(Song “Scarlet Ribbons” sung by Sinead O’Connor) I peeked in to say goodnight And I heard my child in prayer And for me some scarlet ribbons Scarlet ribbons for my hair All the stores were closed and shuttered All the streets were dark and bare In our town, no scarlet ribbons Thru the night my heart was aching Just before the dawn was breaking I peeped in and lying there Lovely ribbons, scarlet ribbons Scarlet ribbons for her hair If I live to be a hundred I will never know from where Came those ribbons, scarlet ribbons Scarlet ribbons for her hair It was after eight on Christmas Eve and Louise had quietly opened the door to Ellie’s bedroom to make sure the child was readying herself for bed. As she stood in the doorway, it broke her heart to hear her daughter praying for something she wanted so badly for Christmas. “Please, dear God, if I can only have one thing for Christmas, please let it be a pair of scarlet ribbons for my hair. It’s the only thing I’m wishing for…” Louise’s hand flew up to cover her mouth at the child’s wish, for this was the first she had heard of her desire for scarlet ribbons. Softly backing out of the room and closing the door, Louise wiped away a tear that had escaped down her cheek, before knocking on her daughter’s door. “Ellie, honey. Are you all ready for bed?” she asked. “Come in Momma,” Ellie called out as she pulled the blanket up to her neck. Smiling, Louise entered the room. “I don’t know how you sleep with those blankets all the way up like that,” she said coming to sit on the edge of the bed. “I like it like this, Momma. It’s all warm and snuggly.” Louise laughed at the face Ellie made and leaned over to kiss her on the forehead. Sitting back, she took a moment to study her daughter, the daughter that Kid had never had the chance to meet. Sighing, Louise brushed a lock of auburn hair from Ellie’s face and said, “I can’t believe how grown up you’re becoming.” Giggling, Ellie teased, “But I’m only eight Momma! That’s not very grown up is it?” Shaking her head, Louise teasingly replied, “No, but don’t grow up too fast on me now, you hear?” Giving her mother a hug and kiss, Ellie promised, “I’ll try not to Momma.” Patting her daughter’s arm, Louise said, “It’s getting late. You need to get to sleep or Santa won’t come. Don’t forget that Grandpa Teaspoon, Aunt Rachel and Uncle Jimmy will be here early for dinner too.” Yawning too wide to hide from her mother, Ellie murmured, “Okay.” And closed her tired eyes. As Louise made her way back to her room, she worried about the prayer she had overheard her daughter make to God. It was late at night and all the shops in town were closed so she couldn’t go out searching for the scarlet ribbons her daughter had her heart set upon. Even if they had been open, she wouldn’t have been able to leave her child home alone. “If only she had mentioned the ribbons before…” Louise muttered, gathering the gifts she had hidden in her room for her daughter and taking them out into the living room to set under the Christmas tree that Jimmy had helped Ellie chop down and drag home. Blowing out the candles in the living room, her heart saddened at the disappointment that would greet Ellie in the morning when she did not find the scarlet ribbons under the tree. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The clock showed it was near seven-thirty when Louise emerged dressed from her room the next morning. Surprised that Ellie was not awake and clamoring to be allowed to open ‘just one’ of her gifts before the rest of the family arrived, Louise went to wake her daughter. Opening the door, Louise’s breath caught in surprise and her hand flew to her mouth, for there on the pillow next to her daughter’s was a beautiful pair of scarlet ribbons for her hair. Quickly looking around the room, Louise did not notice anything out of place other than the ribbons. Closing the door, she hurried through the rest of the house to check for any other signs left behind by the giver of the ribbons. The kitchen was still dark and showed no signs of anyone having entered through the backdoor. Upon entering the living room, Louise’s eyes were drawn to the tree in the corner of the room. Surrounding it, alongside the gifts she had laid out the night before, were at least a dozen other packages of varying size and shape. Rushing to inspect them closer, Louise was unable to determine who might have left them, not recognizing the writing on the packages. Scrutinizing the room more slowly, she noticed that there were faint puddles where feet would have walked leading from the front door towards where the tree stood. With the snow melted, Louise was unable to determine the size of the boot print to give her an idea of who the mystery elf might have been. The sound of Ellie’s door opening brought Louise’s attention away from the mystery gifts and she went to greet her daughter as she entered the room. Holding up the lengths of scarlet ribbon, Ellie gushed, “Look, Momma! I got them! I got them!” Hugging her daughter, Louise smiled. “The ribbons are beautiful Ellie. What a wonderful surprise!” Handing her mother a brush, Ellie pleaded, “Will you please put them in my hair Momma? I want to look pretty for Grandpa Teaspoon and Uncle Jimmy when they get here.” Laughing at Ellie’s exuberance, Louise complied with the child’s wishes. All the while her mind was working away trying to figure out whom the person might be who could have left all the gifts. ‘Who could have known Ellie wanted these ribbons?’ she asked herself as she tied them on the ends of Ellie’s braids. ‘I didn’t even know until last night myself.’ Louise was surprised when Ellie did not ask to open any of the gifts stacked under the tree, though her eyes became big as saucers when she caught sight of all that was there. “I’m going to start on breakfast, if you’d like to help,” Louise said to the child, sure that she would prefer to stay near the tempting gifts. “I’ll be there in a moment, Momma,” Ellie responded, waiting for her mother to leave the room so that she could go get the gift she had hidden in her room for her. As Louise started a pot of coffee, she surmised that Jimmy must be the mystery visitor and planned on thanking him for the ribbons for Ellie and cautiously chastising him for leaving all the other gifts, knowing that he too, didn’t have much money. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Breakfast dishes having been washed and dried, Ellie was finishing putting them away as Louise started preparing Christmas dinner. Once the ham was in the oven, Louise began kneading the dough she had left rising behind the stove over night. Ellie went to the pantry and brought out a bowl full of potatoes and a squash for her mother. As she set them on the counter near the sink, there was stomping heard out front of the house. Running from the kitchen to open the door, Ellie cried out, “It’s Grandpa, Aunt Rachel and Uncle Jimmy!” Louise followed more slowly, wiping her hands in her apron as her daughter let their guests in. Shaking snow from their hats, Teaspoon and Jimmy grinned as Ellie tried to grab the gifts they were carrying. “Now, hold on there brat!” Jimmy told Ellie with affection. “You’re gonna make Grandpa drop ‘em and I think I seen my name on one of those!” Ellie tried to stifle a giggle but only succeeded in making them all laugh. “Merry Christmas, Louise,” Rachel greeted handing her the basket of food she had brought for them to partake of with the dinner Louise was fixing. “Sure smells good in here,” she mentioned hanging her coat upon a peg near the door. “Umm, what? Oh, thank you,” Louise murmured to the woman, her mind rethinking Jimmy as the mysterious benefactor, since his arms were laden with gifts for everyone along with what Teaspoon was arranging around the tree. As she watched the two men and her daughter, she noticed Jimmy catch one of Ellie’s braids as she passed and his comment to her. “Those sure are pretty ribbons you got there Ellie. I haven’t seen them before, are they new?” With pride, Ellie explained, “They are a Christmas gift. Aren’t they the prettiest color you ever did see?” Jimmy nodded in agreement as he put the last gift on the pile and stood back to look at the tree. “Nice,” he commented. “I declare,” Teaspoon stated standing back with his thumbs hooked in his trademark faded red suspenders, “Someone sure must have been good this years with all the gifts under that there tree!” “Me, me!” Ellie chimed cheerfully dancing around her grandfather. “Here, let me take that for you Lou,” Jimmy offered, reaching for the basket she was still holding. “Thank you, Jimmy,” she murmured, glancing at the man as she turned to follow him down the hall to the kitchen. Rachel was still in the living room talking with Ellie and Teaspoon, so Louise took the time to question Jimmy about her nighttime visitor. “Um, Jimmy, can I ask you something? Something important?” she queried, starting to empty the basket Rachel had brought. Snatching a cookie off a plate on the table, Jimmy took a bite and said, “Sure. What do you want to know?” Not sure how to ask, Louise hemmed and hawed a moment, then blurted, “Did you sneak into the house last night and leave Ellie those scarlet ribbons? And all those gifts under the tree? They weren’t there when I went to bed, that’s for sure." Giving her a puzzled look, which turned to a scowl as he asked, “What on earth are you talking about Lou? Did you have an intruder last night? You and Ellie are all right aren’t you? Is anything missing?” “That’s the funny thing,” she stated, putting down a jar of chow-chow that Rachel had made special for Teaspoon, who loved the relish. “Nothing was taken, but a whole pile of packages were under the tree this morning and the ribbons were lying on Ellie’s pillow!” “I don’t know what to tell you, Lou,” Jimmy offered, grabbing another cookie and hurrying out of the kitchen as Rachel entered asking, “What can I help with Louise?” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ While the women finished cooking dinner, Teaspoon and Jimmy were entertained by Ellie who stated that she would sing all the Christmas carols she knew to the two men while they waited to eat. Jimmy grimaced behind the child’s back as he took a seat near the fire, knowing what they were in for, having heard Ellie sing earlier in the week. Teaspoon sat with a strained smile on his face as Ellie finished her fourth song, which she mangled as she had the previous three, not knowing all the words and singing off key. As she took a deep breath before starting to sing another song, Teaspoon called out loudly, “Rachel, Louise, is that dinner almost ready? You got two starving men in here!” Laughter could be heard coming from the kitchen at his comment. “I’m surprised he lasted through four songs! Jimmy made it through two last week before he remembered something ‘important’ he had to do that he had forgotten about,” Louise confided in Rachel, pulling the ham from the oven. “Poor, Ellie. She’s Kid’s daughter in that respect. Neither of them could carry a tune, but she keeps on trying.” Rachel nodded, understanding having heard Kid singing in the shower once while he was working as an Express rider. “Dinner is served,” Louise told the trio in the living room with a flourish, putting Teaspoon and Jimmy out of their misery. Rushing to beat the other two, Teaspoon called out behind him, “Last one there says ‘grace’.” “No fair,” Jimmy hollered, getting pushed aside by the running eight-year-old, who he was tempted to pull back behind him seeing how he hated saying ‘grace’, but one look from Louise stopped him from doing so. The last one to enter the kitchen, Jimmy scowled at the two already seated at the table. “That’s just mean Teaspoon and you know it!” “Now, Jimmy. Fair’s fair and you were the last one to arrive, so you get the honor this year of saying ‘grace’,” the grinning man said, giving Ellie a wink, causing her to giggle as Jimmy sank into his seat. Louise and Rachel took their places at the table and folded their hands as Jimmy tossed Teaspoon one last scowl before speaking, “Lord, we thank you for this food you have provided us and the many blessings you give us each day. Please keep safe all those who are dear to us and far from home. Amen.” Clearing his throat, Teaspoon remarked, “See, Jimmy. You did a real fine job of saying ‘grace’, so fine, I think we’ll let you say it from now on!” Muttering under his breath, Jimmy ignored the remark and asked Rachel, “Please pass the potatoes.” The rest of the meal passed without incident. While Jimmy and Teaspoon lingered over a cup of coffee, Ellie hurried her mother and aunt who were clearing the leftovers and dishes away. “Oh, can’t we go open gifts now?” the child pleaded; anxious to see what awaited her under the tree. “If some little girl would help clear the table, we might get to them faster,” her mother suggested, handing her a stack of dirty plates to put in the sink. After depositing them in the sink with a clatter, she turned and asked, “Now?” Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Lou finally capitulated. “Oh, all right!” To which the child let out an ear splitting whoop of joy and ran from the room, leaving the adults to follow at a more demure pace. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ After all the gifts were passed out, Teaspoon cleared his throat before declaring, “Seeing how’s I’m the oldest ‘n all, I do believe I should go first…” Louise, Jimmy and Rachel all rolled their eyes, having heard this for the past seven years, ever since Ellie could argue back saying, “No, Grandpa! I go first. I’m the youngest.” After bantering back and forth on who should go first, they both decided they should each open a gift at the same time. In a matter of minutes there was a pile of clothing, toys and books in front of the child. Teaspoon had his own stack of clothing growing with each package. “That one is from me Grandpa!” Ellie said with pride as he opened the paper to reveal a new pair of red suspenders. “How did you know these are exactly what I needed?” he asked in wonder as he removed his faded pair and attached the new, much brighter red ones. “Your old ones are pink!” she declared, which in her mind, explained everything. Skipping over to her mother, Ellie was anxious for her mother to open the gifts in front of her to see what she had been given by everyone. “Open mine first, Momma,” Ellie pleaded handing her an awkwardly wrapped package. Inside was a wooden box upon which Ellie had painted flowers. “It’s a jewelry box. I made it myself,” glancing over at Jimmy who winked, she added, “But Uncle Jimmy helped a little,” she admitted giving her uncle a quick, little grin. “Oh, Ellie. It’s beautiful,” Louise gushed, overcome with emotion at her daughter’s gift. “Open this one next, Momma. It’s from Aunt Rachel,” she chimed, handing her a large, flat, soft gift. “So it is,” her mother murmured with a smile, delighted to see a warm dress in greens that Rachel had sewn for her. With a smile of thanks, Lou turned just in time to catch a box that Jimmy was tossing her. “That’s from Uncle Jimmy,” the child told her, as if her mother would not have figured it out since he’d just thrown it to her. “Oh, Jimmy, it’s beautiful,” Lou cried, overcome with emotion once again as she gazed down at the locket in the box. “Open it,” he suggested. Her fingers hurried to do as he said revealing a miniature of Ellie on one side coupled with a faded one of Kid on the other. She looked over at her friend with tears in her eyes and said quietly, “Thank you. Thank you so very much…” Not noticing her mother was crying, Ellie nudged her arm, trying to see what was in the locket. “That’s the picture you had taken of me Uncle Jimmy!” she declared when she saw her own smiling face. “But who’s that man?” she asked not recognizing her own father’s picture. With a trace of sadness, Louise told her, “That’s your daddy, Ellie. This picture was taken a long time ago, when Uncle Jimmy and I first met your daddy.” “Oh,” was all she said, turning to see what other gifts her mother had to open still. The pile in front of her grew as she opened a new pair of gloves from Teaspoon, a crocheted shawl from Rachel, a photo of the others with her daughter from Jimmy and then came the mystery gifts. With a puzzled look, Louise opened the first of five sitting next to her chair. She received a new bridle for Lightning, whom she still had from her Express days, a pair of boots, a book of poems she had been admiring at the mercantile a few weeks ago, a bottle of perfume and lastly a large box of chocolates. Rachel received a set of hair combs from Teaspoon, a pair of earrings from Jimmy and from Louise and Ellie a new set of winter gloves with a matching scarf. For Jimmy, Teaspoon had gotten him a new gun belt; having noticed the current one the man wore was wearing thin. Rachel crocheted him a nice warm scarf and a blanket out of blue wool that he had admired at her house one time. From Ellie, he received a drawing that she had done of him and his horse, Sundance, who was still as spry as during Jimmy’s Express days. Louise had sewn two new shirts for him, which he fingered, thanking her for her thoughtfulness. Ellie was impatiently asking her mother if she could have a piece of chocolate that she had received and since dinner had been eaten Louise allowed her to open the box up. “Only one for now, Ellie,” Lou said to her daughter with joy as she watched Ellie trying to decide which piece looked the best. “Oh, my,” Rachel said, accepting a chocolate from the box as Louise passed it around to everyone. “Who are these from?” Looking stumped, Louise shook her head telling them all about the nightly visitor. Three pairs of eyes turned towards Jimmy, who just threw up his hands declaring, “It wasn’t me, honest. I was home all evening.” With some doubt, they chose to take him at his word and let the matter drop after Rachel stated, “Between what Louise received and the ribbons, game, and book that Ellie opened, whomever your elf was, they sure had good taste in gifts.” The rest of the afternoon passed pleasantly as the small group played Ellie’s new board game and told stories of Christmases past while eating large amounts of cutout cookies that Ellie decorated and cups of hot cocoa. As darkness fell, Teaspoon, Rachel and Jimmy made their goodbyes to Louise and Ellie, once more wishing them, “Merry Christmas.” Alone again with her daughter, Louise carefully untied the scarlet ribbons and laid them on the dresser in Ellie’s room, wondering just who they came from. ‘My money is still on Jimmy, but he said it wasn’t him…who else could it be?’ Drop me a note and let me know what you thought!