A Garvey Christmas
The pure white snow had piled high on the hard ground over the past few days. It was that special time of year when everybody loved the bitter cold and unforgiving frost.
All the people in the small town of Walnut Grove were keeping warm by running around, searching for gifts and trying to make the world perfect for the upcoming holiday. The mercantile stocked its shelves with future presents at somewhat reasonable prices. The restaurant was decorated with holly and garnish around the windows, ledges and stairs. A large wreath hung over the doorway of the school house.
The only thing that was missing was the sound of children happily laughing, while blissfully playing in the freshly fallen snow. But it would not be long until that problem was solved.
Miss Eliza Jane Wilder, the town's school teacher, dismissed her students from class to let them run freely in the winter air. The young boys immediately started throwing snowballs at one another, while the girls attempted to dodged the flying snow. Miss Wilder with her teaching assistant and future sister-in-law, Laura Ingalls walked down the steps of the school house, discussing plans for the holidays.
"Laura, would you and your family like to have an early Christmas Eve dinner over at our house?" Eliza Jane asked her former student.
Laura smiled, mostly because that meant she could be with her fiancé, Almanzo Wilder on Christmas Eve. "I'm sure they would love that. I'll ask them tonight at supper."
"Wonderful!"
"Have a good holiday Miss Wilder and Miss Ingalls!" The two women thanked the group of children waving to them and continued down the steps.
Across the way, another conversation was taking place.
"Hopefully I get good presents this year. All I got last year for Christmas was a bunch of clothes." Willie Oleson was talking to two of his friends from school, who rolled their eyes over his last statement. Willie was the son of the mercantile's owners. The Oleson's were one of the richer, well-off families in town. The boy was not completely spoiled, but still had more commodities than most of the other children in town.
"Don't be complaining, Willie. You and Nellie probably get more presents each year than the rest of us kids get combined." Albert Quinn Ingalls responded with a shrug of his shoulders. As a former orphan who lived alone on the city streets, Albert knew what it was like to own only the shirt on your back. After being adopted by the Ingalls, he now knew to gladly accept any present and treat it as if it was your first and last gift.
"The best part is that Percival is helping cook Christmas dinner, even though he's Jewish, so it should taste really good this year." Willie continued, not even realizing that he was still bragging to the boys strolling with him.
"What are you and your pa doing for Christmas, Andy?" Albert asked his best friend, Andrew Garvey, wanting to take some of the attention away from Willie.
"I'm not sure. Probably doing the same thing we do every night." Andrew answered, while looking down at the snowy ground. This Christmas would be the first holiday after Andy's mother, Alice Garvey, passed away in the blind school fire. Things were hard for Andy and his pa, Jonathan Garvey, but they found ways to make ends meet. Even so, Andy knew that the holidays would be even harder without his mother.
Albert and Andy continued their own walk home, while Willie stayed in town. It was a quiet walk the boys had taken countless times before. Albert tried to spark up a conversation about how weird it was having Laura, his adopted sister as their teacher. He could still remember times when she would ask him for help on her homework, and now she was assigning him papers to finish.
But Andrew stayed quite, which was not like him. Albert wondered what was bothering his best friend. Soon they came up to the fork in the road where Albert and Andrew would have to continue in different directions to get to their own homes.
"So...I guess I'll see you when school starts up again or maybe we could meet up during the break?" Albert asked with a smile on his face.
Andrew looked up at his friend. "Maybe...I have to help my pa out with a few things over the break. But if we both have time, we should meet up." Andy forced a smile. Albert nodded in return and turned to walk home. The boys trudged in the snow, going their separate ways.
Andrew opened the door to his house, feeling much better when he was hit by the warmth coming from the fireplace. Him and his pa kept their house clean, just the way Alice had always done. After she died, Andrew took on most of the housework. He would clean the house, wash the clothes, manage the barn and tend to the animals. All while his pa kept the same jobs at the mill and delivery service, all of course while working on the family farm. It was a lot of work.
Andrew also had to do something no boy his age would even think of doing: cooking. Andy made breakfast and lunch for him and his pa, while Jonathan made dinner every night when he was not out making a delivery. Andrew took on more responsibilities, had to give up many of the things he used to do before the tragedy and, both mentally and physically, was forced to grow up.
The blue-eyed boy looked around the house, searching for his pa. He noticed that his home was not decorated for the holidays like it had been the years before, but there were more important things to tend to. Andrew looked in the kitchen and then in his pa's bedroom, but Jonathan was no where to be found. It was interesting to think, when his parents almost got a divorce some years ago, Andrew wanted to live with his pa. Now, that had happened under the worst of circumstances.
Andrew set his school supplies down and went over to the small kitchen. Knowing that it was getting late, he started rummaging around for ingredients to be used in their dinner. Grilled chicken with potatoes and rolls were the chosen food. Almost all the food was done cooking and Andrew was setting the table when the front door to the home opened. He stared at the larger man who walked inside.
"Sorry, Andy. Some equipment at the mill broke down. I had to run over and fix it before the whole thing fell apart." Jonathan explained his lateness to his son, while taking off his hat and jacket.
"It's alright. Dinner should be ready in a few minutes." Andrew replied quietly.
"Oh, Andy. Before I forget, for Christmas this year, we're going to head over to your grandma's." Jonathan grinned, walking over to the table and standing by his son.
Andrew looked up. It had been awhile since Andrew had seen his grandmother and it would be nice to be with family during the holidays. But the boy still felt down. "That'll be nice." Andrew noticed his pa could see that he was not all that excited, so he forced yet another smile. "When are we leaving?"
Jonathan put a hand on his son's shoulder. "I just have to finish up some work at the mill, then we could head out as early as tomorrow afternoon."
Andrew nodded, then suddenly smelt a burning aroma coming from the kitchen. Jonathan looked up and saw smoke coming from the oven. The two rushed into the kitchen. Andrew quickly opened the oven to pulled out blackened rolls. Jonathan opened the kitchen door and tried to wave out the smoke. Then, the man heard something he had not heard in months. He looked inside and saw Andrew bent over laughing. The boy was laughing so hard, his eyes started to water and he was holding his stomach.
"Pa...I'm-I'm not cooking for the rest of the year!" Andy tried to say in between his laughs. Jonathan walked back over to help his son finish the preparations for dinner, grinning the rest of the night away.
The next morning was just as cold as the last one, if not more. Dark clouds began to cover the sky and a freezing wind began to blow from the west. Jonathan and Andrew got up earlier than normal to pack for their holiday trip up to Alice's mother's house. They would just make it there in time for Christmas Eve and planned to stay there for at least two weeks, knowing it would be a much needed vacation for the both of them. Jonathan had went into town, finished the last of his work and was headed to the mercantile to pick up some supplies.
Jonathan walked into the town mercantile and saw two good friends. "Morning, Nels. Good morning, Caroline."
"Good morning, Jonathan." Caroline Ingalls said with a friendly smile. She was always found in the mercantile early in the morning to sell her eggs, even in the depths of the winter season. "Charles told me the other night that you and Andrew are going to Alice's mother's for the holidays."
Jonathan nodded to confirm. "Well, he told you right. Andy and I are heading out this afternoon."
Nels Oleson walked up to his customers, carrying some boxes of candy to be set up on the counter. "Jonathan, you can't be planning on heading out in this cold?"
"I'm afraid so. I just hope it doesn't start snowing on us."
"Nels! Nels!"
Nels rolled his eyes and sighed when he heard his wife coming into the store. Harriet Oleson could get on anyone's nerves just by talking to them. But when she was upset about something, everyone was sucked into it. He often wondered why he put up with her and her children, only to remember that she was his loving wife and Willie and Nellie were his problems too.
Harriet walked into the shop with a face of pure anger.
"What is it, Harriet?" Nels asked, knowing he would regret asking when his wife started ranting.
"Well, what do you think it is? It's that Percival again! Just his presence is ruining the holidays. He's been asking questions and criticizing everything I do to prepare for Christmas. I do not know why I am even putting up with him anymore." Harriet replied, her face turning red.
"Because, like it or not, he's family now, so you're just going to have to deal with it!" Nels yelled at his wife.
Harriet gave her husband a stunned look that turned stern pretty quick. She turned around and walked away, stomping her feet on the wooden floors of the store.
"The most wonderful time of the year." Nels mumbled quietly, but it was still was loud enough for Caroline and Jonathan to hear and smirk about.
"I'm guessing Harriet still has reservations about Nellie marrying Percival so suddenly." Caroline commented. "Well, I can't blame her. Marriage can be difficult for the entire family."
Jonathan grinned. "I think a lot of people can agree with you on that. Especially if you marry young and fast like Nellie did. No offense, Nels."
"Well, at least I like Percival. Now, if Nellie tried to marry someone both her mother and I did not approve of, then that would be an issue. Like that whole debacle with Luke." Nels shook his head, starting to sort the candy into their respected containers.
"I guess it's safe to say that almost every parent is scared of letting their children get married. I can't tell you how many times Charles came to me, trying to talk himself out of letting Laura marry Almanzo." Jonathan admitted.
Caroline nodded her head, knowing her husband all too well. "To tell you the truth, when I'm by myself and I start to think about Laura marrying Almanzo in a few months, something negative always comes over me. But, she loves him and he says he loves her. Let's just hope that our sons have easier engagements than our love-sick daughters."
"Amen." Nels stated.
Jonathan walked back to his home, where his son was waiting for him to get back with the supplies. On his way, all he could think about was the bitter cold that was unfortunately getting colder by the minute and what Nels and Caroline said about their children getting engaged. This turned his mind to something he never really thought about before: Andrew finding a girl and getting married. Alice brought it up once or twice with a serious undertone, but he never really thought much of it. As far as Jonathan knew, Andrew never really had any serious relations with a girl and was not at all ready to settle down, especially after the tragedy.
Jonathan opened the door to his house. "Alright, Andy. Say goodbye to the warmth and hello to the bitter cold for the next few hours."
"Coming." Andrew walked out of his room with his bag in hand. "Is it really that cold outside?"
"It's getting to be with the wind picking up. Just think about that nice warm, not burnt meal waiting for us when we get to your grandma's house." Jonathan reminded Andrew of the previous night while getting his own bag.
The father and son walked out to the wagon and climbed on. Jonathan took the reins and started the horses away from their house. It was a silent ride at first. Both Jonathan and Andrew felt the harsh wind beating on their backs. The sky was now covered with white clouds, with some darker ones in sight. At least the road was not completely covered in snow yet.
After sometime, Jonathan wanted to break the silence with his son to get his opinion on something discussed earlier that morning in the mercantile.
"Alright, Andy. I need to ask you something and I want the truth." Jonathan said, noticing his hot breath in the frigid air in front of him. He glanced over at Andy. The look on his face was priceless. His son looked like someone had just yelled his darkest secret out loud enough so that the whole country could hear it. "Well, while I was over at the mercantile, Mrs. Ingalls was there and she said something about her still being a bit concerned over Laura marrying Almanzo. I just started to wonder what you thought about the whole thing. Considering you've known Laura for a few years now."
Andrew sighed, glad that the conversation was not turning into an interrogation.
"I don't really know. I mean...I do think that there is something a bit off about it." Andrew admitted. "I mean for the past year, Laura has been fawning over Almanzo when all he ever saw her as was a little girl. Now all of a sudden, Almanzo, a grown man, has feelings for Laura, who still could be considered a kid even though she acts all grown up. Those two went from neighbors to being engaged in less than a few months. If they were closer in age I might be able to understand, but I just don't understand what clicked in Almanzo's mind. And the fact that he wanted to marry here right away and almost broke their engagement if they weren't married as soon as possible."
"You do make a good point though, Andy. You have to wonder why Almanzo Wilder went from barely noticing Laura to desperately having to be married to her in such a short time." Jonathan asked out loud.
"I do have an idea about it, but I don't think it's my place to say." Andrew shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. Then, he started grinning. Jonathan noticed and became curious.
"What is it?"
"I just remembered something Albert once said about Laura and Almanzo. He said that Laura was able to sabotage every other girl Almanzo could have been in a relationship with. I don't want to say that she stalked him endlessly and went out of her way to make sure she was the only girl Almanzo could have even been with, but maybe that's what she tried to do."
Jonathan tried to hold in his laugh. "Well, she's persistent. I'll give her that."
Andrew rolled his eyes. "I mean, come on. If I had an unrealistic crush on a woman at least five years older than me, everyone, including Laura, would think there was something wrong with me."
Jonathan could not even picture Andrew coming home one day and saying that he wanted to marry a woman years his senior. Charles and Caroline had every right to be concerned for Laura.
"Well, wasn't Mary Ingalls engaged to some boy when she was only thirteen and then she married Adam when she was sixteen?" Jonathan added that piece of information.
"I don't really know much about her first engagement, but Adam isn't that much older than her. And no offense to Laura, but Mary was more mature when she was younger. Plus, she's blind." Andrew commented, titling his head down again.
Dark clouds encroached in the sky and the wind howled between the trees. Even though it was the middle of the afternoon, it was getting hard to see the pathway. Jonathan picked up speed, desperate to get to his mother-in-law's house before him and his son were caught out in an unforgiving storm. He started to see buildings of a city. That was their destination. As soon as the wagon began riding down the streets, snow started falling from the sky. Jonathan pulled up to the large, familiar house just in time.
They grabbed their bags and quickly walked up to the front door. Before they could even knock, the door opened to an elderly women with a great smile on her face. "Hurry up on inside! I can't have you two standing out in the snow."
"It's good to see you again, ma." Jonathan hugged his mother-in-law.
"I'm so happy you could come. My goodness, Andrew! Look at you! What happened to that little boy I used to know?" The woman hugged her grandson, who had a real smile on his face this time.
The three of them made their way into the living room to warm up by the fire and start up some conversation. Jonathan and Andrew took a seat on the couch, while Alice's mother sat in a single chair. There was a small Christmas tree in the corner of the room, decorated in silver ribbon and gold ornaments.
"So, how is school going Andy?" The older lady asked her young grandson.
"Fine." He kept his talk short.
"And Jonathan, I hope you were able to manage all the work on your farm and at the mill." She said, nodding to her son-in-law.
"Well, it hasn't been easy, but the work gets done. It sure was nice of you to invite us here for Christmas. I think we both really needed the break." Jonathan replied.
"What else is family for? Besides, I've missed you two." She told her family members. The older lady glanced over at her grandson, who was sitting quietly on the couch. Andrew seemed rather distant and tired. "Well, it is getting late and I'm sure you two need your rest. I'll show you to your room. And tomorrow I'll prepare a nice breakfast for you."
The three of them stood up and began walking up the staircase. They made their way down to the end of a long hallway. She showed the two men the room they were going to be staying in and left them to unpack.
There were two separate beds, a dressers, a bedside table and a large window. The room was nicely decorated with wallpaper and different fixtures. Jonathan and Andrew unpacked their belongings before heading to bed. Andrew was quick to slip into the bed closest to the window after he was done unpacking, without saying much of a word. He shoved his hands under the pillow, still feeling a shiver from the ride up. The young boy slowly closed his eyes, listening to his pa making his way around the room.
The next morning, Christmas Eve, Andrew opened his eyes to the large window. Light snow fell on the ledge and there was only a small glow of sunlight. He did not want to get out of the warm bed, but his throat was dry. The boy slowly pushed himself out of bed, making sure his pa did not notice he was awake while he putting on his clothes. Andrew made his way downstairs, not making a sound as he found his way into the kitchen.
Andrew poured himself a glass of water. Then, he walked over to the window in the kitchen and opened it very slightly. All he needed was to feel the chilled air to wake himself up.
"Andy?"
Andrew was startled. He turned quickly around to see his grandmother standing in the doorway to the kitchen.
"What are you doing up so early?" She asked having tired eyes herself.
He was slow to respond. "I just...needed some water." Andrew closed the window and walked over to his grandmother.
She smiled, wanting to cheer up her grandson. "Well, how about I start making some breakfast then." She watched Andrew take a seat at the kitchen table. He seemed so quiet and so lost.
She tried striking up a real conversation, but Andrew still seemed out of it. The loss of his mother must have hit him harder than most people realized. He used to be such a happy child and was once so optimistic about the future. But now, all Andrew could feel was depression and sometimes anger. And he somehow managed to keep it all to himself.
It was not long until Jonathan walked down and greeted his family. Alice's mother finished with the food and served it to her guests. They were all just about to start eating when there was a knock at the door. Alice's mother walked out of the kitchen to see who it was, leaving the father and son in the room together.
"I hope you had a good night's sleep, Andrew." Jonathan said to his son.
"Yea. I was really tired." He responded. However his voiced hinted to his father that something was still very much wrong.
The man looked at Andrew concerningly. "Are you sure you're feeling alright? You've seemed distant the past few days."
Andrew did not know what to say without breaking down into tears. He had not really talked out his feelings about losing his mother with anyone, not even his father. He had to be strong, but how strong could a boy like him be. "I miss ma."
Jonathan could see his son's eyes swelling up. He put his hands on Andrew's shoulder, wanting to help him stay calm. However, the strained look on Andy's face made Jonathan's heart tear and his stomach drop. Andrew was about to have a serious break down. Months of desperately trying to keep himself together for everyone else's sake had finally taken its toll. "Come on."
Jonathan pulled his son from his seat and guided him back to the bedroom upstairs. The moment Jonathan got Andrew inside and shut the door behind them, the tears and heartbreaking sobs of his son filled the room.
"Oh God, pa!" Andrew started sobbing hysterically. He barely was able to breathe as he slowly lowered himself onto the bed, his legs unable to hold himself up under the stress. He tired covering his quivering month with his hands, but found they were shacking beyond his control. "I just want ma!"
Jonathan immediately went over to Andrew and wrapped his arms around him. He also began tearing up at the sight of own son falling apart like this. He knew Andrew was in pain after Alice had died, but he never could have imagined this. How could he have let it come to this?
"I want ma to come back! I can't do this without her!" Andrew cried into his pa's grasp. He really did not have any control of himself. His whole body was shacking and he could barely see past the tears in his eyes. "Oh God! Why did it have to happen like this? Why did she get taken away from us?"
Jonathan had no idea what to say. All he could do was hold onto his son tight.
"I just want my ma back!"
Andrew started breathing very heavily. The was absolutely no sign of him calming down. The father and son stayed in that room for what felt like an eternity, as Andy cried his heart out and Jonathan never let him go. There were one or two times when Andrew seemed to calm himself, but immediately started intensely sobbing again when he thought about never being able to see his mother again.
After a very long time, Andrew was finally able to breath and Jonathan finally found something to say to his grieving son.
"Andrew." The older man brought his hands to Andy's face and stared into his blood shot eyes. "Your ma loved you. She wanted you to be happy and wanted you to have a great life. You meant everything to her. She only wanted the best for you. It hurts me...it hurts me so much to think that she's not going to be here with us. And I'm sorry that...that I wasn't there for you when I should have been. I realize now that you kept so much pain held up inside of you. That wasn't fair. You deserved better."
"Pa."
"We're gonna hurt for awhile. But Andrew, you have to know that your ma would still want the best for you. And no matter what happens, she and I will always love you."
"Pa."
They stared at each other for some time, encrypting this moment into their memories for they day they too would have to separate. For a split second, Jonathan saw Alice staring back at him though their son's eyes. "Andrew."
"Yea, pa?"
Jonathan was beyond relived to see that his son was calm enough to speak again. "I love you, son."
"I love you too, pa."
Andrew did not leave the bedroom for the rest of the day. He needed to rest. He needed to give himself a break from the stress and depression. Andrew's grandmother brought him food and Jonathan checked in on him frequently.
The next morning was Christmas day. Andrew found the strength to leave the bedroom and be with his family. They found themselves sitting next to the fire place, sharing stories of past Christmas days, school and Alice. At one point, Alice's mother excused herself, giving the Jonathan the opportunity he needed.
"Andrew, I wanna give you something." Jonathan reached into his pocket, pulling out a small box. "You're mother and I were going to wait to give this to you, but I think you should have it now."
Andrew took the box and slowly began to open it. He let the item that was inside fall into the palm of his hand. A light gold ring with a small cut diamond. Andrew was confused at first. "What is this?"
"It's the engagement ring I gave to your ma when I asked her to marry me." Jonathan explained.
Andrew's eyes shot up to his father. He thought he had shed all of his tears yesterday, but the boy's eyes were swelling up once again.
"She wanted you to have it."
"Pa...I can't-"
"Andrew." Jonathan stopped him. "Now, I hope you wait a year or two to use it. So for now, let it be something to remind you that your ma will always be with you and that she always loved you."
Andy played with the gold ring in his hands. "Thank you...pa."
A/N: When this story was first written (11/25/2015), it was about Andy falling in love with Sarah (an OC). However this story was rewritten and with this update meant the removal of Sarah and the story's romantic plot. This was done so the story could center more around Jonathan and Andrew Garvey. Hopefully the change will be well received.