Snowed Out (for 2003 Hanson Advent Calendar)
Snow had begun to fall as Zac peered out the window. It was very uncommon in Tulsa to see snow, especially on Christmas Eve. Turning from the spectacle, he headed into the kitchen where his oldest brother sat, reading the newspaper. “Ike, what are you doing?”
“Oh, I’m just doing a little rock climbing. Whatsit look like I’m doing?” He said, a touch of annoyance in his voice.
“How come nobody’s coming over tonight?” Zac asked, pulling the newspaper down.
Without looking up, his brother answered, “Mom didn’t think we’d be back in town in time, so they’re all gathering at Aunt Nancy’s.”
“Well, why aren’t we going to Aunt Nancy’s?” Zac asked.
“Because it’s in Oregon, and we just got home last night.” Isaac answered, folding the paper and slapping it on the table. “What do you want, Zac? Why aren’t you making the most of your time off? Look at Taylor, he’s been asleep since last night, and he’s enjoying himself doing it.”
My toe hurts.” Isaac said, pointing to his slipper clad foot.
Zac rolled his eyes. “It’s a toe, Ike.”
“Yeah, and it’s broke, thanks to you. Do you want something?” Isaac asked, peeved.
“I’m bored. I wanna go to Wal-Mart.” Zac whined.
“Why didn’t you go with everybody else then!? That’s where they went!” Isaac countered.
“How am I supposed to get Mom’s present with her there?” Zac questioned.
“No, I’m not taking you to Wal-Mart.” Isaac said, picking the paper back up.
“Fine, I’ll get Tay, then.” Zac said, hopping up from the chair.
~~~~~
“Taaaaayy.” Zac crooned into his brother’s ear. At least he thought it was an ear. It was all covered up with hair, so he wasn’t certain. It could have been a nose. There was no movement, so Zac decided to be a little louder. “Tay!” He said. Still no movement. “Are you dead?” He asked, half serious. When he still got no reply, he began to push the hair away from his brother’s face. Lifting up his eyelid, he was met with a blue iris, rolling up, trying to escape the world of the un-asleep. “I see you! I know you’re in there! Wakey, wakey!”
“Go away.” Taylor mumbled.
“Taylor, you’ve been asleep for twenty years. You should see your beard. I didn’t think you had it in you.” Zac teased. “Now, get up! I wanna go to Wal-Mart and you’re gonna take me! Ike’s being a big baby and crying about his little toe-toe. C’mon!” He said, slapping his brother’s backside with a satisfying whack.
~~~~~
“Uh, why do you need my car?” Isaac asked, his eyebrow raised almost to his hairline.
“Cuz Tay’s has that little bitty back seat and a trunk that was very cramped the last time I was in it. There’s no way I can get a rocking chair in that thing.”
“A rocking chair?” Isaac asked. “You’re getting Mom a rocking chair?”
Zac nodded, “Yeah, remember last time we were home, and I pushed Taylor and he fell on it?”
“Yeah, I thought he was gonna be paralyzed.” Isaac said.
Zac shook his head, “Hey, if you can’t take the heat, stay outta the kitchen.” Isaac just wrinkled his forehead. “Anyway, I just thought that would be a good present, and it could be from all three of us, y’know?”
“I already got her something. It’ll have to be from you two. And really, Wal-Mart does have the finest rockers anywhere.” Isaac said, turning and limping back to the couch. Zac just put his hands on his hips, glaring at his brother.
Taylor walked in, his hair damp and clean clothes on, smelling fresh and his eyes bright. “Alright, let’s go.” He said.
“We gotta get the keys from Ike.” Zac said, staring at him.
“We can take my car.” Taylor reasoned. “I had Joe Shearing put in a new stereo while we were gone, and I wanna crank it.”
Isaac looked up at the two of them, “Oh, Zac says your trunk was too small for him the last time he was in it, so he wants to take my car for the rocking chair you all are getting for Mom.”
“We’re getting another rocking chair? I don’t want another rocking chair.” Taylor said, backing away from Zac.
Zac turned to his taller, thinner brother, “It’s okay, I won’t let it hurt you, alright? We just have to get the keys away from our favorite brother and we can be on our way.” He said, in a soothing voice.
“I don’t want another rocking chair.” Taylor repeated.
“Now look what you’ve done.” Isaac said. “He’s about to have some sort of post traumatic stress syndrome episode. And he was all happy and stuff. Don’t you feel bad, Zac?”
“No. I don’t feel bad. That was a long time ago and it was an accident. Now give me the keys, or I swear, I’ll throw him into the Christmas tree!” Zac threatened, and he grabbed Taylor around the neck.
“I swear it, Ike. I’ll do it!” He joked.
Shaking his head, Isaac stood up, and pulled his keys from his pocket. “Fine. You can take my car, but I’m going with you. He’s not driving my car in the snow without me there to watch and make sure he doesn’t do any donuts in the parking lot.”
Zac released his hold on Taylor, “Oh man, did you just say doughnuts? Do you think Krispy Kreme is open on Christmas Eve?”
As they went out the door, Taylor mumbled, a puzzled look on his face, “Did Ike say you were in the trunk of my car?”
~~~~~
“I’m sorry, sir. You can’t buy the display item.” A tired looking Wal-Mart employee was eye to eye with Zac.
“But, you’ve sold out of the ones in the boxes. It’s the last one, and it’s for my Mom. I need it.” He said.
“I’m sorry. Store policy says display items are not for sale.” She countered.
“Well, why don’t you just turn your head, and I’ll just quietly take it up front, and no one needs to know a thing about it. There’s a UPC code right there on the sign. Everybody’s happy, and nobody gets hurt.” He said calmly. Crossing her arms over her chest the girl raised an eyebrow. “Fine. Ya wanna play hardball? I can play it like that. Ike, stay here. I’m getting Tay.” Zac said and he tromped away, leaving the girl rolling her eyes.
Isaac smiled, “Now you’re gonna get it.”
“I’m scared.” She said dryly.
"You should be.” He laughed.
Within moments, Zac returned with Taylor at his side. “Hey, Ike. What’s goin’ on, guys?” Taylor asked. He then glanced over at the girl. “Hi. Merry Christmas…Annie.” He said, glancing down at her nametag. “Y’know, I always wondered if it was fun to work at Wal-Mart. I guess you meet a lot of nice people, huh?” He smiled at the girl. “Wanna candy cane? It’s chocolate mint…” he said, taking her hand and placing the candy in her palm. Zac and Isaac’s eyes met. Taylor at work was a thing of beauty.
~~~~~
“Open the hatch, Tay!” Zac exclaimed. “This thing is heavy.” He had the arms of the rocker perched on his shoulders, the seat balanced on his head.
Isaac stood back watching his two brothers. Taylor had a candy cane stuck between his lips, but it didn’t keep him from talking. Both his arms were full of bags and he was struggling to get his fingers into the pocket of his pants to fish out the keys. “Hold your horses.” Was what he said, but it sounded more like “Hmm rrr hrrrs.”
“Huh? What all did you buy, anyway?” Zac asked. “We were in there for like, 20 minutes and you come out with half the store.”
Isaac, tired of waiting and getting damper by the second finally just reached over and stuck his hand in his brother’s pocket, grabbing the key ring and pushing the button that unlocked the doors. Opening the hatch, he turned to Zac, “Clothes. Same thing he always buys.” He said. Taylor said something, prompting him to grab the candy cane and yank. “Would you get that thing out of your mouth? I haven’t been able to understand a single thing you’ve said for the last 15 minutes.”
Taylor smiled at him, his eyes twinkling, “I said, I don’t know what you’re looking for, but it’s a little to the left.”
For a moment, Isaac just looked at him, then he shook his head and looked up towards the sky, “I don’t know what I did to deserve this, Lord, but whatever it was, I’m sorry!”
Zac and Taylor snickered and gave each other high fives as they piled the bags in on top of the hard-earned rocking chair. Once inside, Taylor turned the heat up, rubbing his hands together. “Can we go home now?” He asked Zac in the backseat.
“Yeah. And step on it, it’s getting dark. They’re probably home already and putting icing on the cookies.” He answered.
“Do NOT ‘step on it’—it’s getting slick.” Isaac said, glaring back at his little brother. “This is Taylor we’re talking about. Not the best driver around—“
Taylor took the opportunity to floor it, since Isaac had made them park in the back forty and there were no cars in the immediate area. Once away from the curb, he fishtailed it and then did a perfect 360 before coming to a halt. “I’m an excellent driver, thank you.” He said.
“Please, God! I just wanna go home!” Isaac cried as his brothers laughed. Taylor then carefully pulled away, wanting to get home as quickly and in one piece just as much as Isaac.
~~~~~
“Tay, why are you slowing down?” Zac asked from the backseat. Isaac had fallen asleep before they’d hit the highway.
“I’m not. The car is.” His brother answered him, looking down at the instrument panel. Slowly, he steered the stalling vehicle to the side of the road where it stopped leaving an eerie quiet in the car, only the radio still playing the voice of Bing Crosby, wishing them a white Christmas. “Um, it looks like…we might be out of gas.”
“Tay!” Zac yelped.
“What!? It’s not my fault! I always fill mine up so I don’t have to worry about running out!” Taylor cried, throwing his hands up.
Isaac stirred, “What’s going on? Why are we stopped?” He said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
Neither brother answered. He looked outside the snowy windows, “We aren’t home already, are we?”
Zac stammered, “Uh, no. We seem to be out of gas. Taylor thinks. He thinks we might be out of gas.”
“We might be out of gas?! Taylor, for crying out loud! It’s Christmas Eve, and you obviously took the scenic route to get us home, and you let us run out of gas??!!”
“I’m sorry! I didn’t think to check, mine’s never below a half a tank.” Taylor reasoned, putting his head down on the steering wheel.
Isaac sighed. “Alright. It’s not your fault. I shoulda told you I was low.” He said back, feeling guilty for yelling. “Gimme your phone and I’ll call Dad.”
“It’s charging at home on my desk. It was dead. You gotta use yours. I’ll pay ya for it cheapskate.” Taylor said back.
Isaac sat for a moment, looking back at him. “I didn’t bring mine, because I wasn’t really planning on going out. All I grabbed was my shoes.” Both boys now looked back at their little brother.
“You all always have yours! I didn’t think I’d need mine, too!” He said, backing away from their glares.
For a moment, they all just sat in silence. No car passed, only snow falling on the windshield and a wind blowing now and then. Finally, with a sigh, Isaac spoke. “Where are we, Tay? This doesn’t look like 75.” He said, looking out the snowy window.
“Um,” Taylor started, “I don’t really know. I mean, I know, but I don’t know, like, the name of the road or anything. I always come this way because there’s no stop lights and stuff.” He said, remorsefully.
“Well, do you know how far we are from home? Or maybe, a gas station or someplace with a phone?”
Zac leaned up to hear, and suddenly Taylor felt like he was onstage, but not in the way he liked. “Well, if we walk on down this road, it comes out on that big road that eventually hits the interstate, and then it’s probably a few miles to the exit to get home.”
Isaac closed his eyes, trying to keep his composure. When he opened them again, he was faced with both his brothers seemingly looking to him to tell them what to do. “Alright, what are we gonna do? I haven’t seen a single car come down this road since we’ve been stopped. Are we gonna hoof it?”
“What about your toe?” Zac asked, an edge to his voice that was seldom heard.
“You said it yourself, it’s a toe. I’ll make it. And if I don’t, you two will just have to go on without me.” He said, his voice falling into mock tears. “Tell Mom…..I loved her.” He sniffed.
Taylor shook his head and swatted him, “Shut up, you jerk.” He said, pulling the keys out of the ignition. “This sucks!”
“Well, would you rather wait here ‘til we get buried?” Isaac asked, opening his door.
Taylor shook his head and began to button up the denim jacket he wore. Zac pulled a pair of gloves out of the pocket of his jacket and he too opened his door and stepped out. The wind was blowing harder and the snowflakes, while beautiful to look at, stung when they hit his exposed cheeks. Once all three of them were out of the car, Taylor went around to the back and opened up the hatch. “What are you doing?” Isaac asked.
Pulling out two sacks, he began to hand out scarves to each brother. “Just getting a little something to cover up our faces with.” He said, ripping the tags off with his teeth.
“Dude, that’s about ten thousand dollars worth of dental work you’re messing with there.” Zac admonished him.
“Yes, Mom.” Taylor said, spitting out a little plastic tab into the snow.
Isaac smiled, “God, I never thought I’d appreciate your scarf fetish—“
Taylor cut him off, “I don’t have a scarf fetish! I just get sore throats easy and it sucks to try and sing when your throat’s all dry and scratchy and stuff!”
“I know, I know! I’m just messing with you, Tay.” Isaac said, patting him on the back. “And don’t be giving me some girly one, either. You got a manly blue in there or anything?” He said, grabbing the sack.
Taylor snorted, “Whatever.” He then looked over at Zac. He was gazing at the rocking chair lovingly. Taylor backed up a little, “Nope. Don’t even ask. I don’t want one in the first place, and I’m sure not carrying it down this road.”
“But, maybe we could let Ike sit in it. I mean, his toe and all.” Zac said hopefully.
Taylor wrinkled up his face, “What, and then like you and me will pull him with bungee cords? Just like in Jingle Bells!” He said brightly, then he dimmed, “I don’t think so.” He said, and he shut the hatch with a satisfying slam. “I don’t want another rocking chair.” He mumbled, absently rubbing his back and stepping out onto the dark road.
~~~~~
“Ike, you’re kinda starting to limp there, buddy.” Taylor stated as they finally got to the end of the small road they’d been on.
“He’s been limping since last Friday, Taylor.” Zac stated, pulling the scarf away from his face.
Taylor threw him a look, “I’m not stupid. I mean, he’s limping worse.”
“Well, while I enjoyed that nice long walk in the snow, it is starting to hurt. I think when the doctor told me to stay off it, he meant for me to, oh I don’t know, not walk two miles on a sideroad with my two goofy brothers on Christmas Eve in a snowstorm.”
Taylor crossed his arms over his chest, “It wasn’t my idea.”
“No, you were just gonna sleep right through Christmas Eve.” Zac said.
“Let’s not go there. At least we’re finally on a real road. Maybe we can hitch a ride. And the good news is, my feet are so numb, I can’t really feel it anyway.” Isaac said, looking up and down the highway.
“Oh, yeah, hitchhiking oughta be real safe.” Zac snorted.
“Since when have you worried about being ‘safe’?” Taylor asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“I don’t know, Tay. I guess the idea of being gang raped by a bunch of cow-pokes out on a joyride just doesn’t appeal to me.” He retorted.
“Shut up! Here comes a car!” Isaac exclaimed, sticking his thumb out and smiling. The car whizzed by, covering them with a gray mist as it passed.
“Merry Christmas!” Zac yelled after them. The three of them stood there, excitement building everytime a car’s headlights would flicker on the horizon, and everytime, it would pass them by as the sky got steadily darker.
“Nobody’s gonna pick up three mangy looking guys in the middle of nowhere on Christmas Eve.” Isaac finally said, looking over at his two wet, sorry looking brothers.
“Hmph.” Zac huffed, looking over at Taylor. “I just think we need another approach.” He stepped toward his brother.
Taylor eyed him, “What. Get away from me.” He said, stepping backwards.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” Zac said, moving closer.
“What are you doing?” Isaac asked, exasperated.
“I just think we need to look more…approachable. And for whatever reason, God decided Taylor should look a little less intimidating than you or me.” He looked over at Isaac, “In times like this, you gotta use whatever you have on hand.”
Taylor was outraged, “I’m bigger than HIM!” He said, pointing at Isaac.
“It’s not a matter of who’s bigger. You’re bigger than me, too. It’s just more of an aura you give off…” he said, backing his brother into the speed limit sign. “Besides, you’ve got the biggest thumbs, too.” He said, prompting Taylor to roll his eyes.
Isaac shook his head, “Tay, maybe he’s right. It’s worth a try. Aren’t you dying to get home? I mean, even if we can just get somebody to let us use their phone.”
“Well, what do you want me to do? Put on a skirt?! This is stupid!” Taylor complained.
Zac reached up and undid the buttons on Taylor’s coat, looking at his shirt, “Why didn’t you wear something nicer?”
Taylor threw his hands out, “Sorry, I didn’t know I was gonna have to lure in a victim so we could heist their car tonight, butthead!”
Zac was thinking. He reached up and unwrapped the scarf from Taylor’s neck, “Here, switch with me.” He said, taking the old brown one, and replacing it with the red and white striped one Taylor had given him back at the car. “This one just looks more festive.”
Taylor looked over at Isaac, “He’s gone all Martha Stewart on us, Ike.”
“Yeah, but I think he’s right.” Isaac said, stepping over in front of him. “Here, fluff up your hair a little, it’s sort of flat from getting wet.” He said and he reached his hand out.
Taylor backed up, “I can’t believe this is happening. Both of you, get away from me.” He said, and he gave them both an evil look before bending down and shaking his head to “fluff” his hair. At that point, he’d do just about anything for a ride, just to get away from his annoying brothers. Standing back up, he tucked his shirt in, pushed his belt down a little lower, and carefully draped the scarf around his neck for maximum scarf effect. He pushed his sleeves up a bit, then stepped back over to the sign and leaned up against it. He then turned toward Zac and Isaac, “Now, get away from me. I’m giving it fifteen minutes, then I’m gonna start walking. There’s got to be a gas station somewhere around here.”
Zac whispered to Isaac, “See? I’m tellin’ ya, whatever it is, he’s got it. First car, you wait.” The two of them stepped down into the grass giving Taylor some space and hoping they wouldn’t be seen by oncoming cars. Within three minutes, sure enough, a car pulled over. Both boys watched, hopeful as their brother stepped over to the window as it rolled down. They couldn’t hear what was being said, but they watched as Taylor motioned over his shoulder to them and then they watched him back up as the car sped away. “What happened?” Zac cried, “You had one, how could you let’em get away?!”
Taylor leaned back up against the sign, crossing his arms again, his face stern, “No comment! There’ll be another one.” Even as he spoke, once again, lights loomed and they both watched the hard face leave and a smile take over as he held out his thumb, his other hand going to his hip, pushing the coat out of the way. As the car passed, the smile faded and he wiped the grit from his face, looking back toward his brothers. “Guys, I don’t think this is gonna work.” He said.
Zac sighed, and looked down the road, “Which way should we start walking, guys?” He asked, and he looked up in time to see a car coming and his brother leaning back against the sign, his leg pulled up and one hand behind his head. He and Isaac both burst out laughing as the car skidded to a halt and Taylor looked back at them, his face turning a shade of red even brighter than the pink cheeks he already had from the cold.
For a few moments, no one moved. The car had stopped, but hadn’t rolled down the windows or gone on it’s way. Taylor seemed to be frozen, mortified by his own actions and shocked that the car had stopped the way it had. “Tay, ask if they have a phone we can use!” Isaac hissed.
“No! You ask!” Taylor said back.
“They haven’t pulled a gun on you yet, I’m sure that’s a good sign.” Zac said, and he stepped up the slick grass to stand beside Taylor. “Go on—just don’t let ‘em like, grab you and take off. They could be kidnappers y’know.”
“You go with me!” Taylor said, grabbing Zac’s arm.
Isaac joined them, wincing as his toe got angry at him for climbing up the little embankment. “I’ll go, you freaks.” He said, stepping over to the car. He tapped on the window. Slowly, it went down, revealing a girl, her eyes wide.
“Oh my God.” She said slowly. “I told you it was them! I’d know Taylor Hanson anywhere! Oh my god! Where’s Zac!?” She covered her mouth with her hand.
On the other side of the car, a guy who Isaac presumed, by the grumpy look on his face, to be her boyfriend gave him a less-than-happy look. “Um, hi. He’s over there by Taylor.” Isaac said, putting his hand out to the girl. “We seem to have run out of gas. I don’t suppose you’d have a phone we could borrow to call our folks, would you?”
“Don’t you have Triple A?” He asked. “I mean, if you’re them, I’m sure you can afford it.”
The girl interrupted, “We could ride you wherever you need to go!”
Isaac smiled at her, then looked over at his two brothers, huddled beneath the sign. Taylor had now buttoned his jacket up to the neck and had wrapped the scarf around himself as well. Zac clung to Taylor’s arm like he had when they were three and five. Shaking his head, Isaac turned back toward the couple, “Um, actually, I do have Triple A, I just don’t have a phone to call them with.” He smiled, but the guy didn’t smile back. But his girlfriend did.
“Eric, we can take ‘em somewhere to a phone!” She opened the door, pushing Isaac out of the way, “Zac, you sit up front with me and Eric!” She yelled, looking over at the other two.
Isaac looked into the car, “Dude, we don’t want to be any trouble.”
Eric snorted, and unlocked the door to the back seat, “Whatever. We’re heading that way, you may as well get in.”
“Thanks, man.” Isaac said.
“So, what’s wrong with your brother? I thought he was a chick the way he was standing there like that.” Eric said.
Isaac laughed, “We’ve been standing here for a really long time. He was just messing around. We knew nobody was gonna stop, and we were about to take off walking.”
Eric looked doubtful and when Taylor and Zac walked over to the car, he eyed Taylor suspiciously. “Zac, you sit up front!” The girl repeated.
“Um, no, that’s ok, I can sit back here with the guys, I don’t wanna crowd you guys.” He said, moving closer to Taylor.
“Oh, well, actually, Tuffy is back there, and he takes up like, about half the backseat.” She said. Taylor peered into the back seat where Zac had just come face to face with a very large german shepherd.
“D-Does he bite?” Zac asked, feeling the dog’s hot breath on his face.
“Naw.” Eric said. “At least, not that I know of.” Isaac then got in on the other side of Zac, leaving Taylor standing there, looking at the girl, who was about to jump out of her skin, straining her neck to see Zac.
“Becky, just get in.” Eric sighed. “The skinny one’s the only one that’ll fit up here anyway.”
“You get in the middle so I don’t have to twist around so much to see in the backseat.” She said to Taylor, pushing him in front of her.
Taylor found himself face to face with her boyfriend who was just a tiny bit less intimidating than the large dog Zac was faced with. He tried not to touch him, but when the girl got in, she smashed into him so much, that he had no choice but to scoot right up against him, eliciting a look that was just a bit scary. “Um, hey, I’m Taylor, thanks for the ride, man.” He said.
“No prob. I’d never hear the end of it if I let Hanson get a cold or frostbite or whatever…” Eric said, glancing in the rear view mirror. “Tuffy! Quit drooling!” He said. And then he pulled back out onto the highway.
~~~~~
As Isaac’s foot began to thaw out, his toe began to throb. But he counted himself lucky. He looked over at Zac. His eyes were watery, and he sneezed. “Bless you. Again.” Isaac muttered.
“Are you catching cold?” Becky asked, twisting around to see him and elbowing Taylor in the face as she did it. “Sorry.” She said, as his hand flew to his eye.
“For Christ’s sake, Bec! That’s the second time you did that! You’re gonna blind the guy!” Eric huffed.
“Actually, he’s allergic to dogs. Well, big ones with lots of fur anyway.” Isaac said. “Oh, hey! Look, up there is the Seven Eleven! You can let us off right there, and we can use the phone and our Dad will come and pick us up!” Isaac said, smiling. “Gosh, we can’t thank you enough!”
“Wait!” Becky said. “I didn’t get to ask you—do you guys wear boxers or briefs?” She asked. “Everybody wants to know.”
Zac just stared at her, so Taylor answered, “Whatever I pull out of the drawer.” He said, glaring at her.
Eric laughed, “Why the hell would everyone want to know that!? God, I never thought I’d feel sorry for a guy because a bunch of girls had the hots for ‘em, but man, it must suck to be you.”
Taylor turned to the boy, a serious look on his face, “You have no idea.”
He smiled back, “I do now.” He then pulled to a stop, “Alright, here ya go. Hope you get home soon.”
Taylor held his hand out and the boy shook it, “It was nice to meet you, Eric” He then turned to the girl, “Becky.”
“Aw, are you sure we can’t take you back to your car or something? I mean, we could just buy the gas and take it back—” she said.
“Bec, they gotta go! And we gotta get to Mom’s house.” Eric said.
“Alright.” She said sadly. She turned and watched Isaac and Zac get out of the car.
“Hey,” Taylor said to her, “why don’t you ask Zac for his autograph? I’m sure he’d be glad to sign something for you.”
“Oh! Yeah, that would be so cool!” She exclaimed. She opened the door and got out, allowing Taylor to get out as well. She put her hands in her pockets, looking for something for him to sign, but coming up with nothing. “Darn, I don’t have anything.”
“Hey,” Taylor said to Isaac, “ya got anything on you that Zac can sign for her?”
“Here.” Zac said, unwrapping the scarf from around his neck, “Gimme a pen, Tay. I know you have one.” Taylor shot him a look, then reached into the pocket of his jacket, pulling out a black sharpie. “Thanks.” He said, then he spun him around, and spread the scarf out across his back so that he could write on it. In big black letters, he wrote “To Becky, Merry Christmas, ZAC” and turned toward her. “Do you want the guys to sign it too?” He asked, handing it to her.
“Oh my gosh, it’s beautiful!” She said, and she threw her arms around him, prompting Eric to shake his head.
Isaac looked down at his watch, “Oh man, look at the time! Well, we’re gonna go make that phone call, thanks again!” He said, and he pulled Zac out of her grasp, and waved at Eric, “See ya! Drive careful!” He said, backing up and pulling both his brothers with him.
“Ok. I guess we gotta go too. Christmas Eve and stuff. Have a great Christmas! It was really great to meet you, Zac!” She said, as Eric reached across the seat and grabbed the leg of her pants, tugging her back into the car. With a wave back at the boys, he drove away, leaving them under the fluorescent lights of the gas pumps. As soon as they turned off, and could no longer see them, Zac turned and punched Taylor in the arm, hard.
“OW, you butthole!” Taylor cried, holding his arm. “What was that for?!”
“You HAD to flash the car with a great big hairy dog, and a whacko fangirl, didn’t you?!!!”
“I couldn’t see who was in the car! Next time, you do all the dirty work!” Taylor said, stomping off toward the little store. He turned back, “You gave my scarf to her, you must not have thought she was too whacko!”
“It was covered in dog slobber! Even you wouldn’t have worn it!” Zac yelled back.
“Zac, chill out, man.” Isaac said. “I’m sure he didn’t do it on purpose.” They both looked up just in time to witness Taylor slam into the glass door, and stagger backwards.
“What the hell?” Zac questioned, watching. “Is he drunk or something?”
When they caught up, Taylor was tugging on the door, then pressing his face up against the glass. He then turned to face his brothers, “They’re closed.” He said, sadly.
“What!?” Isaac yelped. Now Zac peered into the window as well.
“They closed at eight tonight, on account of it’s Christmas Eve.” Taylor said.
“But—all the lights are on!” Isaac cried. “They have to be open!” He said, pulling on the door handle.
Zac looked over at them, “There’s a phone in there. Right next to the Icee Machine.”
Isaac gazed in, longing to place 50 cents in the little slot and hear the sound of his father’s voice. “Maybe we could break the glass…”
Taylor looked in the window, then backed up a little, taking his hand out of his pocket and touching the tender spot on his cheek where he’d twice gotten elbowed, “Man, look at that, I’m gonna have a shiner, thanks to your admirer.”
Zac looked over at both of them, “Y’know, if we did break the glass, they’d send the cops here, and we could use their phone.”
Taylor looked at him, “And they’d put us in jail, too. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I’d like to spend Christmas Eve with the other inmates. They might be sorta…homesick, since it’s Christmas and stuff.” He said, sarcastically.
Isaac turned away from the sight of the payphone, gleaming in the window, and slid down to sit on the little ledge of the window. “Could you all look away? I think I’m going to cry now.”
~~~~~
Zac kicked the gas pump, hurting his cold toes, but not caring. Taylor looked over at him, “Dude. They’re closed, they’re not gonna leave the pumps on.”
“But, it’s a pay at the pump one, why can’t they leave ‘em on?” Zac reasoned. He’d been to each and every pump, placing his debit card in each slot and becoming angry each time nothing happened.
“What difference does it make? What are we gonna put the gas in to get it back to the car?” Taylor asked. He then looked back at Isaac, still sitting, huddled up beside the door. “Man, we’re gonna have to figure out something here. Ike’s not looking so good. I’m sure his foot’s hurting. Mine are and I don’t have a broken toe.”
“How many times can you guys bring that up, anyway?” Zac snarled. “It’s not my fault he’s all delicate and stuff.” He huffed, covering his mouth with his gloved hands.
“Getting cold?” Taylor asked.
“Yeah. I guess I shoulda kept that scarf, slobbery or not.” He said. He then looked over at Taylor. Sure enough, a bruise had formed under his eye where he’d been whacked by Becky. “Hey, wanna trade for a few? I’ll give you my gloves, and you give me your scarf?”
“Oh, that sounds good.” Taylor said, unwrapping his face and handing the wooly thing to his brother.
Zac pulled off his gloves and watched as Taylor’s eyes lit up when he put his cold hands into the warmth. “I hope this isn’t as spitty as the one I gave away.” He said.
Taylor wrinkled up his nose, “It’s not spit. It’s steam.”
“Whatever.” Zac said, enjoying the warmth of his own breath on his face. “Well,” he said, looking out at the desolate road, “let’s go over there and get it over with. I feel a lecture coming on.”
“He’s the one that shoo’d them away so fast. I’m absolutely certain, if you’d asked that girl to drive you to LA, she’d have found a way.” Taylor said, smiling back at Zac.
“I know.” Zac said. “But, I’m just not comfortable doing that kind of stuff. I mean, they might expect something in return, and I don’t really want to go there, y’know?”
“Yeah, I know.” Taylor said. They now stood before Isaac. Taylor kicked his foot gently with his own, “Dude. What do you want to do?” He asked. “Nobody’s come past here for a while and the pumps are shut off. I don’t see another payphone anywhere and I don’t see any lights around that make me think there’s another gas station around.”
Slowly, Isaac looked up. “I can’t believe this is happening. I was so glad to get home…” He said.
Taylor turned to Zac and rolled his eyes, “You were right. Here we go.” He mouthed.
“I mean, I’ve been stuck with you guys for months now on the bus…” Isaac continued.
Zac looked again down the road, praying for the lights of a car.
“…irresponsible and…” Isaac was saying.
Taylor nodded, and looked the other way, saying the same prayer.
“Dad always said…” Isaac muttered.
As the wind blew in his face, Taylor winced. His cheek was sore and the snow was beginning to blow again, stinging his skin.
“…if we ever get home, I am never…” Isaac went on.
Zac licked his lips thinking he’d give anything for some of that Dr. Pepper flavoured chapstick Jessica always carried in her purse. When he saw lights coming over the hill they’d just come down, he thought he might cry.
Taylor turned. Headlights were definitely coming over the top of that hill. At once, he found himself running. And waving his arms. It didn’t matter if the car wasn’t even able to see him yet. He’d make absolutely sure they would the second they could. It was a pickup truck. And old, red pickup truck. And it was beautiful. Taylor moved into the middle of the road. He was not going to allow them to not stop.
Inside the truck, Louise and Alvin Hendricks looked at each other when they noticed a boy in a denim jacket waving his arms madly and standing right in the middle of the road. “My lord, the speed limit is 55 on this road, that boy’s gonna be mush.” Alvin commented.
“Do ya think he’s on drugs?” Louise questioned.
“Well, ya never know these days.” He answered.
“Whaddya think? Should we stop?” She asked.
“Hmmm…well, if we don’t, I think we’re gonna have to run him over. He ain’t movin’ a inch.” Alvin replied.
“Just a slip of a thing, ain’t he?” She said as they got closer. “He looks alright.” She said. “He’s probably lost. Looks like he’s from the city. What the heck’s he doin’ out here on Christmas Eve?”
The truck stopped and Taylor looked up at the sky, “Thank you, God.” He said softly. Walking around to the driver’s side, he smiled at the two people inside. “Please, please. Do you have a phone I could use? My brothers and I ran out of gas, and we finally made it here, but they’re closed. We’re about to start walking again, but my brother’s toe is broken and I don’t know how far he’s gonna make it.”
“Well son, I don’t have a phone, but we could siphon off some gas to ya.” Alvin said, looking over the bedraggled boy.
Zac had now run up beside the truck as well, a hopeful look on his face. “This gentleman says he could give us some gas, Zac!”
“Oh my God, we’d love you for that! We’ll pay you!” Zac exclaimed.
“You don’t have to pay us.” Louise said.
Taylor felt tears spring to his eyes, probably helped along by the cold wind that blew across his face, and he was grateful for once for the bangs that constantly fell across his eyes. “Thank you so much, we can’t tell you how much this means to us.”
“Oh, I can imagine.” The woman smiled. “It is Christmas Eve, after all. I’m sure you were on your way to someplace important.”
Taylor looked over the top of the truck as Zac pulled Isaac as quickly as he could manage. He looked back into the truck, “Well,” he smiled, “just home, but we haven’t been home in so long…” He stopped and shook his head.
“We understand.” The man said back, placing his hand on Taylor’s arm, “Our boy went off to college this year, and it’s the first Christmas we’ve had in quite a while without him.”
“Yeah?” Taylor said.
“Yep.” He answered. He then looked back at his wife as she opened her door.
“Oh, hun. How’d you hurt your toe?” She asked. “Here, you sit up here with me and Alvin.” She said, putting her hand on Isaac’s shoulder.
“What about you guys?” Isaac said to Taylor.
“We’ll just ride in the back. It’s not that far.” Taylor said. He leaned into Zac, “You’ll keep me warm, won’tcha Zac?”
“Ya know what, Tay? At this point, yeah. You can have half my scarf and one of my gloves. Put your other hand under your armpit, that’s gotta be the warmest spot on you.” He answered with a grin.
Isaac got in the cab and shut the door, “You guys behave back there, Zac. No roughhousing.”
Taylor looked in the window at him, “Dude, I’m seventeen.”
“Yeah, and he’s fifteen, but it didn’t keep him from beating up talk show hosts and everybody else he could get his hands on.” He said, glaring at his younger brothers.
Taylor looked at Zac, “He told you.”
Zac wrinkled up his face and walked to the back of the truck, “Yeah, well, they all deserved it…” He muttered, placing his hands on the cold metal. “Holy Cow! Tay, give me back one of those gloves!” He then pulled himself up and put a hand down to help Taylor up.
Reluctantly, Taylor pulled off the suede glove and handed it up to his brother. Zac grabbed it, and with the other hand, he took Taylor’s hand and pulled him up into the back of the truck. “Don’t pull my arm out of the socket!” Taylor sputtered, regaining his balance.
“Don’t be a girl! You’re not gonna break!” Zac spat. He then took his foot and scuffed away as much of the snow as he could. “Dang, Tay. This is gonna be colder than a witch’s tit.”
“I know.” Taylor said, eyeing the snow covered metal he was about to place his butt on.
Zac sat, and gasped, the cold literally taking his breath away when it came through his jeans almost immediately.
“Can I sit in your lap?” Taylor asked.
Zac couldn’t tell if he was serious or not. “Yeah, right.” He scoffed. He then grabbed the back of his brother’s jacket and pulled him down next to him, eliciting much the same response.
“Cripes!” Taylor said, shoving his hand down into the pocket of Zac’s jacket. As the truck slowly pulled away, Taylor turned to his brother, “Hey, why would a witch have cold—“
“They just do. Stop thinking about it.” Zac said, pulling the scarf around his face, and pushing the other end of it toward Taylor.
“You drive careful, Alvin.” Louise said as he pulled away. “You don’t want to lose either of those babies back there.” Isaac turned and watched the wind whip his brothers’ blonde hair and hoped they wouldn’t be frozen solid by the time they reached his car.
~~~~~
Isaac was relieved to see his car, still sitting there by the side of the road, covered by three inches of new snow, and more falling. He felt very guilty knowing while he sat in the warm truck, listening to the soft voices of the couple beside him, his brothers were freezing their tale-ends off. Still, it was their fault they were out here in the first place, he tried to tell himself. “That it?” Alvin asked.
“That’s it.” Isaac sighed.
“Well, get me a hose and we’ll have you back on the road in no time.” He said, throwing the truck in park.
Isaac looked over at the man, “A hose?”
“Yeah. We gotta get the gas outta the truck and into your car.” The man answered. Isaac covered his face with his hands. He’d never needed to carry a hose in his car, and he was 99% certain, he wouldn’t have one.
“Well, sir…” he started, “I don’t think I have a hose. I was sort of hoping you’d have one.” Isaac said pitifully. He didn’t think he could take another setback, and by the looks of his brothers in the back, he’d be lucky if they weren’t frozen to death. One more little piece of Christmas Guilt to pile on his shoulders.
~~~~~
Eventually, Taylor had very nearly crawled inside of Zac’s coat. And generally, Zac would have had no problem kicking him in the pants, but he had to admit, Taylor’s warm breath was the only thing keeping him from turning into a human Popsicle. With no fat to work with, Taylor’s butt and legs had gotten cold even faster than Zac’s. Even the hand with the glove was frozen, he was certain. He’d never play piano again. The thought hurt him, but he knew his eminent death was an even greater issue. For a while, he and Zac had looked like Siamese twins, joined at the scarf. But soon, the thin layer of yarn was no protection against the wind blowing his face and his ears and every other part of him. His teeth were chattering and his back ached from his muscles tightening up. He thought he heard something, but he couldn’t tell what it was. All he could really hear was the sound of his own breathing and his teeth smacking each other.
When Isaac got out of the truck, he made his way around to see what was left of his siblings. Really, what came to his mind was that movie, “The Thing”. And it was fitting that it had taken place in the frozen arctic. The thing in the back of the truck had two arms, four legs, a head, and a rather large, misshapen body. Taylor had wrapped himself so thoroughly around Zac, that Isaac couldn’t tell where one of them ended, and the other began. But one thing was certain: Taylor’s head seemed to be missing. “Zac?” He said. He watched him pull his face up out of his collar, and pull down the scarf.
“I-Ike…” he answered. “I can’t feel anything.”
Isaac pulled down the tailgate, “You two get out and get up front with Louise and warm up.” He said, holding out his hand for them to take.
“I don’t think I can move, dude. Seriously.” Zac said. “Taylor is like, attached to me.”
Isaac shook his head, and walked around the side of the truck, “Tay!” He said, pulling open Zac’s coat. There, Taylor had his face pressed against his brother’s chest, his arm wrapped around his back and his legs pulled up so that he was a compact ball of brother. “Good grief.” Isaac said, tugging on the collar of Taylor’s jacket, “If you’d unwrap yourself from Zac, both of you could get in the front with Louise. C’mon Tay, I know it’s cold.” Isaac said softly.
Shivering, Taylor painfully straightened his body out, allowing Zac to pull away from him. Standing carefully, Zac stretched out his arms and legs, wincing at the stiffness. “You shoulda worn a real coat, Tay.” He said, leaning back down and pulling on his brother’s arm. “Come on, let’s get out of the wind for a few minutes.”
Slowly, Taylor stood, wrapping his arms around his body. “Oh my god, I’ve never been so cold in my entire life…” he stuttered, making his way to the edge of the truck. “My feet are numb.” He said.
Isaac reached his hand up, “Here, step down, I’ll help you.” Taylor allowed Isaac to take his hand and steady him when his feet hit the hard ground. He hissed, feeling the blood come down into his extremities once again, bringing a sting with it. Zac followed, and slowly, they made their way to the front of the truck. When the door opened, Taylor got in first, scooting over next to the woman and rubbing his hands together.
“My lord, look at you two!” She exclaimed. “You get in here and warm up!”
Zac followed Taylor and quickly shut the door, locking out the cold wind and snow. “You know, Tay, if you weren’t so tall, you wouldn’t freeze all the time. Your blood has too far to travel to warm up your hands and feet and stuff.” Zac reasoned, breathing on his hands and then rubbing them on his legs.
Taylor turned to look at him, “Oh. I’m so glad to know that, Zac. Now I can do something about it.” He said sarcastically, his teeth still chattering. He then turned back to the woman, “Thanks so much. I was afraid I was gonna die for a while there…” he said, covering his face with his hands and warming them with his breath.
“You still could.” Zac said. “And yeah, we really appreciate this.” He said to Louise.
“Well, it’s no problem. I just wish we had more room, I hated for you boys to be in the back like that.” She said gently, taking one of Taylor’s hands in her own. “My lord, your hands are like ice!” She exclaimed.
“You’re telling me!” Zac said. “He had ‘em on my back a minute ago!”
The door opened as Isaac looked sadly into the cab, “Hey guys, I don’t have anything in the car to siphon gas with—I didn’t think I would. We should probably just start walking in the opposite direction. Who knows? There might be a gas station really close that way.” He said, hopefully.
“You are NOT walking anywhere in this cold!” Louise told him. When her husband’s face appeared beside Isaac’s, she admonished him, “Alvin, we aren’t putting those boys in the back again. This little one is frozen solid.” She said, putting her arm around Taylor’s shoulder. “We’re just gonna have to take them home, that’s all there is to it.” She then looked at Zac, “Where do you boys live?”
“Oh, we couldn’t ask you to do that.” He said, looking over at Taylor. “You were going somewhere too. We don’t want to make you miss anything—“
“We were going home to spend Christmas by ourselves.” She answered.
“Yep, we already been to her sister’s house. I can’t hardly stand her kids to tell ya the truth, so we was just making our getaway.” Alvin replied. He looked into the truck, “It’ll be a tight fit, but I’m sure we can all squeeze in.”
And so, ten minutes later, Zac found himself with Isaac in his lap, and Taylor tucked on the floor, his knees pulled up to his chest, enjoying the warmth of the heater pouring out onto his back. Louise sat in the middle of them, absently fingering Taylor’s hair and causing his eyes to get heavy. He looked like a cat about to purr. Isaac directed the man to the expressway. “I hope the chair will be okay back there.” Zac said, glancing out the back window at the rocker wedged into the back of the truck.
“I’m sure it’ll be just fine, but it might get a little damp.” Alvin said, tuning the radio.
“You know she’s gonna sit it right there by the fireplace.” Isaac said. “Just like the old one. It’ll dry out.”
“I hate that chair…” Taylor mumbled.
Zac nudged Taylor with his foot, “It wasn’t the chair’s fault you fell on it and broke it.” He reasoned.
“…and I hate the fireplace too…” Taylor said, his head slowly leaning against the old woman’s knee.
Isaac shook his head, “Listen, I hear “White Christmas”. He said to Taylor. He didn’t want his brothers to get into the chair discussion again, “Let’s sing.”
Louise and Alvin were both amazed as the sound of the three voices filled the cab of the truck, blending together and making the song their own. “You boys are talented!” Alvin said as Louise clapped.
“Thanks, we try.” Isaac said with a smile.
“Where did you learn to sing like that?” Louise asked, her eyes wide, looking at the bedraggled threesome.
Zac spoke up, “Our Mom. And then, we just sort of picked it up on our own because we just liked singing.”
“Well, you sing as good as Bing, and that’s saying something.” She gushed. As the next song came on, she urged them to sing along again, “Oh, it’s ‘Silent Night’, that’s my favorite of all time! Can you sing that one, too?”
The truck made it’s way slowly over the slick road and the miles passed. Eventually, Louise turned off the radio and she and her husband started to just request the songs they most loved, and each time the boys would sing the song beautifully. When Isaac guided Alvin down the road that led to their driveway, they broke into a rousing rendition of “Winter Wonderland”, marveling at the beautiful scenery around them. Finally, the gate came into view and Alvin stopped the truck, “You boys live out in the middle of cow country, don’tcha?” He said, looking at the snow covered fields around them.
Zac opened the door of the truck, allowing Isaac to step out and unlock the gate, “Yeah.” He smiled. “My Mom had just had it with all the visitors at our old house. She wanted to come out here for some privacy.”
“Well, it looks like she’s got it, huh?” Louise said, peering down the long driveway ahead of them.
“Zac!” Isaac called, “I’m just gonna hop in the back, you tell Alvin where to go, alright?” He directed, carefully climbing up into the bed of the truck and settling in next to the chair.
Zac shut the door and shook his head as Taylor uncurled himself from the floor and settled on his little brother’s lap, just vacated by Isaac. “Tay!” Zac protested, “For crying out loud! We’re almost there!”
“My back is killing me, Zac.” He said, wrapping his arm around the back of the seat. “C’mon, be a pal.”
Louise smiled as the younger boy literally picked up his big brother, shifting him onto his other leg, “That one’s numb from Ike’s skinny butt.” Zac replied. “And actually, Al, this is our driveway, I don’t know why Ike thinks you need directions. Just follow this and it’ll take you right to our house.”
Alvin smiled, and stepped on the gas, careful not to slide on the snow, or to lose Isaac or the chair. He wondered whether he’d see an old ranch house belonging to a large family, struggling to make it with seven children or a modern marvel housing a wealthy couple thinking they’d like the country life. A short drive later, his curiosity was satisfied; there in front of him was something smack dab in the middle. A nice house, but certainly not a mansion, it’s windows lit with a warm light and a door opening almost immediately. On the porch now stood a woman with blonde hair like her children and a man with dark hair, both with worried looks on their faces. Zac opened the door almost before he stopped, hopping out and dumping his poor brother out into the snow. “Mom!” He cried, running to meet her.
Isaac was already out as well, stopping for a short moment to help Taylor up. Louise and Alvin watched the exchange as worried parents were reunited with their three missing children. “Did Ike say there was seven children in his family?” Louise asked.
“Yep, that’s what he said.” Alvin said.
“My heavens, can you imagine? No wonder they need a big house like this. Our house felt small and all we had was Davy.” She said softly.
With a sigh, Alvin put the truck in reverse and began to back down the driveway, not wanting to intrude on the family’s reunion. But before he made it more than a few feet, Taylor was running back toward them, much like he had earlier that evening, “Wait!” He cried. Alvin put on the brake and rolled down his window as Taylor leaned into it, “We want you to meet our folks. It’s too nasty to go back out on the road right now.” He said, using the most charming look he could muster with a black eye and scraggly hair and a voice scratchy from the cold.
A moment later, Walker and Diana had stepped up to the truck as well, “Thank you so much for bringing them home!” Diana said, her hand reaching out to touch the man’s arm. “Please, come inside and warm up for a while, at least.”
“C’mon,” Taylor said, opening the door, “it’s the least we can do for you guys. I’m pretty sure you saved my life, and Isaac’s toe.” He smiled.
“Well, as long as it’s not a bother. We don’t want to keep you from anything you need to do, or keep you up or anything.” Louise said, looking over at Diana.
“Oh, I drank so much coffee tonight, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep a wink. We were at our wits end worrying about the boys.” She said.
“I can just imagine…” Louise said, stepping out of the truck. Taylor went around and took her arm, not wanting her to slip in the snow.
Zac pulled open the door for Alvin, “Come on in, Al. I bet my Dad’s got some eggnog in there. He’s a junkie for it.” He laughed, looking over at his father, knowing he was right.
Stepping into the house, the old man and woman were amazed. The room was warm looking in every way—from the fire in the fireplace, to the young girl curled up on the sofa. The tree nearly reached the high ceiling and was covered in handmade ornaments as well as beautiful store bought ones. Presents spilled out from under it into the middle of the floor.
“Oh, baby!” They turned to hear Diana as she looked at Taylor in the light. “What happened?” she asked, placing her hand gently on his cheekbone. For now, the bruise was a bluish purple, but in the days to come, she knew it would be a rainbow around his eye.
“This girl that was in love with Zac kept hitting me!” he answered.
Zac looked over at Isaac, “Do you hear that?” He then turned to Taylor, “Yeah, I think she got all excited when you did that stripper move on her.”
“What?!” Diana said, looking at both of them.
Isaac shook his head, and sat on the couch untying his shoelaces and sliding his wet shoes off with a sigh. Walker had guided Louise and Alvin over to sit on the love seat and was handing them each a cup of egg nog. “Thanks again for bringing them home. We were so worried, they hadn’t left a note or anything.” He said, glaring at Isaac.
“Well, the plan was to be back long before you guys. But we all know how plans go when those two are involved.” He retorted, looking over as Taylor’s hands flew about as he told his mother something.
“They were about froze when we picked ‘em up and the ride to their car nearly killed those two.” Alvin said, gesturing to Taylor and Zac. “So, when we got to their car, and they didn’t have a hose—“
Walker interrupted, “You didn’t have a hose?!!” he said to Isaac.
“He didn’t either!” Isaac said, pointing at Alvin and grinning. “I don’t know anybody that carries a hose in their car!” he confessed.
Alvin laughed too, “Well, just a couple days ago, I took mine out to tie my old gate closed. The latch was busted. I meant to replace it, and I just forgot.”
Diana came over then and joined them, pulling up a chair next to Louise, “Your boys sing so beautifully, and they told us you taught them.” The woman said, placing her hand on Diana’s arm.
As the adults continued to talk, Zac and Taylor joined the group. Taylor stepped around the couch and laid himself on top of his sister. Just as expected, she awakened with a yelp, “Taylor! You’re all wet!” she cried. Then her eyes widened, “Oh my god, where have you been?!” she said, throwing her arms around him.
“Ike let us run out of gas.” He said, grinning.
“Oh yeah, Jess.” You know that’s what happened.” Isaac said putting his feet up on her legs. “Lemme just tell you who was driving and you can come to your own conclusions.” She smiled, raising her eyebrows and pointed to Taylor. “Yep.” He said.
Taylor snorted as Zac leaned over and whispered in his ear. Then the two of them stood up and went to the door, “We’ll be right back.” Zac said as Taylor followed him, closing the door behind them.
“What’s that all about?” Walker asked, looking at Isaac.
“I think Mom’s about to get her Christmas present from them. That’s why we left. Zac got a wild hair up his butt, and you know how that is.”
Diana nodded, then her eyes lit up as she watched Taylor come in the front door and hold it open for Zac as he brought in the rocking chair. “Oh my gosh! It’s a new rocker!” She exclaimed, standing, and rushing over to look at it. “Oh, it’s beautiful! Thank you, my babies!” She put her arms around Zac, then turned to Taylor, “That means a lot to me, after what happened to the last one.”
“Aw, that’s so brave of you, Tay!” Jessica said, and she got up and hugged him.
Louise and Alvin looked at Isaac, “You don’t want to know.” He chuckled.
And so, Louise and Alvin Hendricks spent Christmas at the Hanson’s. Walker and Diana insisted they spend the night in the guestroom. The next morning, instead of being alone in their little house, they watched seven children open presents from each other and marvel at what Santa had left for the little ones. They were amazed again as Taylor played the piano and they sang along with the family when they sung carols together. When dinner was served, they joined hands with each other, and Avery and Zac as Walker said Grace. When they drove away that afternoon, Diana placed two large fruit baskets in the back of their truck; gifts from fans. Of course, the couple had no idea the boys even had fans, they were just three cold, tired boys they’d found on the side of the road. She waved and thanked them again for bringing her boys back to her on a cold, snowy Christmas Eve; a gift even better than the new wooden rocker that sat next to the fireplace.
The End!