The Christmas Lamp (13 page)

Smiling, Roni turned on her computer. The Christmas spirit was alive and well in Nativity.

Why had she ever doubted?

12

When Jake’s Acura topped the hill overlooking Nativity around dark on Christmas Eve, the sight below caught him by surprise. The town sparkled with Christmas lights — lights that weren’t there two days ago. Nativity had found their Christmas.

Grandma had died sixteen hours earlier. She had drawn her last breath quietly and with dignity, following the pattern of her entire life. He sensed there should be a lesson for him in her years of holiday grief. While he’d been a child concerned only with childish things, she’d been an adult wrestling with life’s disenchantments. Now he was the adult, struggling with daily life.

He and Grandma had spent a day and a half talking.

He knew her and Nativity better now than if he’d spent his entire life growing up in the town. He’d never forget her last words. “I trust you to find the meaning of my Christmas gift to you this year, Jake. It’s the best present I’ve ever given.”

While her words made no sense at the time, he assumed that he would find a wrapped gift awaiting him when he fed Max later.

He slowed for a group of carolers crossing the street in front of the administration office, rolling down his windows for a breath of fresh air. His gaze strayed to the gazebo where Christmas carols blared. Delectable smells of hot chocolate and spiced cider filled the cheerful air. A new, freshly cut cedar stood on the sidewalk, decorated with strings of popcorn and cranberries. Mismatched ornaments — representatives of the lives of Nativity’s families — overflowed the tree. There was no theme or organized decorating scheme. Instead it held sentimental bauble from what he’d guess was almost every family in town. A group stood beside it, each pointing at their own contribution and sharing the story behind their trinket.

Because of the large crowd, Jake was forced to park at the rear of the building. As he climbed from the car, he heard Dusty Bitterman’s voice. “This one was my boy’s. I bought it for him the year he turned two.” Nadine, from the post office, followed. “My granddaughter made me this one when she was in the first grade.”

Instead of switching on lights, Jake followed the faint night-light burning in the mayor’s office. Dropping into his office chair, he leaned back and closed his eyes.

The emotional day had taken its toll. Grandma had everything in order. She would be cremated, and buried in Springfield at Eastlawn Cemetery, next to Grandpa. She requested a short memorial ser vice to be held in her church, and a family-only interment. The day after Christmas he would fulfill her wish. Everything would be taken care of; all Jake had to do now was face life without Grandma’s wisdom and emotional support.

Tipping his head back in the chair, he focused on the Nativity replica. Tiny pieces that represented so many lives — lives whose future he’d been entrusted with.

He felt empty. Like a rudderless ship going through life.

Outside the window, Christmas carols and laughter filled the night. Judy and her husband were strolling hand in hand through the maze of lighting, their faces lit with love. And then the thought hit him. Grandma’s final words made sense.
This
was the gift she’d given him this year. This town, this unquenchable spirit. Nativity with all its blemishes and blessings; the town Grandma knew and loved.

Roni. His eyes searched the gazebo area, but he failed to locate her.

His gaze shifted back to the town model in front of him. Grandma’s Christmas wish. The last gift that he could give her. The last, and like hers, the best. It lay in the model. All he had to do was search for it.

For over an hour he sat in the darkness, staring at the miniature town. Once or twice he moved a piece. On the third attempt, the scene suddenly clicked. Breaking into a grin, he picked up the city limits sign and reached for a piece of paper, then scribbled something.

Taping the sign over the original city limit marker, he eased a long line of tour buses poised to enter the town.

“Checkmate,” Jake said to himself.

Breezing into the hardware store, Roni couldn’t believe what she was about to do. Aaron glanced up, a smug grin crossing his boyish features. “Let me guess.”

“That’s hardly fair,” she accused. “Especially with my DNA smeared all over the front window.”

Walking around the counter, the clerk said. “I have one boxed and set aside with your name on it.”

Roni gasped. “How could you know I’d buy that lamp? A hundred and ninety-nine dollars is a rip-off.”

“Because it’s Christmas, and everyone overspends at Christmas.”

She handed him the money and then walked out of the hardware store, lamp in hand.

She’d done it. It was extravagant, silly, and utterly nonsensical. Anyone who hadn’t seen the movie wouldn’t understand the significance of the leg lamp, but Roni did.

And foolish or not, that lamp now sat in her parlor window. Of course, Mary’s hurricane lamp would have been more apropos, but Christmas was born of the heart, and her heart swelled with cheerfulness when she gazed at the purchase. She’d have to scrimp for the next few weeks to make up the financial expenditure, and even though she most likely wouldn’t have a job by spring, she did not regret her decision. Change and risk were all that life guaranteed, and even that was fleeting. “I did it and I’m glad,” she said aloud as she stepped back to adjust the taupe shade. Supple light spilled from beneath it.

Jake
. She missed him dreadfully. The office had been so quiet. She had tried to reach him all day, but he wasn’t answering his phone. Once, she’d called Mary’s room at St. John’s but there was no answer. Roni figured she was asleep and the nurse or Jake had stepped out, so she only let it ring a couple of times.

She started when she heard a knock on the window.

Bending closer, she peered out and saw Jake, hands stuffed in his coat pockets, staring through the pane.

She waved.

He waved back.

“What are you doing here?” she mouthed.

“Freezing. Open the door,” he mouthed back.

“Oh!” She turned and hurried to the front door and let him into the house. Shrugging out of his coat, he rubbed warmth back into his hands. “I see you finally bought that lamp.”

Color crept to her cheeks. “Yes. I know it’s a foolish purchase … I didn’t know that you knew I was admiring it.”

“Are you kidding? You looked like a little puppy wishing for a bone every time we walked past the hardware store.”

“Oh, yeah. I suppose I was pretty obvious. It’s foolish, isn’t it?”

He caught her hands, his eyes lit with emotion. “No, it isn’t foolish. If it makes you happy, then what’s foolish about it?”

“For one thing, the price. Another, some people have never seen
A Christmas Story
so they won’t identify with the lamp’s significance.”

His gaze locked with hers. “But you do.”

“Of course. And when I have children and grandchildren, we’ll watch
A Christmas Story
together and the lamp will be as meaningful to them as it is to me.”

He sobered, his hand tightening in hers. “Grandma passed early this morning.”

“Oh… Jake, I’m so sorry.” And she had been babbling about a silly lamp. “I tried to reach you several times today.”

“She went quietly. That was her way.”

“Why did you come back here?”

“Because I need you.”

He needed her. Roni’s heart melted. Gathering him into her arms, she held him. They stood for many long moments locked in the embrace until he gently pulled back. “I have something I want to show you.”

“Okay, but first I have something to show you.” She reached for her coat and slipped it on.

“If you’re talking about the town decorations, I’ve seen them.”

She paused. “Are you angry?”

Shaking his head, he smiled. “I’m not angry. If I had done a better job, the town’s spirit would have never been broken.”

“You did your job well. You challenged the town to see what we could do without funds. You helped us discover just how important this season is to our little town. It’s not about what we do, but that we do
something
to celebrate Jesus’ birth.

He ruffled her hair, and then opened the door. “Let’s go see my surprise.”

She trailed him out of the door. Hand in hand they walked by the gazebo. Nativity was a twinkling wonderland. Their gazes traced the laughter coming from the packed gazebo where breathless skaters flew by.

“Are they
roller
skating?” he asked. About that time, Judy went down in a squeal and her husband stumbled and then piled on top of her. Sprawled on the gazebo floor, the couple’s infectious laughter floated over the hillsides.

“I might have to rethink that ice rink,” Jake admitted.

“Why? Roller skating is a lost art. The folks are having a great time, though I’m afraid Dusty might have cracked something. He took a hard fall earlier, but he vowed he was still intact. We can’t get him to go to the hospital and have things checked out. He says to wait until he goes down a second time.” They walked on. This was how life should be. She and Jake, hand in hand, walking through life with all its up and downs, together.

Her heart suddenly accelerated. What would Jake do now that his grandmother was gone? Rejoin the air force?

Follow his true dream to fly? Suddenly the night didn’t seem as mystical, the lights not so bright.

They reached the office, and Jake had the key in his hand.

“The office?”

“I want to show you something.”

Unlocking the door, Jake ushered her inside. Switching on lights, he led the way to his desk. Roni paused.

“What’s going on?”

“Grandma’s — and your Christmas gift.” He pointed to the miniature town he’d built. Everything was in place.

Every tour bus and Christmas-related shop. “This, my lady, is Nativity, Missouri. ‘The Little Town That Celebrates Christmas All Year Round.’ ”

Roni’s hand shot up to cover her mouth as she studied the board. Suddenly everything made sense. Jake’s fascination with the game, the endless hours he’d spent moving pieces around. New shops, outside cafés, and stores brimming with bulbs, lights, tinsel, and Christmas paraphernalia. Switching off the overhead light, he drew her close as they studied the board. Lights twinkled from three decorated shrubs around the gazebo area. There was an ice-skating rink, along with hot chocolate and spiced cider vendors with attendants dressed as elves. There were fudge, caramel corn, and funnel cake shops galore.

“I used to dread coming to this town,” he whispered against her ear. “I thought I had everything I needed or wanted. It took Grandma’s gift this year to show me what was missing in my life.”

“Oh Jake. I’m speechless.” The gift was astonishing.

He’d given Roni back her home, her children’s future. “I don’t know why the town hadn’t thought of this earlier.”

He chuckled. “With the Branson tour buses coming through almost year around, we should be able to sail through, even if things do slow down during the off-season.” He flipped the overhead lights on, and moved to the board. “See, there’s plenty of room to enlarge, maybe add a few children’s rides, like a Candy Cane Express and Snow Cone Mountain. In time we can build new buildings and include a live nativity scene and a Christmas pageant. Jolsen’s fruitcakes and rye bread will be a huge draw, and The Dairy Dream can eventually remodel and become a genuine old-fashioned ice-cream and soda parlor. We’ll add fudge shops that sell peanut brittle and taffy, and Nadine will have to hire extra help at the post office to stamp ‘Nativity’ on all the Christmas cards that will be mailed from here each year. God willing, there are numerous ways to grow. We can put Nativity on the map.” He touched her cheek. “Tradition will live on in our children.”