Chapter 16: Christmas

The last day before Christmas Eve was dull in terms of tasks completed, there was nothing interesting to do other than clean up. The only interesting activity Judy had was to dress the Christmas tree. This gave her a lot of fun and joy, because she felt like a child again, letting her creative imagination to decorate the tree as much as she could. Unfortunately, she had to hold back a bit because she also had to let her younger sisters and brothers join in the fun. Judy would have loved to do it herself, but out of politeness she didn't dare forbid them. The rest of the day was mainly focused on cleaning, and as Judy kept her room clean all the time, instead of keeping an eye on her own room she helped out for the younger siblings. This drew much approval and praise from her parents.

During the night before Christmas Judy talked to Nick taking advantage of the fact that most likely everyone was asleep. They talked to each other about various topics, Judy asking about the Christmas tree that Nick was supposed to send and how he had done as requested by sending a photo of the carefully (as befits a boy) Christmas tree for her. It was mostly white, a soft colour that blended in with the milky walls that surrounded them. Their conversation ended when Judy turned her attention to the door, which, at some point, swung open suspiciously, which Judy decided to check. Without saying anything to Nick she took off her headphones, and trying to be as quiet as possible she walked to the door. When she swung them open she was surprised to see one of her 16 year old sisters, Suzanne, behind them. The girl of medium height with green eyes looked at Judy in surprise not knowing what to say when she met Judy, but also on her face was revealed a certain excitement probably curiosity about who her sister was talking to in such a way.

"What are you doing here? Why are you awake?" Judy asked.

"I couldn't sleep and I heard you talking to someone...who was it?"

"It was...a colleague from work. Now go to bed. I'll go too"

"You were talking strangely, as if it was someone else..."

"You think it was. Now go to sleep. You need to rest," Judy replied, to which Suzanne nodded with a motion of her head and headed for her room. Judy stayed at the door until Suzanne closed her door and heard the moment it closed.

"'This is what happens when you don't lock your door' thought an irritated Judy as she locked her door. She got back on her bed. Saying nothing to Nick about what had happened she apologised to him, wished him well and hung up. She put the phone back on the bedside table and as she said for Suzanne, she fell asleep snuggling into the velvet sheets.

Christmas Day was a busy one for the Hopps family from early morning. Waking up at 8a.m. didn't do everyone any good, some would have preferred to sleep a little more, if that was possible. Everyone first and foremost had to take a bath, so Bonnie ordered (even though everyone took an evening one on the last day), then everyone had to take a bath, and for 2 bathrooms with 378 people this can take quite a while. Judy, when she had nothing to do, first went to the kitchen to eat breakfast and coffee to stimulate herself. Last night she had slept moderately well. Perhaps it was because she had talked to Nick for over 3 hours last night, or because she often thought about the fact that Suzanne had caught her talking to Nick and she might talk herself out for her parents, which she certainly didn't want to do. The main thing was for her not to say anything to anyone.

It was quite freezing outside and a chilly, pinching wind was blowing, so no one was even thinking about going outside, at least at this time. The house was warm and cosy, the cooker on fire generating heat for the whole house.

After breakfast, Judy helped for her mother to help with the dishes so she would have a lighter meal. Bonnie was very proud of her daughter for being so willing to help her with her daily chores giving her much relief and help. When the dishes were washed Judy had a moment, sat in the leather armchair and read a book by the heated cooker, watching the occasional movement that took place in the kitchen and living room (the cooker was at the turn of the kitchen and living room). It was nice to see someone coming down the stairs, someone coming up them, someone doing something in the living room, and someone else doing something in the kitchen. It made Judy smile warmly at the sight, which was sweet to her. While Judy was reading The Prisoner of Labyrinth, at one point Suzanne, who had been standing over Judy until Judy noticed her, approached her. She put the book down quietly on her knee, on the page she had stopped on

"Is something wrong?" She asked Judy.

"Who was that fellow?" Suzanne asked. Judy sighed heavily. She expected the young curiosity to give out and sooner or later she would ask herself.

"A colleague, why do you ask?"

"Well, while I was listening...I heard you calling him diminutive, talking as if he was someone to you"

"He's my colleague, anyway, why were you eavesdropping? Not nice like that," returned Judah.

"I couldn't sleep and I heard your conversation..."

"Fine, but you can't do that. Don't ever do that again" replied Judy to which Suzanne nodded with a motion of her head.

"Girls! You two are here talking and there's still so much to do! Did you both take a bath?" Asked Bonnie as she walked over to her daughters. Suzanne nodded with a motion of her head, then turned her gaze to Judy.

"ah, forgive me for reading. I'm coming," replied Judy with a short laugh as she got up from her chair. She put her book back on the shelf and went to her room to choose a dress code. It was important to look presentable for the evening meal. She went to her room and searched her wardrobe for the perfect outfit for the occasion. Finally, she found the outfit she would wear. An elegant white shirt with a black collar and long black trousers, this was the outfit Judy chose after going through her entire wardrobe of clothes. She then headed with this outfit to the bathroom where she took her bath. As always she drifted off a little in her thoughts and less serious matters. The warm water along with the gentle foam always had a calming and relaxing effect on Judy, and as a result the rabbit always came out of the bathroom full of peace and relaxation. Unfortunately she knew she couldn't stay in a relaxed state for that long, so before 15 minutes had passed Judy emerged from the bathroom after her bath, dressed in a beautiful elegant outfit. As you might have assumed, once she had put it on, everyone took notice of Judy, or more specifically, her beautiful outfit. Judy stood out from everyone else, even though everyone was dressed in gala attire. Most of the guys were wearing navy blue suits, and some boys were just wearing a white shirt with suit trousers. The girls on the other hand were wearing all sorts of dresses.

"Wow Judy, you look beautiful!" Said a delighted Bonnie seeing her daughter's outfit. Judy giggled and thanked her.

"I know who I think will be saying the prayer" added Stuu laughing.

"Really?"

"Well yes, you're all grown up now after all" replied Stuu sadly.

"Remember dad I will be your little Judy all the time" replied Judy. Stuu smiled warmly and hugged Judy.

"I know Judy, I know..."

2 hours before Christmas Eve, Judy had to help her mother prepare the table for the evening meal. She had to put a tablecloth on it, arrange the plates, cutlery etc. Although it would seem that Judy was working to the point that someone else could do it, she didn't complain, she just set the table with a snow-white tablecloth and placed the plates around the table with childish joy. The table was quite long, due to the fact that there were many people in the house, but she did not mind. When she was setting the plates, she did not think at all about how long it would take her. At one point, she felt a touch on her back, turned around and saw Suzanne, who asked if she could help.

"Can I help?"

"Sure, please " replied Judy handing over some plates and cutlery for her sister. The girl made her way to the other, unprepared side of the table where she started doing exactly the same as Judy. Although she didn't really need the policewoman's help, she didn't want to make her uncomfortable. She wanted the best for everyone.

"Isn't it a beautiful sight?" Asked Bonnie as she and her husband sat in the kitchen watching the two sisters interact. Bonnie and Stuu took a break from their work and watched from the kitchen as their children played. A bunch of kids were playing by the cooker, some were still sitting upstairs in their rooms in groups and some were just getting dressed because they couldn't find their outfits. Bonnie and Stuu had taught them self-reliance from the start, maybe that's why Judy is so resourceful.

"The boy who will be with Judy will be really lucky " said Stuu thoughtfully.

"You mean?"

"Well, she's smart, savvy, creative, helpful, and on top of that she has a pretty beauty...come on, you know what I'm talking about!" Stuu replied.

"Hm...you know, the day before yesterday I had a conversation with Judy about relationships between different species" replied Bonnie as she recalled the conversation she and Judy had together about this topic. Stuu, when he heard about it furrowed his eyebrows staring at his wife who nodded with a movement of her head.

"In my opinion such relationships don't make sense" Stuu replied.

"Why?"

"Come on, do you know how weird it would look? Everyone would look at you with astonishment...like you were a freak"

"Don't exaggerate, times are changing..."

"I still think it's a bad and stupid idea though," replied Stuu firmly. Bonnie didn't want to negotiate with him on the subject, she nodded with a shake of her head and said nothing more on the subject.

At last the time had come. It was already dark outside the windows, and all that could be seen through them was the white fluff that reflected the moonlight, which was exposed in all its glory. At the same time as the first star in the sky, all of Judah's family, young and old, gathered around the family table. Everyone took their place, Judy sat next to her parents.

"Please Judy, read the prayer" asked Stuu handing over a book for his daughter. Judy solemnly opened the book and looked for the appropriate prayer. Once she found one, she began to confess the prayer. As she did so she was reminded of a previous Christmas when she had been a small child and had listened to Stuu discuss the prayer at the Christmas table. Now she was the one with the honour. For that nostalgic moment, single drops of tears began to fall from Judy's eyes, but she did not stop saying the prayer. This detail was obviously noticed by her parents, who giggled at the sight. After the prayer, Judy put the book down and smiled with a blush on her face as she now realized that she had been crying lightly at the time. The time came for the breaking of the Christmas wafer. It took some time before everyone broke it with everyone else, but no one seemed to mind. All that mattered were the sincere wishes for this and the new year that would soon follow.

"I wish you that this fellow will be your boyfriend one day," Suzanne said as she broke the wafer with Judy, who made a questioning look on her face, making it clear to her sister that she didn't quite understand.

"When you talked to him, you spoke as if you cared terribly about him," Suzanne explained. Judy smiled warmly and laid a wafer for Suzanne wishing her well. Soon enough everyone was seated and able to enjoy the dinner they had all been waiting for.

"Merry Christmas dear friends, merry Christmas...!"