U – is for Unwrap
The Carsons were enjoying a lovely day away from the house, all the bells, every single demand, and loving every single minute of it. Their morning had started quite leisurely with a big English breakfast, cooked together and sprinkled with lots of loving kisses and affectionate touches. Charles had shoveled the walkway to make it easier for them to get in and out of the cottage and down to the lane while Elsie had spent her time in the kitchen baking a fresh batch of shortbread.
Another reason for them to be so excited about the day, aside from the sheer luxury of spending uninterrupted time together, was that they were expecting a special visitor to the cottage after lunch. After talking with Mr. Branson, they'd invited Sybbie to the house so that they could share some time with her before the real hustle and bustle of the Christmas season began. And, they'd deemed this the perfect time to give her a few presents, things they'd picked up with her in mind.
Elsie looked into the sitting room at the pretty tree and the brightly wrapped packages beneath it. She sent up a silent prayer that the child would love the gifts, one in particular since Charles had chosen it himself. She was just about to plump the cushions on the sofa when she heard the sounds of laughter and squealing coming from the other side of the front door.
"Mrs. Hughes, hurry! Let me in … hurry," she begged before she erupted in a rather loud and contagious laugh. By the time Elsie made it to the door and opened it, Sybbie stood on the doorstep brushing snow from her face, hair, hat, and coat. "Too late," she giggled. "He got me."
"You got me first, young lady," Charles answered with a broad smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. "I'll have you know, Mrs. Hughes, that I was mercilessly attacked with a snowball … right to the middle of my back. I never saw it coming … nor did she when I retaliated."
Elsie couldn't help but laugh at the pair as she waved to Mr. Branson who had watched the entire scene from the safety of the car. "Get inside, you two, before you start to turn into little icicles or snow creatures."
"Silly Mrs. Hughes," she said as she stepped inside the door and plopped down on the floor to remove her boots, hat, gloves, scarf, and coat while Charles did the same, though without sitting in the floor.
With her husband and Miss Sybbie getting warm by the fire with hot cocoa and shortbread, Sybbie gave them an account of her morning so far. She'd spent time playing dolls with Marigold until George had come along and asked them to build a blanket fort with him. They'd pretended it was an igloo with nanny being a big polar bear that was out to get them if they weren't careful. Then, it was time for lunch, and while the other children were reading, she was spending the afternoon at the cottage. "I love reading, but it's much more fun when we do it together. Mr. Carson, you always do the best voices."
"Thank you for the compliment. Once the New Year arrives, we'll have to choose a new book to start reading together. Maybe you'll get a nice one for Christmas."
"I didn't ask for one but I did ask for surprises. That would be a lovely surprise. Books are always good gifts."
"You're starting to sound like Mrs. Hughes, little lady. And, speaking of gifts, we have a few things for you. Would you care to see what they are?"
She clapped her hands together and grinned excitedly. "I'd love to, but I don't have your gifts with me. I can wait, if you want me to so it's fair."
"No need to wait, lass. We invited you here so we could give you these today. We wanted you to have them before everything got too busy with parties and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations."
Elsie bent down by the tree and pulled five packages from beneath the low branches, each one bigger than the next, though none too terribly large. "These are from Mr. Carson and myself."
Sybbie got onto her hands and knees in the floor and looked at each present, commenting on the pretty wrapping and complimenting Elsie on her perfect bows made from ribbon. "Can I open any one I want?"
"You should probably read the tags," Charles instructed. "There just may be an order to it," he suggested with a sly grin.
I may be small, but I hold a world of imagination. Unwrap me first, please.
She read the note aloud, twice, and tried to work out the riddle for herself. "I don't know what it could be, but it sounds exciting." She untied the bow and slowly removed the wrapping from the first package. "It's my very own notebook with lots and lots of blank pages."
"And, you can use it to write down or draw anything you can dream up in that bright mind of yours," Charles said proudly. "If you can think it, you can draw it or write about it in there. No limits to your imagination."
She hugged the book to her chest and smiled. "I know just what I'm going to put on the first page, but I won't tell you now. I'll wait until it's finished and show you."
"Deal … now what about the next package." Elsie nudged a small rectangular box in her direction.
Bright and cheery, dark and dreary … I hold all the colors of the rainbow. Unwrap me second, please.
"Dreary? Doesn't that mean sad or grey?" Charles nodded and she began to peel the packaging away from the second parcel. "A WHOLE NEW SET OF COLORED PENCILS! I can use these in my new notebook! And, I won't have to share these with Marigold or George. They are sometimes a little rough on our pencils and they break. But, these … they're all mine. Thank you," she squealed as she gave them each a hug around the neck.
"Goodness, looks like you're just a wee bit happy about the new pencils," Elsie teased, slightly tickling the girl as she accepted her hug. "What do you think could possibly be in the other presents? Any ideas?"
"I have no idea. The pencils and notebook go together and the others are too small to be books." She gently shook the next package and wrinkled her nose as she tried to work it out for herself.
Alone, I'm of no use to you, but with my friends, I can brighten your world. I'm the third present to unwrap, please.
She thought long and hard after she read the note but couldn't come up with a guess. "Suppose there's only one way to find out."
"You should let me open it," Charles teased.
Sybbie gave him her best eye roll and smile. "Nice try, but I think I can manage."
"Well, that's put me in my place," he said with a laugh and a slight shake of his head in Elsie's direction. "She's been hanging around you, love, and it's starting to show."
A slight gasp from Sybbie drew their attention back to the excited child. She'd just opened a set of brand new paint brushes, some with broad points and others with finer tips so she could explore different lines and techniques. "Wow! And they're so soft, too," she said, running the brushes over her face and hands. "Feel, Mrs. Hughes … it feels like my hair when it tickles my neck or back."
"They're very nice, and you should thank Mr. Carson for that gift. There were others in the store but he thought you'd like those the best."
"Oh, I really do. And I love the color on the handle. It's pretty."
"We've very glad you like them. Now, two left."
Unwrap me next. I'm gift number four. Open me so we can start to explore.
"Well, that's confusing. Explore what?"
Elsie tapped on the box and Sybbie began to peel away the wrapping paper to reveal a set of paints to go with her brushes. "Make more sense now?"
"You're tricky, Mrs. Hughes, very tricky."
She reached over and tweaked the girl's nose. "I'll have you know I had help coming up with these tags. I may have written them all but that doesn't mean they were all my creation."
"I'm going to think of some riddles for you, too, Mr. Carson. Just you wait. And I can write them down in my new notebook with my pencils so I don't forget them."
"You just worry about that last present," he said, scooting to the edge of his seat. It was the one he'd been most anxious for her to open, and he couldn't contain his excitement.
Last but not least, I'm gift number five. Unwrap me, and I promise to keep you steady.
This one was a little larger than the rest, and instead of opening it alone, she asked Mr. Carson to help her, for which Elsie was incredibly grateful. She couldn't think of many things that would make her husband happier than a chance to help Sybbie open this last gift.
As soon as the last bit of paper fell from the gift, she covered her mouth and her eyes grew wide with excitement. "My very own easel. I can't believe it. I've wanted one ever since I saw yours when you were painting in the garden this summer. I didn't think you'd remember, and I forgot to ask Father Christmas for one. But … you didn't forget," she squealed and hugged Mr. Carson so tightly that he fell backwards onto the floor with a hearty laugh.
Elsie wiped a few tears of joy from her eyes as she watched her husband show Miss Sybbie how to properly set up the easel, explain the various paints and how best to use them, and even a small tutorial with the brushes and cleaning them.
"Can we please paint a picture today? I've got all my stuff already here, and I'm sure there's loads of stuff we look at to paint like you did with the flowers."
He shook his head. "I'm afraid we can't today. Your father will be back soon to get you. But, we've already discussed it when him, and, weather permitting, you are invited back to the cottage on Sunday. By then, I'll have us both a canvas, and you'll have some time to think about what you'd like to paint as your first picture."
"I already know what I'm going to paint," she announced proudly.
The couple expected her to say something like flowers, a doll, a dog, or something else of a similar variety. But, Sybbie shook her head and grinned.
"I'm going to paint you and Mrs. Hughes and your pretty Christmas tree."
Thankfully, Sybbie didn't see the bewildered look shared by Charles and Elsie … one which silently asked … what have we started?
That would be a mystery to be unwrapped the following Sunday!
A/N: In my opinion, there's nothing quite like watching a little one opening presents and getting so excited over the simple things in life. For me, that's what makes the magic of Christmas. I hope you've enjoyed watching the magic being "unwrapped" by Sybbie in this chapter!