Sugar House (9780991192519) (21 page)

"Joe! Joe!" he called. "Get up! St. Nicholas
was here!" Joe pushed himself up on his hands and looked out into
the dark hall.

"Go get Stephan from Matka's room," he called
from the darkness. "It's only fair that we look in our shoes at the
same time." He was hoping to grab two more minutes of sleep. But
Frank returned in what seemed like a few seconds and pleaded with
Joe to get up. Joe threw on his robe to fight the cold of the
morning and walked into the hall. Lincoln Logs lined all six of the
boys' small shoes, and a cardboard box containing the rest lay
underneath. Joe picked up Stephan and Frank carried the box down
the stairs to the living room. Joe showed his brothers how to
connect the wooden logs to make different structures. They tried to
build one of the new skyscrapers on Woodward Avenue. It didn't have
the same characteristics, as the logs were wood and the large
buildings were built of steel and concrete. But they immensely
enjoyed knocking it down.

The weeks before Christmas passed quickly as
Joe continued to rest and recover. Dr. Levy would not allow him to
return to school, but the nuns had sent some work home for him so
he could try to catch up. A year away from school was a long time,
and Joe was worried the nuns would keep him in the third grade. He
concentrated on the reading primers Sister Mary Monica had sent,
because he'd always enjoyed reading and the work taxed him less
than arithmetic. After only a week, Sister Mary Monica sent home a
fourth grade primer and he worried a little less. He supplemented
his reading with the
Detroit News
, showing Frank the
Christmas ads from Hudson's that proclaimed that within its empire
a three story child's wonderland of toys had been erected for the
children of Detroit.

The scent of pine needles permeated the air
as Joe walked into his Aunt Hattie's living room on Christmas Eve.
A roaring fire was burning in the fireplace, and a Christmas tree
waiting to be decorated with fruit, cookies, candy, and candles sat
near the front window. Cheerily wrapped presents lay on the floor
near the tree. Marya and the women gathered in the kitchen to
finish preparing the Christmas Eve feast. They'd been cooking and
baking for days, but their work was not finished.

"Time to decorate the tree, children," Uncle
Feliks called. Joe and Pauline ran over to the tree and looked
eagerly at the feast of treats that lay on the front windowsill.
"Grab that long string, Pauline," Uncle Feliks instructed. Pauline
began to thread cookies and small fruits onto the string, and Joe's
uncle showed him how to thread popcorn. Frank tried to help string
the treats but he mostly snuck pieces of candy into his mouth when
he thought no one was looking. When the long garlands were hung on
the fir tree, Uncle Feliks attached small white candles to the ends
of the branches.

Dusk arrived and the family gathered in the
living room as the first evening star appeared in the sky. Uncle
Alexy divided the opłatek among the family members with the
exception of Stephan. The wafer was multi-colored and decorated
with embossed patterns of the nativity scene. Walking toward his
mother, Joe held out his wafer to her. "Merry Christmas," he said.
He broke a small section of her wafer and placed it on his tongue.
Matka repeated his actions, taking a small piece from Joe's wafer
and placing it on her own tongue, and smiled down lovingly at her
small son. "Merry Christmas, my Joe." She leaned down and kissed
his cheeks and hugged him. Next he approached his father and they
performed the same ritual. This continued until he had exchanged
bread with every member of the family. His Uncle Feliks broke half
of Joe's wafer and shoved it in his mouth when it was their turn,
and Joe laughed; teasing was also part of the custom.

The lights gleaming from Aunt Hattie's small
tree and glittering candles washed the room in a warm yellow glow.
Sheaves of wheat hung in the four corners of the room and lay on
the table, an old practice that signified the wish for animals of
the farm to ensure good health and strong offspring. Part of the
tradition included the belief that animals could speak with a human
voice at midnight on Christmas Eve. To hear them speak meant bad
luck, but Joe always left his window open a small crack every year
in case the chickens in the backyard decided to have an interesting
conversation.

The family sat down to eat in the living
room. The men had set up a couple of long tables, and the women had
spread beautifully embroidered tablecloths—one new and two they had
brought from Poland that had been sewn by their grandmothers. Marya
sat next to an empty chair and place setting that had been set for
"the absent." A small piece of each course would be placed in the
plate in remembrance of the dead. Uncle Alexy led a prayer of
thanks. He included Joe's health in his litany. Joe silently said
his own prayer of thanks

"All right!" Matka said as soon as the prayer
was delivered. "Time to eat!" Aunt Hattie and she rose from the
table and brought dish after dish out to the waiting family. Aunt
Hattie ladled out red borscht with kluski into everyone's bowls. In
a matter of minutes the tables were laden with soft, warm bread,
boiled perch, fried carp, horseradish, and cabbage with mushrooms
and nut croquettes. Joe dug into the aromatic cabbage and
smiled.

"A fabulous feast you have prepared, Hattie
and Blanca" Uncle Feliks praised the women, holding up an enormous
stein of beer and toasting the meal. The women, in turn, raised
their small glasses of wine and the children their thick glasses of
milk.

"A fine meal," Mikołaj agreed, as he put his
beer down and speared another piece of the perch. "Did you perhaps
save a scale from the carp for my wallet?" he asked.

"Of course we did! I'll give it to you after
we have dessert." When the children heard the magical word dessert,
they offered to clear the table and wash the dishes. They worked
quickly through the mounds of plates, bowls, platters, pots, and
silverware together. Joe dried the dishes that Marya washed, and
Pauline returned them to their proper places. Marya carried a stack
of small plates to the living room, and Pauline brought the freshly
washed silverware. Their eyes opened wide in eager anticipation
when they looked upon the array of sweets lining the middle of the
tables.

A large bowl filled with poppy seed paste and
a platter of waffles commanded the center of the table.
Gingerbread, pastries, and cakes flanked the bowl, and a pot of
steaming hot coffee gave off an aromatic scent throughout the room.
The men poured vodka into shot glasses. Raising their drinks, they
clinked their glasses together. Joe took a waffle and spread the
thick poppy seed paste on top with a knife. The taste of honey,
vanilla, and raisins filled his mouth.

Everyone satiated beyond comfort, the
children returned to the kitchen to rinse the dessert dishes and
cover the leftovers. Aunt Hattie retrieved the royal carp scales
for the men's wallets. Just then they heard singing on the front
porch. "Come, children," she said. "Leave the rest. I believe we
have carolers!" The children ran to the front window and looked out
on the porch. A group of twenty singers had gathered on the small
lawn. A tall, robust man was carrying a large colorful lighted star
on a stick. The carolers began to sing "Lulajże Jezuniu" (Sleep,
Infant Jesus"), a sweet melody by Frederic Chopin. "Oh, I love this
song!" Matka clapped her hands together in delight. Uncle Alexy
opened the front door and picked up Emilia in his arms. Joe walked
over to his baby brother, who was playing with two spoons on the
floor. Joe picked Stephan up and carried him to the window so he
could see. The baby looked surprised to be in his arms, but his
apprehension was allayed by the harmonious voices of the
carolers.

Ojciec joined in with the carolers as they
launched into another beloved Christmas hymn, "Gdy sie Chrystus
rodzi" (When Christ is Born), a traditional Polish favorite. As the
carolers began their final song, "Dzisiaj W Betlejem" (Today in
Bethlehem), the women rushed into the kitchen to wrap up sweets to
give to the singers. The entire family joined in the jovial song
and applauded them when it was over. Matka and Aunt Hattie passed
out the treats on the front porch, and the family gathered in the
living room to open gifts.

The children received small puzzles and candy
from their aunts and uncles. Uncle Feliks, in his usual fashion,
had bought more elaborate gifts. From behind the couch he pulled
out four shiny silver sleds and presented them to Marya, Pauline,
Emilia, and Frank. Frank jumped onto the couch and onto his Uncle's
back to thank him.

"Whoa, Frank! You're going to break my neck!"
Uncle Feliks laughed. "Or should I say… don't break yours on that
sled?"

"Thank you, Uncle Feliks," each of the
cousins said, as they kissed their blushing uncle on his cheek. The
children gathered together with their sleds at the back of the room
and debated where the best sledding hill was located. Feliks
reached under the couch and brought out a funny wooden duck on a
string that bobbed up and down when it was pulled across the floor.
He gave it to Stephan.

Uncle Feliks handed Joe a rectangular box
wrapped in brown paper and tied with a simple white string. "Didn't
think your Matka would let you go sledding this year, Joe, so I had
to think up something a little different for you." Joe slid the
string off, ripped off the paper, and stared at the box. He
couldn't believe his eyes! In large print across the top of the box
were the words Empire Express. Underneath was an image of a
powerful black locomotive chugging fiercely down the tracks, a
trail of black smoke pouring out its stack. Joe stared at the
picture of the bright headlight illuminating the darkness as the
train made its way to far off places. Joe's face beamed up at Uncle
Feliks from where he sat on the wood floor.

''A train? You bought me a train?"

"Well, open up the box and find out,
Joe."

Joe carefully lifted up the cardboard lid and
peered inside the box. He pulled out the shiny black engine and
examined it, noting the silver wheels and smoke stack. A small coal
tender with the words American Flyer Line rode behind the engine,
followed by a light brown passenger car with windows. Joe jumped up
to shake his uncle's hand but excitement got the better of him and
he gave him a hug, thanking him over and over.

"All right, Joe, you thanked me enough." he
said, pulling Joe off him and laughing. "Just keep getting better,
and that'll be good enough for me, all right?"

"Yes sir, I will!"

Joe pulled the four curved track sections out
of the box and connected them into a circle. He gently placed the
engines wheels on the rails.

Uncle Feliks sat down on the floor next to
him and picked the engine off the track. He pulled out a shiny
metal key from the empty box and inserted it into the side of the
train and wound it up. When the key could move no more, Uncle
Feliks set it back on the track. "Just push that lever on top of
the engine Joe and it should go."

Joe pushed the small lever, and the train
took off, speeding around and around the small track until it was
spent. No smoke came from the stack ,and there was no light from
the front of the engine as the box had portrayed. But to Joe, it
was the most magical gift he had ever received. He could imagine
himself standing in the front of the little engine, driving the
train, feeling the heat of the hot coal as it burned in the
firebox, powering the engine faster down the line.

"Let's hook up the other cars to the engine
and see if it still goes as fast," he said to his uncle.

""Joe you need to put the train back in the
box and carry it home now," Matka said, stopping him.

"Oh, Matka… ."he said, looking up
pleadingly.

"Sorry Joe. It's time to get ready for
midnight Mass." "Merry Christmas, everyone! We will see you at
church." Ojciec picked up Stephan, and they gathered their things
and went next door to get their coats and hats.

Blanca worried about allowing Joe out of the house
and exposing him to so many people, but her devotion to God
conquered her worry and she relented. Joe was eager to go to church
just to be able to be somewhere besides his house, and also to see
his friends.

"Joe, go upstairs and get dressed for Mass,"
Matka said when they returned home. "Wear your long-sleeved shirt
and sweater. And two pairs of stockings—it's very cold out
tonight," she called as he ran up the stairs to his room. Joe
quickly changed and ran back down the stairs to the front hall. He
shrugged his coat on over the heavy sweater. His arms felt tight
and uncomfortable.

"Ready, Joe?" Matka asked as she came out of
the kitchen into the hall. "Don't forget your hat and scarf." Joe
knew he'd be sweating within five minutes of arriving at the
cathedral, but he knew better than to complain or argue.

The air was cold. Several inches of snow lay
on the ground, but the sidewalks had been shoveled. Joe enjoyed the
fresh air as he inhaled it into his one good lung. They walked
quickly down the wooden sidewalk, Ojciec carrying Stephan and Matka
holding his other arm to steady herself as they traversed icy
patches. Joe listened to Frank jabbering about his sled and how
he'd be faster than their girl cousins when they went sledding. Joe
looked in the brightly lit windows of the homes they passed and
waved at classmates on their way. The sound of jingle bells rang
down the street as an elegant sled pulled by a large chestnut horse
pulled its occupants down the lane.

"If you're tired-let me know, Joe," Matka
told him as they approached the great cathedral.

"I feel fine, Matka," he replied, and he did.
Joe had done his best to continue the exercises the doctors had
taught him, and he was regaining his strength every day. Earlier in
the week Joe had visited Dr. Levy. The physician had been extremely
pleased with his progress and had cleared him to return to school
after the Christmas holiday. He was still under strict orders not
to overexert himself by running and playing with the neighborhood
boys, but he was hopeful his mother would lift his house arrest now
with the consent of Dr. Levy.