CHRISTMAS STORY - DECEMBER 17, 2022

CHRISTMAS STORY - DECEMBER 17, 2022

(On Saturdays I write fiction)

Amanda Rodgers was alone on Christmas Eve.  Jeff, her husband of fifty-three years, had died two years ago.  Tonight she had her stereo CD player on and she was listening to her favorite Christmas Carols while she did the daily crossword puzzle and drank a cup of hot herbal tea.  She had a simmering aroma pot in the kitchen putting out fragrant aromas of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove.  

Her apartment was small but neat.  Her refrigerator was covered in Christmas Cards and greetings from old friends, and family.  There probably would be a few more.  Her great niece, Angie, never got her Christmas Cards done early, and it was a family joke. Would Angie get them out this year, or next?  Amanda actually appreciated that.  A little mystery in life like when they would get their Christmas card and who would be in the picture.  She knew that Angie and Tim had a new baby.  Was Angie’s brother married yet or still just living with his girlfriend?  The girlfriend had been in the family Christmas photo for the last two years, so it seemed like a regular thing.

Back to the crossword. Hmmm, what was a six-letter word for ‘a yearly division of time’?  It had an “A” in third place.  Amanda was startled by a knock on the door.  Who could it be?  Looking quickly at her digital clock radio, it said “9:18”.  That was a little late for most people to be out.  Could it be a delivery?  The TV news at 6:00 said that Amazon and the Post Office were still delivering packages - but she wasn’t expecting anything.  She rarely had any visitors and never after 9:00 pm.

Amanda rose from her favorite chair, a rocking recliner, stretched and headed to the door.  Maybe she should be more careful, like looking through the peephole on the door, or asking “Who is it?”, but at age 82, she didn’t have as much fear.  If it was a knife-wielding crazy person who killed her that could be okay,  She would be free from her arthritis and in heaven (so she assumed).

Opening the door, there was a man there - a little taller than average height and definitely under average weight, maybe in his 70s, scraggly beard and well-worn (okay shabby) clothes.  It wasn’t anybody she knew.  He had a case with him - it looked like a violin case.

“Hello”, Amanda greeted the man.  It was a cold ‘hello’ - perfunctory, just an acknowledgment.

The man replied, “Hello”. There was a five-second pause, and he asked “Could I have a cup of tea?”

Amanda was dumbfounded.  She scanned behind the man, were there other people with him?  Was this a crazed homeless person, wanting shelter on a cold Christmas Eve in Georgetown Texas?  Did he really have a violin in his case?  Was this some sort of prank?  Did her friend Bob Williams plan some joke on her? 

She gave another look around and then focused on the man’s face.  It was a little dirty, his head had an almost nondescript baseball cap on it, and there were wrinkles around his eyes. But, there was something about his eyes - what was it?

Her rational mind screamed “NO WAY”, but her voice said, “Yes, please come in, get warm and I’ll make you a cup of tea”. 

She pushed the door open wider for the man to pass her and come into her apartment.  She motioned to a chair opposite her favorite rocker/recliner and the man put his case on the floor and sat down.  Amanda thought maybe she heard a creak or a pop in his knees as he sat, but maybe that was just a sound outside.

The man said, “Thank you.  It is cold outside tonight.  This is the twentieth door I’ve been to, and the first one to let me in. Again, thank you.”  Amanda noticed that the man took off the baseball cap and put it on the floor next to him.  His hair was long and a dirty gray, probably had been a few days since he had a shower.

He smiled - not a huge smile - but a grateful smile.  Amanda found a smile on her face as well.

She asked, “What kind of tea might you like.  I have regular tea, Earl Grey, Constant Comment, generic black tea, and about eight kinds of herbal teas.”  Pointing to her end table next to her chair she added, “I’m having a decaf orange tea.  Would that be okay?”

The man smiled, this time a little bigger.  “Any kind is fine.  But, I do like the touch of orange spice in Constant Comment.”

Amanda nodded, “Okay.  Just a minute”.  

The man asked, “Can I use your restroom?”

Amanda said “Sure” and pointed out the way.  She heard the water run 

The apartment was small and the kitchen was about six steps from her chair.  She took her teapot off the stove, emptied it and added fresh cold water from the tap, and put it back on the stove. She set the temperature on medium on the electric stove, reached into the cupboard about the stove, and picked out a cup that said, ‘I Love you, No Matter what'.  It had been a gift from Jeff many years ago.  Maybe tonight, Christmas Eve, with the Christmas music playing would be a good night for that cup.

She then reached into another cupboard and got the Constant Comment tea, opened the foil pouch, and placed the tea bag in the cup with the string and label outside.  She remembered growing up and her grandmother always liked Constant Comment tea.

The man had returned to the living room. With a clean face, he looked nicer.  No that wasn’t it - Amanda was trying to find the right adjective in her brain.  The eyes especially glowed with light.

Coming back into her living room, she asked “Do you want sugar or cream in your tea?”.

The man looked up at her and said, “No.  I’ll drink it as it is.  But, the stronger the better.”

Hmm.  Amanda got a second tea bag, a tea plate, and a spoon and put the cup with the first tea bag on it on the plate.  Thinking quickly, she reached into the second cupboard and got a pack of graham crackers - maybe he was hungry too. 

She called out, “It’ll be just a minute.  I’m waiting for the water to boil.”

The man answered back, “Thank you so very much”.

Amanda could hear appreciation in his reply.  He was thankful.  

She waited in the kitchen, humming along to ‘Oh Come all ye faithful’ playing on the stereo. She thought she heard a little click, but ignored it as the water was starting to boil.  But, she couldn’t ignore the next sound - a violin playing along with the CD - perfectly.  

She looked out from the small kitchen and saw the man with the violin tucked beneath his chin and the bow sliding over the strings.  She smiled and said, “That is heavenly”.  The man smiled back but didn’t say anything.  

The tea kettle, first slowly and then more robustly, whistled with the steam passing through the opening.  Taking the kettle off the stove, she poured the hot water into the cup and brought the plate to the end table next to the man - with the extra teabag and the stack of graham crackers.  

The man smiled but didn’t stop playing.  He knew the music by heart and he became one with the music.   A light shone in his eyes as he pulled the bow over those strings.  How could such a shabby man still have a light inside of him?

‘Oh Come All Ye Faithful’, ended, and the man put his violin in the open case at his feet and put the bow next to it in the slot made for it.  He reached to the plate, opened the second tea bag of Constant Comment tea, and put it into the hot water.  It was such that Amanda caught a small whiff of the tea as it steeped in the hot water.  The man absently stirred the two tea bags with the spoon and bending over sniffed at the mixture, with a contented smile.  His smile widened to a full grin as he saw the cup - “I Love You, No Matter What”.

“Thank you”, he said.  “I’m Nick Long.  I used to play with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra years ago.  I taught violin, viola, and cello - until I grew old.  I had lived lavishly and didn’t save for retirement. And, now, I’m pretty much homeless in Texas.  I’ve sold everything except my violin.   Oh, your tea cup reminds me of my home in Chicago years ago.”

Amanda introduced herself curtly.

Nick sipped his tea and ate part of a graham cracker, but put both down to join in the music coming from the CD player.  He joined in with Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Joy to the World, and Angels we have Heard on High, and Amanda sang out as well.  Then went back to his tea and graham crackers.

Amanda was amazed.  His playing stirred her heart to memories from years before, and concerts before.  

And, too many exciting things went through her brain.  

*****

After playing Deck the Halls, and Oh Holy Night, Amanda’s heart fluttered.  She stared wide-eyed at Nick.  She said, “Nick, your music is heavenly”.

Nick blushed and replied simply.  “Yes”.

He got up to leave.  

Amanda said “Please stay”, but Nick replied, “I have other places to visit.”

At the door, back in his dirty cap, with his violin case in his hand, he turned to her and said, “May God’s Christmas Blessings stay on this house.” 

Amanda opened the door and he gave her a hug that was so warm, it touched her heart. She glanced down as he walked away. There was something bright on the ground. Amanda bent over to pick it up - it was a silver angel.

She shut the door and turned back into the room, an aroma so sweet and perfect filled the room.

Amanda remembered something from her Sunday School class years ago.  “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some people have entertained angels without knowing it.”  Peace and profound joy filled her heart.

*****

May you show hospitality to strangers - and who knows, maybe you’ll entertain angels!!!

LOVE WINS

KAREN ANNE WHITE, ©, DECEMBER 17, 2022