The next day was Christmas Eve Day. Bill and Roy decided to shelve the punishments for a day or two, and hadn't decided yet, if the boys would be punished at all for their escapade. After lunch, Roy suggested everyone go to the Museum of Fine Arts as Flo wanted, and she certainly had no problem going two days in a row, not having seen the whole thing the first time she went. So, Roy, Bill, Flo, and the boys all went to the museum and at the end of the visit, everyone was sure of their favorites. Mattlock and Bill liked the Hogg Collection of Frederic Remington works and the Arts of North America Collection in general. Roy and Flo liked the Arts of Europe Collection with Roy preferring French Academy art and Flo preferring Post-Impressionism and Modern Art. Will surprised everyone with his newfound fascination for the Arts of Asia Collection, particularly 13th century Indian bronzes. In late afternoon, they made a full day of it and went out to dinner.
Once they returned home, they all sat in the living room together rehashing the day.
"I can't believe that collection. Can you, Roy?" Flo asked.
"We certainly don't have anything like it in Tuscon, or even Phoenix. It's not the National Gallery or The Louvre, but it's excellent, for sure," Roy replied.
"Will, what was your favorite artwork?" Flo asked, putting her arm around him.
"I liked the person with all the arms that was tall as me," Will said, holding his hand over his head.
"That's Shiva, the Hindu god," Flo said. "He is performing a divine dance that symbolizes the ongoing cycle of creation, preservation, and destruction of the universe."
Mattlock chimed in. "I liked the boxers!" he exclaimed.
"Oh yes. The George Bellows print. Excellent choice," Flo said.
"Yes, Mattlock. I've been a fan of Bellows back when I first discovered him after World War I. I was actually learning to box around that time, myself. He's really good at capturing raw energy," Roy said.
The two boys just looked at him agape.
"You see why I married him?" Flo said, putting her arms through the crook of Roy's elbow.
Bill smiled at Flo. "They must have rotated their permanent collection, because I really liked that Thomas Cole and I don't remember seeing it the last time I was there," Bill said.
"You never know. A museum's collection could never be rotated and you'll still see something you haven't seen before," Flo replied.
"Can we go play up in my room," Mattlock asked Bill.
"Sure, son," Bill replied. "It will be bedtime in a couple of hours."
Mattlock stood up and locked his hands behind his back and looked down at the floor. "Daddy, it's Saturday night."
Bill replied, "Yes it is."
Mattlock paused to look around the room and back at his father. "Can we stay up and watch Gunsmoke?"
Bill sighed and looked at Roy and Flo. "What do you think? It's on at 10 o'clock, and I usually let Mattlock watch it."
"I don't know. They both gave us quite a scare last night," Roy replied.
"And Santa is supposed to come tonight," Flo said. "They should really get to bed at a normal time."
Mattlock looked disappointed. Will looked at Mattlock.
"We'll go right to sleep after Gunsmoke," Mattlock urged.
"You might be too excited. It's supposed to be a special episode tonight," Bill said.
"I promise," Mattlock said.
"We promise," Will agreed.
The adults all looked at each other. Bill asked Flo and Roy, "Are you okay with Will staying up late?"
Flo said to Roy, "It is a holiday. Will doesn't have to be in school anytime soon."
"Still, there should be consequences for yesterday," Roy replied.
"Roy, I think we can save that for after Christmas, don't you?" Bill replied.
The boys had worried looks on their faces.
"I suppose so," Roy replied.
"Okay. Go play up in your room and I'll come get you when it's time for Gunsmoke," Bill said.
Mattlock put his hands on his hips and smiled at Will who beamed back at him. The two ran up the stairs to Mattlock's room. For the next two and a half hours the boys played in Mattlock's room and the adults recapped the day and whispered about what 'Santa' would be doing that night. When the show was about to start, Bill went upstairs and got the boys. They ran ahead of him down the stairs to the television and plopped down in front of it on the floor. The adults sat behind them on the living room furniture.
At first, the boys were riveted and everyone was silent. After a few minutes, the questions started.
"What's Lucifer Jones' problem?" Mattlock asked.
"Yeah. He's mean!" Will said.
"He's got a lot of problems, Mattlock," Bill said of the religious fundamentalist character.
"His name is Lucifer, Mattlock. Do you know who that is?" Flo asked.
"No," Mattlock said, still watching the show and half-listening to her.
"It's another name for the devil," Flo said. Mattlock whipped around to look at her. She continued, "So you know what that means, right?"
Mattlock exclaimed, "He's the bad guy!"
"Exactly," Flo replied.
They all watched the show quietly for a couple of minutes.
"Why is Chester worried about seeing his brother?" Will asked.
"We don't know yet, son," Roy said.
A couple of minutes later, Will asked, "Is that Chester's brother?"
"Yes," Roy replied.
They all continued to watch the episode in silence.
"Chester doesn't understand his brother," Mattlock said. "He's been wrong about him a lot."
"You're right, son," Bill affirmed.
After a few more minutes, Mattlock said, "Oh my gosh. Lucifer's gonna shoot Miss Kitty! Why's he gonna do that?" he asked with a worried expression on his face.
"Does he think she's bad?" Will asked.
"Yes, boys," Bill replied.
"Why?" Mattlock asked.
"It's complicated, but he doesn't like what Miss Kitty does for a job," Bill replied.
"That's no reason to shoot her," Mattlock observed.
"No, it's not," Bill replied.
The show ended and Flo said, "Wow. That got scary."
"What did you think, boys?" Roy asked.
"I'm glad he didn't shoot Miss Kitty," Mattlock said.
"Me too," Will agreed.
"That episode had a moral. Did you understand it?" Bill asked.
"What's a moral?" Mattlock asked.
"It's like a lesson to learn," Flo replied.
"Chester judged his brother Magnus and Lucifer Jones judged Miss Kitty, and both were wrong. You see, it's best not to label people or pre-judge them. You're almost always wrong and it can be dangerous," Bill said, always striving to instruct Mattlock in lessons for living.
"Yes, Daddy," Mattlock said.
"Okay, time for you two to go to bed, or Santa won't come," Bill replied. "Flo, would you tuck the boys in this time?" Bill asked.
"Absolutely," she replied. "C'mon, boys. You know the deal. You have to go right to bed after the television show." She put her hands on both their backs and escorted them to the stairs and they all walked up to Mattlock's bedroom.
"Your packages arrived here last week," Bill said quietly to Roy. "Let's wait another thirty minutes to play Santa."
Roy winked at him. A few minutes later, Flo came down the stairs from Mattlock's bedroom. "The boys practically fell asleep right after their heads hit their pillows."
"Mattlock does that every weekend. He thinks he's a tough guy, but forgets that he's in a little boy's body," Bill replied.
"I'm surprised Will could stay up as long as he did," Roy replied.
After a few more minutes, Roy and Bill went upstairs quietly to the guest room in which Bill had hidden the packages of presents from them and his presents for Mattlock. Flo stayed behind in the living room moving small pieces of furniture to clear a path to the tree and straightening the tree skirt. A few trips had to be made. Roy's family presents came down first in their shipping packages. Roy and Bill placed the packages on the ground and Flo cut them open with a scissor blade and took out the presents and arranged them randomly under the tree. She placed the large ones toward the back and the smaller ones toward the front of the tree. It took a few minutes to get all of the presents from upstairs to under the tree, but once they were all arranged, Roy and Flo sat down and Bill went to turn off the living room lights so that the room was lit only by the lights on the tree and he joined the other two to admire their work. Shortly after their respite, they all retired to bed.
The next morning, Mattlock and Will got up before sunrise and Mattlock hushed Will and told him to stand outside his bedroom, and he walked to his father's bedroom door, opened it, and quietly walked inside. Bill was sound asleep and didn't hear Mattlock approach.
Mattlock gently put both hands on Bill's upper left arm and said, "Daddy?"
Bill didn't respond.
"Daddy?" Mattlock repeated.
Bill opened his eyes and looked at the silhouette of his son. "What is it?" he asked groggily.
"It's Christmas, Daddy," Mattlock whispered.
Bill reached over and turned on the light on his nightstand and squinted his eyes at his alarm clock. "It's 5:30 in the morning, son," he said.
"Will and I are awake. Can we open presents?" Mattlock asked.
"Hold your horses, son. Not everyone is awake yet," Bill replied.
Mattlock just stared at him expectantly.
Bill sighed. "Okay, let me get your aunt and uncle up and we'll meet you downstairs."
"Thanks, Daddy," Mattlock said, and bolted out of the room to retrieve Will. The boys ran down the stairs into the living room and sat on the floor in front of all the presents in the faintly glowing light of the Christmas tree lights. They mirrored each other, sitting on their hands and fidgeting with nervous anticipation.
Minutes later, the adults came down the stairs yawning and in their pajamas. It took an hour or so for everyone to open their presents. Some of the presents Mattlock received were a Buck Rogers Sonic Ray Light Gun, a toy Porsche car, a Take Apart Cars Garage, and an Electronic Receiving Station and German Motorcycle toy, both from Roy and Flo. Will received a Bomber Exploding Ship, a Siren Jeep, some building blocks, a Military Academy Play Set, and a phonograph with 12 records for children and a Flexy Racer, both from Bill. The boys also received assortments of board games and coloring books and art supplies and in the end, it was a good Christmas haul.
Roy gifted his wife with art supplies and a ring and gave Bill a collection of beer steins from Germany. Bill gave Roy hardbound versions of Ian Fleming's Casino Royale and Live and Let Die, and a leather bound, ruled journal for his own writing.
"Well, what do you think, boys?" Bill asked. "Did Santa come through this year?"
"Yes!" the boys replied together.
Sergei came downstairs from his quarters. "I prepared some things yesterday, but I'll be working on the holiday meal this morning and it should be ready for early afternoon. Can I get anyone anything?" he asked.
"Could you brew us some coffee? I think it will be a long day if we don't have any. Right?" he asked rubbing his eyes and then looking at Roy and Flo.
"I definitely could use some coffee," Roy said.
"Me too," replied Flo.
"What are we having today, Sergei?" Roy asked in Russian.
Sergei replied in English, "Christmas ham, beef brisket, mashed potatoes, yams, rolls, corn, green beans, salad, and pumpkin and apple pie."
"Mmmmm. Sounds great," Flo said.
"Thanks madam," Sergei said. With that, he went into the kitchen to start some coffee and work on the holiday meal. He put on his apron and found an envelope in the pocket. It contained his more than generous Christmas bonus from Bill, and the message 'Merry Christmas' in cursive on the memo line of the check. He smiled to himself and put it back in his apron pocket.
Cattle Annie showed up around Noon, being an invited guest of the holiday meal. She let herself in this time, and the adults were talking in the living room after they had finally gotten dressed for the day, and the boys were still in their pajamas playing with all of their new toys.
"Howdy, y'all!" she said and tipped her hat. Everyone greeted her back. She was dressed in her cowgirl best as usual. "Well, little Mattlock, I've got a present for you outside," she said. "Come take a look-see."
Mattlock got up and she escorted him to the door and everyone else followed to see what she had gotten him. She opened the door and walked him outside. Tied to a tree, was a miniature Shetland pony mare with a brown and white, skewbald pattern.
"Is he mine?" Mattlock asked.
"She's all yours, partner," Cattle Annie replied.
"Cattle Annie, you shouldn't have," Bill said.
"Nonsense, Bill. It's time for this child to have a boy-sized equine to practice on," Annie replied.
Just then, Bo and Lamar walked up and stood with their hands on their hips looking at the tiny horse, and laughed out loud at the miniature animal.
Mattlock ran up to the pony and hugged her neck. "I love her, Cattle Annie. Thank you!"
"Guess we're gonna have to look for a tiny saddle for Mattlock to use now, Lamar," Bo said.
"I might could probably get ya one, boys," Annie replied. She looked over at Will who had a disappointed look on his face. She walked over behind the tree the pony was tied to and pulled out a box for him. She held the box out to Will.
"For me?" Will asked.
"Well, I handed it to you, didn't I, honey?" she asked.
Will placed it on the porch and opened the package carefully, while the adults looked on. He pulled out an Army uniform with a belt, helmet, and boots. He smiled and held up the uniform for everyone to see. Annie had gotten "Houston" embroidered on the name tag.
"I hope that's okay, honey. Your uncle told me you were into army stuff," Cattle Annie said. "He also told me you already have a rifle."
"Yep. I love it, Cattle Annie. Thank you!" Will replied.
"Yes, thanks Cattle Annie. You shouldn't have," Roy said.
"Enough. You Houston men are all alike," she replied. "Now when are we gonna strap on the feedbag? I'm starvin'."
"We'll take the horse to the barn," Bo said with a hint of sarcasm.
After the horse was put up, Bo and Lamar got cleaned up and Bo joined the Houstons for the holiday meal and Lamar went home to Beulah and her family. Around 1:30 pm, Bo, Annie, Roy, Flo, Sergei, Bill, and the boys sat down and dined on what Sergei had prepared, until they were all "filled to the gills," as Bo said.
"Sergei, you have outdone yourself, honey," Cattle Annie said. "I don't think my mother could make a meal as good as you did today, and that's sayin' somethin'."
"Thank you, Cattle Annie," Sergei said, bowing his head to her.
"She's right, Sergei. It was fantastic. Thank you again. Why don't you join us and relax and we'll help you clean up later," Bill said.
"That would be very nice, Bill," Sergei replied.
All the adults talked through the afternoon and into the evening and played some card games. Cattle Annie once again proved her poker prowess with Bill, Roy, and Bo, and cleaned up handily at the game. Flo played with the boys and played some games with the adults. They all picked at the food left over from the meal well into the evening when they all stopped to watch The Jack Benny Program and The Ed Sullivan Show on television. Sergei and Roy were particularly pleased to see the figure skater, Miroslava Nachodska on The Ed Sullivan Show, while Bill was excited to see Rod Steiger, who he had seen the year before in the theater in On the Waterfront.
The boys could barely keep their eyes open by the beginning of The Ed Sullivan Show and were down for the count by the end of it. Flo took them to Mattlock's room and tucked them in as she had the night before. Sergei retired to his quarters, and then Bo took Cattle Annie back to her place in his car, and after a little more television, the remaining adults went to bed themselves.