“Stop arguing, boys. You sound like hungry wolves dying for a meal. I’ll give you each a half a piece. I don’t want you groaning about stomachaches later on.” She got out three more plates. “Do you have time for me to make coffee, Oscar?”
“No coffee for me. I’ve cut way back. I’m trying to watch my diet too, or at least I’m supposed to.”
“How about milk, then?”
“That sounds good.”
“Why do you have to watch your diet?” Zac blurted. “To keep from getting fat?”
Oscar laughed. “That too, but I have a little heart problem that the doctors fuss at me about.”
“What’s wrong with it?” Carl asked curiously. “Doesn’t it work right?”
“I had a spell with it about a year ago, but you know doctors. They get all upset. I’m fine really.”
Alona put a piece of cake in front of everybody and poured milk for the boys and for Oscar. Finally she sat down herself.
“What was it like when you were a boy, Mr. Moran?” Zac wanted to know.
“Well, these are hard times we live in, Zac, but I think it was even harder back then. My family was happy when I was a boy, but we had to work hard to make ends meet. Things got even harder for me when I got older, though. My mother died when I was twenty, and my father remarried a younger woman two years later. They had a son—my half brother Jason, but Jason’s mother died in childbirth. Then our father died when Jason was only ten, and I wound up raising him myself.”
“Do you have any other brothers or sisters?” Alona asked.
“I have one sister. She’s married to a colonel in the army. They move around constantly. He’s about ready to retire.”
“What about your half brother? Where is he now?”
Oscar seemed somewhat at a loss at the question. He took a bite of cake before he answered. “Actually, he lives with me right here in Jonesboro. He works for me too.”
“I don’t believe I’ve met him. Doesn’t he ever come to church?”
“No. Jason’s not much of a churchgoer.”
“That’s too bad, when you’re such a good example for him.”
Oscar suddenly grinned. “I’m not a saint by any means, Alona.”
“How old is he?”
“Let’s see. He’s twenty-eight.” The boys wanted to know more about Jason, but Alona noted that Oscar was having a hard time talking about him.
“Some young men have a hard time finding themselves,” Oscar explained, “and Jason’s one of those. He’s tried a lot of jobs. He was even a pilot for the navy for a while.”
“A pilot! Gosh, that’s what I want to be!” Zac said.
“You want to be a fireman. That’s what you told me yesterday!” Carl snapped.
“I’ll be a fireman first and then a pilot later. Would he take us up in his airplane, do you think, Mr. Moran?”
A sober expression crossed his face. “No, Jason doesn’t have an airplane now. It was like some of his other efforts. He had a bad crash, and it shook him up so badly he hasn’t been able to fly again. He’s afraid of it now. I don’t understand that.” He shrugged his thick shoulders. “When a man makes a mistake or has hard luck, he just has to get up and try again. That’s what I always had to do.”
“I suppose it’s harder for some than for others. You obviously have a lot of determination.”
“Well, thank you. I do have that. Some call it bullheaded stubbornness.” He laughed and shook his head. “I guess that’s about right. I’ve had to be stubborn to keep this business going. It all but went down during the first year of the Depression, but it’s doing well enough now.”
Moran stayed for half an hour and heaped praises upon Alona’s cake. When she walked him to the door, the boys scattered to their bedrooms. “You know, Alona,” Oscar said as he put on his overcoat and hat, “I envy you those fine boys.”
“They’re not perfect, but they are good boys. And I want to thank you for paying attention to them. They miss their dad a lot. It means something to them to have a man show them some attention.”
“No thanks necessary, because it’s a joy to me. If you ever have to take them to the doctor, or have some difficulty with them, give me a call. You have my card.”
“I do have it, Oscar, and I’ll use it if I have to.”
“Don’t hesitate. Thanks again for the cake. It was delicious.”
Alona closed the door and was thoughtful as she went back to the kitchen to wash the dishes. She thought about how odd it was that Oscar seemed so unwilling to talk about his half brother Jason. He doesn’t have any other relatives except for a sister. I would think the two of them would be closer, especially since Oscar pretty well raised Jason after their parents died.
Later that night, as she settled in between the cold sheets, she thought about how large the bed seemed for one person. She deliberately refused to think about Truman and instead thought about the Christmas pageant and her job. The job worried her, because Mr. Atwood was becoming more and more familiar, and she was at a loss as to how to discourage him without losing her job. She pulled the covers up under her chin and asked God to give her wisdom and to help her with the difficult situation.
****
Alona had come to watch the next to the last dress rehearsal for the Christmas pageant. The performance was almost over when Oscar came down the aisle and slipped into the pew beside her. “Hello, Oscar,” she whispered.
“Hi, Alona. Is the practice going well?”
“Yes. Everybody seems to know their lines.”
“It must take a lot of patience to take children and train them to go through something as complicated as this. I admire the pastor’s wife.”
“She’s such a talented woman, and so very patient.”
“She is, and her husband’s a good preacher too. A fine couple. We’re lucky to have them here.”
When the rehearsal was over the two applauded with the other spectators. The children went offstage to change, and Oscar turned suddenly and said, “I don’t want to offend you, Alona, but there’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“Why . . . how could you possibly offend me?”
“I don’t know. I don’t have the most tact of any man in the world.” He chuckled. “Most people would say I don’t have any. But there’s something I’d like to ask you to let me do.”
Alona had been approached by many men since her husband had died—some had been crude and others more sophisticated. Until now, she had thought Oscar was just a friend, and she felt sad somehow, for Oscar Moran had never appeared to be the kind of man who would chase after women.
“Just tell me what it is, Oscar.”
“I’ve told you I have two grown stepdaughters, but they both live in Louisiana. We write two or three times a year, but Christmas is pretty lonely in my big house. I’ve always wanted children of my own, especially boys, but it just didn’t work out that way.”
“You would have been a good father. It’s too bad you didn’t have children.”
“Thank you. That’s kind of you. What I’d like to do—and please don’t be offended by this or take this the wrong way—I’d like to see to it that your boys have a very good Christmas.”
“But we will have a good Christmas, Oscar. We have a tree, and I’ve been baking cookies and breads. On Christmas we’ll have a nice dinner and sing songs—we’ve kept up with all the traditions Truman and I started.”
“Of course you have, and I think that’s wonderful. But, well, to put it bluntly, I know you don’t have much money, and toys and other gifts are expensive, especially as boys get older. So I would like to help with that part of your Christmas.”
“Oh no, Oscar, I couldn’t possibly let you do that!”
He was quiet for a moment, then said, “I know it’s hard to accept money from somebody who’s not a member of the family, and I know your pride may be a bit hurt. But, Alona, I’d like to ask you to put your pride aside so that I can help the boys get some nice gifts.
No obligation at all, of course.”
Now it was her turn to be silent, and she thought for a long time. Maybe he’s right, she thought. Maybe I do need to let him do this for the boys. Zac is dying for a twenty-two rifle, and I can’t afford it. Tim would love to have some art supplies, and Carl wants toys that I can’t possibly afford. She took a deep breath. “Maybe you’re right, Oscar. It does trouble my pride that I’m not able to buy things for the boys that other kids might have.”
“I’d be surprised if you felt any other way. But it would make them so happy. You wouldn’t even have to tell them where the gifts came from.”
“Oh no, I couldn’t do that!” she said at once. “You’d have to own up to buying them the things.”
“Whichever way you want to do it as long as you let me help. Will you do that?”
She nodded and smiled. “I think it’s a wonderful thing for you to do, and I appreciate it so much.”
“Good! When you go home, why don’t you make a list of what those boys want. I’m sure they’ve managed to get that across to their mother.”
“They certainly have!”
“We can go shopping together, and then we’ll wrap the things, and you can hide them at the house.”
“That would be fun. I’ve never gone shopping with someone else buying the presents.”
“It’ll be fun for me too. I haven’t had anybody to buy for since my stepdaughters were living at home, and that’s been a long time.”
“Tomorrow night is the last practice,” she said. “Do you want to go shopping right after work tomorrow? I can leave Tim in charge of the other boys until suppertime. Then we can wrap the gifts while they’re here at the church.”
“That sounds great. I’ll pick you up in front of the factory when you’re done at work.” Oscar grinned. “You know Christmas has been difficult for me, but this makes it much better. Here they come,” he said abruptly. “You’ll have to be careful not to say anything that might make them suspicious about our plan. They’re smart boys.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
****
The next day Alona could hardly keep her mind on her work. Mr. Atwood came by once and frowned.
“I believe you’re so caught up with Christmas, you’re not paying attention to what you’re doing, Alona.”
“I guess you’re right,” she said, somewhat flustered. “I’m sorry.”
“But overall, you’re doing a good job,” he said. He started caressing her shoulders and the back of her neck. She immediately jerked and looked up at him, but he winked and said, “I’d like to have a Christmas gift from you.”
“From me?”
“Nothing expensive. How about a kiss.”
“I know you’re teasing, Mr. Atwood,” she said hopefully. She looked around to see if any of the other workers had heard his comment. They all seemed to be concentrating on their work.
“No, I’m not teasing.” His smile disappeared. “You don’t need to be so standoffish, Alona. I know you’re alone, and a woman needs a man.”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to go somewhere else for that sort of thing.” She saw something change in her boss’s eyes.
He removed his hands abruptly and glared at her. “You’d better think that over. Jobs are hard to find.” He swiveled and strode away, and the joy was gone from Alona’s heart. She tried to put the incident out of her mind and concentrate on her work for the last hour of the day. She watched the clock and left the minute her shift was over. She was relieved to see that Oscar was already waiting for her at the curb.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Don’t you feel well?”
“No, I feel fine. It’s just something that happened at work.”
“Is it Atwood? Has he been chasing you?”
Startled, Alona lifted her head, her eyes wide with astonishment. “How’d you know that?”
“He gets after practically every woman who works for him. Have you decided what you’ll do about it?”
“I don’t know. I can’t afford to lose this job.”
“Well, do me a favor,” Oscar said. “Put it out of your mind until after Christmas. You don’t want to let that man spoil the season.”
“You’re right,” Alona said firmly. “Now I’m going to spend so much of your money that you’ll have to go put a mortgage on that big house of yours.”
Oscar laughed. “I’d like to see you try.”
* * *
Alona and Oscar had a wonderful time shopping for the boys, and before long, the back of the car was pretty well filled up with presents. Oscar dropped Alona off in front of her house and said, “I’ll be back to drop off the gifts as soon as the boys are at practice.”
Alona heated up some leftovers for a quick dinner and then walked the boys to the church. “I’ll be back when you’re done, boys. Have fun.”
“Bye, Mom,” they called in unison.
Alona walked quickly home and found Oscar waiting outside when she arrived. “Hi, Oscar. I can’t believe you’re doing all this for us.”
“I’m having more fun than the boys will when they open all of this.” The two each grabbed all they could carry and with two trips each managed to get everything inside. “I’ll help you wrap them, although I’m not much good at that.”
“Let’s get started. We don’t have much time.”
Just over an hour later they were hiding the presents in the attic, and Alona was finding herself getting more and more excited. “The boys are going to go crazy,” she said as they went downstairs. “They’ve never had this many nice things.” She handed Oscar his coat and hat. “Thank you, Oscar. It’s a wonderful thing you’re doing. Would you like to come over when we open presents Christmas morning?”
“No, that’s just for you and the boys,” he said kindly.
“Well, I am going to put your name on all the gifts,” she said as she put her coat on.
“I wish you wouldn’t, but you know best.” They walked out to the car. “Let’s get back to church before the boys suspect we’re up to something.”
As they drove back to the church, he said, “You’ve made me very happy allowing me to do this little thing.”
“It’s not a little thing, Oscar. Giving is never a little thing when it’s done with a good heart. And you have such a heart.”
“Do you think so? Most people that work for me wouldn’t agree. They say I’m a hard man, but, Alona, I’ve had to be hard to keep the business afloat. My employees would be out of work if I didn’t run a tight ship.”
“I’m sure you would never harm anybody intentionally. Times have been very hard on everyone lately.”
Oscar pulled into a parking spot and the two went inside to find the rehearsal was just ending. “I’ll take you and the boys home,” he said, “and then I’ll see you at the performance tomorrow.”
“All right, Oscar, and thank you so much.”
His whole face glowed as he smiled. “It was more fun than anything I’ve done in years.”
****
On Christmas Eve, the church drew a good crowd for the pageant the children had worked so hard on. Oscar and Alona found a place about midway back in the sanctuary, leaving the front pews for parents who hadn’t seen any of the rehearsals. No one forgot their lines, and except for a few angel halos and wings being a bit off center, the children did a magnificent job, bringing the people to their feet with their applause. The boys joined them after they had taken off their costumes. Oscar took them all home and wished the boys a very merry Christmas as they piled out of the car and ran inside, excited by the success of the pageant and the anticipation of Christmas morning.
“I wish you would come by tomorrow and join us, Oscar,” Alona said as she got out of the car.
“No, it’s your time to be with your boys. I wouldn’t want to interfere. Merry Christmas, Alona.” He smiled at her as he pulled away from the curb.
She wondered at his gen
erosity as she made her way inside. Her boys had never received elaborate gifts for Christmas, even when their father was alive. So she knew they did not have big expectations this year. Alona had not breathed a word to suggest anything different, and after she got them all tucked into bed, she waited anxiously until they were sound asleep before tiptoeing to the attic. It took her several trips to get the presents downstairs. She had affixed Oscar’s name to the ones he had bought, which was the bulk of them.
She slept fitfully until she finally heard the boys stirring. She put on her slippers and housecoat, went downstairs, and built a fire in the stove in the kitchen. When it was going well, she sat down on the living room couch, enjoying a few moments of silence by the Christmas tree before the commotion started. The tree was bright with tinsel and decorations, and the presents were mounded underneath.
She had only been sitting for a minute or two when all three of the boys burst in, then stopped dead still.
“Mom, where’d you get all those presents?” Zac cried.
“It was Santa Claus,” Carl said, but he knew better.
“No it wasn’t,” Tim said. “It was you, Mom.”
“All the gifts are marked who they’re for and who they’re from. Why don’t we take them out one at a time.”
The boys were already going through the presents like a whirlwind. “Look, this one’s from Mr. Moran!” Tim cried.
“This one is too—and this one!” Carl said.
Zac was picking up presents and reading name tags furiously. “Mom, so many of these are from Mr. Moran.”
“Yes, it was something he wanted to do for you. Since he doesn’t have any kids of his own, he wanted to give you all a good Christmas.”
“Let’s get started!” Zac said. “Can I do this one first?”
“I suppose so.”
Zac ripped the paper off, threw it up, and yelled, “It’s a twenty-two rifle!”
“You’ll have to be very careful with that. I don’t want you to hurt anybody with that thing.”
“I know how to use it,” Zac said. “I ain’t gonna shoot nobody that don’t need shootin’,” he said, imitating a voice he’d heard on the radio.
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