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CHAPTER NINETEEN
Two weeks later - Christmas Eve
“Can Grampa use that green crayon? I wasn’t done with the green one.”
“No, I am. Use dis green,” said Drew offering Bo another.
“I can’t use that one, Drew. If I do, the elf’s hat won’t match his clothes. Have you ever seen an elf with a hat that didn’t match his clothes?”
Nora giggled and shook her head. “Really? You’re taking this coloring pretty seriously, aren’t you Grandpa?”
Bo gave her a look. “Well, it’s true. Elves’ clothes always match...they are very particular.” She laughed aloud looking at him with adoration.
Drew and Bo were at the table coloring in Drew’s new coloring book while Nora finished baking cookies. They were having just a small gathering of family and friends over for Christmas Eve...Matthew, Clint and Viki, Destiny, and the Evans’. Bo had invited David and Dorian but they were going on a holiday cruise.
Matthew was the first to arrive. He followed his nose to the kitchen. “Mmmm. Smells great in here.” He looked at the cookies cooling all over the kitchen and said, “Mom! How many kinds of cookies did you make?”
Nora waved a finger in the air. “I bought one package of every kind they had in the refrigerated cookie dough section.”
Matthew laughed.
“And, of course I made some of your Great Grandma’s poppy seed cookies.” He snatched one and joined Drew and Bo at the table.
“Wow! That looks really nice. You’re doing a great job, Drew!” Matthew exclaimed. Drew beamed with pride.
“What about me?” asked Bo. “You didn’t say anything about mine,” he said to Matthew in a sarcastic voice.
“Well...it’s not bad,” Matthew replied, “but... why is the elf’s hat a different color than his suit? That’s just not right.”
Bo gave Nora an ‘I told you so’ look making her giggle all over again.
* * * * * * *
Nora finally had to shoo the boys from the kitchen so she could have the table for a work space to arrange the cookies and hor d'oeuvres on platters.
As soon as they left the kitchen, Drew pulled Grandpa by the hand. “I wanna see da elf,” he said pulling and jumping toward the tree.
“The elf?” Matthew asked Bo.
“Yes, your mother found it when we were packing things to move, so she decided to put it on the tree,” Bo told him.
“Can I see the elf too, Drew?” Matthew asked him seriously.
Drew answered with big eyes, “Yetz. Come on.” He grabbed Matthew with his other hand as they made their way to the tree. “Back here,” he said pointing.
Matthew looked into the branches. “ELFIE!” he shouted, laughing. “I can’t believe she still has this!” He pulled the stuffed elf with the dangly legs from the tree.
“You recognize it?” asked Bo. “Why don’t I remember this elf then?”
“Well,” Matthew said quietly, “I had kind of outgrown him by the time you and I were spending Christmases together. But...he talks.” Then directing his conversation toward Drew, he said, “You know that Drew? Elfie can talk!”
“He talks?” Drew asked surprised.
“Yes,” said Matthew with big eyes. “But he only talks to big people. When I was little, he only talked to Grandma.”
“But you big now!” said Drew with round eyes.
“So, you think now that I’m big that maybe he’ll talk to me?” Matthew asked. “Hmmm...let me see…” he said holding the elf close to his ear. “Shhhh….I hear something. What was that?”
Drew watched Matthew in wonder.
“Yes, Drew’s here,” Matthew continued holding the elf to his ear. “Uh huh...well, I don’t know Elfie, let me ask him.”
Matthew looked at Drew. “Elfie wants to know if you’ve been a good boy this year.”
Drew shook his head up and down. “Tell him yetz.”
Matthew looked at the elf and said, ”He says he’s been good, Elfie. Why do you ask?” He held the elf to his ear again, “Uh huh...Oh, I see!... I’ll tell him.”
He looked at Drew again, “Elfie says that he will tell Santa that you’ve been good...and that Santa will be bringing you lots of presents this year.”
Drew turned to Bo with a wide smile. The one Bo gave back was even wider.
“I wanna play with my cars now,” Drew said running across the room. “Bye Elfie.”
Matthew placed the elf back in the branches. Bo patted him on the back and went to put another log on the fire. Matthew joined him by the fireplace.
“You’re really doing well with Drew, Matthew. I can see you’re earning his trust.”
“I’m trying, Dad. The kidnapping really made me look at things differently. It made me realize how I’d failed and made me want to have another chance.”
“And...now you have it. It doesn’t mean your life is over. Your life will be richer because of Drew. You’ll see that in time.”
“I’m starting to already,” said Matthew. “He’s a fun kid.”
“Yes, he is,” Bo agreed.
Nora entered bearing platters of cookies to place on the tables. Bo helped her rearrange things to accommodate the platters. It was then that Matthew noticed the ribboned stone on the fireplace mantel.
“What’s this? he asked indicating the stone.
Nora looked up. “Oh...that’s your father’s Hanukkah gift to me,” she said cheerily.
Matthew looked at Bo with a smirk, “Nice, Dad. Really nice...a rock tied up with a ribbon…” The smirking turned to a chuckle.
“Are you making fun of your father, Matthew? You shouldn’t, you know. You are the offspring of one of the most romantic guys on this earth,” she said running her hand up Bo’s arm and kissing him. “You could learn a lot from him about romancing a woman…”
“Stop…” Bo began.
“Why? Am I embarrassing you?” she asked him looking into his eyes. She glanced at her watch.
“Ohh...I need to hurry. Have your Dad tell you the story behind that stone, Matthew. Go on…”
Nora skurried back to the kitchen.
Matthew looked at Bo. “Well...You heard her. Go on,” Matthew said. “So what’s the story?”
“You really want to hear this?” Bo asked.
“Sure,” Matthew said.
Bo began. “You know your Mom and I lived in this house when we were married the first time... even before that, really. We shared a lot of great memories here. It was a happy home...for the most part. Well, when we were separated and I had decided to sell the house, I came here one day to get a keepsake for myself...just a remembrance of the good times. I’m kind of sentimental that way.”
Matthew smiled knowingly.
“So,” Bo continued, “there was a loose stone in the wall outside the house that I chunked out with a hammer. While I was hammering away, I realized your Mom was here...she was upstairs packing. So, I went up and spent some time reminiscing with her and decided to split the stone giving her half...a keepsake for her to remember the good times too.”
Bo added another log to the fire.
“When I remarried your Mom...it was a dream come true for me, Matthew. And...when I found this house for sale again... that was yet another dream come true. When your Mom was packing to move here, she found her piece of the cornerstone...and later I found mine. So...I decided to put them back together...permanently...representing how your mother and I are back together permanently...and back in this house permanently…and I tied up the dream with a ribbon from her wedding bouquet.”
Bo looked at Matthew. “I know...you think your old man’s pretty sappy, don’t you?”
Matthew thought a moment, then replied, “No, actually...I think Mom’s right. I could learn a lot from you.”
* * * * * * *
When the guests arrived, it was a simple evening of food, fun, and laughter. The centerpiece of the party was Drew who kept them laughing throughout the evening with his funny expressions and antics. There were Christmas carols, and toasts, and even a little bit of dancing when the eggnog had everyone loosened up.
It was a wonderful evening, but Nora noticed about halfway through that Bo was a little on edge and kept looking at his watch. He even slipped into the kitchen a time or two. ‘He had better not be working’, she thought.
About 9:45, the doorbell rang. Bo looked visibly relieved as he half jumped off the couch to answer it. “I wonder who that could be,” he said to Nora.
“Well, whoever it is better have an appetite for cookies,” she laughed. “I think I made too many.”
When the door opened, standing on the threshold was…Rachel.
Nora’s mouth dropped open. “Rachel!” Tears brimmed in her eyes. “My baby girl…”
Nora went to her and they fell into each other’s arms laughing and crying at the same time.
“Surprise!” Rachel said happily.
“Why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t you let me know you were coming? Oh my Lord, you’ll have nothing to open tomorrow...I shipped everything to your house!” Nora gasped. “You should have told me...” She hugged Rachel again.
“It was supposed to be a surprise,” Rachel said grinning and looking at Bo.
Nora looked at Bo.
“Surprise!” he said stretching out his arms and grinning from ear to ear.
“You!” Nora said looking at Bo. “You’re behind this,” she said smiling. “You see, Matthew? This is what I’m talking about.”
Matthew smiled and shook his head in agreement. Then he said, “Come on, Big Sister. Where’s my hug?”
Rachel went to Matthew’s arms, then gave hugs and greetings all around.
Nora went to Bo’s. “So,” Bo asked. “What do you think? Do you like your Christmas present?”
“I love it...and I love you,” she whispered wrapping her arms around him and looking at her happy family.
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