Patriots: Boston

Chapter Twenty Four: Christmas

I went to work every day even after the incident. Captain Harold had come back to the house and talked to Mrs. Harold. He had forgiven her, but it was evident she was still wallowing in self hatred, which she took out on me. Captain Harold was always pretty kind to me. Cordelia still hated me. I wish she didn't. I don't think I would mind working for her if she was my friend or at least treated me like a human, but no, she couldn't stand me for some reason.
The Autumn season was painfully long. Beautiful, but without my best friends I was so bored. I would go out with my sisters sometimes, but they weren't as much fun as the boys. I just wanted them back. I hated the thought that they could be called into battle at any time and be dying and I wouldn't know until someone wrote a letter. The paranoia was too much. I wondered if the general had gotten his army together. There was so much I was dying to know.
The days were getting colder and colder and darker and darker. I used to love this time of year. After a hard day at work on Uncle Tad's farm or just roaming the city with Zeb and Isaac, we used to flop down in front of the fire and drink hot apple cider. My father would tell us stories about all the stupid things he did as a child. Father Ignatius would talk about France. My mother would talk about Ireland and her brothers, my uncles James and Finnegan. The stories, the food, the comfort of my whole family around the fire enjoying each other was just a wonderful memory. Sadly, the boys were off at war, one of them wasn't allowed in the house, I was always at work, and my mother and father always seemed very stressed.
Soon enough the first flurries of snow were blowing through the Boston streets and the temperature dropped greatly. I woke up one day and it was December 18th, a week until Christmas! Where did the time go?! I had never been home for supper, so I had missed the fact that there was a new candle on the advent wreath being lit every Sunday for the past three weeks at least. I should probably decorate the Harold's house and of course get or make gifts for all of my family and the boys. I suddenly got worried. What if the Harolds needed me to work on Christmas? What would I have to do? I had never been away from my family on Christmas!
  One morning my father told me that today he was going to go out with the little children and Uncle Tad to look for our Christmas tree. We were always given strange looks for bringing an evergreen in our wagon into town and dragging it into our house. That was because most people in town thought the Germans were strange for decorating trees to celebrate Christmas. My father had traveled to Germany and thought it was an interesting idea, so we've done it in our family ever since I was born. We decided that it would be better to take our tree to Uncle Tad's instead, for that was where we always celebrated anyway. Besides, it was away from the judgements. I though to myself, "What if I got a tree for the Harolds?"
I made it my goal to at least make the Harolds have a cheerful and merry Christmas. I would start by decorating their house. I trudged through the snowy streets on a piercingly cold morning and finally arrived at the Harold's house. I went in the back kitchen door and Amaka was waiting for me. I told her about my plan.
"Well ain't that sweet of you!" She exclaimed. "But getting a tree inside the house? How are we ever 'possed to do that? And decorate it? How do ya decorate a tree?"
"Candles, garlands? My family usually figures something out," I explained, "but if not a tree, perhaps we could cut some branches to use to decorate the house with greenery. And we may need some ribbon..."
"How are we supposed to get that before Christmas?" Amaka asked.
"I don't know. And we'll have to be sneaky," I said, wondering the same thing she was.
  Just then the bell rang. It was Cordelia.
"Betty!" She shouted.
  I ran into the sitting room. "Yes, Cordelia?"
"It is extremely cold everywhere in this house!" She complained.
"And you wish for me to do something about it?" I asked slowly.
"My goodness you're stupid, of course do something about it!" She snapped.
"Yes, miss," I said, almost laughing for some reason.
"What in hell are you smiling about?" She snarled.
"Nothing, just the fact that it's almost Christmas," I said quietly as I poked the fireplace in the sitting room.
  "Christmas! I hope you don't think you're getting Christmas off, Betty!" She said angrily. "We'll need you to work every moment of that day! You don't expect us to sit around and not need you to serve us, do you?"
  This shocked me, "Umm, no, of course I can't expect you to not need me." I said shakily.
  "What's the matter with you? Start the fire in here! I don't look good when I'm chilled!" She snapped.
  "Y-yes, miss," I stuttered as I got a spark and puffed air into it to make it ignite.
  I stood up and began to walk out of the room, but Cordelia grabbed me by the wrist and threw me to the ground without warning. I was so startled my heart seemed to jump into my throat!
"Betty!" She scolded.
"What?" I squeaked. What had I done now?
  "What is this in front of the fireplace?" She asked angrily, pointing to a pile of ashes and soot that I had not swept up.
  "A-ashes, soot," I stuttered. "I-I'll clean it up, I promise!"
  Cordelia picked up the broom from next to the fireplace. She almost looked like she would sweep it up for me, but then she got a sly glint in her eye and I knew that meant nothing good. "That you should!" She said coolly as she hit the pile with the broom so that it went right into my face, as I was still on the floor. The ashes stung as a few got into my eyes. Thankfully they were completely cooled or that could have been more terrible. "See? Less work now that the majority of it is all over your face!" She tossed her head and prissed out of the room.
What possessed someone to be such a terrible person?! I wiped the soot away from my eyes and swept the rest into a dust pan. I dumped them out the back door quickly.
"Betty!" Mrs. Harold screeched for me from the dining room.
"Coming!" I called as I ran as fast as I could to her.
She gave me a mortified look, "How on earth did you get so filthy?"
"Sorry, madam. Just cleaning up the fire place," I explained.
She gave me a look of disgust, "I assume Cordelia told you to start the fire in all the rooms?"
"Yes, ma'am," I nodded. "You'd like me to start the fire in here too?"
"Yes, of course, once you sweep out the chimney," She snapped.
"But I thought you didn't want me getting dirty when I clean," I muttered.
"Don't talk back!" She yelled, pulling the dreaded leather strap off the wall.
She swung at me and I tried to duck out of the way, but I just wound up smacking my head on the fireplace. I felt so dizzy I fell to the ground. She saw this as an opportunity to swing again, but as if by a miracle from heaven, a strong hand grabbed her wrist before she could. I slowly opened my eyes from my cowering to see that it was Captain Harold.
"Amelia!" He yelled. "Why do you think it is necessary to beat her like that? What has she done to deserve it?"
"Robert, she's in-compliant and lazy! We need to be showing her to respect her masters!" Mrs. Harold screeched back.
"I haven't seen anything that she has ever done to support those claims," the Captain said sternly.
"Well, maybe she is good for you. You scare her into submission, but a gentlewoman is naturally not as feared!" Mrs. Harold snapped.
"I beg to differ," the Captain smirked. "After years of being in the navy, no drill sergeant or stern superior of mine has ever scared me more than you do, Amelia."
Mrs. Harold scoffed, "Robert...that can't possibly be true. And besides, you're not a bratty, good for nothing serving girl!"
"You are right, I am not, and neither is Betty, so do not address her like that," she said seriously. He walked over to me and took my hand to help me up. "Betty, are you afraid of me?"
I was nervous to answer, "N-Not really, sir. You have always been good to me, but I am afraid of disappointing you."
He smiled warmly but jokingly, "Are you afraid of the mistress?"
I was absolutely terrified and unsure how to answer.
He laughed, "Your sweaty and trembling hands give you away."
"Robert! This is insulting!" Mrs. Harold shouted.
  "What were you doing before she swung at you, Betty?" Captain Harold asked.
  "J-just starting the fire. I should get to sweeping out the chimney first though," I said, turning back to the fire place.
  "No, no. It does not need sweeping out, you did that but just last week. I'll start this fire," he said kindly. "One question though, why is your face covered in soot?"
  "I'm um...clumsy. I was starting the fire in the other room," I explained.
He laughed. "Go wash up then in the kitchen."
  I walked slowly out of the room, but ran to the kitchen as fast as I could. Amaka was washing dishes.
  "What happened to you?" She asked.
  "Have I ever mentioned how awful Cordelia and her mother are?" I sighed.
  "No," she laughed sarcastically. "Well, no, you don't actually complain much."
  "I do internally," I grumbled, grabbing a rag for my face. "But Captain Harold actually is a pretty nice man."
  "I've never really seen him," Amaka said. "But I don' hear him shoutin' much."
"He doesn't. He treats me like I matter," I said, submerging the rag in the bucket of clean water in the corner.
"So you want to decorate this place?" She asked.
"I guess, if we can get our hands on any decorations. I can't afford to buy ribbons or anything too pretty, but I think we can saw some evergreen branches to make some nice garlands, and I've always had pretty candles in the windows at my house. We have so many candles here, I imagine we could spare a few to put in the windows," I thought out loud as I washed my face.
  "I've never really seen a fully decorated house for Christmas, so I'll let you take the lead on that," she smiled.
  That day I started all the rest of the fires, swept the floors, dusted everything in that house, and swept the snow off the front stoop. At the end of the day after I had served supper and everyone had gone to bed, then I was allowed to go home. I grabbed my shabby cloak and hood and stepped out the front door. I was immediately kissed by a horse.
  "Whoah! Hey! Spark, that's not how you behave! I know you love her, but you can't come on so strong!" A familiar voice scolded the horse. It was uncle Tad in his cart. "Good evening, M'Liza."
  "Hello, Uncle Tad," I said, startled but happy, "What are you doing here?"
  "Your Pa doesn't want you going home alone on foot this late," Uncle Tad said, "C'mon, get up here!" He patted the seat next to him.
  I climbed up to the drivers bench. He put his arm around my shoulders and Spark started walking.
"So I'd hope you and the rest of the family are coming to the farm on Christmas Eve?" He asked, not really asking though.
  "The rest of them are, but my boss wants me to work over Christmas,"I explained sheepishly.
  "What?!" He shouted.
  "Yes," I said, "You don't need to shout."
  "I do believe I do ," Uncle Tad exclaimed, a little less loudly. "Why?"
  "I don't know, they demand a lot," I said sadly. "How did you get out of the army camp to come pick me up?"
  "We are aloud to leave, or at least I think so. I didn't ask. At least the Boston boys still mostly have homes to go back to and people to see," he explained.
  I suddenly grew hopeful, "So the boys could come home for Christmas?"
"Your Pa's boys? Maybe they could, but General Washington can't have everyone going home for Christmas just in case there's an attack. Also, the New Hampshire and Connecticut and other troops are farther to travel, so it wouldn't be quite fair if all the Boston troops got to go home and no one else did." He explained.
"I see," I sighed, "Is the general alright with people visiting the camp?"
"He seems alright with it, but I'm afraid you won't really like what you see in that camp. Everyone is freezing, sick, starving, and a whole lot of people are thinking of deserting after Christmas. That's where most men's enlistment is up. I've been through worse cold and weather, so I'm staying on until the war is over or I die before it is. You won't catch me running home because I'm cold," He said, seeming a little irritated.
  "I haven't heard much about a British camp that's suffering as much as the American one," I said.
  Uncle Tad looked disgusted, "That's because they winter in nice, warm, wealthy homes of Tories. They won't be caught dead freezing their asses off in a camp when it's this cold and snowy. They're off drinking as much ale as they please in front of a nice fireplace indoors!"
  This made me very angry, but it made sense. "Do you think it would be helpful if I brought food and blankets to our camp?"
"I think that would be wonderful. I'll take you over there Christmas Day," He said happily.  "Well, here's your house, and I've gotta head back to camp. Good night, Liza."
"You should come inside and get something warm to drink before you head back," I offered.
"That's very kind of you, Liza, but I can't accept that," He said, waving it off.
"I'm serious, you should," I pressed.
"Oh fine, but what is there. Your parents hate coffee, you're boycotting tea. What hot drink can you even have?" He asked.
"Warm milk?" I suggested.
"That would be alright," he surrendered.
  I ran inside and began preparing it. I gave it to him once it was done and he left quickly after drinking it. 
The next week passed slowly with work, but there was not enough time to decorate until the actual day of Christmas Eve. I was woken up by Therese jumping on my bed.
"Wake up, Liza! It's Chwissmas!" she screamed in my face playfully.
I sat up with a start, "Yes! And w-w-what time is it?!"
"It's 7 o'clock!" Eleanor said excitedly, "It's late!"
It was late maybe for them to be up on a holiday, but thank fully it wasn't too late for me to be at work!
"Oh hell," I swore under my breath, "I have to go to work today."
"But we're going to Uncle Tad's!" Constance said, looking upset.
"Yes, and maybe I can catch up with you later, but I need to go to work!" I said, stressed.
"Why do you have to work on Christmas Eve?" Dolly asked, "That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard!"
"Indeed, but I'm going to work anyway," I sighed. "Where are Ma and Papa? I need to tell them."
"Papa's in the store, but he's gonna be mad!" Billy laughed.
"Well, I have to go," I muttered.
I found my father packing some oranges that had not gone bad yet in a sack in the store.
"P-Papa," I stuttered.
"Oh! Good morning, Liza! How are you this morning? Ready to head to uncle Tad's?" He asked happily.
"I'm sorry," I said awkwardly, "as much as I hate to say it, I can't go."
"What?" He asked, his eyebrows seeming to jump an entire inch up his face.
"The Harolds want me to work," I said sadly. "Maybe I could come by tonight, but don't count on it."
"You're not going," Papa said firmly.
"I have to, Papa," I said, shocked.
"What could they want you for on Christmas Eve?" He snapped.
"Serving, cooking, cleaning, and whatever else they need me for," I sighed. "They want a lot from me."
  "I'll say. You'll be off tomorrow though, right?" He asked, annoyed.
  "I don't know," I muttered. "I just have to go today."
  "Alright," he gave in, "go today, but I want you at Tad's tonight, and I want you home tomorrow!"
  "Alright, Papa. I'll try," I sighed. "Oh, also, I'll need a saw..."
"A saw? For what?!" Papa asked, very alarmed.
"I want to decorate the Harold's house, but I need to cut branches first," I explained.
"Alright, I guess. Just be careful," my father said nervously, handing me a saw from off the store wall.
He left the store room and headed back into the house part of the building. I heard the bells of little carriages outside the door. I grabbed my cloak, hood, muffler, boots, and the saw and ran out the door into the streets. I had never really noticed that almost every house or store in Boston had white candles in its windows and wreaths of holly or evergreen. The city was buried in about a foot of white, glittering snow. The carriages with jingling bells were carrying couples who seemed quite content and happy. This was quite a contrast to what I was used to. It almost seemed like the war was on hold. I hadn't seen people outside much, let alone happy to be outside! As much as this lifted my spirits, it also made me a little jealous. I missed my friends so! And I wanted to be going to Uncle Tad's! The carriages were getting stuck in the snow in some places, but the people in them just laughed as they tried to dig themselves out. Traveling in sleighs would be so much easier.
I trudged my way through the snow that almost went up to my knees. When I finally arrived, Amaka pulled me into the kitchen from the back door.
"You won't believe it!" She whispered excitedly.
"What is it? Please don't tell me Mrs. Harold is cheating again!" I fretted.
"No! Well, not that I know of...but guess what!" She seemed really happy about something. I'd never seen her smile so much.
"What?" I asked.
"The slave waiters at the restaurant next door are off tonight!" She exclaimed.
"That's great!" I said with just as much enthusiasm. Then I asked, "I'm sorry, why is that great?"
"Well, I've been sneakin' out at night," she said dreamily, "You know, just tryin' to get a lil' taste of freedom, and there's this real nice fella named Cyrus. He's a slave who waits table in the restaurant next door. He has the night off tonight! He's comin' over here once the family goes to bed! I'm so excited!"
I was bursting with excitement for her. "That's wonderful Amaka? Does he like you? Do you like him?"
"I certainly like him, and he brought me the leftover table flowers when they had them in warm weather. I would think that means he likes me a bit," she laughed.
"That's so wonderful, Amaka! So exciting! I'm so happy for you!" I exclaimed.
"Betty!" I heard the bell and Cordelia shriek from her room.
I knew what she wanted: the fire started.
"Coming!" I called as I sprinted to her room. I was running so fast I didn't have time to slow down before I crashed into the door! I laughed at myself and shakily opened the door. "You want the fire started, miss?"
She looked surprised that I knew, "Um, yes, actually."
I started the fire in her room as fast as I could. "Anything else you need?"
"Well, could you find my Christmas dress and ribbons? I'll need you back in a few minutes to help me dress and get ready for the day. With the Christmas Eve service tonight I must be looking my best," she said without any hint of scorn in her voice.
"Yes, miss!" I said enthusiastically. I ran over to her wardrobe and found a red taffeta dress with white lace and green ribbons down the front of the bodice. "Is this it?" I asked.
"Yes," she said.
"Alright, I'll go start the fires all through the house," I said as I flew off to the parlor.
I started all the fireplaces that I could find. Captain and Mrs. Harold were soon awake and wanting breakfast. Thankfully Amaka had a great breakfast of eggs and ham for them. Mrs. Harold seemed to be in her usual foul mood, and Captain Harold was unreadable.
"Good morning," I said with a smile as I set the plates on the table.
"Morning, Betty," Captain Harold said.
"Do you folks have anything planned for today?" I asked.
"Just the Christmas Eve service this evening," Captain Harold said.
"Oh, that sounds wonderful," I said, "I hope you have a nice time. So you just plan to take it easy today?" I asked.
"We do not plan to take it easy on you," Mrs. Harold snapped.
"I don't expect you to," I said, "You people deserve a nice, easy Christmas Eve."
  "How kind of you, Betty," Captain Harold said.
"We expect a great Christmas Eve dinner," Mrs. Harold said sternly.
"And you will receive nothing less," I assured her. "Is the amount of heating in the house satisfactory this morning?"
"Yes, it has never been so comfortably warm as today," Captain Harold said kindly.
"Betty!" Cordelia called from her room.
"I ought to go help her dress," I said, curtsying and running to her room.
Cordelia was standing by her wardrobe in her under dress and petticoats. Her corset was not laced up yet. I flew over to her.
"You want me to get your corset for you?" I asked.
"Yes, Betty. And once you are done please find my curling irons," she said.
I laced up the corset and began to pull.
"Tighter! Tighter!" She whispered.
I did as I was told. She slipped into the beautiful Christmas dress and her pretty red slippers.
"Do you want me to help you with your hair?" I asked.
"No, thank you, but would you fetch my hair ribbons?" She asked.
"Of course," I said.
"That would be all," Cordelia said tersely.
"Thank you, miss," I curtsied and ran back to the dining room.
Cordelia was not being totally awful this morning! Had she found her Christmas spirit?
The rest of the day the Harolds basically just sat around in the parlor doing nothing. I, on the other hand, was somehow motivated to clean the whole house. I do not know what came over me, but I really felt that I had to dust every shelf and sweep out every corner. Amaka worked her tail off in the kitchen preparing a nice Christmas Eve dinner. When I walked into the kitchen to get the Christmas China my nose was filled with the scent of ham and mashed potatoes. There were also candied yams and pumpkin pie and figgy pudding.
  "Smells beautiful, Amaka," I said dreamily.
"Well, thank ya, missy," she laughed.
  "I'm going to go set the table and then I'll come get all this food," I said.
  "Sounds good to me," she said with a smile.
  I found the red silky table cloth and the rest of the Christmas China. I also found some white doilies and dark green napkins. I set the table with the Christmas China and the good silver. Once the ham was set on the table, I went to the parlor and told the Harolds that dinner was ready. It was about 3 o'clock.
  They came into the dining room and sat down.
  "Is the food to your satisfaction?" I asked.
  "Absolutely," Captain Harold said.
  "Not," Cordelia muttered.
  "Now, now, let's be nice, dear, it's
Christmas Eve," her father whispered.
  I brought out the potatoes and the rest of the food. Captain Harold was so pleasant about everything, but his wife and daughter always seemed to be frozen in negativity.
  "So when do you all leave for church tonight?" I asked.
  "Five," Mrs. Harold said.
  "Sounds good," I said. "Anything else you need?"
  "No, but thank you, Betty," Captain Harold said, "Why don't you go take a rest? You've worked hard all day."
  "It was nothing, really," I blushed, "but if you want me gone I'd gladly oblige..."
  "We want you gone, Betty. Go back to the kitchen," Mrs. Harold said.
  "Thank you," I tried to stifle a laugh. I curtsied and ran back to the kitchen.
  Amaka and I stayed in the kitchen until it was time to clean up dinner. The Harolds left for Church when we were done. We headed out to their back yard the minute they left. We set to work sawing evergreen and holly branches. We set them inside on the mantle and in the windowsills. The next things we needed were candles in the windows. I knew where they were kept, but I soon realized that there were not enough matching candles to put in the windows. I decided that it might still look pretty with different candles. Amaka put the white candles upstairs and I put the yellow tallow candles in the downstairs windows.
The Harolds got home around 7 o'clock. They froze in their tracks when they saw the decorations.
"What in heaven's name?! Why are there tree branches in the house?!" Mrs. Harold shrieked.
"I thought this house needed a little sprucing up for the holidays," I said, smiling nervously.
"It's the most absurd thing I've ever seen," Cordelia scoffed.
"It's beautiful!" The Captain exclaimed.
"You like it?" I asked.
"I love it! It reminds me of Christmases when I was a boy!" He said excitedly. "Did you do this, yourself, Betty?"
"No, I had some help from Dinah, your cook," I said.
"Well I guess I have to thank her too. Actually, as a reward for all your work, I would like to give you both the day off tomorrow!" He said.
I was shocked and overjoyed, "Really?"
"Absolutely! The house is spotless, and who says we cannot get our own food tomorrow? You both deserve it," he said kindly.
"Oh thank you! Thank you, Captain Harold!" I exclaimed.
"Robert! What on earth?!" Mrs. Harold shouted.
"I mean it, Amelia. The poor things haven't had a day off since I came back home! They both deserve it!" He said sternly.
"But, Father..." Cordelia whined.
"You can do something yourself for once, Cordelia," he said.
"What do you want me to do for the rest of tonight, Captain Harold," I asked.
"I want you to go home to your family," he said.
"Robert!" Mrs. Harold snapped.
"Really? I can go home?" I asked, still not believing what I was hearing.
"Of course you can go home. If we can have a family Christmas why can she not?" He asked his wife.
"Oh thank you so much!" I exclaimed.
There was a fierce knock that came from the front door.
"Betty, get the door," Mrs. Harold ordered.
I nodded and approached it. A voice bellowed on the other side. "Now you stuck up, lazy, useless Tories better let my niece go with me right now or there's gonna be trouble, you hear? I have a loaded musket right here and..."
Oh hell. It was Uncle Tad.
I broke into a sprint and opened the door before he could say another word that could get him in trouble.
"Uncle Tad," I said nervously,"They're letting me go!"
"Oh," He said, obviously shocked, "Well, then sorry about that. Merry Christmas to you folks!"
The entire Harold family looked dumbfounded.
"Umm, sorry, that was just my uncle. He's probably a little, you know, drunk. He doesn't mean anything he says when he's like this. But thank you so much for letting me go. Merry Christmas!" I said, turning bright red.
"Merry Christmas," Captain Harold said slowly.
I ran to the kitchen and grabbed my cloak and hood and muffler. I told Amaka she had the night off tonight and had the entirety of tomorrow off too. She almost cried tears of joy. We wished each other a Merry Christmas and I ran outside to meet Uncle Tad, who had his wonderful sleigh polished and ready to take me out of town to the farm.
"So they let you go after I threatened 'em?" Uncle Tad laughed.
"No, they let me go before you showed up," I said uncomfortably. "You know they could have you arrested now."
"Well, let 'em," He said with a laugh.
"That's not a good idea," I warned. "I don't think the Captain would, but his wife and daughter might."
"Well, whatever. Nothing is going to stop us from being all together on Christmas. Father Ignatius is having a nice mass for us in the morning and then I'll take you over to the camp to help me drop off food and blankets for the soldiers and hopefully you can see your friends too. But tonight, your family is over at my house, the tree is all lit up with candles, your Ma is cooking up a nice supper, and everyone is happy," he said.
"I'm glad," I said quietly.
We rode through the snowy fields all the way to Lexington. We passed that town green where the battle had been back in the spring. I shuttered to think about it.
"You alright there?" Uncle Tad asked.
"Yes, sorry, just..."
"I know. That has to be hard to see that town green where you almost lost your beau," he said. "But I'll tell you, it's hard for a lot of people. I know someday it will be a place where people can look on and be proud of what happened there though."
I nodded. "You've seen the boys lately?"
"Yes," he said.
"And they're alright?" I asked.
"I guess. Not comfortable by any means, but they're alright," Uncle Tad assured me.
"They're not sick or hurt?" I asked.
"No, not any worse than when you saw them off back in July," he said.
"Is the general good? Has he gotten the troops organized?" I asked.
"Those are a lot of questions, Lizzie Beth," Uncle Tad teased. This was his way of saying that he did not want to say.
"Well, are we gonna win or not?" I asked impatiently.
"There's no telling really. I'd like to say yes, but there are plenty of pessimists out there," he said.
"I see," I sighed.
"Oh look! Do you see the window? That's the tree we got this year!" He pointed to his house in the distance.
"It's beautiful," I breathed.
We pulled into his stable. I helped him hitch up the horses. Then we ran inside.
"Liza!" My mother exclaimed.
"Hello," I said awkwardly.
My mother flew across the room and hugged me. "They made you work today?"
"Yes, but I'm off now and for tomorrow too," I said.
"Oh that's great, because you were not going to be going tomorrow," my father said.
"How was work today?" Father Ignatius asked.
"It was actually quite nice," I said. "The tree looks beautiful."
"Thank you," Dolly said. "I got to light 5 candles!"
"That's great, Dolly! You're so grown up if they let you light candles," I said, ruffling her hair.
We are a wonderful Christmas Eve supper on a nice candle lit table. It was corned beef, my Ma's favorite, with potatoes, rolls, and figgy pudding. The spread and the table set was not as fancy as the Harold's table, but I personally liked ours better. It was homey and cost and I was surrounded by the people I loved. There was no constant screaming and ordering me around. There was a fire going in the living room 10 feet away and the warmth of the 11 people in the room around the table. It was absolutely lovely.
Then there was the exchange of Uncle Tad's gifts to all of us, and our gifts to him. My family had gotten him one big gift of a nice new musket with a fresh horn of powder and bullets. He gave each of the girls little necklaces with Liberty tree pendants that he had gotten Paul Revere to make. He gave the boys each a spinning top.
  "Papa," I asked. "Where did you find such a nice musket for Uncle Tad?"
  "Well," he turned red, "I don't usually like to do this, but I bought it illegally from some kid who stole it from a British camp."
  "Oh," I smiled, feeling relieved that the boys were not the only ones who did that, "That's neat."
  That night we hung out stockings by the chimney and went to bed with the hope that Saint Nicholas would come and fill them. Sure enough, the next morning they were filled with an orange, a lemon, a lime, and some chestnuts in each. The little children are theirs up quickly somehow. I do not understand how they can just eat straight lemons and limes. Isaac, Zeb, Eleanor, and I always had competitions to see who could eat a lemon or a lime without flinching, and I usually won those, and I missed having them, so I decided to save my fruits and give them to the boys when I saw them at the camp.
   That morning Father Ignatius gave a beautiful mass for the family in Uncle Tad's living room. I read the first reading and my father read the second one. I definitely had felt like a person who walked in darkness all year, but this Christmas I felt as if I had seen a great light. Something about this season warmed me inside and almost made me forget all the terrible things that had happened this past year. I wanted to share my joy with so many more people, so when Uncle Tad ordered all the children and me to find as many blankets as they could to bring to the soldiers, I gladly did what was asked of me. I do not know how, but we were able to find twenty blankets in his house that he said we could take! I knew that this would not be enough for everyone, but it could surely do some good. Everyone gathered up the leftovers from the previous nights's supper to take to the camp. Uncle Tad said that there would be enough to make stew for a lot of people. I was overjoyed to help.
  Uncle tad and I bundled up and set off the the Continental Army's camp. Even though Uncle Tad had warned me several times, I was still in shock to see what I saw. There were men, pale as ghosts, shivering and lying on the snow. They were obviously sick, maybe even dying. There were obviously others around that could help them, but we're not for some reason. Immediately I began giving blankets to these poor men do that they had just a little bit of warmth. Uncle Tad said hello to many people he knew and began making the stew he talked about. I scanned the camp looking for Zeb and Isaac. Suddenly I felt two sting arms wrap around me from behind and someone rested their chin on the top of my head.
  "Hey, what brings you to the camp, little lady?" He asked jokingly. It was Zeb!
   I screamed with happiness at seeing him. I did not think I would be this excited, but here I was. I guess it was true I had not seen him since July! I turned around to see him, but before I could say anything more he picked me up and spun me around. Then he pulled me into a hug.
  "Oh my goodness, I missed you, Liza. How are you?" He asked.
  "I'm fine, Zeb. How are you? Are you alright? You stopped writing a while ago. I was worried that something happened..."
  "No, nothing's happened. Absolutely nothing. Just drilling, starving, and sneezing, and in some people's cases, getting sick and dying. I'm alright, just a little cold," he said.
"So there haven't been any battles?" I asked.
"Not in this area," he sighed. "I've wanted to come come so bad for so long. I can't though because my enlistment is not up yet, and I do plan on reenlisting this time around, but I do miss your family."
"And we miss you," I said.
"How has your Christmas been?" He asked.
"Oh it's been wonderful," I said happily. "I got off work last night and I have today off!"
"And you weren't going to originally?" Zeb asked, his face darkening.
"Well, no, but the Captain is very nice and reasonable to me," I said brightly, knowing that if Zeb found out how I had been mistreated he would get very angry and want me to quit.
"That's good I guess," he sighed, unconvinced.
"I brought stocking presents," I said happily, pulling out the orange, lime, lemon, and chestnuts from my pocket. "Pick your favorite."
  "Are you serious? No, I can't take that from you," he protested.
  "Oh please?" I asked, holding up the lemon, "for old time's sake?"
  He sighed and smiled, "Fine."
  "Where's Isaac?" I asked.
  "He should be around somewhere," Zeb said, looking around. "Oh look, there he is."
   I looked around the camp and then I saw him. He did not look to weak or sick, much to my relief. Then he saw me. Much to my surprise, his whole face lit up and he ran towards Zeb and me. He pulled me into a hug too.
"Hi," I said awkwardly.
"Hello! Merry Christmas!" He said excitedly, ignoring my awkwardness.
  "Merry Christmas," I said. "How've you been?"
"I've been well," he said, his eyes holding that familiar twinkle.
  "I see you are in pretty good health," I observed.
  "Yes, I would say so," he nodded.
  "How come you never write?" I asked. "I get worried."
  "I don't know, there's just nothing to write about. Nothing has happened here yet. I promise I'll tell you when something big happens. Alright?" He asked.
  "Alright," I agreed. "Hey, I brought some of my stocking presents. Do you two want to have one of our old lemon eating contests?"
  "Of course!" Isaac said excitedly.
  Zeb agreed reluctantly. I unpeeled the peel and divided the lemon up into thirds. I gave one to each of the boys and kept one for myself. We counted to three and stuffed it into our mouths. Zeb lost immediately by flinching, so it was down to Isaac and me. This lemon was extremely sour and it seemed to burn my eyes, but miraculously I was able to keep a straight face longer than he did, so I won as usual. We chatted for a couple more minutes and then Uncle Tad said that we had to head home. They both promised to write me, and we bid each other farewell. It was a beautiful and very Merry Christmas that year.