A Christmas Secret
By Susan Molthop
Copyright (c) 1998 by Susan Molthop
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CHAPTER ONE "Let's bake Christmas
cookies and decorate them with sprinkles." Nicole scooted sideways in
Dad's big leather chair. She could almost taste those warm lemon cookies
and see the red and green sprinkles on the buttery frosting.
"You can," said
Todd. He was sprawled on the floor, staring at the ceiling. "Sure," said Nicole.
"I can do all the work, then you and Jason can eat all the cookies --
no deal!" The cookie picture disappeared, leaving Nicole in a bad mood.
She hung her arm over the side and wiggled her fingers. A black paw reached
out from under the chair and slapped at her hand. Nicole grabbed at it,
but she was too slow. The paw was gone. Suddenly, a black
kitten scooted out from under the chair and ran over to Todd. The kitten
arched his back and danced sideways. "Phtz," he said, then took off again. "Avery's a dumb
name for a cat," said Todd. "It is not. We
found him on Avery Parkway. Besides, I looked it up. It means 'Ruler of
the Elves.' It's a perfect name." Jason came in and
flopped onto the couch. "Todd's right, it's dumb." "You always take
sides with Todd," said Nicole. She stretched way out to reach a piece
of yarn and fell out of the chair - KATHUNK! Avery jumped straight up
and the boys laughed. Before Nicole
could yell at them, Mom came in. She picked up one of the couch cushions
and stuck her hand under it. She looked at each of the children, then
leaned over the back of the couch. "What are you
looking for, Mom?" Nicole got on her hands and knees and peeked behind
the chair. Jason looked behind
the television. Todd checked the planter. Whatever was lost, each of them
wanted to find it first. "I can't find
my Christmas spirit," said Mom, "but if you kids had it, you wouldn't
be in here fighting, so I must have left it somewhere else." Jason stared at
the floor. Todd gazed out the window. Nicole looked straight at Mom. "There's nothing
to do," said Jason. "We're bored,"
said Todd. "It's raining,"
said Nicole. She dug her bare toes into the thick carpet and let a whine
creep into her voice. "We can't even go outside." Jason glared at her.
She knew how much he hated whining -- Dad hated it, too. She frowned,
remembering how grumpy Dad had been, lately. "I have an idea,"
said Mom. Todd grabbed his
throat, crossed his eyes, and made a strangling noise. Jason wrinkled
his nose. Mom grinned and
winked at them. "Never mind," she said, and turned to leave. "Wait!" "What idea?" "M-o-m." Mom came back
and sat on the edge of the couch. "Well," she said, "I just read something
about laughing. It reminded me of a game we used to play on rainy days
when I was a kid." Nicole didn't
feel like laughing or playing games. She tuned Mom out and looked at Jason.
She stared at his blond hair and blue eyes -- just like Dad's. She looked
over at Todd. His hair was black and his eyes as green as Mom's. Nicole
didn't look like anybody. Her hair was brown and her eyes were hazel.
Mom and Dad were tall. Jason was already taller than Nicole and he was
only nine. Todd was only seven and he was already up to her eyebrows.
It wasn't fair. She should be the tallest - she was ten and a half. Nicole
sighed and looked back at Mom. Mom smiled as
she talked. Her eyes sparkled. "Laughter really gets into your blood,"
she said. "It helps you stay healthy." Todd flopped onto
the couch, next to Jason. "Aw, Mom. How can that be?" he asked. Jason
gave him an elbow. Nicole smiled. She knew Mom could take forever to answer
a question like that and Jason couldn't sit still that long. "I don't know
exactly how it works, but scientists have proven it. A good laugh can
help you live longer. " "What's the game?"
Jason interrupted. "I'll show you,"
said Mom. "Everybody on the floor. Todd, lie on your back. Jason, do the
same and put your head on Todd's stomach. I'll put my head on Jason's
stomach, and Nicole, you put your head on mine. Now we'll make Todd laugh
and you'll see how it works." "Nothing's funny,"
said Todd. Avery jumped off the
couch onto Nicole's stomach. "Oof," said Nicole. Todd laughed,
making his stomach jiggle. Jason's head bounced on Todd's stomach. That
made Todd laugh harder. Jason chuckled and Mom's head jiggled, which started
her laughing. Nicole started bouncing and giggling. Avery hissed and backed
under Dad's chair, which made them all laugh louder. They laughed so
hard, tears rolled down their cheeks. Finally, they couldn't laugh any
more and became quiet. Nicole pictured Mom at work, telling her customers
about rainy day games. "I have another
idea," said Mom, as she sat up. The kids gathered around her. This time,
no one looked away. "We'll make up
a new game. Think about someone you know who needs cheering up. The object
of the game will be to make that person laugh before bedtime Christmas
Eve." "We could make
it a contest," said Nicole. "Let's write the
names down," said Jason. "We can put them in a bowl, and have everybody
pick one." "I'll get the
pencils and paper," said Nicole, as she jumped up and ran to the desk.
"We can use the
fruit bowl," said Mom, and went to the kitchen. She came back with the
old wooden bowl and an apple for each of them. "What about prizes?"
asked Todd, around a mouthful of crunchy apple. "Don't talk with
your mouth full," said Jason. "No prizes, no
penalties . . .", said Mom. "Aw, Mom. You've
got to have prizes or it isn't a contest," Todd interrupted. "I know, " said
Jason. "When you get your person to laugh, everybody has to call you 'The
Great' for a whole day. Like, 'Jason The Great, would you please pass
the salt?' How about that?" Todd nodded, Nicole
rolled her eyes, and Mom said "Okay." "Now let's have some
rules, before you get carried away," Mom continued. "No dirty tricks.
Whatever makes these people laugh has to be good, clean fun - in keeping
with the spirit of Christmas." The three kids
nodded and scrambled for pencils and paper. They scooted into different
corners to write. "One more thing,"
said Mom. "If these people know what you're up to, they might pretend
something's funny, just to make it easy for you. That isn't the same as
really laughing. This game has to be a secret." "It will be our
Christmas Secret," said Nicole. Todd and Jason agreed. |