When I was a kid I got an orange, three pair of cotton panties from
JC Penny and a book from my Pop. Sometimes it was Nancy Drew and sometimes it was the Hardy Boys. The books were almost always second-hand. One year I got a book called Girl of the
Limberlost. And when I was about twelve my Pop got me a book called Green Mansions about a bird girl who lived in the jungles of South America. Since my birthday is so close to Christmas I didn't really get birthday presents. I usually got a cake though, a great big double chocolate, chocolate frosting Devil's Food Cake. It was so good that I thought it really ought to be called the Angel's Food Cake instead of the white fluffy kind. We always had a gallon of vanilla ice cream and candles on my cake. Today the children I know would be very unhappy to have such a meager Christmas. One year my name was put in as needy child by one of my teachers. My mother and father were horribly
embarrassed at such a
label. We weren't needy; just didn't have a lot of money. The real estate agent that drew my name bought me a doll that wet, a chalkboard with an
easel and games. He bought me coloring books and a wood burning set. I was dizzy when Mama and Pop took me to his house. His wife and he were old to me, much older than my own parents. They had food that I had never had and special treats. I sat in their kitchen in my blue and pink plaid dress that my mother had made for me at the
beginning of the school year. My mother had braided my hair very tight and scrubbed all my old skin off until there was only raw pinkish skin like a sunburn. My yellow hair was tied at the braids with blue ribbons. The old man wanted to hold me and watch me open my gifts. I shook my head no and couldn't speak. My mother said, " Go ahead, honey. They want to enjoy your happiness." I looked at my Pop. "Ahem," he said much too loudly. " She 's a shy kid and doesn't take well to petting. We live out of town so she is alone a lot. But watch out, you get her to talk and she'll talk your leg off." That made everyone laugh and the Mrs. Real Estate lady pour
Morgan David wine for all of us, even me in a tiny glass. Then we had cookies and nuts and salty crackers. Finally I got to open those gifts. I didn't realize for a bit that they would go home with me. I thought the presents were very nice and told the man and the woman that I liked the gifts. The woman told me she had gotten a cat when she was a little girl for Christmas. She said that they just happened to have some kittens that were ready for a new home and would my daddy let me have a kitten too? I didn't know what to say. We had barn cats. Would we have another cat? My dad put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Girl, what do you think? Want a baby cat to look after?" "Yes please," I was able to whisper. We all went out to the garage except for Mama and the Mrs.
The kittens were sleeping in a box. I picked the biggest one. I named him Tommy and he lasted much longer than my Christmas gifts. Besides he was my friend. He liked my dogs too. He was the real gift that year.
