Winter approached, and after Thanksgiving, the Waltons began to make preparations for Christmas. There would be a new face at the table this year: Jim-Bob's new wife, Stella. Elizabeth had been around her new sister-in-law a few times and got along with her fine. She looked forward to spending another holiday with her large extended family.
The day before Christmas, Paul had to work at the mill all day. Elizabeth had just fed Max and gotten him settled down for an afternoon nap when she heard an ominous clap of thunder. A flash of lightning followed, and soon the rain was coming down in torrents. Feeling drowsy herself, Elizabeth decided to take a nap as well.
She awakened several hours later to find the house almost completely dark. "Oh my God, I'd better start dinner before Paul gets home!" she said to herself.
She turned the light switch to the 'on' position to find that the power had been knocked out. "Oh, no!" she groaned. "How will I fix dinner?"
As the time for Paul to arrive home drew closer and the electricity still didn't return, Elizabeth found some leftover roast beef in the refrigerator to make sandwiches with and some potato salad to go with it.
A couple of hours passed and Paul still didn't return home. It got so dark that Elizabeth had to light a candle. Max awakened and cried, and she nursed him by candle light. She was still feeding him when the door opened and Paul came in. Relief flooded through her. "Paul!" she cried joyfully.
"Hi, Lizzie!" He came to her and gave her a hug and kiss, then gently kissed the forehead of their sleeping son. "Sorry I'm so late. My wheels got stuck in the mud, and I had to wait for someone with a chain to come and pull me out. I hope you didn't worry too much."
"That's all right. "You're home now, and that's all that matters. I'm sorry, but dinner is roast beef sandwiches and leftover potato salad. That's all I had. The power's been out since early this afternoon."
Paul chuckled. "That's all right. I'm hungry enough to eat just about anything."
She noticed that he'd brought two packages in with him. "What are those?"
"I thought we'd have a private little celebration of our own before dinner with your folks tomorrow. I'll show it to you later."
Hungrily he wolfed down the sandwiches and potato salad while she returned the baby to his crib. When he was finished, he piled the dirty dishes in the sink and walked over to sit beside her on the sofa, where he handed her the smaller package. Eagerly she ripped into it to find a matching necklace and earrings with her birthstone, the tourmaline, in them. "Thank you!" she exclaimed excitedly, hugging his neck tightly. "Do you want my present for you tonight?"
"Nah, just save it for tomorrow. I'll give you your other present then as well."
"You got me two Christmas presents?" She was stunned.
Paul laughed. "Sure, why not? You're worth it!"
"Oh, Paul..." She felt tears come to her eyes and spill onto her cheeks. Paul tenderly kissed them away.
"Hey, there's still another package to open," he reminded her.
The second package contained a bottle of mulled red wine which Paul said was called 'gluhwein' and a round cheese which he said was called 'raclette'. Elizabeth fetched some bread and crackers from the kitchen and sliced the cheese and poured the wine, and they ate and drank by candlelight. While they were enjoying their snack, the electricity came back on. Paul plugged the Christmas tree's lights into the outlet in the wall, and they burst forth into brilliant color. He began to sing in his rich baritone: "Oh tannenbaum, oh tannenbaum, wie treu sind deine Blatter!"
Elizabeth joined him in English on the next line: "Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, how lovely are your branches!"
They sang several verses of the song, each in their native tongue but together in perfect harmony. The following morning was freezing cold, and Elizabeth had to force herself out of bed and into the nursery, where Max lay wide awake but not crying. "Merry Christmas, Max!" she said as she picked her son up and kissed him. She changed his diaper and then carried him back into the bedroom, where she slipped back underneath the covers with Paul.
"Merry Christmas, little man." Paul kissed the top of Max's head, then his wife's lips.
"It would be so nice just to stay here like this all day long," Elizabeth murmured as she cuddled closer to her husband.
Paul laughed. "I agree, but I'd imagine your family would be disappointed if we didn't come over for dinner."
After awhile Elizabeth made breakfast, and then they got dressed and drove to John and Olivia's. Some of the family members were already there when they arrived. Ginny still wore leg braces, but that didn't seem to hinder her ability to romp and play as before at all. "Hi, Aunt Lizzie and Uncle Paul!" she cried happily when she saw them. She ran to Elizabeth, who held the baby. "Hi, Max!" She held a finger out to him, and he grasped it.
"Hi, sweetheart," Elizabeth said to Ginny as Paul ruffled her hair.
Jim-Bob and Stella arrived next. "He's adorable!" Stella exclaimed. "Can I hold him?"
Elizabeth handed Max to his new aunt. She spoke gently to him, and he cooed back at her. "I can't wait until Jim-Bob and I have one of our own!"
John Curtis came over to say hello. "I can't believe how big you are now!" Elizabeth said to her oldest nephew.
"I lost another tooth." The young boy showed her the gap in his upper gum.
"Great!" Elizabeth replied.
The table was piled high with delicious food, and after everyone had eaten their fill, it was time to exchange presents. Elizabeth received a bottle of her favorite perfume from Paul, and he seemed to really appreciate the light blue wool sweater she'd bought him. Max received many presents from his family members: blankets, booties, hats, toys, and other nice things. Olivia lay him in the middle of her and John's bed, placed all his presents around him, and snapped a photograph of the scene. "I can't wait to see it when it's developed," said Elizabeth.
They didn't leave to return home until it was almost dark. Paul piled all the presents into the back seat, and Elizabeth held her sleeping son as Paul drove back to the house. When they got home, she gently lay him down in the crib and then joined her husband beside the fireplace. Paul put his arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder.
"I'd say Max's first Christmas went really well," she remarked.
"It was wonderful," Paul agreed. "I can't wait to write and tell my family all about it."
Elizabeth reflected that the absence of the Brimmers had been the only sad note to an otherwise perfect day. She thought that perhaps she and Paul could spend Christmas in Germany some day.
