-1Sorry this has taken so long. I meant to have it out before last weekend but it was my grandma's 90th birthday, and then our beloved family cat died of cancer, so things have been hectic. Anyway, here is the next part and I promise I will do my best to get the Christmas Day part out by Christmas Day!
Part 54 - Santa at Day-care/Nick's New Place
Tuesday, 23rd December
Daniel went off to day-care a very happy boy. He was thrilled that he was going to see Santa again, and he was still happy about his Grandpa Nick's visit the previous day. He gave his other two grandparents some books to read while he was away at day-care, unaware that they were going to be wrapping Christmas presents for much of the day. And after day-care, Jack was taking him shopping to buy something for all his grandparents, which Daniel was very excited about. He would still have to get something for Jack though, which Grandma Iris said she would help him with tomorrow. All in all, he was in for a wonderful few days.
When Santa arrived, Daniel was just as enthusiastic as the other children. He was a little confused at first when Santa didn't look the same as when Daniel had seen him in the shopping centre but he soon forgot all about that, especially when Santa waved at him. Everyone sang 'Jingle Bells', which they had been practising that week at day-care, and then Santa handed out the presents.
Little did Daniel know that a great deal of care had gone into finding a present for him. Jack had actually been consulted by one of the staff, knowing that since this was essentially Daniel's first Christmas with Santa, and they wanted to find something that would make the little boy happy. That, and they all loved the enthusiastic, happy child who was just a delight to have in their care.
Daniel noted that all the other children were ripping open their presents after Santa had handed them all out but he wasn't like that. He opened his carefully, savouring his first present. When he unwrapped it enough to see what it was, his eyes lit up. It was a book on Native American mythology.
"What did you get?" Cassie asked curiously, cuddling her soft toy horse with one arm as she peeked at Daniel's gift. "What's that word?" she continued, pointing at the last one.
"Mythol'gy," Daniel replied. "It means old stories that have been passed down for thousands and thousands of years when there were lots of ancient people."
"Are they any good?" Robert asked from his place on Daniel's other side. His present had been a plastic doctor's kit, complete with stethoscope, thermometer and knee hammer.
"Uh-huh. They're the bestest!" Daniel enthusiastically told his friends. "Mommy and Daddy always telled me Egyptian and Greek stories at bedtime. Now I have more stories to listen to!" He thought that was a wonderful thing, especially since he had lots of people now to tell him those stories. Especially Grandma Iris - she was really good. He looked over at his friends' presents and was a little confused by Robert's gift. "What's those?"
Robert grinned; he wanted to be a doctor when he grew up and knew all about the instruments that doctors used. "This is a steti-scope that lets doctors listen to peoples chests, and this is a therme-meter which says how hot people are, and this is the hammer that the doctors tap on peoples knees and the knees move by themselfs."
Daniel was fascinated by them, as was Cassie, so they spent the next few minutes playing with the doctor stuff. Then everyone had to put their presents away for the rest of the day so Daniel didn't get a chance to look at his book properly until Jack came to pick him up.
"Jack! Look what Santa gave me!" Daniel exclaimed as he ran over to his brother, book in one hand and backpack in the other. "Look! It's lots of myths from ancient native people from here!"
Taking the book from Daniel, Jack looked at the cover, interested to see what 'Santa' had given the little boy. "This looks great, Danny."
"Can you and Grandma read me some stories tonight?" Daniel asked excitedly, eager to get started on the book.
"One, and then we'll put it away for Christmas," Jack replied; that had always been the tradition in his family. "Which is only two sleeps away," he added when Daniel started to pout.
Daniel worked out that he would only miss one night of the stories and then on Christmas Day night, he would get some more. "Okay." He could be happy with that.
Jack was treated to tales of day-care on the trip to the mall to buy Christmas presents for their grandparents. He knew he was cutting it close, with Christmas only two days away, but time had simply gotten away from him. Tomorrow, Iris would be taking Daniel shopping to buy him a present, something that the little boy was apparently looking forward to.
"What should I buy them?" Daniel enquired as they walked through the mall, hand in hand.
"Um… how about we see what we can find?" Jack didn't have a clue what he was going to buy for his grandparents let alone what Daniel could get them. Thinking back to Daniel's chatter, he couldn't help but be pleased that Daniel had liked his present; after all, a book about mythology had been his suggestion. That meant that Daniel would hopefully like the rest of the things that Jack had got for him.
After a lot of searching, Daniel - who only had a limited amount of money and he didn't want to borrow anything from Jack because then the presents wouldn't be only from him - settled on a lovely light blue scarf for Grandma Iris, and woollen beanies for his grandfathers so that their balding heads didn't get too cold in winter. He was very pleased with the fact that he was able to buy them without any help, and he even had money left for buying Jack's present the next day.
Jack had a harder time with his presents, especially Nick's. What was one supposed to get a grandfather whom he, before Claire's death, hadn't seen in such a long time? In the end, he got Tom a navy blue tie with white stripes - the old man wore a tie to church every Sunday that he went, so Jack figured it was a safe kind of present - and for Iris, he got gloves to match Daniel's scarf. As for Nick's present, Jack decided on a simple photoframe, figuring that the old man could put a photo of Daniel or whoever in it.
Shopping done, the two brothers went home. Daniel was amazed by the number of presents that had suddenly appeared under the Christmas tree during the day, especially since a lot of them had his name on them. He was so excited by the presents that he immediately went and put the ones he had bought - which were store-wrapped to avoid grandparents peeking at them - under the tree too. Then he investigated his presents more to try and determine what was in them.
Jack, Iris and Tom couldn't help grinning at Daniel's enthusiasm. It was always refreshing to see children approach Christmas and because Daniel hadn't really done this before, it was also amusing.
"I have lots of presents!" Daniel exclaimed, eventually running over to the couch and climbing up next to Tom when Iris had gone into the kitchen to cook dinner. "And there's some under there for you and Grandma and Jack and Grandpa Nick too! How come I got lots more than everyone else?"
"Because children always get more at Christmas than grown-ups," Tom replied, ruffling Daniel's hair. "And since this is your first Christmas with us, we get to spoil you a little."
Daniel thought about that for a moment and then peered over at Jack. "It's not being greedy if other people give me lots of things, is it?" he asked, still remembering his Uncle Mehet's comment. He didn't want to be greedy at Christmas time because that would be a bad thing and then Santa might not come.
Jack shook his head. "Just don't expect heaps each year," he reminded Daniel.
"I won't," Daniel promised. He knew this was a special Christmas, being there first one in Colorado Springs, so people might give him presents to make up for the last few years. He would have been happy to have maybe five presents but to get more than that was really exciting!
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Eventually it was Daniel's bedtime. Iris read him one of the stories from his new book and then kissed him goodnight. Daniel drifted off to sleep a very happy little boy.
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Wednesday, 24th December - Christmas Eve
The next day dawned overcast, which didn't help Jack's mood. He wasn't really looking forward to visiting Nick but Daniel was - the little boy was wide awake early in the morning and full of his usual energy. After Daniel had breakfast, he started asking Jack every five minutes whether it was time to visit Nick, a habit that got very annoying after the first two times. Jack tried to answer patiently but eventually hid out in his bedroom for awhile - his grandparents were watching Daniel - to take a break from the chirpiness.
Finally - after what felt like forever to Daniel - they got in the car and headed for Nick's new home. Daniel couldn't sit still and continually bounced up and down in his car seat. Jack had to bite his tongue to keep from reprimanding his little brother; it wasn't Daniel's fault that he wasn't looking forward to the visit. Yes, he had promised himself and Iris that he would try to forgive Nick but that didn't mean that he had to like visiting the old man today.
"Which one is it, Jack?" Daniel inquired when the car stopped.
"Just wait a minute, Danny," Jack replied before getting out of the car. He waited until everyone was out on the pavement, then said, "It's number 308B so… that one." He pointed to the second of five small units that were all in a row. It looked to be part of a retirement village - or, at least where older people lived, judging by the looks of the inhabitants that he could see. The unit was a creamy brick with red roof which Jack, if pressed, would probably admit looked okay. "Hold my hand," he instructed Daniel.
Daniel did so and then started pulling his older brother towards the unit. "Come on, Jack, we'll be late!"
"Oy," Jack complained but allowed himself to be pulled along the footpath. He reminded himself that he wasn't going to spoil Daniel's visit and therefore plastered a small smile on his face when he reached the front door.
"Can I press the button, Jack?" Daniel begged, pointing at the doorbell.
"Sure." Jack lifted Daniel up so that the little boy could pressed the button firmly, and then put his brother down in front of him, a possessive hand on the small shoulder.
It was a few seconds before Nick answered the door. He didn't even get a chance to say 'hello' before Daniel was hugging him, the little boy all smiles in contrast to his older brother.
"Grandpa, we're here!" Daniel exclaimed unnecessarily.
"So I see," Nick said, smiling indulgently down at his youngest grandson. "You'd better come in then." As Daniel raced past him into the house, Nick looked at Iris and Tom - who smiled politely at him - and finally at his other grandson. "Jack."
"Nick. Nice house," Jack stated, trying to get the visit off on the right foot.
"Come on everyone!" Daniel shouted from further in the house, impatient with the slow adults. He bounced up and down as he waited for the adults to join him in the living room, which was the first room off the hallway to the left. "Grandpa, why do you have so many boxes? Are there arty-facts in there? Can I see?"
"All in good time, Daniel," Nick replied. "How about we look at the rest of the house first?"
"Okay!" Daniel sped off again, wanting to explore.
"So, how many rooms are there?" Iris asked as the adults set off more slowly.
Jack looked around at the sparse furniture as he half listened to the answer. The house didn't look very lived in yet, which he supposed it wouldn't after only a couple of days. A few essential pieces of furniture - no television, he noted - but it wasn't a home. Yet. Jack had to wonder whether Nick knew how to make a house into a home given that the old man had been traipsing all over the world for the best part of five decades.
There weren't many rooms. Two bedrooms, a living/dining room, kitchen, laundry and bathroom; just like Jack's house actually, only smaller. Just the perfect size for an old man on his own, and the second bedroom would be for when Daniel - and maybe Jack - came to stay.
The adults found Daniel bouncing up and down in the second bedroom, an eager look on his face. "Is this where I get to sleep, Grandpa?" There was no bed in the room but he figured that since this was the only room that he couldn't identify, then it had to be his bedroom.
"Yes, it is," Nick agreed, deliberately not looking at Jack to see what his eldest grandson thought of that idea.
"I have my own little bed that's sometimes a chair," Daniel shared enthusiastically, "but I like my big bed better. Are you going to get a big bed?"
"I'm going to get two big beds, one for you and one for Jack," Nick replied, still keeping his focus on Daniel. As the little boy beamed happily, Nick glanced sideways to see Jack's neutral expression; at least it was better than hostility.
Back in the living room a few minutes later, everyone settled onto the chairs except for Daniel, who was allowed to peek in the cardboard boxes now that the tour was completed. That kept him happy while the others chatted, catching up on many years worth of news. Jack mainly stayed quiet, listening while keeping an eye on Daniel. When his brother eventually tired of exploring and came to sit on his lap, Jack was able to give the conversation his full attention and there was one thing that took him by surprise.
Nick had been lonely.
Despite being surrounded by people on the digs, Jack gathered that it wasn't the same as having family there. His grandmother had died long ago, which meant that Nick had been alone for quite some time and didn't have anyone to share his discoveries with. That showed the old man in a different light and Jack suddenly found himself feeling sorry for Nick. What would it be like to have lived for so long without any family around? Maybe that was part of the reason that Nick had finally decided to give up archaeology.
A little before lunchtime, Daniel started to get restless so Jack decided that was enough visiting for the day. Daniel protested, of course, but Jack didn't give in; nearly three hours was enough for now.
Daniel sighed; Jack was being mean about this but he didn't know why. Still, he hugged his Grandpa Nick goodbye and promised to come over again real soon.
Upon seeing Daniel's sad face, and Iris' expectant one, Jack found himself saying, "Nick, why don't you come over tomorrow for Christmas?"
"Yeah!" Daniel thoroughly supported that idea. "There's lots of presents under the tree and they're for everyone so you have to come so you can open them! Pleeeeeease!"
How could Nick say 'no' to that? "Of course I will come, Daniel. Thank you, Jack," he said, his face expressing his relief at not being alone for Christmas. It would be good to spend it with family again.
******************
After having lunch at the Mall, Iris took Daniel to find a present for Jack while the two men went to find a shop with fishing gear. As they walked along, Iris asked her grandson, "Did you have anything in mind for Jack?"
"An airplane or a train," Daniel said with certainty. He wanted Jack to have an airplane like the one they went to Minnie-something in but it might cost a lot of money so in that case, he wanted to get Jack a train like Grandpa Tom had. Since he didn't have enough money for a whole set though, it would just have to be one train.
They went to the toy store - Sara wasn't working that day - and looked at the model airplanes first. Daniel was disappointed that he couldn't find one like Jack's plane but in the end, that was okay because he didn't have enough money anyway. So then the two of them went to look at the trains.
"Oh! I like this one," Daniel exclaimed, pointing to a bright red engine. It was a little bit longer than his hand and he wasn't sure if it was the type that would go around the tracks but he liked it anyway. Maybe Jack would put it on the mantelpiece in the living room so Daniel could look at it every day.
"Let's check how much it is," Iris said as she examined the train. She looked at the price tag and smiled. "You have just enough money," she told Daniel. "Isn't that lucky?"
"Yep!" Daniel took the train and hugged it to his chest. This was his first present to Jack and he was pleased that it was going to be a good one, and that he could buy it himself.
Shopping done, they headed off to find Jack and Tom. They found the men a few minutes later drooling over the latest in fishing rods. With a sigh, Iris guided Tom away; she was usually tolerant of her husband's love of fishing but the mall was crowded and she preferred to be home in the peace and quiet. Daniel followed suit with Jack, except he actually pulled his big brother away, eager to go home, wrap the present and put it under the tree ready for the morning.
At home, Iris helped Daniel wrap Jack's present and then it was put under the tree with the others. The rest of the day was filled in with things like drawing, watching 'Aladdin', reading and playing. And when it came to bedtime, it took longer than usual to get Daniel to sleep but finally the little boy nodded off, wanting to be up early to experience Christmas with his family.
"You did well today," Iris praised Jack as they went back into the living room. "Both Tom and I are proud of you." It hadn't been easy but she knew that Jack had made the effort for Daniel, which was a good first step.
"Thanks." Jack kissed his grandmother's cheek before settling down on the couch. "I forgot to ask - do we have enough food for Nick?"
"There'll be plenty," Iris replied, sitting next to her grandson. "Don't worry about the food. You just concentrate on making tomorrow a day for Daniel to remember."
Jack grinned at her. "That I can do," he promised. It was bound to be sad at some point because of Melburn and Claire not being there but other than that, Jack would do his best to give Daniel a wonderful day.
