“I have a job for you,” Jonathan said, as a stroke of inspiration came to him. “I’ll talk to your mom, but I don’t think she’d mind this one.”
Alberto looked up, his expressive eyes filled with hope and excitement. “Doing what?”
“Would you like to train a dog?”
“I don’t have a dog,” he stated flatly. It was a sore topic for him. Jonathan knew he’d been begging his mom to let him get a dog. He’d tried every trick in the book too. A dog could protect them. A dog would let them know if there was a fire in the night. A dog could bring her slippers, or the newspaper. Mrs. Sanchez shot them all down. She didn’t want dog drool on her slippers. They didn’t get a newspaper. The rental was equipped with smoke detectors and the batteries were replaced every year during Fire Prevention Week. They couldn’t afford a dog, and she threatened him with bodily harm (she would never do it) if he brought it up again.
“I have a new girlfriend,” Jonathan began. He brushed away the catcall the young boy gave, and continued on. “She has more dogs than she knows what to do with. She’s a musher – you know, with the dog sled and everything. So she has seven Siberian Huskies, but they are wild. They jump on her, and don’t listen to her, and she’s been hurt several times because of it. She really needs help getting them all trained. And it pays well.”
“How much?”
Jonathan thought quickly. He’d like to pay the kid a lot, but it had to be reasonable. That family pride thing again. But the boy would have to come every day after school, and every day during Christmas Break, except for Christmas, of course. How much could he reasonably pay the boy for a half hour’s work? He quoted a number, and Alberto whooped.
“Let’s go ask Mama now!” he shouted. “She just has to say ‘yes’!”
Mrs. Sanchez was dubious at first. She was a tiny woman, a lot like Kelly, actually, although Kelly was blonde and fair, while Consuela was darker with pitch black hair. She shook her fist at Jonathan. “You are encouraging him with this whole matter of a dog!”
He grinned good-naturedly. “Hey, I thought this was a good compromise. Maybe he’ll get it out of his system? My girlfriend’s dogs are really rambunctious.”
Maria, the oldest sister, stepped forward shyly. “May I help too?” she pleaded.
Jonathan was going to deny her. While he had a good income, he wasn’t prepared to pay them all, but Maria quickly spoke up. “You don’t even have to pay me. I’ll do it for free!”
“No, you can’t help,” Alberto insisted. “This is a man’s job.”
Consuela cleared her throat to garner his attention. “Excuse me, young man?”
Alberto looked sheepish. “Well, she could be hurt, Mama.”
“So could you. Maybe I don’t give my permission after all?”
Then Lucia, Sofia and Isabella all started clamoring to help as well. Only little Mateo didn’t join in, as he chewed on his tiny fist and drooled.
“Children, children,” Consuela called, clapping her hands. At once the children silenced, all gazing at her with imploring eyes. She turned to Jonathan. “This is your mess. What do you want to do about it?”
“Well,” he hesitated. He didn’t want to disappoint the children, but most of them were just too small to handle Kelly’s dogs. Siberian Huskies were fairly good-sized dogs. Not large, but powerful. Kelly’s were probably all between fifty and sixty pounds. They didn’t bite or growl, but they would knock these little ones down, killing them with kindness as they slobbered and licked and pounced on them with their sharp toenails. “Maria can help, but,” he insisted loudly, already having to speak over a collective groan of disappointment. “But, if your mama says it’s okay, after the dogs have had some training, I bet my girlfriend would love to give you all a ride on her dog sled.”
“Thanks,” Consuela said sarcastically. “You put it all back on me. Now how can I say ‘no’?”
Jonathan smiled. “You can’t, of course.”
She slapped his arm good-naturedly. “You are such a problem,” she insisted. “You are as bad as the children. Will you stay for dinner?”
She always invited. Sometimes Jonathan stayed, although never if Juan Sanchez was going to be there. He didn’t like the man much. Juan might have been a good man when he married Consuela, but alcohol and a low self-esteem had turned him into a useless bag of skin and bones. He claimed he loved his children, but he obviously loved alcohol more.
“No, not tonight,” Jonathan said, remembering that with her husband in jail now, food might be limited. “My girlfriend is expecting me.” Which wasn’t a lie.
“You’ll have to bring her by soon,” Consuela insisted. “If I don’t approve, you’ll have to call it off.”
“Oh, you’ll like her. She’s a keeper,” Jonathan said. He was surprised to realize that it was the truth. He hadn’t known her long – certainly not long enough to make any major commitments, but something about her just felt right. He had a sense of belonging, like he had discovered where home was, whenever he was with her. It had nothing to do with her messy house in a poor neighborhood, and everything to do with her.
“How soon is your dinner?” Jonathan asked. “I wondered if Alberto could go with me to pick out a Christmas tree?”
“We don’t need a Christmas tree,” she insisted.
“Yes, you do. And I won’t take no for an answer,” Jonathan said firmly. “Alberto told me what’s going on. You know there are programs to help you.”
“We don’t take charity!”
“And so you won’t. These programs are not charity. They are there just to help you get your feet on the ground. Then, when you no longer need them, you pay them back through your tax dollars, so someone else can get help when they need it. Think of them as a loan.”
“But, but how? Why? Why would I be eligible to get money just because I married a bum?”
“We all make mistakes, Consuela. You have six children to think about. You can’t work just yet, Mateo is too young. But you can get help with food stamps, heating assistance, clothing, basic needs. And in a year or two, there are work programs to help you find something you can do, or train you to do.”
She blinked rapidly, turning away to hide her sudden tears much the same way Alberto had earlier. “Take him,” she snapped. “Alberto, go get us a big Christmas tree. Big enough to fill the whole room. Maria, no, you can’t go with him this time. I told you, Jonathan is Alberto’s big brother. We will find a Big Sister volunteer for you when you are older. Now shoo! Both of you, I’ve got dinner to fix, and the dishes won’t wash themselves.”
Alberto was a gracious winner, not gloating to his little sisters. He hugged them each goodbye and promised to find the perfect tree, now that he was the man of the family. It was touching, really. Jonathan was almost envious, as he’d always wanted a brother or a sister growing up.
They could hear the dogs already before they even got out of the car. Some were in the back yard and barked at the fence. Some were on the green couch in the living room, barking at the window. And one was jumping like a jack-in-the-box, trying to see through the small window high on the door.
Alberto’s grin couldn’t get any bigger. “Dogs!” he exclaimed.
Jonathan chuckled. That they were. He knocked and waited, rather than let himself in. No need to give Alberto the wrong idea. He heard Kelly shushing and shooing the dogs, for all the good it did. They were still barking like crazy when he and Alberto stepped inside.
For a moment, the dogs were quiet as they sniffed his little brother from top to bottom and back again. Then several licked his chin. One licked each hand. One jumped on his chest. He staggered, but didn’t fall. He hugged the dog, trying to pet them all, but soon he was rolling on the ground and laughing. The dogs pounced, their butts high in the air, tails wagging, with playful yips and barks, their tongues lolling out of their mouths as they tried to lick every exposed inch of skin.
“I figured out how to get them trained quickly,” Jonathan sa
id loudly. “Alberto and his sister are going to come over every day to help. What do you think of that?”
Kelly grabbed one large beast by his collar and dragged him to the back door, shoving him outside. She came back to grab another and another. After each round, the noise level dropped until all that remained was Alberto’s laughter.
“Hello,” the boy said, extending his small hand. “I’m your new dog trainer.”
“Do you know anything about training a dog?” Kelly asked.
“Not yet. But I’ll get a book, and I’ll know more before I come back.”
“You’ll do just fine,” she said. And that was that.
They piled into Jonathan’s car and drove west towards Gobles. Wahmhoff Farms Christmas Trees was where Kelly wanted to go. She said she always got a tree there, and that Alberto would like it. When they arrived, and Jonathan saw that Wahmhoff’s really went all out, with a petting zoo of reindeer, sheep and a baby camel, and hay rides, hot cocoa, and free popcorn, he wished he’d brought all of the little sisters too.
They had their choice of cutting their own tree, or taking one that had been cut already off the front lot. He figured Alberto should have the experience of cutting down a tree, but if Kelly didn’t mind, they would grab a precut one, just to save time. It would be dark soon, and he really wasn’t dressed warm enough for the weather.
Kelly gave them a guided tour, pointing out the differences in the various evergreens. “These are Scotch Pine,” she began. “You can tell because the needles are medium length, and go all around the branch. These trees are usually the cheapest, because they don’t hold their needles as well as other trees. If you don’t plan to keep the tree up for more than ten days, though, it’s a good choice.”
Next, they came to the Balsams. Balsam firs had shorter needles, and the needles were only on half of the branch, like a half circle. “And when you pull the needles through your hand, like this, smell! Do you smell that? Balsams have the best scent. People used to pull all the needles off a branch of Balsam and put them into a pillow which they placed in their drawer or closet, just to make things smell nice.”
Balsams must have made decent Christmas trees, because Jonathan could see the price went higher.
Still, Kelly wasn’t ready to stop. She pointed out white and blue spruce, long and short needled pine, and more trees than Jonathan knew existed.
He tried to get her to hurry up, but Alberto told him to be patient. Jonathan blew on his fingers, hoping to get some feeling back into them. He wouldn’t be able to hold the tree saw by the time they found their choice.
“This is what I like best,” Kelly finally announced. “The Frasier Fir. It smells fantastic, is slightly lighter in color than the Balsam, and the branches are strong. They don’t break when you try to put ornaments and lights on them. Best of all, they seem to hold their needles longer than other trees, so you can leave it up halfway through January!”
“Bravo,” Jonathan said without much enthusiasm. “So, pick one.”
She scowled at him, but went back to instructing Alberto on how to pick a perfect tree. “First, you look for one with a nice shape – no bare spots. And one about as tall as you want it to be. If you have eight-foot ceilings, then you can get a tree that’s seven and a half feet tall – it won’t sit right on the floor, as the tree stands are usually a little bit raised, and that leaves room at the top for an ornament. Next, you grab a branch and give it a gentle tug. All the needles should stay on the tree. This isn’t as important when you are getting a live tree, but an absolute must when buying one that’s been precut.”
Off they went. Jonathan balanced from one foot to another, wishing he’d at least changed out of street shoes and into snow boots. Alberto was completely wrapped in his snow pants, jacket, boots, hat, mittens and scarf, at his mother’s insistence. Jonathan should have had a mother like that. Even Kelly was well dressed for the weather – but then, she knew a lot about managing winter weather with being a musher. Maybe she could teach him a thing or two?
“We found it! Jonco, come quick! It’s this one, the perfect tree,” Alberto called.
Jonathan had to agree. The tree was nearly eight feet tall, but of course, he couldn’t cut it right down at ground level. It was full and perfectly shaped, but it could have been a Charlie Brown Christmas tree by then and he wouldn’t have cared. He started to lie down on the ground, but Kelly shooed him away.
“I got this,” she said.
“No, I can cut the tree down.”
“You aren’t wearing snow pants. You’ll get chilled. And I’m not some helpless female. Now give me the saw! You look half frozen. Why don’t you go back inside and get some hot chocolate, while Alberto and I finish up?
Oh, what he wouldn’t do to take her up on her offer! But this was his idea, he should stick it out. He blew on his fingers, his teeth starting to chatter.
“Yeah, go on and get warm, Jonco,” Alberto encouraged. “We still have to find Kelly’s tree.”
“I thought we could take one precut,” he said, but already admitted defeat.
Kelly shook her head firmly. “Not a chance, Buster! I come here every year, and I always have, even when I was little. My dad used to cut the tree then. I didn’t start doing it until after his first heart attack. Now go. Get that hot chocolate and thaw out. Maybe you could pick out a wreath or two. Those are hanging inside, with the hot chocolate.”
He acquiesced then, not because he was frozen, but because they were doing fine without him. He clapped his hands together, blowing on them as he jogged towards the lights on the shed near the reindeer. Puffs of smoke billowed from the roof somewhere, and a smell of burning wood filled his nostrils. There was chatter and laughter, and somewhere someone was singing Jingle Bells. He was nearly overcome with emotion. This was what he’d missed growing up. He’d missed the family traditions. Cutting the tree, singing carols, drinking hot chocolate with strangers all smiling just because it was Christmas time. He’d never been hungry, homeless, or endangered, but his had been a sterile life.
Kelly hadn’t been kidding. The inside of the large pole barn was filled with wreaths in every shape and size. Some were ornately decorated. Some were plain, so the buyer could decorate it themselves. Wahmhoff’s sold ornaments as well – the expensive, one-of-a-kind type of ornaments, not the shiny plastic things in Walmart.
The styrofoam cup didn’t do much to warm his fingers, but the nearly scalding hot chocolate comforted him on the inside. He searched the ornaments, choosing a special one for Alberto and each of his sisters. Then he found the perfect one for Kelly. It was a Siberian Husky in the playful puppy position, with a green wreath around its neck. The ornament was no bigger than a tangerine, and some sort of solid resin – not overly fragile. Maybe this would be a new tradition? Every year he and Kelly could pick out an ornament that was somehow symbolic of that year. This year, the Siberian Husky. Next year, maybe one of those “our First Year together” ornaments.
He was almost thawed out when Kelly and Alberto returned. They each carried a colored plastic ribbon that had been tied around the tree, indicating the price. Jonathan paid for the trees, two plain wreaths – the kids might like to decorate their wreath – the ornaments he’d found, and some candy canes. Then, to his utter delight, he discovered that not only had they cut down both trees, but tied them to the top of his car, as well. He didn’t even care if they had scratched the paint, he was just thrilled not to have to get chilled again.
All the lights were on at the Sanchez house when they arrived. It was only five-thirty or so, but it was dark, with a few snowflakes flurrying around the street lights. The girls were shy around Kelly at first, but clapped happily at the Christmas tree. Alberto helped Jonathan set the tree in the stand, then Maria got to water it. The four little girls loved their ornaments, promptly hanging them on the tree, even before the lights were added.
Consuela showed him the nail on the front door for hanging the wreath, which had been bright
ened with a slightly wrinkled red bow that had seen better days.
“Please, stay for dinner,” Consuela insisted again.
“I can’t,” Jonathan said, trying to get out of it.
“There is plenty to go around. You won’t be taking food from the children. And it’s the least I can do to thank you.”
He looked at Kelly, who nodded agreeably. “Sounds good to me,” she said. “I was just going to suggest we eat at O’Toole’s again. I don’t have anything thawed.”
So, they stayed, and shared a delicious home cooked, truly Mexican meal with the gracious mother and her six darling children.
Chapter 5
Kelly snuggled down next to him, full of questions and conversation, even though she was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open. “They were all so sweet,” she said for about the tenth time. “They made me feel like part of the family. How long have you known them?”
“Just a few months,” he said. “I met Alberto through the Big Brothers program in August. We hit it off pretty well, and spend almost every Sunday together. Usually we play basketball first, then get something to eat, maybe watch part of a game together. Twice I helped him with homework, but he tries very hard to get it done before Sunday so we can play more basketball. He’s a good student too. Works hard, mostly all As.”
“They only put one string of lights on the tree though. It really needs about four strings. Is it a cultural thing? Don’t Mexicans put lights up?”
“No, they probably don’t have another string of lights. Honey, they’re very poor. Their house wasn’t spotless because she’s a great housekeeper, but because they just don’t have anything. The kids are always clean, their clothes clean, but patched and mended over and over. Then there’s the dad. He likes to drink, and he’s broken some stuff too, which she couldn’t afford to replace.”
“Oh, that’s terrible,” Kelly said, a yawn so big she shuddered.
“Yes. He’s in jail now. His fourth or fifth DUI. He’ll probably be sentenced to a few years this time.”
12 Naughty Days of Christmas 2018 Page 52