Christmas in Chicago! When Mary Jane heard those words she had her first
real pang of homesickness for the home she had left when they moved to
Chicago. Would any Christmas anywhere ever be so beautiful as the
Christmas in that dear home? She remembered the pine trees in the yard,
loaded down with their wealth of snow: the glowing fire on the hearth with
its Christmas-y smell from the pine cones that were saved through the year
for the Christmas Day fire; the tree in the angle near the fireplace where
the afternoon sun touched it into a blaze of glory; the party for the poor
children that had been such fun to plan for--would anything in Chicago
ever be half the fun of Christmas in the old home? But Mary Jane was soon
to discover that Christmas doesn't need certain houses or fires or trees
to make it perfect; that Christmas is made in folks' hearts and that
wherever there is a Christmas heart, there will be a happy day--in village
or city, the place makes no difference.
When she went home from school that afternoon and announced that Miss
Treavor said Christmas was so very near, she found that mother wasn't even
a little surprised.
"Why to be sure Christmas is coming," laughed Mrs. Merrill, "and here I've
been waiting and waiting and _waiting_ for you to talk about it till,
actually, I thought I'd had to begin myself, if you didn't wake up pretty
soon." And then everybody began to talk at once.
"Do they have trees in Chicago?" asked Alice.
"Are there any poor folks who would like parties?" asked Mary Jane.
"Is anybody coming to see us?" demanded Mary Jane.
"Here! Here! Here!" exclaimed Mr. Merrill, "one at a time, ladies, one at
a time! If you doubt that there will be trees in Chicago, you should see
what I saw this morning as I went down to work. A train load of Christmas
trees--yes, sir!" (for he noticed the girls could hardly believe him) "a
whole train load of trees. And I see by the paper this evening that a boat
load has arrived, too, so there will be no shortage of trees."
"Then we can have one," said Mary Jane, with a satisfied sigh.
"And let's put it in front of this foolish little gas log," suggested
Alice, "then we won't think about a real fireplace."
"And there are plenty of poor folks," said Mrs. Merrill, going back to
Mary Jane's question, "only they will not be so easy to get together, as
back at home. How would you like to take a Christmas party to some family
instead of having a party at home as we did last year?"
The girls hardly knew what to say about that new idea so Mrs. Merrill
explained further. "I telephoned to the Associated Charities this very
day," she said, "and they gave me the names of a fatherless family in
which there are two girls about your ages, and one boy. I thought we could
plan a fine Christmas for them and then, on Christmas morning, take it
over and surprise them."
"Oh, let's do that, mother," said Mary Jane happily, "then we'd be like a
real Santa Claus only we'd be a morning Santa. May we do it, surely?"
"I thought you'd like the idea," said Mrs. Merrill, "so I got lists from
the association as to just what was most needed. Alice, if you'll get a
pencil and paper, we'll figure it all out."
Making plans was the girls' favorite way of spending an evening so they
whisked the cover off the dining table, pulled up chairs for four and went
to work list-making.
"Tom," began Mrs. Merrill, consulting her list, "hasn't a bit of warm
clothing."
"Why couldn't I knit him a muffler and some mittens?" asked Mary Jane. "I
remember how and I haven't knitted anything since the war stopped."
"Fine!" approved Mrs. Merrill, "I think I have enough yarn for the mittens
and if you'll get it out of the drawer there we can wind it while we talk
and it will be all ready for you to set up at once. You'll have to work
hard and fast if you want to make a muffler and a pair of mittens before
Christmas."
"Now then," she continued, looking at the list, "they have very few bed
covers and the children get so cold at night."
"Why couldn't you make some covers, mother?" suggested Alice, "and let me
make them each some flannelette pajamas like we wear--you know how
toasting warm they are. And I have the pattern and I know I could make
them all myself."
"That's a beautiful idea," approved Mrs. Merrill, "and I hadn't even
thought of such a thing. When we get through planning, dear, you can get
out your pattern and see how much material you'll need. Then, when I go up
town to-morrow, I'll get it for you."
"And they need stockings," she continued, "and shoes--"
"Could any of 'em wear my good shoes that are too little?" asked Mary Jane
eagerly. She had been greatly distressed about those "best" shoes that
were so good, and yet were hopelessly outgrown.
"I think they'll be exactly right," said Mrs. Merrill. "In fact I picked
out this particular family because I was sure we could find nice things
for them among you girls' outgrown things and that, put with what we buy
new, would make all the bigger Christmas for them.
"And about toys," she continued with the list, "the girls have never had a
doll--"
"Never had--" began Mary Jane but she couldn't quite get the words out.
Never had a doll. Never had a Marie Georgiannamore to love and care for
and take riding in a beautiful cart. Never had--no, she couldn't quite
imagine it.
After that there was no more reading off a list. Mary Jane and Alice began
making a list of their own, of what those children were to have for
Christmas.
"But," objected Mrs. Merrill, "you girls forget that things cost money--a
lot of money these days. And you can't possibly buy all those things and
get any Christmas of your own too."
"Humph!" grunted Mary Jane as she squeezed her face up tight in an
effort to write, "then we won't have one of our own! Haven't we got Marie
Georgiannamore and a cart and a nice house and warm
clothes--and--everything?"
That settled it. There would be a tree and dinner and a lot of fun in the
Merrill house on Christmas Day, but the presents were to go to their
adopted family to make _their_ Christmas one never to be forgotten.
If you have ever planned a Christmas for somebody who never, in all their
lives had one, you will know something about the fun that Mary Jane and
Alice had in the time that was left before Christmas. They were about the
busiest girls in all Chicago! They hurried home from school and they
worked Saturdays but, actually, as soon as they got one thing done they
thought of something else they wanted to make or buy and they had to begin
all over again. They made cookies and candies and dressed dolls, one for
each girl, and made a complete set of covers and pillows and "fixings" for
an adorable doll bed that Mr. Merrill made in the evenings. Alice had to
work pretty hard to get the pajamas all finished in time for there was
considerable work on each pair; but she got them finished and she could
hardly wait till Christmas to take them over to their family.
Mary Jane finished the muffler and mittens though she _almost_ had to knit
while she ate--towards the last--it takes a good many stitches to make a
muffler big enough for an eight year old boy. The muffler was a deep
crimson and the mittens a warm shade of gray with three rows of crimson in
the wrist end; Mary Jane had picked colors she was sure Tom would like.
At last the twenty-fourth of December came around--cold and snowy and just
the kind of a day for making a Christmas. The trees were bought and set on
the balcony, the turkeys, two of them, were in the pantry ready to dress
and three big baskets were set on the dining-room table ready for
packing.
"Now, then," said Mrs. Merrill, "if you have everything ready, I think
we'd better pack all the things we can now, because when Dadah comes home
there'll be plenty to do."
Mary Jane thought the packing was the most fun of anything she had ever
done. They packed all the doll things in one basket, doll things and toys
and three nice books. Of course the doll bed wouldn't go in the basket; it
had to have a package all by itself. A second basket was for clothing, the
pajamas--and no one would ever guess that a girl as young as Alice had
made those charming garments--the muffler, the mittens, one pair for each
child, warm underwear and a dress for each girl (one of the nicest of
Alice and Mary Jane's outgrown frocks). Mr. Merrill had added a nice
flannel shirt for Tom and Mrs. Merrill put in a warm sweater for the good
mother.
"That's a basket they'll like to open," said Alice, proudly, as she tucked
the brand new comforter Mrs. Merrill had made, around the top, "they'll be
so happy they won't hardly be able to wait till they can put 'em on!"
The third basket was fully as interesting as the others. It was a big, big
one and in it the girls packed groceries, cans of vegetables and soup and
sugar--a very little bit to be sure for there wasn't much to be had, but
the Merrills had decided to send exactly half of what they had--and
oranges for breakfast and cereals and bread. Then on top, they were to put
cookies and candy and the turkey. But of course those last things would go
in in the morning, just before the baskets were taken away.
By the time Mr. Merrill came home, the three baskets were packed, covered
up and set in the corner of the dining-room ready for morning.
"Now for the tree!" said Mr. Merrill as he took off his coat ready for
work. He set their tree in the dining-room and with Alice's good help
fixed a solid bottom standard and set it up in the living-room right in
front of the foolish little fireplace. They wired it firmly and then Mrs.
Merrill brought in the boxes of Christmas trimmings and everybody set to
work.
Such fun as it was! Mary Jane kept saying, "Remember this!" And Alice
added, "Remember that!" till it seemed as though it _couldn't_ be more
than a week since last Christmas when they had put the same things on a
tree that looked exactly like the one they were now trimming. This year,
seeing Mary Jane was such a _very_ old person, she was allowed to put the
gold star on the top of the tree; she climbed the ladder, with father
holding one hand and wired it on all by herself; and Alice, as a special
privilege, was allowed to hang the crystal icicles on every tip.
Nobody put any tinsel on the tree--that was left for the middle of the
night like the story of the old time legend. Whether the spiders and the
Christmas fairies, working together, really covered the tree with silver,
Mary Jane never stopped to figure out. But at any rate the tree was
covered with strings of gold the next morning and Mary Jane thought it the
prettiest Christmas tree she had ever seen!
[Illustration: This year, seeing Mary Jane was such a _very_ old person,
she was allowed to put the gold star on the top of the tree
_Page 195_]
The very last thing before she went to bed, Mary Jane hung up her
stocking. And Alice, looking a bit foolish, hung hers close by.
"I thought you two folks weren't going to have any Christmas," said Mr.
Merrill teasingly.
"Of course we're not," said Mary Jane bravely, "but we want to hang our
stockings just the same as if--you know." And Dadah must have understood
for he nodded his head and didn't tease any more.
Nobody would say how it ever happened. Certainly it was well understood
that there were to be no presents. But, anyway, when Mary Jane and Alice
looked at those stockings Christmas morning they were fat, as fat could
be! Just bulging over with queer shaped parcels!
Mary Jane couldn't even wait to put her slippers on! She bundled a kimono
around her, grabbed up her stocking and ran into her mother's room to open
it. Alice wasn't far behind and certainly for girls who were to have _no_
presents, they fared very well indeed! Santa Claus must have got his
signals mixed some way! There were doll things for Marie Georgiannamore,
and a ring for Mary Jane; hair ribbons, handkerchiefs, skates for Alice
(think of that in a stocking!) and slippers for the little girl who forgot
to put on her old pair and, oh, many lovely little things that could be
tucked into a stocking.
The girls spread the things out on mother's bed and had a happy time till
suddenly Mr. Merrill exclaimed, "Girls! It's eight o'clock and I ordered
that taxi for nine!"
Then there _was_ a scramble! Gifts were hustled away, clothes were put on,
breakfast was eaten and a few last things packed in the baskets, just as
the taxi arrived.
It was fortunate Mr. Merrill had ordered a big car for with three baskets,
a bundle containing the doll bed and another the turkey, to say nothing of
the tree roped on the side of the car and the box of trimmings on Mrs.
Merrill's lap even a big car was pretty full.
Mary Jane felt like a real Santa Claus for sure!
The family they were going to see didn't know they were coming, so when
the car stopped in front of a shabby little house, three puzzled and very
sober faces pressed against the window and looked out. But the sober faces
soon changed. In a few minutes the mother was helping Mrs. Merrill put the
turkey in to roast, the older girl was helping Mr. Merrill set the
Christmas tree in place and Tom and Ellen, the little girl, were helping
the Merrill girls trim the tree.
When the Merrills left the house some two hours later the turkey was
almost cooked, the tree was trimmed, presents unpacked and happiness and
good cheer had settled down in the little house for many a day.
It was a good thing they came away when they did, though, for exactly as
they drove up to their own home, they met an express wagon. And in their
own vestibule they found the driver. "Family of Merrill here?" he asked
them.
"They're us," said Mary Jane eagerly. And whereupon the driver carried
upstairs the biggest, fattest Christmas box Mary Jane had ever seen.
Of course it was from grandma and in it were so many lovely things from
uncles and grandparents and cousins that Mary Jane thought she never would
get everything unpacked!
"Well," said the little girl as some time later the family sat down to
their own belated dinner, "I think for not having any presents, we got a
lot! And I think I like Christmas in Chicago just as much as anywhere, I
do."