Christmas

They came, they camped. They got new bicycles from their grandparents, and they went fishing with their dad. The two young boys even caught a couple, a tilapia and a catfish. Like so many kids, they enjoyed the day before Christmas with one part of their family and planned to be with another part on Christmas Day. The adults always have the whole thing figured out in a way they think is fair, or right, or what they want, or what's most convenient. There was laughter and running, playing and tree-climbing. And dirt. Lots of dirt!

Eventually, everyone washed up and put on clean clothes, and they all went out for dinner. Camping doesn't always mean roughing it all day, each day. Snuggled close in the booth, the youngest rested his head on his aunt's shoulder. He was tired, but he also seemed despondent. His aunt asked him if he was okay, if something was wrong. "I just miss my mom," he responded with innocence. It didn't matter what his aunt thought if his mom, what anyone in his dad's family thought of her. He was a little boy who wanted his mommy. It didn't matter to him she was a mess. He probably didn't even understand. He leaned in close to his aunt, and she held him in tight, kissing him on the head. She understood his sadness, maybe more than anyone else at the table. He shook it off and ate his dinner, wiping every last bit of ketchup off the plate with his final french fry. On the way back to camp, he fell asleep in the car and was sent right to his tent without argument when they got there.

The next morning, after opening presents, the boys and their dad went home so they could get ready to spend Christmas with the mom they were missing. Their time together was now reduced to an eight hour visit on Sundays. Lucky for her, Christmas was on a Sunday this year. They were reluctant to leave camp, but took their gifts and hugged everyone goodbye, perhaps excited to see their mom the following day. Grandma and Grandpa, and the aunt and uncle said goodbye with sadness. They wondered how the boys would be spending Christmas while the rest of the family was sitting around a cozy dinner table at their dad's sister's house. But everyone said goodbye again, and they were off.

Early the next morning, there were only two tents left. The aunt woke to the sound of a cell phone ringing in the next tent. She could hear her mother-in-law hollering, "Turn it off! Turn it off!" It was too late. The aunt and uncle had risen to the sound of the phone and the birds chirping and squawking high in the trees. The phone was silenced, and so were the campers. Then the aunt was startled by the sound of her husband's voice.

"Oh my..." She responded to him before he could finish.

"What? What?" And he turned his cell phone in her direction. He was sharing a text from his brother. The boys' mother had been arrested in the middle of the night and was in jail with no bond. That's why her father-in-law's phone was ringing so early in the morning. And while they all celebrated, because the boys would be able to stay with them for Christmas, and not be forced to spend the day with their emotionally unstable mom, the aunt felt sick. They all knew this would be coming eventually. She agreed the boys were better off with their dad. But she also knew they weren't being forced to spend time with their mom at all.