Post Grid: An Arizona EMP Adventure (37 page)

Chapter 19

Christmas, long awaited, had finally come to The Wise Ranch. Emma was excited. Just after dawn, she rose to stoke the wood stove and start breakfast. She almost tripped over the Christmas tree as she rounded the corner into the living room. The house was quiet and cold but the curtains had been drawn and it would warm up quickly once the fire was built up again. She tried not to make too much noise, as Jared was still sleeping on the couch. He just bunched his blankets up around his neck, turned toward the sofa back, and resumed his snoring.

Emma took some precious flour from the pantry and got out the ten eggs she had been saving for the occasion. Pancakes with high fructose corn syrup, salvaged from the tanker truck on the freeway, and scrambled eggs! She would need two eggs for her famous pancake recipe and one for each person, scrambled. Emma took her pail from the kitchen drainboard and headed to the barn. There would be milk and butter on the table too, an unaccustomed luxury. They had been getting milk from one of the cows for a week now. Today a second calf would be declared weaned, and his mama would be milked as well. They would even have enough milk to share with a few of the neighbors as a Christmas gift.

When Emma returned from the barn, Kelly was up, padding around the kitchen in her robe and some slippers she had fashioned out of the fabric up in the closet.

“Good morning dear,” Emma said.

“Merry Christmas, Mom,” said Kelly.

“Merry Christmas.” Emma walked over and gave Kelly a long hug. She held Kelly out from her and looked her over as if trying to take in every detail.

“Can I help with breakfast?” Kelly asked.

“Why, of course. There's butter to be churned,” Emma said without as much as a glance toward Kelly, who had wrinkled her nose in distaste. “The others can take turns as they meander in.”

Just then Jared appeared. “Well, Merry Christmas to my two beautiful ladies,” he said, kissing Emma on the cheek and then taking Kelly in his arms and planting a lingering kiss on her lips. The room was silent for a minute or so as the young couple kissed and Emma ignored them. “Hmm, that was a wonderful way to start the day.” Jared beamed.

“Kelly here was just about to start churning some butter for me, maybe you would like to help?” asked Emma.

“Sure. Ever helpful, that's me.”

Over the next half hour, everyone filed in. It took forty-five minutes to churn the butter, so everyone took a turn. Emma took the wooden paddle out of the tall wooden churn Jose had made, and scraped the congealed butter from its sides and paddle. She drained off the buttermilk into a small pitcher, then poured clean water into the churn.

“Churn that another minute or two,” Emma directed Jess.

She repeated the process of draining off the diluted buttermilk and re-churning twice more, until she was satisfied the water ran clear. She scraped the remaining butter onto her marble candy-making slab and proceeded to beat it with two paddles to remove air bubbles and solidify the mass. “I learned this from one of my old Foxfire books. You have to use the marble and the paddles so the warmth of your hands doesn't melt the butter.” The butter finally resembled what everyone had come to expect from store-bought butter, except it was softer and paler.

Kelly finished cooking the pancakes and eggs and they all sat down to a hearty breakfast.

“Can we open our gifts after breakfast?” enquired Lynn, eagerly.

“I don't see why not,” said Dennis. “Like I said before, I like Christmas as an American tradition—a time of giving and sharing. You guys have celebrated Hanukkah and the other Jewish Holy Days with us, now we would like to share with you.”

Lynn beamed. “There is a present for all of you.”

As soon as breakfast was over, everyone gathered around the Christmas tree. It wasn't a typical pine tree but its desert cousin in shape if not in genus: the juniper. Junipers are sparse, light-green-bristled trees with silvery, green berries bearing little resemblance to the conical shape of the pine except in color. The fact that they were evergreen was convenient. It was decorated with scraps of material that the girls of the house had fashioned into bows, seed pods, and a small collection of special ornaments Emma had hung onto for sentimental reasons.

Kelly designated herself Santa and started passing out the gifts. “Remember,” she said, “these are group gifts. The present is meant to come from all of us at the same time.” There was an air of excitement as they began the familiar Christmas ritual of handing out presents to loved ones.

The first package went to Lynn. It was soft and about eighteen inches square. It was wrapped in light blue tissue paper. No tape was used; only a piece of brown twine held the bundle together. Lynn gently untied it and unfolded the paper. “Clothes!” she yelped. Inside the package was a white nightgown and three shirts. She clutched them to her chest, then reached out and took Emma's forearm. “Thank you so much, it's exactly what I needed.” Lynn stood and held a shirt to herself, doing a complete circle for the crowd. “I love them.”

The next package went to Dennis. It too was soft. Dennis removed the plain brown paper around his gift. It was a beautiful
tallis
, a Jewish prayer shawl, wool with many tassels.

“I helped Emma put the tassels on,” said Lynn. “The number of threads are right.” She smiled from ear to ear.

“It's beautiful,” Dennis gasped, making a steeple with his hands and pressing the shawl to his lips. “I shall cherish it always.” He rose to his knees and leaned forward to give Lynn a hug, then held her head in his hands and kissed her on the forehead.

“Next is Jess,” said Kelly. Jess got a small cardboard box without paper wrapping. He opened it and took out a leather belt with a large silver buckle displaying two horses standing on their hind legs. Jess looked up in amazement. His eyes went from one person in the room to the next. Kelly said, “It was my father's. It's a horseman's belt and that is what you have become.”

“Thanks,” Jess choked, turning to hide his emotion. He stood up and put the belt around his waist. It was large for him, and it looked like he might have to put a new hole in it. Jess turned the buckle up toward his face so he could see the silver horses. He beamed with pride.

“You'll grow into it, Mijo,” said Jose. “Thank you, all,” he said for his son, looking around the room at his friends.

Kelly handed Jose a large cardboard box about thirty inches square. It was heavy and Kelly's arms strained to lift it. Jose rose quickly and bent down to take the box from her. “Dang, that's heavy,” he said. He struggled to stand upright with the box, then sat cross-legged on the floor with it on his lap. He opened it, revealing an old wooden tool tray filled with very old-looking tools, many with worn wooden handles. The metal parts of the tools were weathered and oxidized.

“Where on earth did you get these?” Jose whispered, blinking rapidly as he stared in amazement. He lifted the tray from the box.

Jess moved to sit next to his father. “Tools are important in a world without stores. We got them from the Branham's garage. These old tools were mounted on the wall above a workbench, and this old tray was there too.” Jess reached into the tray and took out a chisel. “I'll help you clean them up.”

The next present was small. It was in a little, pink velvet jewelry box. This gem went to Emma. “What on earth?” she said. Her fingers tugged at the hinged box. When it opened, it was an old high-school ring, a man's ring, on a gold chain. Emma looked up with a blank expression on her face.

“It's not much,” said Rich, “but it means something to me.”

“No, no, it's wonderful,” replied Emma. “Help me put it on. This doesn't mean we're going steady, does it?”

“Well, if it did, ol' woman, I wouldn't admit it here in mixed company, now would I?”

Rich did not stand to help Emma put it on. Awkward as it was, Kelly stood and went to her mother. “Here, Mom, I'll help you.” Kelly looked at Rich but he didn't change his expression.

The next gift was not lying under the tree, but was offered to Kelly by Jared. He pulled a small box from behind his back and handed it to Kelly. The tag was written in an unfamiliar hand. It was wrapped in white tissue paper and tied like Lynn's.

“This one is mine?” Kelly asked, grasping the small box with both hands and clutching it to her chest. She held it momentarily, as if waiting to calm a bit. She lowered the box to her lap and pulled at the string. The small bow gave quickly and the ties fell away. She removed the paper, revealing the tiny cardboard box. Her hands shook a little as she opened it. There, perched on a small, pink pillow, were her mother's wedding rings. Kelly looked up inquisitively, first at Jared and then at her mother. “But Mom, these are yours.”

“Yes, my dear, but I know someone who could use them far more than I,” said Emma.

Jared took the small box and lifted the band, which was set with a white diamond. He took Kelly's left hand and placed the engagement ring on her fourth finger. “I believe this makes it official, my love.”

A tear of joy ran down Kelly's cheek. Emma had to blink rapidly to keep her own tears from spilling over her lids and down onto her cheeks. Kelly waved her hands back and forth in front of her face as if fanning herself. “I love them, thank you
both
.” Kelly hugged Jared with one arm and her mother with the other as they sat, pulling both a little off balance. Kelly got up and sat in Jared's lap, admiring the ring on her finger. Jared pocketed the wedding band.

Lynn seeing her chance, plopped down onto the floor where Kelly had been sitting and announced, “Jared, the next one is for you.”

The large box was as light as a feather, and Lynn threw it at Jared. He caught it easily and proceeded to carefully unwrap the brown paper covering. It was filled with packing peanuts, so he parted them with his hands and moved them around in circles, but could not find his gift. “Let me help you,” Lynn said impatiently. She grabbed the box from Jared, stood it on one corner and then shook it lightly. She reached into the lowest corner and came out with a ring.

“It helps if you know what you're looking for,” Lynn declared. She thrust it at Kelly as if she should take it.

Kelly took the ring from Lynn and laid it gently in Jared's outstretched palm. Both looked at it and then into each other's eyes. Jared closed his fist tightly around it, took Kelly's hand and turned it palm up, then opened his grasp, letting the ring fall into her cupped hand.

“Only 'til the wedding,” Jared said.

“Rich, the last one is for you,” Lynn announced. She handed him a very thin parcel of brown paper, about eight by ten inches, tied with a thin red ribbon.

Rich took it, giving a little nod of his head in appreciation. His large fingers fumbled with the knot and Lynn reached for the parcel to help him, but the tie let loose. The brown paper fell away, revealing a picture. It was a drawing of Rich's dog, done in pencil.

“Oh my God,” said Rich and put his hand to his mouth. He looked up and scanned his audience. “Who did this?”

“It was me,” said Lynn, her chin high in the air.

“How did you know? That ol' dog has been gone ten years!” He stared at it in amazement, studying every detail.

“I saw the tiny picture you had pinned to the wall near your radio. I didn't think too much about it 'til I saw the collar hanging by your chair in the living room. It's the same collar, isn't it?”

“Why, yes, I guess it is. That ol' mutt was the best dog ever lived,” said Rich, brushing a tear from his eye. “All I had left of him was that tiny photo. I can't believe you drew him so true from that.”

“I'd hoped you would like it, that it would be special. I didn't know what else to do.”

“It's perfect, girl,” Rich said, rising from his chair and leaning toward Lynn. She rose too and they met in the middle. Rich held the dog's picture way up in the air with his left hand and hugged Lynn for everything he was worth with his right. “You're a darn good artist. Thank you.”

“You're welcome,” Lynn said, looking down. Somehow it didn't seem right to watch Rich be overtaken with emotion; he was such a private man, and her elder.

“Now that the gift-giving is over, I have some more fun for us,” Emma announced. “A special Christmas treat. Anyone who wants to make
fudge
can follow me to the kitchen.”

Lynn and Jess looked at each other. Both said, “Yes!” at the same time.

Before Emma could get to her feet, Jess and Lynn were halfway through the kitchen door. Everyone else rose and stretched. Kelly gathered the brown paper and Jared stacked it neatly in a pile as Emma followed the kids.

Dennis and Jose got to the kitchen door and Dennis held it, waiting for Kelly. “You guys go ahead, we'll be in in a minute,” Kelly said, grabbing Jared's hand and swinging it back and forth.