It was well past dark when Jason finally reached town. The candle in the window was still lit, but the house was quiet. He opened the door and went inside. "Sorry I'm so late. I took longer than I expected."
His father was sitting in his chair, reading, the lamp turned low. The boys were nowhere to be seen, which would mean they were in bed. He glanced that way, and saw the blankets moving. "I was beginning to think you'd decided to stay the night there. So were the boys."
"No, I just took too long. So they're in bed, are they?" Not asleep, but in bed and not fighting one another.
Da smiled. "Yes, they've gone to bed, after spending the evening whispering and sneaking looks at me. Tis a great mystery, it is. And they think that I have been fooled into thinking they are sleeping."
"You mean they aren't?" Jason asked ironically. He hung up his coat.
"In the self-same bed, if you can believe it."
"Maybe they're following the example of the town kids. Being good for Christmas."
"For Christmas presents, morelike," Da agreed, his eyes twinkling. "You would think they'd know better than that. Know me better than that."
"You'd think," Jason agreed, pouring himself the last coffee of the night.
Da closed his book. "I think, now that you are home, I will go out for a bit. Since the boys are asleep, they'll not be bothering you and you can get good and warm again before going to bed yourself."
"How thoughtful of you," Jason said agreeably. He put a pan of water on the stove to heat for tea, in case he wanted any, after his coffee was gone.
Da laughed and went out.
Jason warmed up, washed up, warmed up again, and made himself a sandwich before wandering into the corner of the room where the beds were and sitting down.
"Alright, you scoundrels, what are you up to?"
Jeremy giggled, and Joshua pretended he'd been asleep, yawning and stretching. "Oh, it's you."
"Not gonna work," Jason told him.
Josh shrugged. "It was worth a try."
"So what are you up to?" Jason repeated, taking a bite of his sandwich.
The boys looked at one another for a long time.
Jason didn't mind. It gave him time to eat. Besides, his brothers amused him, especially when he was in a good mood.
"Go ahead," Josh finally said.
"We wanna do s-something for D-Da. For C-Christmas. But we can't exactly what."
"Are you?" Josh challenged.
"Like what?" Jason finished his sandwich and was looking at his fingers.
"First we thought of buying something, but thats probably silly."
"Da'd probably think so, although I think he'd be pleased. He knows how hard you worked for your money." Jason saw no crumbs, so he folded his hands together and turned his attention to the boys. "So, not buying anything? What's left?"
"M-making s-somethin'. Only what?"
"Some kind of shelf or bed table might be nice." He was rather impressed with their generosity of spirit.
"And something he could use. For a little while." Josh nodded.
"I th-thought m-maybe draw a pi'ture."
"Or write a story."
"Neither of those is a bad idea. Why'd you decide against those?"
They looked at one another again.
"We thought we could sing a song. Da likes singing."
"Specia'ly in d-diff'rent voices."
Well, that was true. Da enjoyed harmonies, although Jason had never quite mastered the art. These two, however… "And?"
"We don't know what to sing."
"Or how."
"I see." No, he didn't see. These two had been singing harmonies in church almost since they could talk.
"We singed all sortsa stuff tonight to see what he liked special, but he just liked everything the same."
"I see." Jason got up and made himself a cup of tea. He looked at the boys, asking in they wanted any, but they both shook their heads. He wondered how long it would be before Jeremy was in his lap, stealing sips.
"If you can help us think of something, it can be your present, too," Josh informed him as he reseated himself on the bed.
"Thank you. Maybe I could even hum or blow a whistle or something."
The boys laughed.
"It could be from all three of us together, like always," Jeremy added, squirming closer to Jason.
Jason laughed. "Offer accepted. Now, what songs did you try tonight?"
The boys answered eagerly and in great detail. As they talked, they moved around in the bed, changing position.
Jason glanced at the clock. It took twenty minutes. That was probably a longevity record.
They finally stopped talking, and Josh asked anxiously,"Do you think you can help?"
"Soon. So we c-can p-practice."
"I can come up with some ideas. I'm pretty good with ideas."
Josh laughed and Jeremy asked "When?"
"Hmm, let me think." Jason took his now-empty cup from Jeremy and set it aside. He was thinking already, something talked about recently, some talk between him and Da, about Mom's singing. Mom's songs. Sung by the babies she had taught, with all the love.
Yeah, Da would like that.
He should probably have a couple other suggestions as well. Boys they were, but they'd argue over every suggestion. Josh wouldn't like one and Jeremy wouldn't like the other.
"Tomorrow night," he answered decisively. "Will that do?"
They looked at one another again, then Josh said, "That's a deal!"
Jason smiled, and put out his hand. "Shall we shake on it?"
Both brothers grabbed his hand at the same time, and they laughed when he squeezed both their hands.
Josh laughed. "Who ever heard of a three hand shake?"
"I like it," Jeremy said.
"So do I," Jason agreed. "It means we agree."
"All three," Josh and Jeremy said together, and they all had another laugh.
"Now, go to sleep. For real."
"You ain't our boss yet."
"Oh yes I am. There's nobody else here.'
"He is at work."
"We're not at work, dummy."
"You should probably lay down atween us."
"You're both growing so much, I'm not sure I'll fit."
"We can make it work. You needta warm up anyway."
"So I do."
When their father returned and turned out the lamp Jason had left burning, he had to smile at the tangle of boys and blankets in the single bed. It was a nice sight to close his eyes on as he lay awake in his own bed.