The play went off without a hitch … none of the performers forgot their lines … none of the children cried … and the audience watched in breathless wonder as the old, old tale of the Savior of the world's birth was enacted once more before their eyes. Jane, a serene and ageless Madonna, was showered with praise afterward. The only fly in her ointment was the number of comments she received on what a handsome couple she and Colby made. Indeed, toward the end of the evening, when yet one more lady mentioned how "charming" the two of them had looked up their together … "So natural, you know, almost like you really were married!" … Jane barely managed to keep from rolling her eyes in disgust.
Thankfully, Dad noticed her agitation before she actually did anything outright rude, and ushered her and Mother home.
"I was proud of you tonight, Queen Jane," he said. "You made a story that, while beautiful in itself, has been told so many times it's rather threadbare, come alive again with fresh meaning."
"Mrs. Clemens said Mary was only a little older than I am when Jesus was born," Jane said dreamily, apropos of nothing. "Can you imagine?"
"You were very convincing, darling," Mother said, smoothing Jane's hair softly. Mother had undergone some bad moments herself when people commented on the charming pair Jane and Colby made … Mother, who wasn't quite ready to admit yet that her little girl was grown up enough to have a "beau." Still, she hid her discomfort quite nicely, determined not to cling to her daughter the way her mother had clung to her.
Jane, unaware of Mummy's inner turmoil, sighed happily, indulged in one more memory of that delicious evening, and then came back to reality. They were invited to the Fords' the next night for Christmas Eve dinner, and she didn't want to forget anything she was supposed to bring: small gifts for the children, dinner rolls, and an apple cream tart made from one of Mary's recipes.
Jane was really quite excited about visiting the Fords. Although Mother and Dad had been to their home in Toronto before, and she herself had been to their summer house on a little island just a few miles across the Glen St. Mary harbor … a dear, rambling house full of its inhabitants' charm and personality, that rang, so Mrs. Ford said, with laughter and shouts all day long … she had never been to their Toronto home. It was supposedly quite simple and homey, standing out among the grander houses in their neighborhood by that account, but,
"Dear me!" Mrs. Ford had said one time that past summer. "Who wants to live in a big old majestic house, when you can live in a place that feels like home? Grand houses are all very well for visits, but give me something simple and sweet for real comfort."
Mrs. Ford, Jane had thought then, and still thought now, was an extremely sensible woman.
It was great fun shopping with Mummy for the Ford children on Christmas Eve. They found a book on simple magic tricks for Gilly, remembering his fascination with Punch's magic show in their circus … some pretty hair ribbons and barrettes for the twins (blue for the golden-fleeced Anna, green for red-haired, grey-eyed Ally) … and a teddy bear for little four-year-old Teddy Ford, whose sweet features and dark gold curls always filled Jane with the strangest longing. She would so love to have a baby around like that to cuddle and spoil.
The shops were full of people doing last-minute Christmas shopping, all bustling around merrily, calling out holiday greetings to neighbors and friends. The Christmas spirit was infectious, and as Mother and Jane took a break from their shopping to sip cinnamon-spiced hot chocolate and nibble gingerbread at a little café downtown, they both found enormous smiles on their faces just from watching their fellow shoppers go to and fro out the frosted window.
"Oh Mummy," Jane sighed. "I'm so happy."
"So am I, dearest," Mother agreed, a little tremble in her voice. Under her breath, she added, "I didn't think life could be so beautiful and rich."
Jane was distracted by something a lady was carrying as she flashed past the window, and didn't hear Mother properly. "Oh, Mummy!" she cried. "Look! Christmas roses. Can't we get some for Mrs. Ford?"
Mother smiled her delightful smile. "I think they would be an entirely appropriate hostess gift, my Jane."
And indeed, when Jane presented Mrs. Ford with the bouquet of pure white flowers, edged about with their evergreen foliage, that woman beamed with delight.
"Oh, how beautiful! I'll put these in water right away. Come in and make yourselves comfortable," she called over her shoulder as she walked gracefully into the dining room. "Kenneth, take their coats."
Mr. Ford did so, with a hearty handshake for Dad, a courtly, old-fashioned kiss on the back of the hand for Mother, and a wink and grin for Jane.
Then the children tumbled in, dressed in their Christmas finery, but still managing to look mischievous and rumpled for all that. Anna instantly grabbed Jane's hand and dragged her into the parlor to see their magnificent Christmas tree, rising at least ten feet in the air, the star at its tip just brushing the vaulted ceiling.
"Isn't it gorgeous?" she demanded proudly. "Dad and Gilly picked it out, and Ally, Mother and I decorated it."
"I helped, too!" little Teddy insisted around the thumb in his mouth.
"He helped by eating the popcorn and cranberries off their strings as fast as we could put them on," Ally confided dryly to Jane, ruffling her little brother's curls.
"It certainly is handsome," Jane said sincerely, though she couldn't help but think that their tree, half the height and decorated quite simply with white candles and red wooden stars, was twice as nice. Still, the Ford tree, covered in gold and silver ornaments and dripping with ropes of white popcorn and red cranberries, was undoubtedly quite gorgeous, as Anna had said.
"I wanted something smaller, myself," Mrs. Ford was saying to Mother as they entered the room, "but Gilly and Ken insisted on getting the largest they could find. Gilly said we needed a big tree to fit all the presents Santa Claus was going to bring him underneath." She laughed warmly.
Ally tossed her red head resentfully. "After the way he behaved today, I think he should only get coal!"
"What did he do?" Jane asked.
Ally pouted. "He told me my hair was redder than ever, and if I kept up at this rate, it would be completely orange by the time I was sixteen, and no man would ever want to marry me!"
"Poor Ally," sympathized Mrs. Ford. "Red hair seems to be the curse of my family … from my mother, to my older sister, to you. Never fret, dearest, both your grandmother's hair and your Auntie Di's darkened to auburn as they grew older, and there's no reason to think yours won't … whatever your brother may say."
Ally seemed slightly mollified, but still glowered at Gilly when he came in with the men. These glimpses of a close-knit family fascinated Jane. Seeing the Fords gave her some idea of what her family might have been like, had Grandmother and Aunt Irene never pushed Mother and Dad apart … a family with brothers and sisters, teasing each other, laughing with each other, loving each other … and a mother and dad who hadn't been separated for ten years.
Still, she told herself as they all sat around the big table in the spacious dining room, they were together now, and that was what was most important.