Still, Angela was fighting another internal battle. The closer Christmas came the less she cared about her relationship with Jack. Ever the imminent deadline and fear of losing their house loomed in her mind. She often considered the advice Rachel gave her about fully trusting God. But how could she gain such trust? she wondered. What good would it do her, anyway?
Jack? Well, Glaven was doing the best that he could.
Adding to her worries was Christmas itself. She and Jack couldn’t afford the kinds of presents they had purchased in the past. She worried about their children’s disappointed reactions on Christmas morning. In her mind she saw the somber and dejected faces of her children as each opened one or two meager gifts; a Christmas void of merriment.
Glaven’s progress with Jack was different. Jack concerned himself little with his relationship with Angela, he had no relationship with God, and he’d ceased to hope for anything that would save their home. In his mind, they would simply have to bite the bullet. He’d already begun to hunt for an apartment which they could afford. His preparation did him credit, but his lack of hope was dragging down both his and Angela’s spirits.
December 23rd came and went, and I was still in the dark about the secret plan. I trusted Anawin completely, but I wanted to know what to expect, what more I could do to help.
“You’ve done all that you could do, Forenica,” she assured me. “The rest will be up to Angela and Jack.”
“And if it doesn’t work?”
“We keep trying. I’m optimistic, though. You’ve made some wonderful progress with Angela, dear.”
“Thank you. But what about Jack? Is he ready?”
“Oh, Jack will do alright...you’ll see.”
Christmas Eve dawned clear and bright. Sometime during the night, the winter wind had pushed snow clouds into the area. A fresh blanket of snow now cloaked the world in milky white. All lay quiet and serene, as if the snow had cast a sleeping spell upon all that it touched. Smoke plumed lazily from several house chimneys on Angela and Jack’s street. The Higgins family was fast asleep in their beds.
Catherine, Justin and Kailey were home from school for the Christmas break. Kailey was the first to wake and discover the freshly-laid snow outside. And, of course, she believed it her solemn responsibility to pronounce the glad tidings to her slumbering family. Up and down the hall she ran, shouting with a heraldic voice, “It snowed! It snowed! It snowed!” She accompanied her anthem with the beating of each family member’s bedroom door.
When Kailey came to Angela and Jack’s bedroom, Angela cracked an eye, muttered something about grounding Kailey for life, rolled over, and attempted to shut-out the din with her pillow. A few minutes passed and she turned over again. “So much for sleeping in today,” she grumbled to herself as she lifted her upper half into a sitting position. She forced herself onto her feet, donned a robe and slippers, then went out to quell her daughter’s racket.
Kailey was hurriedly digging through her closet for her snow suit when Angela found her. Already Kailey was wearing a colorful beanie with a dangling ball on top, a snow glove on her left hand, and a thick sweater.
“Kailey!” Angela said, not masking her irritation. Kailey quickly craned her neck around to see her mother, but continued digging with her hands. “What are you doing? It’s very early, sweetie.”
“But it snowed, Mom!” Kailey replied, as if snow were the most important thing in the world.
“I’m sure the snow will still be there in a few hours. Why don’t you wait a little while? After breakfast you can go out.”
“But it snowed!” she persisted, as if her mother didn’t understand what she said. “Look at it.”
Angela looked at the sincere expression on her daughter’s face. Every feature—her smile, cheeks, eyes—spilled over with excitement. To Kailey nothing could be more natural than to play in the snow. Angela went over to the window and looked out at their front yard. The sight of that pristine covering of snow, and the stillness of it, filled her with a sense of peace. For a moment it made her forget all her troubles and cares, and gave her but one desire: to play with her daughter.
Angela turned around. “Well, you can only go out if...,” and here a smile stole across her face, “...if I can come, too.”
Kailey’s face lit up like a Christmas tree, and she continued even more excitedly to search for the rest of her snow gear.
The first thing Angela and Kailey did outside was begin construction of a snowman. “The biggest snowman in the world,” instructed Kailey. They piled on snow, and more and more snow. The snow was slightly icy, perfect for building a snowman.
The two of them had just finished forming their snowman’s torso when the front door opened. Out lumbered Justin, fully padded in his snow suit, hat, gloves and boots. He enthusiastically joined in the effort, setting to work forming a suitable-sized head.
They had just topped the snowman with a head, and Justin had run off to find sticks for the snowman’s arms, when the front door opened again. Much to Angela’s astonishment, Catherine came trotting out. Angela smiled at her, wanting to comment about Catherine being awake so early on a school holiday. She managed to refrain from saying what she thought and said, “How do you like our snowman?”
“Well, I think it’s big enough.”
Justin returned brandishing two bare twigs he had managed to excavate from beneath the snow. He stuck one in each side of the snowman.
“Now he needs a face and buttons,” Kailey said.
“I think we can handle that,” Catherine said. “Come with me.”
Together, Catherine and Kailey disappeared inside the house, returning a few minutes later. Kailey, a big smile on her face, carried a carrot and an old baseball cap. Catherine had her hands cupped together, carrying something dark.
“What’s that?” Angela asked as the two neared.
“Charcoal.”
“Oh. Where did you get it?”
“From Dad’s barbecue grill.”
Angela nodded her head approvingly. Together the children put the finishing touches on their snowman. After they had completed it they stood back to admire their work.
“Great job!” Angela said. “It’ll be the best one on the block.”
Angela peered down the street in both directions. There were still no signs of life from any of the other houses. Not even a daring driver attempting to plow through the unsullied snow in a mid-size sedan. All was quiet. It was as if they were in their own world, or the rest of the world lay frozen in time.
The sound of the front door opening awoke Angela from her reflections. This time she was truly surprised; out stepped Jack. He strode over, stifled a yawn, and said, “Did you finish the snowman already?”
“Yes, Daddy,” Kailey responded with an air of can’t-you-tell?
“I think,” Angela said, as she bent down to pick up some snow for a snowball, “that we should make dad pay for not helping.”
“Oh, yeah?” Jack replied playfully, motioning with his hands for Angela to throw the snowball at him.
Angela cocked her arm and let the snow ball fly right at his face, but he ducked and it sailed over him. Jack crouched down and started forming his own ammunition. A snowball struck the back of his head. Jack wheeled around, white powder now sprinkled over his dark hair. There stood little Kailey with a huge grin on her face.
“That’s it!” Jack cried. “This means war. Boys against girls!” And the battle commenced.
Soon snowballs were flying through the air in one continuous volley from each side. Snowballs struck legs, arms, shoulders, bellies. One, well-aimed, hit Catherine on the side of her face. She screamed, formed a snowball for each hand, and chased furiously after Justin, until she pelted him in the head with both snowballs.
A sweet sound began rising from Angela’s family. Laughter. Sweet, melodious laughter. They were having fun. Something which had altogether been absent from their lives for too long. I couldn’t help but laugh and smile as I w
atched them play. Suddenly, something thudded against my arm. I looked down. Bits of snow fell from my sleeve onto the ground. Looking up, I saw Glaven standing near, endeavoring to look innocent.
“Did you just throw a snowball at me?” I cried. “How did you do that?” He just winked at me, then returned his attention back to the snowball fight. Thinking I might attempt to reciprocate his playful gesture, I went to pick up my own snowball. But I was stopped by a gentle hand grabbing my shoulder. I turned to look behind me. There, smiling and holding an oversized snowball in his right hand, stood Glendor.
“Allow me, madam,” he said, handing me the massive snowball. “I’d aim for the head if I were you.”
“Glendor!” I cried. “What are you doing here?”
“Helping with the snowball fight. I always love a good snowball fight.”
Then he quickly produced another snowball, equal to the one he’d handed me, and launched it straight at Glaven. It hit its intended target with an explosion of snow and protestations from Glaven. I didn’t throw mine, no longer interested in snowballs. What was Glendor really up to? I’d never seen him on earth before. Where was Anawin?
“I’m right here, dear,” came her gentle voice from beside me.
I turned with a start. “Anawin, what’s going on?”
She smiled warmly, patting my arm. “You’ll soon see.” Then she turned. “Glendor, if you’re quite done playing around, we’ll attend to the matter we came for.”
Glendor and Glaven were now in an all-out war. Snowballs—more like snow bombs—were flying back and forth at lightning speed. Both of them had somehow fashioned shields from the snow or ice and were employing them with superb skill.
“I don’t know about you, honey, but this is what I came for,” Glendor replied, without pausing even for an instant from his assault on Glaven.
Anawin shook her head. “Once a clown, always a clown. Well, what do you think?” She directed her gaze at Angela and Jack. “When was the last time you saw them so happy?”
“Never,” I said. “It’s such a joy to see them like this.”
“Indeed, but that’s not the end of the miracle. There’s more.”
She smile, then gracefully flowed to Angela’s side. At the same moment, Glendor abandoned his gameplay and positioned himself next to Jack. I watched intently to see what they would do.
Angela and Jack were now going at it one-on-one. Jack had a better throwing arm, by far, and was clearly winning. Angela didn’t seem to care, but continued to form snowballs and launched them as rapidly as she could. A few hit their mark, but most missed.
At one point, when Jack had bent down to form a ball, Angela rushed up to him and smacked the back of his head with a ball of snow. By the time Jack shook the snow from his head and stood up to retaliate, Angela had her arm cocked ready to throw another. For a second they froze in place, snowballs at the ready, like two duelers threatening to fire at any moment. They were panting heavily, their breath issuing from their mouths in tiny clouds. Huge grins brightened their faces.
Without signs or signals, Glendor and Anawin reached into their pockets and withdrew some object I didn’t recognize. In synchronized motion, they placed the objects in front of Angela and Jack’s eyes. I saw more clearly the objects. They looked like spectacles.
Nothing happened immediately. Angela and Jack continued to hold each other’s gaze, still motionless. And then it happened! Light burst from the lenses of the spectacles and flooded their eyes. The light enveloped them, bathed the area around them, so that they were nothing but a perfect globe of light, brighter than the sun. They seemed frozen in it. Indeed, heaven and earth—the very universe herself—seemed to hold their breath. Then I realized what the spectacles were, what Anawin and Glendor had wanted to give Angela and Jack. They had given them the gift of sight. Angela and Jack were not seeing each other with mere mortal vision, but with the vision of heaven. The glorious, unfathomably beautiful beings which one day they could become, was all that Jack and Angela could see as they gazed at one another.
I don’t know how long the moment lasted. Had they been permitted, Jack and Angela would have stared on till the end of the earth. Delicately, Glendor and Anawin removed the spectacles. The moment had passed. Their eyes (though perhaps keener than before) returned to normal. All that lingered within them was a stirring within their souls, a profound sense of love, such as they had never felt before.
Angela let her arm fall to her side. The snowball fell from her hand. Tears were already forming in her eyes. Then she ran up and threw her arms around Jack, who was still stunned. Her embrace roused him from his trance. He, too, dropped his snowball and wrapped his arms around her, twirling her in the air. Setting her down again, he gazed into Angela’s eyes, and she into his.
Not a soul on earth could have held back the kiss that followed. Such a kiss it was that the clouds wept for joy, sending a shower of soft snowflakes down upon them. But Jack and Angela never felt them.
XIV
AN UNEXPECTED ARRANGEMENT
When the family awoke on Christmas morning, the snow had grown deeper. Fresh clumps of it rested on their snowman, covering his charcoal eyes and baseball cap. The front walkway showed no evidence that Jack had shoveled away the snow the day before. Nor did it reveal any footprints leading up to the front porch, where now sat a large red box.
Kailey was the first to wake—of course. She eagerly announced the dawning of Christmas morning so that everyone could hear loud and clear. Angela yawned, then rolled over. Kailey would not find a tree skirted with piles of presents this Christmas morning. Angela forced her eyes open. It was still dark in their room. Outside the daylight had just begun to glow faintly along the horizon. She turned to Jack, who was still slumbering audibly, kissed his cheek, then got out of bed.
Instead of putting on her robe and going immediately out, though, she knelt down at the side of her bed and offered a short, but sincere, prayer. She thanked the Lord for the joy she had felt the day before and for at least one more Christmas she could spend with her family in the house she had known so long. Then she petitioned Him to help her children understand why this Christmas had to be different from past Christmases.
She ended her prayer, rose from her knees, and put on her robe. Then, taking a deep breath, she went out to find her children, fully expecting to find Justin and Kailey huddled around the Christmas tree, sorting through the paltry assortment of gifts, and wearing dejected faces. Instead, she found them in the kitchen with Catherine.
“What are you three up to?” Angela asked, surprised to see Catherine already awake. Catherine fully knew the Christmas gifts would be scanty this year—not worth waking up early for.
Kailey excitedly responded to Angela’s inquiry. “We’re making Christmas pancakes!”
“Christmas pancakes?”
“Yeah, in the shape of Christmas trees.” Kailey explained. Angela raised one eyebrow and looked at Catherine. But Catherine just shrugged.
“Oh...well, that sounds nice. Do you want any help?”
“You can go wake up Daddy,” suggested Kailey.
“I’ll do that.”
Angela returned to the bedroom. Jack was already awake—mostly. He gave her a groggy smile, and yawned.
“Good morning!” Angela greeted him. “You’ll never guess what the kids are up to.”
“They’re not moping about the lack of presents under the tree?”
“Nope, no moping. They’re making breakfast—Christmas pancakes.”
“Hmm...breakfast before Christmas presents. What’s happened to our children?”
“I don’t know, but I’m not going to complain.”
All through breakfast no one mentioned anything about presents. Not even Kailey. The Christmas pancakes had not turned out exactly as Kailey had envisioned them. They were more like rounded triangles than trees. But everyone seemed to enjoy eating them just the same.
“Shall we go open presents?” Angela asked, a
ttempting to sound enthusiastic.
Except for Kailey, who responded happily, Angela’s suggestion produced a half-hearted chorus of assent from Jack and the two eldest children.
The dreaded event took no time at all. Angela and Jack had purchased and wrapped one modest gift for each child. They decided to forgo buying presents for each other. Catherine, Justin, and Kailey did their best to act pleased with their presents. And Angela greatly appreciated their efforts. It made everything less painful than she anticipated. After they had finished, Kailey suggested they go play in the snow again. Everyone readily agreed; the memory of the previous day’s fun was still fresh in their minds.
Angela had just donned her coat, when Kailey’s excited voiced rang through the house.
“Santa came! Santa came! Santa came!”
Surprised by this unexpected announcement—especially since she knew all the presents had been opened—, Angela went to find out what the fuss was about. Had Jack decided to splurge on something for the kids without telling me? she wondered. But she quickly dismissed the idea. They simply could not afford any kind of extravagance. Jack knew it. Didn’t he?
Angela found the front door wide open and Kailey standing on the porch, leaning over a large red box.
“Look, Mom! Look! It’s from Santa, I’m sure it is!” Kailey exclaimed when she saw Angela.
“Did you just find it sitting there?” Angela asked.
“Uh, huh. It’s too big, I can’t move it.”
Angela made a cursory examination of the box, then shrugged her shoulders and leaned over to pick it up.
“Wow, this is heavy! What could possibly be inside?”
She hefted it into the house and over to the living room, where she set it down on the floor next to the Christmas tree. No name tag or identifying information was to be found on the outside of the box. Angela suspected their mystery meal provider had something to do with this.
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