Prayer Trilogy. Kimberly Gordon
and fun. Thoughts of Santa Claus filled their minds as well. Helen watched as Gabriel took Chad aside. They spoke in deep hushed tones. After half a minute, Chad cleared his throat.
“Helen, dear, Mister Davidson and I are going out to the barn for a while.”
“Fine. I have mending to do and some things to prepare for tomorrow’s meal.” Helen began work on her sons’ pants. Both had holes in the knees. She had a little more scrap material from one of her old skirts to patch them with. Helen smiled as she sewed. God was sure looking after them. “How great He is!” she said under her breath. With Mister Davidson’s gift of the food stuffs, they would survive until spring. Then they could start over somehow – plant a new crop, acquire new animals. Somehow, in time, maybe they could repay him for all he had done. “Lord we are so grateful for all you’ve done in the last day. Thank you. Please bless Mister Davidson for all the good he’s doing for us. Bring his family back to him, God. Thank you for saving us through the winter. Help us to begin anew in the spring. Please keep bein’ with us, Lord, like you said. Amen.”
Helen continued her mending. She made a mental note to ask Chad to sharpen her scissors. The children were sound asleep, finally, by the time the patches were on. It had taken thirty minutes and Chad and Mister Davidson were still in the barn. Helen snacked on a piece of bread. Maybe, she thought, the men were sorting through the food stuffs. Gabriel was probably showing Chad what they could keep. What a great man Gabriel was, an angel really. Helen was pondering this thought when the door opened. When she looked up, Chad was smiling ear to ear. There was a gleam in his eyes like she’d never seen. He held a large bundle.
“You’ll not believe what this is,” he told her quietly.
She shrugged.
“It’s a turkey!”
“A turkey?” her eyes were wide as walnuts.
Chad nodded. “Yes, for Christmas dinner. And there’s four more in the barn.”
“Oh, Chad!” Helen exclaimed as her hand came to her mouth.
“And he’s giving us a dozen chickens, a side of beef, six hams, bacon, sausage...” his voice trailed off.
Helen sat down in a chair. She had not realized how much food was in that sleigh.
“And there’s more. Potatoes, beans, rice, canned vegetables, a barrel of flour, one of oats, sugar, all sorts of everything. More food than I’ve ever seen. There’s also buttermilk and apple cider.”
Helen was speechless, stunned. They would never be able to repay him for all this. As if Chad could read her thoughts, he added, “And he refuses my ‘I owe you’. I told him we could provide future crops for him to sell in his store, but he adamantly opposes the idea. He insists this is a gift from God, not from him.”
“He’s an angel of God, Chad. That’s what I think,” she answered.
“You could be right, dear. He does have the right name for it,” he smiled.
Gabriel came back to the cabin a short time later with a second bag of food for Christmas day. Chad and Helen had placed the turkey near the fire to thaw. Helen gave their guest an appreciative hug. “Thank you, sir, for everything.”
Gabriel patted her on the back. “Let it be a blessing from God.”
A short time later, the adults settled into bed. It had been a fun, busy day, and tomorrow would be just the same. The children especially would be so excited about the turkey. Helen said her goodnight prayers, kissed Chad, and fell asleep.
Helen awoke early the next morning with an urgent need to use the privy. Quietly she tip-toed past the curtain in the corner. When she came out, the dim light from the simmering embers and the dull gray coming in from the window allowed her to see the shadowy objects on the dining table. She went closer for a better look.
Helen gasped. Covering their table were gifts of all sorts. Something for everyone, it seemed. And even the buffalo furs were draped over all the chairs and benches. Her heart beat rapidly. She looked at Gabriel, who slept soundly on his pallet near the fire. Helen reached out to touch some of the items. A warm ladies bonnet, trimmed in ribbon. A porcelain doll for Naomi. Books, at least seven of them. And shoes for the children!
“Oh joy!” Helen shouted, waking the household. “Children, come and see!” she called to them, rushing to their bedside. They sat up dreamily, wiping their eyes. As soon as they saw the table, they scrambled from bed.
“Mama, a doll. Just look at her!” Naomi cried out with delight. She grabbed the curly haired baby and gave her a squeeze.
Chad sat on the bed grinning now, having already known the secret Gabriel had set about doing during the night. Gabriel too, now sat grinning near the hearth.
“Look what Santa brought!” Matthew shouted, grabbing the toy train carved from wood and painted red, yellow and black.
The children looked over the table for more toys. Besides the books, there were slates and chalk, a bag of marbles, three pairs of red mittens, a bag of candy sticks, a harmonica, two brown caps for the boys and a quilted bonnet for Naomi. Helen knew what a sacrifice this had all been for Gabriel to give them instead of giving it to his daughter and her family.
Naomi pulled on the warm bonnet, turning her head to show it off. “Look at me, Papa.”
Little Johnathan began to scribble on the writing slate.
“Let's put some more wood on the fire so we can see all these wonderful gifts,” Chad said, walking toward the hearth.
Helen looked over the table again. Beside the navy blue ladies bonnet rested two new dresses, simple but warm. One was dark blue cotton duck, the second a black wool. She held one up. It was a bit large, but she could take it in. Next to the dresses were ten balls of yarn for knitting. “Oh, we will all have scarves and new socks,” she told them. “Maybe even a new shawl for me and Naomi.” The little girl smiled. Next to the yarn were two men's shirts, a pair of trousers, and some clothing for the oldest two children. Two new dresses for Naomi – a green plaid and a blue striped, both from heavy cotton. For Michael, there were two new cotton duck shirts, a white and a blue, and two new pairs of pants, one in denim, the other brown wool. Near the clothes was a stack of material, red flannel for new long johns, white flannel for new underskirts and drawers, a medium-weight, plum-colored cotton and a heavy gray cotton. She knew the gray cotton could be used to make Johnathan a new set of clothes. Helen fingered the spools of thread sitting next to the material. What fun it would be sewing this winter.
“Did you look in this box?” Chad asked.
Helen peered inside the open container. There were six bars of soap, matches, a kitchen towel, candles, lamp oil, writing paper and a pencil. It was so much. She smiled, but was speechless. She felt as though she were at the mercantile in town, looking over the wonderful merchandise. It was hard to believe this was all for them.
“Mister Davidson, you are an angel of God for sure. May He show you mercy and bless your life abundantly for what you have done. I thank you and praise Him. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas,” Gabriel returned simply with a nod.
Chad and the children joined in, “Merry Christmas!”
June 1876, six months later
“Hey, Papa, someone’s comin’,” Naomi called out. She could easily see the wagon traveling across the prairie from her position in the barn loft. She had been up there for half an hour playing with her pretty porcelain doll which she had lovingly named Elizabeth. They were having an imaginary tea party since Naomi had just turned nine and was wearing her new plum-colored summer dress.
“Can you see who it is?” Chad asked from below. He was trying to fix the handle on his hoe. He had some weeding to do in the vegetable garden. Thankfully, Mister Smart at the trading post in Hoyt had let him trade two buffalo hides, some canning jars, seven fruit pies and six newly captured rabbits for some spring planting seeds.