Free Cornucopia by Melanie Jackson Page B

shown in a Cub Scout uniform proudly holding a little plastic trophy he had received for winning the rocket derby. Christmases were seen when the kids couldn’t wait to tear into their presents. New bikes and skates appeared. Graduations were chronicled.
    Looking away from the images, my eyes soon adjusted to the dark. I looked to Uncle Albert’s face and was surprised to see that he was smiling. Furthermore, if I wasn’t mistaken, there was a tear on his cheek just below the eye.
    It wasn’t until their later life was chronicled that things went terribly wrong. The image appeared on the wall without warning and struck everybody in the room like a slap. There was Albert dressed for his high school prom with none other than Carol Cummings, my Aunt Carol, on his arm. Dad fumbled in the dark for the controls to the projector but it was too late, the damage was already done.
    “This is silly, sitting in the dark watching movies from a time we’ll never see again,” Albert said, rising from his seat.
    Dad eventually managed to turn off the projector. Alex reached over and flipped the light back on. Albert stood fuming and my mother had started to cry. Just then a phone rang in the back part of the house.
    “Excuse me, I’ve been waiting for this call,” Albert said, wiping the tear from his cheek and stomping from the room.
    I rose from my seat and went to sit beside my mother and comfort her. The crying slowed and eventually ceased as I rocked her in my arms. Albert strode back into the room.
    “Well, that’s it. Christmas is off. I’ve got a big job to work on tomorrow,” Albert announced.
    “What do you mean, Christmas is off?” my mother challenged.
    “I mean Christmas is canceled. I just got a call from a contractor regarding an important job offer I’ve been waiting for. I have to work tomorrow.”
    “Can’t the job wait until after Christmas?”
    “No, it can’t,” Albert barked. “I’m not one to put off what can be done now.”
    “But we drove all this way to be with you, Uncle Albert,” I tried.
    “Of course you can spend the night,” Albert retorted, “but I’ll be gone all of tomorrow. I can leave you a key, but you’ll be on your own.”
    “But Albert.… ” my mother moaned.
    “It can’t be helped, Lucy,” Albert interrupted. “You should have taken my advice and stayed away. Anyway, now I’ve got to drive over to Bob’s house and tell Bob that he can’t have Christmas off this year like we planned, he’ll be working instead.” Albert almost managed to look ashamed of himself for a moment. “Some news you just can’t deliver over the phone.”
    Uncle Albert turned to remove his coat from a peg on the wall and my mother started jostling me.
    “Go with him, Chloe,” she insisted.
    “What for?”
    “Try to convince him to change his mind. No one should work on Christmas Day.”
    Still resisting, I was pushed out of my seat by my mother. When Uncle Albert turned back to face us I was caught standing. We considered one another uncomfortably.
    “Mind if I come with you?” I asked timidly.
    I was sure he would say no, but he didn’t.
    “Do as you like,” he replied.
    Since I’d never taken off my outdoor wear after entering the cold house, I was fully prepared to dash after Uncle Albert as he darted from his home. I literally had to climb into his massive truck and lever myself into the passenger seat. I’d barely closed the door before the ignition was turned over and Albert began backing out of his drive.
    “Gee, are you sure about this, Uncle Albert?” I asked.
    “I told her not to come. It’s not my fault if I have work to do.”
    “But on Christmas Day?”
    “It’s a day like any other when you have nothing to celebrate.”
    Wow. How do you respond to that, I asked myself as we drove the snow-covered roads to Bob’s home. You don’t, was the conclusion I came to. So I remained silent during the rest of our drive. It was starting to get dark outside so