William and Rose sit on the settee
Wearing clothes from another day
They sit close together, two halves of a whole
Watching the grandchildren play
The lights of their memories, shine in their eyes
As the young ones tumble free
It's bitter and sweet as they recognize
All the old songs 'round the tree
Love comes home for Christmas
Love comes home again
Love comes home for Christmas
Every now and then
Little faces believing
Make Rose start to rain
And Willie takes her hand
"William and Rose" Sung by Heart, written by Ann Wilson and Susan Ennis
Chapter Twenty Six
"Oh, Matt! It's beautiful!" Matt had been out at the farm all day. He returned at suppertime driving a buckboard containing an enormous evergreen tree and a bulky covered object Kitty assumed was the mysterious "it" Matt, Chester and Joe kept mentioning when they didn't know she was listening.
"It's just a tree, Kitty. It won't be beautiful until you're done with it."
"You mean until we're done with it, Matt. I need your help; that tree's at least a foot taller than I can reach."
"Right now?"
"It's Christmas Eve, Matt, how much longer should we wait to decorate it?" Kitty gave an exaggerated sigh. "But if you're too busy, I guess I could drag that heavy chair over there across the room and climb on it and stretch out as far as I can to reach the other side…. I'm sure that will be fine with Doc."
"Where do you want it?" Matt asked sheepishly. She had him place the tree in several different spots before finally deciding on the one Matt suspected she wanted all along.
Matt watched Kitty decorate the tree, placing glass ornaments, candles, and garlands of red ribbon, pointing to the out of reach spots she wanted Matt to decorate. Once the tree was decorated to her satisfaction and Matt placed the star on top, she went from window to window, lighting a candle in each one. She came back to the tree and began to sing softly as she lit the many candles on its branches.
What child is this, who, laid to rest,
On Mary's lap is sleeping,
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The babe, the son of Mary
Matt joined her to light the candles she couldn't reach. "That was real nice, Kitty."
She leaned against Matt, wrapping her arms around his waist. "It's beautiful, isn't it, Matt? Our first Christmas tree."
"That's not true, Kitty. We had one at the Long Branch every year."
"That was for everyone. Did-did you really think of them as our trees? You never told me that."
"They were the only Christmas trees I ever had, Kitty."
"I thought of them that way, too," she said softly, burying her face against Matt's chest.
"Aw, don't do that, honey. I didn't mean to make you cry. Here, why don't you read that story you wanted to read to me earlier." Matt reached for a book on the table next to the sofa, pulling Kitty with him as he sat down.
"You read it to me."
Matt opened the brightly colored picture book and began. "'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse." By the time he finished, rolling his eyes and adding his own comments throughout, Kitty was smiling again.
"There, Matt, we just started a family tradition. Maybe by the time the baby's old enough to understand, you'll be able to read it without making her think Santa is going to get himself shot sneaking into people's houses."
"Well, he should know better in this part of the country!"
"It would have been nice for Chester and Joe to come tonight so we could have a child in the house on Christmas Eve."
"I like having you to myself. And next year we'll have the baby."
A little while later, they blew the candles out on their way to bed. Matt told Kitty to sleep as late as she wanted to the next morning; he was going to bring her breakfast in bed.
"Am I going to get beans and jerky?" She raised an eyebrow at him.
"I think I can do better than that."
When she was nearly asleep she felt him move to get out of bed. "Matt?" she asked sleepily, opening one eye a crack.
"I'm just going to sit up for a while and try to catch Santa Claus. Go back to sleep." She closed her eyes and when she heard the back door open and close, she pushed back the covers and slipped out of bed. She reached under the bed for the large wrapped box that contained Matt's new pair of boots and had placed it under the tree and was back in bed, covered and eyes closed, before she heard the back door open and close again and the sound of something large and heavy sliding on the sitting room floor. It was a good thing Matt was there to protect her from that outlaw Santa Claus, she decided as she waited for him to come back to bed.
Kitty woke up to the sound of dishes and pans in the kitchen and remembered Matt's promise of breakfast. It was still mostly dark and she couldn't remember the last time she woke up this early on Christmas morning, impatient to get out of bed. It must have been when she was a little girl, while her mother was still alive. It was daylight when Matt finally walked into the bedroom, carrying a tray with a plate of eggs and ham, sweet rolls, and two cups of coffee.
"One plate?" she questioned. "Which one of us gets to eat?"
"I thought we'd share." Matt sat down on the edge of the bed. He scooped up a forkful of eggs and brought it to her mouth.
"You know, I've been feeding myself for a while now, Matt." Kitty winked at him. "Or are you just practicing for later? Because I could throw some food if you want me to, just to make the experience authentic."
"Just eat your breakfast, smart aleck. Doc reminded me that I'm supposed to be making sure you eat enough, so I'm just doing my husbandly duty." He broke off a piece of sweet roll for her.
"Did Doc tell you he wants me to stay away from those?"
"It's Christmas. Doc doesn't need to know."
Kitty gave him a pointed look. Speaking of husbandly duties and things Doc doesn't need to know….
"I know, Kitty. It's not easy for me, either." He pulled her close to him and took a few bites of the ham and eggs, then offered her another bite. She glared at him and turned away. "This isn't up for debate, Kitty! I don't want to treat you like a child, but you're acting like one. The baby needs to eat, even if you're mad at me!" He spoke more sharply to her than he'd intended to and she looked at him in surprise. He seldom got angry with her, even when they argued. "Come on, honey," he said softly. "I don't want to fight on Christmas Day."
"I don't, either." She blinked back tears and reached for the fork. "If you let me feed myself, I'll eat."
After breakfast, Matt was so impatient for Kitty to go to the sitting room to see what Santa Claus brought her, he lifted her out of bed and carried her out there.
"I declare, Matt, you're going to have me so spoiled by the time the baby comes I won't remember how to do anything for myself!" she told him as he settled her on the sofa. Her present was next to the Christmas tree, covered with a quilt, and she waited patiently while he pushed it over to her. He pulled the quilt away to reveal a cradle, with a blue ribbon around it, clumsily tied in a bow. "I love it!" she sighed. "But how did you-when did you have the time?"
"I've been working on it since we got back from our honeymoon." She remembered the conversation they had in the buggy on the way home, when he asked her what she wanted for Christmas. "You don't need to get me anything, Matt. I have everything I could possibly want now." He insisted that he knew better than that and kept asking until she finally told him he could get something for the baby.
She leaned toward it for a better look and gasped in surprise.
"Kitty? Something wrong?"
"No…." She smiled and took Matt's hand, pressing it against her stomach. He jumped a little when he felt a tiny movement against his hand.
"Kitty, is that…"
"That's your baby, Cowboy," she whispered, turning to put her arms around his neck. "She's telling you Merry Christmas."