Chapter 4
Keith had been quiet on the ride home, slumped in the back seat as if he'd lost his only friend. Understanding his feelings about the guitar, Gordy and Skizzy hadn't said much to him, knowing he probably didn't want to talk, anyway.
"Man, I swear, if it snows, it's gonna be so cool," Skizzy said, peering out of the windshield.
"It'll be a miracle," Gordy nodded. "What do you think, Keithie? Think it might?"
"Miracles are only for the desperate," Keith muttered from behind them. He knew he should be more cheerful, if not just for his brothers and sisters' sakes.
"Yeah, but it's the season for miracles," Skizzy turned in his seat to look at him.
"Gonna take a big one to make THIS a Merry Christmas," Keith said. He looked disdainfully at the presents in the bags beside him. He still had to sneak them past prying eyes and wrap them...oh, what fun....
They were in front of the Partridge house, now, and Gordypulled the car up to the curb. "Want us to walk you to the door?" Gordy glanced at him in the rearview mirror.
"No, I'll be okay. Thanks, guys, and...if you want to come by tomorrow for your presents..."
"You got us something?" Skizzy shook his head.
"Well, yeah."
"How? When?"
Keith smiled. "I managed. You can have them tonight if you'd rather," he said as he gathered the bags and got out of the car, shutting the door.
"We'll drop by tomorrow and check out all your loot," Gordy said.
"Okay, great," Keith said, coughing. "Thanks again for your help."
"Welcome, and...have a Merry Christmas ANYWAY, okay, Keithie?"
Keith smiled again. "Same to you."
"See you tomorrow," Skizzy waved.
"Great. Night," Keith told them, heading for the house.
"Merry Christmas!" Skizzy called, and Keith, at the front door, waved.
Gordy drove away and Keith carefully opened the door.
"Anybody home?" He called, poking only his head inside.
"We're in the kitchen," Shirley called back.
"Stay there!" Keith ordered, slipping inside and taking his bounty up the stairs.
By the time he reached the top, he was out of breath again, and gripped the baluster, fighting to keep from coughing. He knew if he started, Mom would be right there with some medicine, ordering him to get to bed. That didn't sound half bad at the moment, but there was work to do...he pushed himself away from the baluster and headed for his room.
It took a good hour to finish wrapping the gifts, from finding the tape and paper to the tags and ribbons; and stopping to think about the guitar he would never have only lengthened the session. By the time he was finished, he was exhausted. The cold air had done a number on his poor lungs and he left the gifts sitting on his desk, moving to the bed and easing down. Damned bronchitis...he'd hoped to be over it by Christmas. He'd followed MOST of the doctor's orders; why was it still with him, making his holiday miserable? Christmas used to be his favorite holiday, but not this year. Feeling the tightness in his lungs, he held his aching arm and lay back against the pillow, picturing the white Stratocaster in his mind.
"Keith?" Tracy's small voice interrupted his thoughts.
He opened his eyes. She was standing by the bed, shadowed in the light from the hallway. When had it gotten dark? Had he fallen asleep?
"Hey, Trace..." he said weakly, and feeling it.
"Are you sick again? Oh, please, don't be sick...you're supposed to be better by now! Santa promised!" she sniffed.
He smiled sadly. "Not feeling real great right now, no. But it's my fault, Trace, not Santa's. Don't go blaming him, okay?"
She reached for him, petting his head. "Can you come downstairs? We're finishing the tree and singing Christmas carols!"
He took a deep breath and pain knifed through his back. Pulling a face, he swallowed. "Sorry, kiddo...but I don't think it'd be a good idea..."
Sniffling, Tracy reached for him, giving him a hug as he closed his eyes, putting his arms around her.
"Want me to tell Mommy so she can get you some medicine?"
Keith swallowed. "Yeah, okay, sure," he agreed reluctantly.
His mother would find out eventually about his relapse; no use putting it off.
"Okay. You rest," she instructed firmly.
He smiled tiredly, nodding, and she slipped out of the room.
Moments later Shirley was at his side, her cool hand on his forehead. "Keith? Tracy said you weren't feeling so well again..." She sat beside him on the bed, looking concernedly down at him.
He swallowed. "Guess...I shouldn't've gone...gone out," he said throatily. He coughed, drawing his knees up.
Shirley watched him, then stood up. "I'll get you some medicine and turn the humidifier back on. You rest, okay, sweetheart?"
"Yeah, thanks, Mom," he nodded, annoyed at the rattle he could hear coming from his chest. With his luck, it would turn into full-fledged pneumonia...
Before long, the room was filled with a soft steam and Shirley was back at his side with the medicine, pouring it into a spoon. He took it, pulling a face, his head falling back into the pillow, and Shirley once again put her hand on his forehead.
"Let me take your temperature, and then I'll let you rest, okay?"
He nodded again, noticing that, as she stood back up, there were four shadows of various sizes glancing off the hallway floor, and he smiled.
She closed the door partway, and he heard her say something he couldn't quite make out, and the shadows slowly disappeared.
Coughing again, Keith reached for a tissue from the box at his side. Some Christmas this was turning out to be...even Tracy was beginning to doubt Santa... He saw movement in the hallway, feeling four pairs of eyes on him, and then saw them draw back.
The coughing spell ended as Shirley came in with the thermometer and a Dixie cup full of water. "Okay, temp, first, then some water," she said, setting the cup down on the nightstand. Inserting the thermometer into his mouth, she brushed the bangs away from his eyes, smiling lovingly down at him, humming a Christmas carol. His favorite; Winter Wonderland.
After two minutes, she retrieved the thermometer, reading it. "Well," she said sadly. "You are running a bit of a temperature. I think it's best if you stay up here and keep warm, get some sleep, and hopefully you'll feel better in the morning, okay, honey? We're just going to finish trimming the tree and then we're going to bed ourselves. You know Tracy..."
"Yeah," he said as she leaned down, kissing his forehead, then helped him drink the water.
"But if you do feel like you can join us, that would be okay, too," she murmured softly, giving him a wink.
He smiled wearily, nodding, and she gave his hand a squeeze as she stood back up, going to the door.
"Mom?" he said weakly.
"Yes, honey?"
"Thanks...for not saying I told you so'...."
She laughed, exiting.
"Mom," Laurie said as Shirley closed Keith's door behind her. "Is he okay?"
"Yeah, is he coming downstairs for carols and hot chocolate?" Chris asked.
She ushered the kids down the hall, answering their questions as they walked. "He's okay, just a little setback; it happens," Shirley said, mostly to her daughters, taking Tracy's chin in hand. She continued, looking at her boys, this time. "And I told him to rest, which he needs very badly, but I also hinted that it would be nice if he could join us. Your brother's just very tired and weak, and we must be patient with him. He doesn't want to be sick any more than we want him to. Now, how about if we get to that tree?"
"It's not gonna be the same without him," Chris shook his head. "Who's gonna lift Tracy up to put the star on the top?"
"We'll worry about that later, okay? Come on, let's get started so we can all get to bed. Santa doesn't wait, you know!" Shirley said, winking at Laurie and Danny. She remembered going through the "Santa doesn't really exist" crises with each of her three older children. Laurie took it well, saying that she sort of figured it out on her own by putting clues together; which did not surprise Shirley in the least. Laurie had always been a perceptive child, bright, curious, unrelenting. Keith, being the oldest, did not fare as well as his younger sister. He took the news quite hard, becoming withdrawn and a bit shy. Dan had wanted to take him to a specialist to help him deal with it, but Shirley, Evelyn and Amanda were all sure it was just a phase and that he would grow out of it, which happily proved to be true. Danny, on the other hand, had questioned everything from the beginning; how could one man visit
all those kids in one night?' and reindeer, given their body structure, really aren't meant for flying,' things like that. He was a great arguer, and Shirley wouldn't be surprised to see him become a lawyer one day.
Without another word, Shirley and her small brood descended on the tree.
It wasn't long before the tree was abounding in decorations and lights, glowing merrily in the flickering firelight as Reuben, Shirley and her four youngest sat roasting marshmallows.
Reuben squinted, trying to read his wristwatch in the glow of the fire. "I should be getting home...before the big storm hits."
Danny laughed. "It's not like you're a cowboy out on the prairie," he said.
"The way my car is acting up, I might as well be riding a horse. I was hoping Keith would feel well enough to take a look at it, but guess that's a bust. Sorry he's sick again, Shirl," Reuben said, shaking his head.
"He wouldn't be if SOME of us weren't so commercially oriented that they practically demanded a present from him," Laurie frowned, giving her red headed little brother a push.
"I didn't know what would happen; besides, he's the one who wanted to go out. I didn't see any of you guys stopping him."
"It's my fault; I should have just insisted he stay home. I'll take the blame, so you can all just stop pointing fingers," Shirley told her children firmly.
"And the weather took such a dramatic change, too," Laurie said sadly. "No one anticipated that, either."
"That's right. And, Reuben, you're welcome to spend the night," Shirley smiled. "I can make up the sofa for you."
Reuben smiled. "If it's no trouble."
"Just don't go scaring Santa when he comes," Tracy warned him.
"Oh, I promise, won't move a muscle," Reuben assured her as there was a familiar cough coming from the direction of the staircase.
Everyone turned to see Keith, in his pajamas and robe making his way toward them. He carried his wrapped gifts in a store sack in his left hand.
Shirley handed her roasting stick to Laurie, rising. "Keith!"
He looked pallid, even in the warm glow of the fire as he circled the sofa, joining them. "Hi," he said, his voice a mere croak as the kids moved to make room for him on the couch.
"How do you feel, honey?" Shirley asked, feeling his forehead.
"Not too bad...just...just don't ask me to sing," he swallowed hard.
Shirley smiled, indicating the presents in his hand. "Do you want me to put those under the tree?"
He nodded, coughing, and Shirley took the gifts from him, moving away. "Laurie, get a blanket for him, will you? We need to keep him warm."
"I'll get one, Mom," Danny scrambled to his feet.
"Thank you, honey," Shirley said as he ran upstairs. She rejoined them at the fire. "Wonder what's gotten into him?"
"Christmas miracle," Reuben chuckled.
"I think he feels guilty about Keith's wrist," Laurie said.
Keith pulled a face. "I told him not to worry about it."
Laurie nodded. "I know, but you know Danny. I think he was worried you weren't going to get him a present."
"Now THAT sounds like Danny," Shirley sighed.
The middle Partridge returned with a huge blanket. "I brought the electric one."
"From my bed?" Shirley asked, rising.
"Yeah."
"And you left a mess, too, didn't you?" Shirley shook her head as she and Reuben draped the blanket around Keith's shoulders and Chris found an outlet to plug it into.
"Just a little one, but if you don't turn on the light, you won't notice it," Danny gave his mother an impish grin, turning her ire into a giggle.
"Wow, it's a good thing it's Christmas!" Chris marveled. "Any other time and WHAP."
"SO true," Shirley nodded, turning the blanket on her for oldest son. "We'll put it on medium to start with," she told him, once again feeling his forehead, out of pure nervousness, Keith supposed.
"Fever?" Reuben asked.
"A slight one," Shirley said.
"If he's already hot, why are we making him hotter?" Chris wanted to know.
"Good question, squirt," Keith said tiredly, huddled in the blanket.
"We don't want him catching a chill, right? Besides, maybe we can get him to sweat it out," Shirley answered.
Tracy crinkled her nose. "That's icky."
"Tell me about it," Keith groused.
"Want some hot chocolate?" Danny asked eagerly.
"No, and you can stop being nice...your present's safe under the tree," Keith said, nudging him with his foot.
Danny looked at him. "I don't care about any present. I just want to make sure you're okay."
Taken aback by his brother's brashness, Keith smiled. "I'm not blaming you for this, either," he said, holding up the cast. "So, knock it off before I slug you," he said with a wink.
Danny flashed a grin at him and Keith returned it, albeit tiredly.
The windows rattled with the wind outside, and Shirley winced. "I guess the storm's begun..." she said, going to the shutters and looking outside.
"I hope Santa finds us okay!" Tracy looked concerned.
Keith smiled, reaching out and playing with her hair as she sat at his feet. "He will, promise."
"Yeah," Chris said logically, "He'll just use Rudolph.
"Kids," Shirley said from the window. "It's snowing!"
There was a scrambled rush as the three younger kids got up, running to join her at the window, peering out into the darkness. Sure enough, several big flakes danced in the winter wind, pirouetting to the ground.
"Wow, cool!" Danny cried as Reuben pushed up out of the chair to look, too.
Laurie smiled at her oldest brother. "Come on, let's go see."
Keith nodded, shrugging off the blanket and joining his awed family at the window.
"See? Another wish came true!" Tracy grinned up at him with her pumpkin' teeth.
He nodded. Unfortunately, the snow probably wouldn't stick or it would turn to rain by morning, but why ruin the magic? He thought to himself. "Yeah, Trace, very groovy," he agreed.
"I wish I could catch some and keep it forever," she said with a longing sigh.
Keith nodded, his hands on her shoulders. "Yeah, talk about a groovy present, huh?"
"Maybe tomorrow there'll be enough to have a snowball fight!"
Danny looked at Chris, who nodded eagerly.
"Not often we see snow," Shirley laughed. "I wonder why it's doing it?"
"Because I prayed for it," Tracy answered simply. "I asked God and Santa to send us some snow and to make Keith better, but that part didn't work so well."
"Hey, I'm here, aren't I?" Keith said as she nodded, hugging him around the waist.
"That's right, we're all here, every one of us, including Mr. Kincaid!" Tracy said, joy in her voice.
"God bless us, everyone," Reuben murmured.
"Tell that to your car," Danny grinned.
Thanks to the medicine Mom had insisted he take before bed, Keith was fast asleep on his stomach in the bed. He'd only awakened twice during the course of the night with coughing spells; and had fallen quickly back to sleep after both of them. He was still in quite deep when Chris and Tracy burst into the room, giggling and carrying on.
"Keith, Keith, wake up! It's Christmas! Come on, Keith!"
It was their custom to awaken their brother every Christmas morning, as he was the one who slept the latest; every year, there they were bouncing on his bed, and this Christmas morning was no exception.
Opening his eyes, he focused them on the clock. Five a.m., right on the dot, every 25th of December for seventeen years. Laurie had started the tradition, which she passed down to Danny, who turned it over to Chris and now Tracy. And, as he did every December 25th, Keith pretended to stay asleep.
"Come on!" Chris said, pulling on his (thankfully) left arm.
"Let's go see what Santa brought us!" Tracy pleaded, pushing on Keith's back.
Keith didn't move, and they began their next step in the process. They climbed onto him.
"Wake up, wake UP!" Tracy sing-songed, straddling his back, with Chris sitting behind her, closer to his hips.
Lifting his head, Keith drew even more giggles from the two of them as he quickly rolled over, reaching up and tickling them as they were more or less tossed aside by his movement.
They squealed with glee as Shirley came in, turning on the light.
"Chris! Tracy! Your brother is sick!"
"It's okay, Mom," Keith said rather breathlessly as the children continued to giggle.
"Race you downstairs!" Chris cried, heading for the door; their job was done.
"Sorry, pal, not this year," Keith said, pushing himself up to a sit as the two kids tore out into the hallway.
Shirley shook her head. "I'm sorry...I thought maybe since they knew you were sick, they wouldn't get you this year."
He smiled. "Wouldn't have been the same," he said as she felt his forehead.
"Let's take your temperature," Shirley said.
"Let's NOT," Keith retorted, pushing the covers back. Gaining his breath and strength, he stood up. "Got presents to open, you know."
"Later, then, after breakfast," she said sternly, helping him with his robe.
"You got a deal," he nodded and she put her arm around him, walking him to the door.
Reuben, who'd been rudely awakened himself, was trying to get his bedding out of the way as Chris and Tracy pounced on the presents that were stacked under the tree. Danny was looking outside through the front door and Laurie was entering from the kitchen.
"There's a ton snow out here!" Danny was saying as Keith and Shirley came down the stairs.
"You're kidding!" Keith said, going to look, but Shirley held onto him firmly.
"You, young man, will do to stay away from the drafts! Danny, you, too. Close the door and let's get to the presents before the two tornadoes do any more damage!" Shirley told her sons.
"THEN can we go out and play in it?" Danny did as he was told.
"We'll see."
"It really snowed all night?" Tracy asked eagerly, to her mother's nod.
"Must have, yes."
"And Keith is feeling better, right?" she whirled on her oldest brother.
"Yeah, guess I am!" Keith laughed. His chest didn't feel as constricted this morning, and he had yet to cough.
"My wishes came true!" Tracy cried happily, to everyone's amusement.
"Let's see if MINE came true and I got that new skateboard," Danny's attention flashed back to the tree.
Tracy poked him. "You didn't even go see Santa!"
"He knows what I wanted," Danny shot back, then looked up at his mother. "Right?"
"I'm sure you made yourself very clear," Shirley said with a smile.
Danny whooped and took off for the tree, Tracy and Chris following while Laurie, Keith, Reuben and Shirley followed behind a tad more calmly.
The presents were handed out and eager hands tore at the wrappings. The room was soon filled with ooohs' and ahhhs' as each person held up their special gifts, thanking the giver and moving on to the next brightly wrapped package.
The gifts that Keith had put his health on the line for were saved until the very last. Just as they were passed out to their rightful owners, the doorbell rang.
"Who could that be at this hour?" Reuben frowned, checkinghis watch. It was barely 6:30 and still dark out.
"I'll get it," Danny said, stepping over his beloved skateboard.
Swinging the door open, he was surprised to see Skizzy and Gordy there, dressed in heavy coats, ski caps and gloves and each holding a present.
"Hey, you guys look cold!" Danny said, stepping back and letting them in.
"It's freezing out there! Talk about your White Christmases!" Gordy said, leading Skizzy inside as everyone greeted them.
"What are you two doing up at the crack of dawn?" Keith asked as they shed their winter wear.
"Came to get our presents, what else?" Skizzy grinned.
"You're worse than Danny!" Keith shook his head, looking them over. "It...really snowed, then huh?"
"A few inches, yeah. Can you believe it? SNOW, in San Pueblo. Weird stuff going on," Gordy laughed.
"Sit down, boys; we were just about to open Keith's presents. I have your two right here," Shirley told them, handing them each a gift.
"And here's ours for you, Keithie," Gordy grinned as he and Skizzy gave him their two gifts.
"You boys go first," Shirley smiled, and all three boys opened their presents.
"Grand Funk tickets!" they all said together, then burst out laughing.
"How'd you know?" Gordy waved his tickets at Keith.
"Duh," Keith grinned. "We've only been talking about it for the past month!" He began to cough, quieting the room for just a minute as everyone waited for the spell to subside.
"Are you okay?" Laurie asked him.
"Yeah, fine. Little more work to do, but I'm getting there,"
Keith gave her a wink. "See? Didn't even need a tissue, that time."
"That's disgusting," she said, pulling a face at his teasing smile.
"You asked."
Laurie's look of disdain was replaced by a grin as she saw his eyes dancing in the light of the tree, and she hugged him.
"Is that because it's Christmas or I'm sick?"
"A little of both," she said, giving him a playful nudge.
"Okay, you guys, just don't sit there, open the presents...and keep in mind I was short on time AND breath. Gordy and Skiz helped out some, too," Keith said as everyone else tore into their presents.
"Oh, Keith, a beautiful clock!" Shirley held up the clock with the birds on its face.
"The blouse I wanted!" Laurie squealed, giving her brother a hug.
"Skiz actually risked his life getting that for you," Keith told her. "He's the one you should be hugging."
Skizzy and Laurie looked at each other, and both blushed, even under the dim light that the tree was giving off. "Thanks, Skiz," Laurie said.
"Welcome, Laurie."
"Oh, for Pete's sake, hug!" Keith shook his head.
At Keith's direction, the two of them stood and embraced.
"That's better!"
"Wow, Keith, thanks for the magic set! Got anything or anyONE you want me to make disappear?"
"See me later," Keith laughed.
"I love this mitt," Chris said earnestly. "My other one was getting too soft."
"And I love my frog," Tracy grinned, holding the creature to her. "He's the GOOD kind of soft!" she giggled, hugging her big brother.
"Thank you for the day planner, kid," Reuben held up the book. "This'll help keep me straight. Been meaning to get one for myself!"
"Welcome, Reuben, everybody," Keith said, lying back on the sofa. "Wow, what a Christmas, huh? Everybody got what they asked for, right?"
"I think with one or two exceptions, you, my dear boy are so right..." Shirley said, smiling.
The doorbell rang and Reuben checked his watch again out of pure habit. "What is this, grand central station?"
"Seems like it, doesn't it?" Shirley replied, rising to answer the door.
From his vantage point, Keith couldn't quite see who was there, and was paying no mind as he played with Tracy and the Kermit doll.
"HO, HO, HO!" came a booming voice, and everyone looked up to see...Santa. He was jolly and loud and carrying a big sack. He came into the living room, larger than life and twice as loud.
Keith squinted. Something about him was familiar.
"Santa!" Tracy and Chris giggled delightedly.
"Sorry for the interruption, kids, but...I was in such a hurry that I forgot to leave one very special present! So, I made Rudolph turn around and...well, here I am!" Santa said jollily. "Keith?"
"Me?" Keith looked completely surprised, gaping at the imposing, jingling figure in fur.
Santa put the sack down and slowly withdrew a gleaming, white Fender Stratocaster. His guitar!
"Wha -" Keith was shocked.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" everyone in the room shouted as a very stunned Keith took the instrument in his left hand.
"I...I don't know what to say! How did....I mean, why..."
"Mr. Ramsey told us how you've been going into his store and playing it, and well..." Shirley said.
Keith squinted again up at the Santa, who was smiling broadly. Mr. Ramsey!
"Thanks...oh, wow, I...I'm so...so surprised!" Keith cradled the guitar ever-so-gently. He couldn't have been more loving if it had been a baby he was holding.
"See, Keithie?" Gordy grinned. "Just one, simple wish, and look what happens?"
The tears sparkled in Keith's eyes as he held the guitar to him. "I...wow...this is great! But...where'd you guys get the money for this?"
"Money? Money?" Santa looked offended. "No money involved here, young man. Santa doesn't deal with money!"
"Listen to Santa, Keith," Laurie grinned.
The old elf' grinned down at him. "Gotta get going...still have a few more houses to get to. MERRY CHRISTMAS, KEITHIE!" Santa boomed, heading for the door.
"Thanks...Mr ...Santa," Keith grinned.
He was gone as quickly as he'd come, and the kids all gathered around Keith, Tracy leaning on his leg.
Still quite dumbfounded and very touched, Keith swiped at his nose. "It'll...be a while before I can actually play it," he said, looking at his swathed arm.
"It will wait," Shirley said, bending to kiss his forehead. "Oooh, almost cool there, kiddo."
"Cool enough to go outside and check out the snow?" Keith lifted an eyebrow.
"NO!" his siblings and friends shouted.
He stuck out his lip, and Tracy threw her arms around his neck, her forehead pressing into his.
"Maybe," she whispered, "we should've asked Santa if he can keep the snow around long enough for you to play in once you were better."
"Yeah, should have thought about that, huh? Thanks, Trace," he said, giving her a kiss.
Giggling, she kissed his cheek, then looked up at her mother. "Can the rest of us go play?"
"I guess so...just dress properly. I don't need any more babies with bronchitis!" Shirley nodded, much to the children's delight. Even Laurie scrambled for the closet door.
Keith laughed, setting the guitar aside for a moment and getting up, going to the window. It was light out, now, and he stood at the window, watching his siblings frolic in the white stuff, beginning a friendly snowball fight.
Skizzy and Gordy came up beside him. "Too bad...probably the only snow we'll ever see here and we're stuck inside," Skizzy flashed his friend a grin and a wink.
Realizing his meaning, Keith nodded, laughing again. They were such good friends!
They all watched as Tracy took her sand bucket and began to pack snow in it. When it was full, she headed for the front door.
Keith turned as she entered with it, her cheeks red from the cold, bringing the bucket to him.
"Merry Christmas!" she said, pushing it proudly at him.
With a laugh, he went to his knees as he took it from her, drawing her close and kissing her head.
"Merry Christmas, angel!" he said as they clung to one another.
And what a Christmas it was!
THE END