Everyone said, “ooh” and “ahh.” Vera held up her hand and viewed the ring. The gold was shiny, and across the top were four tiny diamonds. “Oh, Wyatt. It’s lovely.”
“There’s more,” he said. “With Thea’s help, we’ve arranged for a proper wedding, later today. We’ll do it right and have our vows blessed by God at the church altar.”
Wyatt pulled her to her feet, wiped the tears of joy from her eyes, and hugged her—In front of everyone! She blushed as she’d never been hugged publicly, but from the smiles around the room, she knew it was proper and well-received.
“Oh, dear,” Vera sniffed into her handkerchief. “This will make my gift to you seem so trivial.”
“Don’t be silly,” he said, and he helped her back to her seat and sat beside her.
Thea held up a cloth-wrapped, gaily decorated gift. “This is to Wyatt from ... Vera.”
Vera felt herself blush. Why hadn’t she bought him a proper gift?
Wyatt pulled on the yarn that tied the package to open it. He gasped. “This is beautiful. Did you make this?” He held up a dark blue knit cap with a matching scarf.
“I didn’t know what—”
“Have you seen how thread-worn my scarf is? This is so needed. And what makes it so special is that every stitch of yarn was knitted with your hands. Nothing can beat a homemade gift. It must have taken you hours and hours of hard work. Thank you, Vera.” He kissed her cheek.
Everyone seemed happy with their gifts. Perry beamed when Wyatt reacted with delight over his handmade bookmark.
Vera had knitted warm vests for the girls, and the boys received knitted hats which they had to try on right away. Thea loved the crocheted shawl Vera had given her.
After the children cleaned up the mess of wrappings, Thea invited everyone into the kitchen where they sat down to a wonderful meal.
The family sat, stuffed and satisfied, but Thea didn’t bring out the usual tea. “Now, we’re going back to the church. We have a wedding to attend. Then, we’ll have our tea and dessert.”
It was almost dark by the time they’d reached the church. Their minister, Reverend Clarkson, was waiting for them there. Candles were lit on the altar, and Wyatt led Vera to stand beside him in front of the minister while the rest stood behind them. Reverend Clarkson read the vows from the Bible and blessed their marriage. “You may kiss your bride,” the minister said.
Knowing how shy Vera was about public displays of affection, Wyatt merely touched his lips to hers lips, but he whispered in her ear, “I owe you a better kiss when we’re in private.”
His words made her smile. God had blessed her with a husband like Wyatt, and she silently thanked Him.
After hot tea, delightful apple pie, and rice pudding, everyone groaned and yawned.
“We can sing some carols in the sitting room after the girls do the dishes,” Thea said.
Vera couldn’t believe what a wonderful Christmas it had turned out to be. She’d known it would be wonderful, but Wyatt had made it the most special day of her life.
They sat in the sitting room, singing and laughing until Vera couldn’t stop her yawns.
“Well,” Wyatt said, standing, “I’m taking my bride up to bed before I end up carrying her.”
Vera laughed. “This has been the most wonderful day ever. Thank you all. I will never forget this Christmas.”
~~~~***~~~~
Everyone had gone upstairs, but Thea was still doing some chores in the kitchen. When she came out, she smiled, having noticed that Jack was sitting on the settee, engrossed in one of the new books.
Thea sat in the chair opposite him. “I’ll give you fair warning: if you start that book tonight, you will end up not sleeping a wink.”
“It’s that good?”
She nodded. “But it’s all right. Tomorrow is our lazy day. Most of us do little except relax. You can always go up to the boys’ room and nap.”
Jack laid the open book down and said, “The books...they were the first Christmas gifts I’ve ever received ... my first gift ever, actually. You and your family have filled an emptiness inside of me I never knew I had, and I’m speechless. Thank you, Thea.”
“Didn’t they celebrate Christmas at the orphan home?”
Jack nodded. “They celebrated it but with prayers, singing, and such. They also gave us a Christmas dinner that was actually decent, but there were too many of us for them to gift. The thing is, we didn’t miss it because we didn’t know people exchanged gifts on Christmas.”
“How sad,” she said. “I’m glad you came and got to experience a family Christmas.”
“I think I’d love to have a family like yours someday.”
“What was it like growing up in a place like that?”
“Someone brought me there as an infant. The staff told me my mother died of smallpox, and I had no father or siblings. The orphanage was the only home I knew, so I had nothing to compare it to. It was just my life. We were schooled, fed, and clothed. What bothered me most was that there were so many of us that no one ever called us by name. “You, in the blue,” or “You, in the corner.” It was like you didn’t have an identity. You’re surrounded by hundreds of other children, but essentially alone.
“When I was sixteen, they packed me a lunch, gave me a handful of pennies, and told me they needed my bed for the next orphan to come in. They had no room for me anymore. It scared me to death. I was being set free into a world I’d never entered before.
“Although it was
