CHRISTMAS 1988
If there was one thing she had never been able to get used to at
Christmas, it was the quiet. Especially on this day.
Christmas Eve wasn’t supposed to be quiet. It was supposed to be loud and noisy and
bustling with activity. It was supposed
to be bright and colourful and bursting with reds and
greens and gold. Decorations should be
going up, presents put under the tree, her little Scooter running around with
that truck he had been so fond of, dodging from one person to another.
These days though it was just quiet. Her little Scooter wasn’t a child any longer
and it had been twenty years since he had been home for the holidays. Spending Christmas Day with the rest of the
family was all good and well, but it still left Christmas Eve far too quiet.
Sighing, she placed the last of the decorations on her small tree
and turned to look at the sparsely decorated apartment. The tree was in the
usual corner, adding a little colour to the room, and
she had her cards lined up on the sides.
Scooter had sent her a big one this time, hand made and brightly coloured, making her wonder if
Murdock had put her baby up to it and given him a helping hand. Certainly the mirage of colours
on the front seemed to suggest someone with some artistic talent had helped,
and she knew that while her Scooter was a lot of things, his artistic ability
was somewhat limited, although he did love to help kids at his youth centres try and express themselves creatively.
A knock on her door drew her out of her thoughts and crossing the
room she opened it to find a group of children standing there. She recognised them
as being from the apartment building, the children of the adults that Scooter
and the team had helped.
“We wish you a merry Christmas.
We wish you a merry Christmas. We
wish you a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Good tidings we bring, to you and your
king. We wish you a merry Christmas and
a Happy New Year.”
She smiled as they finished their chorus. “Very
nice,” she said, dropping a few coins into their money box. “You’ve got wonderful voices.”
They grinned and thanked her for the money before moving on. She watched them for a moment before shutting
the door quietly behind them.
Yes, it was going to be a quiet Christmas. Scooter had written again to say that he
wouldn’t be coming home this year. Not
that she had expected him to. But it
would have been nice. Especially
if he had brought his friends with him.
Between them they had managed to bring so much laughter and joy to her
small apartment that it had seemed so quiet and empty when they’d left.
Moving back into her apartment, she looked around again,
wondering if there was anything else she needed to do. The cookies were almost done, just cooling on
the side now, ready to be packed away in a bit.
Her presents for the family were all wrapped up and ready to be picked
up when Archie came to take her to the family party. She was all set. There wasn’t anything else that she needed to
do, there wasn’t…
There was another knock on the door. Sighing, she walked over to it and opened it,
wondering who it could be this time.
“We three guys from
“Shut up, fool!”
The four figures who stood in front of her were perhaps the last
four people she had expected to see, and she found herself staring blankly at
them through the unique rendition of the classic carol. It was only when the song was cut off that
she got her senses back.
“Scooter?”
“Hello, Mama.”
And then he was in her arms and she was clinging onto him for
dear life. He was here, on Christmas Eve
for the first time in over two decades. Which must mean…
She let him go and took a step back. “Does this mean…”
He nodded. “We’re free,
Mama,” he said. “Got our pardons
yesterday, signed by the president and everything. We drove all day to get here and surprise
you.”
“Oh, Scooter.” She grabbed him once more and hugged him
tightly before stepping back to allow them to come in and put down their bags, and
moving to hug each of them in turn, starting with the pilot.
“It was a wonderful song, Murdock,” she said, pulling him down to
her height.
The pilot just grinned at her before stepping aside to allow her
to hug Face.
“You look as if you’ve lost weight,” she told the lieutenant,
patting him on the cheek. “Well, nothing that a little home cooking won’t change.”
Face smiled, leaning down to place a soft kiss on her cheek
before allowing her to move on.
“You look the same as ever,” she told
“For what?” he asked raising his eyebrows.
“For bringing my Scooter home, of course,” she smiled. “Just like you promised.”
“Not your fault,” she bustled, motioning for them to sit
down. “Now, make yourself at home and
feel free to make a mess and a lot of noise.
Lord knows I miss it when it’s quiet.
Now, what do you want to drink? Coffee? Tea?”
“Mama.”
She stopped. “Yes, baby?”
Her little boy just looked at her for a moment, a look of wonder
on his face, as if he couldn’t really believe that he was here standing there. “Merry Christmas,” he finally whispered.
She smiled back, moving over to place a soft kiss on his
forehead. “Merry Christmas to you too,
baby. Merry Christmas
to all of you. Welcome home.”
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