Edith said nothing else about Atticus after the family's scene at dinner. Jean wasn't sure if this was Edith just going about her usual business, or whether her mother was choosing to forget about Jean and Atticus all together. While the days leading up to Christmas were full of anxiety for everyone as Edith attempted to make sure that the house was absolutely perfect for their guests, Jean and the rest of her family were pleased to notice that Christmas day itself was much more relaxed, at least until guests were set to arrive.
The day before Christmas Eve, Alexandra, along with her husband and son and her sister's husband had unexpectedly arrived at the Buford Place to drop off some of the food that Alexandra had prepared ahead of time. To Edith's horror Alexandra had come at the time when Louise, in an attempt to clean the gutters by the front entrance, managed to get herself stuck on the roof. It took Caroline's husband, Josiah (also called Joe) nearly ten minutes to coax Louise into jumping off of the roof and into his arms. Needless to say, it wasn't a very pretty moment for anyone involved. According to Edith, that day's shenanigans were a clear indication to her of how Christmas dinner would be.
Jean had expected Christmas day to progress like the others had during Edith's visit, full of chores and keeping busy (and trying to avoid Edith). Much to her delight, however, everything that Edith wanted to get done had been completed and for once none of the women in the house were running about like chickens with their heads cut off. The only thing that needed to be done was to fix the food, which Edith did herself, out of anxiety that one of her sisters or daughters would accidentally tarnish what Alexandra had kindly brought for them.
The only thing that would have made the day even better was if Charlotte had at least tried to enjoy herself. It took Edith nearly an hour to get her oldest daughter out of her room and down by the tree to open gifts with the rest of the family. Even when she was with them, Charlotte sat silently, tear-eyed and sighing occasionally. What really bothered Jean about it was the fact that Clara and Elizabeth were seemingly did not care about the fact that their mother was so inattentive. Jean thought it best not to think of Simon often. Christmas had been his favorite and he had always brightened whatever room he was in. As Edith would say, dwelling on it wouldn't change a thing, just make everyone depressed. Though, Jean couldn't help but be reminded of Simon various times throughout the day (but she wasn't the only one).
However, when Jean's Aunt Sarah and Maudie arrived late that morning, the day was beginning to remind her of the celebrations the family had when Jean was a child, even with Charlotte's poor mood. Even before her father passed, Edith would make a big spread and all of Jean's aunts would come and spend the day. It was simple, but it was one of the memories that Jean was most fond of. This Christmas would be exactly like those days, with the exception of one Alexandra Hancock (and the rest of her family).
Edith had a suspicion that Alexandra would arrive earlier than she said. After all, Alexandra was startlingly similar to Edith when it came to her punctuality. For most of the afternoon, after the family spent a considerable amount of time lounging in the parlor and drinking coffee, she pestered her daughters to get dressed and look appropriate while she fussed with the food and setting the table. Edith's worrying was not done in vain, however, as Alexandra and her family arrived nearly forty-five minutes ahead of schedule.
Snickering to themselves, Jean and Louise hid in the parlor with Maudie while they sent Harriet to answer the door for them. At fifteen, Harriet was easily intimidated by women like Alexandra Hancock, and her older sisters knew that this would be quite the sight. Edith, catching on to what her older daughters were doing, quickly intercepted before Harriet could make a complete fool of herself. Instead of hearing Harriet stuttering, Jean and Louise heard Alexandra and Edith joyously greeting one another.
"I hope you don't mind we came early, Mrs. Graham," Alexandra was saying from the entrance. "I thought it was going to take longer considerin' everyone I was bringing."
"She just wanted to catch her off guard," Maudie whispered. Maudie, Louise and Jean had squeezed themselves onto an old armchair of Franks. "If anyone's more conniving than Stephanie Crawford it's Alexandra Hancock." Louise and Jean laughed.
"Oh, honey, it's perfectly fine." Edith replied smoothly, but Jean knew her mother was itching with anxiety. "I'm so glad all of you were able to make it."
"You're very brave for hosting us all," Jean heard another woman, who must have been Caroline say, laughing. "Especially Jack here, he's the most troubled of all of us."
"'Liney, I'm pretty sure you taught me everything I know." Jack responded.
"Jack Finch, you're so devilish that I don't even know if you can even be held fully accountable for your actions." Maudie hollered from her place in the living room, causing Caroline to laugh once again.
"You shouldn't have said that aloud, Maudie," Caroline said as she entered the parlor. Unlike Alexandra, her features were not as sharp or intimidating—she looked as pleasant as her personality. "It'll give him reason to do whatever the hell he wants."
Jean wished she could see the look on her mother's face when Caroline said this. Clara's eyes perked up as she was about to repeat what Caroline had said, but luckily Aunt Addie quickly covered the girls mouth. Noticing there were children in the room, Caroline looked slightly embarrassed. "Sorry," she said, shrugging slightly. "If it's any consolation, my daughter over here is seven and her first word was d-a-m-n, no joke."
"And you say I'm the bad one?" Jack asked, resting his elbow on his sister's shoulder, making her wince.
"They haven't even been here five minutes and they're already startin'." Joe said as he sat down on the sofa.
"They started the moment Jack was born," Atticus said from the doorway, sounding highly amused.
At this point Alexandra's entire family entered into the parlor, and quickly dispersed themselves. Jimmy, as usual, retreated to the quietest corner of the room while Alexandra, Caroline, Jack and Atticus stayed in the doorway. Henry, watching how Jean, Louise and Maudie decided to seat themselves, sat quietly on the sofa next to Harriet, trying to make small talk. A young girl (who Jean assumed was Caroline's daughter) noticed Clara and Elizabeth and immediately went to them, joining them in playing on the floor. While the living room was of a decent size, it seemed to shrink tremendously, especially considering that Charlotte and Jean's aunts were also already scattered around the room.
Turning his head towards the three women in the chair, Jack beamed. "Maudie, why don't give in and marry me already?"
Maudie rolled her eyes. Though Maudie had always been close to her three cousins, they had quite different childhoods. While the Grahams were growing up in Montgomery with both of their parents, Maudie spend most of her days at the Buford Place with their grandparents. Once Sarah divorced Maudie's father when Maudie was young, she spent most of her time traveling around, leaving Maudie to be mostly raised by her grandparents until she was at least sixteen. The family barely talked about this (it was far too scandalous to even mention), though Edith always remarked that this is why Maudie treated Sarah as a companion, rather than a mother. As a result of this unconventional upbringing, Maudie knew Maycomb and the Finch family incredibly well.
"You have to choose between me and that scotch of yours." She said coolly, smirking at Jack.
"He'll never be able to choose. At least you have one of your loves, brother." Caroline told her brother, shrugging indifferently.
"It's a shame the three of us all can't get along," he winked. Jean couldn't help but to think that Alexandra was looking furious.
"We are guests," Alexandra said slowly, looking at her youngest siblings. "Behave."
"I'm afraid that in all of this excitement none of us have introduced ourselves," Atticus then said, approaching Edith, who had a very flat expression on her face. "I'm Atticus."
He extended his hand for Edith to shake, but for a moment she just looked at him as if she was looking at the economics section of the newspaper. "Edie, be a lady," Louise whispered in Jean's ear as they watched their mother. As Atticus was about to put his hand down, unsure of what to do, Edith limply placed hers in his and removed it quickly. "Pleasure." She said, looking at him intently. She was nearly a foot shorter than him, but at that moment she looked like a giant. Before introducing himself to the rest of her family, he flashed Jean a quick smile and raised his eyebrows. Smiling back, she shrugged at him.
After this, the room quickly filled with the sound of voices as everyone began introducing themselves to each other. To Jean, it was disorganized and chaotic, and a clear indication that it was going to be a very boisterous evening.
Jean, Maudie and Louise had all struggled to get up from their seat. Once they finally un-wedged themselves, the three girls began to straighten out their dresses. "Ha!" Jack said, clearing his throat. "You gals are quite the sight."
"Well thank you," Maudie said, scowling at him before making her way to greet Jimmy, Henry and Joe.
"I didn't say of what." Jack chided.
"Why, you're such a gentleman that I just don't understand how Maudie isn't head over heels for you." Louise said coolly.
"Oh, I bet she is. She's just too shy to show it." Jack retorted, smirking.
"I don't know how you think you're goin' to marry her," Jean said. "If you're under the impression she's shy, then you certainly don't know her at all."
"Poorest foundation for a marriage if I ever did see one," Louise continued.
"Here I was scared that tonight would be borin'," Caroline said as she approached her younger brother. "Keep the three of you together and we'll have dinner and a show!"
"Ha, you're a one person act in itself." Jack responded. "You could easily entertain everyone here on your own."
"The real entertainment will be your sister's reaction to everything," Louise said nonchalantly. It had become a personal goal of hers to see just how riled up she could get Alexandra Hancock.
"I think she would combust," Caroline said seriously, nodding her head. "All day today, and the entire time it took us to walk here, she warned us about etiquette and behavin' ourselves like we were a bunch of children."
"So naturally I'm going to make her life as difficult as possible." Jack said.
"Naturally," Caroline agreed.
"Edie over there has been doing the same thing all week," Louise said. "So if we could make them both squirm at once, it'll be like killing two birds with one stone."
Jacks eyes glinted with enjoyment. "It is Christmas, after all. We can't just grace one person with our humor, we better spread it all around."
"If you could at least wait until after dinner to unleash your torture on Alexandra, I'm sure it would be greatly appreciated." Atticus remarked as he approached his siblings. His voice dipped to a whisper. "You know how she gets, everyone will be miserable for the rest of the evening."
Jean smiled at him and he returned it. "Your family's quite lovely." He added.
"I guess you could say that," Jean said pleasantly.
"Maybe if you squint real hard," Louise added. "I, on the other hand, see a big mess."
"Ha! This is the cleanest house I've ever seen," Jack responded, making Louise roll her eyes.
"Not a literal mess," she hissed, crossing her arms. "They're all insane."
"And you're not?" Jack retorted.
"I never said that."
"The two of them should be kept far away from each other," Jean said, nodding her head towards Louise and Jack. "Surely the nature of their conversations will cause both my mother and Miss Alexandra to go into fits."
Caroline shrugged. "That's why we should keep them together, don't ya think?" She asked, looking at her older brother.
"Well," he said thoughtfully. "It isn't Christmas unless someone has a fit. That just wouldn't be normal."
Since Alexandra and the rest of the company had arrived so early, the food still had some time to go until it was done. Not knowing what to do with themselves, everybody (nearly twenty people) remained in the parlor, talking amongst themselves. Probably overwhelmed by the amount of people present, Charlotte retreated upstairs using the excuse that she was going to go sit with Frank since she felt so guilty that he was up there alone. Knowing that her daughter was probably lying, Edith quickly followed Charlotte (plus, someone actually needed to check on poor Frank). Caroline, probably realizing that their mother hardly paid attention to them anymore, sat on the floor with the children and played with them enthusiastically. Despite the fact that she didn't say it, Alexandra was obviously worried about the state of the food and retreated into the kitchen to tend to it. With the two sternest members of both families out of the room, it seemed as though complete chaos was going to ensue. Jean, honestly feeling overwhelmed by how many people were occupying the room, went to see if Alexandra needed any help. As usual, the older woman declined and said she could handle it herself, forcing Jean to retreat back into the parlor. When she came into the doorway, she saw that Louise and Jack were still bickering with one another about God knows what as Harriet and Henry watched in amusement. She was about to approach her sister when she realized that Addie and Beatrice had basically cornered Atticus. Cautiously, she walked over to them.
"Our niece Eugenia is quite appealin', isn't she Bea?" Addie asked, laughing to herself when she noticed her niece approaching.
"Oh very, if it wasn't for that nose of hers…" Beatrice teased as she shook her head.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with her nose." Atticus said cordially.
"I'm certain I haven't heard a bigger lie in my life." Jean said from behind him. Addie and Beatrice laughed amongst themselves as Atticus smiled at her.
"These ladies here are very amusing, I've been having quite the time." He told her.
"Is that so?" She said, shooting her aunts a look. "What have they been tellin' you?"
"Well nothin' can be quite as embarrassing as the gun fiasco," Addie said. "But we were tellin' him you aren't as innocent as you appear."
Jean opened her mouth to ask why, but before she could answer Beatrice said: "We told him how you tried to hide Louise in the crawlspace when she was three."
"And how you tried to bury her in the backyard the year before." Addie remarked. "We were just tellin' him to be careful."
"Louise is probably as sardonic as she is as a defensive mechanism," Atticus said. "She's probably still damaged from what you've inflicted on her all those years ago."
"Or perhaps she's always been like that, and I was just trying to save the family before she became an even bigger fiend." Jean said seriously, making Atticus chuckle.
Before anyone could say anything else, Alexandra emerged from the kitchen. Her face was pink from the heat of the stove and if one looked hard enough, she was sweating. "The food is ready, it just needs to cool for a few moments." She said pleasantly.
A couple of minutes later, Charlotte and Edith returned to their company. Edith looked agitated, probably from having to convince Charlotte to come back downstairs while Jean's oldest sister simply looked as though she didn't want to be there.
Edith looked around the room and exhaled softly. "I supposed it's time to eat." She said, already sounding exhausted.
As everyone began to file into the dining room, Edith took Louise by the shoulder and said: "Honey, I forgot to tell you that you'll be sitting at the children's table."
Louise looked downright appalled. "I've been sitting at the adult table for two years already," she protested.
"Honey, it just worked out better this way." Edith said. "Harriet and Henry will be with you."
"She doesn't want her near the adults," Jean whispered to Atticus. "Another way of making sure she controls herself."
Before Atticus could respond Jack made a clicking noise and draped his arm on Louise's head, making her shrink down a little. "Aw kid, don't worry," He said, smirking. "I'll join ya."
"Now that," Atticus whispered to Jean. "May lead to the disaster your mother was hoping to avoid."
Edith looked at Jack and Louise, and for a moment it seemed as though she was going to object to this. "That's quite fine." She said stiffly. "If you would like to join her, you may."
Jack winked. "C'mon, kid." He teased as he headed into towards the kitchen where the children's table had been located. Before following him, Louise looked at Jean and rolled her eyes before muttering God help me.
Before retreating into the dining room, Edith glanced at Atticus and Jean and raised her eyebrows at her daughter. When she was out of earshot, Jean chuckled nervously. "That's how she always acts." She said quickly, referring to her mother.
"She seems just fine to me." Atticus said, smiling. "I have something for you. For later." He added quickly.
"You didn't need to—"
"Don't be silly," he said as he led her into the dining room. "I wanted to."
When they came into the dining room, everyone was settling in their seats. Politely, he pulled out an empty chair next to Maudie and beckoned her to sit in it. Smiling up at him, she sat, almost directly across from Edie. Edith's eyes remained on Atticus as he sat down next to Jean.
Without a doubt, that evening's dinner had been extraordinary. Nobody could deny that Alexandra Hancock was a culinary master, and the relative silence around the dinner table proved that. Halfway through the meal, Jean felt Atticus put his free hand on her knee, where it remained for the rest of the meal.
She was happy to see him again. It didn't matter to her that they weren't alone, passing time as they usually did. He was still with her, and that's all that mattered. Whenever she spoke, he looked at her with a kind expression on his face and her knee felt warm underneath his hand. It was all she needed.
"I'm going to get the coffee," Edith said once everyone had finished their meals. "I'm also going to make sure that the two ruffians in there didn't cause too much damage."
As Edith went into the kitchen to retrieve the coffee pot and saucers, Alexandra quickly got to her feet to help. That entire evening Jean had found it highly amusing that Alexandra would go through any length to please Edith, for once Alexandra was the vulnerable one. When the two ladies had returned and began passing out the saucers, Caroline chuckled and asked: "Have they killed each other yet?"
Edith gave her a kind smile, though Jean knew that her mother did not find Louise and Jack's interactions amusing. "He was tellin' them all about some priest who smoked a hookah. All of them, Louise included, were too entranced by the story to cause any commotion."
Caroline laughed as she sipped the coffee that was placed in front of her. "He's quite the story teller," She remarked. "I swear he could get himself out of any predicament just by tellin' one of his tall tales."
As Edith was about to hand Atticus his coffee, Alexandra politely stopped her. "He doesn't like coffee, dear." She said.
"Well how about some dessert then?" Edith asked him. Smiling, he politely declined.
"I'm afraid I don't care too much for that, either. But thank you." He said. Edith looked at Jean, and Jean knew her mother was probably thinking Eugenia, you're going to be so bored. She didn't care.
Still full and content from their dinner, the table was still mostly silent. Sipping from his water, Atticus looked at Edith and her sisters and asked: "How is Mr. Buford doing?"
All four of them let out little sighs. "He's managing," Edith responded. "He's doing awfully though. He can't talk anymore but I know he's in pain."
Beatrice shook her head sadly. "He's probably going to go soon," She said solemnly as she drank her coffee. "But I suppose it'd be better than how he is now."
For a moment the table was silent, but then Addie sat up and put a small smile on her face. "Let's not mull over the inevitable." She said. "It's Christmas, for God's sake! Let's talk about something happy."
Edith took that opportunity to look at Atticus. With a slight smile on her face, she asked him: "How's work Atticus? You must be awfully busy with your practice and the legislature."
"It's going quite well," He said. "There was a considerable amount to do before the holiday, but I managed alright I reckon."
"Your work must be very hard on you, you mustn't have much time for yourself." She responded.
Smiling, he shrugged. "It's alright," He said. "If anything I'm learning better time management as I get older."
"It may be alright for now," She said pleasantly. "You only have yourself to care for. What if you got married or have children, it may be harder then."
Atticus gripped her knee a little tighter, but still he smiled at Edith. Jean looked around the room and saw that all of Edith's sisters were looking at her curiously. Atticus swallowed and was about to respond to her when Beatrice chuckled.
"Edie, are you plannin' on startin' a new life with Atticus here? You sure are very inquisitive tonight." She said, making most of the table (even Charlotte!) laugh. Looking embarrassed, Edith forced a chuckle. At this moment Jean desperately wished that Louise was at the table with them, and knew she would have to tell her younger sisters about this later.
"You must think me a fool," Edith said, tucking a piece of stray hair behind her ear. "You must forgive me. I haven't seen you since you were a boy so I let my curiosity get the best of me."
His smile grew a little wider. "There's nothing to be sorry for, Mrs. Graham."
-o-o-o-
Once the table had been cleared and everyone retreated back into the living room, Atticus pulled her aside and asked: "would you like to stand in the back yard with me? For some air?"
"I certainly would," she responded. "I'll meet you out there, I need to fetch something quickly."
Before he could respond, she quickly dashed into the living room to retrieve the book of poetry she hid underneath one of the sofas. Forgetting there was company, she got on her hands and knees, retrieved the package, and began to hurry to the back porch. "Eugenia," her mother said after watching the whole spectacle. "Where are you going?"
Hugging the book to her chest, she exhaled. Hoping that nobody else noticed what she had done, she looked around the room smiling. "I'm going to get some air," she said quickly, turning around before her mother could stop her again.
A little out of breath, she met Atticus on the back porch. He was looking away from her and looking out into the trees that stretched out before him. Quietly, she smiled at him. He must've been the most peaceful man she had ever met. Slowly, she made her way next to him. When she brushed her arm against his, he looked over. "What do you have there?"
"A gift for you," she responded. "It's nothing much."
Smiling, he shook his head slightly. "You didn't need to get me anything," he said. "That's very considerate of you."
Gently, she handed it to him. "Open it," she said eagerly. He took the package from her hands and tore off the carefully wrapped paper. Neatly, he folded the trash and put it in his pocket. Examining the book of poetry, he smiled at her. "I haven't heard of this writer before, this looks like it will be enjoyable."
"He's one of my favorites," she replied, smiling back at him. "He writes mainly about nature, so I thought it would be an appropriate gift considering our walks together."
"That's very fitting," He said, his smile growing a little. "I will enjoy this very much."
"I'm glad."
"I have something for you, too." He said, reaching in the pocket he didn't put his paper in. He handed her a thin box. "I'm afraid I don't do well wrapping." He added as she took the lid of the box off. Laid gently inside was a thin strand of pearls.
"Oh, this is beautiful," she said, admiring the necklace. "You really didn't hav—"
"Would you like me to put it on for you?" He asked. Smiling, she nodded. She handed him the necklace and turned around for him to put it on. Once it was fastened, she turned quickly on her heel to face him.
"How does it look?"
"Why, you make those things look lovely."
"You're very kind." She said. "Thank you very much."
They turned to look at the trees again, and while the air around them was very cold Jean couldn't help but to notice just how warm she was feeling. Smiling to herself as Atticus took her hand in his, she reflected on how despite how hard this past year had been, this was her favorite Christmas.
"Jean?" He asked quietly after a few moments of silence.
"Yes?"
"I love you." He said slowly, thinking about every word he said. Feeling herself turn pink, she turned her head slightly to look at him.
"I love you too." She said matter-of-factly.
For the first time, he kissed her.