Christmas morning

Wichita awoke at a touch on her cheek. "Merry Christmas, Krista," Columbus said, "and happy birthday." She shifted, then looked self-consciously at the stuffed animal in her hands. "It's cute," her husband said, and she knew from his tone that it was not the first time he had seen it.

"Time for loot, lazy butt," her sister announced from the foot of the bed. She sat up abruptly. Glancing at the alarm clock, she saw that it was 10:00 AM.

"Okay, I'm up, I'm up," she said, getting unsteadily to her feet. "What's for breakfast?"

"Tal made waffles," Little Rock answered. "We ate 'em all."

"I saved you some," Columbus said.

"Thanks, hon," she said, tottering toward the bathroom. "I'm going to shower..."

"Uh-uh!" said Little Rock. "You kept us waiting all morning already. Time for presents!"

"...After food."

"Oh, all right..."

Columbus sat beside her, watching her, in a way that still sometimes annoyed her, especially at meals, but this morning, she was in high enough spirits to be vaguely pleased. She set down her knife and took his hand. As she finished, Little Rock jabbed her elbow with a package. "C'mon, Krista, open a gift. This one's mine." As she opened it, Little Rock smirked at Columbus. It was, of course, Breakfast at Tiffany's.

"Columbus next," Wichita insisted. Little Rock handed him her own gift.

"National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," he said darkly. A month earlier, he had admitted to being unnerved by a truck in the film's opening scene.

Tallahassee went next. Little Rock gave him Columbus's gift, then frowned when the package proved to be a very nice, preassembled model of a Shelby Cobra. Still, a look of confidence quickly returned. It was her turn, and she opened Wichita's gift. She was surprised to find a resin horse sculpture. "Thanks," she said, a little hesitantly.

"Why don't you open Tal's gift?" Columbus suggested to Wichita. She nodded and smiled.

His gift to her proved to be a Skorpion machine pistol. "Neat," she said, sounding interested if not thrilled as she tested its weight and balance.

Columbus also accepted Tal's gift. He took one look inside the box, and shut it in a coughing fit. "Uh... looks... interesting," he said. "Um, I'll... look at it later." Wichita glimpsed a knowing look from Tal, and blushed.

Little Rock opened Austin's gift, which she could tell was a book. Prepared to be unimpressed, she instead nodded in somewhat grudging approval. "Guitar For Beginners."

Tallahassee opened Wichita's gift, which proved to be a jar of preserved artichoke hearts. "Why don't you guys go first?" Wichita said.

Little Rock went straight for her last gift, opening it eagerly while Tal grinned, only to look at it in confusion. "A kite?" she said, and Tal's smile went subtly rigid.

Columbus slowly, carefully opened Wichita's gift. His eyes widened. "I... wow... I didn't remember telling you about this." It was a translation of Dante's complete Comedy, with the complete set of illustrations by Gustave Dore. Wichita beamed as he gently thumbed through the pages.

Tal opened the small box from Little Rock, "Holy- I mean, is this what I think it is?" He held up a set of keys and a business card with the name "Shelby Automobiles, Las Vegas".

"Well, it's more of a loan than a gift," Little Rock said, grinning bashfully. "The keys are for a car in the garage."

Columbus promptly shut the book as his wife took his gift to her. Her hands trembled as she opened the box. It took a moment for her to recognize it, and be sure... "Oh my... oh my..." She wiped tears from her eyes. "Austin... You really shouldn't..."

He gave her a kiss. "You go shower, then put it on," he said.

After half an hour, Wichita emerged. Her dress was long and black. Her hair was tied up in a topknot with a band of jewels, and several necklaces were around her neck, one of real pearls. Silken gloves covered her arms up to past her elbows. "Well," she said with a smile, "what say we hit the town?"