It’s a Wonderful Christmas

By Kathy Knudsen

Clementine Hale sat in an overstuffed chair that she had pulled across the room from the fireplace to the window. Wrapped in a heavy wool blanket, her feet drawn up under her for warmth, she stared out the window into the snowy, dark night. Next to her, resting on the windowsill, was a brightly glowing lantern providing a beacon of light for the would-be travelers whose arrival she was anxiously anticipating.

It was Christmas Eve and well after midnight and Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry had weeks earlier promised to arrive before dark and in time for supper. The candles on the table had been snuffed hours ago and the roasted wild turkey, cornbread dressing, turkey-based gravy and lumpy mashed potatoes, and mincemeat pie had gone uneaten and were now stored away in the icebox and pie safe.   

Clem yawned and rested her chin on the back of the chair. Outside the wind coming down from the north blew the falling snow sideways and howled ferociously. With the moon obscured by the blanket of gray clouds, visibility was merely a few feet, and the glare of the lantern in the window cut Clem’s vision even more. She glanced at the clock as it chimed three times and tried to shake the worried, ominous thoughts that filled her mind. Heyes and Kid were now ten hours late and the storm outside was unrelenting.

Her ears suddenly perked when she heard the faint, but distinct sound of a snorting horse. She threw back the blanket and dashed to the front door. Swinging it wide open, and all set to break into a barrage of severe scolding, Clem froze in her tracks, her mouth gaping as she stared at the nearly frozen former outlaws she thought of as family.

Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry stood frozen in the doorway entrance. Ice crystals clung to their eyebrows and lashes and to the days old stubbled whiskers. Their cheeks were red with hints of frostbite. Both men were shivering uncontrollably.

Clem grabbed each one by an arm and pulled them inside. She shoved the door closed and ushered them both over to the fireplace.

“Let’s get you out of these frozen clothes and into something warm,” she jabbered like a mother hen.

The three worked together to shed the nearly frozen visitors of layers of wet and frozen clothes. Once down to their long johns, Clem dragged two kitchen chairs over to the fireplace and shoved each man into a chair.

“Peel off those socks and I’ll got get you blankets to wrap yourselves up in.”

“Ddddin’t mmmean to wwworry you,” Heyes said apologetically through still chattering teeth.

“Well you did, and something awful,” Clem snapped back as she wrapped a blanket around Heyes’ shoulders. “All I could think about was the two of you freezing to death out in that storm somewhere.”

“I s’pose that would ppput a bit of a dddamper on your holiday,” Heyes stuttered.

Clem gave him a quick swipe of her hand against the back of his head as she moved to Kid and wrapped a blanket about his shoulders. “Don’t you dare be as sarcastic as Heyes,” she told Kid who just shook his head and shuddered as she draped the blanket over him.

“We knew you were counting on us coming Clem. Our only thought was of getting here in time to share Christmas with you,” Kid finally muttered.

“Well, while the two of you are drying out, I’ll go put your horses in the barn. When I get back, I’ll fix you something to eat.  I had a big piping hot Christmas dinner ready for you hours ago, but you’ll just have to settle for cold turkey sandwiches now.”

“And hot coffee,” Heyes added.

Clem nodded as she pulled on her coat and slipped out the front door.

When she returned twenty minutes later, Clem found Kid had moved to the overstuffed chair and wrapped in his blanket, was now fast asleep. Heyes was at the stove preparing a pot of coffee. She saw that all their wet clothes had been draped over the two chairs and pushed up as close to the fireplace as possible to dry.

 Clem pulled off her coat and hung it on a peg by the door, then walked over to the table and sat down with a weary sigh. Heyes gave her a concerned glance and when the coffee was ready, he filled two cups and carried them to the table.

“You know Kid was telling you the truth. We really did try to get here as soon as we could. But that storm blew up early this afternoon and it slowed us down. We didn’t mean to make you worry.”

Clem raised weary eyes and offered Heyes an apologetic smile. “I know. It’s just that this being the first Christmas since my father died, well I didn’t want to spend it all alone.”

Heyes smiled and reached across the table to take her hand. “We’re in the early hours of Christmas Clem, and the Kid and I are here now. We have the whole rest of the day together, and it means a lot to us having someone to spend the holiday with, too. You know, Christmas is always a tough day for the Kid and me, but the three of us will make this one special. I think Kid has the right idea for now and we should all get some sleep. Then later today we’ll hitch up the sleigh and go for a ride.”

Clem got up and walked around the table to stand behind Heyes and wrap her arms about his shoulders. “You know, I love you both,” she told him. “There’s food in the kitchen if you’re hungry. The spare bedroom is all ready for the two of you. I’m going to go get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”

0-0-0-0-0

Late the next morning Clem shuffled her way into the kitchen in dire need of a cup of strong coffee. She noticed the clothes that had been drying on the chairs were now gone and a frying pan, two plates, a mixing bowl, and several pieces of silverware were stacked in the sink, unwashed. She rolled her eyes and reached for a clean cup on the shelf above the stove. She had just sat down at the table and taken her first sip of hot coffee when the door opened and Heyes and Kid came in and stomped the snow from their boots.

Still half asleep, Clem plopped an elbow on the table and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. Her first impulse was to scold them for not stomping their boots outside, but she successfully resisted the urge to do so, and instead gave them a warm smile.

“Merry Christmas, Clementine,” Kid and Heyes said in unison, then hung their coats on the wall pegs.

“Merry Christmas,” she replied.

“We’ve got the horses hitched to the sleigh,” Kid told her. “Is there any coffee left?”

“On the stove. Where do you plan to take me on this sleigh ride?” Clem asked.

“Well, we know it was because of us that this holiday started off on the wrong foot for you Clem, so we want to make amends for that and make this Christmas really memorable for you,” Heyes explained.

Clem smiled and uttered a little giggle. “That’s sounds interesting. What do you have in mind?”

“Denver’s about twelve miles from here, and with all this fresh snow, that’s not much more than an hour’s ride in a sleigh. So, instead of you spending hours in the kitchen heating up all those leftovers, we thought a Christmas dinner at the Brown Palace would make the day special.”

“The Brown Palace!” Clementine exclaimed. “That’s the fanciest hotel in all of Colorado and from what I’ve heard, it has the fanciest restaurant, maybe in the entire world!”

“So, it will make the day memorable,” Kid said.

“Memorable? It’ll be more than memorable. You two are the best friends any girl ever had.”

An hour before noon and dressed to the nines, the three climbed into the sleigh and each had a wool blanket that had been warmed near the fire to drape over their lap and legs. Kid gathered the reins in his hands gave them a shake and the horses started off, pulling the sleigh that glided smoothly over the new layer of freshly fallen snow.

But the snow was so fresh that it had not yet fully settled and the shapes of obstacles such as rocks and logs beneath the snow were not yet visible, so Kid did not see the driver’s side blade of the sleigh hitch hard against a large rock. The back of the sleigh lifted off the ground as the metal blade buckled and snapped. Heyes and Clem instinctively grabbed hold of the side of the sleigh while Kid expertly slowed the horses. When they came to a full stop, the rear end of the sleigh tilted heavily into the deep snow.

“Everybody alright?” Kid asked.

“We’re fine,” Heyes replied. “Clem, you stay in the sleigh while Kid and me check the damage and see what we can do repair it.”

Kid and Heyes jumped out of the sleigh and cleared snow away from the damaged blade.

“Snapped in two,” Kid grumbled.

“So, what do we do?” Clem called back to them.

“We’re closer to town than we are to your place,” Kid told her. “We ride bareback, darlin.’”

“Through two feet of snow?” Clem exclaimed.

“Well, you can sit out here in the cold and wait for us to go to town and find a blacksmith willin’ to come out here on Christmas, but I think riding double will keep you warmer,” Kid replied.

Clem uttered a dramatic sigh. “Wonderful,” she grumbled.

“I’ll get the blankets,” Heyes announced. “I think we’re gonna need em.”

Trudging through three miles of deep snow to reach Denver took nearly two hours and nearly all the shops and businesses were closed for the holiday. The streets had not been cleared and even the boardwalks had high drifts, making the walk through town nearly as difficult as the ride to town.

“The Sheriff’s Office is across the street,” Heyes said after they had gone several blocks. “That’s one place that’ll be open even on Christmas.”

“Why doesn’t it surprise me that Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry would be spending Christmas day in a jail,” Clem quipped.

“Remember Clem, you’re the one that wanted a memorable Christmas,” Kid replied flatly.

“I was speaking of fond memories,” Clem retorted.

“Shouldda been more specific,” Kid told her.

0-0-0-0-0

They sat in an unlocked jail cell with dry blankets wrapped about them while Sheriff Nick Colas tracked down a blacksmith willing to go out to see what repairs were needed for the sleigh.

“It’s gonna need a new blade,” the blacksmith told them upon his return. “But I think I can fashion a bracket to hold that blade together long enough to get you home, Miss Hale.”

“How long will that take?” Clem asked.

“Another three or four hours, Ma’am.”

“Sheriff, is there any way we can get to the Brown Palace to wait? We were planning to have Christmas dinner there,” Heyes told him.

The sheriff shook his head. “You folks likely aren’t aware, but the snow has started up again and I’m the only man on duty, so even without any prisoners, I can’t leave the office unattended for that much time. Sorry folks.”

Clem let out a heavy sigh and Heyes slipped a consoling arm about her shoulders. “Sorry Clem, I know this isn’t the Christmas you had in mind.”

“I’ll be leaving you folks for a few minutes to do my rounds,” the Sheriff told them. “Help yourself to the coffee.”

0-0-0-0-0

The sheriff’s rounds had taken less than half an hour and when he returned, the shoulders of his coat were thick with freshly fallen snow. “I saw the blacksmith heading out of town, so your sleigh should be ready before nightfall. You folks need more blankets?”

“I think we’re all fine sheriff. Thanks,” Heyes told him.

“I’ll put on a fresh pot of coffee.”

Two hours later there was a knock on the door.

“That will be my wife with supper,” Sheriff Colas explained as he opened the front door, and a cold wind blew in.

The sheriff’s wife walked in, followed by a parade of six children, all carrying baskets of food that filled the room with the fine aromas of hot turkey, chestnut dressing, and two fruit pies, along with mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and freshly baked biscuits.

“I stopped by my house and told my wife about your situation,” the sheriff explained with a smile. “She saw no reason why she and the children couldn’t just bring the party here.”

Clem immediately headed out of the cell to see if she could be of any help filling up plates with the grand Christmas dinner. Soon the room was bustling with activity and laughter.

Heyes, still sitting on a cot beside Kid, leaned in close to his partner. “Well, this ain’t the first Christmas we’ve spent in jail. But it is the finest,” he whispered.

Kid laughed and swung an arm over Heyes’ shoulders. “Merry Christmas, Heyes,” he whispered before he and Heyes got up and joined the others outside the cell.

“Well Clem, did your Christmas turn out better than you expected?” Heyes asked.

Clem smiled brightly. “I wanted a memorable Christmas and there’s no denying that’s exactly what I got.”

“So, you ain’t mad about our being too late for dinner and the sleigh breakin’ down, and spendin’ the day in jail?” Kid asked.

“If this is what jail is like at Christmas, I might just have to find a way to get myself arrested next year,” Clem told him with a mischievous grin.

“Don’t call on us for any help with that, Clem. If that’s what you’re planning, you’re on your own next year.”

Clem wedged herself between the two outlaws and slipped an arm around each of them. “I hope this Christmas is as happy and memorable for the two of you as it turned out to be for me. I know it’s one I will never forget, and I have the two of you to thank for that. Merry Christmas to the both of you.”

“We know you thought this Christmas was going to be tough. We’re glad it turned out to be good,” Heyes told her with a pat on her hand.

“Merry Christmas, darlin,’” Kid added.