Wild Horses (Sadie's Montana #1)(50)
Dat slurped his coffee in the kitchen, and Reuben sat on the couch watching the clock, estimating the size of the oblong package and listening for any sign of activity upstairs. Finally, when the suspense was no longer bearable—like a burn in his pant’s leg—Reuben simply marched right up the stairs and knocked loudly on each sister’s door.
There were muffled “Reuben!” sounds, but nothing very seriously angry, so he knew they were aware of Christmas morning as well as he was. They were just trying to act mature and not get too excited about it.
Eventually, they all straggled into the kitchen with their robes clutched around themselves and their hair looking a lot worse than his. Anna was the only happy one. Leah bent over the wood stove, shivering, and asked Dat why he didn’t get this thing going. Rebekah yawned and stretched. Sadie just sat there. She didn’t say anything at all. What a bunch of lazy girls!
After breakfast was eaten, everyone dressed faster than normal. Dat read the Bible story about the birth of Jesus, choking up the way he always did. Reuben knew the story of the angels, Joseph and Mary, the shepherds, and Baby Jesus. It was a good story and one he was taught to be very reverent about. This was a serious miracle, this Chrisht Kindly who grew up to be Jesus, the Savior of all mankind.
Reuben knew there was no Santa Claus. They weren’t allowed to have pictures of Santa Claus in school, and no one thought Santa delivered their packages. Reuben knew Mam bought them and the girls wrapped them, and likely Dat paid for them. The reason they received gifts on Christmas day was to keep the tradition of the Wise Men who brought gifts to Baby Jesus.
Finally, the story was over. Dat wiped his nose, and Mam smiled as Reuben asked, “Now?” He said “Denke” to Mam as nicely as he could, hoping it conveyed all the love he felt at this moment. And then, he was allowed to open his packages—that wondrous moment he had been waiting on for much too long.
He tore off the wrapping paper of the first package and sighed with the wonder of it. Here was a full-sized, very expensive, grown-up-looking football that would impress all his friends at school. The ping-pong set was an added bonus he had not expected. He squealed, pounded the arm of the couch, and yelled to Anna to come here and look right this minute. Anna screeched, and they bent their heads to examine the new, heavy paddles very closely. Then, Mam handed him another package—the biggest one of all.
Reuben looked up, questioningly.
“Are you sure this is mine, Mam?”
“Yes, Reuben. It’s for you. It was under my bed!”
Reuben’s mouth fell open.
“But … I already have a football. And a ping-pong set.”
“Open it!” Mam urged.
He couldn’t remember ever having been speechless before. He simply couldn’t think of anything to say, so he didn’t say anything at all.
It was a skateboard.
A real one.
For bigger boys.
It had a heavy, gritty top and flames painted on the bottom. Bright orange wheels finished it off. The wheels were absolutely unreal. They spun like mad. It was twice as big as anything he had ever owned.
And then Anna got one just like it, except hers was fluorescent teal—a girl color.
The whole thing was unbelievable. Reuben felt so spoiled, so completely greedy with three big items for Christmas. It almost wasn’t right.
“Denke, Mam!” he said, over and over, his voice thick with the emotion he felt. Anna echoed his thanks. Then they set their skateboards on the hardwood floor and tried them out through the ribbons and wrapping paper. Dat wiped his eyes again.
The girls started opening packages, but, to Reuben, it just seemed like girl things—fabric for new dresses, ice skates, dumb-looking candleholders, framed pictures that weren’t a bit pretty. They giggled and fussed and yelled their high-pitched, silly girl sounds, but Reuben wasn’t interested in all that useless stuff.
Sadie received a really nice saddle blanket, though. It was black and white, sort of like a zebra—the exact one she had always dreamed of for Paris. It would look sharp on Nevaeh.
Dat gave Mam a beautiful battery lamp for the bathroom, which made her smile a lot. Reuben wished Mam would smile the way she used to, but he figured when you got as old as Mam, you had to take a lot of pills to keep going. He guessed you were often tired and didn’t feel like smiling.
Later that morning, Sadie sat at the kitchen table chopping celery and onions, her leg propped up on a folding chair. Mam was peeling potatoes, Rebekah was putting together the date pudding, and Leah was mixing ginger ale and pineapple juice.
“Mmm! That ham smells heavenly!” Sadie sighed.
“Lets eat at eleven, instead of twelve!”
“Uncle Samuel’s coming this afternoon?” Rebekah asked.
“Oh, yes. And Levi’s.”
“Oh, goody! I’m so glad. I love to sing with Samuel,” Rebekah said.
Sadie smiled to herself, settling contentedly into the Christmas atmosphere. Thank God, Mam appeared so normal—making dinner and enthusiastic as always. For Reuben and Anna, it meant so much for this special day.
“When I get married, I want date pudding on my eck in a trifle bowl just like this one,” Rebekah announced, putting the final layer of whipped cream on top. Standing back, she admired her date pudding.
“That bowl was on my eck,” Mam said, putting down her paring knife to go to Rebekah’s side.