The Christmas Portrait (18 page)

Daddy didn't get up from the table. He had a big smile on his face. “Laramie, I told you last night, I'd make some calls today, and I did. I went down to the jail on my lunch break to see your dad. Sweetie, your dad is so sorry about all of this. He wanted me to tell you how much he loves you and how sorry he is for everything.”

Laramie didn't move a muscle. She didn't cry or smile or anything. “Is he coming home?”

“Well, he's working on it, but it's going to take a few days. The police know that the drugs were not his because one of the guys confessed. But until they get this straightened out, you'll stay here. Before they let him out, they need to make sure he gets help to take better care of you and himself.”

“And he'll take better care of my mom if she comes home?”

“I know he wants to. Your dad's a hardworking man, and I think this episode was a wake-up call for him. It really scared him when you ran away. Anyway, you have a place right here, and I tell you, I think things are going to be just fine. I wouldn't say that if I didn't believe it to be true.”

I chimed in. “Daddy's telling you the truth, Laramie. He never lied and told me when Mama was sick that she would get better. He always told me the truth. He just said she would be better when she got to heaven.”

“Thank you, Mr. Harding. And thank you for going out in the cold to look for me. I know everybody probably hates me because of what I did.”

“No, no. That's not true. You did the best thing you knew to do in getting out when you did. We're just sorry you felt you had nowhere to go. But that's all in the past. You're safe now, and things are going to be so much better.” Daddy came around the table and hugged us both. “You two girls are getting to be such good friends. I'm so glad.”

We had just finished cleaning the kitchen when Chesler came in wearing mismatched superhero pajamas. “Chesler! Just look at yourself. You have on Spiderman bottoms and a Superman top.”

“I don't care 'cause I'm Superspiderman.” He flexed his muscles.

“Superspiderman?” Laramie asked. She looked at me, I looked at her, and we both just burst out laughing. “Chesler, you're just what we need around here—Superspiderman.” She smiled real big.

Daddy came in with the cards. “Well, Superspiderman, let's see how well you play Skip-Bo.”

That wishing on a star must work. One of my wishes just came true. Laramie smiled—first time today.

We started the game, and Daddy and Chesler pulled ahead. Laramie hadn't played Skip-Bo before, so it took a little while for her to catch on. The phone kept ringing while we played, and Daddy got up and talked on the phone in his office by the garage. Every time it rang, I expected him to come back and say, “Okay, gotta go to work, so get your things. Aunt Susannah Hope's going to watch you while I'm gone.” But every time he came back, he just started playing again and didn't say a word.

We were on our third game when Uncle Luke and Miss Lisa came home. That was a surprise. They were supposed to be out on a date.

They came straight into the kitchen and Uncle Luke got out the milk and started making hot chocolate for everybody. We just kept playing cards while he and Miss Lisa giggled and got out cups and stirred the mix and threw on the marshmallows. They gave everybody a mug, and they stood at the end of the table. Uncle Luke looked at Chesler. “Don't even think about it, buddy. Don't you take one sip of that hot chocolate. We need to make a toast.”

Daddy smiled bigger than he'd smiled in a long time, just like Uncle Luke was smiling.

Then Uncle Luke raised his mug and said, “Kate and Chesler, I want to introduce you to your new aunt-to-be. This is for her. Cheers.” He clicked his mug against Miss Lisa's and kissed her on the cheek.

I squealed. “You're getting married? For real?”

Before Uncle Luke could finish saying, “Come June, you'll have another aunt,” we were on our feet doing a group hug, and nobody spilled hot chocolate, not even Chesler.

Then Uncle Luke said, “Lisa, why don't you tell them how I proposed?”

Miss Lisa giggled a little before she started telling us. “Well, Luke took me to the small pond at your Granny's house to go ice skating. It was really very beautiful. The moonlight on the pond made it look like the ice was glowing from underneath. It was too cold for his cassette player to work, so he started singing while we skated.” She looked at Uncle Luke and smiled.

“Go on, tell them the rest.”

“Well, I didn't know what his plans were, and I think I might have spoiled them when I fell down really hard, flat on my back. So he knelt down beside me and made sure I was all right, and then he said, ‘If you'll marry me, I'll help you up.' Then he pulled this out of his pocket.”

Miss Lisa stuck her hand out, and there was the ring. I knew he had it somewhere. It looked like he had chiseled a chunk of pure ice out of the pond and stuck it on her finger.

Daddy kissed Miss Applegate-soon-to-be-Aunt-Lisa on her cheek. “I'm just glad the pond was frozen enough for you two to skate on. I don't know that you could count on me to rescue you in that cold water.” Then Daddy gave Uncle Luke a bear hug. “Just couldn't wait until Christmas, could you, little brother?”

“Nope. My big brother told me not to waste another day.”

We stayed up talking a while. Daddy just about cried when Uncle Luke asked him to be his best man. I thought Miss Lisa musta been thinking about all this a long time 'cause she asked me to be a junior bridesmaid, and she wanted Chesler to be the ring bearer. I hoped she knew what she was getting into with Chesler.

I knew I was running out of time to tell Chesler my plan for getting Mama's Christmas present to her in heaven. Tonight had to be the night. “It's bedtime, Daddy. I'll take Chesler up, and Laramie and I'll turn in too. You can stay up and talk about things with Uncle Luke and Miss Lisa.”

“Thanks, Kate. That's sweet of you.”

I hugged Uncle Luke and Miss Lisa, and Laramie did too. Chesler crawled all over Uncle Luke and then he climbed in Miss Lisa's lap and hugged her like he used to hug Mama. I thought I saw a tear in her eye.

Daddy followed us to the bottom of the stairs and hugged Laramie and then kissed me good night. He high-fived Chesler and said, “Now, you do what your sister tells you to, little buddy, you hear me?”

“Yes, sir.” Then all the way up the stairs, he sang that song about Santa Claus coming to town.

Laramie started laughing at him again. She thought he was funny 'cause she didn't know how annoying he could be sometimes. When we got to the top of the stairs, Laramie headed to my room.

I grabbed the sleeve of her sweater. I whispered, “Come on, we're going to Chesler's room.”

She got that what-for look on her face, but she followed me anyway and didn't ask any questions. We went into Chesler's room and closed the door.

Chesler turned around. “Wait, I gotta brush my teeth, and why is Laramie in here?” Tonight of all nights, he wanted to brush his teeth.

“Look, Chesler, I won't make you brush your teeth tonight if you'll just crawl into bed and be quiet. I have to tell you something.”

“Okaayy!” He made a beeline for his bed. “But what about Laramie?”

I helped him turn down the covers, and he crawled in bed. “Laramie's in here 'cause she's part of what I need to tell you. But Chesler, you can't tell anybody. Do you understand?”

“It's a secret?”

“Yeah, a big secret, and if you tell anybody, I mean anybody, then Mama won't get her present for Christmas, and we'll all be so sad. And besides, I'll be so mad with you till . . .” I shook my head. “You just have to keep this secret, and I mean it.”

For once in his whole life Chesler listened, and he didn't ask a bunch of numbskull questions. I told him my whole plan, how Laramie was going to help me, and then I told him about the one thing I needed him to do besides keeping the secret.

He sat up in the bed. “Oh, Kate, this is like an adventure. I want to do what you and Laramie are doing.”

“You can't, Chesler. This is my plan, and I'm sticking to it. It's too late to make any changes. But promise me, I mean really promise me, you won't tell anybody, not Daddy, not Uncle Luke, not Granny, nobody, okay?”

“I really, really, really promise, Kate. I won't tell nobody.”

I kissed him on top of his head and turned on the night-light next to his bed. “Good night, Chesler.”

He crawled under the covers. “Good night, Kate, and good night, Laramie.” He blew Laramie a kiss.

Laramie went over and kissed him on his cheek. “Good night, Superspiderman.”

We tiptoed down the hall to my room, talked over my plan one more time, and got ready for bed. Laramie put her clothes away while I put one smiley face on my calendar. “Want to look at the stars again tonight?”

She put on the pair of slippers I lent her and headed straight for the window. “Yeah. Let's see if it's still snowing.”

I turned out the light and walked to the window. The moon was so bright, and the elm tree branches made shadows on the snow. We stood there together watching the snow fall, but we didn't say a word. I didn't know what Laramie was thinking, but I was thinking Friday had been a happy day.

Two of my wishes had come true. I wanted Laramie to smile, and she did. She even laughed at Chesler two times. And I wished Uncle Luke would ask Miss Lisa to marry him, and he did. I even got something I didn't wish for. I was going to be a junior bridesmaid!

My plans for getting Mama's Christmas present to heaven were made. Laramie was going to help, and I had told Chesler my plan. I looked at the sky and all those stars twinkling, and I wondered where Mama was, but this time instead of wishing, I prayed that my plan would work out. Because only God could make sure that Mama got her present in heaven.

C
HAPTER
S
EVENTEEN

D
ADDY WAS WHISTLING
this morning. I hadn't heard him whistle in a long time. Mama used to like it when he whistled. She'd say, “Listen, Kate, your daddy's whistling. That's a beautiful sound coming from a happy heart. He's out in the garage, and I'll bet he's building something we're going to like.” She liked his harmonica playing too. Sometimes he and Mama would sit in the front porch swing, and he would play until she fell asleep.

One night I heard them on the porch talking about what was going to happen after she went to heaven. Daddy told her that she was the glue that held the family together. But Mama said it wasn't glue that held this family together. She said it was love, and it was going to take more love and more patience and more of everything when she was gone. Then things got quiet, and he played his harmonica for a long time. When Mama went to heaven, he quit playing. I think it was because all he knew how to play were sad, slow songs, and he didn't want to be sadder than he already was.

Hearing him whistle this morning made me feel like I did when I saw that redbird in the cedar tree out back or when Grandpa would get out his fiddle and play a jig. Maybe Daddy was whistling because Uncle Luke and Lisa were getting married, or maybe Christmas Eve made him whistle. I didn't care. I just liked hearing it.

Laramie was still sleeping. I just lay quiet and let her sleep. Uncle Luke said rest was the best thing for her. The first two nights, she moved around all night, pulling on the covers and turning and twisting and whimpering. But last night she slept quiet-like. I thought when Daddy told her it wasn't her fault her dad went to jail and that he would be out soon, that made her feel better inside. Kind of like Daddy's whistling made me feel.

Anyway, just lying there gave me time to go over my plan again. This was it. Christmas Eve. I had it all figured out, and Laramie was going to help me. And if I got in trouble for doing it, I figured there was more forgiveness flowing on Christmas Day than any other time of the year. Yep, today was the big day. Christmas Eve dinner at Granny Grace's with the whole family, Christmas Eve service at church, home again, and then I was off to deliver Mama's Christmas present to her.

I didn't hear Uncle Luke or Chesler up and moving around, but the time for lying still was over. I grabbed my robe and my yellow slippers and went downstairs. “Good morning, Daddy.” He was rustling Christmas wrapping paper.

“Hey there, little peep. You're up early. You think it's Christmas or something?” He was smiling.

“Almost. No, my head had all the sleep it needed. What are you doing?” I knew he was wrapping presents, but I wanted him to say it.

“Well, with Laramie and now with Lisa, I had a few more presents to wrap.”

“Did you get the sketchbook and pencils for Laramie?”

“Yes, they're in my closet. You can wrap them now while she's asleep.”

I went to his closet and came back with the bag. “Wow, this is nice. She'll be so happy.”

Daddy finished tying a red ribbon on a purple present. He matched ribbons and wrapping paper like Chesler matched his clothes. “I found some special wrapping paper just for you. Look.”

He handed me some folded sheets of wrapping paper covered in cardinals sitting on holly branches. “Oh, Laramie'll love this! I told her about Mama and the redbirds.” I started wrapping her presents, scrimping with the paper like Aunt Susannah Hope did with the cinnamon in the cider. I wanted to save some, like saving a little bit more of Mama for myself.

Daddy handed me a spool of red ribbon and bundled up all the other wrapping paper and ribbons to store them back in the closet. “Kate, when you finish, let's put these gifts under the tree.”

The Christmas tree lights were already plugged in and the room looked like something in one of Aunt Susannah Hope's house decorating magazines. Daddy came in with an armload of boxes right after I did. He put them all around the tree, but he put Laramie's right in the front. “Let's sit down here for a bit and enjoy the lights before everybody else gets up.”