Leaving all the grandkids sleeping just where they were was half the fun on Christmas morning. Bill and Caroline quickly laid out their special gifts, always wrapped in Sunday’s funnies newspaper print, so the little ones knew exactly which presents they could open as soon as they woke up. No other presents were to be touched until after Christmas morning breakfast.
Late that night, as Scott and Susan were taking Ben and Benny back to their house, Benny questioned, “So what is the story about Charlie? Obviously Gladys did not want to talk about it in front of all the little kids.”
Scott smiled at Benny in the rear-view mirror and said, “Benny, I think Gladys should be the one to tell that story. I imagine Hope is also curious, so I suspect that once the kids go down for their afternoon naps tomorrow, Gladys will tell you the story of my Uncle Charlie.”
Curious, but respectful, Benny said, “Okay, Scott.”
By the time Scott and Susan had their house guests back at the Thomas’ house the next morning, there was barely controlled bedlam in the house. Caroline and Gladys had already fed the grandkids and were trying to keep them down in the basement, watching cartoons, until all the adults were finished with breakfast and ready for the present opening.
Benny did his best to keep the little boys under control, but quickly felt outnumbered. Smiling to his dad, he said, “Man, our Christmas mornings were sure boring. Two presents each and we were done, then a drive over to Denny’s on the highway for a turkey dinner and pumpkin pie.”
“Benny, can you open this for me?” little Matthew asked as he climbed up onto his lap. “I need help,” Matthew pleaded. Only two years old, but Matthew wanted to be included with the big boys and was never far from Benny’s side.
“Bring it here, Matthew, mommy can help you,” Susan offered.
“No, my Benny do it,” Matthew insisted. To which Benny added, “That’s all right, Mrs. Thomas, I don’t mind. It’s kind of fun.”
By the time all the presents had been opened and the wrapping paper and ribbons collected, the smell of Caroline’s roasting turkey began to fill the house with wonderful aromas. The plan was to have Christmas dinner around one o’clock and the grandkids down by three for a much needed nap, both for them and for the adults.
After dinner the men gathered up the kids for a long walk around the block while the women made quick work of putting all the food away and the dishes washed. Everyone was ready for some quiet adult conversation and, as soon as the guys returned the kids were all marched upstairs for two-hour naps. Even those who protested their need for a nap were fast asleep within a few minutes. Caroline made a fresh pot of coffee and they all made their way back into the family room. As they were enjoying the peace and quiet that comes when all the children are fast asleep, the conversation found its way back to Charlie. “I know you must be curious about why I didn’t want to talk about our brother, Charlie, last night,” Gladys began.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to share it with us, Gladys,” Hope offered. “I gathered it was something painful enough that you didn’t feel the kids should hear about it.”
“You are right, Hope,” Gladys agreed. “Little children don’t need to hear about adult issues. There are things that go on in this world that cause people great pain and no one is immune. At some point in everyone’s life someone, or something, will rock your world, shattering everything you hold dear. It is how you deal with that hurt that matters.”
“You’re talking about what happened to your brother, Charlie, aren’t you, Gladys?” Benny probed.
“Yes, Benny, I am.” Gladys admitted. “You see, the tragedy of Charlie’s death was the single most difficult thing I have ever had to endure. It wasn’t just that Charlie died, it was how he died and how I responded to it. But this is Christmas Day, and this is not a story that should be told on such a day as this. There will be other days, days more suited to the telling of stories. I promise that I will sit down with both of you and tell you Charlie’s story, and mine.”
“I agree, Gladys,” Hope replied, “let’s focus on pleasant things today, but someday I do want to hear your story.”
Changing the subject, Lisa asked, “Hope, did you make that photo album we talked about? The one you were planning to give to Mrs. Reiner tomorrow.”
“Yes,” replied Hope. “I have it in my purse. Actually, you have already seen it. It is just like the one I gave to you for Christmas.”
“I didn’t get to look at it,” Susan chimed in. “Pull it out and let’s see what Hope looked like as a child.”
For several hours the family listened to stories behind the photos in Hope’s album. Eventually the conversation drifted to how they were going to break the news to Mrs. Reiner. They imagined how she was going to receive the news that Hope Winslow was her only grandchild. They listened to Lisa’s ideas of how she would start the conversation, making suggestions about how they would do it, but in the end, everyone knew, no matter how it was said, Mrs. Reiner was going to have a wonderful surprise tomorrow.
To keep the afternoon light, Bill Thomas challenged Ben to a game of pool down in the basement, while Gladys spent several hours showing Hope all kinds of knitting tricks. Harry, Scott, and Benny found their way out front, in order to show Benny some great wrestling moves. Susan, Carol Anne, and Lisa quietly chatted about wedding plans, while Caroline relaxed and enjoyed the last hours of another Christmas with her family.
The afternoon slowly faded into evening and, one-by-one, people gathered up presents, loaded their cars and said their goodbyes. Everyone knew that Lisa, Hope, and Susan had a full day ahead of them and did not want to have them exhausted for their big day. Lisa walked Ben out to the car, knowing she would not see him the next day. “This was a great Christmas, wasn’t it, Ben?”
“It sure was. I loved it because I really like this family, but most of all, because I got to share it with you. I can’t imagine going through another Christmas like the ones Benny and I have endured these past few years, but thankfully we won’t have to anymore.” Giving Lisa a kiss goodnight, Ben held her extra tight and said, “I will be thinking about you all day tomorrow. I know it will turn out great. I know Hope is a little nervous but she will do great.”
The house was eerily quiet as Lisa walked back into it after waving goodbye. Gladys, Bill, and Caroline had headed up to bed, exhausted, as soon as Scott and Susan walked out the door, and Hope was upstairs taking a shower. Lisa walked into the family room and stood in the dimly lit room and thought about what she had said to Hope at church the night before. She played back every word, measuring their impact on this young woman who did not believe in God. “God,” Lisa prayed, “you know I am not good at expressing myself. I don’t have Gladys’s gift for words, or Ruth’s Bible knowledge. I feel like the blind man who Jesus healed. All I can say is, ‘once I was blind, but now I can see.’ God, I can be ashamed of what I once was, but I can never deny it because if I deny that, I can’t tell people who You have made me into. I just want Hope to understand that it was You who did it, not me.”
Picking up her stack of Christmas presents, Lisa headed for the stairs. A glimmer of light shone on the album from Hope, and Lisa said, “God, I gave her up as a baby to save her life. Now you have brought her back to me so I can share Your truth with her. You have graciously given me another chance to be part of saving her life, but this time it is to save it for all eternity. God, please give me your wisdom.”
***
Susan was at the house before anyone was up. She slipped in the kitchen door and started a pot of coffee, then spotted the cinnamon rolls left to rise on her mother-in-law’s pastry shelf. “She must be up,” Susan surmised. “No one beats Mom to the breakfast fixins,” Susan chuckled. Sure enough, just then Caroline came up from the basement with a clean load of towels to fold. “Good morning, Susan. You are up early today. Would you mind popping those rolls in the oven for me? I hear the shower going upstairs so people are beginning to stir.”
The towels were all folded and ready to take upstairs, when Caroline asked, “Did you notice that Hope never called home yesterday? You don’t think she was afraid we would mind her making a long distance call, do you, Susan?”
“No, Mom,” Susan responded, “I’m sure that is not the reason Hope didn’t call home. You also noticed there were no calls coming in for her either, right?”
“Yes, I did. You’d think that fiancé of hers would at least call her on Christmas Day,” Caroline stated. “Rather a curious situation, don’t you think?”
“Mom, Lisa and Gladys don’t like this guy at all. Hope is under a lot of pressure to marry him, but Lisa thinks she is having second thoughts.” Then Susan added, “Lisa is dying to know what has gone on with them since Thanksgiving. Hope told them lots of things Michael does that bothers her and Lisa tried to warn her to take her time with him. Hope did not respond to that advice very well and now Lisa is afraid to push for information, for fear of offending her again.”
“Well, right now is not the time to focus on him anyway,” Caroline wisely interjected. “Today is a big day for Hope. It is going to be an emotional day for all four of you. Let’s just keep our minds on today. Everything else can wait for another day.”
“You are right, Mom. I know Lisa is focusing on how Hope is going to feel meeting Mrs. Reiner today and how Mrs. Reiner is going to feel meeting Hope. Mom, Lisa isn’t thinking about how hard it is going to be standing on Mrs. Reiner’s front porch, like I did eleven years ago. She has not been back on that street since she was seventeen years old. I doubt she has thought about just how many horrid memories are going to flood her mind when she looks over at our old house, and remembers all the terrible stuff that happened to her there.”
“Susan, all we can do is pray for her today. Memories only have control of us when we have not dealt with them. For years, Gladys has tried to get Lisa to deal with all that happened in that house years ago. Lisa has come so far, and grown so much, and we are all very proud of her. But this one area has always been off limits to Gladys. Lisa is convinced that she has handled what she needs to handle and wants only to move on.”
Susan smiled, “I know, Mom, I was the same way, remember?”
“Yes, Susan, and God will one day show Lisa the same thing He showed you. I don’t know God’s timing of things, but I do know that He wants Lisa whole and free of all the baggage she still holds on to. So, I pray.”
The smell of Caroline’s rolls began to draw everyone down to the kitchen table and soon they were all chatting and having a good time. Lisa noticed the lovely new dress Hope chose to wear today, and she noticed Steve’s locket was around her neck.
Lisa asked, “Susan, what reason did you give to Mrs. Reiner when you called and asked if we could stop by today?”
“I thanked her for driving all the way down to Jefferson to be a witness at your trial. I told her you were coming to Atlanta for the holidays and wanted to stop by and bring her a little gift of gratitude; little does she know just how huge that gift of gratitude really is.”
Lisa smiled at Hope and said, “Are you ready for this, Hope?”
“Yes, I have on my father’s locket and lots of tissues in my purse.” Then, with all the innocence of someone who did not know how their words could sting, Hope said, “After today, one grandmother down, and one to go.”
Gladys watched Lisa’s reaction, knowing Marjorie Miller was a lightning rod for Lisa’s anger. Lisa looked as if she had just been punched in the stomach. They all knew she had no intention of ever introducing her daughter to Marjorie Miller. Hearing Hope even suggest such a thing threw Lisa into a tailspin because she had no idea Hope was even planning such a meeting. No one at the table said a word. They all understood what a bad idea this was, but today was not the day to discuss Marjorie Miller. Susan stood up and said, “It is getting late, we need to leave now if we want to get there on time. Hope, do you have your photo album? Okay, let’s get going.”