by Faith Blum
Newton looked around at each of them.
“He’s right,” Carlotta said. “The shed you made is perfect.”
“And my house is much more manageable,” Priscilla said. “Thank you.”
“You’ve already said that many times,” Newton replied.
“I know, but that doesn’t mean I can’t say it again.”
Newton shrugged. “Okay, there is a lot I can be grateful for. I just don’t understand why so much bad stuff had to happen to us last year.”
Priscilla sighed. “I know, but God was with us through it all. And we’ve all grown so much this last year. I never would have thought you and Carlotta would start dating for one thing. That’s definitely one good thing that came from all of this.”
Carlotta grinned. “You said it, Priss.”
A reluctant smile crept onto Newton’s face. “I suppose.”
“And I wouldn’t have gotten to know how giving Priscilla was if my parents hadn’t gotten dementia the way they did, either,” Remus said. “I knew she was a kind woman because I’ve dated her long enough, but I didn’t know how generous she was with her time until she started helping with my parents so much. Now that we’ve figured all of that out, what say we exchange this year’s gifts?”
Priscilla smiled. “Yes, please! Who wants to go first?”
Carlotta looked under the tree. “Are there any mysterious gifts like last year?”
Priscilla laughed. “Not last I checked and that was right before you all got here.”
“Phew,” Carlotta said. “I can go first.” She went to the tree and grabbed a stack of presents, handing one to each of her friends. “Now, they are the same thing for each of you, so can you open them all at once?”
The three friends looked at each other and nodded. They tore the paper off the rectangular packages and all gasped.
“Is this what I think it is?” Newton asked.
Carlotta smiled shyly. “Yes. It’s an unofficial printing of my first book. I got an online friend to design a cover and someone else to format it for paperback. It isn’t listed anywhere for sale, so each of those books says Proof on the back page, but it’s all there.”
Priscilla jumped up and hugged Carlotta. “Thank you, ’Lotta.”
“You’re welcome,” Carlotta said, hugging her back. “It was really hard keeping my mouth shut when you were talking about wanting to read my books.”
“I bet!” Remus exclaimed. “I’m not sure I could have.”
Priscilla let go of Carlotta, set the book on her chair, and grabbed her stack of presents. “Mine are different for each of you, so you can open them separately.”
Carlotta started and when the paper was off, showed off her own copy of Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. “Thank you, Priss! I love it! And now Newton can borrow your copy.” She winked at him and Newton rolled his eyes as he tore the paper off his gift.
“A wallet? Why do you think I need a wallet?”
Priscilla laughed. “Have you seen yours recently? I did and it looked like it was falling apart.”
Newton shrugged. “Thanks. I probably should replace my old one.”
Carlotta nodded, a serious look on her face. Newton wadded up the wrapping paper and threw it at Carlotta. Carlotta laughed as it hit her in the shoulder.
Remus carefully opened his gift and revealed a framed picture of him and Priscilla standing in front of a waterfall they had visited together earlier that year. “Thank you, Prissy. This was one of my favorite activities this year.”
“Mine, too,” Priscilla answered.
Newton stood up. “My turn. Although, I don’t think I can top anything other people gave.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Carlotta said as she took the gift he handed her. “We aren’t trying to top each other, just express our friendship.”
Remus opened his first this time. They had an unofficial rule that the last would go first. “A mini tool set. Thanks, Newt! I’m sure it’ll come in handy.”
Carlotta ripped the paper off hers and squealed. “My favorite pens and six new notebooks.” She looked at him with adoring eyes. “You know me so well.”
Newton shrugged. “It’s not that hard. I’m just glad you’re a woman with simple tastes.”
Priscilla opened hers last and chuckled. “You really think this will help?” She held up an ergonomic computer mouse.
Newton nodded. “I asked around some online groups for people with Lyme’s and they all told me that mouse made it easier on their bad days.”
“Thank you,” Priscilla said. “I’ll give it a try.”
Remus stood up. “I suppose that means my gifts are next.” He picked up his stack and handed them out.
Priscilla lifted hers. The box was big, but extremely light. “What in the world is in here?”
Remus grinned his lopsided grin. “Open it and find out.”
She tore into the paper and stared at all the tape on the box. “Anyone have a knife?”
Remus handed his pocketknife to her, blade open and away from her.
“Thanks,” Priscilla said. She carefully cut the tape and opened the box after handing the knife back to Remus. Priscilla looked up with a sigh. “Is there anything in here besides tissue paper?”
Remus nodded.
Priscilla took handfuls of tissue paper out, dropping it on the floor, until the box was empty. At the bottom was a small, plain white box. She took it out and dropped the larger box on the floor. With bated breath, she opened the lid of the box and carefully took the jewelry box out. Her breath came in short gasps and her heart clenched as she opened the hinged lid.
She looked up at where Remus had been, but he wasn’t there. She looked closer to her and found him kneeling on one knee in front of her.
“Will you marry me, Priscilla? I love you more than I ever thought was possible and I don’t want to spend another Christmas without you as my wife.”
Priscilla’s hand flew to her mouth and she tried to respond, but it came out as a croak. She cleared her throat. “Yes, yes, yes,” she finally managed to say.
Remus took the ring out of the jewelry box and slid it onto her finger. Priscilla lifted her hand to catch the sunlight. The single, small diamond flashed in the winter sun.
“It’s beautiful,” Carlotta said in a quiet voice. “Congratulations to you both! It’s about time!”
Remus and Priscilla laughed together. “Yes it is,” Remus said. “But there are two other gifts to open.”
Carlotta raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know if I can open mine after that beautiful moment.”
“Do it,” Priscilla said. “I know you can.”
Carlotta did as ordered and her eyes grew wide. “What is this?”
Remus grinned. “It’s the deed to my parents’ home. I talked to them after telling them I planned to propose and they agreed to do it. Since Prissy’s house is already perfect for her, I thought we could move in here after we are married. Dad and Mom’s house is paid off and they need someone who can help them occasionally, but not all the time. If you’re willing, I’d like to pay you to do that for me. The live-in nurse will also be there most of the time. You think about it and let me know what you think.”
Carlotta swallowed hard. “I’ll certainly think about it. Thank you!”
The attention turned to Newton next and he unwrapped his gift. His forehead wrinkled as he pulled out an envelope. “You wrapped a card?”
Remus nodded. “Open it.”
Newton tore open the envelope and took a piece of paper and gift card out. He started reading it to himself.
“Read it out loud, please,” Remus said.
Newton glared at Remus briefly, the Christmas lights reflecting in his eyes. “‘Newton, you are a dear friend. The best a guy could ask for really. As my best male friend in the whole world, I have a favor to ask of you. Would you be the best man in my wedding? I know this isn’t necessarily a gift by most people’s standards and therefore have enclosed a g
ift card to a local shop that has suits. I don’t know if it will pay the whole price of the new suit for the wedding, but it should get close at least. Your friend, Remus.’” He looked up. “Is this for real?”
Remus nodded.
“I... I’d be honored,” Newton said. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”
Remus smiled. “You’re welcome. I have a feeling next year is going to be much better than this year was.”
“Me, too,” Priscilla said. “Lord willing.”
“Even if it isn’t better by human standards, it will be by God’s standards,” Carlotta said, “because we’ll grow spiritually next year in different ways than this year. And so many of our gifts this year will stay with us the rest of the year.”
Remus nodded. “So true.”
Newton smiled. “So when’s the wedding?”
The four friends laughed together, each knowing there was no way to tell how soon the wedding would be yet. They then went to the kitchen and got ready for their simple meal together.
As they ate, each of them thought of all the gifts they had received over the last year, but the one each had in common was the gift of friendship. It was a gift that kept giving every day of every year and something that no person could steal.
O Christmas Tree
The spray bottles were filled with water, the nozzles set to stream, and all four were placed in easy-to-reach and strategic places in the living room. Everything was ready for later that day. Gareth ran to his room, put on an extra pair of socks, and then went downstairs.
Snow had fallen to cover the ground just in time for the annual trip to the Christmas tree farm. Gareth bounced on his toes, his snow pants, mittens, hat, boots, and coat already on. His mother came in, dressed in everything but her coat, carrying a scarf.
“Here, you might find this useful.”
Gareth grinned as she wrapped the crocheted blue-and-white scarf around the lower half of his face. “Why don’t you go outside and wait for us? I don’t want you getting overheated in here.”
Gareth tried to hug his mother, but his already short arms couldn’t reach around her with the extra bulk on both of them. “Thanks, Mommy. I’ll be waiting outside the van.”
His mother smiled and patted his head. “We’ll be out shortly.”
“I know. No one wants to miss this.”
He thought he heard a snort from the other room, but wasn’t sure since the door was already closing.
Soon the entire family was in the van and his dad was driving toward Morrison’s Christmas Tree Farm. Gareth bounced his legs. His feet didn’t quite touch the floor, so it shook his seat.
“Can you quit moving?” his sister, Maya, asked.
Gareth tensed his legs. “I dunno. I’ll try.”
Maya rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “Why are you so chipper, anyway? It’s freezing outside.”
Gareth smiled and shrugged. “It’s fun. This is something we do as a family every year. It’s the one time I know we’ll all get outside in the snow together.” He wrinkled his nose. “Especially since you hate snow so much.”
“I’m not the only one who hates snow,” Maya said.
“So? How can you grow up in this family and hate snow?” Gareth asked. “That’s all I want to know. Dad loves snow, Mom loves snow, I love snow. But you don’t. Why not?”
“It’s cold, it makes the roads hard to drive on, it’s wet, and it makes school go longer into the summer.”
Gareth crossed his arms and made a pouty face, attempting to mimic Maya’s. “But you do get days off of school at random times during the school year. That makes it more interesting. You can do unexpected things on those days.”
Maya sighed. “No it isn’t. At least in the summer you can hang out with your friends. On snow days, you’re stuck inside.”
“No you aren’t. You could go outside and play in the snow.”
“Ugh. You are so weird, Gareth.”
“No name calling, please,” Mom said. “We’re almost there. Maya, please try to enjoy getting the tree. You know how much the rest of us like it. It’s not as fun when someone is being grouchy.”
“Yes, Mom.”
Dad pulled into the parking area, and Gareth had his belt unbuckled before the van came to a full stop and the door open before the van was off. He was out the door before anyone else was unbuckled. He closed the door on his side and waited for the rest of the family to join him.
“What kind of tree are we getting this year?” Gareth questioned rapidly. “Last year we got a Fraser and Dad said we weren’t going to do that again because they are too expensive and shed too much. I like the Scotch pines better. They have a better smell and I don’t remember vacuuming as many needles up.”
“Maribelle didn’t seem to climb it as often either,” Maya said.
Dad laughed. “Yes, that cat does seem determined to knock down every tree we get, doesn’t she? Let’s see what they have for Scotch pines. I’ll go get a saw and we can get started.”
Gareth trotted alongside his dad. While his dad talked to Mr. Morrison, Gareth watched one of the Morrison boys put a tree in the shaker. He hoped someday he could work at a place like this. Shaking trees looked like a lot of fun!
“Earth to Gareth, come in, Gareth. Over.”
Gareth started at the sudden sound of his father’s voice. “I’m here, Dad. Over.”
“Shall we go get the tree? Over.”
Gareth grinned at him. “Yes, please! Over and out!”
Gareth’s dad had been a radioman in the army for over ten years now and Gareth liked to pretend they were talking over the radio even when they could see each other, but especially when they talked on the phone or, when his dad was deployed or training somewhere, on their video calls.
Gareth and his dad joined Maya and their mom at the bottom of the hill that led to all the Christmas trees. The Scotch pines were the first group on the left, which was the only thing bad about them. Gareth loved climbing all the way to the top of the hill and sometimes slid partway down just for the fun of it. Of course, Mom hadn’t been too happy when he tore his snow pants the one time.
The family walked through the trees, keeping on the lookout for the perfect tree. It had to be fat and tall, but not too tall. A little taller than Dad was the most they could do in their small home. But super wide didn’t matter. No one cared if the tree took up half the living room. Well, the cat might, but she didn’t have a say in the matter.
“Over here!” Gareth shouted. “I found it!”
Maya arrived first and crossed her arms. “It’s too big.”
Gareth looked the tree up and down with a critical eye. It was wide enough he wasn’t sure the whole family could reach around it standing fingertip to fingertip, and the height didn’t seem too much to him, but his dad wasn’t there yet.
Dad and Mom came over and Gareth sized up the tree compared to his dad. He grinned. “What do you think?”
Mom went all the way around the tree. “There’s a bare spot here, but if we keep it against the wall, it should work.”
“Mom,” Maya said, “it will take up way too much room in the living room.”
“That’s never stopped us before,” Mom replied.
“No,” Maya answered, “but we haven’t had your whole family to our house before, either.”
“My family isn’t that big and they will all understand if they have to squish together a little.”
Maya huffed and stalked off toward another tree.
“We’ll mark this one and see if we can find another one we like better,” Dad said.
Gareth skipped off into the trees. None of them looked as perfect as the first one, so he didn’t say anything about them.
“I found one,” Maya’s voice floated to him from his right.
He darted around the trees, trying to find her bright pink coat. He was the last to arrive this time. He surveyed the tree and reluctantly admitted it was a beautiful tree and would work. It wasn�
�t as plump as the one he’d found, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“Family vote,” Dad said. “Which tree do each of you like best?”
“Mine,” Maya said.
Mom walked around the tree slowly. “I think I do like this one better. It doesn’t have any bare spots.”
Gareth tilted his head. “This one isn’t too bad. I can be happy with it.”
Dad nodded. “That settles it. We’ll get this tree. Maya, could you go retrieve my hat from the other tree, please?”
“Sure,” Maya said.
Dad lay on the ground and sawed at the trunk while Mom held on to it near the top so it wouldn’t fall on Dad. Shortly after Maya returned, Dad got out from under the tree and Mom let go of it, letting it fall to the ground.
Gareth took hold of the top of the tree and Dad grabbed the trunk. “Let’s go get this tree shaken and paid for!” Dad exclaimed.
Half an hour later, they were home, had the tree in the house, stacked all the ornament boxes on the furniture. Mom put five Christmas CDs in their five CD changer and got it started on shuffle. Gareth opened the box closest to him.
“Where’s the box with my ornaments?” he asked.
Mom pointed to the box closest to the tree. “It’s in there.”
Gareth bounced over and carefully tore the box open. There were boxes of bulbs, loose ornaments, and, right on top, a plain box with his mom’s handwriting saying “Gareth’s ornaments.” Each year, one of his gifts was a Christmas tree ornament so he would have some for his own future home. He always started with those ornaments so he could put them in the most prime locations. All he had to do was wait for his parents to finish putting the lights on the tree.
This year, they decided to use the colored lights instead of the white ones.
The lights were soon up and everyone sang or hummed along with the music as they put ornaments on the tree. Everyone except Maya. She methodically hung ornaments from the branches but didn’t talk, sing, or hum.
Gareth peeked glances at her as the afternoon wore on. Finally, after Dad lifted him to put the angel on the top of the tree, he sidled over to her. “Like the tree?”
