Another Christmas Story It’s a scene seared at the base of his memory bank. Mom on her bed. Hunched over. Struggling to figure out where she’d get some money to take care of her kids. From a young age, that image always tore at Evan’s soul. But this time... that particular moment ... stays with him. It’s Christmas Eve. And Mom couldn’t afford to buy a single gift. Or a tree. Or food. There she was. On her bed in a position he’d seen too many times. Able to see but unable to say Evan knew how she felt. He only knew it wasn’t good. The boy came up with an idea! He gathered his siblings and told them we need to give Mommy her gifts now. Evan didn’t tell them why and didn’t need to. They trusted their brother. So, the kids gathered Mom’s gifts. Small trinkets and perfumes bought from the corner pharmacy with the four or five dollars they’d each stashed. Hidden treasures in hand, the brood stampeded into Mom’s bedroom. All smiles. Surrounding her. And gave Mom her Christmas gifts ... and ... Mom cried. That stunned Evan and perplexed his sibs. He thought the gifts would make Mom happy. They spent a few moments consoling Mom. Mom finally smiled. Wiped away the tears. Today, as a grown man with kids, Evan knew now that was a show. A performance was for the kids. It’s what Moms do, right? The day dragged into evening. He watched television and read comic books. Truth was nothing about the lack of Christmas weighed on him. No despair about no twinkling lights on a tree or brightly colored boxes with ribbons. None of that troubled Evan. What bothered him was Mom being bothered. He didn’t have a firm grasp of the sense of disappointment and failure weighing on his mother. But he empathized with Mom nonetheless. And not being able to do anything about it disturbed the boy. Mom left suddenly. Didn’t say anything. To him, anyway. She probably said something to her oldest child. Cheryl was only 11 and already the babysitter. No one asked where Mom was going. They just saw her in that ratty coat going up the hall and out the door. Oddly, Evan was a little relieved. Seeing Mom have something to do put his mind at ease a bit. He appreciated the idea her worries could be put aside even if fleetingly. Mom was gone for a long time. Only, like any child, he really had no concept of time’s flow. All he knew was the world got dark. At some point, the front door opened. From where he sat in Mom’s room (the only television was in her bedroom), Evan saw her. Somberly, Mom walked in carrying several bags. The sight didn’t catch him off guard but what Evan saw next did. Mom stepped aside and there was the top of a tree being brought through the door horizontally. He stood up. Watched as Mom’s on-and-off boyfriend shoved the big tree through the doorway and up the hall. He thought WTF. He hadn’t seen the man in who knew how long. It could’ve been months. Or a year. But holy crap there he was... Mom went back out to the hall as Morgan headed for the living room with the tree. Hearing the ruckus, Evan’s two siblings came a-running. He stayed in place, watching Mom bring in more bags. He said nothing as his siblings oohed at the tree, following it while greeting the man lunging it. Suddenly, Evan was moving. He ran to his mother. She was locking the door. Evan studied the bags at his feet. There were groceries in some. But what snagged his eye was toys in the others. He helped Mom take everything into the kitchen. They set up the tree while Mom went to work cooking. Though it was Christmas Eve, gifts had already been handed out. Well, gift. Each child had one. Fresh from store shelves, none wrapped and no one cared. They sang and played while Morgan sat on the couch. The family partook of a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner. Or rather, that’s how he remembers it. Truth was, years later, he wouldn’t remember anything on the menu or even if the food was good. He just remembered everyone cramped around the small dining room table in the kitchen embracing every taste on their plate. But Evan never forgot: his mother smiling. And despite the turnaround in the home, despite having Christmas resurrected, despite having a brand-new space astronaut toy, in Evan’s seven-year-old mind, the only thing that mattered was that smile, the muted joy in Mom’s eyes. Yes, he still — and always — saw how heavy was the weight she carried. Even amid the celebration, he saw it as she laughed. At that tender age, Evan understood. And over the years, he understood it better and better as he grew older, started his own family and had his own kids. And, no matter what, he remembers that Christmas like no other. Dancing around the living room with his new toy. Hearing his mother laugh. Today, being a grandfather, Evan had a deep sense of the poignancy of Mom's actions and feelins. That’s turned into a deep appreciation for all she did. Not a day goes by that he doesn’t see a reminder that in the worst of times Mom always got them through. Word Count: 1131 Hours Spent: 3 Software Used: Daz Studio 4, Photoshop https://www.renderosity.com/contests/entries/43916 #SeasonOfWonder #RenderosityContest