DECEMBER 1 -- A QUIET AFTERNOON

 

“. . . not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse,” Ina recited to herself. It was Sunday afternoon on December the first and the day was “dull” – raining and foggy and dark. Jack had fallen asleep on the settee in the living room, the latest edition of the Clearwater Tribune open across his chest. The soft whistling of his rhythmic breathing and the crackling of the fire in the grate were the only sounds.

Ina found herself lonely -- missing especially her daughter Shirley -- but she quickly reminded herself that this stay in Idaho Falls was a fine opportunity for her. “This will not do,” Ina said to herself as she dashed a tear from her cheek. And right then and there she resolved to make this the best Christmas ever. She would do for her family as best she could, and she would do for others, too. There would be plenty of the Christmas spirit to go around, and most of all, there would be no skimpy Christmas here.

And, she remembered, she had long wanted to review some of the old Christmas classics she loved so much – stories and poems and carols and such – even past Christmas cards and letters she had saved. Yes, that was it! She would find inspiration through Christmas readings in the long, quiet evenings.

But for right now, perhaps writing to Vance would help to distract her from her blue mood. She moved from her rocker at the dining room window, took her stationery and pen from the drawer in the hutch, and settled at the table to write:

“Well, I thought you knew that Shirley has a job and has had for several weeks – I think the week before Thanksgiving, Ina wrote. The man is a contractor and the wife helps in the office. They took Shirley because she’s had business training and they might work her into the office work. At present she’s doing housework, and they are very nice to her, take her to church or to Earle’s in the car. The woman helps her and so do the three children – a boy, 13, and boy and girl twins, 9. Shirley likes housekeeping. They bought a new single bed with good springs for her and are getting a bedside rug. The floor has linoleum. The house is furnace-heated and has electric gadgets and a stove that you wash as you would a dish. The laundry is sent out and Shirley’s with it, and they pay for it.

“Oh yes, it sounds so good, but Shirley hopes this job is just a filler-in. She may get a job in a shop after New Year’s. She’s glad to be at work, though. And she already has plans to go to Earle’s for breakfast Christmas morning. She has the whole day off.”