Part Ten:  After Dinner

We left Phil and Frankie with Mrs.Springinton, Alice, and  Regalo in the Sprinington home, waiting for the rest of the family to arrive.  Frankie was providing music at the piano while the others  finished dinner preparations.  We rejoin them after dinner.  Most of the family are tidying up in the kitchen.   Phil  is laying out kindling in the fireplace, and his dog, Petey is curled up by the hearth.  Frankie is back at the piano playing Christmas carols, with Mary Elizabeth seated on the bench beside him, Regalo snuggled in her lap.

“Dinner was delicious, Mrs. Springinton.  I can’t remember the last time I’ve had such a good meal.”

“Thank  you Frankie.  You and Phil must feel free to join us any time.”  Turning to  Mr. Springingtion she said, “Isn’t it grand that Mr. Wellbright moved in next door, Arthur.  He and Mr.  Elliott are such nice men.  I feel just like we’ve been given a special Christmas present.”

Mr. Springington replied, “Phil and Frankie are welcome here anytime.  Of course, our door is open to all of our neighbors, but since we’ve just met today, I want to make sure you know it’s a standing invitation, for both of you.”

Phil answered, “Thanks, Mr. Springington.   We’ll try not to wear out our welcome. ”

“Laughter and music is something I never tire of, Phil.”

Celia winked at Alice and said, “Papa’s just glad to have someone else play the piano after dinner for a change.”

Mr. Springington chuckled, “Sure, that’s because I like to keep my hands free while I’m singing, so I can express myself with these broad gestures…”  He spread his arms wide.

Mrs Springington patted her husband on the shoulder, “You have a fine baritone voice dear.”

To which Mr. Springinton replied as he put his hand over hers and gently rubbed it, “Thank you Elizabeth.”

“Do you play, Mr. Springington?”

“A little, Frankie, but not so well, nor with such a wide repertoire as you.  Yes, I’d say having you two gentleman join us for Christmas Eve is one of the nicest surprises we could have hoped for.  Next to  having Robert getting leave to come home, I don’t see how we could ask for anything more.”

Phil looked up from the fireplace and spoke to Robert, “How about you, Lieutenant, are your folks from around here too?”

“No, I’m sort of  an adopted son of this  town myself.  I lost my mother and father when I was a boy.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Thanks.  After that I was raised by different Aunts and Uncles.  Both of my parents came from large families, so there was always someone willing to take me into their home.  Everyone was so nice and loving to me, but they just couldn’t take the place of my real mother and father.  I suppose if I had been younger, or a few years older when they died, it wouldn’t have made as much difference, but I was old enough to remember my mom and dad, and young enough to still need the presence of a mother and father in my life.  No matter how much my aunts and uncles tried to make me a part of their home, it just wasn’t the same for me.  My heart always yearned for my real Mom and Dad, so I never really minded when I would go on to the next relatives for a few months or years.  I’ve got a great family, not only the aunts and uncles,  lot’s of cousins too, and I love them all, but after losing my mother and father, none of those places ever felt like home.  I guess that’s one reason why the Navy seemed like a natural fit to me, you know,  never really settling down, going to different places.  Then I met Celia and we fell in love and got married.  Since then, thanks to Celia and Alice, and especially Mother and Father Springington,  this house has become home as far as my heart is concerned.”

“What about me, Daddy?”

“You most of all, Mary Elizabeth  You’re the North Star that guides me home wherever in the world I may be.”

“I hope my question  didn’t stir up any painful memories for you, Lieutenant.”

“That’s all right Phil, it’s nothing I haven’t come to grips with a long time ago.  Since we’re all family and friends here, I wish you would drop the Lieutenant and call me Robert.”

“Okay, Robert, thanks, and welcome home for Christmas.”

“It’s good to be home. ”

“Things are looking pretty bleak in the rest of the world right now.”

“Yes, they are.  Between Hitler and Staling making war on their neighbors, and Japan’s aggression in the Far East, it’s a wonder we’ve been able to stay our of it this long.”

“Any idea where you’ll be going after your leave, or can’t you say?”

“No to the first, and yes to the second question.”

“Must be pretty tough on you Celia.”

“I won’t pretend it isn’t, Phil.  I won’t say I’ve gotten used to it either, because that wouldn’t be true.  I suppose I’ve just gotten stronger that I ever thought I was.”

“I want both of you to know, and you too, Mary Elizabeth, that I’m grateful there are men like your father, men who volunteer and who are ready day and night to–well, who are ready in case the need arises.”

“I’m grateful for them too Phil.”  Celia said.  “The time when he’s away allows me to think of just how grateful.”

“I’ll tell you one thing.”  said Robert, “If the worse does happen, we’re going to need a lot more volunteers than we currently have in the Armed Services.”

“I suppose if that day comes, it will be boot camp for me.  Unless and until then,  well seeing you and Celia and Mary Elizabeth together on Christmas Eve, and knowing you’ve got to leave soon,  it makes me feel kind of selfish, like I’m just taking all this for granted .  I wish there was some way I could  do something too.”

Frankie chimed in from the piano, “That goes for me too,.  I don’t keep up much on international happenings, but if what you guys are talking about ever happens, I suppose I’ll be right down at the enlistment center with Phil.  In the meantime I’d love to pitch in too, but what can a couple of guys like us do compared to you trained fighting men, Robert?”

” I know something you could do that would be a great help.  especially tomorrow, on Christmas.”

“On Christmas?”  Frankie asked.

“Sure.  Just come with me to  the military hospital tomorrow, I’m sure you could help make Christmas a lot more bright for a lot of servicemen who won’t have the chance to be home this Christmas. ”

“I don’t get it, ” said Frankie, “We’re not even at war, and there are still guys getting ending up in the hospital?”

“Sure there are Frankie; preparing for defense can be dangerous, even during peacetime.  Ships and tanks and airplanes are big and heavy,  and even with training, guys make mistakes and get hurt.”

“I never thought of that. ”

“Sometimes we even get wounded pilots home from the American Volunteer Group in China.”

“You mean the Flying Tigers?”  Phil asked.

“That’s right Phil.”

“Imagine Frankie, what those guys have been through.  What an honor to spend Christmas with such men.”

“Then you’ll come, both of you?”

“I see how Frankie can help spread Christmas cheer with his music, but what can I do to help?”

“Bring your paints, brushes and plenty of canvas, Phil.  You can do portraits or winter landscapes, even caricatures, if somebody wants one.  The point is that you’re a skilled and  famous artist.  The fact that you’re spending Christmas Day with these wounded vets who can’t be home yet, I think it should make a big difference to many of them.  I know it would mean a lot to me to know that I wasn’t forgotten in a hospital bed on Christmas day. ”

“Sounds like a great idea, what do you say, Frankie.”

“Count me in.  The man I learned piano from used to go around  to the hospitals on Christmas Day and play for the kid’s there.”

Mr. Springington said,  “That sounds just like Sam Rawlings.”

“You know Sam Rawlings?    He taught me everything I know about music, plus a whole lot more. I used to spend all my free time as a kid down at the Keyboard Café sitting next to Mr. Rawlings at his piano.”

“I thought I detected something familiar in the way you played.  You learned from a great musician and a very dear friend.”

“Don’t I know it.  I sure do miss Mr. Rawlings,  I haven’t had the chance to see him since I got back in town.  You know, Mrs. Springington,  it’s funny that you mentioned Dooley Wilson earlier today, ’cause that’s who Mr. Rawlings always reminds me of.  Even the way his voice sounds, and the way he looks at you when he’s playing; his eyes soft and patient and full of understanding.  I can’t wait to see him again to thank him and tell him about everything that’s been happening, you know, the places I’ve played, catching up on new songs, that sort of thing.”

Mr. Springington said, “You’ll find him everyday at The Keyboard Café, same as before.”

Mrs. Springington added, “Every day except tomorrow.  He still closes the café on Christmas Day so he can get around to the hospitals.”

Frankie replied,”He still won’t let making an extra buck get in the way of doing some good for those in need.  Good old Mr. Rawlings.   Does he still have the same business partner, that crazy Hungarian chef, what was his name, Rudolph, wasn’t it?”

“What’s this about a crazy chef?”  Phil asked.

“He’s not really crazy,” Frankie replied, “Just sort of eccentric, you know with a real artistic temperament.  He’s short and plump and waddles around the café like a restless gander, speaking half English, half Hungarian, making small talk with the customers, giving orders to the staff, making sure everything is just right all the time.  Then if something doesn’t turn out just the way he wants it, bam!  Up goes his voice about two octaves, out goes the English except about one in ten words, and Rudolph’s arms go out in wild gestures in every direction: at the staff, at the ovens, at the floor, at his heart, you name it, and not one of us can understand what he’s even talking about until Mr. Rawlings comes along, looks at him with those big brown eyes, nods a few times, talks nice and soothing to him for a few minutes, and everything is all right again.”

“That’s them all right.”  Mr. Springinton said, “And I’m glad to say they are still partners in the business, and The Keyboard Café has lost none of its character.”

Mrs. Springinton looked at the kitchen clock. “Oh Arthur, look at the time.  We have to get going.”

Phil asked, “Are we keeping you from something Mr. and Mrs. Springinton.  Frankie and I can leave if you need to get ready.”

“Oh no, there is no need for you to leave.  We’re going to Christmas Eve service.  You and Frankie are welcome to join us.”

“I haven’t been to a Christmas Eve service in a while.  I’d love to go, thank you.”

Alice said, “It will be nice to have you along, Phil.”

“Thanks Alice.  I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t light that fire if we’re all leaving.”

Mrs. Springinton asked, “How about you, Frankie, would you like to go with us?”

“I don’t know.   I wouldn’t have to pray out loud, would I?”

“Of course not.  You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.  You can sing if you like.  There will be plenty of singing; carols and hymns.”

“The carols I can handle, but I’m a little out of my league with those hymns.  I’d hate to sound foolish there in a church full of people.”

“Just stay close to me and you won’t sound foolish.  Oh dear, that didn’t come out right.  What I meant was, just stay by me and I’ll help guide you.  Just follow my lead.  If you need to get my attention just tug gently on my sleeve, and if I  need to get your attention, I’ll nudge you gently with my elbow.  Besides,  if you knew half the mistakes I’ve made, you wouldn’t worry about how you are going to sound.”

“All right Mrs. Sprinington, I’ll go, as long as you promise to look out for me.”

“I do.  I’m so glad you’re going too Frankie, and now I can tell you that you’ll get a chance to see Sam Rawlings tonight.”

“Mr. Rawlings, really?”

“Yes, really.  Sam is a member of our church and plays keyboards at our services.  He’ll be so glad to see you again,  I’m sure.  Arthur, would you lend one of your coats to Phil.  Is everybody else ready?  Phil, Frankie, it’s just a couple of blocks.  What a lovely night for a walk…”

To be continued…

“

Part Nine:  Of Wolves and Chihuahuas

We left Phil standing at the front door of the Springinton house.  He had expected to be greeted by Mrs. Springinton, but was surprised when a much younger woman opened the door.  Almost speechless, Phil at last managed to ask the woman, “Where did you come from?”  to which she replied:

“The kitchen.”

“Oh.  I guess that was kind of silly of me.  What I meant was, I only left the house a little while ago, and Mrs. Springington said everyone else was out .  You sort of surprised me”

“I just got back a few minutes  ago.  Mother’s in the kitchen too.  Do you wish to speak to her?”

“If Mrs. Springinton is your mother, does that make you  Mary Elizabeth’s mother?”

“No, my sister is Mary Elizabeth’s mother.  I’m her aunt.  Alice is my name.  Won’t you come in, Mister..?”

“Well, to tell you the truth, that’s part of the reason I came back;  to tell your mother my real name.  You see, when I was here earlier I used a phony name.  The other reason is to return Mary Elizabeth’s mitten.  She must have dropped it outside when we were talking with Officer Carson.”

“Oh, then you must be that nice Mr. Webster mother was telling me about, the one who thought Mary Elizabeth was sick and wanted to build a snowman to cheer her up?”

“Yes, at least that’s the name I told your mother.  It’s a pleasure to meet you Miss Springinton.  Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas. Just call me Alice.”

“My name’s Phil.”

“Come on in Phil.  Mother and I were just getting dinner ready.”

“Before we go in Alice, I want to say that I think your mother is one of the most wonderful persons I’ve ever met.  That’s why I want to come and confess that I didn’t use my real name earlier.  I wouldn’t want her to think poorly of me.”

“That’s awfully nice of you to say so Phil.  Just for the record, I think she’s pretty wonderful too.  Shall we go in?”

“Sure.”

“Hello Mother, look who’s back.”

“Why, Mister Webster.  I’m so glad to see you.  After you left earlier, it dawned on me that a single man like you,  just moved into a new house the night before Christmas Eve, you probably haven’t any place to have a nice dinner.  Won’t you share our meal with us? If your friend Mr,  Elliott has no plans, we would love to have him join us too.”

“Thank you Mrs. Springinton.  I haven’t any plans for Christmas Eve, that’s very kind of you.  But before I put you in the spot of having to change your mind, there’s something I need to tell you .  It’s about me, something I did.”

“My goodness, this sounds serious.  Did you rob a bank or something?”

“Well, no, nothing that bad.  But I did lie to you earlier Mrs. Springington, and I regret doing it.  I feel terrible, and I want to tell you how sorry I am.”

“You needn’t feel terrible Mr, Webster.  After all, you’re here now making a clean breast of it.  What did you tell me that was so bad?”

“You just said it  Mrs. Springington, my name.  My name isn’t really Phil Webster.”

“Oh dear, and I already decorated a cookie with your name on it.  I know, there’s young Phillip Flannigan down the street, he always stops by for cookies on Christmas day, I’ll set that one aside for him.”

“No Mrs. Springington, that part of my name is real.  My first name really is Phil.”

“Oh, well here’s a cookie with your name on it.  You might want to save it until after dinner.”

“Thank you Mrs. Springington.  It’s my last name that I lied to you about.  My last name isn’t Webster, it’s Wellbright.”

“I like Webster, but Wellbright is nice too.  It sounds, well, well and light, as in the opposite of dark.  Well-bright!  Very nice to meet you again Mr.  Wellbright.  won’t you have dinner with us?”

“This is very kind of you Mrs. Springinton.   I’m kind of surpised you seem to  be taking this  so lightly.”

“Oh, I don’t take lying lightly Mr. Wellbright.  Lying is a very serious matter.  Just because I’m not stomping my feet and lecturing you doesn’t mean I don’t take lying seriously.  But you’ve already confessed what you did and said you were sorry for it. ”

“Then  you’re not angry with me for giving you a false name earlier?”

“Angry?  No, not at all.”

“Nor disappointed?”

“Good heavens no.  You meant me no harm by saying your name was Phillip Webster when really it is Phillip Wellbright, did you , Mr. Wellbright?’

“Please, call me Phil.”

“I will, thank you.  Did you Phil?”

“Did I what?”

“Did you mean me any harm by saying your name was Phillip Webster?”

“No, of course not.”

“Did you mean anyone any harm?”

“No.”

“Were you giving a false name to avoid being recognized by Officer Carson and perhaps being arrested for some previous crime you had committed?”

“No.  As far as I know I’ve got a clean record.”

“There you see?  You recognized that what you had done was wrong, you’ve admitted it to the people affected by your decision, no one was harmed, and now there is no longer any reason for you to feel bad about it.”

“I haven’t told Officer Carson yet.  He still thinks my name is Webster.”

“Hmm.  You’ll just have to tell him later.  In the meantime, in case he finds out, I’ll vouch for you.  Any way, what I’m trying to say is I accept your apology and I forgive you for introducing yourself under a false name.”

“I really don’t know what to say Mrs. Springinton.  You’ve been so kind, and we only met just today.  How can I thank you?”

“You can thank me by taking off that orange jumpsuit and helping set the table for dinner.   After that, if it makes you feel better, I will be glad to listen to your reason for wanting to conceal your true identity.  Alice, will you take those coveralls from Mr.  Wellbright and hang them in the front closet.  I hope we won’t be needing them any more today.  Phil, you can use one of my husband’s coats until you get some winter clothes of you own.”

Alice and Phil walked toward the front closet.

“Let me help you with that Phil, these things can be a bear to get out of if you don’t want to lose your balance.”

“Thanks Alice.  Your mother sure is something.  Is your whole family as sweet as she is?”

“Let’s see, you’ve already met Mary Elizabeth.  What did you think of her?”

“She’s a swell kid.”

“Then there’s Dad, and my sister Celia, and my brother-in-law Robert.  I think I can safely say they’re all pretty wonderful too.  I guess that’s the lot.”

“You forgot one.”

“I did? Who?”

“Yourself.

“Me?  I’m just Alice.  Besides, how would it sound if I spoke of myself as being one of a group of such wonderful people?  Why, that would be  boastful of me.”

“It wouldn’t be boastful if somebody else said it.”

“That’s true, but somebody else hardly knows me.”

“You’re right.  I’m sorry, I must have sounded like a real smooth wolf.  I don’t usually say things like that, honest.”

“It’s all right, Phil.”

“You believe me?  That I wasn’t just trying to flatter you, you know, to get in good?”

“I believe you.”

“See, already you’re convincing me that you are wonderful.  At this rate I will know  you well enough  to say it by the time dinner is over”

“Before you give me too much credit, I have a secret to tell you.”

“A secret?  Should we whisper?”

“Nothing mysterious, just something I know.   So you’re Phillip Wellbright, the renowned and talented young artist who dropped out of sight a month or so ago?”

“Oh, so you know all about me?”

“Yes, or to put it more accurately, a friend of mine knows all about you, and she told me earlier today.  That’s why I believe you weren’t flattering me just now.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Do you remember the girl you met at The Glass Slipper last night?”

“You mean Olivia?  The art student?”

“That’s right, Olivia.  She knew who you were all along.  They even had a section on you in one of her courses.  Olivia and I are old friends.  She told me how nice you were, and how you weren’t like so many other men, you know, on the prowl.  She said you remind her of a nice, shy boy she went to school with.”

“Can you imagine that?”

“So I figure if you can sit face to face with a girl as pretty as Olivia in a setting like The Glass Slipper  and not even try to maneuver into a position to make a pass, you’re no wolf, brother.”

“Thanks Alice, but don’t sell yourself short: you’re not exactly a pain to look at yourself.”

“Simmer down , or I’ll have to take back what I said about you not being a wolf.”

“About that Alice, I haven’t always been like that kid your friend Olivia went to school with, you know, shy and all,  I–”

“Excuse me Phil,  look at that man bounding up the front walk.  Is that your friend Mr. Elliott?”

“That’s Frankie all right.  Say, what’s that sticking out of his jumpsuit?”

“It looks like a dog.”

“Sure must be a tiny one.”

“Here he comes, I’ll open the door and we’ll find out.”

“Hello Frankie.  How did it go with Mr. and Mrs. Gordon?”

“Great Curly.  They were very understanding and forgave everything.  I’m glad you talked me into telling them I was sorry.  And look what they gave me!”

“We were just wondering about that when we saw you through the window.  Frankie, this is Alice Springington.  Alice, this is Frankie Elliott.”

“Merry Christmas Mr. Elliott.  won’t you and your shivering friend come in?”

“I don’t think he can be shivering from cold already.  Mr. and Mrs Gordon told me they shake like that sometimes.”

“Why don’t you unbutton him Frankie, so we can get a look?”

“Okay, Okay,  just a second.”

“Here. Mr. Elliott, let me help you off with that jumpsuit.  We finally just separated Phil from his.”

“Thanks Miss Springinton.  That feels a lot better.  Say hello, little fellow.”

“Oh Phil, it’s a Chihuahua.  He’s adorable.”

“Isn’t he though.  You better wait in here Frankie till we find out if it’s all right with Mrs. Springinton to bring him into the house.”

“Mother won’t mind, she loves animals.  Come on into the kitchen, Mr. Elliott….Mother, Mr. Elliott is back, and look who he brought with him.”

“Mr. Elliott, I’m so glad to see you again, and look,  a Chihuahua!  You must have been over to the Gordon’s house.”

“Yes, and what nice people they are.  Everybody, I would like you to meet  Regalo .”

“Regalo, that’s Spanish for gift.”

“Do you speak Spanish,  Phil?”

“Sure,  Mrs. Springinton,  where I grew up in Arizona, a lot of my friends and neighbors speak both English and Spanish; and for the one’s who are having a hard time learning English, I figured it would help them learn faster if I also spoke a little Spanish.  So Frankie, tell us how the Gordons happened to give you Regalo.”

“Sure Curly, it’s like this.  It seems there is this young couple who got him as a puppy right after they were married a couple of years ago.  Well, about a year later they had twins, and now the kids are walking around,  and the couple is afraid Regalo here might get hurt.  You know how toddlers grab onto things and don’t let go.”

“I know Frankie, but I’m surprised you know it too.”

“You’re not the only one with nieces and nephews, Curly.  Sometimes I wonder how this nose and these ears have survived being around those kids and still stayed attached to my face.  Anyway, so  this couple asked Mr. Gordon to find Regalo a new home, one without twin toddlers.  His name means gift does it?  What a perfect name for him!  Regalo and I are like old pals already, aren’t we little buddy?  And now, Mrs. Springinton, earlier today didn’t I hear you say something about a piano?”

“Yes, it’s right there in the other room.  Do you play, Mr. Elliott?”

“I do and I shall, if no one objects.  I believe you had requested As Time Goes By?”

“You’ll play that for me!  Oh, this is wonderful.  Oh, look at you with Regalo, the tiny Chihuahua.  If only we had a violin,  it would be just like having Xavier Cugat play for us.  You’ll stay for dinner, won’t you Mr. Elliott?”

“I’ll stay if you can put up with me that long.  Warm up your voices folks, ’cause after this I’m playing Jingle Bells!” 

To be continued…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part 8fr:  Rescue dogs and cats out of the bag.

We left Phil and Frankie kneeling nervously beside  Mister Gordon after Phil had accidentally knocked him unconscious with a snow shovel.

“You didn’t kill him, Curly.  Look, his eyelids are twitching.”

“Mr. Gordon.  Mr.Gordon.  Speak to me.  Are you all right?”

Mr. Gordon opened his eyes, looked at Phil and Frankie and said:
“What hit me?”

“It was me Mr. Gordon.  I’m so sorry.  I did it with the shovel.  Oh, it was an accident.  Please, will you forgive me?”

“That’s all right, Mister, Mister…?”

“My name is Phil Wellbright, and this is my friend Frankie Elliott, and the only reason we’re wearing these orange jumpsuits is because we found them in the closet and we needed some clothes to keep us warm.”

“I forgive you Mr.Wellbright.  I should have known better than to approach you with that tree blocking your view.  I wanted to come over here to apologize to you gentlemen.”

“You, apologize to us?”

“Yes. When I saw you two earlier today wearing those orange jumpsuits, I assumed you two were a couple of patients from our nearby rest home who had wandered away.  That accounts for my less than cordial  behavior when we met earlier.  After I telephoned Morning Rise, and the people there assured me they had no patients missing, I remembered that Bill Travers, who used to live in this house, had two of those jump suits that he used to wear up north.  I do hope you gentlemen will forgive me.”

“That’s quite all right Mr. Gordon.  Anyone could make the same mistake.  Officer Carson thought we were from Morning Rise, and even that kind Mrs. Springington thought so, until you called and cleared the whole thing up.  Here, let us help you up.”

“Thank you, I think I’ll sit a moment longer.  I’m still feeling a bit dizzy.”

“Say Mr. Gordon, I just realized something.  How come nobody thought we were escaped prisoners in these orange jumpsuits?”

“The county jail uses orange with white stripes.  If I had seen you wearing those, I would have brought Bessie with me.”

“Bessie, huh?  Reminds me of some of the old timers I know back home who name their shootin’ irons.”

“Bessie isn’t a gun, she’s a dog.”

“A dog?  Oh, I get it, like one of those guard dogs or something?”

“Yes, she’s a trained Rottweiler.”

“Pretty mean, is she?”

“No.  Bessie has a sweet disposition.  But on command she can take a man down and hold him until any threat has been neutralized.”

“I’ll sure glad Bessie wasn’t with you just now.  She might have thought I was some kind of threat, after I konked you on the head with this shovel.”

“Yes, well, I normally don’t take her on a social call.  I don’t really know her that well.”

“You mean you own a dog that on command can take a man down, and you hardly know her?  I don’t get it.”

“Bessie isn’t my dog.  I’m caring for her until we find her a new home.  That’s an interest of mine;  sort of rescuing dogs and cats who’ve been neglected or abused, and finding new homes for those pets whose owners can no longer keep them.”

“You do that, just on your own?”

“Yes.  We all have our strengths and weakness you know.   I find that I’m not much good with people; I am actually rather shy you see, and I’m afraid that often makes me  comes off as stuffy and aloof; and I am also aware that my  appearance, no matter how much I try to soften it,  does not exactly cause people to warm up to me.”

“Oh now Mr. Gordon, I don’t think so at all.”

“That’s very kind of you to say, Mr. Wellbright, but I am well aware of the fact that I look like what some people would call a sourpuss.”

Blushing deeply, Frankie could only say:

“Can you imagine that?”

“Yes.  I am happy to say that dogs don’t seem to mind my appearance, and thanks to them I am able to do some good in my own small way.  With a face like this, it is good to be an animal lover.  Oh, here comes my wife.”

“She must be an animal lover too.”

“Frankie!”

Frankie answered aside to Phil: “Sorry, it just slipped out.  The last time I saw a face like that it was looking into a crystal ball at Dorothy and her dog Toto.”

Phil answered in a hushed tone, “Quiet will ya?  He’ll hear you.”

Frankie cleared his throat and spoke again to Mr. Gordon:

“What I meant was, you know, common interest between husband and wife.”

“Yes, I’m sure.  While Mrs. Gordon does share my affection for animals, she is a nurse and spends much of her time giving first aid classes.  When she isn’t doing that, she busies herself primarily in our town’s arts and literature society you know, always finding writers and poets and artists to come and give talks at luncheons.”  Mrs. Gordon joined the group.  “Hello dear.  This is Mr. Wellbright and Mr. Elliott.  Gentlemen, my wife.”

“Pleased to meet you Mrs. Gordon.”

Mrs. Gordon nodded  to Phil and Frankie:

“Merry Christmas, gentlemen.  Oswald, this is no time to be playing in the snow.  We have a lot to do yet, and you’re not even wearing your gloves.”

“I wasn’t playing dear.  I had an accident.  If you gentlemen will give me a hand,  I think I can stand up now.”  Phil and Frankie helped Mr. Gordon to his feet.  As they brushed the snow from Mr. Gordon, Phil said to Mrs. Gordon:

“I sure think it’s wonderful what your husband does to help neglected dogs and cats, Mrs. Gordon.  You must feel pretty good, knowing you’re caring for those animals until you can find them a new home.  I have a dog too, Petey  is his name, and the thought of him being neglected or abused would practically break my heart.  By the way, I’m you’re new neighbor.  I just rented this house.  I’d love to have you and Mr. Gordon come over and meet Petey sometime.  He’s a good dog, and very friendly.”

“Thank you Mr. Wellbright.   We’ll be glad to take you up on your invitation.  We must have you over for dinner one night to welcome you to the neighborhood, perhaps sometime between now and the New Year.   Wellbright…Wellbright?  Seems I know that name from somewhere, oh well, I’m sure it will come to me.  Mr. Elliott, haven’t I seen you around our town?”

“Oh sure.  I’m from around here myself.  Just Curly here is new to the neighborhood.”

“Seems you’re some kind of musician, aren’t you?”

“That’s right.  I’m sort of in between engagements right now.”

“I’m glad to hear that, it means you have plenty of free time.”

“Oh, well, I’m no good at giving lectures on my art, if that’s what you have in mind.”

“No, that’s not what I was going to suggest.  I’d like you to come to one of my first aid classes.  We could always use an extra dummy.”

“A what?”

“I beg your pardon.  It’s just that our local department store usually let’s us borrow any of their extra  mannequins to practice wrapping bandages on, but during the Christmas season they never have any to spare.”

“Oh, well, sure, I’d be glad to lend a hand.  Or an arm.  Pick a limb, any limb.”

“I was thinking about doing a lesson on treating head injuries next time.  Tell me, Mr. Elliott, were you by any chance ever dropped on your head as a child?”

“On my head!  All my childhood traumas occurred at the other end, if you’ll pardon the expression, courtesy of my old man’s leather belt.”

“My mistake. I guess my crystal ball must have been a little cloudy.”

“You’re crystal ball!”

Mr. Gordon said:

“That, Mr. Elliott, is my wife’s sense of humor.  You see, both she and I do make jokes occasionally.”

“Oh, well, that’s a good one on me.  I feel a little embarrassed now.”

Mrs. Gordon seemed not to mind any further and spoke to her husband:

“We must get going, Oswald; I need your help with the tree.  Did you hurt your head?”   They started to turn to go and Phil said:

“Merry Christmas, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon.  Just stop in anytime.  You don’t need to stand on ceremony with me.  Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas Mr. Wellbright, Mr. Elliott.  Oh, and Mr. Elliott, I’m sorry about my little joke about being dropped on your head.  By the way, I’ve heard that you really are a very capable and versatile musician.  I would so love you to come to one of our luncheons and play for us.  You wouldn’t have to give a lecture at all.”

“Thank you Mrs. Gordon.  I’ll take you up on that.  Merry Christmas.”  Frankie answered as  Mr. and Mrs. Gordon walked back toward their house.  “You know, they really are a couple of nice people.  I’m sorry I called Mr. Gordon a sourpuss earlier and made that crack about the crystal ball just now.  I didn’t think either one of them could hear me.  Guess I was wrong.  I feel like a heel.”

“Why don’t you go tell then you’re sorry?  They both apologized to you, you should do the same, if you really are sorry.”

“I’ll do it.  Thanks Curly.”  Then calling to  Mr. and Mrs. Gordon, “Mr. and Mrs. Gordon, would you wait for me a moment?  I’ll be right there.”  Turning back to Phil he said:  “Hey Curly before I go, do you realize you told Mr. Gordon your real name,  and Mrs. Gordon knows it too, and she’s always looking for writers and artists to talk at their society luncheons?   I think you just blew your own cover.”

“Yeah, you’re right, Frankie.  I guess in my panic after knocking Mr. Gordon unconscious, I forgot I was pretending not to be me.  I heard the way Mrs. Gordon said she knew my name from somewhere too.  Looks like I let the cat out of the bag.  I ‘d better go tell Mrs. Springington my real name.  I wouldn’t want that nice woman to find out from someone else.”

“Okay Curly.  I’ll catch up with you after I finish telling  Mr. and Mrs.Gordon how sorry I am.”

“Okay Frankie.”  Phil started back towards the Sprinington house when he noticed something on the ground.  “What’s this?  One of Mary  Elizabeth’s mittens must have fallen out of her pocket.  I’ll give this to Mrs. Springinton when I tell her I used a phony name.  I hope she isn’t too disappointed in me.”

Phil walked up the front step and rang the bell, but instead of Mrs. Springington,  the door was opened a much younger woman.

Phil didn’t speak at first.  He gazed at her a moment, then seemed to remember himself:

“Hello. ”

“Hello.”

“Where did you come from?”

To be continued…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part  Seven fb:  A heart of gold.

We left Phil, Frankie, and Officer Carson in the Springinton kitchen with Mrs. Springinton and Mary Elizabeth.  The boys had just realized the confusion they had created by donning those orange jumpsuits, and were sharing a laugh with Officer Carson, while they all enjoyed some of Mrs. Springinton’s cookies and hot cocoa.  Officer Carson had just finished a still-warm-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookie when he asked:

“There is one thing I don’t understand.  Why were you two so determined to complete that snowfamily of yours today?  When I asked you to come to the station with me, it was like I was trying to pry you away from your own child.  What was up with that?”

“Officer Carson, I’m afraid that is the second, and I hope final confusion in a series of ongoing blunders that I have been making today.  You see, last night, while I was out walking my dog Petey, I happened to be on the sidewalk in front of the Springintons house here when Mary Elizabeth’s mother brought her home from that play she was in, except I didn’t know that was Mary Elizabeth’s mother, and I didn’t know she was in a play.  What I saw was a woman dressed as a nurse carrying what I supposed to be a sick little child into the house.  Then I heard Mr. and Mrs. Springington speaking to the nurse about a big cast of some kind, and, well I imagined the sick little girls mother had been in some sort of terrible accident, and was in a big cast.  Then I heard someone say they didn’t know where Mary Elizabeth’s father was, or if he would be home for Christmas.  I thought he had skipped out on his own family.  I suppose I was wrong about that too?”

“Yes, my son-in-law is in the Navy on some kind of assignment; you, know, he can’t really tell us about it.  We only found out today that he will be coming home to spend Christmas with us.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that.  Anyway, so here I was, the night before Christmas Eve, and here was this poor, sick little girl, her mother in a bed of pain after suffering some terrible injuries, and her irresponsible father nowhere to be found.  I wanted to do something to cheer the little girl up, to brighten what I thought was going to be a pretty sad Christmas for her, so I decided to build a snowman for her, and that it had to finished before it got dark on Christmas Eve.”

Officer Carson noted that:

“When I got there, you already had one snowman built and were talking about making a whole family.”

“That’s because Frankie here decided to help.  You see, I’ve never spent a winter in the north,  in fact I’ve never built a snowman, so when Frankie heard my story about the sick little girl, he offered to help, and even insisted we build a whole snowfamily to cheer her up.”

Mrs. Springinton  said:

“That is so sweet of you gentlemen.  I’m glad to have you as a neighbor Mr. Webster, and Mr. Elliot, you must feel free to stop in as often as you like.”

“Thank you Mrs. Springington.  Curly and I are great pals, so I’m sure I’ll be around.   These cookies are delicious, do you mind if I have another?”

“Help yourself.  Please, everybody, help themselves.  Officer Carson, are you leaving so soon?”

“I’d love to stay and visit with you Mrs. Springington, but I’m still on duty.  Thanks for the cookies and cocoa.”

“We should be going too, Mrs. Springington.  I want to change out of these orange jumpsuits before we create any more confusion.  Thank you for your hospitality.  You have a lovely grand-daughter.”

“Thank you Mr. Webster.  It’s too bad you didn’t get a chance to meet the rest of the family, but my husband is picking up Robert, that’s Mary Elizabeths father, and my daughters are both at the theatre.”

“Oh, you have more than one daughter in the play?”

“Yes,  my younger daughter Alice is in the show too.”

“Well, perhaps we’ll get to meet them all soon.”

“Yes, I certainly hope so.  Good day gentleman.”

“Good bye Mrs. Springington.  Thanks again.”

Phil, Frankie, and Officer Carson stepped out of the Springinton house into the late afternoon air.  As the three reached the sidewalk, Phil said:

“What a nice woman.  So thoughtful and kind.  She seems sort of dizzy at first, but I don’t know…”

To which Officer Carson replied:

“Yeah, I thought she was a little flighty when I first met her myself ; but now I think that’s just her way of setting a comforting tone, you know, to help others feel at ease.    Although she may act like she’s up in the air, I believe Mrs. Springington has both feet on the ground, and not some shifting quicksand either, but firm, steady rock.”

“I think you’re right Officer Carson, there’s something  solid behind that dizzy exterior.”

“Solid is right,  and she’s got a heart of gold.”

“A heart of gold, did you say?”

“Yeah, one of the purest.  Well, I’ve got to go the other way down the block. Nice meeting you,  Mr. Webster, Mr. Elliot.”

“Just call me Phil.”

“Or Curly, that’s what I call him.”

“Yeah, or Curly.  Just don’t call me Babe.”

“And you can just call me Frankie.”

“Okay, Phil, Frankie, it was nice meeting you.  Merry Christmas.”

To which Phil and Frankie both answered:

“Merry Christmas. ”

“Come on Curly, let’s get out of these orange danger signs before we cause any more confusion.”

“Yeah, I suppose there’s no longer any hurry on finishing the rest of that snow family.  You go ahead up to the house, Frankie, I’m going to grab that shovel. ”

“After we get out of these coveralls, maybe we could take Petey for a walk.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll be right there.”  Phil reached the snow shovel that was stuck in a deep bank of snow.  “Here’s how Paul Bunyan would swing it up and over his shoulder–”

The still, quiet afternoon air was disturbed by a clanging sound, as of a large, metal object striking something hard.

“Oops,  guess I was a little too close to that tree.”

Frankie, who had just stepped inside, popped back out.  “Hey Curly, what was that?  It sounded like my old man when he used to call the dogs in by banging a soup bone on a cast iron skillet.”

“It was just me, Frankie.  I must have hit that tree trunk with this shovel when I swung it up onto my shoulder, you know, Paul Bunyan style again.”

“Tree trunk nothing!  Look behind you Curly.”

“Why?  What did I–  Mr. Gordon!  Oh no, Frankie, come here, quick, it’s Mr. Gordon.”

“Well Paul Bunyan, you felled him with one swipe of your mighty shovel.”

“Frankie, this is no laughing matter.  I think I killed him!  Oh, poor Mr. Gordon.”

To be continued…

 

Part 6: Cold hands and warm hearts.

We left our friends Phil and Frankie, in the company of Officer Carson and  Mary Elizabeth.  Phil has just realized that Mary Elizabeth is the sick little girl from next door, except she isn’t sick at all, and her mother has not been in a terrible accident.  We rejoin them with Phil feeling foolish, just as they are about to enter the home of Mary Elizabeth’s grandparents:

“Grandma, I brought Officer Carson and these other two nice gentlemen for some Christmas cookies, just like you asked me to.”

“Welcome gentlemen, and Merry Christmas.  Please come in.  Officer Carson, it’s so nice to see you again.  I hope everything is well with you.”

“Yes, Mrs. Springington, I’m fine.  Allow me to introduce my friends here, this is Paul Bunyan, and this is Curly.  Guys, this is Mrs. Springington.”

To which Phil and Frankie replied:

“Very nice to meet you, Mrs. Springington.”

“Nice to meet you, gentlemen.  Paul Bunyan and Curly, my what unusual names you have.  Are you by any chance familiar with the legend of Paul Bunyan, the lumberjack, and his blue ox Babe?”

Officer Carson interrupted  to say:

“Yes, Mrs. Springinton, of course they are familiar with that, but the fact is, we can’t stay long, I only, that is we only wanted to see that Mary Elizabeth made it home all right.”

“Made it home all right?  Why, whatever could you mean by that?  I could see all of you the whole time right out the kitchen window.”

“Well, anyway, I told Paul Bunyan and Curly here that I would help them go look for Moe and Larry.”

“Oh, I get it, you’re playing a game.  I have time for just one round.  Let’s see, I’ll pretend to be Ingrid Bergman, and you can help me go find Humphrey Bogart and Dooley Wilson, then, after we find them, we’ll all sit by the piano and one of us can play As Time Goes By.  I hope one of you gentlemen can play the piano, because I don’t know As Time Goes By.”

“Mrs. Sprinington, this is not a game, it’s like this, you see they, I mean we–.”

At which point Phil broke in saying:

“You see, Mrs. Springington, it’s very important that we get Officer Carson here down to the station to look for some friends of his, isn’t that right Officer Carson?”

“Yes-I mean no!  It’s very important that I get you down to the station to look for some friends of yours, Curly.  Or am I talking to Babe now?”

“Babe?  Where does Babe come into this?”

“Now, now,  Curly don’t get excited.”

“That’s right Officer Carson.  I mustn’t get excited.  None of us must get excited.  If you want to talk to Babe, you go right ahead.  Paul Bunyan is right here, so Babe must be nearby.  We can search for Babe when we go to look for Moe and Larry.”

“You gentlemen all seem a little confused.”

“No, Mrs. Springington, I’m not confused.  If I could only make you understand without exciting anybody–”

“We’re not confused either Mrs. Springington.  It’s Officer Carson here, I’m sure he’s been working very hard lately, and he probably just needs a rest, and we want to make sure, that is we–”

“Excuse me gentlemen, the telephone is ringing.   See if you can sort this out while I answer….Hello…?  Oh, hello  Mr. Gordon… Merry Christmas to you too…Officer Carson?  Yes, he’s here, just a moment…Officer Carson, Mr. Gordon is on the telephone, he wishes to speak to you.”

“Thanks Mrs. Springinton.  Now we’ll see who’s confused.  Hello, Carson here…Yes, you got a hold of them, all right.  What did they say?…Yes, yes said they would get right on it, good… wanted to make sure who was missing, good… head count…What!…they couldn’t find anyone missing?…all accounted for!  Ask them to check again…you did?…Still all accounted for? …All right.  Thank you Mr. Gordon… I’m afraid I owe you two an apology.  That was Mr. Gordon on the phone, and he just told me that Morning Rise Rest Home is not missing any patients.”

To which Frankie replied:

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“No, you don’t understand.  You see, Mr. Bunyan, I thought that you two were, say, what is your real name anyway?”

“Me?  You mean you know I’m not really Paul Bunyan?”

“Of course I know that.  What do you think I am, mixed up?”

“To tell you the truth Officer Carson, we thought that you thought that we really were Paul Bunyan and Curly Howard.”

“No kidding?  I thought that you two thought that you really were Paul Bunyan, and Curly Howard.  Except I thought that you sometimes thought you were Babe the blue ox.”

“Whatever gave you an idea like that?”

“You mean you don’t know?  It’s the jumpsuits.”

“These hunting coveralls, what about them?”

“Those aren’t hunting coveralls.  Turn around, here it is stenciled right across your back Property of M.R.R.H.’

“We were wondering about this Mister R.H.  Is he some kind of mental case?”

“M.R.R.H. is not a person, it’s a place:  Morning Rise Rest Home, it’s a big place  just a few miles outside of town. They care for people who’ve had nervous breakdowns and who are, well, confused and such.”

“Oh, so you thought that we were..?”

“Yes, and you two thought that I was..?

“Yes.”

Mrs. Springington placed a large tray with an assortment of Christmas cookies on the kithcen table, followed by another tray with four cups of steaming cocoa and said:

“Well gentlemen, now that that’s all settled, as soon as you’ve finished laughing, would you care for some  cookies?   Be careful, I think the cocoa is still very hot . Mary Elizabeth, you may have some too, but only one cookie, it’s getting close to dinner time. Officer Carson, there are some chocolate chip, I believe they are your favorites.  I took them out of the oven only a few moments before you gentlemen came in. ”

“Chocolate chip?  Just out of the oven?  Gentleman, I think you’ll agree that few things in life are more enjoyable than a chocolate chip cookie that is still warm and gooey from the oven.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

Say what are your real names anyway?”

“My name is Paul, uh,  Webster, and my friend here is Frankie Elliot.”

“Well, nice to meet the two of you for real.  But I’m surprised you didn’t know what people would think when they saw you wearing those orange jumpsuits.  Every one in town knows about Morning Rise.”

“I just arrived in town yesterday, never been here before that.”

“What about you, Mr. Elliot?”

“I guess in the excitement of welcoming Phil here, and wanting to help him build that snowfamily, I just forgot.”

“Well, no harm done.  But seriously, where did you guys get those things?”

“We found them in the closet of my new house.  I’m from Arizona and don’t have any winter clothes yet, so we put them on. ”

Mrs. Springington said:

“Our next door neighbor, Bill Travers used to work at Morning Rise, and he was allowed to take some of the old jumpsuits.  I believe he and his brother used to wear them went they went up north.   He moved away not long ago.  I wonder if he’s having a nice Christmas?”

“Then you must have known, Mrs. Springington, that Frankie and I weren’t really from Morning Rise.”

“Must I? Why?”

“Because I just moved into the house next door.”

“You did?  Good gracious, welcome to the neighborhood.  I must apologize for not getting over with Arthur, that’s Mr. Springinton, and bidding you a proper welcome, oh it’s just with all the baking, and the preparation, and then the show too.  I do hope you’ll forgive me, Mr. Webster.”

“That’s quite all right Mrs. Springington,  I  understand;  you probably remember how we unmarried men don’t mind if we miss out on those kind of niceties.”

“Yes, I know.  That’s why you need someone to watch after you.”

“That’s very kind of you Mrs. Springinton, but are you saying that you didn’t know that I had moved into the house next door?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And so you thought that Frankie and I were really patients at Morning Rise who had wandered off somehow?”

“Yes.  I recognized the jump suits, just like Officer Carson.  I do hope you’ll forgive me for jumping to conclusions.”

“That’s all right, Mrs. Springington.  But, you  thought we were really patients from the rest home, and yet you invited us in to have cookies, you even started an extra batch for us, before Officer Carson arrived to make sure it was, well, to make sure we behaved ourselves.  Weren’t you concerned?”

“Of course I was.  That’s why I invited you in.  I saw you two gentlemen out there in the snow,  and I thought, if that was someone in my family, some person I loved, I would want someone to offer them to come in out of the cold and have some cookies and hot cocoa, especially on Christmas Eve.”

“That’s not what I meant.  I meant, weren’t you  concerned for Mary Elizabeth or yourself?”

“Good heavens no.   I  asked Mary Elizabeth to go out only after I saw that  Officer Carson had arrived.  I could tell by the actions of all three of you that there was no cause for alarm.  I just saw two kind and gentle- looking men who appeared to be lost, who needed someone to provide them rest and warmth.  I did what I would do for any neighbor.”

Neighbor?  But I thought you said you didn’t know I had moved into the house next door.”

“I didn’t mean neighbor as in someone who lives near me.  Any person who is affected by my actions is my neighbor.”

“That includes a lot of people in some way or another, Mrs. Springington.”

“Yes, I suppose it does.”

“Don’t you get tired, worrying about how to treat so many people?”

“Good gracious no, I never worry about it.  I just do the right thing.”

To be continued…

Part 6: Cold hands and warm hearts.

We left our friends Phil and Frankie, in the company of Officer Carson and  Mary Elizabeth.  Phil has just realized that Mary Elizabeth is the sick little girl from next door, except she isn’t sick at all, and her mother has not been in a terrible accident.  We rejoin them with Phil feeling foolish, just as they are about to enter the home of Mary Elizabeth’s grandparents:

“Grandma, I brought Officer Carson and these other two nice gentlemen for some Christmas cookies, just like you asked me to.”

“Welcome gentlemen, and Merry Christmas.  Please come in.  Officer Carson, it’s so nice to see you again.  I hope everything is well with you.”

“Yes, Mrs. Springington, I’m fine.  Allow me to introduce my friends here, this is Paul Bunyan, and this is Curly.  Guys, this is Mrs. Springington.”

To which Phil and Frankie replied:

“Very nice to meet you, Mrs. Springington.”

“Nice to meet you, gentlemen.  Paul Bunyan and Curly, my what unusual names you have.  Are you by any chance familiar with the legend of Paul Bunyan, the lumberjack, and his blue ox Babe?”

Officer Carson interrupted  to say:

“Yes, Mrs. Springinton, of course they are familiar with that, but the fact is, we can’t stay long, I only, that is we only wanted to see that Mary Elizabeth made it home all right.”

“Made it home all right?  Why, whatever could you mean by that?  I could see all of you the whole time right out the kitchen window.”

“Well, anyway, I told Paul Bunyan and Curly here that I would help them go look for Moe and Larry.”

“Oh, I get it, you’re playing a game.  I have time for just one round.  Let’s see, I’ll pretend to be Ingrid Bergman, and you can help me go find Humphrey Bogart and Dooley Wilson, then, after we find them, we’ll all sit by the piano and one of us can play As Time Goes By.  I hope one of you gentlemen can play the piano, because I don’t know As Time Goes By.”

“Mrs. Sprinington, this is not a game, it’s like this, you see they, I mean we–.”

At which point Phil broke in saying:

“You see, Mrs. Springington, it’s very important that we get Officer Carson here down to the station to look for some friends of his, isn’t that right Officer Carson?”

“Yes-I mean no!  It’s very important that I get you down to the station to look for some friends of yours, Curly.  Or am I talking to Babe now?”

“Babe?  Where does Babe come into this?”

“Now, now,  Curly don’t get excited.”

“That’s right Officer Carson.  I mustn’t get excited.  None of us must get excited.  If you want to talk to Babe, you go right ahead.  Paul Bunyan is right here, so Babe must be nearby.  We can search for Babe when we go to look for Moe and Larry.”

“You gentlemen all seem a little confused.”

“No, Mrs. Springington, I’m not confused.  If I could only make you understand without exciting anybody–”

“We’re not confused either Mrs. Springington.  It’s Officer Carson here, I’m sure he’s been working very hard lately, and he probably just needs a rest, and we want to make sure, that is we–”

“Excuse me gentlemen, the telephone is ringing.   See if you can sort this out while I answer….Hello…?  Oh, hello  Mr. Gordon… Merry Christmas to you too…Officer Carson?  Yes, he’s here, just a moment…Officer Carson, Mr. Gordon is on the telephone, he wishes to speak to you.”

“Thanks Mrs. Springinton.  Now we’ll see who’s confused.  Hello, Carson here…Yes, you got a hold of them, all right.  What did they say?…Yes, yes said they would get right on it, good… wanted to make sure who was missing, good… head count…What!…they couldn’t find anyone missing?…all accounted for!  Ask them to check again…you did?…Still all accounted for? …All right.  Thank you Mr. Gordon… I’m afraid I owe you two an apology.  That was Mr. Gordon on the phone, and he just told me that Morning Rise Rest Home is not missing any patients.”

To which Frankie replied:

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“No, you don’t understand.  You see, Mr. Bunyan, I thought that you two were, say, what is your real name anyway?”

“Me?  You mean you know I’m not really Paul Bunyan?”

“Of course I know that.  What do you think I am, mixed up?”

“To tell you the truth Officer Carson, we thought that you thought that we really were Paul Bunyan and Curly Howard.”

“No kidding?  I thought that you two thought that you really were Paul Bunyan, and Curly Howard.  Except I thought that you sometimes thought you were Babe the blue ox.”

“Whatever gave you an idea like that?”

“You mean you don’t know?  It’s the jumpsuits.”

“These hunting coveralls, what about them?”

“Those aren’t hunting coveralls.  Turn around, here it is stenciled right across your back Property of M.R.R.H.’

“We were wondering about this Mister R.H.  Is he some kind of mental case?”

“M.R.R.H. is not a person, it’s a place:  Morning Rise Rest Home, it’s a big place  just a few miles outside of town. They care for people who’ve had nervous breakdowns and who are, well, confused and such.”

“Oh, so you thought that we were..?”

“Yes, and you two thought that I was..?

“Yes.”

Mrs. Springington placed a large tray with an assortment of Christmas cookies on the kithcen table, followed by another tray with four cups of steaming cocoa and said:

“Well gentlemen, now that that’s all settled, as soon as you’ve finished laughing, would you care for some  cookies?   Be careful, I think the cocoa is still very hot . Mary Elizabeth, you may have some too, but only one cookie, it’s getting close to dinner time. Officer Carson, there are some chocolate chip, I believe they are your favorites.  I took them out of the oven only a few moments before you gentlemen came in. ”

“Chocolate chip?  Just out of the oven?  Gentleman, I think you’ll agree that few things in life are more enjoyable than a chocolate chip cookie that is still warm and gooey from the oven.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

Say what are your real names anyway?”

“My name is Paul, uh,  Webster, and my friend here is Frankie Elliot.”

“Well, nice to meet the two of you for real.  But I’m surprised you didn’t know what people would think when they saw you wearing those orange jumpsuits.  Every one in town knows about Morning Rise.”

“I just arrived in town yesterday, never been here before that.”

“What about you, Mr. Elliot?”

“I guess in the excitement of welcoming Phil here, and wanting to help him build that snowfamily, I just forgot.”

“Well, no harm done.  But seriously, where did you guys get those things?”

“We found them in the closet of my new house.  I’m from Arizona and don’t have any winter clothes yet, so we put them on. ”

Mrs. Springington said:

“Our next door neighbor, Bill Travers used to work at Morning Rise, and he was allowed to take some of the old jumpsuits.  I believe he and his brother used to wear them went they went up north.   He moved away not long ago.  I wonder if he’s having a nice Christmas?”

“Then you must have known, Mrs. Springington, that Frankie and I weren’t really from Morning Rise.”

“Must I? Why?”

“Because I just moved into the house next door.”

“You did?  Good gracious, welcome to the neighborhood.  I must apologize for not getting over with Arthur, that’s Mr. Springinton, and bidding you a proper welcome, oh it’s just with all the baking, and the preparation, and then the show too.  I do hope you’ll forgive me, Mr. Webster.”

“That’s quite all right Mrs. Springington,  I  understand;  you probably remember how we unmarried men don’t mind if we miss out on those kind of niceties.”

“Yes, I know.  That’s why you need someone to watch after you.”

“That’s very kind of you Mrs. Springinton, but are you saying that you didn’t know that I had moved into the house next door?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And so you thought that Frankie and I were really patients at Morning Rise who had wandered off somehow?”

“Yes.  I recognized the jump suits, just like Officer Carson.  I do hope you’ll forgive me for jumping to conclusions.”

“That’s all right, Mrs. Springington.  But, you  thought we were really patients from the rest home, and yet you invited us in to have cookies, you even started an extra batch for us, before Officer Carson arrived to make sure it was, well, to make sure we behaved ourselves.  Weren’t you concerned?”

“Of course I was.  That’s why I invited you in.  I saw you two gentlemen out there in the snow,  and I thought, if that was someone in my family, some person I loved, I would want someone to offer them to come in out of the cold and have some cookies and hot cocoa, especially on Christmas Eve.”

“That’s not what I meant.  I meant, weren’t you  concerned for Mary Elizabeth or yourself?”

“Good heavens no.   I  asked Mary Elizabeth to go out only after I saw that  Officer Carson had arrived.  I could tell by the actions of all three of you that there was no cause for alarm.  I just saw two kind and gentle- looking men who appeared to be lost, who needed someone to provide them rest and warmth.  I did what I would do for any neighbor.”

Neighbor?  But I thought you said you didn’t know I had moved into the house next door.”

“I didn’t mean neighbor as in someone who lives near me.  Any person who is affected by my actions is my neighbor.”

“That includes a lot of people in some way or another, Mrs. Springington.”

“Yes, I suppose it does.”

“Don’t you get tired, worrying about how to treat so many people?”

“Good gracious no, I never worry about it.  I just do the right thing.”

To be continued…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We left Phil and Frankie conversing with Officer Carson, who is convinced the boys have wandered away from a rest home.  He is attempting to tactfully remind them of this by asking how they got there orange jump suits, to which question Frankie replies:

“We didn’t steal them, if that’s what you mean.”

“Why no  Paul, of course not.  I wasn’t suggesting that you stole them.  It’s obvious that they belong to you and that you, well, you belong in them.”

“Excuse me, Officer Carson, did you just call him Paul?”

“That’s right Curly, I did.”

“You know my name is Curly, and his name is..?”

“His name is Paul Bunyan, that’s right Curly  If you come with me, I think we might be able to find Moe and Larry down at the station having some Christmas cookies.”

“Just a moment please, Officer Carson, I have to talk to Frankie,  I mean Paul.  Excuse me…  Frankie, Frankie, hold on a second, listen to this.  I think that Officer Carson is missing a few brass buttons.”

“What are you talking about Curly?”

” He thinks you’re really Paul Bunyan, and he wants us to help him go find Moe and Larry from the Three Stooges.”

“Gee, this is a tough spot.  Better humor him.  Maybe if we let him think he’s taking us to the station, the other policemen can subdue him without anybody getting hurt.”

“I suppose that’s the best thing to do, but I hate to leave off building this snowfamily.  Still, we can’t let  a policeman wander around in his state of mind.  Look at him,  poor sap.  If it wasn’t for the uniform, he’d look just like any other big, dumb cluck.  Still, in a way, I envy him Frankie.  He’s not jaded, not cynical like so many of the rest of us; just believing in his fantasy world with childish innocence.  That’s what the world has lost, Frankie; that childish innocence.  We’ve got to fight to regain that, and then hold onto it, so we don’t all end up jaded, selfish, destructive, lonely people.”

“Yeah, but there’s got to be some rational ground between being jaded and selfish and walking around believing in fairy-tale characters.  You want to have some innocence, all right, but you can’t be foolish and believe everything, otherwise you end up like Officer Carson there.”

“I suppose you’re right, Frankie.  Still, there’s got to be a way to  believe in truth, to retain at least that much innocence,  without believing in fairy tales.  Poor Officer Carson.  On Christmas Eve too.”

“We’d better let him take us in.  He’s starting to look antsy, like he’s expecting the paddy wagon to come and take him away or something.”

“Okay, here goes.  Oh Officer Carson, Paul Bunyan and I have decided we will help you go and look for Moe and Larry at the station.”

“That’s great, say you’ll love the Christmas cookies too.  The sarge’s wife has been baking all week, and boy are her cookies and treats delicious.”

Unnoticed by Phil, Frankie, or Officer Carson, a young girl had just  joined them.

“Excuse me, Mr. Policeman.”

“Yes, who’s that?”

“It’s me, Mary Elizabeth.”

“Merry Christmas, Mary Elizabeth.  It’s nice to meet you, but, you shouldn’t be here–I mean, you shouldn’t be out in the cold without your mittens.  Does your mother know you’re out here?”

“No,  but my grandmother sent me out to invite you and these other two gentlemen in for some  hot cocoa and Christmas cookies.  She just put a fresh batch in the oven.  And see ,  my mittens are right here in my pocket. Besides, if my fingers get cold, you’ll hold my hands to keep them warm, won’t you?”

“Well, sure I  will Mary Elizabeth, but some other time.  I really think you should be running along now.  These gentlemen and I were just going down to the station–”

“Please Mr. Policeman, my grandmother will be so happy; she saw these two nice gentlemen here building the snowman and so she decided to make an extra batch, just for them, and then she saw you too and wanted to make sure you came into the house so she could wish you a Merry Christmas.”

“Well,   I wouldn’t want to disappoint your grandmother.  Maybe I could walk you back to the house and wish your grandmother a Merry Christmas, and grab a few cookies for myself and these other gentlemen while they wait here. What do you  guys say to that?”

“Mary Elizabeth  seems to really want us to go with her, and besides, her grandmother put in an extra batch just for us.  We would be ungrateful if we didn’t go and accept her kindness and wish her a Merry Christmas.   I think it best that we should escort Mary Elizabeth back to her grandmother’s house while you wait here.  We would be glad to bring you some cookie’s, Officer Carson.”

“No.  As long as you’re going with Mary Elizabeth, I think it best that I escort her too.”

“All right then, that’s settled.”

“Come on, my grandmother’s house is right next door.”

“Excuse me Mary Elizabeth, did you say your grandmother’s house is right next door?”

“Yes, see, we’re almost there already.”

“Well, do you have a sister, or a girl cousin staying with your grandmother?”

“I’ve got lot’s of girl cousins, but I’m the only one staying with my grandmother and grandfather right now.”

“Then who was that sick little girl I saw being carried into the house by a nurse last night?”

“That was no sick little girl, that was me.  I was tired, that’s why my Mommy was carrying me.”

“Your Mommy?  I thought your Mommy was in a terrible accident.”

“No sir, she wasn’t in an accident, she was in a play.”

“A play?  Why was she dressed like a nurse?”

“That’s her character.  Mommy was cast as nurse Mary Lee in the play Christmas in Connecticut.”

“She was cast in the play.  Oh brother, was I ever mistaken!  I feel like an idiot.”

“That’s okay Mister, everybody makes mistakes.  Come on in and have some of Grandma’s Christmas cookies, that will make you feel better.”

To be continued…

If you have read this and like it,  please  remember to “Like”  and “Share” with friends on social media.

Notes on  first version:  As with Campfire Creepers: My Friends Head. I acknowledge a debt to the Golden Age of Radio for inspiration in the development of the story line and characters in this piece.  I would like to specifically mention the outstanding Phil Harris and Alice Faye Show  as the basis of the dynamic between the two friends to whom you have just been introduced.  In recognition of the inspiration provided by the Harris and Fay Show, I have named the characters Phil “Curly”, and Frankie, after Phil “Curly” Harris, as himself, and Frankie Remley, who was a real life musician in Phil’s band, but whose character on the show was played by Elliott Lewis.  I hope you shall meet a character named Alice a little later in the story.

To my lovely wife Sarah, thank you for your ongoing support, patience and encouragement.  Thank you for listening to my thoughts and ramblings.  I am grateful  for your feedback, input, and ideas, all of which I value and treasure.

To listen to or find out more about the great radio shows of the past,    I recommend Sirius/XM Radio Classics channel 148 ,   http://www.radiospirits.com  , or http://GregBellMedia.com.

Part Five:   A Yuletide snowball of confusion.

Phil and Frankie were busily building the snowfamily in earnest, when they had an unexpected visit from a neighbor.  The boys are  afraid someone might think they have stolen the coveralls they are wearing, so Phil has decided to do the talking until they find out what the man wants.  We rejoin our friends just after Phil has greeted the man with a “Merry Christmas.”  and the man replies:

“Good afternoon gentlemen, and Merry Christmas.”

“Nice day for Christmas Eve, isn’t it?  All this snow.”

“Yes.”

“We’re building a snowman.  Actually a whole snowfamily.”

“I see.  It seems that you two may have lost your way.”

“Lost our way?  How do you mean?”

“Well, I mean, shouldn’t you be somewhere else?”

“No.  This is the spot I’ve chosen.  I’m not leaving until we’ve finished building this snowfamily.  They have to be finished tonight, it’s very important!”

“Very well, I didn’t mean to excite you.   Your friend seems to be having trouble rolling that giant snowball.”

“Oh, excuse me.  Hey, Mr. Bunyan, you want some help with that?”

“Sure Babe, I could use a hand.”

“Excuse me, mister, I need to give him a hand.”

“Of course, but first, did you just call him Mr. Bunyan?”

“Sure, you know as in Paul Bunyan.”

“And he called you Babe?”

“Yeah, you know the blue ox.  Of course that’s not my real name, I just let him call me that, you know, to humor him.”

“Come on Curly, this thing’s getting heavy!”

“Now he called you Curly.”

“Yeah, that’s what he usually calls me.”

“Are Moe and Larry around somewhere?”

“Moe and Larry?  Ha ha, that’s a good one, mister.  Listen, I’d  love to stop and chat, but  I really want to get this done.”

“One more thing,  tell me, how did you happen to get here?”

“What here?  We just walked out the front door.”

“Just walked out?”

“Yeah, the front door, same as any other normal person.  Is that so hard to believe?”

“No, no, not at all.  I didn’t mean to imply that you weren’t–that is, that there is anything unusual about you walking out the front door.  Oh, look, here comes Officer Carson.  Perhaps he would like to hear all about your snowfamily.  Merry Christmas, Officer Carson.”

“Merry Christmas Mr. Gordon, gentlemen.  Mr. Gordon, I have those toys  we collected at the station all ready, I wonder if you could relay a message to Mrs. Gordon?”

“Certainly, excuse us gentlemen…   I don’t think they can hear us over here.  They seem harmless enough, but they refuse to consider leaving until they finish building their snowfamily.”

“This is a tough spot.  I wonder  how they got out?”

“When I asked them they said that they just walked out the front door.”

“Seriously?  Somebody must have slipped to let that happen.  Listen, you go back to your house and call Morning Rise, tell them two of their guests are missing.    It’s a good thing the Rest Home provides all their patients with those orange jump suits; makes them real easy to spot whenever any of them wander off like those two.   Look at them, poor souls, just out playing in the snow.  I kind of envy them in a way.  You know, when you’ve been a cop for a  few years, you see some pretty unpleasant things; the things people do, I mean, and some days you wonder if the whole world has become nasty and mean and uncaring.  Some days I ask myself where all the innocence has gone.  Seeing those two reminds of what it was like to be a kid, and how nice I thought the world would be when all us kids grew up and changed it.  Instead it seems the world changed us.  Just look at those  happy souls, they haven’t got a clue.  Why if it weren’t for those orange suits, they’d just look like a couple of poor, dumb lugs who never grew up. ”

“Yes, but they are wearing the suits, and it’s no mistake.  You can see the stencils:  Property of M.R.R.H;  Morning Rise Rest Home.”

“Yeah, you’re right.  They’re a couple of patients all right. I’ll stay here and  try to humor them.  Most of the residents there are harmless, just so long as you keep them calm.   I’ll try to talk these two into coming down to the station with me, but I won’t push it if they start to get excited, so  just keep an eye on us.  Try to let me know how soon the wagon will get here to pick them  up.”

“Right.  Be careful though, that one thinks he’s Paul Bunyan, and the other one has a split personality between Babe the blue ox and Curly from the Three Stooges.”

“Thanks for the heads up.  I wouldn’t want him to get a hold of an axe and think I was a tree.   Oh well, the only thing I see that he might go for is that snow shovel stuck in the bank over there. Here I go… Well, you two sure have been busy.  That’s a mighty big snowman you’ve built there.  How many more are you going to make.”

“A Mama and a sister and a brother.”

“Well, that’s very nice, a whole family.  Say, it’s getting cold out here.  Why don’t you fellows come with me to the station.  We’ve got homemade Christmas cookies, and plenty hot to drink.  That will warm us all up.  What do you say?”

“You got ahead.  We’ve got to finish this snowfamily.”

“You’ve got to finish?  Well, then if you can stand the cold, so can I.  I’ll just stay with you.”

“Would you like to give us a hand?”

“I think I’d better keep both hands free.”

“What’s that?  I didn’t hear you.”

“I said I’m not free to help.  Normally I love to build snowmen, same as you, but, I’m on duty, and well you know, the uniform and all.  I wouldn’t want to get it all soaked building a snowman.”

“Sure, sure.  Too bad you don’t have a nice pair of coveralls like these to keep you dry.”

“Yes,  they certainly do look like they keep you dry.   I don’t think I’ve ever seen a set of coveralls like that in a store.  Do you mind telling me where you got them?”

 

Continued in Friends, Snowmen, Countrymen, Be of Good Cheer. A Tale of Christmas Time (Part 5b)

Click here to read Friends, Snowmen, Countrymen, Be of Good Cheer. A Tale of Christmas Time. (Part One.).

Click here to read Friends, Snowmen, Countrymen, Be of Good Cheer. A Tale of Christmas Time (Part Two).

Click here to read Friends, Snowmen, Countrymen, Be of Good Cheer, A Tale of Christmas Time (Part Three).

Click here to read Friends, Snowmen, Countrymen, Be of Good Cheer. A Tale of Christmas Time (Part 4 rev.)