Christmas in Stillwater Chapter 3
The three extra guests expected for Christmas, Marcie Warren, Wendell Bray, and Andrew Taylor did not arrive until the following afternoon, each for their own reasons. Marcie had three young grandchildren who couldn't imagine opening Christmas gifts without their Oma present. Her daughter's family lived in Baltimore so it was not a time-consuming trip, just a very necessary and imperative one. Grammy in attendance was as critical as cookies for Santa.
Wendell Bray was participating in a follow-up study of the clinical trial which put him into remission from Ewing's Sarcoma. One of the most critical sessions was late on December 23rd and ever since his father's death, Wendell always tried his best to spend Christmas Eve and Day with his mother in Levittown so she wouldn't be alone. So he assured Gibbs he would be along as early as possible on December 27th. Mrs. Bray so deeply appreciated her son's faithfulness after all he'd been through with cancer the past year that she had purchased a train ticket from Levittown to Stillwater and secreted it in his childhood Christmas stocking along with her customary apples, oranges, nuts, gum and candy. Each year she remembered that fruit, nuts, and a peppermint stick had been real treats during winter when she herself was a child. Wendell's bear hug was all the compensation she could have asked for.
Of the three non-family members, Andrew Taylor had the most pressing reason to reach Stillwater as quickly as possible. He was "engaged to be engaged" to Christine Booth, a situation that would be resolved as soon as her far-flung ATF training assignments were completed and the young couple could be together. He was also the most frustrated of the trio, wanting to see Christine as soon as he could for as long as he could. He had already transferred from his West Virginia state engineering job to a similar position in Maryland. Based out of Chesterton, he was responsible for road and bridge maintenance and planning for all of Kent County.
Despite the travel his job required, he endeavored to spend most weekends with his almost fiancée and a few week nights when he could manage it. Additionally, her recent decision to join ATF had separated the pair more than either of them liked. So he was especially anxious to spend Christmas with her family and meet the famously crusty Leroy Jethro Gibbs he kept hearing about. But when a bridge support collapsed in Still Pond on Christmas Eve, he had to figure out why. Fortunately the scantly populated area had little traffic and no one was injured, but a bridge failure isn't something a traffic engineer can ignore, holiday or not. Andrew worked through 'the night before Christmas' to assess the damage and its cause.
Several days previously, having become aware that both would be delayed from heading to Gibbs' house, Marcie and Andrew had agreed to drive up to Stillwater together early Dec. 26th. Andrew had planned to head to Ms. Warren's condo parking lot the next morning and she promised him some amazing coffee for their trip.
"I have an insulated Yeti tote and mugs that keep coffee hot for hours," Marcie had told him.
"It's a new German coffee Tchibo, my son and daughter-in-law introduced me to. They are just entering the U.S. market with their first roaster in Chicago, but are well-known and very popular all over Europe. The company started in 1949. They're starting here with four different blends, but produce others overseas. This one is their original classic blend. The others are equally good."
Andrew had remarked in surprise. "My boss brought some of that from a conference he attended in Chicago after Thanksgiving. They are just getting started. Whatever of their coffee blends you choose, they are all delicious. That will really hit the spot since we'll be trying to save time getting on the road. I appreciate you sharing it!"
Well, it's just what we'll need on a cold morning like tomorrow. At least we have clear weather for our drive up, I think. The forecast said Stillwater is supposed to get more snow tonight, so I sure hope the roads are clear by the time we have to head back in a few days," Marcie said.
On Christmas morning, Andrew realized he'd be further delayed and had texted Marcie that he probably couldn't drive up with her. She called him back and said she was minding her grandkids spend Christmas night, and couldn't leave until their parents returned from their child-free hotel stay the next morning. They agreed to check back with each other that night, but he knew finishing early was very unlikely.
Once he identified the problem, Andrew worked all Christmas Day helping his crew to repair the damage, overseeing and checking their work. Then he stayed late into the night deciding how to reprogram the safety computers to more intensely monitor each bridge location for similar or further problems, and alerted his various local safety officers to contact him if any issues arose. Sometime during the evening, not remembering when; he called Marcie again to say he was too tired to drive and would be going by train. At 4 in the morning, collapsing onto a cot in the back room reserved for this purpose when someone needed it, Andrew finally caught three hours sleep. Then at 7 a.m., still exhausted, he bought an Amtrak ticket to Stillwater online, stopped by his apartment to grab an overnight bag and his favorite pillow, boarded the train, asked the conductor to alert him to his stop, and promptly fell asleep sprawled in a seat. The older man watched him for a moment and smiled, remembering his long trips and tired returns home to his family. That young man will have a mighty crick in his neck a few hours from now, he thought to himself.
Meanwhile, after Andrew's phone call, deciding she didn't want to drive three and a half hours alone over potentially slick or snowing roads; Marcie picked up her phone and called her eldest nephew Jeff, the son of a brother she'd lost to cancer. He was the corporate pilot for a newspaper Marcie had contributed to for the last decade and previously served as the legal editor and crime beat journalist earlier in her career. She shared this fact with very few of her current professional associates since she found that it colored their viewpoints, opinions and comments. Her nephew was allowed judicious personal use of the small corporate jet and the newspaper owner was glad to okay a 45-minute flight for his most prolific writer. He told Jeff Warren to hangar the plane at Stillwater overnight and please fly on over to Philadelphia the next day to bring his own daughter and her new fiancé back home to Baltimore for the rest of the holidays. Marcie knew that Gibbs wouldn't mind one more relative for a belated Christmas evening. So instead of sharing freshly-brewed coffee with Andrew, she wrapped a package of the beans for him, and brought her Yeti thermos and mugs along for Jeff.
When Andrew awoke to the conductor gently shaking his shoulder two hours later, he found the man handing him a fresh cup of coffee and thanked him profusely. Gulping it down as fast as its heat would allow, he straightened his clothes, ran his fingers through his hair, and pulled his overnight bag down from the overhead bin, hoping that the remaining clothes inside were clean. Just as Booth did, he always kept an emergency bag ready in his car and another in the hall closet of his apartment. Entering the small Stillwater station, he looked around and was surprised to see Wendell Bray sitting on a bench nearby.
"Good morning and Merry Christmas, Wendell. You came to Stillwater by train too?"
"Same to you, Andrew! Yup, I always go to Levittown to spend Christmas with my mother. I was able to catch a ride up with another intern, but Mom surprised me with a train ticket back down here. It's a lot quicker than going by bus. I don't want to put that many extra miles on my car; trying to eke it out til I finish grad school, but the bus is a slow cumbersome way to travel, I'll tell you."
"Well, what do you say we share a taxi to Gibbs' house?" Andrew asked him. "Who knows if Uber drivers operate up here?"
"Sounds good to me. Should we let him know we've arrived? What do you bet he probably knows every taxi driver in town," Wendell chuckled.
"Good idea, just in case," Andrew responded.
Their phone call was propitious, as Gibbs' favorite taxi driver and fishing partner was already on his way to the small airport to pick up Marcie Warren and her nephew. The man was only too happy to add two passengers and increase his fares for the day. Fred Torbin's bright yellow cab pulled up ten minutes later. The man hopped out of the driver's seat as the trunk lid popped open and took their bags while they fastened seat belts and greeted the others. The driver pointed out Jackson Gibbs' old store halfway down Third Street, as well as the all-in-one school he and Gibbs had attended from K-12.
His own house was only a half-mile from the Gibbs' place so Fred had requested a late lunch to share with his wife before he resumed his afternoon driving. He pulled into the Gibbs' gravel drive far more carefully than he had in high school and helped Marcie from the car. The three men retrieved their compact bags from the trunk, paid Fred handsomely for his time and trouble, and walked behind Marcie toward the front porch. They were only halfway up the steps when the door opened and Parker welcomed them in. He had met Gibbs as a young boy when his father brought Hank Sr. up to for a fishing trip with Jackson and their sons. He admired Wendell for what he'd been through, and teased Christine all the time about Andrew even though the two had become good friends. Meredith was close behind, hugging Marcie who had helped her get a job when she first arrived from the UK. The woman's connections were amazing though she never flaunted who she knew.
Once bags were stowed and sleeping spots assigned, the unorthodox family gathered in the kitchen and family room while Brennan and Gibbs finished cooking dinner. While Jackson Gibbs had been just as talented as his brother Hank Sr. at making delectable grilled cheese sandwiches, his son was a master at preparing Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches 'wid' or 'widdout'. Knowing how much Booth loved his hometown's specialty, Brennan had appealed to Gibbs to surprise her husband. In return, she was making enough of her incomparable macaroni and cheese recipe that Gibbs could enjoy plenty of left-overs after New Year's Day when his company had gone home.
The kitchen was filled with delicious aromas that gave away the menu secrets, but nobody cared. They were just impatient to dig in. It was a far cry from traditional Christmas dinner fare, but the cooks decided that everyone had eaten their fill of turkey and ham, and changed things up. The rowdy group piled around the large dining table once again, listened to a brief grace, and dug in. Booth rolled his eyes in delirious satisfied admiration of his cousin's culinary talent.
"Gibbs, you've almost outdone my Bones!" he declared.
Gibbs mouth was full of cheesy goodness, but he shook his head in happy denial.
"The Bone Lady does it better," he said with a smile. "This mac and cheese is to die for, Temperance."
Seeing her skeptical expression, Gibbs qualified his statement, "Figuratively, of course."
After dessert of Ann Gibbs' apple pie, Grams' cherry pie, and vanilla ice cream, the group settled onto family room furniture and the floor to watch some old home movies amid laughter from the young, and a few tears from the older viewers. Booth and Gibbs were laughing so hard, they couldn't speak and their merriment overcame the sadness that Jackson and Hank, Sr. weren't around to enjoy it all. A crisp morning fishing trip was planned for the next day, if the snow was delayed as predicted, so everyone headed to bed earlier than usual and no one had any trouble falling asleep.