Winter Season

Ornaments

Oscar looked out his window. There was a light snow falling. But he knew that it wouldn’t amount to anything. He smiled anyway.

Esther walked outside to her mail box. She was really receiving mail. His smile got wider. Getting mail was a good sign. Maybe that meant that she might stay. Wait a minute you fool, he scolded himself. She told you she was starting her life over. Of course she’s stayin’. He looked back in the direction of her mailbox. The moving van was gone. He hadn’t noticed that before. It was really gone.

He put on his coat and strolled over to her house. He paused before knocking on the door. Music filled his ears; Christmas music. On the inside of the door facing outside was a plaque with the three wise men on it. As he stood there looking at the little plaque it dawned on him that the song was Carol of the Bells. His nervousness went away when he first walked onto the porch, replaced by curiosity. But now it was back. As he raised his hand to knock; she belted out in song over top of Carol of the bells,🎶 “all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth. My two front teeth. My two front teeth. All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth.”

He took a deep breath singing 🎶 “then I’ll have a merry Christmas.”

She opened the door wide, starting the verse over, 🎶All I want..”

He couldn’t stop smiling as they sang together, 🎶 “for Christmas is my two front teeth. Then I’ll have a merry Christmas.”

“Hello stranger.”

“Hi.”

“Come in.” She took his coat and hung it on a coat rack. “How’s tricks?”

“Good.” He hugged her up before spinning her. She giggled. He paused for a moment as he released her, “I’ve been meaning to ask you, how did you get that couch in here by yourself?”

She winked, “I’m talented.”

“I would have helped you.”

“I know. And I appreciate that.”

“You put up a Christmas tree.” It was a little thing sitting on a table; maybe three feet high.

“At first I thought about not, I just,” she blushed, “we just got the house finished. But it is the Christmas season after all.”

“I haven’t put up a tree in years.” He just stared at the little tree like a child looks at a cookie he can’t have.

“Would you like to help me?” He didn’t answer her for a long time. She just watched him as the wheels turned in his mind.

He rubbed his fingers through his hair, “how about I observe?”

“Okay.” She went into the kitchen and came out with two glasses of eggnog as The Russian Dance from The Nutcracker filled the room. She bobbed her head and danced at the music. He smiled despite himself. She was something else. He wanted to get lost in her joy. “I used to hate Christmas.” She smiled. “I can’t remember Christmas before I went to live with my grandparents. They tried to make Christmas special. Mostly I remember Christmas with them being warm but not the joy I saw in other people. When I met my best friend, she had a joy for Christmas that I had never been close too. And I was able to share that joy. And I understand more about the whole Christmas thing.”

He leaned up against the wall watching her.  She was putting random ornaments on the tree. “Explain it to me.”

She stopped, just watching him. He was sad. Which wasn’t unusual, but it was a different kind of sadness.

“I can try but I don’t know if I can do it justice. My friend was the one that got me started going to church. She guided me along my path back to Christ. She once told me, as I was ranting about Christmas, that Christians should love Christmas. This is the season to rejoice in the birth of our savior and all that he did for us. Even if you can’t get into the commercialization of the season, we should have an overabundance of joy at Christmas.”

Her words made since to him. He continued watching her for a while. The ornaments she was putting on her tree were a hodge podge mess. “Do they mean things to you?”

She smiled handing him the tin she had them in, “make yourself useful as well as handsome.” He blushed but held the tin.  One at a time, he began taking the ornaments out and handing them to her. There was an ornament shaped like a globe.

“I bought this at a thrift store. One of my majors is in Geography.”

“So that acid rain question was a trick?” He raised an eyebrow. A ping of pain raced through him at the thought of her tricking him.

Winter Season