The Best Christmas Ever -- As Usual

  

Christmas was as beautiful and as much fun as ever.  Somehow, in spite of the pre-Christmas craziness, everything always turns out all right in the end.  It’s like having a baby; you forget the morning sickness and labor pains until the next one comes along.

We managed to solve the problem of Christmas Eve with Missy and my father.  Actually, I called Janet and asked her to speak to Missy, and she got Kate to do it.  “If I do, it will seem bourgeois, but a priest can get away with it.”  So I guess my being uncomfortable about my father and his girlfriend having the same bedroom in my house probably makes me worse than bourgeois, but I tell myself this is part of my charm. 

Josh graciously offered my father the top bunk, but he said, thanks, but he might fall out, which would put a crimp in the festivities.

The next morning, Missy said it had been decades since she had gotten up with children on Christmas and almost started to cry.

They left around noon, because they were going to Missy’s daughter Rachael’s for dinner at two o’clock and then to her son Mike’s for dinner at five.  Missy said it was like having to visit both sets of parents when she was young, except this time she didn’t have to bring all the bottles and diapers and baby gear.

The kids were disappointed that they wouldn’t be here for Christmas dinner, but my father promised to come over the next day for leftovers.

Cilla wasn’t too pleased, but I told her that in England, the day after Christmas was called Boxing Day, and everybody got together to eat leftovers and put whatever was left over after that in boxes for the poor. Then she and Josh started boxing.

When I told Karen and Nikki about Missy sleeping in the guest room and my father in Josh’s room, Nikki wondered if maybe my father had come in for a visit.

I was shocked.  “He wouldn’t do that.  And anyway, we would have heard.”

“His sneaking in or what went on after that?”

“Nikki!”

Karen said, “You’d be surprised how quiet you can be.”

“How do you know?”

“Tom used to come stay at my house during vacations.  He slept in my brother’s room, but he would sneak into mine.  Fortunately, my sister was married and out of the house.”

“My mother tried so hard to be cool and with it,” Nikki giggled.  “She put Helmut in the guest room and asked if I wanted to stay there too.  I was so embarrassed, I turned red.  She said, ‘Oh, Nicole, grow up!’”

“What happened?”

“I slept in my room and told Helmut I would sneak in, but he said that wouldn’t be right.  He can be old fashioned sometimes.”

“Life was so much simpler then,” Karen sighed.  “You worried about your grades and when you were going to get a chance to do it.  We never thought to worry about getting pregnant because you were either on the pill or you were just too clueless to understand that it might happen.”

“I had one friend who was very quiet,” Nikki said.  “Her name was Margie.  Well, everybody thought that two quiet people were a good match because they would understand each other.  But it’s not true.  Things just get too quiet.  But she hooked up with this guy who was quiet too, but he was cute, handsome really.  They got married, but it only lasted about two years.  I asked her what happened and she said they didn’t have anything to say to each other.  I asked her why she hadn’t noticed that when they were dating and she said they were too busy making out.”

“Did she have a nice wedding?”

“It was lovely.  It had an open bar and a sit-down dinner, with shrimp cocktail with giant shrimp for an appetizer.  She looked beautiful, too.  She had an autumn rainbow wedding; the bridesmaids wore different fall colors.  It was kind of retro, but it worked.”

“Well, at least she had one happy day.  What happened to her after that?”

“She married a guy who never shut up.  But he was even handsomer than the other one.  They have five kids.  He probably kept talking while they were having sex.  But she’s very happy.”

“That’s what’s important,” Karen said, and we all nodded and toasted Margie.