A Not-so-Modern Christmas Story

Maree stood quietly in the front room window watching as the snow flakes fell through the early afternoon sky. The first flakes were lacy and as the storm grew heavier, they soared and floated softly on the wind currents. As the snow fell Maree whispered a silent thankful prayer for the for-sure coming white Christmas.

In the back room the fir tree was already decorated with bubble lights, colored balls, tinsel and the lighted family cross was hanging in the window. . The tree’s lights were plugged in and shining and a few wrapped packages were tucked under the branches. The smell of fresh cut cedar filled the room and the house. The outside temperature was dropping and the snowfall grew increasingly heavier. The once lacy flakes changed shapes, became smaller , and filled the darkening winter sky. Maree continued her lone vigil watching thoughtfully as the winter storm closed around the house, the smoke house and the cellar tucked into the side of the hill across the road.. As she watched ….the young neighbor woman from the next hollow came trudging down the mountain road followed by her two young daughters struggling to place their tiny feet in their mother’s tracks. The young family walked on past the small house and soon the watery car tracks on the lower mountain road were the only visible patches of uncovered ground and then gradually, they too became invisible. The snow came steadily down and in the distance a lonely hound dog bayed. Except for the hound dog and then the miles-off whistle of the westbound Norfolk and Western passenger train ……on the eastern side of the Big Sandy River in Epperson Hollow, there were no other sounds.

Maree had watched the young family as they passed the barn, the turning place and finally disappeared around the curve by the giant elm trees in front of Miz’ Virginia Moore’s abandoned house. She then walked thoughtfully to the back sitting room where her grandparents rocked, talked and whiled away the afternoon. She stood briefly before the fireplace between her elderly grandparents. Finally, she spoke. “Grampa, that young Miz’ Daggs just passed the house…” Her grandfather’s ninety year old gray blue eyes cut in her direction and he silently waited to hear whatever she was going to say..”I heard tell that her husband is up in Ohio…Columbus or Mansfield or somewhere up there…. looking for work and she’s over the hill with her two girls and ain’t got no Christmas tree. Her cousin Pearlene.,…you know Pearlene….she’s in the other sixth grade class at school….well, she told me that they’ve barely got any food in the house. Too bad we can’t do something for her and the girls.”

“What’re you thinking about Sis?” the elder asked after a thinking pause. “You got something in mind..else you’d never mentioned it.”

“Well, ….I got plenty of clothes upstairs that Granny’s been saving…stuff I’ve outgrown.. Those little girls don’t even have any galoshes …they’re walking in their mama’s tracks trying to keep their feet dry. I know I got at least two pair of galoshes I can’t wear no more..my feet’re too big.” The old man listened and nodded and then held an almost whispered conversation with his tiny blind sprite of a wife as she sat in her rocking chair beside him. The coal fire in the grate crackled a bit as a lump split and fell to the bottom of the fireplace. The two old ones rocked companionably, silently, a while longer.
Finally, the old grandfather spoke, “Sis, what you plannin’ on putting the stuff in?”

“Uncle Tom brought home a big feed sack the other night. It’s clean, Cousin Alfred brought it in town from the farm and Cousin Ellen washed it. Bout big enough to make the two little ones a dress apiece and it ain’t been split yet cause it’s the only one we got of that print.”

The old one nodded his head and rocked some more. “It still snowing? Then maybe you’d better prop your sled on the front porch and go ahead and get working on filling that feed sack. Then find you a little box and put some of that Christmas fruit , nuts and candy in there from out of the pantry. Then you get back to the window and watch for her to come back up the road. Your Granny and I’ll handle the rest.”

The child nodded and left the room. Soon she was back at the window watching the snow fall and keeping an offhand eye on the curve beyond the barn. The Seth Thomas clock on the mantel ticked loudly on toward late afternoon and the rocking chairs in the next room creaked on the linoleum floor. Occasionally, the older couple could be heard murmuring softly to each other. Maree didn’t say much else…..she just kept her vigil by the front room window. Finally. she saw what she was looking for ..the young mother was coming up the road carrying a brown poke full of food and the two young girls were following close behind her. Maree pushed the lacy curtains together and slipped into the next room to tell her grandparents.

The old grandmother spoke softly, “You tell that young woman that me and your grandfather …we want to speak to her right away and she’s to bring those younguns’ out of the weather. Then you keep quiet as a mouse..”

Maree grabbed her coat , tied a wool scarf on her head before she went out the front doorand down the walkway to the gate. As the neighbor family drew closer….she opened the gate and called out, “Mis’ Daggs….Gramma and Grampa said for you to come in here right away and to bring the girls.” As she finished the speech, Maree turned and headed toward the door, turning once to make sure the young family followed. As soon as the woman and children were inside the house, she closed the door, pushed a rag rug over the crack at the bottom and pointed toward the sitting room. “They’re in the other room…back there.” She pointed toward the open door.

“You sent for me, Miss Mary and Mr. Grant?” the young woman asked shyly.

“Come on over here by the fireplace and get warm. ” The elder couple rocked patiently while the young woman and her children moved into the room and toward the warmth of the fire place.. After a silent moment, the tiny grandmother spoke again. “Me and my husband……well,,,,we have to see to the raising of our grandchild, Maree, here. Her mother, our daughter, well she died a while back but you see, there is nobody else but her daddy and her uncles…and we just wouldn’t hold with sending her away from home…even though her older sister wanted her……..so, we’re raising her.”

For the first time, the gray headed grandfather spoke, “Those boys….they just spoil this girl something awful….and it’s not fitten’. Right now…we need your help ‘cause this girl hasn’t pleased us…not one bit…and she don’t deserve much of a Christmas…and until she behaves better, she’s not going to get much.” There was finality in the older man’s voice as he looked directly at the younger woman..

“Like my husband said, we need your help,” the blind grandmother continued. “This girl don’t deserve much of a Christmas. My husband and I…… we went through what the boys bought for her and we decided she’s not going to get any of this stuff. So….we put everything we don’t want her to have in that feed sack over in the corner…what we want you to do is take all of it away from here. Make sure you take that box of fruit and candy and such too,,,,she’s spoiled and don’t need any of it!”

The grandfather added , ”Will you do that for us? We’d be most appreciative and maybe…just maybe…Maree will be a better child next year. Now, Maree’s sled is propped up on the front porch. You just load that bag and the box and your kids on that sled and take everything on over the hill to your house. You can drop the sled off next time you go to town…Maree won’t be needin’ it…..like we said, we’re not pleased with her and until she learns how to act…she’s getting nothing. Maree….now you quit your listening….. and you just get along upstairs and stay out of grown folks’ business!”

Maree lowered her eyes and left the sitting room heading through the shotgun house toward the dining room. The elder grandfather got out of his chair to help the neighbor woman bundle the children back up and then walked out with her to help load everything on the sled. When he came back into the house…Maree was back downstairs sitting on the stool by her grandmother’s feet.

“Girl gone, Grant?”

“Yep…she’s on her way and the baby girl is riding the sled…..she was about ready to cry but I didn’t give her a minute to say anything. Glad you sent Maree out of here before her face gave everything away. I don’t want that young woman to feel beholden to us in any way…..no sirree.”

His wife nodded in agreement and then spoke to her grandchild, “Maree, go get me and your Grampa an orange out of the box in the pantry. Good thing you kept your eyes and ears open. I expect those children wouldn’t have much of any Christmas at all if you hadn.t….you put any toys in that sack?”

“Yes’m….the girls have a doll apiece and a little teddy bear and knit hats and scarves for all of them….I’ve outgrown so much stuff this last year…ain’t no need of me keeping it….” The elder couple reached out for each other’s hand , nodded silently in agreement and went back to rocking. The lights on the Christmas tree brightened the room as the evening darkened and the snow storm grew heavier.

Outside the snow kept on falling until it finally covered the foot tracks and the sled path of the family from the next hollow. Off in the distance the locomotive whistle of the evening train sounded and night began to fall. Christmas was coming soon.