2018.08.09

It's Thursday.

Laura’s heart jumped. But then she thought again of the creek and she knew nothing could happen. Ma took one of Mary’s clean stockings and one of Laura’s, and she hung them from the mantel-shelf, on either side of the fireplace. Laura and Mary watched her over the edge of their bed-covers. Ma asked them to go to sleep, kissing them good night. And she said that morning would come quicker if they were asleep. She sat down again by the fire and Laura almost went to sleep. She woke up a little when she heard Pa said to Ma that she had only made it worse. And she thought she heard Ma say to Pa that there was the white sugar. But perhaps she was dreaming. Then she heard Jack growl savagely. The door-latch rattled and someone called Pa’s name. Pa was stirring up the fire, and when he opened the door Laura saw that it was morning. The outdoors was gray. Pa exclaimed to Mr. Edwards great fishhook and asked him to come in and asked him what had been happened. Laura saw the stockings limply dangling, and she scrooged her shut eyes into the pillow. She heard Pa piling wood on the fire, and she heard Mr. Edwards say he had carried his clothes on his head when he swam the creek. His teeth rattled and his voice shivered. He would be all right, he said, as soon as he got warm. Pa said that it had been too big a risk, and they were glad he was here, but that had been too big a risk for a Christmas dinner. Mr. Edwards replied that their little ones had had to have a Christmas, and no creek could stop him, after he had fetched them their gifts from Independence. Laura sat straight up in bed. She shouted if he had seen Santa Claus. Mr. Edwards said that he sure had done. Mary and Laura cried where, when, what he looked like, what he had said, if he had really given him something for them. Mr. Edwards laughed to ask them wait a minute.