Here's another one. Hope you like it and I own nothing but the story line.
A very Delancey Christmas.
Christmas was the best time of year. At least it was to Morris Delancey. It was the one time they didn't have to be at work all day and the only time he actually got to be himself. It was a day that no one judged him for his job or his name. A day when he got to give things to the people who really matter to him. His brother and uncle.
Growing up had never been easy but Christmas was the one day that they could forget about being poor and actually enjoy themselves. It was the only day that their father would be home from the factory when they were still awake and it was one of the only times they actually got something that wasn't clothes or school supplies.
Their mother would start the preparations a week before Christmas day by finding the best tree they could afford and decorating it with things she had helped them make. They would be taken to the market by their neighbor and they would find gifts for their mother, father and uncle that always came to visit them in Brooklyn.
The day of Christmas Eve would be spent in the kitchen with their mother helping her bake cookies to leave for Santa Clause and they would be allowed one each when the treats were cooled down and after that they would gather all the blanket in their room and build a bed in front of the Christmas tree with the plan of staying awake all night to see the old man in red even if they never managed it.
As soon as their father got home they would all sit down to dinner, no matter how late it was, and it would be a feast. Turkey, potatoes, green beans and carrots and a big slice of pumpkin pie for desert. It was the most delicious meal they had all year except for New Year's Day when they would all go out to dinner at Tibby's. It was a tradition that they would never break.
Christmas morning they would wake up to find their offered treats all but gone except the two that were always left behind for them and there would be presents under the tree. Actual presents. They would get toys and their parents would each get something from them and each other since Santa only brought gifts to little children. As soon as they had opened the presents they would eat what was left of their dinner for breakfast before their parents would join them to play with their latest toys.
It was always the same every yer until their father had died in a factory fire and they had been sent to live with their uncle while their mother worked as hard as she could until Christmas. Then it would be the four of them at the table telling stories and trying to guess what they would get for Christmas.
Now it was only the three of them. It had been for a few years now and they had made new traditions to celebrate the best holiday of all. They still decorated a tree but they no longer made the decorations. They simply bought some and used them every year.
They no longer had a home cooked meal but the dinner from Tibby's did just fine. They would tell stories and laugh about things that were in the past. They would each enjoy a meal of their choice but he still liked to order the Christmas special every year since it reminded him of the dinners he used to have when their mother was still alive. He knew Oscar and uncle Weis only ordered it for his benefit but none of them had the same desert. He still liked his pie but Oscar preferred cake and their uncle would choose on a whim.
As soon as they'd get home they would take out the already wrapped gifts from wherever they had hid them and put them under the tree ready to be opened as soon as they were awake. Most nights he would still be awake though and his mind would travel to the nights when he and his brother would spend in the parlor in front of a tree that held no gifts only to wake up to find a few small packages there.
As soon as morning came he would be awake first and he would make breakfast with whatever he could find and dig out the old, well-used, cookie recipe their mother had used every year to bake a single tray to be handed out all day as they saw fit. The others would join him as soon as the cookies came out of the oven and they would sit down to eat whatever he made. After that they would head over to the tree to open their gifts. He would most likely end up with two new books while their uncle enjoyed his brand new bottles of liquor and Oscar loved to sketch the three of them opening their gifts to add to his collection and he almost always used his latest supplies.
"Something smells good." Oscar commented pulling him from his thoughts.
"I made bacon and eggs." He replied as he handed his little brother a plate.
"That too but I meant the cookies." His brother said around a mouth full of food.
"They ready yet?" His uncle asked stifling a yawn as he reached for a half burned cookie.
"Yeah. Just watch it. Their fresh outta the oven." He replied shaking his head.
Yes, Christmas truly was the best time of the year even with half burned cookies and definitely burned bacon. It would always be the best time of the year as long as they were together and perhaps one day they would be able to bring their families together and have proper home cooked meals.
To all who celebrate it Merry Christmas and may your day be filled with family, gifts, home cooked meal and half burned cookies...