As the day progressed and the women strung up their Christmas crafts around the room, some of the men came into the dining room at odd intervals, bringing whatever food they'd hunted or scavenged for Christmas dinner. Glenn and Noah were the first team to show up, shivering with cold but proud of their catch.
"Carolina Winter Black Bass!" Glenn exclaimed, holding a stringer of large fish aloft.
"Not so many folks fishing the rivers these days, so they were really running!" Noah added. Then he paused and looked around the festooned room. "That's really pretty," he commented.
"It's just a little decoration, since it's Christmas," Tara replied.
"We're not doing presents or a tree or anything," Rosita added. "We just wanted a little 'something' to have a special day for once."
"Uh-huh," Glenn mumbled as he looked around and took in the colorful paper decorations. "Um, I've got to do something, are you OK with these?" he said, handing his string of fish to Carol.
"Me, too," Noah said, a look of panic in his eyes. Tara relieved him of his fish and he and Glenn dashed out of the room.
"What the heck is their problem?" She wondered aloud.
Tyreese and Carl stopped by later, barely able to contain their excitement.
"Look at what we found while we were patrolling the perimeter!" Tyreese grinned, holding a large pail.
Sasha took the bucket from him and looked down. "Juneberries?" she asked.
"You bet! We found a couple of shrubs that still had ripe berries on them."
"They're delicious," Carl added. "Sort of like blueberries."
"Oh, I know," Sasha smiled. "Sweet like sugar. These will make a nice dessert."
Tyreese seemed to suddenly notice the decorations. "What's all this?" He asked, gesturing.
Tara felt like she was on "automatic replay" when she explained to him that it was just a little "something extra" for Christmas, but that they were not planning on a gift exchange or anything.
"Um, OK…I've got something to do…" Tyreese replied as he left the room in a rush.
"Me, too," Carl said, following Tyreese out the door.
"Curiouser and curiouser," Allison mumbled at their departing backs.
Some time later, while Carol, Sasha and Tara were busy cleaning fish, the door opened again and Merle and Abraham stepped inside.
"He's a biggun, so he's probably old and his meat might need some tenderizing," Abraham said as he handed a large jack rabbit to Beth.
"We also started a fire in the barbecue grill outside with some dry timber," Merle added. Tara caught his gaze as his eyes darted around and hurried to explain that they just added some Christmas decorations to the room, no gifts expected, etc.
The two men listened to her explanation and then left together.
"Don't want to waste this fresh rabbit," Carol remarked. "What do you think?" She turned to Rosita. "Could diced rabbit work in your enchilada recipe?" She paused and then added, "After all, it 'tastes just like chicken'!"
Allison took the rabbit from Beth. "I'll start prepping this guy….um, but are we still going to grill the fish? I mean, do the two dishes 'go' together?"
"Does it really matter at this point?" Sasha asked. "Anything that is palatable and fills our tummies 'goes together', as far as I'm concerned."
"And," Beth interjected, "if we use the rabbit now we can save the geese that we've got stored for another time."
A few hours later Michonne and Maggie stopped in after walking the perimeter for most of the day. "Haven't seen any Walkers or anything else out of the ordinary," Michonne told the others. "I think we'll be safe for a few hours gathering here for dinner without a lookout."
"Anything we can do to help y'all?" Maggie asked wearily.
"No, everything seems to be under control. You both look like you could use some rest," Carol replied.
"Honestly, a nap doesn't sound too bad right now," Maggie said. "How long before dinner is ready?"
"The enchilada stew will probably be ready in about an hour," Rosita said, "and then the fish won't take long once we put it on the grill."
"Well, we want to be here to help however, setting the table, you know…" Michonne struggled to stifle a yawn.
"Go get some rest, one of us will come and bang on your doors when it's time to get up and get out," Beth said with a smile.
‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡
"This is truly a feast fit for a king!" Rick pronounced as they passed around plates with heaping servings of tortilla-less rabbit enchiladas and fried fish.
After everyone had been served Gabriel spoke up. "Since Rick mentioned 'king', might I ask everyone to pause and think about the true meaning of Christmas – the birth of Jesus Christ the King. I ask that everyone join hands…" The group did as he requested. "Whatever your personal religious beliefs, I ask that you give thanks and praise in your hearts on this Very Special Day. We are all together, we have food and shelter, and we all look out and care for each other. In the name of the Father and the Son, Amen."
Everyone repeated "Amen" and then dug into their food.
"Mmm, this fish is soo delicious," Glenn commented. "And thanks to whoever de-boned it!"
"This, er, stew is scrumptious, too," Noah commented. "I've never had anything quite like it."
"Credit goes to Rosita for her culinary skills with the green chili sauce and canned vegetables to stretch out one rabbit into one tasty stew," Carol replied.
The group was just clearing their plates of the last of the fish and rabbit enchilada stew when Rick cleared his throat loudly to ask for everyone's attention.
"I just want to say, on behalf of the men here, we all truly appreciate all the work you women have done for us during the time we've all been together. The food preparation, the laundry, all of that stuff…and things…" He paused and then continued, "I know that Tara emphasized that no gifts were expected at this Christmas dinner, but I also remember someone" -he swallowed hard at the memory of Lori – "telling me a long time ago that when a party invitation stated 'no gifts' that it was implied that folks would automatically know that of course you would still bring a gift. OK, maybe it took a woman to translate that to me, that you still are expected to bring a bottle of wine or fruit basket, but nevertheless – "
"No!" Tara spoke up. "I sincerely meant it when I said no – "
Rick held up his hand to stop her. "It doesn't matter. What I'm saying is that a while ago – right around Thanksgiving, I believe – is that the men got together and decided that for Christmas we should get gifts for the women. So we drew names…"
"Like a school gift exchange? Names out of a hat?' Maggie was trying to clarify what Rick was saying.
"Exactly," he replied. "So, I hope y'all don't mind, but we have some, well, tokens of our esteem so to speak for you…"
"Wait a minute," Carol asked, "is that why you guys went running out of the room when you saw the decorations?"
"Yeah, well, we didn't know you were gonna have a party dinner celebration thing, so we wanted to get our presents all ready…" Abraham said.
"We didn't have wrapping paper, but y'all made the room look so…festive…we wanted to dress up your presents somehow," Noah added.
"Oh, wow…" Maggie was taken aback, as were all the women. They were completely caught by surprise. The men had actually taken the trouble, between keeping guard and hunting for food, to arrange a gift exchange?!
"I had your name," Tyreese spoke first, removing a small paper bag from underneath the table. There were decorative flourishes drawn on it with a Sharpie. He handed it to Michonne. She opened the bag and found a large bottle of Dr. Bronner's Pure Peppermint Liquid Castille Soap. "I found this while we were looking for supplies at one of the drugstores in town. It's supposed to be good for locs…"
Michonne gulped back her tears and held the bottle close to her chest. "Thank you very, very much," she whispered.
"I drew Sasha," Abraham spoke next. "Your brother mentioned that this dry mountain air plus all the washing and stuff you do was making your skin dry…"
"It's not like you didn't complain about it every other day to me," Tyreese interjected when Sasha was about to speak up.
"Anyway, sorry it's not wrapped better…" He handed her a small package that was haphazardly enclosed in a taped piece of construction paper.
"Ooh," Sasha exclaimed. It was a jar of cocoa butter. She took the lid off the jar and inhaled deeply. "It's heavenly," she exclaimed. "My hands and elbows thank you so much!"
"I got this for you," Eugene said, handing a package to Beth. Her eyes widened at the bottle of Bonne Bell 10-0-6 facial cleanser, mainly because it reminded her of the ads she'd seen in Seventeen magazine back when she was in junior high school. She didn't know the stuff was still being sold anywhere.
"Please note," Eugene continued, "that this gift in no way implies that you have clogged pores or otherwise flawless skin. I just thought it might come in handy if one day we are without soap and or water."
"Thank you, Eugene," Beth said with a smile. The smile that always melted Merle's heart and which made him feel a quick twinge of jealousy. He knew that Beth had no feelings for Eugene other than as a friend, a member of their "family", but still … he felt unsettled because it bothered him… He should be the one to give Beth presents. Whatever she wanted in the world, he'd find a way to get it for her.
"I hope you like this," Noah said to Carol as he handed her a package. She unwrapped it to find a very long knitted scarf. "I thought with this cold winter weather, you could use it to keep your head warm…" His voice drifted off and he looked away.
"Thank you, Noah," Carol said. She put the scarf over her head and then wrapped the long ends around her neck. "This is perfect!"
"I guess I'm next," Rick said. He handed a hand-decorated bag to Rosita. She opened it to find two drugstore-style cards of different colorful hair ties and scrunchies. "I remember when we first met you wore your hair in ponytails," Rick explained. "Despite all the drabness these days there's nothing that says you can't wear a little flair in your hair."
Rosita laughed as she reached over to give Rick a quick hug. "Not only a great gift, but a poem, too! Thank you!"
"Um, here," Merle grunted uncomfortably as he handed a package to Maggie. "Merry Christmas." That stuff that had gone down at Woodbury, plus his feelings for Beth, still made him feel a little edgy around Maggie. She peeked inside and found a large box of Celestial Seasonings tea bags. "Thank you, Merle," Maggie said. Merle secretly hoped that herbal tea would help to calm Maggie's ass down and stop shooting daggers at him every time they crossed paths.
"Um, I heard from someone that you like orange soda, but I couldn't find any, so, um, here…" Daryl awkwardly handed a bag to Tara. She grinned in delight when she removed the small bottle of orange Tang. "Just like the astronauts drank!" she exclaimed. "Thank you!"
"This is for you!" Carl smiled proudly as he handed Allison a rolled bundle with a makeshift bow tied around it. She unwrapped it to find a very feminine cap-sleeved pink shirt with pictures of rose buds scattered on the front. "Ooh, it's absolutely beautiful! Thank you so much!" Allison exclaimed.
"I hope it's an OK gift," Carl said earnestly. "I asked Abraham and Merle what kind of present to buy for a girl and they said 'anything crotchless'."
Tyreese spat out the mouthful of Kool-Aid he'd just sipped and snorted in laughter. Rick bowed his head into his hand and tried to stifle his guffaws.
"Oh, geez," Abraham protested, "that was back during that Thanksgiving dinner when we'd had some cognac when he asked…."
"Ahem," Gabriel cleared his throat, "Not to change the subject, but I have a gift for this young lady…" He handed a toilet paper-wrapped bundle to Judith. She giggled in delight as she tore the paper away and threw the pieces up in the air. She then clutched the small Beany Baby rabbit to her face and murmured "Ba-ba-ba…Bunny!"
"I hope she likes this as much as the bunny," Glenn remarked as he produced a small package. "The cheese stands alone, as they say." He looked around the group and then explained, "We ran out of women by the time I drew a name, so I brought a present for Judith as well."
Rick helped Judith to unwrap the package and then handed her the high-top baby shoes enclosed. Judith squealed and proceeded to scrunch the pretty tissue paper wrapping in her tiny hands and wave it around.
"God bless us, everyone," Gabriel said with a chuckle, and everyone chimed in with an "Amen."