Christmas Lights Read online

  Within moments of the first chime, the most beautiful woman any of them had ever seen, their mother, opened the door. Each one’s heart leapt and warmed in a unique yet similar way. Silent no more, they squealed with excitement, delight, and love. They each flung themselves at her, hugging her with all their might.

  They were no longer Isabella, Victoria, Alexandra, Cassandra, Adrianna, and Julianna. When they crossed this doorway they became Izzy, Tori, Allie, Cassie, Addie, and Julie.

  They rushed into the house, filling it with life. In a flurry coats and parkas were torn off and hung up. Christmas presents were hurriedly placed under the Christmas tree. Lights were dimmed. Candles were lit in the old Italian-style dining room. The table was already set and dressed with a rich red table cloth and matching napkins. China that once graced their parents’ wedding tables now lay on this table. Julianna placed a large gold bowl with fresh salad greens in the center. Before taking a seat, each daughter deposited her contribution. Izzy tossed in the oranges, Tori the celery, Addie the cranberries, Cassie the almonds. Their mother appeared from the kitchen with warm pecan-crusted salmon and laid it on top. Allie finished it off with the dressing, then gave it a stir. Each took the seat that she had taken since childhood. Each wore a red sweater bought by their mother. Each one’s cheeks were flushed with excitement as she settled into her chair. They watched silently as their mother took her place at the head of the table. They waited expectantly. The mother raised her cup of tea, looked them in the eyes, and softly said “Merry Christmas, my loves.”

  With misty eyes they softly answered, “Merry Christmas, Mom.”

  She cleared her throat. “Let’s begin,” she said, “like we should begin all things—with a prayer.” Lovingly, they joined hands and bowed their heads.

  “Dear Lord,” she began. “Let us first thank you for the gift of your love and the gift of each other. We thank you for returning us all back here safely again this year. We hope that how we have spent this past year pleases you. We’re sorry for the wrongs we have done and we ask for your forgiveness. And we ask you for your continued blessing. Amen.”

  “Amen,” they repeated.

  They giggled as the party began. The mother checked her watch. They all knew why; they had only one hour to themselves. In one hour the rest of the family—the husbands, children, boyfriends, and significant others—would arrive. But the first hour of each Christmas Eve belonged to them. It was sacred.

  The chatting and giggling began slowly then quickened, rolling over them like soothing warm ocean waves.

  The mother sat back in her seat and relaxed. Her daughters followed suit. They waited. She scanned the table.

  Then, beginning a game that she had played with them since childhood, she said, “Hello, Isabella. How are you?”

  Isabella giggled like the little girl that she hadn’t been in years.

  “I’m good, Mom.” She blushed.

  “Tell me something that will make me smile?”

  Izzy giggled again. “Well,” she began, her face coloring a bit. The others’ curiosity was growing because Izzy never blushed. With everyone’s attention focused on her, she began again. But this time when she opened her mouth, no sound came out. So unlike her to be at a loss for words or flustered, the others were busting with the anticipation.

  “I’m waiting, Isabella,” the mother joked. This and the laughter of the sisters broke the tension.

  This time when she spoke, her words came out in a rush.

  “I’ve found someone,” she blurted. A collective gasp filled the room. Eyes were wide. They all knew that Isabella probably had hoped to find someone to share her life with someday. Who didn’t, after all? But time passed and it never happened. Isabella, one of the more private sisters, didn’t wear her heart on her sleeve. They assumed the desire might still be there, but it just was not talked about. Isabella was more of the solver of her younger sisters’ problems than she was the one lamenting her own. She was in her forties now, so they thought maybe that the stage had passed. But sitting there at that table with their mouths hanging open they realized it hadn’t. A few of them stammered bits of questions, not knowing where to begin.

  “Well,” Isabella began, “he’s amazing.”

  “How long have you known him?” a sister asked.

  “Not long,” said Izzy matter-of-factly. “But it’s true what they say,” she gushed. “I knew the moment I saw him that he was the one. Definitely love at first sight.” She was playing with them now. They squealed in excitement. Addie clapped; she always clapped when she was excited.

  “What does he look like?”

  “Yeah, what does he look like?”

  They were starving for the details.

  “Well,” Isabella began, truly enjoying herself now. “He’s got silky black hair and the most amazing eyes.”

  “Is he tall?”

  “No,” Izzy said. “He isn’t, but I’m okay with it. He’s a little pudgy too, but I’m okay with that too.”

  They all nodded supportively. Looks meant nothing. Just when Izzy thought she might be losing their attention, she reached into her purse and said, “I do have a picture.”

  “Oh, Isabella! For goodness sakes,” one of them admonished as the others joined in. “We could have started with the picture!”

  Isabella teased them one last time, gazing lovingly at the photo in her hand.

  “Hand it over,” Cassie ordered. Of course Isabella handed the photo to her mother first. Her mother studied the photo and blinked, tears of understanding pooling in her eyes. She took her daughter’s hand and kissed it. “He’s simply beautiful.”

  A tear fell from Isabella’s eyes. “Thanks, Mommy.”

  “You will be wonderful,” her mother stated. Those words meant the world to Isabella. She nodded, unable to speak.

  The sisters were confused but only momentarily. Complete understanding enveloped them as they viewed the picture of their new nephew, Isabella’s adoptive son.

  “When did you get him?” someone asked incredulously.

  “I just picked him up today,” she joked matter-of-factly. “Right after I picked up the oranges for the salad.” Laughter filled the room.

  “Good girl, Isabella,” the mother said.

  Izzy basked in the praise. “Thanks, Mom.”

  “Congratulations, Izzy,” Victoria said, raising her teacup.

  “To Izzy,” they said together.

  “To Izzy and—” Cassie stopped as he realized they didn’t know the baby’s name.

  “Yeah. Isabella, what’s his name?” they asked.

  Izzy smiled. “It’s Joseph, of course,” she said softly. Joseph was their father’s name. A hint of sadness glimmered in each woman’s eyes. Silence surrounded them for a moment, then their mother broke the silence with a gentle authority that they all recognized. Wallowing in sadness had never been allowed. “It’s unbecoming,” she had always told them.

  She cleared her throat.

  “Speaking of your father,” she began, “he’s doing well, and says hello and Merry Christmas to all of you.” After a pause she added, “And of course he wants you to know that he misses and loves you all very much.”

  They nodded, their heads down. They admired her strength, courage, and faith even if they couldn’t quite relate to it. Secretly they each wondered if one day they might be called to face the same challenge their mother was facing. But as always, their mother was a model for them.

  “Really,” she insisted brightly, her voice light. “He is fine. You can’t be married to a man for fifty years and not know when he’s fine and when he isn’t and what he’s thinking.

  “Actually,” she added, “I made him a quilt this year for Christmas and he loved it. He was using it when I left him today.”

  They nodded again in agreement, admiring her strength.

  “So then,” she began, signaling that they were moving on. She scanned the table. Like little girls, they giggled, squirming in their sea
ts. Before she could choose one of them, Julianna offered herself with a shy wave of her hand.

  “Maybe I should be next,” she said self-consciously.

  They all laughed. Of all the sisters, this game was probably the most difficult for Julianna. Being the youngest, she always felt herself so many steps behind the others. She really wasn’t sure why, but somehow it all seemed to embarrass her.

  To Julianna, her sisters’ lives seemed complete and put together while her own life seemed to be taking forever to get started.

  “Great,” her mother said encouragingly. “Tell me something that will make me smile.”

  The eyes of her big sisters were on her. They were patient and kind eyes, eyes that truly cared. She was everyone’s baby.

  “It’s nothing really,” Julianna began with the genuine embarrassment of a teenager.

  “If it’s something to you, then it’s something to us,” Isabella pointed out. They all nodded in agreement, willing her to go on. No one said a word; each sister was afraid that she might retreat back into a hole like a frightened bunny. They all had had their turn being the awkward teenager, and they knew how hard it was.

  “It’s just …” she began, then suddenly she lost her nerve and bowed her head. They waited.

  “It’s that someone likes me,” she blurted out. Still there was silence. She looked up; they were waiting for more. They didn’t understand. But there wasn’t any more. Julianna sighed, then said it again. “Someone likes me, likes me,” she repeated with the emphasis on “likes” this time.

  All of a sudden a rush of understanding crashed down and a collective “OOOOOOOOOOOOOH” filled the room. They hadn’t meant to do it. It’s just that they were so excited for her. But having meant it or not, they lost her. She was embarrassed beyond repair and was now sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest and her red face buried in her arms. They laughed at her lovingly. She looked so cute to them.

  “Tell us about him?” Alexandra asked.

  She did not answer; instead, they watched as she nodded her head, still in her arms, back and forth. Again they laughed.

  “At least tell us his name,” Isabella said.

  Again a nod and more laughter.

  “Okay, okay,” Victoria said, attempting a compromise. “Just tell us if you like him, like him back.”

  They were silent. This was a good question.

  They waited. For a moment nothing happened. Then slowly Julianna uncurled one arm from around her head, leaving the other to still hide her face.

  They watched with anticipation as she straightened her arm. They collectively held their breath, then broke into cheers of delight as she gave them one thumb up.

  Her mother looked amused. “Good things come to those who pray,” she reminded. “Good girl, Julianna.”

  A muffled “Thanks, Mom” came from beneath the arms. With one more laugh they moved on.

  The mother scanned the table waiting for a volunteer, not expecting the one she got. Victoria put her hand up shyly. It was known that this was not Victoria’s favorite game either. Her straightforward doctor’s personality made it easy for her to talk about the “facts” of things, but the “feelings” of things were not quite as easy to talk about.

  “Well, this is a surprise.” The mother laughed, raising a playful eyebrow that made the others laugh too.

  Victoria could feel her cheeks color. Her sisters looked at their mother. The mother faced Victoria. “Hello, Victoria,” she said. The girls giggled. “Tell me something that will make me smile.”

  “Okay.” She laughed, butterflies dancing in her stomach. She might as well get it over with. There never was and never would be hiding anything from her sisters or mother. She swallowed and decided just to jump in and say it. And if she wasn’t so sure about what she had felt that afternoon, she would never tell them, but she was sure. She always wondered what all the fuss about love was. Now she knew.

  “I think maybe I might have found someone too,” she managed.

  There was a collective cheer amid the clapping. Of all of them, no one tried less to attract a man than Tori did. It was actually one of their jokes. They would say, “If Tori were to end up married, a man would have to drop down at her feet in the middle of a church already dressed in a tuxedo with a ring in his hand.” Little did they know that he arrived dressed in scrubs next to her balcony with Baby Jesus in his hand.

  “Since earlier today?” her mother asked jokingly.

  “You told me to try,” Tori responded weakly in her own defense.

  This amused her mother, who chuckled heartily.

  “I knew it would happen to you!” Cassie insisted gleefully. “No matter how hard you tried to avoid it!”

  “Wait,” Isabella said, silencing the playful racket. “He is over twenty-six inches tall, isn’t he?” They roared with laughter.

  Victoria nodded, laughingly assuring them that he indeed was.

  “When did you meet?” Cassandra asked.

  “Today.” She shrugged. This caused laughter.

  “Where?”

  “My balcony.” This caused more laughter.

  “You found him on your balcony?” They were howling now. She nodded again.

  “Too bad you don’t have a picture,” someone said. The look on Victoria’s face gave her away. Truly a cat that swallowed the canary.

  “Hand it over!” Izzy ordered.

  Without much of a protest, she reached into her purse for her camera phone.

  “Your camera phone, Tori! How tacky!” one sister joked.

  “How clever,” their mother corrected with a wink. Tori clicked the buttons to make the picture she had sneakily taken earlier appear, then handed it to them.

  She watched their faces as they passed it around the table. They cooed in approval.

  “Leave it to you!” Izzy muttered in mock disgust. “To end up with that without even trying!”

  “He is gorgeous,” Allie remarked.

  Automatically Tori thanked them, then became self-conscious that she assumed he was hers, but her heart told her that he was.

  “Hey,” Adrianna said, taking one last look at the photo before handing the phone back. “The nativity scene Mom bought you is in the background.”

  Their mother smiled in approval. “Good girl, Victoria.”

  Those words always felt so good.

  “Thanks, Mom,” she said, allowing her mind to drift back to the afternoon.

  The mother raised her eyebrows jokingly. “Any volunteers?” For a moment nothing, then Allie raised a hand.

  “Me,” she squeaked.

  “Hello, Alexandra,” the mother said.

  “Hi, Mom,” she answered lovingly.

  “Tell me something that will make me smile.”

  Allie nodded. “I think—” she began, then she corrected herself. “I know I’m going to be okay.” It felt good to say it out loud; saying it somehow made it more real. But it was a bold thing for her to say.

  Her mother nodded, as did all of her sisters.

  No one asked why, even though they wanted to know where she had found her faith. They gave her time. Allie looked down at her hands and collected herself before she began again. She knew they were wondering.

  “Did you hear from your doctor?” Victoria managed timidly. Allie shook her head no, then gathered the courage to begin again. She decided that blurting it out would be best.

  “I heard from Grandma,” she explained, making cautious eye contact with her family.

  There was a collective pause, then smiles crossed each face and they laughed gently.

  Allie shrugged. “Grandma won a trip to Aruba,” she finally confessed. The gentle laughter turned into a roar.

  That was all any of them needed. They looked at their sister with loving eyes. To them she was heroic. Her battle with breast cancer had been devastating. They had prayed her well.

  “We all know you are going to be just fine,” the mother said firmly.

&nbs
p; “You will,” each of them repeated.

  Feeling the warmth of their love, Allie could only nod back.

  The mother started to go on, then, suddenly remembering, Allie jumped in. “Wait,” she said. “I bought a wreath for each of you from some kid in the neighborhood. They’re in my car.”

  “Great,” they all said.

  “Good girl, Alexandra,” said the mother.

  “Thanks, Mom,” she answered.

  They waited to see who would be chosen next. They were down to the last two sisters.

  “How about you, Adrianna?” the mother asked. “How are you?”

  “Fine, Mom.” Addie blushed.

  Her mother winked playfully at her. “Tell me something that will make me smile.”

  “Okay,” Adrianna began, not really sure herself where she was going with this or how she was going to explain it. The mother and sisters waited patiently. Sometimes it took Addie time to organize her thoughts. Addie was the shy sister, the traditional one, much more conservative than any of the others. She lacked the spunk that the others had but had a beautiful softness about her that maybe they lacked. Addie was a peacemaker—possibly to a fault. Because of their great love for her, Addie was the cause of some worry for her sisters. Some people just seemed too sweet for this world. But Addie always assured them that she was happy being herself and the world would not swallow her whole.

  “Softer, not weaker,” her mother reminded her sisters when they voiced their concern. Their mother often shared private winks with Addie. And in those winks was the message of unconditional love from mother to daughter, a message that said “You are beautiful just the way you are.” But in more private moments, the mother would assure her, “If you choose to stand up for yourself, that would be okay too.” A memory they all shared was one of Addie in first grade.

  Every day of first grade the mother packed Addie’s lunch with a chocolate cupcake. And every day Karen Kyler, her unkind classmate, would demand the cupcake, and Addie would hand it over. And every night the mother would discuss the situation with Addie at the kitchen table, holding her tiny hands in hers. They spoke in whispers. From the youngest ages the mother spoke to them as adults, took their problems seriously. Night after night they sat together. Addie would explain that Karen had taken the cupcake. Each night the mother would ask her what she thought they should do to solve the problem, and each night sitting there in her cloud pajamas with her bare feet hanging from the chair, Addie would shrug her shoulders and say that she didn’t know. The mother would kiss her on the forehead and send her to bed. The other sisters certainly had their opinions—everything from smashing the cupcake into nasty Karen’s face to punching her squarely in the nose. But one night from the warmth and safety of her loving home Addie said she thought she had figured it out. Her mother sat down next to her, giving her daughter not only her complete attention but her complete respect.