Someone To Watch Over Me
by Purple Lacey
 

Part 19

It took the trio three trips but they got all the tree decorations transferred from the storage room to the living room.   The first box Buck opened was marked ‘Lights’.  The women sat back to watch the show as the each man took a string of tree lights from the box they had just been stuffed into last year and fought to untangle them.  Then they were inspected for broken bulbs, and then plugged in to test them.  When the lights failed to work there followed a round of trying to figure out which bulbs needed replacing and retesting, and then some head scratching with more replacing and testing.  This vicious circle of behavior continued for some time, the men growing more frustrated and snappish with every round.

 Ezra eventually got bored with the process and wandered over to where Nettie, Casey and Raine were seated and talking to each other happily as they nibbled on some of the treats that Nettie and Casey had been so busy with that afternoon.  Ezra climbed up on the sofa beside Nettie and took the red and white iced Santa-shaped sugar cookie she held out for him with an eager hand.  The boy sat eating his cookie and watching his new role models try to get the lights working and up on the tree.  The cookie was long gone and Ezra was sitting on the sofa with his elbows on his knees, chin cupped in his hands, when Nettie heard his bored sighs and took pity on him.

The old lady rose from her seat beside the child and left the room.  She returned a few minutes later with two large discount store plastic bags in her hands.  She walked over to the growling males and cleared her throat. She waited until she had everyone’s attention then stated firmly, “We want to get this done BEFORE next Christmas, boys.  I suggest you toss those back in the box they came in and use these.”  Then she handed Buck the sacks and returned to the sofa and the other women, who were now giggling together at the expression on the men’s faces. Inside the bags were several brand new sets of lights.

Amidst much grumbling about women just not understanding the way things were supposed to be done, the men followed her instructions and soon the tree lights were stung on the spruce tree and the decorating proper could start.   

While the others took a break to help themselves to the refreshments, Buck started opening boxes with a curious Ezra suddenly right by his side. As the boy watched, the man pulled box after box of ornaments from the bigger containers and stacked them on the floor by the coffee table.  To Ezra’s delight, every ornament and decoration seemed to have a story to it that Buck said he would be more than happy to impart to him later. Then he reached in one final time and pulled out a clear plastic box that the boy could see held a number of smaller flat packages.  Buck opened this one and rifled through the smaller packages inside until he found what he was looking for.  He drew two of the packages out and opened them.

Buck handed the contents of one of them to the boy. It turned out to be a flat, metal ornament of a Santa, the once shiny silver plated ornament showing base metal in places where the plating had peeled off. Even Ezra could tell it was several years old.  The Santa had been engraved with ‘Buck’s First Christmas’ and the year that it had been given to him.

The man gazed at the ornament in the boy’s little hand as Ezra turned it over and over looking at it and said, “That was the very first gift I ever got for Christmas.  My Mom gave it to me when I was only a baby.  Every year she would buy me another ornament and get the year engraved on it.  It was a holiday tradition. There were some years that I might not get any other presents because she couldn’t afford it, but she always managed to save back enough to get me one of these.   I have one for every year until she passed away, twenty six of them in all.”

Ezra put out a little hand to touch the cheek of the man that suddenly looked sad.  Buck grasped the hand and pressed it against his cheek with a loving smile then pulled it back to kiss the palm lightly before giving it back to the boy.  

Letting his melancholy thoughts go, Buck continued his story with, “When JD came to live with me I did the same for him; kind of following my mother’s tradition.”  The big man handed the boy another ornament, this one a snow man with JD’s name engraved on it and the year, Buck explained, of that first Christmas after JD had come to live with him.   When Ezra handed the ornament back, Buck took it and placed it back in its box then reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a small flat package wrapped in green and red stripped Christmas paper and handed it to Ezra. 

“Some traditions should never be forgotten,” Buck told the child as he handed him the package.  “Merry Christmas, Ezra,” he said with warm sincerity.

The child stared at him in deep surprise for one moment before a wide, joyful grin broke out and he eagerly ripped the paper off.  Inside was a halo-clad angel who was holding an opened scroll that had been engraved with ‘Ezra’s First Christmas’ and the year. 

“I figured that was appropriate not only because this is your first Christmas with us but because I don’t think you ever got to have a real Christmas before, not the kind that every kid should have.  So we’re going to start you all over again,” Buck told him brushing back the hair on his brow tenderly.

Ezra admired the flat silver ornament lovingly, holding it as though it was the most precious of objects, then threw his arms around his foster father and held on tight.  Ezra pulled back to rush over to JD with his gift.

“JD!” the boy squealed, “Look!  I got one, too!  Just like you and Buck!”

JD caught the animated child and lifted him up to sit on his lap so he could admire the boy’s gift properly.   “That’s a great one, Ezra.  I guess that means you’re officially a member of the family now,” he told him with a hug.    Ezra squirmed with happiness before wiggling off the young man’s lap and hurrying around to each of the others in the room to show it off.

The honor of placing the first ornament on the tree was reserved for the euphoric little boy who placed his brand new gift on the tree proudly then stepped back to admire it with a huge grin on his face.  He turned that grin on his new foster father for his approval and Buck nodded decisively as he looked at the placement and with deep feeling said, “Looks good there, Ez.  Looks real good.”

Ezra’s shoulders scrunched up in delight at the affirmation.  As the adults watched, the child spun on his heel and ran to the boxes Buck had set on the coffee table earlier and grabbed something from them with each hand before hurrying back toward the tree.  The child reached Buck and held out the ornament that Buck had shown him, the first one Buck’s mother had given him.  “Now you!” the little one dared to order in his excitement.

Buck obligingly hung his ornament on the tree.  He just barely had time to step back before the child was handing JD his and pulling the student forward by the grip he had taken on JD’s jeans.  JD obediently hung his snowman for the child then smiled down at the boy who reached for his hand and then for Buck’s.  The boy stood between the two men holding their hands and sighed happily.

Ezra looked at those three silver ornaments hanging together on the huge tree and felt something he had never felt before. He felt like he belonged.  It was a glorious feeling for a child that had always been an outsider in his own blood family.  It was another miracle as far as the little boy was concerned.

“Well that’s a good start,” Nettie called out when Ezra appeared content to stand there and stare at the nearly bare Christmas tree all night, “but we have a long way to go before we’re finished.”

Ezra turned his head to look at the smiling woman and then up at Buck.  The man smiled back down and said teasingly, “She’s right.  We better get a move on if we want to get this thing decorated before Christmas.  Can’t have Santa come in to put gifts under a naked tree!  He might think we don’t have any Christmas spirit.”

The mention of Santa Claus was all it took to galvanize the boy.  He let go of JD’s hand and used his hold on Buck to drag him back toward the boxes of ornaments.  Buck’s laughter rang out, sparking a round of it from the rest of the room.

“There is a boy on a mission,” Josiah chuckled to Nathan as they watched Ezra hand out boxes of ornaments to the others under Buck’s direction, starting with the ladies first as Buck had informed him was the polite thing to do.

“It’s good to see him acting like a normal little boy,” Nathan answered back with his own soft smile. “I can remember acting just like that at Christmas time.  The thought of Santa Claus coming with presents ruled my head and controlled my behavior for weeks at Christmas time.”

Josiah didn’t reply, thinking on his own Christmases as a young child that had been so very different from those Jackson had just described. As the son of a fanatical missionary, Santa had not been a part of their celebrations for Christmas, neither had Christmas trees.  Both were things his father saw as secular corruptions of a holy day.

Christmas in the Sanchez household was not the joyous day of presents and feasting as it was for most people who celebrated the day. Instead, it was a time of fasting and prayer...and pain as his father tried to beat the demons from his children when they had not seemed devout enough to please the man.  It was only having Chris stand between himself and his father’s blows that had saved his sanity until the angel could arrange a better place for him to go.  To this very day the judge sorrowed that he had not been able to help his sister, Hannah, save hers but she had already been lost in her own world before Chris came to him.

The man was brought out of his bitter memories by Ezra bopping over to him merrily and handing him a box that contained an assortment of bells, ornaments and silver tinsel.  He couldn’t stay gloomy in the face of such innocent happiness.

“This one’s for you, Josiah,” the happy child held up the box and waited until Josiah took it before handing the one in his other hand to Nathan.   “And this one’s yours Nathan.”

“Many thanks, son,” Josiah told him, looking down at the child kindly.

Nathan grinned at boy and said, “Yeah, thanks, Ez.”

Ezra took a step away then turned back to wave the men forward.  “Come on,” he told them, voice full of enthusiasm, “It’s time to put the stuff on the tree.  You got to come help!” 

The men obligingly rose from their seats and followed the boy to stand with the others that had gathered around the big tree and were laughing and playfully arguing about the best spots for their respective ornaments.

Ezra was full of little boy wonder.  What had started out as nothing more than a big bare tree was swiftly turned into a CHRISTMAS TREE before his very eyes.  The child, animated happiness almost dripping from his pores, darted here and there between the laughing adults placing his own share of ornaments.  There was always a willing man there to lift him up to put his latest choice of decoration in just the right place when he couldn’t reach it, and plenty of voices to assure him that it was the perfect spot for it, each and every time he put one on the tree.  Much too soon for the little boy, the last decoration - the large crystalline star on the top that Buck held him up to place - was put on and they all stood back to admire their handiwork.

“Now THAT’S a properly decorated Christmas tree,” Buck exclaimed with satisfaction, hugging the boy he still held in his arms.

The others had to concur with his assessment.  The tree was heavy with decorations, silver garlands wound their way around the branches, and tinsel dripped from it like silver water.  There was only one thing missing.  As the others watched, JD flipped the switch on the surge protector bar and the lights winked on to complete the show.

“It’s beautiful,” Ezra whispered in awe, never having seen anything as lovely in his life.

“That it is,” Buck agreed.  “Just the kind of tree every boy needs for his first Christmas.”

The rest of the evening was spent with the adults seated around the room comfortably, devouring the rest of the goodies and drinking the eggnog Nettie had made for the occasion (alcohol free as Buck was still enforcing the no liquor rule), and just enjoying the time spent together.  Ezra remained seated on the floor beside Buck’s legs watching the lights blink on the beautiful tree until the big man eventually felt the little one start to slump against his leg as sleep snuck up on him.

Buck excused himself and carried the drowsing child upstairs despite the ubiquitous protests from the boy that he wasn’t tired. Buck helped him undress and slip into a pair of pajamas. He pulled back the covers of the bed far enough for Ezra to crawl in then pulled them back up and tucked them around the child who was already losing the fight against sleep.

“Goodnight, son,” Buck said softly and bent to press a goodnight kiss on the boy’s forehead.  The unintelligible mumble that came from Ezra he chose to take as the boy’s goodnight.  Buck straightened up and stood watching the child as he slept for a few minutes, enjoying the peaceful feeling he got at the sight, before he left the room and returned to his guests downstairs.

Part 20

Part 18

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