A Late Christmas

Hello, my lovelies. This one should have been posted a little earlier, but last weeks post wanted to be finished first. Feel free to tell me what you think.

Betsy snuggled deeper into her thick faded quilt, letting her body sink further into the lumpy cushions of the couch. Her brassy hair brought color to an otherwise washed out room filled with faded fabrics and neutral decor. Her soft green eyes didn’t notice the faded colors. Instead, they looked past faded blue curtains that framed the window. Softly falling snow took all vestige of color out of the world outside the window, reflecting golden rays of sunshine to warm the room.

“Thomas says that Gracie is feeling better.” A soft voice brought Betsy back from the brink of sleep.

Green eyes opened. A smile tentatively played along her lips. She sat up, allowing the quilt to fall back from her shoulders.

“So I can take her Christmas present to her?”

Betsy’s mother paused, peering out the window before answering. “The snow seems to have stopped. Just remember to hurry. I want you home well before dark.”

“Thank you, momma.” Betsy jumped up from the couch.

Her mother disappeared for a second, reappearing with a heavy, brown coat and a pair of clunky dark boots. Betsy kneeled on the floor, searching for something under the couch with probing hands. One armed disappeared up to the shoulder before she produced a pair of wool socks that were wadded together. She sniffed at them as they dangled from her thumb and index finger. Shrugging, she slipped them over the thin cotton socks she was already wearing before shuffling over to her mother.

Mother handed Betsy the boots, watching with a doting smile as Betsy struggled to remain standing while pulling them over her feet. When she righted herself, her mother helped her into the heavy coat. Mother’s lips tickled as they brushed Betsy’s cheek.

“Be careful, sweetie.” As she spoke, she pulled a thick scarf out of one pocket and ragged gloves from the other. “Don’t take these off until you get to Gracie’s house.”

“Yes, momma.” Thick folds of the wool scarf muffled her voice.

Her eyes already sought out the door as she followed her mother into the kitchen. She paused in front of the kitchen table, allowing her eyes to waver from the door to a present resting on the stained tablecloth. Thin stripes of red, green, and white crisscrossed the shiny paper encasing a rectangular box.

“Is that Gracie’s present?” Betsy craned her neck to look up into her mother’s face.

Mother smiled as she handed the package down to her daughter. “Make sure you head home before it starts to get dark.”

“I will, momma.” Betsy stood on her tiptoes to kiss her mother on the cheek one more time.

Mother opened the door, and Betsy stepped out into the chilly afternoon. Beads of water dripped an inconstant rhythm from the icicles on the gutters. She hopped quickly out from under the eaves as one of those drops splashed against her forehead. Hugging the package to her chest, she raced across the white expanse of the backyard.

She didn’t stop running until she reached the back gate. After pausing to lift the latch and stepping through, she walked with more casual, controlled steps. The thick woods of summertime had devolved to barren, dark trunks and twisted branches as fall turned to winter. She could actually see the tiny silhouette of Gracie’s house in the distance through the skeletal trunks. Frozen branches tinkled and thumped against each other as a breeze ripped through the valley.

As the wind whipped around her, Betsy felt her scarf loosen. One hand tightened on the package as she used the other to pull her scarf back into place. More wind whipped up from the opposite direction. Startled, her grip on the package loosened. Betsy sighed as the present slipped from her hand onto the snow in front of her. A light cracking sound followed.

Betsy looked up, glancing in every direction to get her bearings. Her pink mouth formed an “O” of surprise as she realized where she was. She knew about the creek, but in her hurry, she forgot to be careful where she was walking. Struggling to kneel in her heavy boots and coat, she watched in horror as a crack appeared on either end of the package, breaking through the snow and widening as a small stream of water bubbled through. She reached for the brightly colored paper with clumsy, gloved hands but failed to get a good grip.

Before she could wrestle one hand free of her cumbersome glove, the small stream had broken free enough that the package shifted. Desperate, Betsy pulled her glove off, tossing it toward the far bank. As she lunged forward again, the packaged dislodged. Loud cracking erupted from both sides. In the still afternoon air, the water sounded like a torrent. The package floated even further away, breaking up more of the ice.

“No.” Her own voice startled her as Betsy realized the water was now flowing around her knees.

She knelt in the middle of the stream, too stunned by the icy water to do more than watch the present disappearing further downstream. She shook her head, pulling herself out of her fugue. Splashing wildly, she tried to catch up to it, but the ice broke with increasing speed, carrying the package further and further away. Warm tears stained her cheeks as she realized she would never catch it.

Wiping her face on the back of her gloved hand, she reached out with the other for a scraggly bush growing at the side of the stream. She pulled herself up with its help. Grabbing her other glove, she slipped it over her stiff, frozen fingers as she shivered violently. The feeling in her legs ebbed and flowed. She would have been happier if she couldn’t feel at all. Every time her wet pants pressed against her skin, she whimpered pitifully. She walked faster toward her friend’s house, trying not to cry.

“How could I forget the creek? We always play in the creek in the summer.” She chastised herself as she raced onward, feeling the wind burn her cheeks.

When she finally reached Gracie’s door, Betsy paused, ashamed to knock when she no longer had a present for her friend. Steeling up her courage, she pressed one finger to the doorbell. As she waited, she clenched her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering.

“Mommy, I want to answer it. Please.”

Betsy recognized her friend’s voice and smiled despite the cold sinking into her extremities. She didn’t hear Gracie’s mother’s response, but the door opened a few seconds later. Gracie’s pale, round face peeked out at her.

“Betsy. Come in. Come in.” Blond curls bounced as the other girl stepped backward.

Betsy stepped in just far enough so that her friend could close the door. She was afraid to step in any further with her soaked boots and pants.

“I’m so glad you came.” Gracie bubbled over with happiness.

“I don’t have…” Betsy began.

“What happened to you?” Gracie’s mother knelt beside Betsy.

Deft fingers unbuttoned the heavy coat. Then she was lifting Betsy from the ground, setting her on a sturdy table by the door so she could pull off sodden shoes and socks.

“Gracie, could you get me a towel and some of your clothes?”

Wide-eyed, Gracie nodded at her mother. Her face colored as she turned to do as her mother asked.

Soon Betsy was dry but she continued to shiver no matter how hard she clenched her jaws. Her friend’s mother had tucked them both under a warm quilt and left them to visit in the living room. They didn’t say anything as they were both listening to the conversation in the other room. Gracie’s mother tried to whisper into the phone, but her voice still carried through the hallway.

“I think she is okay. I changed her clothes, but she probably shouldn’t walk back. I would feel terrible if she fell into that creek again… Yes. Well, you know I’d love to see you.”

“I’m sorry I lost your present.” Betsy whispered at last as the phone conversation ended.

“But you’re here and you’re safe.” Gracie beamed. “What better present could I ask for?”

The image of a box wrapped in shiny paper faded away. She could see Gracie’s face now. Her friend’s smile warmed her heart and she stopped shivering.