came into the kitchen to find Gabriela already up and preparing breakfast. Julio was in the shower and Kazu and Gusatvo were still sleeping after all the excitement from the night before.
“Dina,” Gabriel asked, setting out eggs and toast. “How is it my Julio is so full of Christmas spirit?”
Dina accepted the meal graciously even though she usually ate later at work and then, most of the time she only had yogurt and fruit.
“I’m not sure,” Dina said. “He’s been pretty cynical the last few years.”
Gabriela nodded. “Yes, I know. Since we lost Papa, I think.”
“Oh!” The realization came to Dina. “I’m sure you’re right.
I feel bad now. We sort of had an argument about it.
Then, he just started trying so hard and I think he’s actually getting into all the hoopla this year. You know, he took us to the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.”
“Yes, Gustavo told me!” Gabriela smiled and shook her head. “The angels must be working on him!”
At the coffee house, Muriel had taken the day off, so Lily a student on winter break was picking up some extra hours, working with Yusuf and Dina that morning.
“She’s here…” Dina overheard Lily whisper to Yusuf.
“I’ll clean the tables,” Lily suddenly announced, practically running out from behind the counter with a cloth. Dina saw the tall, elegantly-dressed, elderly woman enter and understood Lily’s anxiety. The woman came in often, but no one knew her name. Only that she was fastidious about her coffee order and never smiled. She scoffed at the pastries in the shop and often complained that counter wasn’t clean enough. She’d once scolded Lily for making her latte with too much foam.
“If I’d wanted a cappuccino I would have ordered one,” she snapped. Lily had been self-conscious of her lattes ever since.
Yusuf took the woman’s order of “a small cup of coffee, not too strong, and not so hot that it will burn my tongue so that I won’t be able to taste anything for a week.”
When she got her coffee to her specifications, the woman found one of the few empty tables in the shop. As she sat down, a group of people entered and took the table next to her. They looked around and then one of the men in the group asked her if he might take the extra chair at her table.
“No!” She practically yelled at him. “I need that chair to put my hat on!”
The man backed away quickly.
“What a…” Lily mouthed.
“There is a reason for her sadness,” Yusuf noted.
“She’s not sad,” Lily hissed. “She’s mean!”
“Meanness is often caused by sadness,” Yusuf stated.
*******************************************************
The package arrived as they knew it would. It was never late, always coming some time before Christmas. Holly Fulton accepted it from the postman with a sigh. She knew what it was without even opening it.
“Otis!” she called. “Your mother’s fruit cake is here!”
To be continued December 20...
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