Christmas Awakenings

Chapter 2

Lisa watched from the sun-drenched window seat, as Bill expertly maneuvered their old beat-up pick-up truck down the long snow-covered dirt road slipping and sliding all the way. The bright blue sky reminded her of summer six months ago when they had first moved to the country. A city girl herself, she and Bill both worked too many hours and when they started a family, she wanted to experience the solitude of nature where Bill had grown up and they wanted to provide the same kind of life for their boys. They decided she should stay at home with the kids, and giving up her income had come with some sacrifices.

She thought about the meager Christmas presents she had hidden away throughout the house for the boys and hoped they wouldn't be disappointed. Past Christmases with two incomes had provided the boys with lots of soon-to-be-broken or forgotten toys along with lots of clothes. This year the emphasis would be on family, caring, sharing and giving from the heart, homemade gifts and not so much receiving.

They had spent every penny they had on the little cottage-like house, the land that came with it and tried to get the most out of both. A few gallons of paint and a little sewing for comfortable cushions made the house more homey.

The large garden they had all toiled in all summer produced enough bounty for the four of them to last through the winter except for milk and butter. She had learned how to bake bread from scratch, can green beans, corn, tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, and peas, and watched the huge sunflowers grow and bloom.

And when Bill and the boys brought home chickens from the neighbor about three miles away, she learned how to feed them and gather eggs. When Bill's parents gave them two cows they fixed the leaky roof of the barn so they had a dry place to stay at night. They helped neighbors bale hay in lieu of hay to feed the two horses they had gotten at a really great price at a sale.

"Momma, where are you?" Eight-year-old Jake hollered from the bedroom.

"I'm right here in the kitchen. Are you boys rested and ready to get up?" She made the way down the short hall to their small bedroom.

"Can we go out and play in the snow again?" five-year-old Chance asked.

"No, dear, not again today. I have a better idea. Let's make some Christmas cookies." She tousled their heads as they ran past her to the kitchen, yipping with joy at the aspects of eating Christmas cookies more than the baking.

"Okay, what's the first rule to baking, Chance?" They started pulling their assigned chairs up to the counter in their designated spots. They had been helping her mix, and bake since they were able to stand on a chair at the counter and knew their jobs well.

"Wash our hands, right mom?" Chance answered.

"That's right. So scoot quickly to the bathroom and get washed up," she said as she started to assemble the needed ingredients and implements on the kitchen counter.

Soon the delicious scents of butter, cream and vanilla filled the house along with evergreen from the Christmas tree. Lisa kept glancing out the window and down the lane hoping to see headlights at any moment. The sun had gone behind some nasty looking clouds and daylight began to recede quickly. She hoped the storm would hold off until Bill arrived home safely.

****

The boys soon became bored, so they left to play in their room while Lisa finished the baking and started to prepare a light supper for the three of them. She decided to have all their favorites: macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, and green beans.

As she set the table, she called for the boys to wash up. They arrived at their chairs in record speed and just as she prepared to say the daily blessing the lights went out Leaving them in complete darkness.

The boys jumped in their chairs, "What happened, Mom?"

"The electricity went out, probably heavy snow on the power line somewhere but it'll be fixed real soon, just as soon as the snow blows off. Just stay in your chairs. I have a surprise for you," She made her way into the kitchen in search of candles and matches.

At the table, she struck a match to get their attention. "You are such lucky boys tonight." She leaned forward and whispered, "And do you know why?"

Their bright eyes were riveted to the flame as she lit the candle.

"Because tonight, you get to eat by candlelight."

She left the boys to ooh and aah over their new dinner plans to put another log on the fire. She looked out the window at the snow-covered lawn and shivered.

This is not the night to be without heat, not without Bill to warm me.

"When you're finished eating, I want you both to put on your warmest pajamas and brush your teeth, okay?" Lisa asked the boys.

"Okay, but when are we going to trim the tree?" Jake asked.

"Your father told you he would get the decorations down from the rafters in the barn as soon as he got back and I'm sure that's what he'll do," she reassured them.

"Mom, it's dark in the bathroom. How are we going to brush our teeth in the dark?" Chance asked.

"I'll hold the candle in the bathroom for you and I'll get your PJ's for you. You can change in there. Then we'll cuddle up in front of the fireplace together and we can sing songs and read stories by the light of the fire. It'll be kind of like camping out. It'll be fun," truly thinking it did sound like fun to her too.

****

Later, the three of them curled up in front of the fire, having exhausted themselves singing and reading, the boys began to get sleepy.

"When is Daddy coming home Mom?" Chance asked nuzzling close to her.

"He'll be here as soon as he can. I'm sure he would love to be here right now burrowing with us under all these soft warm blankets. He would probably even start a tickle fight, wouldn't he?" Lisa said.

But both boys had dozed off.

Lisa added another log to the fire every hour or so, thankful for Bill's foresight to stockpile wood inside the house. She lay spooning between her boys, listening to the wind howling around outside the house, the new fallen snow deafening any and all other sounds.

She had relaxed just enough to doze off when a loud thump at the back door brought her right back to consciousness. She sat up, thankful it hadn't awakened the boys, jumped off the couch and made her way to look outside. She looked out the window onto the fresh snow and didn't see any tire tracks along the lane from their truck. She heard another loud 'krrthunk', and 'thunk' as she made her way slowly to the back door. They had seen a bear and bear scat earlier in the year, so she knew bears shared this land with them, but she expected them to be hibernating this time of year. She knew Bill kept a loaded rifle in the coat closet by the back door and her hands shook as she reached in for it, careful not to make any noise that would disturb the boys.

She held the rifle along her right side as she strode to the door, her knees about to buckle, her hands shaking. She knew for certain she couldn't hit the broad side of the barn if she had to but she would die trying to protect her boys. She looked out onto the porch. She couldn't see any animal or human tracks in the fresh snow. She only saw the wide sweep made from the screen door attempting to take flight across the porch, having escaped its hook from the blustering wind. She quietly opened the inside door, grabbed the one outside, forcefully pulling it closed tight and securing it. At least now she knew where the sound came from, should she hear it again. Maybe then her nerve endings wouldn't be so jangled and frayed.