Chapter 23: The Meaning of Christmas

It was Friday morning, and Basta was downstairs brushing his teeth. That night was Suzanne's Christmas Play, and she was so excited that she woke up an hour early. After he spat a foamy lob of pepsodent into the sink, Basta could hear footsteps coming down the stairs. He didn't think much of it, and pulled out his razor to shave. But suddenly Suzanne poked her head into the open doorway.

"Hi?" Basta was surprised to see the girl. No one ever went down to the basement, unless it was Julie doing the laundry.

"Hi" she said shyly. "Martin is hogging the bathroom upstairs and I really need to brush my teeth..."

"Alright." Basta stepped aside, leaving room next to the sink. Suzanne came in, holding a toothbrush and tube of toothpaste. "Tonight is your big night, huh?" He smiled at the little girl, who squeezed some white paste onto her toothbrush. She let out a little squeal of excitement.

"I'm so excited!" She said, her voice was so bubbly. Basta just chuckled to himself, and ran the water in the sink. After wetting the razor, and sliding some water and hair conditioner on his face, he began to shave. The razor scratched over his skin, and Basta made sure to not cut himself. Suzanne scrubbed her teeth, her eyes studying the reflection in the mirror. It was a comical sight, a man shaving and a girl brushing her teeth, sharing the same sink. After Suzanne had spit the foam into the sink, she rinsed and thanked Basta. He just smiled and nodded and went back to shaving the stubble on his jaw. After he had dressed into slacks and a tee shirt, Basta jogged upstairs for breakfast. Oatmeal muffins, toast, and peanut butter awaited on the table. Basta accepted a cup of coffee from Julie, and sat between Suzanne and Martin at the table. He woofed down his breakfast (which made Martin giggle), then got in his coat, hat and shoes. He had the evening shift off, so he could watch Suzanne's play, but had a catering job rather early.

"Have a nice day" called Julie.

"Thanks, you too." Basta then shut the door, and ventured out into the cold. The young man shivered, and clutched the hounds tooth scarf closer to his freshly razed face. The walk to VanDosen's seemed to last an eternity and the morning sky just started to light up to a muted grey/blue color when he entered the toasty restaurant.

"Let's go, let's go!" Daniel was waiting, his jacket and hat already on. He seemed impatient, and Basta found himself frowning.

"Am I late?" he asked, his tone surprised.

"A little, yeah." Daniel made scooping motions with both his arms, then turned in the direction of the storage room. Basta jogged across the floor, leaving a trail of melting snow on the hardwood. Oops he thought, making a bit of a face. He ignored it, though, and followed Daniel out to the delivery truck. "I would ask if you wanted to drive" he began, putting the vehicle in drive, "but we're running late, so I will not."

"Oh-ho-no!" Basta put two hands up, palms out, and shook his head. "I have no interest in driving this thing, thank you very much!"

"Why not?" Daniel frowned as he turned onto Main Street.

"I just... I just don't want to!" He scratched his head in frustration. He really didn't want to drive because he didn't understand how the truck worked. And he didn't feel confident that he could manoeuvre the thing anyways. So he simply crossed his arms over his chest and looked out the windshield.

"Are you excited for Christmas?" Asked Daniel, changing the topic.

"Uhh... yes?" Basta had heard the word Christmas being tossed about lately. The children were getting exceptionally excited about it, and Suzanne would be performing in a Christmas Play... Basta was excited for the play secretly because he had no idea what Christmas was, and he hoped the production would give him some insight on the elusive holiday. "Are you?" He asked, to be polite.

"Yes and no" said Daniel, taking a right hand turn. "I'm looking forward to the food, but Christmas hasn't been the same since the war started."

"In '39" said Basta, proudly showing off the fact that he knew the date.

"Yeah." Daniel sighed. "And there are lots of deliveries to be made, and things get a little hectic around the restaurant."

"I see." Basta furrowed his brows. "What is your favourite part about Christmas?" He asked, hoping that maybe it would give him an idea on what the holiday was about. It's a pretty foodie event he thought to himself, making a mental note.

"The food. And the family. But when the great depression started, we couldn't have lots of the food that we would usually have." Basta's mind reeled. Great depression, great depression, great depression... AHA! That was the economic crash! God, I'm good... Basta smiled to himself. "What's your favourite?"

"Favourite what?" Basta blinked.

"Part of Christmas?"

"Oh... uhmm..." Basta frowned as he thought. "I really have no clue." He said innocently. That was the truth.

"Just the whole thing, huh?" Daniel smiled.

"Yeah, sure." Basta smiled. "The whole thing."

The two drive in silence until they arrived to their destination. After delivering the boxes of food (there weren't too many), they climbed into the truck and headed back home. As they drove, Daniel started conversation again.

"So what are you up to this weekend?" He asked.

"Well, tonight is my little sis- uh.." Basta shook his head clear of its thoughts for a moment. Little sister? Get a hold of yourself, man! "My uh, my little friend's Christmas play. I get to watch her perform."

"Oh, that's nice." Daniel smiled, though his facial expression hinted that that sounded terribly boring to him.

"What about you?" Basta figured he was getting good at the whole 'conversation' thing.

"I have a date" said Daniel with a smile.

"Oh yeah? What's her name?"

"Martha." Daniel raised his eyebrows momentarily. "I'm sort of nervous."

"Don't be nervous." Basta really didn't have much advice to offer. "Jump out of a window if you have to." He said, chuckling at his own memory. "It might work towards your benefit." He smiled, and Daniel let out a laugh.

"Ok, thanks, Basta! I'll keep that in mind." Daniel shook his head as he laughed.

After finishing his shift at VanDosen's, Basta jogged home in the snowy twilight. He entered the house, and darted straight down to the washroom to shower. He dressed in black slacks and a white button down, with the belt Anna gave him. The then combed his wet hair back, then went upstairs to greet the family. He found that everyone was milling about, getting ready to head out the door. Adrianna was fussing over Suzanne's costume while Julie fed Sylvie some apple sauce. Martin was pacing a circle with a wooden airplane in hand. Basta sat on a bar stool at the counter, close to where Julie was feeding her youngest daughter.

"Are you already to go, Martin?" Called Basta to the boy. Martin didn't look up from his feet, but flashed Basta the thumbs up.

"I'm ready to go!" Cried Suzanne in excitement. She had her costume in a canvas bag, and allowed Adrianna to help her into her long brown coat. "Are you excited?" She asked Basta.

"Very" he said, while raising his eyebrows for emphasis. The girl giggled. Julie wiped some sauce from Sylvie's face before announcing that she was ready to go as soon as she dressed the baby in a jacket.

It took the family six minutes to get dressed in coats and boots and hats and scarves and mittens. When they were finally out the door, it was dark. Snow fell from the black sky, and big white clouds appeared before everyone's mouths as they breathed the chilly night air. Martin walked next to Basta, who followed Adrianne and Julie. Suzanne walked ahead, skipping excitedly over the icy sidewalk.

"Watch your step, honey!" Called Julie. She was carrying Sylvie, who didn't seem to appreciate the cold very much. She whimpered and studied Basta, who was walking close behind. When she was close to tears, Basta would make a face, or thumb his nose. The little girl would squeal in delight and laugh, until he stopped. Then her little face would resume a serious composure, until she felt the cold and began to tear up again. Basta stuck his tongue out and crossed his eyes. Sylvie laughed. The process lasted what felt like an eternity for Basta (who had naturally run out of silly faces to make). When they finally arrived at the school, Basta was relieved. They entered the warm building, and stomped the snow off their boots on a wet mat spread out before the door. The school was a small building, and after Suzanne ran off the dressing room (IE, the girl's lavatory), Julie led the family to the gymnasium, where a number of seats were arranged, facing a makeshift stage. Everyone took their seats, and draped their coats over the backs of their chairs. Other families had arrived, and were already seated; chatting amongst themselves and nodding and motioning with their hands.

Basta yawned heavily before taking a look around. On the stage was a small pine tree, decorated with candles and ornaments.

"That's a nice Christmas tree" he heard Adrianna murmur to Julie, who nodded in agreement. Ok, so Christmas involves dead trees covered in candles and glass ornaments. Strange... Basta frowned a bit, trying to comprehend. Then he noticed a number of construction paper cut outs of angels and babies and shepherds.

When the gym had filled up, and the lights were dimmed, a hush ran over the audience when an older lady stepped across the stage, and sat at an old piano. Another woman came out, dressed in a tweed skirt suit, and introduced herself as the seventh grade teacher. She announced that the school had worked very hard to put the production together, and then said Merry Christmas.

Everyone applauded (Basta didn't know why). Then after the tweed lady left the stage, the piano lady began playing a song Basta had never heard before.

Children dressed as shepherds came onstage, pretending to tend to imaginary sheep. Eventually, a pretty blonde girl dressed as an angel came on stage.

"Do not be afraid" she said to the shepherds. Basta watched in mild fascination as the angel asked the shepherds to follow her to a manger, where a saviour had been born. Though Basta did get bored as the play progressed, he grew excited again when he saw Suzanne. She was dressed in blue robes, with a white veil, knelt around a cradle with a man in a red robe. In the cradle was a baby doll. Basta was surprised when they announced that the baby- named "Jesus"- was the saviour. Suzanne's character, named Mary, was a virgin, though she somehow became impregnated with the child, who was the son of god. That didn't make much sense to Basta at all. How could you be a virgin and carry a baby? Basta figured that maybe Mary had had too much to drink one evening. He also considered rape. And who was God anyways? He just couldn't seem to wrap his head around the idea, though he found it interesting. He sort of liked it, too. Something about the music that the piano lady played, and the way the choir sung. It made him feel soft and warm inside. Not the way Anna made him feel, but soft and warm in a different way. When the play was finished, Basta and the family waited in the hallway for Suzanne. She came from the girl's lavatory, beaming and smiling beautifully.

"Wonderful performance, dear!" Cried Adrianna, wrapping her granddaughter in a hug. Julie ruffled the girl's hair and congratulated her with a kiss on top of the head.

"You were wonderful" she said proudly. Martin smiled at his sister. As they left the school, Julie was looking tired and worn out, so Basta offered to carry Sylvie for her. Julie seemed surprised, but nodded and handed the sleeping child over to the young man. He winced as he took the child, but soon relaxed. She was sound asleep and rested her head on his shoulder. He didn't mind carrying her, though it made him feel very strange. He suddenly felt very responsible. It was strange for him to think that the baby depended on him... he bit his lip and resisted a little smile. Instead he congratulated Suzanne again as they walked back to the house.

For once, Basta really did feel at peace.

A/N:

Liebens! I am so sorry its taken so long to update. I've been busy. The older you get, the more stressful Christmas time becomes. Which is stupid. I hope you find this chapter mildly enjoyable. Guys... there may be some Anna in our future ;)

Updates on the blog. My photo intense "Naught Entry" and a rant entry about little kids that try to grow up too fast. That's the good stuff. ;)

I'll try to update SOON! :D Psst... review...

PS: DANKE SO MUCH, BASTAS BABE AND BASTAS GIRL!