Perspective

Chapter 1

"Aint this just great. I'll probably end up with pneumonia if I don't freeze to death first." As if on cue, Goniff sneezed then continued. "Or starve to death."

It was true of all of them. They had completed their mission but a rogue German patrol had found the landing field and decided to make camp there. Their contact was wary of the proximity of the Germans, who were now doing house to house searches, and had refused to make new arrangements. He told them to wait in a nearby bombed out village. On their way there it had started to rain so by the time they got there they were soaked and eager to find a place to get dry. To be fair, maybe the Frenchman had not been there in a while but there was no shelter now. There were scattered piles of rubble where houses once stood. There were no basements that were not full of debris. The only thing they found was a corner of a church with part of a roof attached. When the rain fell straight the inner corner was protected. When the wind blew, which it did occasionally then there was no respite. To make matters worse the floor was below grade and now under an inch of water. They huddled there for a few minutes while Chief checked out the surroundings. When he returned with the bad news that this was the only roof for miles Goniff had started to complain.

"An' you wanna know the worst of it?"

Garrison, who was on the outside, didn't want to know but knew he was going to find out anyway.

"It's Christmas Eve, an we're stuck 'ere. An' tomorrow's Christmas morning'. 'Ere you go mates. 'ere's yer present from the Army, pneumonia. This has got to be the worst Christmas ever. Merry Bloody Christmas."

If they hadn't been depressed before they were now. A silence of gloom dropped upon them. Then from the far end of the wall came a quiet voice. "Could be worse."

A moment of shocked silence was shattered by disbelieving voices. "What? You outta yer mind?" "You have got to be kidding." A snort of derision ended it. They waited but the silence lingered. Finally it was broken again by the quiet voice. "You could each be here alone."

Silence again but it was a silence brought on by the realization that it was true. They each pictured what Chief had suggested and knew what he said was far worse than what they now had to endure. At least they were all together and safe.

"Thank you, Chief, for putting it into perspective."

"Yeah. What's a little rain when you're with your mates." With their spirits buoyed somewhat Goniff regained some of his old spirit. "Hey Casino. What was yer best Christmas?"

Garrison was going to tell him to pipe down but decided no one else was going to be out here. Their voices would not carry far in the rain.

"I guess I was about fourteen or fifteen. I hadn't gone to reform school yet so I was probably fourteen. All the family was there including an Aunt and Uncle who had just come over from Spain. There were even some from Chicago and Toledo. They were staying with us so the house was a little crowded. The old man said there was no room for a tree so Mama let us decorate the tree outside in the yard.

A little snow was falling and one of the cousins, I don't remember who, started singing Christmas carols. By the time we were done it was beautiful. In fact a few of the neighbours came over to help. The ol' lady who lived behind us was a real bitch but that night, I couldn't believe it. She brought out a big pot of hot chocolate and a plate of cookies. After that I don't think I ever thought of her the same.

Then the old man got this tarp out of the garage and put it under the tree. Moma gave us a sheet to put over it to hide the grease stains. Man, was that a sight to see. Anyway after the little kids were asleep Grampa took a board and dragged it across the snow to the tree then did it again beside it. He then poked holes in the snow between them. It looked like runners from a sleigh. Get it? Like Santa's sleigh and reindeer. After midnight mass the adults put the presents out and then we all headed off to bed. I can remember standing out by the tree. It wasn't really cold just so peaceful and quiet, especially after all the people in the house. There was even a light snow falling. It was just so perfect."

"Didn't you worry about someone coming in an' stealing all the presents?" asked Goniff.

"Nah. Uncle G pulled up a chair in front of the window and sat up with a shotgun across his knees. There was gentle laughter as they each pictured the scene. "Boy the look on the little kids faces when they saw the presents. You could hardly get their boots and coats on before they raced out to open their presents. When they got out there their eyes nearly fell out of their faces when Cousin Dom pointed out the tracks Grampa had made.

Once all the gifts were opened we dressed and went to Mass together. Then the food started. There was so much food that there was talk about the table collapsing. It didn't, fortunately. There was meat pies, and turkey, of course, potatoes and breads, salads. Just so much good food. People sat where ever there was a bit of space. The old man brought out his best home made wine. Then when we were all full, desert started. Pies, cookies. Puddings. It's a wonder some one didn't explode.

Uncle Vinnie died that spring so that Christmas was really memorable." Casino chuckled. "He's the one who taught me my trade. I learned from the best. He was so good he never got caught."

"How about you Actor? What was your best?" prompted Goniff.

"Hmm. Christmas was usually a good time for me." They could hear the smile in his voice.

"When did you not have a good time. An' I'll bet there is at least one woman involved." Casino chided good naturedly. They all laughed.

"Well," said Actor in his most haughty tone. "Actually there were quite a few vying for my attention. It was in '39 and as Count Machivelli I had a suite at Le Crillon. That's in the heart of Paris. It is quite elegant, done entirely in Louis XV style. From the balcony we could look down on the Place de la Concorde. That is where Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, Danton, amoung many others faced the guillotine during the French Revolution.

I had been invited to attended a dance at the Embassy and there I met Monsieur Picard. He was the owner of one of the best Casinos at Monte Carlo. He in turn introduced me to his daughter. A charming young lady now a widow. He said he would be involved in business meetings for the day and would I look out for his daughter, all expenses paid." There was laughter and sounds of approval from his friends in the dark. "We spent a very pleasant afternoon together shopping for last minute Christmas gifts. To show her appreciation she bought me a very nice gold watch and had it engraved. We dined in my suite and spent a lovely evening together enjoying each others ….. company. I took her home, they had a small ten bedroom country home just outside of Paris. There, I was invited to stay the night and join the family for Christmas dinner the following afternoon. The lady and I enjoyed the night. The six course meal the next day was exquisite. It started with…."

"No, no, don't tell us you're just going to make us 'ungry unless all those courses were of snails and frog legs and lizard tails and stuff," interrupted Goniff. They all laughed.

"How about you Goniff?" asked Casino.

"Well let me see." Goniff had all their attention, which he liked. Unfortunately the Christmases he had had were nothing like Actors. He wished he had gone first. Oh well. There was one that stuck out in his memory. "I don't know what year it was but I was little. Me Da was home so must've been after the great war. They was both 'appy. Aunt Moll and Uncle Tom were there as well. We didn't have much but we was 'appy to be together. Sounds sappy but I had found a piece of wood and using a piece of glass I had burned our names on to it. I gave it to me Ma and Da. They really liked it." He waited but there was no laughter. After we opened our gifts I went to my buddies house and we showed each other what we got. Later we all had Christmas dinner together. There was cousins and Aunts and Uncles all over the place. And food. Everyone brought stuff. So much to eat. Da had got a roast of beef, no one asked where, and Ma cooked it up with Yorkshire pudding and gravy and everything. I can almost smell it."

"Hey, now who's making us hungry," asked Actor. After a pause he continued. "What about you Warden? Share a good memory?"

"I have a lot of good memories of Christmas. One year when I was still young, I remember I wanted a bicycle. Times were hard so my mother and father tried to keep me from getting my hopes up. I remember Mom saying things like it might be too hard for Santa to bring a bicycle on the sleigh or just in case he runs out of bicycles that I should choose something else. Like a new sweater.

Well, Christmas morning we all snuck down stairs as soon as we woke up. There was no bicycle. My brother suggested maybe it was outside because it was too big to fit under the tree. I looked in the yard and there was nothing. I was so disappointed." He didn't mention that he had actually started to cry. He knew they would have a field day with that. "When my parents came down we opened all our gifts. One of them was even a new sweater. I remember trying to be excited. When we had all finished there was a knock at the door. Our neighbours came in and wished us all a Merry Christmas. Mom offered them coffee but they said they had to get back. Seems there was this bicycle left on their porch that they didn't know what to do with. I jumped up and ran outside." Again he left out the small details, like the fact he had still been in his PJ's and slippers. "Sure enough there it was. A shiny red bicycle with my name on it and a note that said something about not fitting down the chimney. I'll never forget that bike, had a lot of fun on it."

They all had a smile from that as they pictured their Warden riding a shiny new red bicycle.

There was a long pause as they waited for the fifth member to talk. Finally he spoke but not from where he had been. "I'm gonna have another look around."

"Hey, what about your …" There was another moment of silence then he continued. "Why'd you think 'e left?" asked Goniff.

"Maybe he has never celebrated Christmas," suggested Actor.

"Come on. Everybody celebrates Christmas except Jews and we know he ain't one of them."

"Christmas is for Christians and we know he ain't one of them either," answered Casino with a snort.

"Or maybe," started Goniff pensively, "maybe he never had a good Christmas." They each considered this. They knew he was young and had been in prison or Indian school for much of his life. Maybe what Goniff had suggested was true.

"Maybe when we get back we could do something to give him a good Christmas. Then he would at least have one good memory of Christmas. How about it guys?" asked Goniff.

"That's a good idea Goniff." Actor realized that part of what made Christmas so special was in the gift of giving. It would also take their minds off missing their families at a time which was an important family time. He would have to talk to the Warden about it when they got back.

After a while the rain began to ease and the wind dropped but did not stop. Garrison decided they might as well move out. Standing was a little dryer but they were wet as it was and at least moving would get them warm and closer to an alternate pick up place.