Shine Bright (Part Eight)

Shine Bright (Part Eight)

Part Eight: Christmas Baking

The two had no sooner finished their soup than a loud knock was heard at the entrance way to the kitchen.

"Just dropping off some Christmas baking," one of the neighbours said, as she surveyed the warm kitchen. "Your mom wanted me to check and make sure that you two were ok. So I just popped in for a minute. These are especially for you." She handed them to Mandy's grandmother, who seemed totally surprised by her kindness.

The neighbour left as soon as she knew that Mandy and her grandmother seemed to be enjoying dinner together.

"My turkey dressing is on the stove. I really feel like a heel for not staying, but I just can't," she explained as she headed for the door. "I will drop by another day," she promised.

"Thanks for the Christmas baking," Mandy said, as she held the door for the neighbour. "It is really appreciated, as my mom does not get much of a chance to bake very often. We will save some for her."

A moment later, her grandmother left the table to answer the front door. Doris was standing there with Hannah.

"Nothing like perfect timing, " Mandy heard her say. "Now we can all go get a tree together. We cannot have Christmas without a tree. That would never do."

Hannah and Mandy both laughed, as Mandy suggested that they would make some popcorn and hot chocolate later on too.

Hannah pulled Mandy into the kitchen and handed her a grocery bag. "I found this," she said.

Mandy just about broke into tears of joy, as she looked in the bag. Hannah had brought her an angel for the top of the tree. "Save it for later," she whispered. "I could not find a star but you can use this for the top of the tree."

"It is absolutely beautiful," replied Mandy. "I just realized that I don't have wrapping paper for the cookbook either."

"We'll figure something out," Hannah promised, knowing that Mandy was doing her best to give her grandmother a gift and to celebrate Christmas together.

"Grab your coats, girls," her grandmother said. "We don't have a lot of time to waste and it is getting very cold out there. The sooner we go, the sooner we will get back. All of you will have to help me carry the tree home."

Mandy knew that it was time to tell her grandmother what they had already done about the Christmas tree.

"Gran, want to see how big the room is?" she asked, holding the grocery bag behind her back.

"Probably a good idea," agreed Hannah, smiling innocently.

"Sure," said Doris. "It will just take a moment." She looked at the girls curiously, wondering what they were up to, as the expressions on their faces gave them away. Looking down, she spotted a tiny spruce needle on the floor.

"Is this what I think this is? Oh, I see, you two have....." she started to say.

"Sh..." cautioned Mandy. "Don't spoil the surprise."

As everyone else entered the family room, Mandy hung back, waiting for the right moment to put the light on in the family room. She could still see a faint glimmer reflected in the ornaments on the tree. Even in the dark, it looked very pretty.

She flicked the switch and was totally astounded at the expression of utter amazement that she saw on her grandmother's face.

"Well, I'll be...." she said, as the lights in the room went on.

When Mandy turned on the light switch, it also put the tree lights on.

"We already have a tree and it is decorated too. Now when did you girls do that? This afternoon? You said that you did not have a tree when I first arrived."

Mandy's grandmother reached over and gave her a warm hug.

"It is absolutely beautiful!" she said. "So that is what you two were up to today. It is just beautiful! And you are the most wonderful grand-daughter in the whole world. You are the most wonderful grand-daughter's friend in the world too," she said, giving Hannah a hug.

Then she hugged Doris. "I have heard so many good things about you from my son and daughter-in-law."

"Merry Christmas, Gran," Mandy said with tears in her eyes. "We all love you."

"Merry Christmas," Hannah said just a second or two later.

"Merry Christmas," Doris echoed.

"And a Happy New Year to you all," replied Mandy's grandmother. "This is going to be the best Christmas of all," she said.

"Gran," said Mandy a few moments later. "Would you put our star up on the tree, please. A Christmas tree has to have a star. That is what Christmas is all about, a Star named baby Jesus, who taught the real meaning of love. We could not find a star that looked like a star.....Hannah brought this angel......" She pulled it out of the bag and handed it to her grandmother.

"Perfect.......shine bright," Mandy's grandmother said first to the star and then to the girls, as she stood on the ladder to hang the angel on the top of the tree.

"We will shine like angels," Doris promised on behalf of the girls.

"Like angels in the sky......" Mandy continued. "Now let's get some hot chocolate and popcorn and make this into a real Christmas celebration."

"Oh my," Mandy's grandmother said suddenly, as she lost her balance, and the ladder she was standing on, tipped to one side. All of the girls rushed to grab the ladder, before it fell. Mandy's grandmother grabbed a tree branch to catch her balance. Several ornaments tumbled to the floor, bouncing on the rug as they fell. One of them landed in the spot on the floor where the flower pot had fallen earlier.

"Oh, am I ever clutsy," Grandma said, as the quick thinking girls grabbed the ladder, and held it for her while she climbed down. She was very relieved that she had not taken a tumble. "No harm done. I did knock some Christmas ornaments off the tree ," she said apologetically.

She was really quite embarrassed at her clumsiness.

"I think I am all right. I should have been more careful. I could have broken my neck."

"I am just like my Grandma," Mandy told Hannah later, as they cleaned up the mess they had made in the kitchen. They were stringing some popcorn for the tree.

Doris was sitting in the family room with Mandy's grandmother. Both laughed heartily as Mandy said, "I am just as clutsy as she is."

"That's for sure," Hannah agreed.

Even Doris laughed, as she knew only too well how much of a problem Mandy had. She was forever tripping over something, dropping things or knocking something over.

Later, they told Grandma about Mandy being really clutsy too and she burst out laughing.

"Well, you had to inherit something from your old Gran," she said to Mandy. She wiped away the tears of laughter, relieved that the ice had been broken with all three of 'her' girls.

At that moment, Mandy knew that this was going to be her best Christmas ever. And it was.