Christmas Gift  Christmas
morning. Vin was awoken by J.D.’s squeals. “Santa found us, Vin. He found
us!” Vin leapt out of bed and joined J.D. peering into the
Santa sacks that had miraculously appeared at the bottom of their beds. “Pa
said Santa would find us and he did!” Vin smiled at his younger brother. Santa
hadn’t come when they’d lived on the streets. “Look! I got a truck. Vin, it’s that red truck I saw. Santa
knew! He knew!” Vin reached into his sack and pulled out a baseball
bat, his little eyes shining with pure joy. Chris had promised to teach
him how to play baseball and Santa and brought him a baseball bat. Movement in the doorway caught Vin’s
attention. He looked up at the two sleepy adults as they entered the room. “What are you two doing up at this time of
the morning?” Buck demanded. “PA!” J.D. squealed. “Look!
Santa brought us lots and lots and lots. Some of this musta been from
last year. He musta saved it and gived it to us now that he knowed where
we live.” “Reckon so, Squirt.” Buck turned
and winked at Chris. Vin smiled up at the man he now called Pa. Chris
walked forward and crouched in front of him. “A
baseball bat. Looks like we can start that baseball training we talking about.” Vin nodded. “There’s more in the sack for
you,” Chris stated. Vin blinked and looked down at J.D. who had finished
unpacking his own sack and had started yanking things out of Vin’s. “Whooh,
there Speedy. Those
are Vin’s,” Buck chuckled. “A baseball and a glove.” “We can share,” J.D. cried at a volume
that shook the windows. “We always shares. Even when we lived in
that box in the alley, Vin and I shared.
Didn’t we, Vin?” Vin smiled at his brother, clutching the bat to his
chest. “Can we start some baseball training now, Pa? “How about some breakfast first? The
rest of the boys will be arriving at 8:00.” “Do you think they have presents for
us?” J.D. asked, his young face alive with
wonder. “J.D.,” Vin
scolded. “We’s already got so
much.” “Oh,” J.D. huffed. “Uncle Ezra told me yesterday that he has
something very special for you,” Buck stated. “YAYYYYYY!” J.D. threw his arms above his head and began
bouncing around like Tigger. “No red cordial for J.D. today,” Vin heard Buck whisper to Chris as he scooped the youngster
into his arms. Chris’ hand descended to the top of Vin’s head. A ripple of emotion zapped through Vin. He had never felt this happy. “Okay?” Vin peered up into his father’s face and Chris
smiled. “Me
too, son.” ********* At 8:00 am on the dot, the boys heard a couple of
cars pulling up outside. “They’re here!” J.D.
bellowed, racing for the door. Vin shot off after him and caught him by the
arm. “Wait until the cars have stopped or you’ll be runned
over, J.D.” The pair stood on the veranda and watched as their
uncles exited two cars, Josiah and Nathan with armloads of gifts. J.D. raced down the steps and began leaping and
bounding around their legs. Vin looked to his other uncle who had a shopping bag
and two flat gifts wrapped in gold paper. Buck had said Uncle Ezra had
got them something special. Something special and flat?
He hoped it wasn’t a book. His reading was improving but it was
hard work and presents were supposed to be fun, weren’t they? ********* “Gentlemen,” Ezra greeted as he entered
the kitchen. Noting that both Chris and Buck had mugs of coffee in their hands,
he smirked. “And what time did the young masters rouse you this
morning?” “Let’s just say the sun hadn’t
even thought about rising,” Buck stated yawning. “Pa! Pa, come on. There are new
presents under the tree. Pa!” J.D. shouted from the family room. “I’m being summoned,” Buck
chuckled. “Come on, before he shouts the house down.” Ezra led the way into the family room where the
Christmas tree stood in all its splendour. He had supervised the
decorating. Unfortunately J.D. had no concept of symmetry and kept hanging things without thought or planning. Thankfully
Vin had simply kept removing the decorations J.D. hung
and handing them to his uncle. J.D. didn’t seem to notice and in
the end they had a tree that was perfectly symmetrical and decorated to
perfection. Ezra watched happily as the Christmas gifts were
handed out. J.D. played the part of Christmas elf handing things
around. Ezra’s gaze was drawn to the little boy seated on the
carpet with his father. Chris was lying on his side, head resting in
hand. Vin was leaning against his chest. Vin seemed content to allow J.D. to do all of the
giving... even of the presents he had purchased for his uncles. Each time
he was thanked, the little boy would glance at his father and smile. “This
one’s for you Uncle Ezra. It’s from Uncle Nathan,” J.D. repeated
after Buck handed the gift to him from under the tree. “Thank you, J.D. I wonder what it is?” J.D. stood an inch form the present, watching
wide eyed as Ezra carefully peeled away the paper. “Ahhh.” “What’s that?” J.D. asked
curiously. “Tickets
to the Opera.” Ezra looked
over at his friend. “Thank you, Nathan.” Nathan nodded. J.D. and Vin then opened
Josiah’s present... a walking, talking electronic robot. It stood
as tall as J.D. and the little boy had everyone is stitches as he mimicked the
robot’s movements. Still Vin sat quietly and
clearly contentedly with his father, taking a turn at the controls of the robot
and then handing them to Chris to try. ********* Vin stared around the room. There was paper and
boxes and gifts strewn everywhere. Under the tree, there were only two
gifts left. Two flat gifts in gold paper. Gifts
from Uncle Ezra. Ezra rose and picked up the parcels and handed one
to J.D and then one to Vin. J.D. attacked his
like his life depended on it. Vin opened his
more slowly. He heard his brother’s reaction before his own present
was revealed. “A
picture frame?” J.D. asked
clearly surprised and disappointed. “Yes,” Ezra stated, smiling widely. J.D. blinked and looked down at the large frame
that had room for two 6”X 8” photos. Buck nudged the little boy. “Huh?
Oh, thanks Uncle Ezra, J.D.” muttered before casting the frame aside and
returning to playing with the trainset Uncle Nathan had bought him. Vin looked down at his own gift and pulled the paper
away. The frame was the same as J.D.’s and had writing on it.
“My Family” he read slowly. He glanced at his father to check
he had read the words correctly. His Pa nodded. Vin frowned. Why would Uncle Ezra think an empty
photo frame was so special? Vin looked up at his uncle
who smiled at him. “Gentlemen please move and stand in front of
the tree. We need a photo to mark this occasion,” Ezra ordered,
producing a digital camera and placing it on the table. Chris scooped Vin up and
tossed him over his shoulder. Vin giggled
happily. “Chris, I don’t want a picture of
Vin’s backside,” Ezra complained. At this, Chris lowered the
child to the ground. Ezra pushed some buttons on the camera and then
joined the men in front of the tree. “Smile please,” Ezra
ordered. There was a click and then a flash. Ezra rushed back to the camera, checked something
and nodded to everyone. “Perfect. Now I need one of Buck and
J.D.” Vin moved out of the way and watched as Buck picked
J.D. up and put him on his hip. Both smiled stupidly and Uncle Ezra took
the photo. “Now, Chris and Vin.” Chris took Vin’s
hand and walked across the tree. “Ready?” Ezra asked. “Vin, smile, son.” Vin found it difficult to smile the way J.D.
did. He was smiling... it was just on the inside. Ezra lowered the camera and looked at Chris.
Without warning, Chris grabbed Vin around the waist,
tipped him upside down and held him aloft. Vin’s
laughter echoed around the room. There was a flash of light and Ezra nodded to
all. When Chris lowered Vin to
the ground, the little boy noticed Uncle Ezra had disappeared, but he was
quickly distracted by J.D. and the robot. ********* As Vin sat playing with
the train set he noted Uncle Ezra re-enter the room, holding the frames
he’d given Vin and J.D. for Christmas. Vin
paused as the adults crowded around and began grinning. Uncle Ezra approached and handed him his
frame. Vin peered at it. On the left was
the photo of everyone in front of the tree and on the right was the picture of
his father holding him upside down, both of them laughing. Vin stared at the images and reread the words under the
photo. “My family.” My family. A family of his
very own. His family. Uncle Ezra had given him a family! That was
why this was such a special gift. Vin’s
bottom lip began to tremble and tears spilled from his eyes. No one had
ever given him something so special before. ********* Ezra smiled at the little boy and then noted the
trembling bottom lip. “Vin? Son, are
you okay?” Tears spilled onto the child’s cheeks.
Ezra shot a look at Chris who strode up to the boy and crouched in front of
him. “Vin? What’s up,
Cowboy?” Vin looked up at Chris, handed him the frame and then
rose, walked around his father and flung himself at Ezra. Ezra captured
the child in his arms, the boy’s sobs now loud. “Vin?
What’s wrong?” “Thank you, Uncle Ezra. Thank
you. Thank you.” The words ‘thank you’ were murmured softly a dozen times before Ezra was able to
pulled the boy from his embrace. “Vin?” Vin reached for the frame, looked at it and drew it to
his chest. “You gave me a family,” he whispered. A lump swelled in Ezra’s throat and he
flicked his gaze to Chris and then back down to the child. “No, little one. You and J.D. gave us
family. You are, without a doubt, the most precious Christmas gift God
has given us. Merry Christmas, son”.
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