December 25th, 1927 ~ 10:00 a.m.
Christmas has made me a sentimental fool. As I'm writing this, I am surrounded by all that I hold dear - Anna, William and the twins. Oh...and now my long lost father too, returned to the fold. I'm still not sure about that development, but William seems thrilled to have a granddad all of his own. Anna says it's a good thing and I should be grateful, and since she's rarely wrong...well, we'll see.
Looking around the room, I see Anna directly across from me, seated in her rocking chair. Still in her comfortable old robe, her hair is pulled back with a red satin ribbon, her slippered feet propped up on a stool in front of the fire. She looks for all the world like a lass of twenty. Fee is in her arms, excitedly waving her new rattle around. Oh my! And there she hit Anna on the nose with it.
Will and the Captain are huddled together on the sofa discussing the parts of the model ship he got for Christmas. I'm ashamed to say I might be a bit jealous...of both of them, actually.
The old man is settling into his role of grandfather in a way he never could as father. William was beside himself, when a week or so ago Anna and I told him who this new person in our lives really was. Will's annoying friend, Percy, who suspects the Captain is a pirate, was impressed but extremely jealous. And yes, we're taking no small amount of pleasure in that.
And here I am, in my chair situated between the fireplace and our Christmas tree. Baby Finn's sitting up in her basket on the floor at my feet, the flames from the fire dancing in her eyes, as I drink my morning tea and write in this journal.
Anna just asked me to take Fee. She wants to get the turkey ready to go into the oven. It's going to be a fine feast in the Bates' house this year. I hope you will be here in spirit.
~ John Bates.
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Christmas Day 1927 5:15pm
Hello & a very Happy Christmas!
I'll just take over from where John left off. Our Christmas dinner is over and the mess is mostly cleared away. I'm sitting here at the kitchen table watching three generations of Bates men washing and drying the dishes. That's something I never thought I'd see.
We had been sitting at the dining room table long after the meal was finished. We rarely use the dining room, but it being Christmas and all… and things were going so well. The dinner turned out perfectly, if I do say so myself.
Everyone was leaning back in their chairs, rubbing their too-full bellies. Will had taken his boat and moved to his favorite spot, under the table. The girls were in their brand new play pen in the corner of the room. Fee, sound asleep on her tummy and Finn sucking mightily on her fist, her eyelids slowly closing. All was well in their little world.
And apparently, all was well in the Bates' world, in general. For after a few moments of silence, John rose from the table and headed for the kitchen. When he returned he handed his father an apron and grunted to him, 'Alright, old man, now it's time to pay for your dinner. Let's clear all this away and do the dishes for Anna. She's been at it since five this morning.'
Well, I wish you could have seen the surprised and delighted expression on Eamon's face. That might have been the moment he truly became a member of our little tribe. He got to his feet and tied the apron on, smiled hugely at me, and saluted his son , "Aye, aye, lad,' he said and he and John began working together, loading the tray with plates and cups and silverware to be washed.
From under the table, Will yelled 'Me too!' and followed them into the kitchen.
What was I to do? Certainly not sit there like a queen. I grabbed some bowls from the sideboard and headed to the kitchen too, where I was promptly ordered to sit and handed a mug of cocoa. They did allow me to pick the remaining turkey from the carcass for soup for tomorrow, but that was all. And that's where I still find myself. I must say, I could learn to like this.
I'm so proud of my husband. He is handling everything all so well and I think he's really coming around to having his father back in his life. I hope Mother Bates is watching, and smiling down on us. I believe she is.
After contemplating shutting Jack in William's room for the day, because he doesn't have the best of table manners, I relented to letting him in the kitchen only. That lasted for maybe ten minutes when he pushed his way through when I brought in a fresh teapot. I wasn't sure how he'd react to the Capt., a virtual stranger eating at our table, but it all went remarkably well. It seems the Capt. is a dog man and they really got on. Of course Jack still has terrible table manners, that will never change. Charlie, the cat chose to spend his Christmas under Will's bed.
And another country is heard from. Butter, our canary, just let out a burst of song. That caused Eamon to mention his wife's bird from when John was a teenage boy. John looked up from scrubbing a pan, "How do you know about Honey?'
"Oh, your mother often spoke of that bird in her letters. He brought a lot of happiness into her life.'
John just looked at him for a moment then nodded his head, 'That he did.'
The dishes were done. William has fallen asleep under the kitchen table. The girls are down for the next couple of hours. Eamon took off his apron, stretched his arms, and thanked us profusely for the invite. Then he grabbed his coat and cap from the hook by the back door, said goodbye and walked out into the garden. John stood there for only a second, then he followed him.
I watched them from the window. It was getting on toward dusk. A light snow had begun falling. They were faced away from me, both looking straight ahead, hands in their pockets. If they were speaking, I couldn't tell. Finally, John looked skyward and clapped a hand on his father's shoulder and they turned in unison and reentered the kitchen. When Eamon walked past me to warm his hands in front of the kitchen fireplace, I noticed his eyes brimming with tears.
John came up behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist and burrowed his head in my neck. I heard him sniffing.
After I pulled a sleeping William out from under the table, we had tea and chocolate-peppermint biscuits and gentle conversation in the parlor. It was the happiest of Christmases, indeed.
We wish you all the love & joy of the Holiday Season,
~John & Anna Bates
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Things that made me happy this Christmas, by William Bates:
1. A Granddad of my very own.
2. That time I saw Daddy chase Mummy around the kitchen table holding his kissing berry flower over her head. That was funny! And that night he caught her in the hall and made her laugh. I chased her too and kissed her. Mummy smells good.
3. Hanging my stocking! I told Mum I wanted a bigger one next year.
4. The new books I got and some of them I can read all by myself. Daddy says you can go anywhere with books and do anything.
5. Punkin' pie!
6. Helping Daddy and Granddad wash dishes.
7. I didn't like being a shepherd, but maybe next year I can be a wise man ...or a donkey.
8. Christmas kissing berry flowers. I'm going to ask Mummy if we can grow them in our garden next summer.
9. When Jack stole Daddy's turkey drumstick out of his hand. Daddy yelled at him and took it back because he could get a bone in his throat. Then we all laughed.
10. Being a member of the Bates Tribe. That's what mummy calls it.
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Underneath the Mistletoe
Around ten o'clock that very night, the children were tucked in their beds. The girls sleeping like little angels. William was down for the count in his room, clutching his sailing ship tight in his hand. He was worn out after a tiring day and snoring softly through one of his nostrils, no doubt dreaming of wild adventures through the seven seas
Downstairs, only glowing embers remained in the hearth. All was quiet and all was peaceful, and Anna and John felt truly blessed.
They were snuggled together on the sofa. Anna was wearing her new pale blue satin gown and robe. John had spent way too much on it, but he had been more than pleased in offering it to her, saying that she deserved the whole world, if only he could afford it. A new gown and robe would have to do for that. Not practical, they have both decided, but he liked the way it felt beneath his hands and especially with Anna in it. There was nothing more to say when he had presented her with such valid arguments.
With her head resting on his chest, Anna slipped a hand in the opening of his robe, letting it slide seductively over his bare upper body and down his belly. That was the point at which John decided it was time to go to bed.
Once they'd climbed the stairs, he picked her up in his arms as if she was a mere slip of a girl, and proceeded down the hallway. He stopped under the mistletoe, smiling at her before placing a tender kiss on her lips. Then, he looked up at the white berries, an idea coming into his mind and told her to grab it as he lifted her up as high as he could.
'Whatever for?' she asked him curiously.
'I may need it tonight,' he winked. 'For kissing matters.'
'Is that so, Mr Bates?'
'That is so, Mrs Bates.'
Anna giggled, untying the mistletoe from the ceiling light. 'Then we will have to break it in half...I may need it too...for kissing matters.'
John nodded with a mischievous grin and soon enough she was being tossed onto their bed. He joined her a second later, as she broke the branch in half, handing him a piece.
'So…' Anna began, biting her lower lip and eyeing him from head to toe. He was stretched out now, like a pasha, ready for her to start nibbling. The expression on his face was heated and daring. 'Where shall I kiss first?' She looked at him, teasingly and he swallowed hard. Her hand held the mistletoe, travelling up his legs and belly and chest, settling at the hollow of his throat. 'Yes...perfect!'
She kissed him there, ever so softly, and he moaned. The hairs of his chest tickling at her lips and she couldn't help but smile. 'Your turn, Mr Bates,' she whispered and he sat up, pulling her down onto bed and leaning over her.
'Let's see…' his piece of mistletoe traveled along her arm, then the other, along her waist, stopping over one of her exposed shoulders. 'Start small to end up big…' he said, winking as he lowered his lips to her skin, placing a suckling kiss there.
Their game continued, each taking turns, but it didn't last too long. The mistletoe has always been known as a bold device, and it didn't disappoint this night. Bold, daring and fiery, and when John settled his piece at the inside of one of her thighs...well...it was a whole other game they played.
Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night.
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Happy Christmas from Handy-for-the bus & Terriejane & may all your Christmas's be bright.