A Quiet Christmas Day In Arizona

 

Theirs is not this fancy, but you get the idea!

In many ways Christmas day was like any other winter day in Arizona, but it dawned gloriously. The sky was breathtakingly brilliant. More snow was on the ground. It was 7am when my eyes opened, and I peeked out of the door of our hogan. 

I awoke determined to make some Christmas cookies. I decided to just put the strange happenings of the last few days before we got here out of my mind. There wasn’t a thing I could do about it anyhow. I just hoped my friends up in Washington would stay safe and below the radar.

Julia and Billy were still asleep back in her little bedroom as I entered the house and headed to the kitchen. I looked through some drawers for a cookie cutter. There was one. A star shape. That would do. After all!

I took the smallish turkey out of the freezer and put it in the sink. It wasn’t a lot bigger than a big chicken so it shouldn’t take forever.

We three had decided that we didn’t need to exchange gifts because we didn’t need anything, and it felt foolish in a way. I dreamed for a moment about what it would be like to have a child eager to get started on some packages. It was a bittersweet moment.

I didn’t find a mixer in her kitchen, but that was no problem. Making cookie dough is not a big deal. I made a large batch of sugar cookie dough and put it in the fridge to chill for an hour. Then started thinking about breakfast.

After starting the percolator up, and wishing we had at least a Mr. Coffee machine, I put a sheet pan of bacon in the oven and made a few biscuits. We had some oranges for breakfast also.

Jessie came in and I said, “I wish there was something we could do to keep the chickens warmer Jessie.”

“I know those girls are toughies, but I worry about them,” I said.

“I have an idea,” he said. “I’m going to pile dirt up around the outside of their house to insulate it a bit, and I think I will put a pile of branches inside of it for them to perch on. It won’t be traditional, but birds perch on sticks all the time. Next time I go to town I will get an extension cord and a little heater for them Beth.”

I was content then. I couldn’t help thinking about them out there.

Aunt Julia came out and took a seat. I bought her a cup of coffee and mentioned that I was making cookies while she stirred in some sugar and cream. We had breakfast. Jessie went out to pile dirt around the chicken house. I rolled out the cookie dough and sprinkled blue sugar on the cookie stars, then baked them. Cooking felt calming and normal.

With a plate of blue star cookies between us on the table I asked her, “Aunt Julia, Jessie says Uncle John worked a small gold mine here for years to support you two? Has anyone been in it since Uncle John passed?”

“No, Beth, it is abandoned, I guess. No one has worked in there since then. In fact, John didn’t go down into it during the last year of his life either.”

I said, “Jessie and I have not been discussing this, but I thought I would like to hear your opinion before I talk with him, but if there is any gold down there it seems like mining might be something Jessie and I might do a few days here and there, to bring in some money for our household here. You know, honestly, I don’t know what he would think of that idea.”

Aunt Julia was silent for a few moments. She was not one to just blurt out words without thinking. At last, she said, “young Ben, is still in school and will leave for college when he finishes high school. He does not wish to mine for gold. His father is a rancher and is busy. My daughter, Mary, has only one adult daughter. Neither of them wants to mine gold I am very sure.

“Maybe if we both put the idea in front of Jessie, he will think seriously about it. This is not the time of year for mining. It’s too cold down in the earth. Maybe when it warms up later this next year.” She smiled. 

“It would surely be a way to stay relatively invisible and still bring in some money,” she said. “There is a guy in Winslow who buys gold.”

That subject at least discussed between Julia and I, I set about making our Christmas dinner. I am what they used to call a good plain cook. So, the dinner was no big deal and after all, it was just the three of us. It was turkey, gravy, stuffing from a mix and green salad.

After dinner, as evening was darkening the sky, we finished off the fruitcake and drank the other bottle of champagne. Jessie tried some of my cookies and said that they were nice. The little artificial Christmas tree twinkled, and it seemed like a fine Christmas day. In fact, I was very happy.

Sitting in her chair, holding Billy as usual, Aunt Julia said, “Jessie, Beth and I talked about your Uncle John’s mine today. I expect that there might still be gold down there. It’s not very deep. She and I were thinking that you two might be able to get a little gold out of there. Gold is very expensive right now.”

He sat forward on the sofa beside me. His fingers were laced together around a knee as she spoke, and he didn’t look altogether surprised. Maybe he had been thinking that way himself.

“Well, Jessie, what do you think?” said Aunt Julia.

Linkie to the whole tale so far; They haven't taken my phone yet.docx