They looked at each other, paled, and tore open the packages.
There was utter silence when they looked at their gifts.
Hank stared down at a baseball and a bat, a black Al Spalding glove, and a Chicago White Stockings baseball cap.
And Muddy? Muddy was holding Hank’s shoes.
* * *
On the lively notesofa hand organ, the three-quarter moon rose high above a thatched hut that Christmas night. The sand around the hut was dappled with flickering light that shone between the cracks, and laughter rode outside on tinny notes of music.
Hank was leaning against a wall, watching Margaret’s ankles and calves. She stood nearby, watching the children, her skirt in her hands as she swayed to the music.
He shook his head. He had a new appreciation for Christmas.
Theodore and Annabelle and Muddy were holding hands and dancing while Lydia cranked the hand organ and played a polka.
After a few minutes, Margaret moved over to the trunk, and she picked up the ball gown.
It gave Hank a warm sense of pride as he watched her run her hands over the silky rose-colored fabric. She smiled a misty kind of smile that made him a little crazy for her.
Then she turned and walked over to him, the gown clutched in her hands. She stopped in front of him, and the smile she gave him was just as soft and misty. “Thank you for this gown. It’s lovely.”
“You like it?”
She nodded, but then looked up, her face serious. “As lovely as it is, though, it wouldn’t have been worth it if...” She stopped. Then she took one step closer and placed her hand on his chest. “If I’d lost you.”
He glanced at the children, then placed his hand over hers. He raised his other hand and touched her lips with one finger. Neither of them said a thing. They didn’t need to.
He slid his hand along her jawline and smiled, then gave the dress a nod. “Put it on.”
She looked at him. “Now?”
“Yeah, now.”
She laughed and moved closer. Covertly she leaned over and said, “You’re always telling me to take my clothes off, not put them on.”
“Put it on, sweetheart.”
She cocked her head. “I’ll put on the dress if you put on the tails.”
“The monkey suit?”
She nodded.
“Hell, no. No way.”
Her face fell a little. He added, “It wouldn’t fit anyway. Too small.”
“What makes you think the dress will fit?”
“I’ve got a good eye, sweetheart. It’ll fit.”
She set the dress aside and walked over to the trunk. She held up the coat. It was not small, even he could see that. “This coat does not look too small to me. Look.” She turned around.
He stared at it.
“Please.”
