Guthrie and I woke up at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning and ran downstairs in only our pyjamas and bare feet. There were presents, sitting in all their wrapped glory under the tree, but Uncle Pete was still asleep on the pull-out bed in the living room, seemingly deaf to our thunderous clatter.
Brian was awake and came rounding through to the living room from the kitchen carrying a spatula in his hand. He was fully dressed but wearing a floral apron over his jeans.
"Shhh guys, come into the kitchen," he said quietly gesturing to us with his spatula clad hand.
We ran around to the kitchen, followed by Brian.
The air smelled sweet, like lemon, chocolate and cinnamon.
"Are you making waffles?" I said, even though I could already see that he was.
"Uh huh," Brian said, his voice still quiet. "Want to help?"
"Can we wake up Uncle Pete?" I asked, speaking more quietly than I had been before.
Brian looked at the time on the big wall clock in the kitchen. 5.45am.
"Give him a while longer." He winked at us. "He's not used to early mornins like us."
"But it's Christmas!" Guthrie said.
"You can wake him soon," Brian said.
"How soon?" I asked.
"Soon. I'll tell you when."
"I'm going to wake the others!" Guthrie said, ready to take off at a pace, but Brian caught his arm.
"Wait a minute, partner; if you wake them it's likely Uncle Pete will wake up too. You can help me here with breakfast in the kitchen, or you can go and get dressed quietly and go and help Adam and Crane outside."
"Can we make cookies for breakfast too if we stay inside?" Guthrie asked.
"I don't see why not. Since it's Christmas," Brian said easily.
"Yay!" Guthrie cheered, bouncing up and down.
Brian put us to work, telling us what we needed to measure out to make the cookies.
"Bri, how much candy can you buy with $50?" Guthrie said.
Brian chuckled.
"Enough that we'd have to spend all the extra money that Uncle Pete gave us takin' you to the dentist to get your cavities filled."
"Would you let us spend it all on candy?" I asked.
"What do you think?" Brian said.
"No."
"Right."
"I bet Uncle Pete would let us," Guthrie said.
"Probably," Brian agreed.
"What you going to spend the money on, Bri?" I asked.
"I'm not sure yet- need to think about it and talk with Adam about what needs doin'."
"Uncle Pete said you guys are to buy something for yourself too," I reminded him.
"Do we need to save ours, or can we spend it all?" Guthrie asked.
"I reckon that's up to you," Brian said. "Although you'd better check with Adam."
"He'll tell us to save it. Or at least part of it, I bet," I said.
"Possibly," Brian said, transferring the latest ready waffle into the oven to keep it warm.
"I'm going to save mine for the next time I go to the mall with Olivia."
"As long as you don't come back with pierced ears again or a tattoo," Brian said.
"Briii," I said, laughing at his teasing.
By the time we had made the cookies and put them in the oven, along with the rest of the waffles and set the table for breakfast, it was just past 6.30am and Brian told us that we could go and wake up the boys if we wanted.
We ran up to their rooms, bursting in together and jumping on their beds yelling at them to wake up because it was Christmas. The noise of everyone waking aroused Uncle Pete too, and he sat up in his bed in the living room, looking shellshocked and bleary eyed. He swung his feet over the side.
I ran down the stairs and went to sit on his bed.
"Merry Christmas, Uncle Pete!"
"Merry Christmas, princess," he said. He ran a hand over his face. "What time is it?"
I turned my head to look at the little clock on the mantlepiece above the fireplace.
"6.40 am."
"Every time I come here, I always forget how early you kids get up," he said.
"Me and Guth got up ages ago but Brian said we should let you sleep," I told him.
Uncle Pete yawned.
"I appreciate that."
"We made cookies for breakfast!" I told him.
"Me love cookie," Uncle Pete said, reverting into his cookie monster impression again.
I giggled, and then impulsively, I launched myself into his side, giving him a big hug.
"I'm so happy you've come for Christmas," I said, squeezing him hard.
There was something about Uncle Pete that made me feel… safe. Maybe it was his age. And it was also, maybe, subconsciously that I felt like a part of my mother was there too, though I didn't recognise it at the time.
Uncle Pete put an arm around me and hugged me into his side and kissed the top of my head.
"Me too, princess. I get to spend time with my favorite niece."
"I'm your only niece, Uncle Pete."
"Then that definitely makes you my favourite."
We're usually a family who eats breakfast fully dressed because of all the morning chores that need to get done on the ranch, but Christmas is one of those days where we can be more relaxed. The boys came down in their pyjamas too. We stuffed our face with cookies and waffles and Adam didn't even say a thing about it like he usually would because it was Christmas. He even ate a couple of cookies himself!
Adam told us that we could do presents before chores and then getting ready for church that morning.
"Uncle Pete, are you going to come with us to church this time?" Ford asked.
Typically, Uncle Pete wasn't a fan of church.
"I think I'll sit this one out. Stay here and keep an eye on everythin' for you guys. I can make a start on the cookin'."
"Can I stay here with you?" I asked him.
"No, you're comin' to church with the rest of us," Adam said.
"But I want to help Uncle Pete make his chocolate log thing," I said.
"I promise I won't start that until you guys get back," Uncle Pete said.
Truly, going to church was the least favorite part of Christmas day, but it was more fun than regular church because they gave out chocolate and there was lots of singing and the service wasn't as long as usual, so it wouldn't be too bad.
Immediately after breakfast was done, even before we did any dishes and cleared up, we gathered in the living room around the fireplace for presents- our 'big present' from Adam and Brian this time. They'd wrapped them up and placed them under the tree. This time, we went in birth order so that I was the very last person to get my present because I'm younger than Guthrie by a couple of minutes. It was hard to wait patiently, but I did and watched as my brothers unwrapped, or tore into their gifts one by one. There's not a lot of money in our family at any regular time and although we all understood this, and never asked for anything very expensive, I understand now that I'm older the financial burden that Christmases and birthdays and school trips, and basically anything that required an increase in expenditure put on our family. But our two oldest brothers always made a real effort with the gifts to make sure it was something we really wanted. Everyone was really happy with their gift, especially Evan who I thought might cry. He'd been given front row tickets to a rodeo competition that was happening in our area in February.
Eventually it was my turn, and I unwrapped my gift with the same care that I'd opened Guthrie's gift to me the evening before. The package wasn't particularly heavy, nor was it a set shape- so I couldn't quite tell what it was, although I had my suspicions.
As I unwrapped it a little more, I saw a flash of pink, and then of purple and then of pink again, and then, knowing what it was, unable to contain my excitement any longer, I ripped open the rest of the wrapping to reveal a pink and purple backpack with a gold zipper. I had been asking for a new backpack since the fall to replace my navy blue one, ever since I'd seen Olivia come to school with a colorful one.
I gasped in delight and looked up at Adam and Brian, who were sitting next to each other on one of the couches.
They smiled at me.
"Look inside," Adam said.
I opened the gold zipper reverently and peered inside.
"No way!"
I reached in and pulled out a purple sparkly pencil case and a couple of pink pens with feathers spilling out the top of them. They were so impractical- but that's why I loved them; I'd been talking about them for weeks.
"What are those?" Evan asked.
"I think they're pens," said Daniel.
"Don't look like pens to me!"
I ignored them and put the feathers up to my face so they tickled my cheek and then I held the pencil case up to my chest, like I was hugging it.
"I don't think she likes it, Adam," Brian said theatrically.
"Such a shame; we might have to take everything back," Adam said.
"No!" I giggled, knowing that they were teasing me. "I LOVE IT."
I bounded over and threw myself into them, trying to hug them both at the same time which didn't really work. Brian caught me up first and I squeezed him as tightly as I could and then, like a puppy, rolled over to Adam, hugging him extra tightly as well.
"Merry Christmas, baby girl," Adam said in my ear while hugging me.
"How did you know which one to get?" I asked them when I'd pulled away.
"We had some help," Brian admitted.
"Yea, Sissy helped out," Adam said.
Sissy was owner of the salon at which we got our haircut. She and Donnie, her husband, had been good friends of our parents.
"Thank you both so much!" I said.
I was aware that my brothers were out of their depth sometimes when I talked about all the newfound girly things that I liked, so it meant so much to me that they had listened to me and try to honor what I wanted, when they could have easily dismissed it as frivolous and unnecessary.
"Make sure you thank her for helping out when you see her at church later," Adam said.
"I will," I promised.
I was the last one to open my gift and then Adam told us to get dressed and get our chores done quickly and then come back inside and get changed for church. I put on one of my church dresses. I was nearly disappointed that it wasn't a school day so I could use my new backpack, but Crane French braided my hair for me, and I made sure to wear some of my new hair clips. I felt like a million dollars.
In the truck on the way to church, those of us in the back talked about how we might spend the money that Uncle Pete had given us. Daniel said he'd probably spend his on music records, but that maybe he would put some of the money aside because he was saving for a new guitar. Ford was up in the front with Adam and Brian, but we thought he would most likely save his. Out of all of us, he was the most careful with his money, probably followed at by Crane at a close second.
"Maybe he can use some of it and buy his hamster a friend!" I said.
"I would give all my money to see Adam's face when he brought it home," Daniel joked.
We all laughed.
"I wonder how Uncle Pete got that money," Evan mused. "I mean… does anyone know what his job is?"
We thought for a moment, but none of us rightly knew.
"He picks up work wherever he travels I believe," Crane said.
"What kind of work?" I asked.
"I don't know- I think whatever kind of work is available," Crane said.
"But where does he live when he's travelling?" Guthrie asked.
Crane frowned in thought.
"I don't know," he admitted. "You can ask him later when we're home."
"I like Uncle Pete being here. Maybe he can stay and move in with us for good," I said.
My brothers laughed.
"I'm not joking!" I said.
And I wasn't. Why couldn't Uncle Pete stay with us for good? It was perfectly feasible.
"Where would he sleep?" Evan asked.
"In the pullout bed in the living room. Same as now. Or in Crane's bed when he's away at college. He can even work on the ranch. Adam and Brian are always saying they could do with more help, especially when Crane's away at school."
"It would be so cool if he stayed," Guthrie said.
"Don't hold your breath, guys" Crane said. "Uncle Pete's not the settling down type."
"Yea, just ask his girlfriends. His long, long line of girlfriends," Daniel said.
"But we're his family," I protested.
"Still," Crane began, "I don't think that-"
"I'm gonna ask him, and I'll bet he'll stay."
My brothers exchanged looks among themselves. Even Guthrie, which was irritating because he was usually on my side.
"What?" I said.
"Don't get your hopes up, Heidi," Crane said gently.
I shrugged. My brothers could warn me all they wanted, but I just knew that I would prove them all wrong and that Uncle Pete would want to stay with us. For good.