CHRISTMASTIME... Ho Ho Ho? (Part 102c)

The phone rang early Monday morning and it turned out to be an early Christmas present. One of the schools called and wanted Elle to come in for the next 2 1/2 days. Schools were to let out for the holidays after a half day on Wednesday but Elle was to be paid for the whole day. Even though we had to hustle to get everything done so we could all be out the door in time it was good news. It meant Elle was finally moving up on the list to be called and in time to help cover some of the cost of Christmas.

Christmas was on Friday which meant it would be a long weekend and that was good. I’d heard a rumor that the bank might give to give a Christmas bonus but nothing had been announced. As I drove to work that day I was hoping that it wasn’t just a rumor. The employees seemed to be a bit more upbeat and I attributed that to waiting for the news about the bonus. As I left for home Wednesday night there still wasn’t any confirmation. When I got home the station wagon wasn’t there but the lights were on inside. Elle was waiting for me with the news that the car wouldn’t go into reverse and was still at the school. I didn’t drive it that much and when I did the only things that I’d noticed was that was sometimes hard to start and was burning oil. After we all ate we bundled the kids up and headed for the school. I tried to put it into reverse but nothing happened. The wagon was up against a curb but I put it into a forward gear anyway and felt it try to move. I knew nothing about automatic transmissions so my initial thought was there wasn’t anything I could do. As I got in my car to head home I remembered I had chain in the trunk of my car. I got it out and connected the two vehicles and pulled the wagon out. One problem solved.

Thursday was Christmas eve. Just before the doors opened to the public at the bank, Monte, the chairman, called all the employees together in the lobby. The first thing he said was that we’d find a little ”extra“ in out pay envelopes when they were handed out. I wanted to yell out something but all the others just stood there with the best expression I could see being a few half smiles. Weird group for sure! The second was a similar announcement to the one on Thanksgiving eve about the end of the day. As soon as the tellers were ”in proof“ we’d be free to go. After that he turned and headed for his office... no Merry Christmas or anything. As the others walked away I just shook my head.

Pay envelopes were handed out just before noon. I remember ripping mine open to see how much ”extra“ I’d gotten. Since what we received was the net after taxes it was actually a guess as to how much it really was. As best as I could figure I had about $35 more than the previous week. I looked around and no one seemed elated or excited so I asked my boss, Alvin, about it. He said that in the past it was 2% of salary. It only took a few seconds for me to calculate that I’d not gotten anywhere near that much. He then reminded me that I’d only been there a few months. It made sense but didn’t make me happy... but it still was something.

We got the word that we were free to leave just before 3:30pm. That was perfect for me as it meant I wouldn’t have to rush to eat and then get to church. Like most churches, there was a midnight service on Christmas eve. However, the church Elle and I attended added a ”children friendly“ service at 7pm so kids and their parents could attend. Karen, the girl who ran the nursery and helped out in the Sunday school had persuaded the minister to allow the kids to participate in the service. In place of the sermon the younger kids were to act out the nativity scene while the older ones read passages. Jean had been tapped (by Karen) to play Mary. All the kids were to be in costumes and Jean was in her glory when fitted for hers.

The service was well attended. Towards the end I noticed that Jean seemed distracted and even close to tears. When it was over the kids went down to the undercroft by way of the stairs behind the altar. Elle and I had to go down the main staircase just off the lobby. We saw Anne but there was no sign of Jean. Elle had Anne’s coat so she went over to her while I went looking for Jean. I found her crying in the kitchen area with Karen squatting down next to her. I asked if everything was OK and Karen indicated that it was nothing serious, that it was just a minor problem. Jean had stopped crying and was whimpering by then. As I stood there Karen started whispering in her ear however it was loud enough for me to hear. I heard her say that the same thing had happened to her the first time she had to get up on stage. It didn’t make any sense to me at the time but it did get Jean's attention. Karen then stood up and reached for Jean’s coat that was over my arm and helped her on with it. Then she came up next to me and whispered in my ear that Jean had had ”an accident“ during the service while the readings were going on. It took a few more seconds for that to connect with what I’d overheard her whisper to Jean about her experience on stage while in school. Instant soft bulge.

When I was a youngster my brother and I had been told that Santa would not only bring the tree and presents but would also decorate the tree. For Elle and I that was way too much. We created our own tradition and that was we’d put up the tree on Christmas eve so Santa could decorate it. Once back home that’s what we did. Elle then read "The Night Before Christmas" and we put the girls to bed. They were so wound up that it was after 11pm before we were sure they were asleep. Normally we would turn the heat off in the patio room when it got dark but since this was where the tree was we’d left it on. It was actually too warm and I was able to persuade Elle to get out of her regular clothes and just wear her pajama top and panties. As you can well imagine I was able to convince her to ”lubricate“ the crotch of her panties a few times as we decorated the tree. That probably added a half hour to the process but well worth it, at least in my mind.

To be continued...