Published: 30 Oct 2025
Chapter 23 – A Crowded Christmas Eve
As we were chatting, I asked if anyone would like a drink.
“Yes, that would be lovely,” Ma responded first. After we took requests, Devin and I went out to get their drinks. Ma, Pa, and Lonny wanted coffee, so I quickly made a pot, and since Clint wanted a soda, Devin took that in to him while the coffee was brewing.
Devin stayed in to chat with the others while I located a tray that Mom sometimes used. When I found it, I placed five mugs on it, and when the coffee was ready, I filled each one. I also filled a small ceramic pitcher with the vanilla Coffee Mate that my parents use on a regular basis, along with a small sugar bowl and several packets of artificial sweetener on the tray as well.
After I carried the tray into the living room, I set it on the coffee table and everyone took a mug and prepared it to their liking. We then sat back and sipped our coffee as we continued to chat.
Lonny was getting along very well with Ma and Pa, while Clint spent his time talking to Devin and me. That’s when it hit me – I hadn’t turned on the Christmas lights! I excused myself from the group and hurriedly plugged in the lights on the Christmas tree, along with those that were hung around each window. Then, I went into the dining room and turned on whatever lights were used with those displays as well. Once those items were taken care of, I headed out to the garage so I could flip on the breakers necessary to supply power to the outside lights along the roofline. Next, I flipped the other circuit breakers that lit up Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus, and the Nativity with a lighted Joseph and Mary, who were watching over the baby Jesus.
When I returned from the garage, the others were wandering around the house inspecting the tree and other decorations, and then Lonny made a comment.
“Would you mind if we go outside to see what it looks like out there?”
“No, not at all, but it would probably be more impressive if you waited until after dark.”
“We can do both,” he quickly suggested.
Since he wanted to do this, I went to the closet so I could hand him his coat, and then I realized that the others were all there as well, so I passed out all of the coats and then we went outside. They walked down to admire the Nativity and other displays first, and then they looked up to admire the lights along the eves. Once they’d seen everything outside, we returned to the warmth of the house. As we entered, Devin and I took each of their coats and hung them up, along with our own, and then we returned to the living room.
“Your house looks very festive, both inside and out,” Lonny stated after we’d gotten comfortable again. “Someone certainly went to a lot of trouble to do all of this.”
“Did you put up any of the decorations?” Clint asked.
“No, not this year, because Devin and I left early in the morning the day after Thanksgiving so we could return to Fort Collins and fix a nice dinner for you, your father, and Preston,” I replied.
“And Bailey too,” Clint quickly added.
“Yes, and Bailey too. After we left, my mom took care of decorating the interior of the house, with a little help from my dad, and then he took care of the outside decorations, with a little help from my mom.”
“They did a fantastic job!” Lonny and Clint echoed in response.
“Make sure you tell them that when they get here, because I’m sure they’ll be gratified to know that you appreciate how much effort they put into decorating the house this year. In fact, they should be arriving home shortly.”
“We’ll be happy to tell them how great everything looks,” Lonny confirmed.
“Yeah, we’ll tell them it looks really nice,” Clint added. “Did you ever help them do the decorating for Christmas?”
“Yes, from the time I was five until this year, but when I was younger there wasn’t much that I was allowed to do, except Mom would let me hang some of the ornaments on the lower half of the Christmas tree.”
“What things would you do when you got older?”
“I would help Dad with the outside decorations after we finished our breakfast on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and he’d string the lights across the roof. I’d help him carry the ladder and set it up, and then he’d climb it and I’d stay at the bottom to make sure it didn’t slide. I probably wouldn’t have been able to do much to keep that from happening until I was much older, but it made me feel good to think that I was doing something important.”
“You never climbed the ladder then?”
“No, and Dad still insists on doing it himself and I still stand at the bottom of the ladder to make sure it doesn’t move. Once the ladder is in place, I’d help him untangle the strings of outdoor lights next, and then he’d plug them in temporarily so we could check to make certain that all the bulbs lit up. After we replaced the bulbs that had burned out, he’d unplug them again and then I’d hand him each string of lights so he could hang them along the eaves. We’d usually finish doing that by lunchtime, and then we’d take a break to get something to eat.”
“Did you put up the other decorations after you finished eating?”
“No, because Dad would stay inside to watch the football games, and when I was younger, I wasn’t able to carry those decorations by myself, so we wouldn’t do that until the next day. As I got older and strong enough, I’d carry the lawn decorations out and set them in place, and as you saw a little while ago, the Nativity is always set up in the center of the front yard. Frosty is always placed slightly behind the Nativity and off to the right side, while Santa and Rudolph are placed slightly behind the Nativity and off to the left side. I wasn’t allowed to take out the extension cords and plug them in so I could check to see if any of them needed new lightbulbs until I was 13, so I had to wait until the next day and then I’d help Dad do it.”
“Why did your dad wait until the next day to do that?”
“It was because he was too busy watching whatever football games were on TV after lunch.”
“Did you go inside and help your mom then?”
“Not on Friday, because she always goes shopping for the Black Friday sales that day, and she doesn’t like anyone else to decorate the inside except her. She would let me help sometimes, but I never did very much, so I would either watch football with Dad or go up to my room and do something else.”
“Ah, so your mom enjoys taking advantage of the Black Friday sales,” Lonny said knowingly.
“Yes, Mom can’t stand to pass up a bargain, and the last couple of years Ma has gone with her.”
“When would you finish doing the rest of the decorating then?” Clint asked.
“We’d start again after breakfast on Saturday and I’d help Dad until lunchtime, and after he finished eating, he’d watch more football games. If there was anything left to do, we’d finish up after breakfast on Sunday morning.
“So, you didn’t get to climb the ladder?” Clint asked.
“Not until I was 16 and he’d sometimes let me climb the ladder and replace bulbs that had blown out, while he held the ladder for me.”
“Did you go inside and help your mom decorate the tree while your dad was watching football?” Clint asked.
“Mom would have set up the Christmas tree while I was helping Dad outside, because Dad insisted that we have an artificial tree, since he is allergic to the real ones. So, while dad was watching football, I’d help Mom string lights around the two windows in the living room first and then we’d string the lights on the tree. Once the lights were on it, we’d move the tree so it overlapped one of the windows. After that, I’d help Mom put the ornaments and candy canes on the tree, but she wouldn’t plug in any of the lights until after the football games had ended, because Dad said they reflected in the TV screen.”
“Didn’t it bother your dad that you and your mom were doing that while he was trying to watch the games?” Lonny asked.
“Yeah, he would turn the sound up kinda loud on the TV and he’d tell us to keep the noise down or quit blocking his view. After we finished doing those things, I’d help Mom decorate the dining room next, and then we’d put the electric candles in the bedroom windows that can be seen by cars driving on the road. Depending on when we finished doing those things, I’d sometimes watch the football game that was on with Dad or I’d just go up to my room and read.”
“Do you read a lot?”
“Yes, I do.”
“I do sometimes, just not my schoolbooks.”
“Well, it’s important that you read those too, even if it’s difficult at times. It’s especially important if you want to get good grades so you can go to college, like Devin and I are doing.”
“Yeah, I know. My dad tells me that all the time.”
After Lonny chuckled at Clint’s comment, he asked me a question. “Do your parents take everything down right after Christmas?”
“No, we don’t do that until the weekend after the Orthodox Christmas, and sometimes we leave the outside lights up until spring, but we don’t turn them on after that..”
“When’s Orthodox Christmas?” Clint asked.
“It’s OrthoDox Christmas and it’s held on January 7th.”
“Why do they use a different date for Christmas?”
“It’s because most Orthodox Churches still use the old Julian calendar, instead of the more modern Gregorian calendar.”
“Why are there two calendars?”
“The Julian calendar was named after Julius Caesar, who introduced his calendar in 45 BC or BCE. The Roman’s determined the solar year was exactly 365.25 days long, but the solar year is actually 11 minutes shorter than that. I know 11 minutes a year doesn’t sound like much, but over hundreds of years, the calendar was out of whack and there needed to be an adjustment to correct things.”
“Then who was the second calendar named after?”
“It was named after Pope Gregory XIII, because this problem was brought to his attention and he established a commission to study the problem. They determined that the calendar was off by 10 days, so at midnight on October 4, 1582, the next day became October 15, 1582, and then every so often the gap between the two calendars increases by an additional day, making the gap between the two calendars grow different by another day.”
“Damn, how do you know all of this stuff?”
“Language,” Lonny stated succinctly, which caused Clint to give him a dirty look.
“I was curious just like you when I was younger, and I’ve got a really good memory, so after I found out about this, I’ve never forgotten what I learned.”
“Does this mean that New Year’s Day is 13 days later too?”
“Yes, in certain cases. Some of the Orthodox churches still celebrate the old Julian calendar New Year, which currently falls on January 14th, while others have adopted January 1st instead, so they’re more in line with the majority of the world. The date for the New Year started on January 1st on the original Julian calendar but the error they made in determining the length of the solar calendar caused everything to change. Not only did it change when they celebrated Christmas Day, but it changed when they celebrated New Year’s Day as well.”
“So, how long will they celebrate the New Year on January 14th?”
“Additional adjustments will have to be made at the end of most centuries. For example, the difference was just 12 days from 1801 until the end of 1900, and then a 13-day difference was adopted in 1901. That will remain in effect until the end of the year 2100, and on 2101 the gap will change to 14 days, so Christmas will be celebrated on January 8th and the New Year will begin on January 15th. That’s will remain in force until 2200, and then on January 1, 2201 the gap will jump to 15 days.”
“Damn, I didn’t know all of that.”
“Clint, watch your language,” Lonny said more forcefully this time, “and I find that information fascinating as well,” Lonny added as he glared at Clint.
“Now, I have a question for the two of you,” I quickly added, in an attempt to break the tension. “What’s with all the bags you carried into the house?”
“We brought presents for everyone,” Clint answered after glancing at his dad, who was still glaring at him.
“You know that wasn’t necessary, right?” I asked, hoping to draw their attention to me.
“Maybe not,” Lonny replied, “but I learned a lot about your parents during our vacation together and I’m sure they’ve purchased presents for us as well. I also assume that Devin’s parents have done the same thing.”
“Ok, point taken, so do you want to spread them around the tree?”
“I think I’ll let Clint do that,” Lonny said with a grin.
“And you can help me, Michael. If you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind at all and I’ll be happy to help you.”
While I was assisting Clint, Devin informed Lonny about a couple of things. “You can store your travel bag in the same closet where we hung our coats, and you can also hang anything that requires a hanger in there as well, before they get too wrinkled. You can leave them all there until they are needed, and I believe Clint will be bringing his travel bag upstairs, so he can hang what he needs to in my closet, since he’ll be sleeping with Mac and me.”
“Yes, that will probably be his best option.”
My parents arrived a short time later and were a little surprised that everyone had beat them to the house, but they greeted each person warmly just the same. Lonny and Clint made sure to compliment my parents on the decorations, both inside and outside, and then Ma and Pa did that as well. After chatting for a bit, Mom went out to start getting the meal ready, and Ma went out to help her.
While they were doing that, the rest of us guys got comfortable in the living room so we could chat, and while we were doing that, I thought of something. “F… damn,” I quickly corrected. “We forgot to check the numbers for the Mega Millions and Cash 5 drawing from last night. Do you have the tickets with you.”
“It just so happens that I do,” Pa replied, “along with the worthless scratch off that I bought.”
“Ok, then let me check the numbers on my phone. I’ll call them out for the Mega Millions first and you can check them against the ticket.” After I’d called out the winning numbers, Pa asked a question. “Will you repeat those numbers for me again, and this time tell me what last night’s multiplier was as well.”
“Sure,” and I did as he requested.”
“Damn, I knew you boys were lucky and on a hot streak and you proved me right. Devin got 4 numbers correct, which would normally win $500.00, but with last night’s multiplier, we’ve won’t $5,000.00 instead.”
“Congratulations,” Lonny stated, and then Clint and my dad chimed in as well.
“Now, read me the Cash 5 numbers from last night.” I did, and the look on Pa’s face was priceless. “Read them again, just in case.”
I did as he asked, and this time he let out a shriek! “You did it as well, Mac. You got all 5 numbers right and that won us $20,000.00. New Year’s Eve is totally on me this year.”
“About that time both of our moms came racing into the living room. “What’s all the commotion about? You aren’t even watching a football game.”
“Ma, you and Mom better sit down before Pa tells you why we were all shouting like that.” They both did as I suggested, and then Pa told them about the two drawings.
“Wait! How much did you say you just won?” Ma asked, and Pa repeated it for her.
“I told you these two were on a hot streak and this proves it.”
“What do you mean they’re on a hot streak?” Clint asked, and that’s when Pa told me and Devin to explain what he meant to them. I think he was doing it to allow us to decide how much we wanted to share.
“This summer we went exploring a cave on land that Devin’s grandpa owns in Arkansas, and while we were exploring the cave, Devin and I spotted a bag, so we picked it up and opened it. There were some gold coins inside, and since his grandpa owns the land, we were able to keep the coins, rather than turning them in to a state or federal agency.”
“Can I see them?”
“Devin’s grandpa has them, because he’s going to help us sell them. They were $20.00 gold pieces from before the Civil War, so he feels they’ll be worth a great deal more than just $20.00 each.”
Once Clint and Lonny got comfortable with that news, Devin began speaking. “After you guys left us on Thanksgiving weekend, we decided to go hiking around on some land that a family friend owns there. We noticed that there were a few trees that had recently been blown over in a powerful windstorm while we were home with our families. We know that, because we’d walked around out there the weekend before. As we were investigating the area, we discovered a wooden chest.”
“What was inside the chest?” Clint gasped in anticipation.
“Inside the chest was an old plastic container, and inside that was a collection of old baseball cards from the 1950s and 60s, and even a few that were even older. We did some research to find out who the chest might have belonged to, and discovered there was once a farm there and the boy who owned the baseball cards used to live on that farm. After doing some more research and going through some old newspapers in the library, we learned that the boy died just after he turned 15.”
“How did he die?” Clint asked.
“We haven’t found that out yet, but we will when we return to campus, but we’ve discovered that some of those baseball cards may be worth a lot of money as well.”
“Do you have the cards here, so I can see some of them?”
“Yes, they’re in the object that I carried in the house with me when we first arrived here. You can look at them when we go up to my room later.”
“If you found them on land owned by a family friend,” Lonny followed, “shouldn’t you give the cards to him?”
“We tried to give him, the chest when we found it, but he told us to keep it.”
“Did you tell him what was inside the chest and how much the cards might be worth?”
“We didn’t know that part when we told him that we found the chest on his land, but he didn’t care and told us we could keep whatever was inside.”
“Do you think he’ll feel change his mind when he finds out how much they’re worth?”
“Nah, Gramps said he’s really old and not in very good health, so he probably won’t live long enough to enjoy any money he’d make from them. Besides, Gramps told us not to worry about it because the guy is really rich already.”
“Then I can see why Devin’s dad said you two are lucky and on a hot streak,”
“Yeah, he’s even got us believing it now,” Devin concurred.
“And Lonny, please call me Aaron,” Pa encouraged him.
“Hell, I want you boys to go with me to buy some lottery tickets before you use up all that luck,” Dad said with a smirk.
“Don’t worry, Pa,” Devin replied. “We’ll try to do the same thing for you too.”
“And that reminds me,” Pa stated. “When we leave here the day after Christmas, I’ll have to take a slight detour and go to the lottery office In Pueblo so I can collect the winnings.”
“Won’t they think it’s a little fishy that you won two large sums?” Lonny asked.
“They might, but I’ll just explain that I had my son and his fiancé select the numbers for me and we just got real lucky.”
“You said New Year’s Eve is on you, so do you have something planned?”
“Yes, we’ll be going to an event in Denver, at the Brown Palace Hotel,” I answered, and then I told him a little about it.
“Do you think Clint and I might be able to join you?”
“Yes, if you’re interested,” Pa responded, “because I can add you to our reservations. I just need to find out what choice of a meal everyone prefers.”
“There’s one catch, though,” Dad quickly interjected. “You’ll have to ask our wives to dance with you once in a while, to give Mike and me a break.”
“I’d be happy to,” Lonny agreed as a grin spread across his face. “I used to enjoy dancing with my wife.”
“It’s a deal then, and my dad, uncle, and their wives will be joining us as well,” Pa added, “and you’ll get to meet them as well.”
“I’d like that,” Lonny agreed.
As Dad told Lonny and Clint the meal choices, he grabbed a legal pad and began taking notes..
“Mike, since I’ll be paying for this event, just give me that list when you’ve finished writing everything down, and then I’ll call and extend our reservations after I get to work, which I’ll be doing after I drop Doris and Devin off at the cabin.” Dad merely nodded and handed him the list after he finished writing everything down.
“We’ll pick up Lonny and Clint on our way through Colorado Springs, if that’s all right with them,” Dad stated.
“Yes, that will be fine,” Lonny agreed.
“Great. Then, Aaron, will you have enough room for everyone else.”
“I think there might be one too many to fit into my SUV comfortably.”
“I can take care of that problem for you, Dad. I’ll pack my SUV with the things I’m taking with me to Fort Collins, since I was planning to stay with Mac, Ma, and Pa after New Years anyway. Then I’ll just ride to the Brown Palace Hotel.”
“But I want to sit next to Michael,” Clint quickly chimed in and Devin merely looked at him and grinned, before he turned toward his dad.
“Lonny, I guess that means you’ll be riding in the middle row with me,” Devin stated, “and then those two can sit in the third row.”
“Sounds good to me,” Lonny concurred.
“In that case, I’ll have plenty of room for my dad, uncle, and their wives in my SUV,” Pa stated.
“Can I ask Michael and Devin a question?” Clint asked, and everyone nodded. “Good, then I’d like to know why you both call each other’s parents Ma and Pa?’
“There are a couple of reasons,” I replied. “First of all, our families have been really close since we were five years old. In fact, Devin’s family used to live in the house that’s located just down the road on the right side as you’re leaving. The second is that Devin and I will be getting married and they’ll be our in-laws, so we call our parents Mom and Dad and our other parents Ma and Pa, so there won’t be any confusion.”
“Maybe not for you two, but when we’re all together like this, it’s hard to tell if Michael is speaking to Aaron or Devin is speaking to me, since their voices sound so much alike as well.”
“It works the same when they say Dad too,” Aaron interjected, “since we still don’t know for sure who’s speaking and who should answer.”
“That’s funny,” Clint responded and then giggled.
A short time later, Ma and Mom called us all out to the dining room to eat. “What are we having?” Clint asked as he walked into the dining room.
“We’re having ham, scalloped potatoes, honey glazed carrots, macaroni and cheese, and a salad.”
“Sounds awesome,” Clint agreed. as we gathered around the table.
“It will be a little tight fitting eight people sitting at the dining room table, but I put in both leaves and we should be able to manage,” Dad stated, and then we all sat down.
As we were getting comfortable, Clint made a comment. “Will you tell me what it was like for you while you were growing up together?”
This immediately made Devin and me cringe. It wasn’t because Clint was curious, but it seemed to give our parents tacit permission to regale Lonny and Clint with tales about our youth. I thought it was never going to end, because one or another would remember an additional tidbit that they wanted to share, but after we finished eating, I found a way to end our misery. I convinced Clint to go upstairs with us so we could show him the baseball cards and the boards that came along with our find.
We did that until we were called down for dessert about an hour later, and that’s when Clint told his dad about what he saw. “They’re puttin’ all the cards in plastic holders to protect them so they don’t get scratched and then aren’t worth as much.”
“That must be very expensive to do,” Lonny remarked.
“No, the soft sleeves only cost a penny a piece, so it wasn’t that bad, especially if it keeps each card from losing value because it’s damaged.”
Clint wanted his dad to go up and see the baseball cards too, so after we finished our desserts, the two of them joined Devin and me as we went upstairs. We did that until we were called downstairs again later, but this time it was to watch one of the many movies based on Charles Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol.” This time it was the one with Patrick Stewart playing the part of Scrooge.
After the movie ended, everyone decided that it was time to get ready to turn in, so I went to get the sheets, blankets, pillowcase and a pillow so Lonny could sleep on the couch downstairs. I also helped him fix the couch into a suitable sleeping area, and after I finished, Clint practically dragged me upstairs. Devin and Lonny howled in laughter at the sight.
Clint showered with me, and once again he tried to convince me to do things with him, but I wouldn’t give in. That made him pout for a while, until Devin and I both cuddled with him in bed, and then we all began drifting off into a very peaceful slumber. There were no reindeer hooves clattering on our roof and we didn’t see a portly old elf dressed in a red suit either – well at least not since Gramps played Santa for the kids at the hospital.
“A Merry Christmas and pleasant dreams to all,” I said before I fell asleep.
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