Page 83 of The Forever Christmas Tree

“I thought he was dead.”

“You have a really nice voice, JAM.”

“Six years in the St. Vincent’s Boys’ Choir.”

“No shit!” K-4 responded. “I was in a choir for a month one time, but I got kicked out for yelling ‘Who farted?’ in the middle of the Kyries. Which was really unfair because everyone knew that Billy Madison had gas like rotten eggs every Sunday morning.”

“Girls never fart, you know,” Geek remarked as if this was a subject appropriate for a Christmas caroling scenario. “That’s what my older brother Sam told me one time. When I repeated that to my buddies in third grade they laughed me out of their club . . . the cool guys’ club.”

Aunt Mildred made a tsk-ing sound at the subject matter, but then she leaned closer to Wendy and said, “Remember how Grandma Patterson ‘tooted’ every time she bent over to tend the roses in the garden?”

Wendy had totally forgotten that, but she recalled now how embarrassed she’d been, especially when Laura had witnessed the “event” one time. She exchanged a glance with Diane, who winked at her, knowing that Wendy’s initial nickname in WEALS had been Windy because she’d accidentally “perked” when doing duck squats. Thank goodness, the vulgar nickname was long gone in favor of Flipper.

Raul was talking then about holiday traditions in Spain, and Claudette described festivities in the Big Easy, many of them involving one-hundred-proof bourbon. The guys were now discussing among themselves a bar they’d heard about that featured a local drink called an OBX Bomb, “guaranteed to blow your head off.” Diane had stopped to talk to Monique who stood in front of her boutique. All this was between carols and bell ringing as they walked.

Wendy tuned out their conversations and scanned the area. She assumed that Ethan and his grandmother were here, along with Cassie, but she couldn’t see them through the crowd. She hadn’t heard from Ethan today, but then she hadn’t expected to. When he’d brought her home before dawn this morning, Wendy told him that she had a gift she wanted to give to Cassie. It was just a pretty blue sweater sprinkled with silver snowflakes that she’d seen in a store on the square, nothing expensive. He’d promised to bring Cassie to the open house tomorrow.

That was the only promise mentioned between them.

After they got home about nine, the seniors agreed to open the gifts from Wendy and her friends. They didn’t want to do the mutual exchange among themselves since Gloria was asleep already. She could open the gifts from them in the morning.

Elmer was pleased with three red, white, and blue dog leashes, a new copper-coated pan, a pair of spiffy purple suspenders, a Navy SEALs sweatshirt, and a book titled How to Cook Bear (And Other Wild Game).

Raul loved The History of Spanish Music, a set of taps that could be applied to any size shoe, an external flash drive for his laptop on which he was writing a book, a Navy SEALs sweatshirt, and a framed print of the saying, “Dance Is the Hidden Language of the Soul.”

Claudette was surprised and gracious in accepting her gifts. Did she think they would leave her out just because she was so quiet? She got a pretty amber pendant on a silver chain, a book of piano music featuring Louisiana jazz favorites, Jessica McClintock perfume, a colorful silk scarf, and a U.S. Navy WEALS sweatshirt.

Harry had been harder to buy for, but he laughed at a Donald Trump The Art of the Deal book and got misty-eyed over a picture in a silver frame of himself with his late wife, Julia, on a cruise ship, the year before she’d died. Harry also got a box of cigars, his guilty pleasure, a newly invented kind of cane that helped a wheelchair-bound person transfer to bed or a chair, and a Navy SEALs sweatshirt.

Wendy hoped that Aunt Mildred would understand the significance of the red coat she unwrapped. She was like a mother to her, and Wendy hadn’t told her that enough over the years, nor shown her with her continuing absence. Her aunt gasped, then hugged Wendy tightly. Her other gifts were a set of Victoria’s Secret hand creams, a pretty nightgown (not sexy sheer, but not grandmotherly either), a flamboyant Samba dress, and a U.S. Navy WEALS sweatshirt.

It was ten thirty by then and time to get dressed for church. By mutual agreement, Wendy and her friends wore dress blues for Midnight Mass at Our Lady by the Sea. It seemed appropriate as a sign of respect. Aunt Mildred, Raul, and Claudette went with them.

When they got to the church, an usher showed them to a pew near the front. The church soon became standing room only. Non-Catholics attended this service, in an ecumenical fashion, and just as many Catholics went to the St. Andrew’s service on Christmas Day. The bell choirs and the choral groups were as much of an attraction as the rituals themselves.

JAM left their pew and went up onto the altar and then into the sacristy. Wendy exchanged questioning glances with the others. She’d known that he was asked to do some kind of deacon duties, but she wasn’t sure what they would be.

Soon the church bells rang and Father Brad, in his white vestments bordered with bands of gold to mark the sacred holiday, led a procession down the center aisle of the church. He was followed by a half-dozen acolytes, boys and girls both, with JAM bringing up the rear with a plain white robe over his uniform, tied with a ropelike belt. The choir sang “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” until the group walked up the steps to sit on the altar.

JAM stepped forward then, stood before the microphone, and into the silence said, “This is the day the Lord has made.” He smiled then, stretched out his arms, and added, “Let us rejoice.” He said it in such a way that it sounded like he was inviting everyone to feast.

At midnight, an altar boy and an altar girl carried a statue of Baby Jesus and placed him in the manger of the Nativity scene at the foot of the altar. They did it with such solemnity that everyone smiled.

The bell choir, accompanied by the singers, put on a spectacular performance. It was truly inspirational.

At the end of the Mass, Father Brad said in a jubilant voice, “May the peace of the Lord be with you now, and always.”

The congregation replied, “And also with you!”

And, of course, there were more bells ringing.

There was a sense of peace as they left the church, more so than usual, it seemed. Like often happened when they were in uniform, Wendy and her friends were stopped repeatedly by people saying, “Thank you for your service.” Which was also nice.

Aunt Mildred, Claudette, and Raul drove home, but the rest of them walked. Several inches of snow had fallen, and it was pleasant to breathe in the crisp air of the silent night.

K-4 took her hand and said, “Thank you for having us here, Wendy. It really was what I needed . . . a peaceful place to rejuvenate.”

He was referring to how depressed they’d been after Flash’s funeral.