Christmas Awakenings

Chapter 3

The dark, gloomy morning filled her with a sense of foreboding she couldn't shake. It had never stopped snowing, which meant the roads were impassable. She said a silent prayer, hoping with every fiber of her being that Bill had stayed at his parents.

After a cold cereal breakfast, "I know daddy said he would get the tree decorations from the barn when he got back but we can start on some of our own before he gets here. I saw popcorn on a tree at the Mall one time that looked 'yummy'. We can pop it in the fireplace and then make strings of it for on the tree." She opened kitchen cupboard doors and drawers to get all the necessary supplies.

"Show us how, Mom," Jake said, "I really want to see the tree with some decorations."

"Me too, me too," yelled Chance, not to be outdone by his older brother in anything.

"Okay, let's get this corn popping and I'll get a needle and some thread. And I also have some red cranberries we can string and put on the tree," she said thinking nobody likes cranberry sauce that much anyway.

"Mom, in school we made these circles with different colored paper and put on the tree. Can we make some of them too?" Jake asked.

"Jake, that's a wonderful idea. You show Chance how to make them while I finish threading the last of the cranberries and popcorn." She glanced out the window toward the lane for the fifteenth time in the last five minutes.

Still no sign of Bill and she began to feel the same unease again. What could have happened to him? She let out a quiet sigh, blinking away the tears in her eyes. Christmas Eve, and she was about to do something for the very first time.

Make plans for a supper without Bill.

****

Lisa stood by the window watching the snowflakes taper until they finally stopped. The storm had lessened in its intensity and the sun shone bright on the pristine white crystals of ice. They had decorated the cookies this morning and hung some on the tree and it looked very festive. But as she looked around the small house, she realized there were no other decorations except for the Christmas tree.

"Boys, come on, I have an idea." She jumped up and ran to the closet to get their coats, boots and gloves.

"Let's go play in the snow and while we're out there, I'll show you the special place I found this summer that grows 'trailing pine'. We can get some and decorate the mantel with it and it will make the house merrier. What do you think?"

Lisa, looking forward to an escapade in the snow, glanced at the boys, who had already started to bundle up. As they made their way up the slight incline to the wood line, she took a deep breath of the clean fresh scent of pine—absorbing it as much as the quiet solitude. The snowstorm, leaving behind an additional twelve inches of snow on top of the three inches already on the ground made it hard going, especially for the boys, so Lisa forged ahead first, laying tracks for the boys to follow. Reminded of the song 'Good King Wenceslas' she began singing and before she knew it the boys were singing their own renditions of 'Jingle Bells' and 'Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer.'

Upset by the disturbance of the peace and tranquility a squirrel chattered overhead in the tall trees, their branches overburdened with snow. A large black crow 'cawed', flapping it's large wings as it flew overhead looking for a small bunny or field mouse for its late afternoon meal.

When they reached the area where trailing pine grew, she knelt and started digging through the deep snow. The boys, seeing it as a game, quickly joined her and before she knew it, they had collected more than enough to decorate their small mantel as well as the tables.

They carried their treasure back to the house while dark clouds replaced the sun and the wind began blustering around them, swirling and drifting the snow, quickly covering their footprints.

****

Lisa left the trailing pine out on the back porch to dry off while she helped the boys out of their wet winter clothes and into soft and warm pajamas. After putting another log on the fire, she bundled up once more and made another trip to check on the animals in the barn.

She put soup on the stove for dinner and began decorating the mantel and the table. A richer and more pungent pine scent permeated throughout the house.

After dinner as they lay together in front of the fire admiring their handiwork upon the tree, Chance said, "Mom, something's missing."

"I know dear, but daddy will be here anytime now. He promised he would come back and he will. We need to be patient," She kissed the top of his soft hair.

"No, Mom, I know dad will be home soon. Something's missing on the tree," Chance said.

"Well, let's look it over again. What could it be?" she asked.

"I know," Jake said quickly, jumping up to stand on the couch. "The star is missing from the top of the tree. Maybe if we can make one bright and shiny it will help Daddy find his way home through all the snow."

"Yeah, Mommy, that's it," said Chance, "can we make a big, shiny star?"

Lisa, surprised because her boys hadn't said anything about Santa Claus coming, or Santa Claus finding them in the snow or what Santa Claus would bring them. They only wanted to light the way for their daddy to come home. At that moment her heart overflowed with such love for these two little boys who looked and acted so much like their father, her eyes filled with tears.

In the kitchen, she found a large piece of cardboard and cut it into the shape of a star. Then, with the boys helping her, they wrapped the star in shiny aluminum foil. When they finished, they stood back and admired their artwork.

"Now, we need to put it on the top of the tree," Lisa said. "Who wants to do it?"

"Mom, let Chance do it this year and I'll do it next year. And he's smaller and you can still lift him. Next year Dad will lift me up." Chance nodded in agreement and clapped his hands.

Lisa lifted Chance up as far as she could while he adorned their beautifully decorated Christmas tree with the bright shiny star. They bundled on the couch, under every blanket in the house, with a fire roaring in the fireplace. Their tree was sure to shine bright throughout the night to light the way for Bill's quick and safe return.