Merry Christmas from MFFLRR 2003

IT WAS A DARK AND SNOWY NIGHT

by Kristin Kroeker

He had just come in from the barn and was shaking the snow off his coat when he heard her welcoming voice from within, “Honey, do you want a plain grilled cheese sandwich or do you want it with ham?”

“Whatever is easiest for you, dear,” he said with a distinctive gleam in his eye. He had been out in the barn taking care of the animals and thinking. Walking over to the fireplace where he had laid a fire earlier, he stood in front of it trying to warm up. He looked to see if his wife was busy and quietly reached up to the mantle and took his pipe and bag of tobacco from its box and moved over to his favorite chair. He sat down and sighed in comfort as he put some tobacco in his pipe and lit it with a match. Inhaling the sweet smoke, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

“You’re not smoking in there are you?” his wife called from the kitchen. She hated it when he smoked. For some odd reason the smoke would settle around his head, almost like a cloudy halo.

“It’s just one pipe before dinner honey. I promise no more tonight… after this one.”

Shortly after dinner he disappeared. She wasn’t sure where he had gone, but she was glad that he wasn’t around to pester her... she had things she needed to get done. She cleared the dishes off the table and went to her small office that was just off the kitchen. It had been added to the house a few years ago when she complained that he had his office and workshop and she needed her own space for writing letters and going over the household accounts. Logging onto the internet she went straight to eBay to do some searching. She was looking for a very special present. This would be their 40th wedding anniversary and she wanted to give her husband something very special.

What would be a good gift, she wondered. She put “hat” in the search box and wondered what kinds of hats people were selling. Hopefully something more stylish than that red one he wore all the time. Goodness, he even wore it to bed sometimes if he was cold; and it tickled! She paged through the various auctions for several minutes before deciding she was going to need something to drink. In the kitchen, she made a cup of cocoa. As she was going back to her office she heard him clomping up the basement stairs, and just before the door opened she slipped into her office and shut the door.

He came upstairs from his basement to find his wife’s office door closed. That was a sure sign that she was up to something, just like he was. Trying to figure out what to give his wife for their wedding anniversary was getting frustrating. He had been down in the basement going through boxes looking for an idea for the perfect gift, something that she would never forget. It was time to look in the attic. That was where they kept their most precious keepsakes. He walked upstairs, pulled down the ladder into the attic and began the careful climb into the attic. Several years ago, when she had been feeling abandoned, she had decided to categorize and organize the attic. One section was all her stuff before their marriage, one section was all his stuff before their marriage and the last section was everything they had collected in the last forty years. Each area was also labeled by years. He went over to her mementos and found the boxes from the years while they had been dating. Carefully digging through the boxes so she wouldn’t realize that he had been up here, he spotted a small wooden box that had definitely seen better days and recognized it as a box he had carved for her while they had been dating. With a smile, he realized he had finally found the perfect gift. He ran downstairs to the kitchen and grabbed the things he needed to accomplish his task and took them back up into the attic.

She sat at her computer for hours, getting nowhere. Realizing that it was after midnight, she decided to call it a night. She knew he wasn’t in the kitchen, but he had been upstairs for most of the evening. She put her mug into the sink and made her way up to their bedroom. Surprised to see him fast asleep in their bed, she pulled on her nightgown and climbed into bed next to him. Instinctively, he pulled her next to him and she was asleep within minutes.

* * * * *

The day had finally come. February fourteenth was the date. It was their 40th anniversary. She woke up only to find him gone from their bed. Then she heard him, humming to himself in the bathroom. She climbed out of bed and walked to the bathroom to find him trimming his beard. She had never seen him without it. It was not a short beard, but rather a full, soft beard. He saw her standing in the doorway and winked at her, his eyes twinkling. After a breakfast of waffles and imported gourmet coffee they each went their separate ways for the rest of the day. She went upstairs and dug out the box from the bottom of her closet and opened it on the bed. She looked at it longingly but knew she couldn’t put it on until tonight. She spent most of her day doing mundane things around the house. She did a couple of loads of laundry and hand-washed some dishes. She often wondered where he was and what he was doing.

Putting the finishing touches on the gift for his wife, he smiled and imagined the look on her face when she opened it. He wrapped it in the cloth he had purchased when he had last gone to town and stuffed it in his jacket pocket as he made his way through the deep snow back to the house. Sneaking in through the back door he slipped upstairs to their bedroom only to find it locked. He knocked softly and waited. His wife’s voice came from the other side of the door.

“You’ll have to wait your turn dear. I’m almost finished.” He could hear her feet softly falling against the hardwood floor and waited patiently for her to emerge. Suddenly the door came open and his wife emerged wearing her long bathrobe.

“I thought you were almost ready,” he said.

“I am.”

“Then why are you wearing that silly robe,” he asked as he reached for her.

Sliding away from his grasp she replied, “It’s a surprise.” And she turned and walked down the hall and downstairs.

Looking at his watch he realized he only had a short time to get ready so he locked himself in the bedroom and proceeded to shower and dress for dinner.

When he came downstairs a short time later, she was standing there, waiting for him, looking more beautiful than ever. And it wasn’t just what she was wearing. Although her dress was very pretty, it was the look on her face that captured his heart. Smiling at him as if she had never seen a more handsome man she walked to him and kissed him softly.

“Happy anniversary, honey,” she whispered.

“Happy anniversary to you too, my dear,” he replied.

They sat down to dinner and talked easily about the upcoming months. With Christmas over, they had a chance to rest for a little while and were planning some time off. When they had finished dinner and cleared off the table they moved into the living room to have their coffee. In front of the fireplace was a pillow with two packages on it. They sat down on opposite sides of the pillow and set their cups on the coffee table. It was their anniversary tradition. They would sit across from each other and just look into each others eyes and then they would take turns telling the other person something they appreciate about them. She always went first.

After a few minutes she smiled and said, “I appreciate your generosity.”

He nodded and replied, “I appreciate your tolerance.”

This went on for almost thirty minutes when he finally said, “I appreciate your patience, but I don’t have much left.”

She laughed and took a sip of her now cooled coffee.

“I suppose it’s time then.”

They each picked up their gifts and held them out in one hand while taking the gift from the other person with the other hand. Again she went first. Untying the ribbon that held the cloth closed at the top of her gift she slowly opened the fabric. What she saw put tears in her eyes and a smile on her face. She lifted the small box from the fabric and turned it over in her hands and admired the handiwork. Years ago, he had carved her a small jewelry box out of a piece of wood they had found while on a walk. He had not been very skilled at the time and had made several mistakes while he was carving. He had given it to her anyway, and she had treasured it but ultimately had packed it away so it wouldn’t be damaged. This box was practically identical. It was the same shape and size, but had been stained and polished till it shone and had an intricate carving on the top of the box. He had even put hinges and a latch on it.

“It’s beautiful,” she said as she looked up at him. With tears in her eyes she leaned across the pillow and kissed him. “Now it’s your turn.”

He opened the box on his lap, threw back his head and laughed. He laughed so hard he shook. A hat. She had given him a hat. Trying not to look disappointed his lifted the hat and proceeded to put it on his head, only to have the sharp corner of a small box drop down on top of his head.

“Ouch,” he said as he set the hat aside and looked at the small wrapped box. He unwrapped the box, and lifted the cover. Inside sat a piece of silver paper on top of some tissue paper. The note read:

May you always be able to

find your way home.

He recalled the first year of their marriage and remembered the night when he had gotten lost in a blizzard, but had finally managed to find his way home. Their small cabin seemed like a paradise of warmth for his chilled body, where she had bundled him up in front of the fireplace and had hovered over him until he had fallen asleep. He finally reached for the tissue paper and lifted it away to find a small electronic compass. He looked up to his wife’s face and smiled.

“It’s perfect,” he said. “And I love the hat.”

She laughed and the pushed the gifts and pillow out from between them and held each other.