by chicken queen
I closed my eyes, thinking of the perfect holiday story to tell. It had to be one with my Dad, of course. When I opened my eyes, everyone was looking at me. I smiled, and held a hairbrush up to my mouth.
"Next up we have... Aaaaaabigaiiiiiil Steeeevensoooooon!!" I smiled a big, toothy grin at my friends. They giggled. Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all night.
"So, Abby, what's your favorite holiday memory?" Jessi asked, looking at me. I sighed, and glanced at all my friends faces.
"Well... it was the last Hanukkah that my Dad was still alive. Anna and I were eight, and still happily living in Long Island.."
"Dad, look! It's snowing!" I shrieked, running to the front window and watching the fat flakes swirl in the air. My father, Jonathan Stevenson, came and stood behind me, almost as excited as I was. I looked up at him. "Can we make a snowman after dinner?" I asked hopefully. He laughed.
"Abbers, there's not enough snow to make a snowman yet. You have to wait," he replied.
"I hate waiting," I pouted. My Mom, Rachel, poked her head into the living room.
"Well, you don't have to wait any longer to eat. Dinner's ready!" she said, smiling at my Dad. I cheered and ran into the kitchen, sitting at the big table across from my sister.
"Anna, it's snowing!" I said excitedly to my twin sister, bouncing in my seat, making my Dad laugh. Everything made my Dad laugh.
"Abby, calm down!" He said, passing me the potatoes, "It wasn't even sticking to the ground." My mother nodded, helping herself to some beans.
"We'll be lucky if we get an inch," she added, smiling sympathetically at me. "Sorry, hun."
"That's okay, I get to play for my music class tomorrow. I'd hate for it to be a snow day," Anna said quietly, shrugging at my exasperated look.
"An-na! Snow days are fun! You've got to be the only kid on the planet who doesn't think so! There's two days left of school, don't you want an early holiday?"
"But I get to play 'Silent Night' for the class. And if there's a snow day, I might not get a chance," she paused, thoughtfully, "and I do too like snow days."
"Do not."
"Do too."
"Do not."
"Do too."
"Do too."
"Do no- hey! Abby!" she giggled and stuck out her tongue at me. I smiled and we started eating in peace.
From outside, we could hear voices, singing on the street. My Dad smiled.
"Carolers," he said, matter-of-factly, "let's go see." We all got up from the table and opened the front door, watching the small group singing from our doorstep. The women held candles while the men held songbooks. I took my Dad's hand, and he squeezed it. They sounded really good.
They finished the song, and wished us a Merry Christmas as we headed back inside. I looked at my Dad curiously.
"Dad, how come they have Christmas carols and no Hanukkah carols?" I asked.
"There are Hanukkah songs, we sing them with our family," he replied, sitting down on the couch. I climbed up beside him.
"Then how come we don't go around singing like they did? They wished us a Merry Christmas, and we don't even celebrate Christmas. Could we have wished them a Happy Hanukkah?"
My Dad frowned, lost in thought. I watched him in silence. Suddenly he stood up, and took our menorah off the table. "If it's Hanukkah caroling Abby wants, then it's Hanukkah caroling Abby gets!" He smiled, and handed me the menorah. He went into the kitchen, ushering my Mom and Anna to join us, explaining our plan.
"But Jon, there's no Hanukah caroling," Mom said.
"Can you sing 'Sivivon, sov, sov, sov'? How about 'I Have a Little Dreidel'?" He grinned, as we put on our coats and boots, then handed us dreidels. "Shall we?" he asked, opening the door. We went outside, following my Dad to the next-door neighbours'. He boldly knocked on their door.
"Why the Stevensons!" Mr. Byrne exclaimed when he opened the door. "What brings you here?" My Dad nodded, our cue, and we started singing 'I Have a Little Dreidel' to Mr. and Mrs. Byrne's delight.
After we had finished, they invited us in for cookies and milk, and we told them all about what we were doing for the holidays. Mrs. Byrne wanted to hear Anna's violin, so she ran home to get it. Mr. Byrne asked me how my off-season soccer training was going. Then we headed back out, to continue singing down the street.
"Happy Hanukkah!" the Byrnes exclaimed as we left.
"Merry Christmas!" I replied, waving.
An hour or two later, we were back at home, sipping hot chocolate in front of a fire.
"That was fun, Jon," my mother said, smiling happily at him. I crawled into his lap and hugged him.
"Yeah Dad, thanks," I said. Anna looked up at us from the floor, and my Mom opened her arms. Anna scrambled up into her lap and we all started laughing.
"So, is this good enough to be a yearly Stevenson tradition?" Dad asked, grinning. He loved traditions. Anna nodded enthusiastically. "Okay then," he smiled, and we all snuggled in, watching the fire.
I looked up awkwardly, knowing that my eyes had filled with tears. Biting my bottom lip, I dared to glance at Mary Anne, who was crying softly to herself. I moved over beside her, putting my arms avcross her shoulders silently. Kristy nodded.
"Your Dad sounds like he was a great man," she said.
"The best," I agreed, swiping at my eyes. She came over beside me, wrapping me in a tight hug. Claud followed suit. Then Mal and Jessi. Soon, we were one big, silent BSC hug. It was too much.
"And in case you were wondering, I did get my snow day the next day." I said quietly, causing my friends to roar with laughter.
Fin.
chicken queen plays two characters and is one of the moderators of the babysit RPG.