by Joy Redmond
“What’s wrong with Fluffy being in the house?” Abbie asked, her face showing she was scared that her mother would make her pet stay outside the whole time her grandparents were there.
“There’s nothing wrong with a cat in the house. Or a dog. But your grandparents don’t believe in letting animals stay in a house. Just another one of their silly notions. Don’t worry about it. It’s our house, our pet, and if they get too upset about it, then I guess they can leave.”
“Do I have to put on a dress and shoes with socks?” Abbie asked.
“No, you don’t! We live in Florida and we’ll wear shorts and flip-flops. Like I said, this is our home.”
Just as Mandy finished her sentence, she saw a red car slowing down in front of the house. She sucked in a deep breath when she saw it turn into the driveway. “They’re here, Abbie!” Mandy ran across the living room, out the front door, and down the sidewalk with her arms spread in full hug mode as Tony stepped out of the car. “Tony!” she squealed as if she were a child. “Don’t you dare tell me that you’re too big to hug—”
Mandy didn’t have time to get another word out of her mouth before Tony scooped his mother into his arms and swung her around in the air. “I’m bigger than you are now. And stronger!” He kissed Mandy’s cheek.
While Mandy and Tony were hugging, Abbie was hugging her grandparents. When Tony put Mandy back on the ground, he said, “Your turn,” as he scooped up Abbie and swung her through the air. As Abbie was being swung, Mandy hugged her parents. “It’s so good to see you. And I can’t thank you enough for bringing Tony. Come on in the house.”
Iris looked around and Mandy waited for the criticism. Instead, Iris smiled and said, “You have a beautiful bed of poinsettias. They’re my favorite flower.”
“Thank you. I love them too. Dad, when did you get a new car? And red! I’d never thought of you and Mother driving a red car.” She laughed.
“I’ve always wanted a red car,” Otis said. “But your mother always said that red cars caused more wrecks than any other color and she was against it. But when I saw this one, I just had to have it. I haven’t had a wreck yet.” Otis smiled from ear to ear.
“Oh, Otis,” Iris said, as if his explanation was total nonsense. Then she took Abbie’s hand. “My, my, how you have grown. Come on in the house and tell me all about school. I can’t stand this heat,” she said, as she wiped the back of her neck. “I never could understand how people live in this horrible humidity.”
Tony and Mandy looked at each other and giggled. Tony whispered, “What did you expect? She’s complained about everything the whole trip, but Granddaddy just acts as if he doesn’t hear her.”
As soon as they were inside, Fluffy ran into the living room. Mandy sucked in a breath. She just knew he was going to arch his back and hiss. Instead, Fluffy walked over to Otis and rubbed his body against Otis’ legs.
“Oh, dear! You have a cat in the house!” Iris screeched and placed her hand over her heart.
“Yes, he’s my pet,” Abbie quickly said. “He lives with me inside.” She looked at Mandy as if she was waiting for backup, but before Mandy could say anything, she saw her dad reach down and stroke Fluffy’s ears. Mandy’s eyes widened. She could hardly believe what she was seeing— her dad was petting an indoor pet?
“He sure does like me,” Otis said. “I never liked an animal in a house but many people have them.”
Iris was looking around. “Amanda, I’d like to see the rest of your house. My oils sure look pretty hanging in the living room. I—”
Before Iris finished her sentence, Abbie grabbed her grandmother’s hand. “Come on. I’ll show you the rest of it. Do you want to come with us, Granddaddy,” she asked, turning and holding out her other hand.
“I sure do, sugar pie. You just lead the way.”
While Abbie was giving her grandparents a tour, Mandy hugged Tony again. “It’s so good to see you, Son. As soon as everybody gets settled down, I hope you’ll tell me all about school and how things are with you and your other grandparents.” She ran her hand through his long hair. “You’ve got such beautiful hair. It’s almost to your shoulders. I’m surprised that Granny Pearl hasn’t made you get a haircut.”
“She complains about it all the time and so does Grandmother, but I just ignore them. I’m going to keep it long like the rest of my friends.”
“Good for you, Son. I like it.”
Abbie, Iris, and Otis were coming back into the living room and Fluffy was trailing behind as if he had to make sure they didn’t pick up anything. Fluffy is better than a watch dog, Mandy thought. Then she waited for the criticism, but her parents didn’t say a word as they went into the kitchen, then the TV room, then into Mandy’s bedroom.
When the tour was over, Iris came back into the living room, wiping her eyes. “Mandy, your house is lovely. You’ve got it furnished very well, and I can’t tell you how proud I am to see my oils on every wall in every room.”
Otis said, “It’s lovely indeed. It has a homey feeling.”
Mandy finally blew out the breath she’d been holding. “Thank you. We’re comfortable and we’re happy with the house and we love Florida.”
Just as Mandy finished her sentence, Kati came bursting through the front door. “Tony! Grandmother! Granddaddy!” she squealed as she grabbed them all and hugged. “It’s so good to see everybody. This is going to be the greatest Christmas ever!”
Mandy peered out the window, wondering if Kati had drowned Jay while they were at the beach. She saw him shuffling up the sidewalk, slower than a snail, his head tucked and his hands in his shorts pockets. Sic him, Houdini, she thought, but Houdini wasn’t in sight.
Jay made his way inside and Kati introduced him to the family. Jay merely nodded and Mandy noticed Kati’s face turn red. He sure is an embarrassment. But you picked him, she thought, and wanted to ask him if he knew how to shake hands or even say hello. But she managed to keep her mouth shut for Kati’s sake.
After all the hugs and kisses had been exchanged, Mandy asked, “Can I fix anybody something to drink or fix a lunch?”
Tony said, “We stopped and ate before we got here. We’re stuffed and we’ll hold until supper.”
Kati said, “I’m hungry. I’m going to fix me a sandwich.”
“Come on, everybody. We’ll go to the TV room. We have plenty of sitting space in there,” Mandy said, and her heart filled to overflowing with joy.
What a Christmas! My whole family. It doesn’t get any better, she thought, as she watched them all go into the TV room. She stood in the kitchen for a few seconds, savoring the fluttering of joy in her heart when suddenly she heard the sound of chimes. A tiny tinkle that she was sure nobody heard but her. Thank you. Whoever you are. And Merry Christmas to you.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Mandy walked into the TV room and her heart overflowed with love and Christmas spirit as she reveled in the joyful faces of her family. They all sat and talked for a few minutes, then Otis said, “I need to unload the car. Tony, do you mind to help me? It’s going to take a few trips to get it all in.”
“Sure, Granddaddy. I’ve got the muscles,” Tony said, as he flexed his biceps.
Soon there wasn’t enough room under the tree to put all the presents and Tony stacked the rest of the beautifully wrapped boxes in the corner.
Otis laughed and said, “Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, so we’ll unwrap half of the presents, and then we’ll unwrap the rest on Christmas morning.”
Cheers sounded around the room, and Mandy could feel herself glowing from head to toe.
By 10’oclock, Iris and Otis were tired from the long drive and were ready to go to bed. Mandy took them to her bedroom, turned back the spread and stacked the throw pillows on the cedar chest at the foot of the bed. “You have your own private bathroom and there’s plenty of towels, wash cloths, and whatever else you need in the vanity drawers and the cabinets. I’ll take mine and Abbie’s pajamas, a blanket, and two pillows ou
t and you two go on to bed.”
Otis and Iris hugged Mandy, said goodnight, and then Mandy closed the bedroom door and hoped a lizard didn’t crawl into bed with them.
By the time Mandy made her way back to the TV room, she noticed Jay was gone. “Did he go to bed?”
Kati said, “No, he had to make a trip out to the car. He’ll be back in a minute, but he’ll probably go on to bed shortly. He doesn’t mingle with people that well.”
Mandy sat down beside Kati and patted her tummy. “Well, we’ll just let him do what makes him comfortable.” And he isn’t fooling me with all his trips out to the car. I have a keen nose for the smell of whiskey and the Listerine isn’t covering it up, she thought. “Have you picked out any names for the baby?”
Kati said, “If it’s a girl, I’m going to name her Tina, after Tina Turner. You know how much me and you love that wild woman. If it’s a boy, I don’t know. I guess I’ll let Jay pick a name.”
“I do love me some Tina Turner. I hope it is a little girl. And I hope she grows up to be just like you!” Mandy said, as she tweaked Kati’s nose.
They stayed up, talked, and laughed, and all three children had to tell their favorite story about the crazy things their mother had said and done through the years. Mandy laughed, then denied half of what they said. “Well, you kids have your version and I have mine, but dang they sure make good stories.”
By midnight, they were all tired and laughed out from sharing memories and decided to turn in. They hugged and kissed each other goodnight. Mandy pulled out one of the couches and spread the blanket for her and Abbie. Abbie made sure that Fluffy had his usual spot beside her head, and they shared a pillow.
Before Mandy fell asleep, she turned her head and looked at the angel on top of the tree. Glow purple for me, she silently begged. But the angel remained white, the gossamer wings still.
The next day, Iris, Kati, and Abbie spent the day in the kitchen baking cookies, making candy, and baking pies. Tony and Otis went to the beach. Mandy spent the day relaxing and listening to the delightful chatter as her mother and daughters filled the house with wonderful aromas of baked goods. Smells of ginger and cinnamon drifted lazily throughout the house along with giggles from the kitchen.
Jay spent the day out on the patio as if he were in a stupor, and Mandy figured the whiskey had rendered him numb to her family and the activities. She was glad he stayed outside, and she kept wishing Houdini would run up his pant leg.
That night, they sat around the table and ate cookies, candy, cupcakes, and ice cream and called it a meal. Iris said the pecan pies were for Christmas dinner, so everybody just eyed the pies and their mouths watered in anticipation of sinking their teeth into a piece the next day.
After they were stuffed with goodies, they went into the TV room, and the present opening began. As usual, Otis and Iris had gone to extremes with gifts and the children squealed with glee as they pulled presents from boxes.
Mandy’s mind returned to the Christmases when she was a teenager and how Iris always bought the perfect gifts for her. Then her eyes teared a bit as she remembered the Christmas when Otis clasped a gold locket around her neck that contained a picture of him and Iris that had been taken on their wedding day. She reached up and touched her throat and she could still feel the love in Otis’s hands as he had hung it around her neck. Though she hadn’t wore it in years, she had it neatly wrapped in tissue paper, and placed it in a small box in the cedar chest with many of her other treasures.
By 10 o’clock, Iris said, “Granddaddy and I are going to bed. I’m so happy you like your gifts. I shopped carefully and it took me a week to wrap them and make them as pretty as I could with all the bows and ribbons.” She paused a minute. “And it took you all of five seconds to rip them open and throw the pretty paper, bows, and ribbons in a pile on the floor. I don’t think any of you even paid attention to how I painstakingly wrapped and decorated them.”
The children said, “We noticed, Grandmother. They were pretty.”
Otis said, “Well, in the morning, we’ll finish opening the rest of them. Please look them over before you start ripping them open.”
“We will, Granddaddy,” they said in unison.
“Amanda, I’ll be up early and I’ll help cook the big dinner,” Iris said.
“No thanks, Mother. When I’m in the kitchen, I work alone. You and Dad just enjoy the children and play games and cards with them. They miss that. I’ll bring in the card tables and set them up before I start cooking. And for breakfast, it’s whatever you can find. As soon as breakfast is over, everybody out of the kitchen and I’ll get it done. Okay?”
Everybody agreed. Otis and Iris went to bed, and the rest stayed up until midnight. Again they reminisced about the years past and at times they laughed so loudly, they were expecting Iris to come out of the bedroom and tell them to be quiet. Iris didn’t. Mandy looked at her family and her heart floated on the love she felt for them.
When they started yawning, they hugged and kissed goodnight, and Mandy made her and Abbie’s bed on the couch. It had been a wonderful Christmas Eve.
Mandy was up early the next morning. She dressed, and Iris and Otis were up by the time she had the coffee pot going. The three of them fixed a bowl of Rice Crispies with bananas. By the time they had finished their breakfast, the rest of the household was up.
Iris and Abbie took the blanket and pillows off the couch and put it back in place. Then, Iris and Otis began to set up the card tables so they could play games. The rest of the household fixed themselves a bite, then scampered off to open the rest of the presents. They remembered to be careful with the bright wrappings and bows and dutifully exclaimed about how beautiful their presents were wrapped before they started ripping them open.
Mandy waited for all the children to open their presents before she gave her parents the presents she had gotten for them. She had bought her mother an easel and her dad a miter box so he could make frames for Iris’ oils and prints. Iris handed Mandy her usual card and Mandy knew her mother had given her a nice sum of money, which she would use to pay off her credit card she had used to charge all the items for Christmas.
The children played games with their grandparents. Jay went out to the patio for what seemed like the hundredth time. Mandy brought the radio into the kitchen, turned on Christmas music, then began cooking. “If everybody stays out of my way, I’ll have dinner ready by two o’clock. If you get hungry before it’s ready, we’ve got plenty of junk food, which you can eat in the TV room.”
By two o’clock, Mandy had the table set, and piled it full with bowls of food, and each person had their own Cornish hen. Now, everybody wash up and let’s eat.”
Soon, they were all seated around the table. They held hands and Otis said the blessings. After the ‘Amens,’ Otis took the first helping from the bowls and passed them around the table. After the meal, they were too stuffed to eat dessert so Mandy shooed them out of the kitchen while she cleaned up. Two hours later, they all ate the delicious pecan pies.
That afternoon, Mandy played cards and board games with her children and her parents took a nap. “This sure has been a wonderful Christmas, kids. I know tomorrow you all have to leave and that breaks my heart, but we’re going to have fun today. I’ll cry tomorrow.”
Tony tucked his head. “I hate to leave so soon, Mama, but Grandmother and Granddaddy said they have to head home in the morning. It’s a long drive down here and back and they said it would take them a week to rest up after they get home.”
Jay said, “We’re leaving in the morning too.”
Kati shot him a harsh glare. “You don’t have to be back to work until Thursday. So I’m staying another day. Tony, you can stay and ride back with us. I want to stop in Kentucky and see my other grandparents. And we’ll have an extra day with Mama and Abbie, and me and Tony will have more time with each other on the drive back.”
Jay stood and said, “We’re leaving in the morning. And I’m not going
to drive over a hundred miles out of the way to go through Kentucky. Tony can go back with his grandparents!”
Kati jumped up from the card table so fast she tipped the chair over. She stood with her hands on her hips and said, “In that case, you just take off in the morning. I’m staying another day and Tony is staying with me. Mama will buy us a bus ticket and we’ll go home when we get ready. I’ll stay a few days with Granny and Poppa, then you can come to Kentucky and get me when you’re ready. She looked at Mandy. “Right, Mama? You’ll get us a bus ticket, won’t you?”
“I sure will! It’ll be great to have you two for another day. I’ve got tomorrow off.”
Tony’s eyes brightened. “That’s great! I’m not ready to leave Mama and Abbie in the morning. One more day will be great and we can all go to the beach like we used to.”
Jay sat back down, tucked his head and said, “Fine. We’ll stay.”
Damn, Mandy thought. I was really hoping that you’d leave. “Thank you, Jay,” she managed to say with sincerity.
The next morning, Otis and Iris said tearful goodbyes and were on their way. Mandy didn’t know how she felt as she watched her parents back out of the driveway and head off. She had actually enjoyed their company, but she was also glad when they left. Those crazy, mixed emotions about my parents that I don’t understand. I don’t think I ever will. They couldn’t have been any nicer and not one complaint or criticism came from them. She snickered. And not one spirit played a trick or showed off. Thanks, spirit world.
The rest of the day was spent on the beach. The water was cold but they stuck their toes in the water and enjoyed the seagulls and the pelicans. Mandy packed a picnic lunch and they stayed to watch the beautiful sunset. Mandy watched the evening shadows as they danced across the sand, and her heart danced with them.
When it was time for them to head to bed, Mandy took Kati’s hand. “Will you please come into my bedroom so we can have a private talk? Abbie and Fluffy will stay in the TV room and give us time for a mother-daughter talk.”