Village Squire, 1979-12, Page 24It was full of photos which he dumped on top of the desk. When a
knock came at the door he was irritated that they would dare to
interrupt him.
"Jim," said Kate, "it's too early for the children to go to bed.
They are too wound up. They are going to put on a little play for
us, then trim the tree and hang their stockings. Do come and
watch. A break will do you good." Unsmiling, he followed her to
the couch in the parlour. He tried not to look at the cedar tree nor
to smell its aroma. He stared glumly at a carton near his feet. In
it was Tommy's green pullover simulating hay. On the "hay"
was Robby's teddy bear, a white towel carefully arranged so that
only its eyes showed, round and black. He commented, "The
swaddling clothes and all!" and was disgusted with the sneer in
his own voice. But it was all such a stupid travesty! Christmas
itself was some sort of mockery. He considered packing the
family up and getting out of here, back to the apartment in
Toronto.
Now the children were coming down the stairs, and Kate was
singing softly, "We three kings of Orient are." Tanya, head
turbanned in a towel and trailing a mauve thermo-blanket, knelt
beside the carton. She said, "Here is your frankincense, Baby
Jesus," and poured the contents of a bathoil bottle on the towel
which wrapped the teddy bear. The smell of jasmine made Jim
cough. He swore under his breath, and Tanya kept_her head
down as Tommy came in his turn to the mangtr. Stumbling over
his robe, he said, "And here is your myrrh!" A half -full tube fell
on the teddy bear's face. Jim, his eyes bulging, grabbed at the
tube.
"For Pete's sake!" he exploded. "My shaving cream! From
now on leave my shaving things alone, do you understand? And
get your feet off my dressing gown, too, do you hear?" In his
clenched fist the cap from the shaving cream came off, and the
scent of wintergreen mingled with the jasmine. Angrily he
screwed on the cap, thrust the tube into his pocket. Tommy put
both fists into his eyes.
"I've had just about enough of this nonsense!" Jim stood up.
Our message
is one of good
wishes and
appreciation
to our friends.
Hope your
holiday is
wonderful.
33 West St. Goderich
524-4400
atoms
Decorative /AA(t t'sstmes
22 Village Squire, December 1979
"Daddy, wait! Tanya's voice was shrill. "Baby Jesus hasn't
got Robby's present yet!"
My g -gift is the g -g -gold" Robby's words were tear-filled. He
opened his palm wide. and a tiny cardboard box plopped on the
teddy bear's stomach. Kate picked the box up, her eyes curious.
"Where--did--you--get--that?" demanded Jim. His face was
livid.
"In a drawer," said Tommy. "An' it's REAL gold! It says so
on the paper" Kate lifted the lid from the little box, took out a
folded piece of paper covered with large childish lettering. A
small bit of something fell from it and lay on the green pullover,
glimmering dully. Jim snatched them furiously: the box, the
paper, the little hard object. He stamped out, his face white. As
the library door slammed he heard Kate's voice: "Don't cry,
Robby. Daddy's just tired. To -morrow everything will be fine."
Alone in the dimly lit room Jim stared unseeingly at the heap
of photos on the desk. With his arm he swept them all into a
garbage bag. One missed, and the flap of its folder fell open, and
Jim was suddenly confronted by the boy he used to be. There he
was beside his cousin, Dougall, the tall, serious, compassionate
teen-ager who was now a doctor in Edinburgh. There beside that
superior being was the fat -faced, conceited, know-it-all
twelve -year-old with a gold tooth shining in the right centre of
his smart -aleck grin. With despiteous eyes Jim stared at the
grinning face, and in his chest the mass of depression seemed to
swell till it filled every cavity. Between his thumb and forefinger
Jim pressed the hard bit of metal -the gold tooth- and
remembered...
Christmas afternoon forty years ago. Dougall, furiously silent,
striding up the lane. Himself. panting. left well behind.
They had come across the field from the McCrimmon place.
Dougall and some high school friends had gone to skate on the
McCrimmon pond. Jim, uninvited, had trailed after the older
boys, weighted down with some of the presents his mother had
POTTED PLANTS
TO BEAUTIFY YOUR HOME
OR AS A SPECIAL GIFT
N'oinsettias
•(yclamens
•,Azaleas
•Mums
•I erusalem cherry trees
•t3egonias
•Gloxinias
•Dred & silk flower arrangement
•Dish gardens
BE SURE TO GET IN ON OUR CHRISTMAS DRAW.
TICKETS GIVEN WITH EACH PURCHASE.
OPEN DEC. 24 FROM 9 A.M. TO 9 P.M.
'91-3032
LISTOWEL
Residence 356-2561