The Little Drummer Boy
Down below the city, the Dining Hall during breakfast was buzzing. It seemed as if the atmosphere was electric, with everyone talking of the quickly approaching Christmas Holiday.
The children were especially wound up, because they were still charged up from last night's activity designing this year's Tunnel Christmas card. And so as they all gathered around Jacob, they excitedly told him about this year’s design, which was to be the Drummer Boy.
Since Jacob still felt badly he had missed out on the annual Christmas tradition, he humbly listened, giving a nod of approval, as he told the children both Mary and Vincent had told him about the theme, and of how delighted he was with the chosen motif.
Jacob then turned to Little Natalie, and said, "And I understand The little Drummer Boy theme, was your idea."
To which Natalie proudly admitted to the allegation, and after Jacob said how proud he was of her, and wished he had been there, Natalie expressed, "Well we sure missed you last night Father, we missed you very, very, very much, that's for sure!"
With an apologetic demeanor, Jacob nodded, and then tried to sound cheerful as he noted, "I do know Vincent took my place of course, and then heard Catherine helped out as well. That was nice of her, don't you think, and so tell me, how do you children like Catherine?"
Well of course, everyone spoke at once, and they all said, they like her very much, and then Samantha voiced, "Not only is she really nice, but she is really good at doing art projects!
Happy to hear how much they like Catherine, Jacob replied, "Good, I like her too, AND it's good to know she is handy in the art department. Well, jolly good then, I am happy to hear the session had gone so well."
To which Kipper commented, “Yep, I'd say it did, and Vincent did good. We even talked him into wearing the Chimney hat!"
And then Samantha giggled as she chimed in, "We had to beg Vincent to wear it because at first he didn't want to in front of Catherine!”
With a knowing nod, Jacob said, “Ahh of course, the silliness of wearing such
a hat would go against Vincent's nature...and to wear it in front of Catherine..."
As Jacob began to chuckle, he ended with a hearty laugh as he continued, "...well I can only imagine…so all in all it sounds like it was a perfect session then, complete with Vincent donning the whimsical festive chapeau."
To which Zach said, "That hat is funny all right, but I don't know if I would say everything went perfect Father, on a score of one to ten, I'd give it an eight! You know why? Cuz we all forgot about telling the story."
Upon hearing this scoop, Jacob found himself feeling guiltily satisfied for knowing things had not gone perfect after all!
And so as Jacob looked about wanting to make sure Vincent was out of earshot, and then pryingly asked, “You say Vincent forgot to tell the story? But which story, the Christmas based story, or the First Tunnel Christmas story?"
To which Zach said, "The First Tunnel Christmas Story!"
And then Eric surmised, "But he couldn’t‘ve told it right Father? Cuz Vincent wasn’t here then...I mean he wasn’t even born yet.”
Haltingly, Jacob held up a finger, and with a cocked brow, replied, “True, true…although Vincent has heard the story enough times himself to have been able to repeat it.”
Scratching his chin, Jacob conceded, “Hmmm, it's hard to imagine Vincent forgot, I mean telling the story is an integral part of the Christmas Card session tradition! We darsen’t minimize its importance! So, You say no one else remembered either, not any of you, not even Mary?”
Upon which the children chimed in, saying, “Nope! None of us did!”
As Jacob began to scheme, he thought perhaps this was a lucky break for him! And so Jacob thought he would arrange an additional gathering, showcasing himself, telling The Tunnel's First Christmas Story!
Thinking to himself, "Hmmm, this could be just the vehicle, of which I could salvage my good standing with the children AND Mary!"
And so Jacob told the wide eyed children, “I believe we must do something to correct this oversight. Do you all agree?”
Excitedly the children all said yes, and waited to hear what Jacob would propose to do about it.
And so Jacob thinking out loud, but also to the children said, "Perhaps I could plan an additional event?"
As the children all bounced about with glee, Jacob’s mind was racing as he began to consider the details, and so he shared, "I could ask William to bake some more cookies, along with preparing another vat of his special hot coco..."
Excitedly, as ideas, and details began to unfold, it was then Jacob thought privately to himself, "Hmmm, why not a gathering for everyone? Adults of the community as well!"
Meantime, just then, Jacob could see Vincent and Mary approaching! And so nervously he thwarted the children from further commenting, by telling them, “Leave everything to me children, and I errr, I will be the one to inform Vincent and Mary of the upcoming story telling event. We wouldn’t want them to feel badly about forgetting such an important detail, now would we?”
They all agreed, saying they wouldn’t want to hurt their feelings for all the tea in China Town!
So meantime as the two advanced, Mary under her breath told Vincent, "Just follow my lead."
And so as they approached the rally Jacob was conducting, Vincent asked, “So have you and the children been talking about the Christmas Card session Father?”
But because Mary had just instructed Vincent to follow HER lead, she gave him a sideways glance, wondering why he initiated the covert operation!
So a ruffled Mary, turned back to Jacob to eagerly insert, "Yes, that was what I was just ABOUT to ask..."
Clearing his throat, Jacob answered, “I believe the subject may have come up…yes…yes I believe it did.”
Detecting an undercurrent of guarded excitement amongst Jacob and the children, Vincent smiled subtly at Mary indicating he's got this. And so Vincent next asked, “Hmm, hopefully they said all went well…”
And because no one spoke right away, Vincent questioned further, asking, “Father? Children?”
To which Jacob cautiously began, by finally responding, “Oh well yes of course, the children all said you both did a splendid job filling in for me; and they clearly loved having Catherine there last night to help out as well...however the children did tell me there was a major omission of sorts. It would seem neither you, or Mary remembered to tell the story of the first Christmas which was celebrated here below in the tunnels!”
With astonishment, Mary turned to Vincent and gasped, “Golly willikers!Imagine that! We forgot to tell the story!”
“So we did…” replied Vincent, and then because he wanted to lend a little naturalness to the dialog, he matter-of-factly added, “Oh well, there's always next year."
And because their plan up to this point was working so well, Mary couldn't believe Vincent responded that way! And so she shot him a dirty look, and quickly inserted, "Next year! Well that's a long time to wait! We wouldn't want to deprive the children of hearing the story during this Christmas season, now would we?"
With a thoughtful nod, Vincent put his finger to his chin, and replied, "No...no I suppose not, well how can we make up for this indiscretion?”
Feeling relieved Vincent was back on track, Mary replied, "Hmm, deary me, I don't know, any ideas Father?"
To which Jacob eagerly answered, “In truth, the children and I had just arrived at a solution. I was thinking we could hold a separate assembly for just this cause.”
Agreeably, Mary said, “An additional assembly? Oh my, what fun! I think that sounds like a grand idea, don’t you Vincent?”
Still wanting to offer realism, Vincent thoughtfully questioned, "A separate assembly? Do we have the time? I mean things are going to be getting hectic, with the decorating and such, then there's the annuals coming up this week as well."
To which Mary looking a bit angrily at Vincent, expounded, "Of course we have the time!"
With a feigned urgency, Vincent responded, "But when Mary? You of all people, "The Micro Manager" knows that such an event would NEED time to plan!"
To which Mary pooh-pooh'd Vincent's comment not only with another dirty look, but with an umbraged tone as well, saying, "Well this Micro Manager thinks "Plan Splan" we can make the time!"
Meanwhile, Jacob's head was on a swivel, as he looked back and forth between Mary and his son during their debate!
And so turning now to include Jacob, Vincent asked, "Do you feel we can fit this in, and if so, when could we have this assembly Father?"
To which Jacob replied, “Well, I believe we DO have the time, and I thought, well, why couldn't we plan it for tomorrow night?”
So rocking back and forth on his heels, Vincent with his hands behind his back, contemplated aloud, "Tomorrow night...tomorrow night...I don't know!"
And because tomorrow night was maybe a bit ambitious, Jacob began to offer, "Well perhaps tomorrow night is too..."
But before Jacob could get cold feet, Mary with haste butted in, proclaiming, "Why put it off! Tomorrow night it is!"
Feeling relieved his idea will be put into action, Jacob responded with a smile, questionably saying, "Splendid we are all in agreement then? Vincent?"
With a tip of his head, Vincent compliantly said, "I believe we are!"
To which after the children all cheered, Vincent warmly informed the children, “Good thing Mary and I had forgotten, because now you will be hearing The Tunnel's First Christmas Story, not only from the founder of these tunnels, but from THE master story teller himself.”
Again the children erupted in cheers, all saying they liked that!
And as Vincent turned now toward Jacob, he continued, “And you Father, you will be able to share in the annual Christmas tradition this year after all.”
To which Mary thoughtfully added, "Yes...as it should be..."
And then Mary hesitantly mentioned, “You know...it seems a shame to limit this special assembly to only the children. Do you suppose the entire community could attend? If we hold the session here? I mean there is plenty of room.”
Upon hearing Mary's suggestion, Jacob privately thought, "Superb! This is working out great!"
Yes Jacob was so happy for the fact it was Mary who brought up the subject of adults being included before he did! So cocking a brow, and with an approving nod, Jacob indicated Mary had a good idea! Cautiously though, before commenting, he liberally asked the children of their opinion. And so with thoughtful animation, he asked, “Children? What do you think? Should adults be welcomed as well? After all, this IS usually an event just for you children.”
With open hearts the children all said “Yes”, everyone should come! And then Kipper excitedly suggested, “Yeah, maybe you should invite Catherine too Vincent! She probably never heard the story yet!”
Delighted affirming comments came from everyone, and looking to Jacob for approval, Vincent asked, “Father?”
To which Jacob exclaimed, “Of course…Catherine must come.”
Just then, some of the tunnel dwellers began to approach Jacob asking when may they pick out their Christmas decorations.
After repeating his-self for the third time, Mary suggested he make an official announcement, informing every one of the decorating plan, and could also tell everyone about the newly planned special event for tomorrow night at the same time.
Smiling, at Mary, Jacob gallantly thanked her for her splendid suggestion, and so after clearing his throat, he announced, “Everyone, may I have your attention? I want you to know, we will be sorting out the decorations immediately after breakfast this morning in the Community's Storage Chamber. Remember first come first serve, so don’t dawdle..."
And then Jacob chuckled a bit as he added, "It is as they say, You snooze you loose!"
After the laughing from the community died away, Jacob continued, "Ahem, and also, there will be a special gathering tomorrow night here, where I will be telling The Tunnel's First Christmas Story.”
Upon hearing this news, there was an excited murmuring in the Dining Hall, and then Rebecca, who wanted clarification asked, "You mean just for the children...right Father?"
With Mary beaming at Jacob's side, he then clarified, "This year...all are invited! The entire community, and any Helpers who are able to come as well!"
Upon hearing this news, delighted gasps spread throughout the Hall, and Pascal himself looked back at Zach to eagerly say, “Nice! I hadn’t heard that story since I was a runt your age! I am gonna look forward to hearing Father tell it again.”
To which Zach replied, “Wow, no kiddin'? Man it's been THAT LONG since you heard the story!? How many years ago was THAT?”
Shooting the younger dweller a stern look, Pascal claimed, "Well, let me put it this way, it was during this century."
Pascal then ruffled Zach's hair, and teasingly grumbled, "THAT LONG...I ought-a let you have it."
And so as Jacob was otherwise engaged with questions from the community, Mary had a chance to privately admonish Vincent, scolding, "I thought I told you to follow my lead! Vincent you almost blew it!"
With a smile in his eyes, he claimed, "I merely wanted to lend some realism with a little "Good Cop, Bad Cop" verbiage Mary, I only tried to imagine how the conversation would have naturally unfolded. And besides, we didn't want Father to sail off too easily now did we?"
With a frown, Mary did agree, but then next scolded, "And by the way, what did you mean saying I was a Micro Manager?"
To which Vincent responded, "Oh that! I just threw that comment in there for a little flare!"
Crossing her arms, Mary scolded, "I see! A little flare uh? Not realism? Vincent Wells, if you were younger I would paddle your britches. You are just lucky Father didn't withdraw his proposal."
To which Vincent replied, "The excitement Father was trying to conceal, I promise you, that would NOT have happened."
With an excited giggle, Mary had to agree, and then said, "I believe you are right. Well luckily, at the end of the day, job well done Vincent. Mission accomplished."
With a nod, Vincent put out his arm to escort Mary to her seat, and repeated, "Yes indeed Mary, job well done."
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Well the day turned out to be a very busy one below in the tunnels, as Christmas Decorating had officially begun!
Each year, new items are added to the tunnel decoration stockpile, as an assortment of anything Christmassy, discarded from top-siders had been added to the mix.
And so the excited dwellers browsed through the decorations, and took away items that either suited their fancy because of the memories attached to them from the previous years, or because of its significance and or beauty.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, as Brooke returned to the children's chamber with her assortment of decorations, she told Rebecca, "Thanks for filling in for me, and good news, the Nativity you always pick out is still sitting there!"
Thanking Brooke for the intel, Rebecca promised to come right back so either Laura or Jamie could go next.
And so Rebecca scurried along to the Storage Chamber, and as she raced over to Mary, she anxiously asked, “Can you show me where the wooden Manger is Mary?”
To which after Mary searchingly looked about, she said, “I believe so…yes, there it is.”
As Mary walked with Rebecca, she took her directly to it, and happily Rebecca was able to claim the beautiful oak Manger scene before anyone else did.
Meanwhile, as Vincent saw Rebecca from afar, he smiled to himself as she lovingly scooped up the Manger which Cullen had carved for the community many, many years ago.
Walking up to Rebecca and Mary, Vincent said, “I am glad you claimed your coveted Manger. I was growing nervous as a few of the others were eyeing it up. However, in accordance to Father’s rule, you know I would not have been able to stop them had they picked it up.”
Hugging the Manger to herself, she said, “I know all about the rule Vincent. I am just so thankful I got here in time."
To which Mary asked, "Well where were you Dear? You heard Father! He warned if you snooze you loose!"
Looking back at Mary, Rebecca explained, "The children were quite restless after breakfast, so I offered to fill in, while Laura, Jamie and Brooke take turns picking out their decorations. In fact, I should hurry back, both Laura and Jamie are anxious for their turns too."
And then with an emotional tone, Rebecca shared, "Before I go though, I must tell you, the children are all so excited about Father telling the story to them tomorrow night. In truth, I think we all are.”
To which Mary warmly, but guiltily concurred, "I do agree with you about that."
Rebecca then thoughtfully looked firstly to Vincent and then to Mary, and said, “I cannot imagine how the both of you forgot to tell the story last night! Shame on you two.”
Looking downcast before looking at each other, Mary gave way to a wide grin, as she innocently told Vincent, “I know! Shame on us!”
Suddenly Rebecca began to suspect something funny was going on, and so she slyly asked, “Don’t tell me you forgot on purpose!”
Nervously, Vincent looked about, hoping no one was near by to over hear, when Mary let out a very substantial, “SHHHHH! Keep your voice down! You don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea.”
Slyly Rebecca inquired, “And what is the wrong idea? Did you two forget on purpose or not?”
Subtly, Vincent explained, “I knew Father felt torn last night, and so, Mary and I thought perhaps he could still partake in one aspect of the yearly session, IF we had forgotten to do it.”
Guiltily, Mary expressed, “Admittedly, I was a bit hard on Father yesterday, that was until I realized he never got word the session was changed. I naturally assumed Father had chosen to spend the evening with that woman…errr…with Jessica, without any account to how I…errr...to how the CHILDREN felt. So like I said, after I heard Mouse never gave him my message, and learned through Vincent that Father DID feel badly about missing the session, well we both knew we had to come up with something he could share in. But it was Vincent who actually purposefully omitted the recitation of the historic tale of our tunnels, with the intention of saving it for Father to tell! Which may I say again Vincent...it was brilliant, simply brilliant!”
Humbly Vincent rocked back on his heels, as he nodded over toward his Father, who was helping Oliva, Kanin and little Lukey with their decorations, and he noted, "I think all in all we did the right thing...look how happy Father is..."
As Mary and Rebecca glanced over to observe the patriarch, who was laughing and joyfully assisting the little tunnel family, they had to agree, and then Rebecca said, “Oh yes…definitely! His demeanor from yesterday is like night and day.”
Thoughtfully Vincent stood thinking, “If Father ever found out this was a purposeful omission…”
And so he put his arms around both the ladies, and gently gathering them closer to him, he cautiously asked, “I know there is no need to say this can go no further than right here? Do I?”
With a gasp, Mary assuredly said, “You won’t ever hear me speak about it again.”
Simultaneously, both Mary and Vincent looked towards Rebecca, who with a slight giggle promised, “Me either. I swear mums the word. Well off I go, see you two later.”
And it was then, Vincent had the chance to pick out some decorations of his own, when suddenly from across the chamber Jacob scolded, "Mouse! Get a hold of that varmint won't you? He is eating the gingerbread decorations the children made last year!"
Calling his friend to aid him, Mouse yelled, "Vincent! Help get Arthur!"
After putting down his decorations, Vincent went to help corner Arthur, and was able to scoop up the bewildered little tunnel darling, who was simply trying to enjoy a mid-morning snack!
Hastily, Jacob hobbled closer to the action, and sternly suggested, "When you bring along your furry pal, may I suggest using a leash?"
Downhearted because of the damage Arthur caused, Mouse sadly said, "Ok fine."
He then took his pet from Vincent, and told Arthur, "Now you are in trouble with Father. Better for you to stay on my shoulder."
As Vincent saw how badly Mouse felt, he changed the focus from Arthur back to the Holiday Task on hand!
And so as Vincent gathered his decorations, he joyfully asked, "Mouse, it is time for us to begin our annual decorating pilgrimage! Are you ready my friend?"
Being chosen to be Vincent's decorating bud, definitely perked up Mouse, and so he gleefully replied, "Sure!"
With hope, Mouse then asked, " Arthur come too?"
To which Vincent said, "Without question...Arthur too..."
And as the three of them turned to leave, Mary noted, "Vincent...your little snowman is missing an arm..."
Upon looking at his little tchotchke, he replied, "So he is...that's all right, I still like 'em."
Smiling and shaking her head at Vincent's sweet reply, Mary said, "Have fun decorating!"
And with that said, Mouse, Arthur and Vincent headed for his chamber.
To be continued
Chapter Two
Down below the city, the Dining Hall during breakfast was buzzing. It seemed as if the atmosphere was electric, with everyone talking of the quickly approaching Christmas Holiday.
The children were especially wound up, because they were still charged up from last night's activity designing this year's Tunnel Christmas card. And so as they all gathered around Jacob, they excitedly told him about this year’s design, which was to be the Drummer Boy.
Since Jacob still felt badly he had missed out on the annual Christmas tradition, he humbly listened, giving a nod of approval, as he told the children both Mary and Vincent had told him about the theme, and of how delighted he was with the chosen motif.
Jacob then turned to Little Natalie, and said, "And I understand The little Drummer Boy theme, was your idea."
To which Natalie proudly admitted to the allegation, and after Jacob said how proud he was of her, and wished he had been there, Natalie expressed, "Well we sure missed you last night Father, we missed you very, very, very much, that's for sure!"
With an apologetic demeanor, Jacob nodded, and then tried to sound cheerful as he noted, "I do know Vincent took my place of course, and then heard Catherine helped out as well. That was nice of her, don't you think, and so tell me, how do you children like Catherine?"
Well of course, everyone spoke at once, and they all said, they like her very much, and then Samantha voiced, "Not only is she really nice, but she is really good at doing art projects!
Happy to hear how much they like Catherine, Jacob replied, "Good, I like her too, AND it's good to know she is handy in the art department. Well, jolly good then, I am happy to hear the session had gone so well."
To which Kipper commented, “Yep, I'd say it did, and Vincent did good. We even talked him into wearing the Chimney hat!"
And then Samantha giggled as she chimed in, "We had to beg Vincent to wear it because at first he didn't want to in front of Catherine!”
With a knowing nod, Jacob said, “Ahh of course, the silliness of wearing such
a hat would go against Vincent's nature...and to wear it in front of Catherine..."
As Jacob began to chuckle, he ended with a hearty laugh as he continued, "...well I can only imagine…so all in all it sounds like it was a perfect session then, complete with Vincent donning the whimsical festive chapeau."
To which Zach said, "That hat is funny all right, but I don't know if I would say everything went perfect Father, on a score of one to ten, I'd give it an eight! You know why? Cuz we all forgot about telling the story."
Upon hearing this scoop, Jacob found himself feeling guiltily satisfied for knowing things had not gone perfect after all!
And so as Jacob looked about wanting to make sure Vincent was out of earshot, and then pryingly asked, “You say Vincent forgot to tell the story? But which story, the Christmas based story, or the First Tunnel Christmas story?"
To which Zach said, "The First Tunnel Christmas Story!"
And then Eric surmised, "But he couldn’t‘ve told it right Father? Cuz Vincent wasn’t here then...I mean he wasn’t even born yet.”
Haltingly, Jacob held up a finger, and with a cocked brow, replied, “True, true…although Vincent has heard the story enough times himself to have been able to repeat it.”
Scratching his chin, Jacob conceded, “Hmmm, it's hard to imagine Vincent forgot, I mean telling the story is an integral part of the Christmas Card session tradition! We darsen’t minimize its importance! So, You say no one else remembered either, not any of you, not even Mary?”
Upon which the children chimed in, saying, “Nope! None of us did!”
As Jacob began to scheme, he thought perhaps this was a lucky break for him! And so Jacob thought he would arrange an additional gathering, showcasing himself, telling The Tunnel's First Christmas Story!
Thinking to himself, "Hmmm, this could be just the vehicle, of which I could salvage my good standing with the children AND Mary!"
And so Jacob told the wide eyed children, “I believe we must do something to correct this oversight. Do you all agree?”
Excitedly the children all said yes, and waited to hear what Jacob would propose to do about it.
And so Jacob thinking out loud, but also to the children said, "Perhaps I could plan an additional event?"
As the children all bounced about with glee, Jacob’s mind was racing as he began to consider the details, and so he shared, "I could ask William to bake some more cookies, along with preparing another vat of his special hot coco..."
Excitedly, as ideas, and details began to unfold, it was then Jacob thought privately to himself, "Hmmm, why not a gathering for everyone? Adults of the community as well!"
Meantime, just then, Jacob could see Vincent and Mary approaching! And so nervously he thwarted the children from further commenting, by telling them, “Leave everything to me children, and I errr, I will be the one to inform Vincent and Mary of the upcoming story telling event. We wouldn’t want them to feel badly about forgetting such an important detail, now would we?”
They all agreed, saying they wouldn’t want to hurt their feelings for all the tea in China Town!
So meantime as the two advanced, Mary under her breath told Vincent, "Just follow my lead."
And so as they approached the rally Jacob was conducting, Vincent asked, “So have you and the children been talking about the Christmas Card session Father?”
But because Mary had just instructed Vincent to follow HER lead, she gave him a sideways glance, wondering why he initiated the covert operation!
So a ruffled Mary, turned back to Jacob to eagerly insert, "Yes, that was what I was just ABOUT to ask..."
Clearing his throat, Jacob answered, “I believe the subject may have come up…yes…yes I believe it did.”
Detecting an undercurrent of guarded excitement amongst Jacob and the children, Vincent smiled subtly at Mary indicating he's got this. And so Vincent next asked, “Hmm, hopefully they said all went well…”
And because no one spoke right away, Vincent questioned further, asking, “Father? Children?”
To which Jacob cautiously began, by finally responding, “Oh well yes of course, the children all said you both did a splendid job filling in for me; and they clearly loved having Catherine there last night to help out as well...however the children did tell me there was a major omission of sorts. It would seem neither you, or Mary remembered to tell the story of the first Christmas which was celebrated here below in the tunnels!”
With astonishment, Mary turned to Vincent and gasped, “Golly willikers!Imagine that! We forgot to tell the story!”
“So we did…” replied Vincent, and then because he wanted to lend a little naturalness to the dialog, he matter-of-factly added, “Oh well, there's always next year."
And because their plan up to this point was working so well, Mary couldn't believe Vincent responded that way! And so she shot him a dirty look, and quickly inserted, "Next year! Well that's a long time to wait! We wouldn't want to deprive the children of hearing the story during this Christmas season, now would we?"
With a thoughtful nod, Vincent put his finger to his chin, and replied, "No...no I suppose not, well how can we make up for this indiscretion?”
Feeling relieved Vincent was back on track, Mary replied, "Hmm, deary me, I don't know, any ideas Father?"
To which Jacob eagerly answered, “In truth, the children and I had just arrived at a solution. I was thinking we could hold a separate assembly for just this cause.”
Agreeably, Mary said, “An additional assembly? Oh my, what fun! I think that sounds like a grand idea, don’t you Vincent?”
Still wanting to offer realism, Vincent thoughtfully questioned, "A separate assembly? Do we have the time? I mean things are going to be getting hectic, with the decorating and such, then there's the annuals coming up this week as well."
To which Mary looking a bit angrily at Vincent, expounded, "Of course we have the time!"
With a feigned urgency, Vincent responded, "But when Mary? You of all people, "The Micro Manager" knows that such an event would NEED time to plan!"
To which Mary pooh-pooh'd Vincent's comment not only with another dirty look, but with an umbraged tone as well, saying, "Well this Micro Manager thinks "Plan Splan" we can make the time!"
Meanwhile, Jacob's head was on a swivel, as he looked back and forth between Mary and his son during their debate!
And so turning now to include Jacob, Vincent asked, "Do you feel we can fit this in, and if so, when could we have this assembly Father?"
To which Jacob replied, “Well, I believe we DO have the time, and I thought, well, why couldn't we plan it for tomorrow night?”
So rocking back and forth on his heels, Vincent with his hands behind his back, contemplated aloud, "Tomorrow night...tomorrow night...I don't know!"
And because tomorrow night was maybe a bit ambitious, Jacob began to offer, "Well perhaps tomorrow night is too..."
But before Jacob could get cold feet, Mary with haste butted in, proclaiming, "Why put it off! Tomorrow night it is!"
Feeling relieved his idea will be put into action, Jacob responded with a smile, questionably saying, "Splendid we are all in agreement then? Vincent?"
With a tip of his head, Vincent compliantly said, "I believe we are!"
To which after the children all cheered, Vincent warmly informed the children, “Good thing Mary and I had forgotten, because now you will be hearing The Tunnel's First Christmas Story, not only from the founder of these tunnels, but from THE master story teller himself.”
Again the children erupted in cheers, all saying they liked that!
And as Vincent turned now toward Jacob, he continued, “And you Father, you will be able to share in the annual Christmas tradition this year after all.”
To which Mary thoughtfully added, "Yes...as it should be..."
And then Mary hesitantly mentioned, “You know...it seems a shame to limit this special assembly to only the children. Do you suppose the entire community could attend? If we hold the session here? I mean there is plenty of room.”
Upon hearing Mary's suggestion, Jacob privately thought, "Superb! This is working out great!"
Yes Jacob was so happy for the fact it was Mary who brought up the subject of adults being included before he did! So cocking a brow, and with an approving nod, Jacob indicated Mary had a good idea! Cautiously though, before commenting, he liberally asked the children of their opinion. And so with thoughtful animation, he asked, “Children? What do you think? Should adults be welcomed as well? After all, this IS usually an event just for you children.”
With open hearts the children all said “Yes”, everyone should come! And then Kipper excitedly suggested, “Yeah, maybe you should invite Catherine too Vincent! She probably never heard the story yet!”
Delighted affirming comments came from everyone, and looking to Jacob for approval, Vincent asked, “Father?”
To which Jacob exclaimed, “Of course…Catherine must come.”
Just then, some of the tunnel dwellers began to approach Jacob asking when may they pick out their Christmas decorations.
After repeating his-self for the third time, Mary suggested he make an official announcement, informing every one of the decorating plan, and could also tell everyone about the newly planned special event for tomorrow night at the same time.
Smiling, at Mary, Jacob gallantly thanked her for her splendid suggestion, and so after clearing his throat, he announced, “Everyone, may I have your attention? I want you to know, we will be sorting out the decorations immediately after breakfast this morning in the Community's Storage Chamber. Remember first come first serve, so don’t dawdle..."
And then Jacob chuckled a bit as he added, "It is as they say, You snooze you loose!"
After the laughing from the community died away, Jacob continued, "Ahem, and also, there will be a special gathering tomorrow night here, where I will be telling The Tunnel's First Christmas Story.”
Upon hearing this news, there was an excited murmuring in the Dining Hall, and then Rebecca, who wanted clarification asked, "You mean just for the children...right Father?"
With Mary beaming at Jacob's side, he then clarified, "This year...all are invited! The entire community, and any Helpers who are able to come as well!"
Upon hearing this news, delighted gasps spread throughout the Hall, and Pascal himself looked back at Zach to eagerly say, “Nice! I hadn’t heard that story since I was a runt your age! I am gonna look forward to hearing Father tell it again.”
To which Zach replied, “Wow, no kiddin'? Man it's been THAT LONG since you heard the story!? How many years ago was THAT?”
Shooting the younger dweller a stern look, Pascal claimed, "Well, let me put it this way, it was during this century."
Pascal then ruffled Zach's hair, and teasingly grumbled, "THAT LONG...I ought-a let you have it."
And so as Jacob was otherwise engaged with questions from the community, Mary had a chance to privately admonish Vincent, scolding, "I thought I told you to follow my lead! Vincent you almost blew it!"
With a smile in his eyes, he claimed, "I merely wanted to lend some realism with a little "Good Cop, Bad Cop" verbiage Mary, I only tried to imagine how the conversation would have naturally unfolded. And besides, we didn't want Father to sail off too easily now did we?"
With a frown, Mary did agree, but then next scolded, "And by the way, what did you mean saying I was a Micro Manager?"
To which Vincent responded, "Oh that! I just threw that comment in there for a little flare!"
Crossing her arms, Mary scolded, "I see! A little flare uh? Not realism? Vincent Wells, if you were younger I would paddle your britches. You are just lucky Father didn't withdraw his proposal."
To which Vincent replied, "The excitement Father was trying to conceal, I promise you, that would NOT have happened."
With an excited giggle, Mary had to agree, and then said, "I believe you are right. Well luckily, at the end of the day, job well done Vincent. Mission accomplished."
With a nod, Vincent put out his arm to escort Mary to her seat, and repeated, "Yes indeed Mary, job well done."
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Well the day turned out to be a very busy one below in the tunnels, as Christmas Decorating had officially begun!
Each year, new items are added to the tunnel decoration stockpile, as an assortment of anything Christmassy, discarded from top-siders had been added to the mix.
And so the excited dwellers browsed through the decorations, and took away items that either suited their fancy because of the memories attached to them from the previous years, or because of its significance and or beauty.
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Meanwhile, as Brooke returned to the children's chamber with her assortment of decorations, she told Rebecca, "Thanks for filling in for me, and good news, the Nativity you always pick out is still sitting there!"
Thanking Brooke for the intel, Rebecca promised to come right back so either Laura or Jamie could go next.
And so Rebecca scurried along to the Storage Chamber, and as she raced over to Mary, she anxiously asked, “Can you show me where the wooden Manger is Mary?”
To which after Mary searchingly looked about, she said, “I believe so…yes, there it is.”
As Mary walked with Rebecca, she took her directly to it, and happily Rebecca was able to claim the beautiful oak Manger scene before anyone else did.
Meanwhile, as Vincent saw Rebecca from afar, he smiled to himself as she lovingly scooped up the Manger which Cullen had carved for the community many, many years ago.
Walking up to Rebecca and Mary, Vincent said, “I am glad you claimed your coveted Manger. I was growing nervous as a few of the others were eyeing it up. However, in accordance to Father’s rule, you know I would not have been able to stop them had they picked it up.”
Hugging the Manger to herself, she said, “I know all about the rule Vincent. I am just so thankful I got here in time."
To which Mary asked, "Well where were you Dear? You heard Father! He warned if you snooze you loose!"
Looking back at Mary, Rebecca explained, "The children were quite restless after breakfast, so I offered to fill in, while Laura, Jamie and Brooke take turns picking out their decorations. In fact, I should hurry back, both Laura and Jamie are anxious for their turns too."
And then with an emotional tone, Rebecca shared, "Before I go though, I must tell you, the children are all so excited about Father telling the story to them tomorrow night. In truth, I think we all are.”
To which Mary warmly, but guiltily concurred, "I do agree with you about that."
Rebecca then thoughtfully looked firstly to Vincent and then to Mary, and said, “I cannot imagine how the both of you forgot to tell the story last night! Shame on you two.”
Looking downcast before looking at each other, Mary gave way to a wide grin, as she innocently told Vincent, “I know! Shame on us!”
Suddenly Rebecca began to suspect something funny was going on, and so she slyly asked, “Don’t tell me you forgot on purpose!”
Nervously, Vincent looked about, hoping no one was near by to over hear, when Mary let out a very substantial, “SHHHHH! Keep your voice down! You don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea.”
Slyly Rebecca inquired, “And what is the wrong idea? Did you two forget on purpose or not?”
Subtly, Vincent explained, “I knew Father felt torn last night, and so, Mary and I thought perhaps he could still partake in one aspect of the yearly session, IF we had forgotten to do it.”
Guiltily, Mary expressed, “Admittedly, I was a bit hard on Father yesterday, that was until I realized he never got word the session was changed. I naturally assumed Father had chosen to spend the evening with that woman…errr…with Jessica, without any account to how I…errr...to how the CHILDREN felt. So like I said, after I heard Mouse never gave him my message, and learned through Vincent that Father DID feel badly about missing the session, well we both knew we had to come up with something he could share in. But it was Vincent who actually purposefully omitted the recitation of the historic tale of our tunnels, with the intention of saving it for Father to tell! Which may I say again Vincent...it was brilliant, simply brilliant!”
Humbly Vincent rocked back on his heels, as he nodded over toward his Father, who was helping Oliva, Kanin and little Lukey with their decorations, and he noted, "I think all in all we did the right thing...look how happy Father is..."
As Mary and Rebecca glanced over to observe the patriarch, who was laughing and joyfully assisting the little tunnel family, they had to agree, and then Rebecca said, “Oh yes…definitely! His demeanor from yesterday is like night and day.”
Thoughtfully Vincent stood thinking, “If Father ever found out this was a purposeful omission…”
And so he put his arms around both the ladies, and gently gathering them closer to him, he cautiously asked, “I know there is no need to say this can go no further than right here? Do I?”
With a gasp, Mary assuredly said, “You won’t ever hear me speak about it again.”
Simultaneously, both Mary and Vincent looked towards Rebecca, who with a slight giggle promised, “Me either. I swear mums the word. Well off I go, see you two later.”
And it was then, Vincent had the chance to pick out some decorations of his own, when suddenly from across the chamber Jacob scolded, "Mouse! Get a hold of that varmint won't you? He is eating the gingerbread decorations the children made last year!"
Calling his friend to aid him, Mouse yelled, "Vincent! Help get Arthur!"
After putting down his decorations, Vincent went to help corner Arthur, and was able to scoop up the bewildered little tunnel darling, who was simply trying to enjoy a mid-morning snack!
Hastily, Jacob hobbled closer to the action, and sternly suggested, "When you bring along your furry pal, may I suggest using a leash?"
Downhearted because of the damage Arthur caused, Mouse sadly said, "Ok fine."
He then took his pet from Vincent, and told Arthur, "Now you are in trouble with Father. Better for you to stay on my shoulder."
As Vincent saw how badly Mouse felt, he changed the focus from Arthur back to the Holiday Task on hand!
And so as Vincent gathered his decorations, he joyfully asked, "Mouse, it is time for us to begin our annual decorating pilgrimage! Are you ready my friend?"
Being chosen to be Vincent's decorating bud, definitely perked up Mouse, and so he gleefully replied, "Sure!"
With hope, Mouse then asked, " Arthur come too?"
To which Vincent said, "Without question...Arthur too..."
And as the three of them turned to leave, Mary noted, "Vincent...your little snowman is missing an arm..."
Upon looking at his little tchotchke, he replied, "So he is...that's all right, I still like 'em."
Smiling and shaking her head at Vincent's sweet reply, Mary said, "Have fun decorating!"
And with that said, Mouse, Arthur and Vincent headed for his chamber.
To be continued
Chapter Two
| The Impending Holidays lend a special atmosphere to The Tunnels, just as it does in the city above So because in "Treasure of my Heart" Catherine & Vincent managed to merge their two worlds Together, they are able to share this Christmas with loved ones, helpers, and friends Destiny of my Heart! By Sharon Holtz Chapter One What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace. Agnes M. Pharo _________________________________________________________ |
