“Don’t talk with your mouth full, Amy,” Tillie said in a motherly tone.
Amy looked up at her mother. No one had ever said that to her before. Then again, maybe she never talked to anyone with her mouth full. “Let’s go. Time is money, Mom. Pastor Mulvaney is sending out three college kids from his choir to help me this morning. I’ve got kids coming this afternoon too. We have a great inventory now for all the people who stop by at the last minute.”
They quickly walked to the car and climbed in. Tillie settled herself behind the wheel and backed out of the driveway. “I’m going to miss you when you leave, Amy.”
“I’ll come home more often, Mom. You know what, I think Sam is going to be taking up a lot of your time once Christmas is over.”
“I hope so. I really like him. We’re comfortable together. You know, that old sock-and-shoe routine. He told me yesterday that he’s making plans to take every single person who worked at the farm, their families, and even the schoolkids who volunteered on a cruise at the end of January. Just four days. He said the cruise line gave him a great deal. You and Gus are invited, of course.”
“Hmm,” was all Amy could think to say.
“I know this is none of my business, Amy, but I’m going to ask you anyway. Are you and Gus…are you going to stay in touch?”
That was the question Amy had been asking herself for days. She tried for a blasé attitude. “Don’t know, Mom. California is across the country. I’m thinking, ‘out of sight, out of mind.’”
“Does that bother you?”
Amy was tempted to fib to her mother but couldn’t. “Yes,” she mumbled over the rim of her coffee cup. “Oh, look, it’s starting to snow.”
“Then do something about it,” her mother snapped. Amy looked over at her mother, who looked grim and determined.
“Just like that! Do something! Takes two to tango, Mom.”
Tillie took her eyes off the road for a moment. “Yes, just like that. Haven’t you learned anything in the last two months? It’s all about communication, giving off mixed signals, ignoring the obvious, being afraid to say what’s on your mind and in your heart. Like Sam says, you snooze, you lose. I say, go for the gusto!”
“Is that what Sam says?” Amy drawled. “Gusto, eh?”
“Yes, that’s what Sam says, and that’s what I say. I can’t believe I’m giving you relationship advice.”
“Yeah, me too. You’re pretty hip these days, Mom.”
“I know. I want my cell phone back. I think I earned it.”
“I got you one for Christmas. It’s purple. It takes pictures and everything. You can even text message. Play your cards right and I might throw in an iPod.”
Tillie turned on the right-turn signal and swerved into Moss Farms. She drove slowly over the old road and came to a stop at the top of the rise. “That’s one kick-ass Christmas stocking, daughter! I like sitting here looking at it every morning. Did you ever call those people from Money magazine who called you?”
“Nope. I’m playing hard to get. C’mon, Mom, time to get to work. What’s on the menu today?”
“Addy said she was making waffles for breakfast, corn chowder for lunch, and pepper steak for dinner. With buttered noodles. Does that work for you?”
“It does,” Amy said, hopping out of the car. She loved this time of the day, when she could sit next to Gus eating breakfast. They weren’t too tired to talk about anything and everything, unlike at the close of the workday, when they were red-eye tired with only one thought—sleep.
“Morning, everyone,” Amy said cheerfully.
Gus looked around to see who “everyone” was. She must be referring to Cyrus and him. “Good morning to you, too, Miss Baran.”
“Three more days!” Amy said as she filled her plate with waffles from the warming oven. Gus poured coffee for her, and Cyrus dogged her steps, no doubt hoping for a sliver of bacon. She obliged.
“It will be over before you know it,” Gus said, trying to be as cheerful as Amy sounded. He knew he wasn’t pulling it off. He was simply too damn tired to be cheerful at this hour of the morning.
“Are you and your dad going to put up a Christmas tree here in the house?”
“I don’t think so. He didn’t say anything about it. Are you and your mom putting up a tree?”
Amy eyed the man she secretly thought of as her destiny and laughed, a forced sound. “Not if I can help it. I don’t want to see a pine tree of any kind until next year and maybe not even then. I think I turned into a grinch. It’s snowing out. Looks like it might lead to some of the serious white stuff. You know, an accumulation.” Such a scintillating conversation.
Gus groaned. “Do you know what snow means, Amy?”
“Yeah, I have to shovel Mom’s driveway.”
“No, it means all the procrastinators will be trooping out here to buy a tree in the snow. Snow means Christmas. People get the spirit the minute the snow starts to fall.”
“I can help with that, Gus. We have a good amount of inventory in the barn. For the most part, I think my end is done. I can’t imagine selling 200-some wreaths and 125 grave blankets over the next few days. Tell me what you want me to do and I’m all yours.”
Gus jerked to attention. “Do you mean that?”
“Uh…well, yes. Just tell me what you want me to do. I can bale the trees. I can saw off the bottom branches and I can drill the holes. I don’t have the upper-body strength to lift the trees.”
“Oh, I thought…what I mean is…”
Tillie’s words rang in Amy’s ears. Then do something about it. Go for the gusto! “You thought I meant I was all yours as in us, as in a team, as in a couple…. I did mean that. I meant the other part too. What are you going to do about it, Gus Moss?” she asked boldly. Surely that counted as going for the gusto.
Gus decided to take the high road. “What do you want me to do about it?”
Amy stood up and stomped her foot. “I want you to tell me whatever the hell you want to tell me. I’m too tired to play games. I like you. I am very attracted to you. You’re a great kisser, and you said yourself you were a stand-up kind of guy. I see us as a couple. I can see myself married to you with a bunch of kids. Well?”
Cyrus barked so loud Amy thought her eardrums had ruptured.
Amy felt her eyes start to burn. So much for saying what was on her mind. She was going to strangle her mother as soon as she found her. She shrugged into her jacket. “Your silence tells me all I need to know. You can just kiss my…my…”
“Mouth? I’d be happy to oblige, but do you see that SUV out there with all those squealing kids? Jeez, they even brought the dog with them. I told you, it’s a family thing the minute it starts to snow. I will kiss you later, and you said it all better than I ever could. Start thinking about moving out to the Golden State. Five kids, two dogs, a cat, a bird, and some hamsters. You okay with that?” Gus called over his shoulder as he rushed out the door. “I’ll design us a house around you, Amy Baran.”
Amy stood rooted to the floor. “I think that was a proposal of sorts. Don’t you, Cyrus? If so, I’ll take it.” She wrapped her muffler around her neck and marched outside to greet the family with the squealing kids and barking dog.
“We want four trees,” Amy heard the father say. She watched as the mother rolled her eyes as she did her best to herd the six kids to the gift shop. “Don’t forget the four wreaths and the four grave blankets.” Amy laughed. She knew immediately who was the boss of this rambunctious family. She continued to laugh as the dog chased Cyrus, trying to get his reindeer ears.
The rest of the day was no better. By four o’clock three inches of snow covered the ground. The trees were coated with it, which only made them heavier. At five o’clock, when Gus closed the gate at the entrance, Amy thought she would collapse. She knew if she closed her eyes even for a second she’d be out for the rest of the night.
While she waited for the Seniors to come in for supper, Amy drank three cups of black cof
fee, one after the other. She was so wired from all the caffeine she’d consumed that she thought she was going to explode. The minute Gus walked in the door, she eyeballed him and said, “So when are we getting married?”
“How about tomorrow?”
“I’m too tired.”
Gus laughed. “Did you just propose to me? I thought I was supposed to do the asking.”
“You did. This morning. I’m just…I’m just confirming it. I’m a detail kind of gal. You should know that about me.” Suddenly, Amy looked around and was stunned to see the room was full of Seniors, her mother, and Gus’s father.
“We’re getting married,” Gus said.
Everyone clapped. Even Amy.
“When?” the Seniors asked.
“New Year’s Day,” Gus said.
Amy yawned. “Works for me,” she said before she slid to the floor and was out like a light.
“Looks like your daughter might be spending the night, Tillie. Guess I’ll be driving you home after supper.”
Tillie smiled. What was the point in telling Sam she’d driven to the farm this morning? There were all kinds of being tired. She smiled up at Sam. “I’d really appreciate that, Sam. I was going to put my tree up tonight as a surprise for Amy. Maybe if you aren’t too tired, you could help me.”
Gus sidled up to his father. “Go for it, Dad; that’s the best offer you’re ever going to get.” He bent over to pick up Amy. Cyrus barked as he slung the sleeping girl over his shoulder. She felt like a rag doll. The Seniors clapped again. Gus felt like a caveman as he made his way through the gauntlet of helpers to the living room.
Gus covered the sleeping girl and built up the fire. He was staring into the flames, his thoughts a million miles away, when one of the Seniors brought two plates of food, one for him and one for Cyrus.
Harvey Jenkins poked his head into the living room. “We’re going to put a tree up for Sam if you don’t mind, Gus. Is there anything special you want in the way of ornaments, or should we use some from the gift shop?”
“I have no idea where Mom kept the ornaments, Harvey. Just put some lights on the tree and use the ornaments from the shop. I appreciate it. You’ve all done so much already. This is above and beyond what any of us expected.”
“Can’t have Christmas without a tree in your living room. We want to do it. We’ll have it up in no time and be out of your way. You can sit here and enjoy it. It’s snowing pretty heavy out there right now. Most of us are staying the night, because if it snows all night we won’t be able to get back here. Sam said it was okay. We’ll be upstairs if you need us. Later on, that is,” the old man said gruffly.
“Okay,” Gus said as he leaned back in his father’s favorite chair. He was asleep the moment his eyes closed. He didn’t open his eyes again until six o’clock the next morning. He could smell bacon and coffee, but it was the sight of the beautiful tree in the corner of the living room that made him suck in his breath. This was the tree he’d never had as a kid. All lit up with shiny ornaments and a ton of gaily wrapped packages nestled under it. He had to blink his eyes several times to ward off the tears. How beautiful, how awesome, how generous of the Seniors. He knew he would remember this moment for the rest of his life.
He turned around to see the Seniors watching him like a cluster of precocious squirrels, big smiles on their faces. “Does it look like the kind your Momma used to put up?” Addy asked.
Gus had no trouble with the lie he was about to tell. “Exactly,” he said, going over to hug each one of them. He loved how they fussed over him, patting him on the arm, on the back, then hugging him.
“Wake up Amy. I hope she likes it,” Harvey said.
“Hey, sleepy head, wake up,” Gus said, poking Amy on the arm.
Amy bolted upright. She looked around in a daze. “Did I sleep for three whole days? Is it Christmas? It’s gorgeous. It takes my breath away. Oh, Gus, it’s just beautiful.”
“The Seniors did it while we both slept. Thank them, not me. I couldn’t have done that even on my best day. But to answer your question, you did not sleep for three days, and it is not Christmas.”
“Oh, well, we’ll manage somehow,” Amy said as she ran over to the Seniors, who hugged and kissed her. “It’s like having a bunch of mothers, fathers, and grandparents all rolled into one.” She winked at Gus. “I don’t think it gets any better than this.”
Time lost all meaning as Gus, his crew, Amy and the Seniors got their second wind as the countdown to the noon hour on Christmas Eve began. Sam’s Victrola continued to play Christmas carols over the jury-rigged sound system as all the Christmas tree procrastinators showed up to buy their trees at the last minute while the kids romped in the snow and chased Cyrus all over the compound.
Christmas Eve morning, Sam and Tillie arrived with what Gus called sappy expressions on their faces. All Amy could do was giggle. She’d never seen her mother so happy. Gus said the same thing about his father. All morning, as they worked side by side, they kept poking each other and pointing to their parents.
“I don’t know why I say this, but I think the two of them are up to something,” Gus said as he picked up a twelve-foot tree to shove into the barrel. Amy pulled it out from the other side and tied the bailing plastic in a knot. Two of Gus’s crew plopped it on top of an SUV, its engine still running. They both waved as the car drove out of the compound, the kids inside bellowing “Jingle Bells” at the top of their lungs.
“One more hour and it’s all over. Then all we have to do is deal with the media and the drawing, and the rest of the day is ours. Did I mention lunch? Addy said Dad’s freezers are about empty, so lunch and dinner will be a surprise.”
“I wonder who’s going to win the contents of the stocking,” Amy said. “I hope it’s someone who can use a face-lift.”
“The snowblower is what everyone is talking about. Whoever wins is going to need an eighteen-wheeler to cart it all away.” He grew serious when he turned to Amy. “This was…an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. If you hadn’t showed up that night in your purple hat and scarf, I don’t know which direction I would have gone in. I feel so damn good right now. All thanks to you, Amy Baran.” Amy blushed as she squeezed Gus’s arm.
“I wouldn’t trade it either, but you did all the hard work. All my wreaths and blankets sold. We have two trees left. I think that says it all. Look, here comes the media, and it’s starting to snow again. I guess we better get ready.”
“What does that mean, get ready?”
“That means we comb our hair and get ready to smile. I’ll do that while you close the gates. Business is officially over.”
Gus loped off. As he struggled through the snow with the huge, slatted, iron gate, he looked up at the sign he’d repainted when he first arrived. He blinked, then rubbed the snow from his eyelashes. It was a different sign. This one said, MOSS & SON CHRISTMAS TREE FARM. A lump the size of a lemon settled in his throat.
The snow was too deep; the damn gate wasn’t going to close. Suddenly, it started to move. “Need some help, son?”
Maybe he should have answered, but he couldn’t get his tongue to work. Suddenly, he was eight years old, running to his dad because he couldn’t close the gate by himself. His father’s words were crystal clear in his memory. “You need some help, son?”
Gus threw himself at his father, and together they toppled into a snowdrift. “Yeah, Dad, I need some help.”
“Then let’s put our shoulders to the wheel and close this gate. The media people will have to open and close it on the way out. We’re done here.”
How easy it all was when you worked together. Gus wished he could think of something profound to say but he couldn’t come up with the words. Then again, maybe actions and not words were all that was necessary.
His father’s arm around his shoulder, Gus walked with his father back to the compound.
The Victrola was still playing, the Seniors were bundled up in their winter gear, and
Amy and her mother were standing between the giant Christmas Stocking and the mile-long scroll that Amy was starting to unroll. Cameramen snapped and snapped their pictures, close-ups of the awesome scroll and the giant stocking. Amy pointed to the glittering letter on the stocking. An obliging cameraman focused his camera and took his shot.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL!
In smaller letters, each Senior’s, each worker’s, each volunteer’s name was listed. At the bottom, it said, THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT. The names Sam, Tillie, Amy, and Gus ran across the toe of the stocking.
“I think this is the most exciting moment of my life,” Tillie whispered to Sam.
“I know it’s the second most exciting moment of my life,” Sam whispered back. “The first was the day Gus was born.”
Gus smiled. If he had been a bird, he would have ruffled his feathers and taken wing. Since he was a mere mortal, he punched his father lightly on the arm as he moved forward to stand by Amy, who was getting ready to pick the winner from the bulging stocking.
A microphone was shoved in Amy’s face as she stood on top of a ladder and dug deep into the stocking for one of the entries. “And the winners are…Janet and Ed Olivetti!”
The Seniors buzzed. Gus caught phrases as they chirped and chittered among themselves. They sure can use it…Ed was laid off the whole summer…Two kids in college…two more getting ready to go…and the littlest one with major health problems…
After the media pack up and left, Gus turned to Amy and said, “Now.”
“Okay.” Amy turned to the assembled Seniors and proclaimed, “Listen up, people. There was an unannounced gift not listed on the Christmas Stocking scroll. Let me tell you about it.”
The Christmas Stocking Page 10
