Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
At five minutes to three on Christmas Day, Suzie answered the doorbell to find a smiling James with a large bouquet of flowers, a bottle of wine and a suspicious-looking bag. “I’m so glad you could join us, James. Please come in. Does that bag have what I think it does in it?”
James handed her the flowers and the wine. “These are for you. Laura said you were having ham, so I chose the wine with that in mind. I found the bag by my front door this morning. Guess Santa must have dropped it off.”
“Thank you so much, James. It looks fine to me, but I’m not much of an expert on wine. I hope you didn’t go to any trouble,” she said, indicating the bag as the children came rushing in. “You remember my children, Tim and Abby, and of course, my father, Dan.”
Dan came out of the living room to greet him, “Good to have you with us, James. I’m looking forward to talking to you more about that apprenticeship program of yours. I’ve been thinking a lot about it since Thanksgiving, and I think I have some ideas you’ll find helpful.”
The children both started tugging on his arms to lead him to the tree where they could show him their Christmas presents. “Whoa, whoa, guys! I haven’t said hello to everyone. The gifts will keep.”
“Laura is in the kitchen making rolls. I’ll go get her,” Suzie volunteered.
As Laura came out of the kitchen wearing an apron over a simple burgundy dress and a smudge of flour on her cheek, all James could think was how beautiful she was. He would love to have her coming out of his kitchen looking like that – but maybe with fewer clothes. He would let her keep the apron on.
He pulled her into his arms for a hug and a chaste kiss on her lips. “You look gorgeous, honey.”
“Thank you, Sir,” she said, jokingly. “I think your vision might need a bit of help, given how much of a mess I am, but the compliment is welcome, regardless. Now, please go in the living room with Dad and the kids. Suzie and I will join you in a few minutes. We have to get a couple of things under control first.”
“What’s in your bag, Ring Mister?” Abby asked and pulled at his sleeve.
James replied, “What bag?” as he wrinkled his brow in confusion at his empty right hand.
Abby giggled and pointed to his left hand.
“Oh, you mean this bag?” He held it up as if he’d forgotten about it. “I found it outside my door this morning and it seemed to have some interesting items in it, so I brought it along. I’m not sure exactly, but I think we have to wait on the ladies to come back before we check. Why don’t you show me what Santa brought you?”
Abby was eager to be the first to answer that question. “I got a new Barbie from Santa and Mommy gave me two new outfits. Aunt Laura gave me this really neat cookbook so I can make real food. Mrs. Beatrice gave me a fancy hat and Granddad got me my very own train for downstairs. Now I don’t have to borrow one of Tim’s when we play. And Tim got me this really cool Pomsie cat. See how it wraps around my hand?”
“It’s amazing what they come up with these days, isn’t it, James?” Dan asked, as James dutifully admired everything.
James agreed, as Tim stepped forward to show what he had gotten. “Santa brought me a new club car for my passenger train. And Granddad got me a really cool station to add to the layout downstairs. Will you come see it with me later?”
“Sure, Tim. I’d love to. We’ll ask your mother when a good time would be,” James replied. “Did you get anything besides train gear?”
“Yes, sir. Aunt Laura got me this great book on trains. Mom got me a new computer game where you can create your own train layout. Mrs. Beatrice got me a real engineer’s hat and a letter from the engineer, and he said he can take us to the trainyard one day and let me see the real engine room. And Abby gave me a paint set we can use to make our landscape look better.”
James laughed at Tim’s ideas of what constituted not-train presents. Laura came in with a tray of vegetables with two different dips and a selection of cheeses and crackers. “Dinner won’t be until five. This is to hold you all until then,” she announced. “What can I get you to drink, James? Dad, would you like another beer?”
“That would be great, Laura,” Dan said. “Thank you, sweetheart.”
“I’ll have the same as Dan, thank you, Laura.”
The doorbell rang again. Suzie came out of the kitchen to welcome in a smiling Mrs. Shepherd. Dan immediately got up, followed by James. “I’m so glad you could come, Beatrice,” Suzie said. “These pies smell absolutely delicious.”
Dan reached them and gave his girl a hug and a quick peck on the lips. “I’m glad you could come, too.”
“I’ll make you even gladder when we go home,” she murmured back, then turned to thank Suzie for having her. “Pies were no trouble. Didn’t know what kind you all like, so I just brought the standard Dutch apple, pumpkin and pecan. I also made a mince, but mind, it’s true mince and none of that bottled apple candy. Real kidney suet in there, lovely if you’ve the taste, as I know my Dan does, but it’s not for everyone. Then we have my prize-winning lemon cream,” she continued, heading into the kitchen with her box. “That’s cream, not meringue. Can’t stand that eggy fluff. And a chocolate peanut-butter for the children. For our after-hours, I’ve got a Kentucky bourbon walnut that will curl the hair on your chest. Hope they all turned out all right.”
“I’m sure they’ll be as sweet as you are, my dear,” Dan said.
“I hope they’ve turned out better than that!” she huffed, and sashayed into the kitchen.
As Laura brought glasses and bottles of beer to James and her father, she asked what Mrs. Shepherd would like.
“I’ll take a cuppa,” she replied, settling into the sofa beside the Dan with a sigh. “Or hot water if you haven’t any. If I want to put a smile on, I’ll cut into the pie.”
“I’ll put a smile on for you,” Dan murmured.
“Oh hush, you old goat,” she shot back fondly.
The children again showed off their new toys and by the time they were finished, Laura and Suzie had joined them in the living room. This time, it was Tim who brought up James’s oddly lumpy bag and asked, “What do you have in there, Mr. Black?”
“Don’t you think Mr. Black is a bit formal? Surely, we know each other better than that,” James said.
Suzie suggested, “Why don’t you call him ‘Mr. James,’? That way it won’t sound like you’re talking to a complete stranger.”
“Sure, Mom. What do you have in your bag, Mr. James?” Tim asked again.
“You’re tenacious, young man,” James replied. “Let me see what’s in here. Hmm, there seem to be packages in here. This one says it’s for Tim and the other has Abby on the tag.”
“James, you really didn’t need to bring gifts for the children,” Suzie said. “They have lots of toys and we try to keep the total number within reason.”
“I told you I found the bag by my front door this morning,” James responded with a wink, adding in an undertone, “I don’t have any family to buy presents for. Usually, I buy for the local toy collections.”
“Please, Mommy,” Abby pleaded.
“Of course, Abby. I wouldn’t keep them from you after Mr. James went to all the trouble to bring them.”
Abby tore into her present to discover another pony like the one Tim had won for her at the festival. “This is wonderful. Dash and Fuzzy Wuzzy need another friend. I’ll have to think about what to call him. He doesn’t look like any pony I’ve seen before. Thank you so much, Mr. James,” she said as she came over to hug him.
“You’re welcome, Abby. The pleasure is all mine. I’m sorry, Tim, but your present doesn’t have anything to do with trains. ”
Tim ripped the paper off anyway. Inside was a kit for making your own airplane out of balsa wood. “Wow, this says the plane will really fly?”
“It will indeed, Tim. I’ve seen those before,” Dan interjected. “I’ll help you put it together later, if you like.”
“Thanks, Granddad! And thank you very much, Mr. James,” Tim said. “It’s okay that it’s not a train. I’ve never seen a plane you could make yourself that would really fly. My friends will be so impressed. I don’t think any of them have anything like this.” He beamed around the room. “Mom, can Abby and I take everyone down to the basement to see the trains?”
“I think that’s a fine idea. I need to check on things in the kitchen, but I’ll join you shortly.” Suzie squeezed Tim’s shoulder.
After over an hour of admiring the complicated train layout in the basement, James pulled Laura aside and suggested they take a walk while it was still light. “I don’t want to be rude, but I’d love a few minutes alone with you.”
“I’m sorry, Sir,” she said quietly, “but I’m going to have to get back to the kitchen shortly if we’re going to keep dinner edible. I think we’ll have to wait until after we eat. We can leave quietly after we have some of Mrs. Shepherd’s pie.”
“If we’re not careful about which pie, we’ll end up too drunk to drive home,” James grumbled.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned from you,” Laura teased gently, “it’s that sometimes, being forced to wait makes finally getting what you want even better.”
“Oo, remember that you said that.”
As Laura ascended the stairs with Suzie and Mrs. Shepherd, they exchanged happy glances. The children were happy, the men were getting along, and the tantalizing aroma of simmering dishes filled the air and created an atmosphere of anticipation.
In the kitchen, they soon found a rhythm and worked together on finishing the meal like the three of them had been doing it for years. Everything was under control, yet the time had come to shift gears and delve into the more active aspects of their culinary endeavor.
When they sat down to eat, Suzie asked their father to say grace. Laura placed her right hand in James’s and joined her left with Tim.
When they had all clasped hands, Dan spoke: “Thank you, Lord, for bringing our family and friends together on this special day. Bless this food to our bodies and us to thy service. In Jesus’s name, we pray. Amen.”
After everyone echoed the “Amen,” Suzie and Laura began passing the food around.
They had a delicious dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, Brussels sprouts and homemade rolls. Although she rarely indulged in alcohol, Laura sipped from the wine James brought and enjoyed the complementary taste.
Their conversation ranged from the apprentice program at James’s company to the merits of trains as a mode of transportation in the 21 st century to the best ways to remove gravy stains from linen tablecloths. Eventually, they got to the array of pies Mrs. Shepherd had brought for dessert, careful to reserve the more ‘grown-up’ flavors for later. Suzie also put out a platter of Christmas cookies the children had helped to decorate.
It was difficult to be sensible with so many amazing treats laid out before them. James and the children did their best to sample each and every pie, but Laura limited herself to two tiny slices of pecan and pumpkin, both heavenly.
The pies were spectacular, and seeing Mrs. Shepherd blush as she waved away the unanimous compliments was even better, as good as the pride in her father’s eyes as he carefully squeezed his bride-to-be’s knee.
The dinner received unanimous approval when Tim pushed away his empty plate and declared, "I've had enough to eat."
As Suzie began to clear up, Mrs. Shepherd took charge. “Won’t hear of it!” she declared, chasing Suzie from the table with little snaps of a napkin. “You did your part. Go be with your children. Mr. Dan and I will do the washing-up.”
As Suzie weakly argued, James and Laura discreetly excused themselves, slipping away from the gathering unnoticed.