"You're gonna meet our other cousins today, Amon." Laura spoke and signed at the same time, and the little boy grinned. "You'll like them. They're nice."

It was Christmas day, and the Brimmers were going to Laura's grandparents' for dinner. As soon as everyone was ready, they piled into the car and Paul drove to his in-laws' house.

They arrived to find several of their relatives already there. Right away, Max went to join Clay and Roy, who were shooting at cans with BB guns. Laura saw Vivian, Rosemary and Katie taking turns playing with a hula hoop. Katie saw Laura coming and called to her.

"Hey, Laura!"

"Hey," Laura replied. "Can I have a turn?"

"Who's that?" Vivian was looking at Amon, who was hiding behind Elizabeth's skirt.

"That's our cousin Amon," Laura told her. "He's our cousin on our Dad's side. He lives with us now 'cause his parents are dead. He's deaf."

"Oh, the poor little thing!" cried Rosemary. "How old is he?"

"Five," Laura told her. "We'll have to find a special school for him next year."

"That's sad!" Katie put in.

"Y'all better come on in," hollered Laura's Uncle Ben. "We're fixin' to eat."

At the dinner table, the main topic of discussion was the new President elect, John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

"I heard he's Catholic," said Laura's Aunt Cindy. "We've never had a Catholic President before."

"And he's awfully young too, only forty-three," Uncle Jason put in.

"I'm sure he'll do a good job," said Aunt Toni.

"I hope he kicks the Russians' butt!" said Clay.

"Then we won't have to have duck and cover drills in school anymore," Katie echoed.

After the meal, it was time to open presents. Laura received many nice gifts, including two necklaces, three bracelets, four Nancy Drew novels, and a 'Chipmunks' album. Later, the family gathered around the piano to sing Christmas carols. Everyone joined in except Amon, who continued to play with his new toys, oblivious to everything else. Laura watched him for awhile.

"It's really sad that Amon can't join in," she remarked.

"Hey, maybe we could sing 'Silent Night' and sign along with it," Max suggested.

"What a great idea!" Elizabeth enthused, proud that her children had grown up to be such compassionate people.

She got Amon's attention, and then she, Paul, Max, and Laura sang and signed the first two verses of 'Silent Night' while Amon looked on in rapt attention. Soon Laura's aunts, uncles, and cousins caught on to the hand motions, and they sang the entire song all the way through several times while Amon just sat on the floor, beaming.


Later that evening, Laura called her friend Annie.

"Did you have a good day?" she asked.

"Yeah," Annie replied. "I got lots of neat stuff, and Jackie and Martha came over with their parents. I wish Jackie lived closer so I could see her more often. Martha's a little older now and not quite as big a pain in the butt, but almost as bad. It was Merry's birthday, so we had a white cake for her with just one candle. She got frosting smeared all over her face." Both girls giggled. "How did your day go?"

"It was really nice," Laura replied. "I got lots of great presents, and we all sang and signed 'Silent Night' to Amon."

"I can't even imagine what it would be like to be deaf," said Annie. "Was he born that way?"

"No. He got the measles a year or two ago."

"That's really sad."

"Yeah." The two girls talked for a few minutes more, and then it was time for Laura to take her shower, so she said goodbye.