It had been two years since the incident.
Charmaine and Garett planned a Christmas
wedding. Unfortunately, the economy grew
menacing and there was a draft. Garrett was
sent off to war and did not make it home.
Charmaine got out of bed, looking at herself in the
mirror. “Push all of the feelings away just for today,”
she told herself. A year ago today, on Christmas Eve
she received the dreadful message. The word that
her fiancé was not coming back. Garrett's unit had
been attacked, ambushed and bombed. There
were no remains left to be found. Charmaine could
never forget when she saw the men in the dress blues.
She could never forget that sick feeling as they
approached the small cottage in Alaska.
Charmaine got dressed for Christmas Eve dinner.
She faked a smile as she curled the last strand
of her red hair. She had been living her dream
in Washington State. Last year after Christmas,
she did not return to the States. She abandoned
her dream apartment, career and all her belongings.
After Garrett, she stayed home in Alaska, with her parents.
Her parents had a small cottage in Alaska. It was in the
middle of no-where and no neighbors for miles. This
cottage was special as it had a magical feeling. It was like
it was in Narnia. The cottage was engulfed by large
Christmas pines. A cold, quiet creek wrapped around the
back of the cottage like a snake.
As Charmaine opened the bedroom door, her
nose was overwhelmed with sweet aromas.
It was no longer silent as her little sister sang
Jingle Bells, Ma cooking, and Pa and Uncle
Lian politely arguing. They always had a
disagreement on who was the better football
team in Alaska. As Charmaine went downstairs, she adjusted her
oversized bright red sweatshirt. It practically
swallowed her tiny body. She again forced
a smile and abolished any pain.
Her grandmother was in the living room. Nana
loved sitting in the rocking chair when she
came to visit. She would sit by the fire for hours
knitting. She was a peaceful and quiet woman.
Though she was a widow, she was a kind and gentle soul.
Charmaine was instantly greeted by Dexter. Dexter
was the adored family dog. He was her dog from
childhood. Dexter is a pure-bred Anatolian
Shephard. Dexter weighs 155 pounds and is about 30
inches tall. Dexter jumped up on Charmaine, greeting
her with a large, wet kiss! “Well Merry Christmas to
you too Dexter!" After a few seconds Charmaine
struggled as she lifted his big paws gently off her shoulders.
Charmaine headed over to her grandmother.
“Merry Christmas Nanny,” as she kissed her
forehead. She then made her way to the kitchen.
Charmaine greeted Uncle Lian and Pa. They
had still been talking about sports and football.
“Morning Papa, Merry Christmas Uncle Lian.”
Charmaine leaned towards Uncle Lian’s ear and
whispered, “Just between us two, we know the
Alaska Nanooks are the best.” Lian laughed and
was sure to keep her secret safe. (Pa could not
not stand that team.)
Charmaine followed the narrow hallway into
the kitchen. Though it was a smaller cottage,
the kitchen was the biggest part of the entire
comfy home! “Morning Ma,” Charmaine said. Ma
said, “Morning Hun, Merry Christmas! How are
you doing?" Ma said with a concerned look.
The way Ma was looking at her implied a deeper
question.
She knew Ma was really asking how she was
doing without Garrett. Ma knew her inside
and out. Ma knew that to Charmaine, it felt like it
was yesterday. Charmaine reached for a grape
and said, “I’m great!”, which was far from the truth.
Ma had been up for hours working on the food.
The men in the Gardon family were quite foreign
to the terms boil, mix and cook. Therefore, the
kitchen was off limits to them. Ma had the turkey
finishing up cooking in the oven. On the counter
Ma had displayed her most prized possessions as if
it was a contest. She had homemade stuffing, mashed
potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce and green beans.
The meal was complimented with warm rolls. Ma had
an entire separate section designated for dessert!
Gingerbread cookies, fig pudding, pecan and
pumpkin pie. All made from scratch. Nobody could
cook and bake like Momma. Not even Charmaine!
"You don't plan to feed the five thousand instead of
us do you Ma?" Charmaine jokingly said.
“It all looks great Ma!” she said. “Thanks, Hun!
Can you set the dining room table?” Ma asked.
“Sure,” exclaimed Charmaine. Though the Gordon
family had grown smaller over the years, it was as if
their hearts grew twice as big. They highly valued family
and placed family before anything else. Charmaine began
to delicately place the China Plates on the table. She had
extreme OCD. Therefore, Ma knew she would do perfect.
She ensured all of the plates and silverware were lined
up. Over the years Ma had learned a secret. OCD can be a
curse, but it can be a blessing in disguise too. Especially to
help distract someone like Charmaine. Distractions helped
to remove hurt but also produce productivity.
As Charmaine placed the last glass cup on the
table, Ma began to bring in the food. Her and Ma
made numerous trips back and forth from the
kitchen. Once everything was out Ma yelled,
“Alright Ya’ll, come and get it!” Uncle Lian
and Pa were still discussing sports.
Grandmother had fallen asleep in the living room.
Anna-Belle, Charmaine’s little sister, was trying to paint
Dexter’s toenails. All the family began to merge their way
into the dining room. Charmaine genuinely smiled as she
glanced at all her family. For a second it felt like she was
in Heaven. Joy, bright colors and smiling faces filled the
room. Not to mention the additional sweet aroma of the food!
Everyone formed a circle and began to link hands.
Pa said, “I want to thank everyone for taking the
time to come out to see us. Let us be grateful for
the family we have and for the food God has blessed
us with. But let us not forget about those that are no
longer able to be with us," Pa glanced at Charmaine.
Pa ended in prayer, and everyone sat down at
the table. Everyone began to pass around the
dishes. Everyone’s eyes were full of eagerness
as they waited for their favorite dish to be passed.
Suddenly Charmaine heard a faint, sharp sound.
Nobody else seemed to hear it, so she ignored it.
Charmaine went to grab a roll and heard it again.
Nobody else budged. She ignored again. She then
heard the sound for the third time. Out of frustration
she exclaimed, “Everybody stop!”
The whole family grew silent. Everyone began to
exchange worried and confused looks. Finally
the sound went off again and this time, everyone
heard it. It was the doorbell. Pa excused himself and
said, “Must be that package I never received.” As Pa headed to
the door he tried to see who it was.
Through the snowy frosted window, he could not
make it out. As Pa opened the door, a strange man
greeted him, no package. Pa recognized the camo
uniform but not the man. “Uh excuse me sir, can I help
you? Are you lost?" Pa asked. The man's arm slowly reached to
remove his military hat. The strange man asked, "Is Chare here."
Not many people knew the nickname for Charmaine. Pa then
knew exactly who it was. They never officially met but Pa had
only heard great things. Pa embraced him with a big hug.
They both wept bitterly.
Charmaine's concentration was broken after she heard Pa
cry. "I’ll be right back; I’m going to check on Pa!" As Charmaine
walked through the hallway leading to the living room, she could
not believe who she saw. She thought she were in a dream.
Charmaine instantly dropped to the floor and began to weep. The
strange man came inside and helped her to her feet. The rest of the
family made their way to see what was all the ruckus. The Gordon's
then all saw what was going on. Ma's eyes began to water, as her
spirit was filled with joy. Garrett not only survived, but
he found his way home.
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