Chapter Two
Adam flipped the sheets of the songbook closed as the last of the tune faded away. They had a few more places to go before they were done for the night, but his heart just wasn't in it. Grandfather had suggested it would be something good for him to get involved with and at first it had been a good distraction. College had finished for the year and many of his friends had returned to family for the break.
The carollers were moving on up the path to the next home on their list and Adam followed on at the end. Being one of the tallest and one of the deeper voices put him at the back of the group and he was glad for it as he didn't think he could muster much of a cheery face if he tried. Instead, he pulled his muffler up around his cheeks until it was time to sing and he slipped it down just enough to get the words out.
As the group began the favourite carol, Joy to the World, Adam felt it once again kick him in the stomach as it had each time they had sung it throughout the night. He was anything but joyful and he would have turned and headed for home if he hadn't promised Grandfather he would help an old friend with his church group and bolster their numbers. The candle in his hand was growing shorter and he was thankful they only had a few more houses to visit before they could all leave.
Finally, the last carol was sung in front of the last house and Adam turned to slip away. As he was almost at the end of the snow-laden path, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Merry Christmas, lad."
Adam turned to see the minister who had rounded up the group of carollers in the first place.
"Merry Christmas to you too."
"Will we be seeing you at the midnight service or the morning service?"
Adam had considered skipping both, but he knew Grandfather would not allow that, so he had reluctantly agreed to attend the morning service with him.
"We'll be there in the morning."
"Good lad. I'll see you there. Thank you again for helping me out with the carolling this year. It was very much appreciated by me, and I know the families we visited all appreciated it too. You have a magnificent voice and it should be heard more often."
Adam tipped the brim of his hat and turned once again for the street. It wasn't a long walk to his grandfather's home, but the snow had increased overnight, and the path home was a major effort. As he trudged through the snow, it brought up memories of his family going out to select their tree each year. It could take hours to find the right one, cut it down and trim it before lashing it to the wagon and hauling it home.
As he walked, Adam remembered the first year they had an actual home to even put up a tree. Hoss was only a small child and they had selected a middle-sized pine. Nothing like the huge pines that had come in later years. It was the first year that Pa had brought out his mother's Christmas angel and gently placed it atop the tree. Adam had never seen it before, and he was intrigued with it every time he stopped to look at the hand-painted porcelain face.
"Your mother made this herself the first Christmas we were married."
There was no explanation needed that it was the only Christmas they had together in their marriage. Every year, that angel was the last piece to be placed on the tree and the last to be removed. It was then carefully wrapped in wool and laid back into its crate for safekeeping until the following year.
Adam felt himself sigh as he walked. It was just a tree. With each step, he tried to convince himself of that. It was just a tree.
Abel sat by the fire, watching the clock above the mantel. There had been no further snowfall since the day before and he knew his grandson was perfectly capable of getting himself home, but still, it was a grandfather's prerogative to worry if he wanted to. Finally, he heard the faint squeak of the front door and felt the cold draft as the wind blew in.
"In here, Adam."
"Coming, Grandfather."
Adam slid his gloves off and then took a few minutes to stomp the snow from his boots before pulling them off and sliding them under the bench. He shrugged out of his coat and unwound his long muffler before hanging them on the coat stand. Lastly, he pulled off his hat and dropped it onto its peg. He stared at his grandfather's items neatly stowed as always and he felt a deep tug as he recalled the extra hats and coats that hung by another door.
Adam schooled his face before padding across to the fireplace in his woollen socks and began to warm his hands.
"That'll warm your insides, lad."
Adam slipped down into the chair nearest the fireplace as Abel handed him a glass of brandy.
"Thank you."
Abel watched as he sipped his own glass. The lad looked tired, but it was more than that. He'd seen the parcel that had arrived and been placed under the tree, ready to be opened in the morning. No matter how he tried, he knew he was no substitute for a much-loved father and brothers. It was one of the reasons he'd suggested the carolling group as it would mean interacting with other families, but as he looked at his grandson's face, he was beginning to wonder if it had been a good idea or not.
"How did the evening go?"
"We made it to each home as promised. The snow was pretty deep, but we got there in the end."
It wasn't exactly the ringing endorsement that Abel had hoped for, but he knew better than to push the lad.
"Well, you get yourself warmed up there and then head on up to bed. Maisy put the bricks in already to warm for you before she went to bed."
Adam nodded in thanks as he knew their housekeeper would have made sure his fireplace was well tended too.
"Don't forget we are going to service at nine."
Adam took another sip of his brandy.
"Of course. I'll be ready on time."
Abel pulled himself up from his chair and reached over to pat his grandson on the shoulder.
"Goodnight laddie. Sleep well."
"You too, Grandfather."
Abel headed for the stairs and paused at the top landing. He glanced back in time to see Adam bow his head as his shoulders slumped. He fervently wished there was something he could do for the lad he loved so much, but the one thing he needed was impossible.
Adam waited until his grandfather's footsteps faded away before propping his feet up on the hearth in front of the fire. They ached after hours of standing and walking through heavy snow but that wasn't the ache that he felt the most. As he stared into the flames of the fireplace, he felt himself drawing back into so many memories of so many evenings spent in front of another fireplace. He smiled to himself as he could hear his father's voice telling him to get his feet off the hearth.
"Pa would never let you do that."
Adam jumped at the sound from behind him and he spun around to see who was there.
"Joe! What on earth are you …" The words froze on his lips as his little brother hurtled out of the darkness towards him.
"Adam! Nick said we was comin' to see you, but I didn't really know if we could until we got here."
Joe wrapped his arms around his brother's waist and clung on as tightly as he could. Adam reached down and grasped Joe's cheeks between his hands and raised his face upwards.
"Joe? H ..how can you be here?"
Joe grinned up at his brother's bewildered face and thumbed behind him. "Nick. He brought me here to see you."
Adam found himself staring across the room at an enormous man dressed in a huge red coat trimmed with the whitest ermine fur he'd ever seen. The man's grin matched Joe's as he nodded.
"This youngster wrote to me and asked me to bring him here. So I did."
Adam shook his head at the man's matter-of-fact explanation. They wanted him to believe that just like that, he'd somehow brought his brother almost 3000 miles.
"I'm dreaming! That's it."
"No, Adam. I'm really here. You have to come and see Nick's sleigh!" Joe began to tug at his brother's hand and Nick chuckled as he watched the array of conflicting emotions on the young man's face. Adam reluctantly allowed Joe to pull him into the foyer and he tugged his boots back on again. He was about to reach for his coat when Nick tapped him on the shoulder.
"Not that one. You need this one where we are going." He held out a red coat that matched the one his brother was wearing. It had a fur trimmed hood just like Joe's and he felt his fingers running across the ermine. It was the best he had ever come across and he'd seen plenty of pelts in his life.
"It's real good, Adam. You'll see. You need it. I even got new boots." Joe poked the toe of his boot out from under his coat and Nick laughed again. "But I guess yours are just fine."
"Well, those slippers of yours weren't much good, now were they?"
"Slippers?" Adam still looked confused, and Joe took the coat from Nick's outstretched hand and pushed it towards his brother.
"Well, I was in my nightshirt, but you ain't ready for bed yet so you just need a coat. Come on Adam. Hurry up! Nick's busy and he ain't got all night."
As Adam slipped the coat around his shoulders, it felt as though it had been tailored for him. Before he could ask another question, Joe had pulled the door open and headed outside into the snow, followed by Nick.
"In for a penny, in for a pound," he mumbled to himself as he stepped outside, not really knowing what to expect next. The sound of sleigh bells wasn't unusual across the city, so he didn't think too much of it at first until he looked around and realised there was no sleigh in sight.
Joe giggled from across the yard and pointed up towards the roof. As Adam turned to see what he was pointing at, he caught a glimpse of the first few reindeer, and he fell backwards into the snow.
Joe came running over through the snow and tugged at his arm.
"Come on, Adam. Don't be scared. They don't bite!"
Before he could respond, Nick gave a whistle and suddenly the whole team floated down in front of him, and he found himself next to the most incredible sleigh he had ever seen. Joe was still tugging at his arm and Adam tried to stand in the deep snow. Nick had already climbed into the driver's seat and Joe was scrambling up beside him.
"Hurry up! Nick's still gotta get to Canada and I have to go home first."
Adam would have laughed at the absurdity of that comment if he hadn't been trying so hard to wake himself up and failing miserably. Finally, he pulled himself up into the seat with Joe sandwiched in between them. He felt the team run forward and suddenly lift up into the air. It wasn't possible and his logical brain was battling to explain it, but he was flying up into the skies over Boston!
He dared not lean too far over the edge to see the view below him when Joe laughed at him.
"You can't fall out. Nick said ain't nobody ever fallen off his sleigh."
"Good to know."
While he was still looking around in stunned amazement, Joe handed him a silver mug with steam swirling off the top of it. He could smell the chocolate before he got to tasting it and it smelled divine.
"Don't tell him, but it's better than Hop Sing's."
Hop Sing. Suddenly Adam felt a wave of homesickness wash over him as he recalled how many mugs of hot cocoa, and later coffee, Hop Sing had brought him as he studied into the night.
"How is this possible?"
Nick had said very little since they left the ground and he leaned over to look Adam in the face before winking at him.
"There is nothing more powerful in the universe than love."
Nick leaned back in the seat and looked back to see how his team were doing. Not that they ever needed his help for this part.
"That's it? That's your answer for … for all this!" Adam's arm swept out in a wide arc over the side of the sleigh.
Joe leaned up against Adam's arm and smiled. "Yep! I missed ya too much and I wrote to Saint Nicholas asking if I could come to Boston and see you for Christmas."
Adam wrapped his arm across his brother's skinny shoulders and squeezed him.
"I missed you too, little buddy. More than you could ever know."
As the reindeer swung in a wide loop around the city's outskirts, Joe suddenly sat upright and turned to Nick.
"Hey! I just remembered! You didn't come down our chimney or Adam's."
Nick laughed as he tapped at his belly. "Do you know how hard it is to hold this in and squeeze down every chimney in the world? Besides, I don't want to spoil this nice white fur, now do I?"
Joe's face scrunched as he thought on that. "So, you don't go down chimneys?"
"Sometimes I do … and sometimes … well … there are lots of ways to get where I need to go."
Adam awoke with a start, and he sat bolt upright in bed. He fumbled for the small timepiece he left on the bedside table and was relieved to see he hadn't slept in after all. It wouldn't do to make Grandfather be late to church on Christmas morning. He scrubbed a hand across his face and chuckled to himself as he recalled the dream he had just woken from. It was so vivid he could taste the residue of hot cocoa in his mouth. He smiled as he climbed out of bed and pushed his feet into his slippers before they hit the cold floor. In his dream, Joe was a little taller but otherwise was just as he remembered him. He still talked a good story and Adam found himself laughing outright at the ridiculous story he had spun about Saint Nicholas picking him up in a sleigh and bringing him across the entire continent before taking them both for a flight around Boston while drinking hot cocoa that came out of an impossible box! He would have to write it all down some time and send it back to his family. They would get a good laugh out of it for sure.
A momentary twinge of sadness crept over him as he wished it could have been true. As much as Grandfather had tried to provide a happy Christmas celebration for him the year before and no doubt, would do the same again this day, there was still an empty hole. He sighed to himself as he walked over to the washstand and reached for his razor. Suddenly, he pulled up short and stared at the top of the dresser.
It couldn't be! Could it?
Slowly, Adam reached out a hand and picked up the piece of greenery before lifting it to his nose and inhaling deeply. The piece of Ponderosa pine was as fresh as if it had been plucked from a tree just hours ago.
As he held it out to inspect it again, Adam remembered in the dream that Nick had pulled it out of his pocket as they flew back towards Grandfather's house. Adam looked into the mirror and smiled at his own reflection as he lifted the pine towards his nose again.
"Merry Christmas, little buddy."
Joe awoke with the smell of flapjacks wafting up the stairs. It didn't matter how early he woke up on Christmas morning, somehow Hop Sing was always ahead of him. He grinned as he recalled the dream from the night before and he threw back the covers to clamber out of bed. His feet hit the floor where his slippers usually sat, and he was surprised to find they weren't there. Instead, there was a pair of beautifully crafted black leather boots, lined with fur.
"PA!"