literature

Merry Christmas, Tammy - II

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The aroma coming from the kitchen announced that Christmas eve had finally arrived.  The women were busy in the kitchen preparing for the night’s feast, while the men had all gone out to get tables, chairs and other supplies from the stores.  Tammy sneaked into the kitchen, squeezed in between two aunts and took a look at the turkey slowly baking in the oven.  The delicious aroma was making her mouth water.  It sizzled in its pan, and she could even see the meat sweating its juices.  It had been baking all day, Mama Lola taking it out occasionally to bathe it in sauce.
“Tammy!  Out of the kitchen!”  Mama Lola shoed her away while carrying a very heavy pot of rice.  As soon as Papi came they would all go home to change.  But at the moment Tammy was very bored.  Her cousins were upstairs playing with the video games, but Tammy had lost her turn; she didn’t like the game anyway.  So she had gone to look through Mama Lola’s collection of fairy-tale books, all of which Tammy had already read.
She sighed.  She decided to go to the balcony and see if she could see the setting of the sun on the roof.  The cat was lounging there, catching the last dying rays, but when he saw Tammy, he left in a flash of fur.  Tammy had never understood why the cat, always friendly in the house, seemed to turn wild outside.  But before she could get comfortable she saw Papi’s car arrive.  Out jumped Carlitos, followed by Uncle Paco and Papi.  They were bringing in the chairs.  Tammy could hardly wait.
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Tammy took a last look at herself in the mirror.  She liked the outfit Papi had gotten for her.  It was a white, long sleeved, cozy shirt and a red overall that still had the lingering smell of a snowy winter like Papi.  She had to admit that the white stockings with flowers did look pretty, but she hated wearing them.  Oh, well, she could put up with them for the night.  She wasn’t so sure about her new black shoes; she was even less sure about the red bow tying her hair.  Mami had tied it so tight that her scalp was itching madly.  She would have to put up with it until she could ask Aunt Ana to loosen it up for her.
“Tammy!  Are you ready?!”
“Yes, Mami!  I’m coming!”  The highly polished black shoes clicked on the stairs, and Tammy thought that she liked them better now.


“Oh!  You look so pretty!”
“Oh, yes.  She looks like a doll”
“I love her hair, it’s so long!”
“Yes, she has her Mother’s black hair.  But she has her Daddy’s eyes, doesn’t she?”
“My, but you’ve grown so much!”
Every aunt, uncle, and cousin was at Mama Lola’s now, including people she didn’t even know were family.  The fact that her cousins had to go through the same thing made her feel better, but she would really like it if people stopped pinching her cheeks.
Finally she was let go, and she was free to make it past the living room and go upstairs, where all the young ones had taken refuge from the adult’s attention.
“Doesn’t Aunt Mirna’s breath stink?”
“Yeah, it does.  It smells like rotten fruit”
Tammy had to laugh, even though it wasn’t very kind.  But her cousins didn’t seem to care, so she didn’t either.
“So what will the Godchild bring you for Christmas?”
“I asked for a truck”
“I want a new doll.  The one that laughs when you poke her tummy”
“That one is expensive, though”
“But it’s Santa Claus, he can afford it”
“No, he can’t.  Papi said that Santa Claus couldn’t bring us expensive presents because he didn’t have the money”
From Santa Claus the conversation rolled to dinner and then to fireworks.
“I have mine here,” said Tammy.  She showed them the small plastic bag Mami had given her before leaving the house.  It only had five packets of stars, and only two volcanoes, but Tammy knew she could get more from Papa Lalo.
“I got these,” said her cousin Luis, and pulled from his bag three firecrackers as thick as his thumb.  Luis was already eleven, and he was allowed to play with firecrackers.  “And anyway, stars are for little kids.  I’m a big kid.”
It was soon time to go play with the fireworks.  Tammy played with her cousin Miriam.  They lighted their stars and put the sticks together to make the lights brighter.  They also used them to light dry leaves and the pieces of paper from the used firecrackers.  The celebration was in full swing.  There were pops and booms coming from every direction.  She could hear machine guns in the distance (she didn’t like machine guns because they were too loud, but they always left so much paper behind for her to burn that she didn’t complain to much about these) and sparks were visible all over the place.  The air was thick with the smell of powder.
“Okay!  Dinner time!”  Mama Lola announced.  Everybody headed to the dinning room.  The big table was exquisitely decorated with flowers and candles in the center.  Mama Lola had taken out her good china, her fine silver, and her most expensive glasses just for tonight.  Of course, this was just for the adults.  Tammy, Carlitos, and her ten cousins would sit on cushions on the floor around a short table, and eat with plastic forks and knives, use paper plates and drink out of styrofoam cups.  
The children didn’t care what they ate off.  Their paper plates were full of turkey, rice and salad.  A basket with big loaves of bread was put on their table, and everyone ate fit to burst.  Cousin Ricardo was chewing with his mouth open and Cousin Patricia told him to close it.  Cousin Mateo said she was a busybody, and Cousin Alicia elbowed him for it.  But she hit him when he had a mouth full, and half-chewed turkey fell on his plate.  The children burst into cries of disgust from some and cheers from others, and all had a good time.
With dinner over, Tammy wanted some coke with eggnog.  It was her favorite.  She wasn’t usually allowed to drink alcohol, but for the holidays the adults allowed the children a bit of alcoholic eggnog in a glass with coke for the children.  Tammy took a sip, and felt the bubbles tickle her tongue.  And at the very back of her throat, faint like a memory, she felt the icy freshness from the alcohol.  She thought that alcohol was funny because it made your throat feel cold but your chest feel warm.  No wonder people liked alcohol so much.
With everybody’s stomach full, they all gathered around Mama Lola and Papa Lalo for the Christmas story and blessing.  Tammy read the passage where the Godchild is born, and Papa Lalo lead the prayers.  Mama Lola then brought out presents for everybody.
“Oh!” cried Alicia.  “I got a tea set!”
“I got cars!” cried Carlitos.  Tammy didn’t open her present; she wanted to add it to the lot Santa Claus and the Godchild would get her.  So instead she went outside to play some more with the fireworks.  But the food and games were taking a toll, and soon little Tammy was hardly able to stay awake.  She looked at the clock.  It was barely ten.  There were still two whole hours till midnight, and she didn’t think she could handle it.  So, she went to one of the rooms and laid down on the bed.  The dog of the house, who had been hiding under the table when the fireworks had begun, crawled into bed with her, and the two were soon asleep.
*************************************************

“MERRY CHRISTMAS!”
“MERRY CHRISTMAS!”
Despite the constant noise of the fireworks and firecrackers, Tammy had been able to fall deeply asleep.  But not even the dead could sleep through the booming racket that ensued at 12 o’clock sharp.  Tammy went outside to find a mass of people hugging and wishing each other a very merry Christmas.  Tammy was soon engulfed in the merry confusion of laughter, kisses and hugs.  But everyone stopped the moment Papa Lalo stepped into the room.  In his hands he was lovingly cradling the newly born baby Jesus.  Everyone made way for him, until he reached the nativity set.  There, in a silence only interrupted by the firecrackers from the street, Papa Lalo put the baby in his craddle, completing the scene.  The next explosion dwarfed all the others from outside as cousins, aunts, uncles, and neighbors cheered at the birth of the baby.
***********************************************

“Papi, why don’t you put the latch on the door?”  Tammy had noticed that, even though Papi had double-locked the door, he hadn’t put the latch on.
“Well,” he said.  “If I put the latch on then Santa Claus can’t come in.  You see, he has a key for every house, so I leave the door unlatched so Santa Claus can open the door.”
“Oh, so that’s how he can come in.”
“Yes.  Now go to bed, okay?  Santa Claus won’t show up until you guys are asleep.”
Tammy was only too happy to comply.  She was so tired she could hardly keep her eyes open long enough to put her pajamas on and brush her teeth.  She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Sometime in what was left of the night, presents were placed lovingly at the foot of each child’s bed.  Tammy would later wonder if she had been especially good that year because she would find more presents than she had asked for.  But that wouldn’t happen until the sun was well up in the sky.  For now, she was happy just sleeping and reliving the beautiful party.  In her dreams she thought she could feel a kiss, and a soft voice that spoke to her.  
“Merry Christmas, Tammy.”
Part two of two
Christmas finally arrives, and Tammy is anctious for the big family party.
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Yes, I know that Christmas is long gone, but I went on a trip for Christmas and left this story behind :(

So, take this as an extension of the Christmas season.

This is part one [link]
Merry belated Christmas!
© 2004 - 2024 yaotl
Comments1
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kittycat-cy's avatar
:aww: Thats a very sweet christmas story... Sorry it took me so long to comment on it but it has been sitting in my devwatch list and I wanted to have the time to read it through... it was a lovely warm read that shows what families should be about... I really really enjoyed it :hug: I hope I see more of your work :D