The presents had all been opened, dinner had been eaten and now, Daddy, Papa and Leona Nicole lay sprawled on the floor of the living room where the fireplace glowed with the dying embers from the logs Daddy had lit hours earlier. The four year old was happy with her presents and was feeling a little sleepy after eating all the wonderful food Daddy had prepared. The adults were feeling fortunate to be home for Christmas and looking forward to a long weekend off, a rarity they felt blessed to have.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, my sweet?"
"Can I, I mean, may I stay up to watch 'A Charlie Brown Christmas? It's comes on in a couple of minutes and it's only half an hour long."
"Sure. If you can stay awake, you may certainly watch it."
Illya stretched out and groaned in pleasure as his bones cracked before he reached out and pulled his daughter closer, much to her delight. "Who is this 'Charlie Brown' and why do you want to watch him?"
Napoleon looked at his partner and shook his head. "You need to get out more, Partner Mine. Charlie Brown is a cartoon character in the funnies section of the paper. He's drawn by an artist named Charles Schultz. He cracks me up."
The Russian was unimpressed. "Hmpph," he grunted, "Sounds like American nonsense, but if she wants to watch, then why not?"
Ten minutes later, the program started and Illya found himself being drawn into the story of Charlie Brown. He loved how Charlie Brown rejected the commercialization of Christmas and bought the scrawny little unwanted tree. He laughed at the dance party with Snoopy doing his Happy Dance, he squeezed Leona tenderly as Linus recited Luke Chapter 2, Verses 8 through 14 to explain what Christmas is all about. When the children decorate the tree after Charlie thinks he's killed it and start to sing "Hark, The Herald Angels Sing," he quickly brushed his arm across his eyes in an effort to hide the tears forming there.
As the closing credits rolled, he noticed that Leona had dropped off and handed her to Napoleon to put to bed. When Napoleon returned, he said, "That was a very entertaining show; I thought it would only appeal to Leona, but I also enjoyed its message. I'm sorry she did not see the end of it."
Napoleon settled himself on the couch and poured himself a Scotch. "I get the feeling it will repeat next year." He lifted his glass in a toast. "Merry Christmas, Papa."
"Merry Christmas, Daddy."