was never a second edition. The next December, Kier found a signed copy of the book on sale for three dollars on the entryway bargain table of a Barnes & Noble.

Two years after Sara’s death, Kier turned the operation of Kier Company over to Tim Brey and left to create the Sara E. Kier Foundation, a nonprofit organization that builds shelters for runaway youth. In so doing he finally fulfilled his dream of helping troubled youth. There are seven facilities in operation today.

In one of the Thanksgiving editions of the Salt Lake Tribune there was an article quoting several prominent Utahns on the “true meaning of Christmas.” Kier was one of those interviewed. This was Kier’s response:

The true meaning of Christmas? God’s grace. And the understanding that we cannot earn grace any more than we can bargain for love. By its very nature, grace must be unearned and freely given, without cost, constraint, or commandment. The best we can do is to open our hearts to receive it wholly, with all our strength, desire, and intent, that we might become children of the Gift. Anyway, that’s what I think Christmas is about. But what do I know, I’m just a carpenter.