Christmas Eve

A Gathering at the big house.

Brenda's round seance table was carried upstairs, and reassembled by two strapping college men. Daniel carried a few chairs behind them, and mumbled something about the quality. Brenda busied herself with last minute food offerings.  

The coffee club waitress, Karen Shaw, arrived dressed as an Edwardian maid, and helped Brenda until Daniel came back down dressed like Scrooge, or "Jack the Ripper" and pitched in. Brenda got dressed in a red velvet gown, with matching accessories, and covered her dress with an apron. The pianist would not be coming until night time when the dinner guests would arrive.

Pauline Kirby would be going in and out all day with younger members of the Historical society. Harriet Wilson, likewise, but Mr. Griffin would be an evening guest. 

Daniel's Aunt and Uncle came for the first tour of the house, and chatted with Brenda. Aunt Milly dropped Caitlin's name several times, and Brenda didn't flinch under Milly's piercing gaze. Auntie dear didn't seem to like Brenda much at all. 

Uncle Dean chatted away with total strangers with great ease, and complimented the women on their outfits.. When Daniel wandered downstairs, Aunt Milly called him over to the side of the room. Brenda didn't want to be obvious, but she did catch Auntie dear handing Daniel a piece of paper. He nodded, smiled, and tucked it into his "Scrooge" vest pocket. He asked Auntie something, and she answered him.

When Uncle Dean, and "Auntie dear" left the house, Brenda remarked to Daniel that Milly had a weak handshake. Daniel said that she was probably jealous of what Brenda had, and that one of those things was him. Millie raised him as her own pride and joy, and now he "hardly came around any more." It wasn't for lack of caring, Daniel simply wanted to make his dead parents proud of him, and that "kind of thing" took hard work, and a lot of time. 

Daniel relayed Caitlin's birthday to Brenda. Aunt Millie knew it well. Caitlin turned out to be a Taurus. The chart would be drawn up before the night was out, even if Brenda had to burn the midnight oil. Daniel told her that Caitlin keeps calling Aunt Millie and asking him to call her. Now that he had her number in Baltimore, he would get around to it. "Maybe."

The Christmas Eve party was perfect. A light dinner followed by heavy desserts, and coffee, led up to the singing of "Deck The Halls." Mr. Griffin detailed his trip to Europe after the piano player left, and had everyone feeling warm and fuzzy when he presented each of them with a fancy bottle of wine. 

Brenda's shop windows had often been featured in the local newspaper, and Griffin's friend, Webster would submit photographs of the assembled Society members to any "willing" newspaper in Washington D.C. 

The Costumed members looked  very authentic as they posed in front of the magnificent Victorian tree. The helpers would appear in the photographs as well. As the fire burned down in the fireplace, the guests trickled out their cars, and went home, or perhaps on to other parties.

Brenda slept in Daniel's bed with him after she had drawn up Caitlin's chart. She left it in her room, and didn't tell him what she'd been doing for 20 minutes. The news could wait until morning. Daniel said that he could play dress ups "all the time." She suggested he hang out with Mr. Griffin and Webster more often. She fell asleep wondering if the Blundons had caught a glimpse of her party from the dreaming state, or spirit world.

C J. Marks