Sleigh Ride (Homespun) (8 page)

Finally, when the table was ready, George called for everyone to come to breakfast.  Charlotte watched Millie’s face as she came out and stroked her hand along the back of the beautiful rocker.  It would be a good place for her to sit now while she did her sewing, and after the baby came, she would be able to rock her to sleep there.  Millie’s eyes filled with tears and she hugged George tightly. “It’s perfect.  Thank you.”

The children all sat down and fingered the gifts on their plates.  “One at a time or all together?” Millie asked.
  It was then Charlotte realized it was her first Christmas with her new family.  Millie seemed to have been a part of the family forever.

George grinned at her enthusiasm.  “Let’s go one at a time, youngest to oldest.  Grace, you first.”

Grace picked up the two gifts on her plate and opened the first quickly.  It was a small rag doll Millie had made.  Grace stared at it with open eyes and then hugged it tight.  “What’s her name?”

Millie smiled.  “You get to name her.  She’s your baby.”
  They all watched the little girl carefully as she contemplated a name for her new baby.

Grace tilted her head to the side while she thought about it.  She didn’t know a lot of names.  “Toast.  Her name is
Toast.”

Everyone laughed.  “Why
Toast?”  Millie almost bit her tongue instead of asking, but she had to know.

“I like her and I like toast.  So her name is
Toast.”  She reached for the second present, the one from Charlotte.  She opened it.  It was an intricately sewn quilt for a baby doll.  Charlotte didn’t know when she made it if she had a doll, but she knew she could make her one quick enough if she didn’t.  Grace stroked it with excited fingers.  “Toast has her own blanket!”

“What do you say for your presents, Grace?” Millie prompted.

“Thank you!”

Jacob went next.  He opened the one from Charlotte first.  It was a small wooden train she had found in a shop in Boston.  Jacob hugged it to his chest.  “A train!  My very own train!”  He didn’t wait to be prompted.  “Oh, thank you!”

He tore quickly into the next present.  It was a small box filled with child-sized hand carved wooden tools.  He took each tool out and studied it with a look of awe on his face.  “Oh, Papa!  Now I can help you build things!”

George nodded at his younger son.  “Of course you can!”

He had one package left which he opened quickly.  It was three pair of new socks.  Millie knew her present wouldn’t be the hit of the other two, but she’d made it with love, and that’s what mattered.  He fingered them.  “Oh, good.  I had a hole in my other socks, and now Mama won’t get mad at me for wearing them without shoes.  Thank you!” 

They all laughed and their attention turned to Michael.  He opened the first of his packages, a tie from his mother to wear to church.  He smiled, and said, “Thank you, Mama.”  The second gift, from
Charlotte, had him smiling bigger.  It was a wooden covered wagon.  “Jacob, we can race.  My wagon against your train!  Thank you!”  He opened the last gift with a smile.  He knew this one would be from his papa.  It was a small box full of rifle shells.  He fingered them happily.  “Thank you, Papa!”

Now it was Patience’s turn.  They all turned their attention to her.  There were only two presents on her plate.  She opened Charlotte’s first.  It was a beautiful length of lace.  “I thought it would look pretty on a petticoat,” Charlotte suggested. 

“Oh, thank you!  It’s wonderful.”  Patience ran her fingers over it.  “I’ve never seen anything so pretty!”  She reached for the second package from her mother.  It was a pretty green dress, the same color as the one Charlotte wore to church every Sunday.  “Wow.  I can’t wait to wear this to church!  Thank you, Mama.”  She didn’t ask where her gift from her papa was.  She knew it was there somewhere.

George stood up from the table and carried the small baby doll cradle up behind the two girls.  “This is for you to share.”

Patience smiled and hugged him.  “Thank you.  My baby Molly will fit on one end, and Toast can sleep on the other.”

Grace bounced up and down.  “They can share Toast’s blanket!”

Millie smiled at her friend.  “You’re next, Charlotte.” 

Charlotte looked at the small package on the plate in front of her.  She carefully tore the tissue paper to see what was inside.  It was an intricately carved wooden box.  “Oh, it’s beautiful!”

Millie smiled.  “George made it.  My contribution is inside.”  Millie watched her friend carefully, hoping she’d be happy with what she’d made her.

Charlotte lifted off the lid and looked inside.  Millie had carefully copied out all of her recipes for her.  “Oh, it’s just what I’ll need.  Thank you!”

Millie fingered the package on her plate, wondering what it could be.  She was already so blessed by the rocking chair and the cradle.  There was nothing else she really needed.  She opened it slowly, savoring the surprise.  A baby quilt.  “Oh, it’s beautiful!  Now I don’t have to hurry quite so fast.”

“A baby can never have enough blankets.”

“Thank you, Charlotte!”  She looked at the one in her hands, and the one in front of Grace.  “You matched them perfectly!”

Charlotte nodded.  “I thought Grace would enjoy having a quilt to match her little brother or sister’s.”

They all focused on George then.  He opened Charlotte’s package first.  It was a pair of plain dark blue suspenders.  Millie had suggested them in a letter when Charlotte had asked.  “Thank you, Charlotte.  My old suspenders were getting frayed.  I’ll wear these with pride.”  He reached for the second gift from Millie.  It was a warm scarf to wear when he had to go out into the cold wind.  “Thank you, Millie.  This will keep me warm.”

They all smiled at their gifts and each other.  The children wouldn’t open their stockings until after breakfast.  George said a quick prayer for them and they ate heartily. 

After Charlotte did the dishes with Patience, the children all opened their stockings.  In each one was an orange, two hard candy sticks, and a penny.  “Wow!  Santa was good to us!” Patience cried.  She immediately broke off a small piece of the candy and popped it into her mouth.

Charlotte smiled watching the excitement on the children’s faces. 
This is how Christmas should be
, she thought.  “I’m going to start baking the bread for Christmas dinner.  I’ve got the turkey in the oven.  Once the bread is rising, I’ll start on a pie.  Since Bess is bringing a dessert, I thought I should fix only one.  What kind should it be?”

Millie tilted her head to the side and thought about it.  “Bess will probably bring apple, because it’s John’s favorite.  Maybe cherry?  Or blackberry?”  She called out to George.  “Would you rather have cherry or blackberry pie for dessert?”

“Blackberry for me.  Kids?”

“Cherry!”

“Blackberry!”

“I like cherry.”

“I like both!”

Millie laughed.  “Maybe one of each.  They won’t go to waste.”

Charlotte nodded.  “I can do that.”  She took out her recipe cards Millie had made her and carefully selected the one for bread and the one for pie crust. 

“What else are you making?” Millie carefully wrapped the shawl she’d made for Bess.  They were expecting their company in the early afternoon, and she wanted everything ready.

“Carrots, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, white bread, and the turkey Michael shot is already in the oven, of course.  Am I missing anything?” 

“Hmmm…that all sounds good.  Maybe a second vegetable like peas or maybe green beans?”  She thought about what she’d canned that would be easy to cook.  “Why don’t you make green beans?  You can just heat up two
jars of them to make an easy vegetable.”

Charlotte nodded.  She was going to be cooking nonstop until dinner time, and then she’d be cleaning for hours.  She wasn’t sure now it had been such a good idea to invite them for Christmas dinner.  A regular meal would have been hard enough.

Patience jumped to her feet and put her apron on.  “I’ll help.  ‘Many hands make the work lighter.’”

Charlotte smiled down at Patience.  “Thank you.  Do you want to run down and get a jar of cherries, a jar of blackberries, two jars of green bean and some carrots and potatoes for me?”

George stood up.  “We men will go and get all that for you.  It’s enough Patience is helping with the cooking.”  He and the boys put their jackets on and went out to the cellar, coming back a few minutes later with their arms laden with food.

Charlotte made a double batch of bread, knowing at least a couple of loaves would be eaten during dinner.  She spent all the time until their guests arrived in the kitchen working.  Bess offered to help when she arrived, but Charlotte waved her away.  “Go sit with Millie.  You don’t need to be on your feet any more than she does.”

She was barely able to acknowledge James as she hurriedly cooked their special meal.  When it was finally done, she splashed some water on her face sure she had flour on it.  Patience quickly set the table, and put the gifts on plates for the guests.  She guided everyone in where to sit while Charlotte put the food on the table.

John said their Christmas blessing, carefully thanking God for the gift of his son, and thanking him for the wonderful company they were able to keep on this holy day.

Charlotte was surprised to see all the plates had gifts on them when she finally sat down.  Hers had two small gifts.  She blinked quickly wondering what they could be.

Once again, they went youngest to oldest, so little Grace opened hers first.  She squealed when she saw a small dress, just the right size for her rag doll.  “Toast will love it!”

Bess looked at Millie.  “Toast?”

Millie smiled.  “She named her new rag doll Toast, because she loves toast, and she loves her doll.”

The laughter once again filled the table.  Grace put the small dress on her lap and looked to Jacob to see what he had received.

Jacob received a small bag of marbles.  When they went on church picnics, the older children frequently had marbles, and he’d always felt left out.  “Oh, thank you!  My very own marbles!”

Michael fingered his package.  It was a small box with a piece of paper inside.  He couldn’t yet read, so he handed the paper to Patience.  “Your present is in the barn.”

Michael jumped to his feet.  “May I go look, Mama?  Please?”

Millie nodded and George and John went out with him.  Michael came back into the house with his arms full of a squirming puppy.  Bess whispered, “George said it was okay.  I hope you don’t mind.”

Millie shook her head, thrilled with the ecstatic look on Michael’s face.  “What are you going to name him?”

Just then the puppy jumped out of his arms and wet on the floor.  Michael’s eyes widened as he looked at Millie to see if she’d be upset.  “I think I’m going to name him Puddles!”

Millie laughed.  “As long as you clean that puddle up and take him back out to the barn.”

He scooped up his puppy and carried him back outside while Jacob got down and cleaned up the mess for him.  “Maybe he’ll share Puddles with me if I help clean up his messes!”

Patience, true to her name, sat
staring at her gift, but waited until both of her brothers had washed their hands and returned to the table before she opened it.  It was a pair of thick woolen mittens and a scarf to match.  “Oh, thank you!”

Bess smiled.  “I thought with all the sleigh rides you were going on lately, you might need something to keep you warm.”

They all looked to Charlotte next.  She was the only one with two packages on her plate.  She opened the first carefully.  It was a beautiful white linen table cloth that had been embroidered around the edge with small roses.  She ran her fingers over the perfect needlework.  “It’s beautiful.  Thank you!”

She folded the cloth nicely and set it beside her plate.  She picked up the other package, which she was sure was from James.  She opened it to find a small wooden box, he’d obviously carved himself.  Inside was a brooch for fastening a shawl.  It had a butterfly on the end of it.  “This is wonderful.  Thank you.”  She was embarrassed he’d given her something so nice, when she’d just made him socks. 

He smiled and reached over to squeeze her hand in his.  She knew everyone watching was expecting an engagement announcement any day.

Millie went next, opening the package quickly.  It was three more beautiful baby gowns.  “Thank you!  I wasn’t sure five would be enough!”

Bess smiled.  “Just remember when your baby outgrows them her friend will need them in a few months.”

Millie laughed.  “Don’t worry.  I won’t forget.”

Bess came next and opened the beautiful shawl Millie had made for her.  She fingered the perfect stitches in her hands.  “This is beautiful.  Thank you!  It’ll be perfect for the spring.”

James went next, opening his socks.  “Wonderful!  I thought I was going to have to beg Bess to start working on a new pair for me.”  He smiled at Charlotte, certain she’d been the one to make them.  “They’re perfect.”

John opened his gift next.  He grinned at the tie.  “My old one was getting frayed, but my wife has been too busy sewing for the baby to worry about how
I
look.”  They all laughed.  “Thank you.  It’s just what I needed.”