Natalie and Peggy E-Story
Natalie and Peggy entered the front room to find Emmaline seated on the divan, deep in conversation with Esther -- sitting in an overstuffed chair, looking as gorgeous as ever.
"Esther?"
Esther looked up and grinned. "Natalie!" She rose, came over to Natalie and put her arms around her. She leaned in to kiss Natalie on the lips, but Natalie turned her face quickly.
"Esther, what a surprise -- " Natalie wasn't certain what to think.
"I've been having the most delightful conversation with your new sweetheart, here," Emmaline said. "Why didn't you tell us you were seeing a movie star?"
Natalie was speechless. Peggy on the other hand tugged on one leg of the palazzos Esther was wearing. "Hi, Aunt Esther!" she said, looking up.
Esther bent down and took the little girl into her arms. "Hey there, you lil' cutie!" she cooed. Then, looking up at Natalie, she said, "Don't look so glad to see me."
"Oh, Esther -- I am glad to see you!" Natalie said, embracing her lover. At least, I think I am, she thought to herself.
"Thom told me what happened -- I came as soon as I could," Esther said.
"You drove all the way from California?"
"I felt like you needed me..."
Emmaline smiled, then looked at her granddaughter. "Peglet, why don't we go see if there are any apples in the pantry...would you like an apple from our tree in the backyard?" She stood, holding a hand out to the little girl.
"I don't like apples," Peggy said.
"Oh, that's because you never had a home-grown one right off the tree," Emmaline said, taking Peggy's hand. "C'mon," she said, winking at Natalie. "Let's give your Mommy and your Aunt Esther a little time to visit..." And with that, Emmaline and Peggy left the front room.
"What did you mean when you called Aunt Esther Mommy's 'new sweetheart'?" Peggy asked her grandmother.
"Oh, just that they're very special friends..." Emmaline's voice trailed off as she and Peggy went into the kitchen pantry.
As Natalie watched her mother and her daughter disappear into the kitchen, she felt Esther slipping her arms around her waist and pulling her close, nuzzling her neck. "I missed you so much, lover," she murmured.
Natalie placed her hands over Esther's, but didn't say anything. She knew she should be happy to see Esther as well as flattered by the fact that she had taken the trouble to drive all the way from California -- in December, no less -- to be with her.
On the other hand, Natalie felt as if the grief she and her parents and brothers were experiencing over Cordelia's death was a private, family affair -- and that Esther was an interloper, somehow. She almost resented her being there.
When she felt Esther's lips caressing her neck however, that resentment quickly dissipated -- and was replaced by the most intensely erotic sensations, both in her heart and in her loins. "Oh, Esther..." she whispered. She turned, enfolding Esther in her own arms -- and the two of them began kissing, deeply, hungrily.
"Make love with me, Natalie," Esther whispered.
"Not here," Natalie replied, pulling away from her. Taking Esther's hand, she led her upstairs to her old room...
It had been mild along the Oregon coast for December that year -- but the Greenbaum family home did not have a boiler or central heating, and her room was chilly. Natalie and Esther removed their clothing, but quickly slipped under the quilt.
Naked, they clasped each other in a close embrace, legs entwined, their mouths glued together as they made love for the next hour with a white-hot intensity. Every time Esther came off and started to cry out, Natalie fastened her lips on to the other woman's, thrusting her tongue deep into Esther's mouth -- dampening her cries to a muffled moan. She stifled her own cries of pleasure as well, kissing Esther again, or burying her face in a pillow.
Finally, their erotic exertions began to taper off...before long, they lay still in each other's arms.
Neither woman said anything for a long time. They began to doze...
Suddenly, the door opened. "Mommy -?"
Natalie cried out, "Peggy, don't come in...!" She started to sit up, pulling the blanket around her and attempting to hide Esther -- but it was too late.
The first thing Peggy noticed was the clothing on the floor. She looked down in disapproval.
"Mommy, you always get mad when I leave clothes on the floor," she said, starting to pick up Esther's blouse.
"Peggy, can you please go downstairs -?"
Peggy looked up and saw Esther in the bed with her mother. "What are you an' Aunt Esther doin'?" she asked.
"Having a nap, dear one," said Natalie. "Now, be a good girl, put that down and go see if your Grandma Emmaline needs anything...please?"
Peggy toddled up to the bed and placed Esther's blouse on the bed. "You should hang up your stuff, Aunt Esther," she said, matter-of-factly.
"Go -- now!" Natalie yelled.
Peggy suddenly stared at her mother. Tears started to fill her big green eyes. Without a word, she turned and ran out of the room.
Natalie buried her face in her hands. "Oh my god," she said.
"Nattie, I'm so sorry," Esther said.
"What am I gonna tell her?" Natalie said.
"She's gotta know, sometime," Esther replied.
"Esther, Peggy is a five year old girl!"
Esther sighed and got out of the bed. "Maybe I shouldn't-a come," she said, sadly.
"Esther - "
"It's okay, Nattie," she said. "Look, I'll go check into a hotel -- and call ya later."
Natalie reached out and took Esther's arm. "You don't have to do that," she said. Gently, she pulled Esther back onto the bed. "We'll -- figure something out," she said.
-51-
Later, Emmaline made up the sofa in the front room for Peggy to sleep on. Esther would spend the night with Natalie in her old room upstairs.
"How come I can't stay with you, Mommy?" Peggy asked as Natalie was tucking her in for the night.
"Sweetie, it's warmer down here," Natalie replied.
"Is it because Aunt Esther's here?"
Natalie hesitated. "That's part of it," she admitted.
"How come you and Aunt Esther were in bed without any clothes on?"
Ye gods, thought Natalie. She knew she would have to have this discussion with Peggy one day -- but had truly believed (and had hoped) that it would not come until she was in her late teens -- or even when she was twenty.
"Mom!" Natalie wailed as Emmaline was starting up the stairs.
"Is there a problem, Natalie?" Emmaline asked.
"Help..." Natalie pleaded, weakly.
Emmaline smiled knowingly and came back down the stairs. "Margaret Jean, I need you to get up and do something for me," she said, reentering the front room.
"Yes, Grandma?" Peggy replied, tossing the blankets back and rising from the sofa.
Emmaline pointed over toward a very heavy trunk that sat in a corner of the room. "I need you to bring that trunk over her, please."
"Mother, she's just a baby - " Natalie protested.
Emmaline placed a finger to her lips. To Peggy, she said, "Go on, little one."
Peggy looked doubtful -- then padded over to the trunk and attempted to move it. Of course, it would not budge. "It's too heavy, Grandma...!"
"Come now, Peggy -- put some back into it."
Peggy struggled -- but the heavy trunk would simply not move. "I can't!" Peggy wailed, starting to cry as she made a heroic effort (for a five-year-old) to move the trunk.
"Come here, little one," Emmaline said, holding her arms out. "I know you did your best..." Peggy ran to her grandmother's arms. Emmaline lifted Peggy into her arms and embraced her. "Peggy... you were asking your mother what she and your Aunt Esther were doing earlier."
"Grandma, they were in bed without any
clothes!"
"I know, Peglet...and if your mother or I were to give you a true answer to that...it would be just like it was when you tried to move that trunk."
"I don't know what that means, Grandma!" Peggy said tearfully.
Emmaline gave her granddaughter a gentle smile. "One day, Peggy...you'll be big and strong enough to move that trunk," she said. "Right now, you're too little and weak."
"So...?"
"So, Peggy...one day, you'll be big and strong enough to understand about your Mommy and Aunt Esther...but right now, you're too little and weak...do you understand?"
Peggy sniffed. "I think so," she said.
Emmaline kissed Peggy's forehead. "Now...you go to sleep, little one...and in the morning, your Grandpa Isaac will make nice blueberry pancakes for us!"
Peggy smiled as her grandmother lay her down and tucked her in once again. "Good-night, little one," Emmaline said.
"G'night, Grandma!" Peggy replied.
Natalie leaned over and kissed her daughter on the forehead again. "Good-night, my precious," she said.
"G'night, Mommy," replied Peggy.
On their way upstairs, Natalie said, "Thanks, Momma."
Emmaline grinned. "Now you're starting to understand what you put me through," she said.
-52-
It was difficult for Esther not to notice the absence of Christmas decorations as mid-December came and went. Other houses on the block were gaily decorated with ornaments, manger scenes, candy canes and other Christmas accouterments. Some of the houses even had electric lights hanging from the eaves and attached to window frames.
There was nothing like that at the Greenbaum home -- not even a Christmas tree. At first, Esther wondered if it was because they were Jewish -- Greenbaum was a fairly common Jewish name, after all -- but they did not even put up a Hanukkah menorah.
"Doesn't Santa Claus come to your house?" Esther asked Peggy one day as they sat in the front room.
"Mommy says Santa Claus isn't real," Peggy declared.
"But of course, he's real, sweetie - "
"Actually, Santa Claus is a form of bribery and blackmail," said Natalie, entering the room with tea and cookies.
Peggy nodded. "That's what Grandpa says," she added.
Esther was stunned. "What sort of thing is that to tell a little kid?" she said.
"Esther, when you have children, you can raise them your way," Natalie replied. "I'm raising Peggy my way."
For a moment, Esther looked as if she would cry. "It's sad that your family doesn't do anything for the holidays," Esther said.
"Oh, we do," Natalie said with a smile. "I think it would be very nice for you to share it with us."
Esther was completely puzzled. Over the next few days, as the world got ready for Christmas, one would never have know there was any holiday at all at the Greenbaum home. Then, on the morning of the first day of winter, Natalie rose early and started dressing to go out.
"Where you off to?" Esther asked.
"Off to celebrate," Natalie said. "Would you like to come along?"
"It's not Christmas," Esther said. "Anyway, you told me your family doesn't celebrate Christmas."
Natalie reached down and took Esther by the arm. "Come on," she said with a smile. "Get dressed -- I think you'll find today to be interesting."
Natalie and Esther arrived downstairs to find the family dressed and ready to leave. "Esther, you're coming with us today?" Isaac asked, rather surprised.
"Natalie invited me -- to whatever you folks are doing," Esther replied.
"That's wonderful, my dear," Isaac said. "Always happy to have one more."
"Where are we going, Grandpa?" little Peggy asked.
"We're having a party!" Isaac announced as he opened the door and led the family outside. The weather had turned cold and blustery; a wind-driven drizzle was blowing in from the North Pacific.
Isaac, Emmaline, Teddy, Alan, Natalie, Esther and Peggy all bundled into the family sedan. It was a snug fit, with six adults and a child trying to fit into a car meant for five -- but the mood was light and cheery.
They arrived at Greenbaum's Deli, the family restaurant that had been in operation for fifteen years. Esther noticed people were already lined up at the door. Isaac unlocked the door, welcoming them in.
Esther couldn't help notice that the people were shabbily-dressed and looked as if they had known better times.
"Natalie -- get the coffee and tea going!" Isaac ordered. "Emmaline, let's get the soup on! Alan, Teddy -- start carving up the turkeys and the ham and let's get them heating!" Turning to Esther, he handed her an apron. "You can help me cut up potatoes and carrots."
"What about me, Grandpa?" Peggy asked.
Isaac looked down at his granddaughter. Patting her head, he said, "Why don't you go around and tell these people hello?"
For the next several hours, Esther and the Greenbaums served up generous dinners to anyone who walked in. And nobody received a check afterward.
On the way home, Esther commented, "Why do you do this? It must cost a fortune!"
Isaac nodded as he drove slowly on the now-icy streets. So nice to have an enclosed car with a heater and a self-starter, he thought, remembering the ancient Model T Touring Car he had driven for years. "We usually spend anywhere from two to three hundred dollars every December," Isaac said. In truth, it was more than that. Though Isaac Greenbaum didn't generally announce it, since Natalie had given most of her inheritance from Eva -- almost a quarter-million dollars -- over to the family, it was his practice to give free meals to anyone hungry and down on their luck who happened to wander in.
"Natalie says you folks don't even go to church -- or temple, if that's what it is," Esther commented.
Isaac chuckled. "I haven't seen the inside of a synagogue since I married Emmaline," he said, taking his wife's hand, adding, "and I only did that for my parents' sake...but what does that have to do with it?" When Esther didn't reply, Isaac continued: "Sometimes, my dear -- we should do things not because some Cloud-deity is going to reward us or punish us if we don't -- but because we're all part of a community...and they're simply the right and ethical things to do."
"It's something my people did for strangers -- even if they were from another tribe," Emmaline said. "They even welcomed white settlers who wanted to hunt, fish and gather like they did...of course, we know what that got them," she added, rolling her eyes and remembering the horror stories she'd heard from Moon Feather and Sun Bear of the time when the mining company moved into their valley.
Isaac nodded. "Your Hollywood movies do Indian people an injustice, I think," he said.
"I never did any Westerns -- but what do you mean?" Esther asked.
"The movies depict them as simple, warlike savages," Isaac said. "In fact, based on my experience with the Tsiwahan, I'd say our aboriginal peoples were more civilized than most white people."
"Indians around here -- the Chinooks -- used to have what they called potlatch," Emmaline said.
"What's that?" Esther asked.
"It's when the wealthiest, most powerful member of the tribe had a party -- and simply gave everything away," Emmaline explained.
"What do you mean?" Esther asked. "You mean they had money?"
Emmaline laughed. "No...well, they did, in way," she said. "Wampum shells...spears, drums, canoes, clay pots, cedar longhouses...that's how they measured wealth."
"And the chief just gave it all away?"
"Yep," Emmaline said.
"Whatever for?" asked Esther, incredulously.
"It's a great way to win friends and influence people," Emmaline replied. "Isaac and I even went to a potlatch, several years ago."
"They still do it?"
"Oh yes," Emmaline said. "Of course, it's a bit different, these days..."
When they arrived home, Isaac prepared a holiday supper for the family. It consisted of smoked salmon with onions, wild mushrooms and various root vegetables and salad with hearty wild greens that Emmaline tended in the back yard. As Isaac and Natalie served the family, he said proudly, "Everything we're eating tonight -- except for the wine, of course -- is all gathered from right around here."
Esther was beginning to think the Greenbaum family very strange -- but had to admit, it was one of the best and freshest dinners she'd ever eaten.
Later that night, Esther joined the Greenbaums as they gathered in the front room. There was a fire blazing in the hearth as the family sipped tea or coffee and enjoyed plum pudding. But what was unusual was Emmaline.
Esther had not known she was a performer in her own right.
Emmaline had adorned herself with feathers and a wampum-shell necklace. She held a small drum in one hand, beating it softly and steadily with a leather beater. She sang:
"Ya-ta-hey, ya-ta-hey-a tsiwox hanneh,
Tsiwox xahn'hyeh ya-ta-hey..."
Emmaline chanted in the strange language for several minutes, accompanying herself on the small drum. When she stopped, she began to tell the family a story.
"Thousands of seasons ago...longer than anyone could remember...the Tsiwahai were born of snow and ice. It was always cold in that place, and no creatures could live there but the big white bear, the shaggy tusked one with the long snout, the giant cats with the dagger teeth and the dog-fish, and the monstrous gray fishes that lived under the ice...and our People were always cold and hungry.
"One day, Wahanneh led our People south, through the mountains and the valleys...after many moons, we came to the Valley of the Warm Running Streams. It was a place of green forests and running rivers. Wahanneh gave us deer and buffalo, fish in the rivers, berries and roots to feed ourselves.
"Those gifts should have been enough...but some among the Tsiwaha decided to scratch the skin of Wahanneh-Xiesha -- our Mother Earth -- to find more. They made wounds in their mother's skin and buried seeds, tending them more lovingly than they did their own children, willing to toil all day -- presuming to have the ability to create life as Wahanneh-Xiesha did...
"Wahanneh punished us -- by taking away the sun and sending the snow and ice. Again, the People were cold and hungry...many died.
"When the People repented, Wahanneh slowly brought back the sun. But in order to remind us, Wahanneh would take away the sun and send the snow and ice for a few moons every year." Emmaline then smiled. "The day that the sun starts to return is the day we celebrate...the day that white people call the 'Winter Solstice'."
With that, she sat down and started in on her plum pudding.
Nobody said anything for several seconds. Esther was both horrified and fascinated; Natalie's family was far stranger than she had imagined.
Yet they seemed happy -- and very close to one another.
Esther thought about Christmas shopping -- the pressure of trying to find just the perfect gift for someone you didn't really care about, who more often than not didn't even like it or couldn't use it -- fighting crowds in stores along Fifth Avenue, spending more money than you meant to when you really didn't have it to spend...remembering how she had felt as a child, terrified and not knowing if she'd been "bad" or "good," and wondering how some old man living thousands of miles away was keeping tabs on her...disappointed if she didn't get what she'd asked for...expectations, pressures...
Suddenly, for the first time in her life, Esther wished she had been a man -- for no other reason than to be married to Natalie and even give her children...
"Esther?"
Esther looked up and grinned. "Natalie!" She rose, came over to Natalie and put her arms around her. She leaned in to kiss Natalie on the lips, but Natalie turned her face quickly.
"Esther, what a surprise -- " Natalie wasn't certain what to think.
"I've been having the most delightful conversation with your new sweetheart, here," Emmaline said. "Why didn't you tell us you were seeing a movie star?"
Natalie was speechless. Peggy on the other hand tugged on one leg of the palazzos Esther was wearing. "Hi, Aunt Esther!" she said, looking up.
Esther bent down and took the little girl into her arms. "Hey there, you lil' cutie!" she cooed. Then, looking up at Natalie, she said, "Don't look so glad to see me."
"Oh, Esther -- I am glad to see you!" Natalie said, embracing her lover. At least, I think I am, she thought to herself.
"Thom told me what happened -- I came as soon as I could," Esther said.
"You drove all the way from California?"
"I felt like you needed me..."
Emmaline smiled, then looked at her granddaughter. "Peglet, why don't we go see if there are any apples in the pantry...would you like an apple from our tree in the backyard?" She stood, holding a hand out to the little girl.
"I don't like apples," Peggy said.
"Oh, that's because you never had a home-grown one right off the tree," Emmaline said, taking Peggy's hand. "C'mon," she said, winking at Natalie. "Let's give your Mommy and your Aunt Esther a little time to visit..." And with that, Emmaline and Peggy left the front room.
"What did you mean when you called Aunt Esther Mommy's 'new sweetheart'?" Peggy asked her grandmother.
"Oh, just that they're very special friends..." Emmaline's voice trailed off as she and Peggy went into the kitchen pantry.
As Natalie watched her mother and her daughter disappear into the kitchen, she felt Esther slipping her arms around her waist and pulling her close, nuzzling her neck. "I missed you so much, lover," she murmured.
Natalie placed her hands over Esther's, but didn't say anything. She knew she should be happy to see Esther as well as flattered by the fact that she had taken the trouble to drive all the way from California -- in December, no less -- to be with her.
On the other hand, Natalie felt as if the grief she and her parents and brothers were experiencing over Cordelia's death was a private, family affair -- and that Esther was an interloper, somehow. She almost resented her being there.
When she felt Esther's lips caressing her neck however, that resentment quickly dissipated -- and was replaced by the most intensely erotic sensations, both in her heart and in her loins. "Oh, Esther..." she whispered. She turned, enfolding Esther in her own arms -- and the two of them began kissing, deeply, hungrily.
"Make love with me, Natalie," Esther whispered.
"Not here," Natalie replied, pulling away from her. Taking Esther's hand, she led her upstairs to her old room...
It had been mild along the Oregon coast for December that year -- but the Greenbaum family home did not have a boiler or central heating, and her room was chilly. Natalie and Esther removed their clothing, but quickly slipped under the quilt.
Naked, they clasped each other in a close embrace, legs entwined, their mouths glued together as they made love for the next hour with a white-hot intensity. Every time Esther came off and started to cry out, Natalie fastened her lips on to the other woman's, thrusting her tongue deep into Esther's mouth -- dampening her cries to a muffled moan. She stifled her own cries of pleasure as well, kissing Esther again, or burying her face in a pillow.
Finally, their erotic exertions began to taper off...before long, they lay still in each other's arms.
Neither woman said anything for a long time. They began to doze...
Suddenly, the door opened. "Mommy -?"
Natalie cried out, "Peggy, don't come in...!" She started to sit up, pulling the blanket around her and attempting to hide Esther -- but it was too late.
The first thing Peggy noticed was the clothing on the floor. She looked down in disapproval.
"Mommy, you always get mad when I leave clothes on the floor," she said, starting to pick up Esther's blouse.
"Peggy, can you please go downstairs -?"
Peggy looked up and saw Esther in the bed with her mother. "What are you an' Aunt Esther doin'?" she asked.
"Having a nap, dear one," said Natalie. "Now, be a good girl, put that down and go see if your Grandma Emmaline needs anything...please?"
Peggy toddled up to the bed and placed Esther's blouse on the bed. "You should hang up your stuff, Aunt Esther," she said, matter-of-factly.
"Go -- now!" Natalie yelled.
Peggy suddenly stared at her mother. Tears started to fill her big green eyes. Without a word, she turned and ran out of the room.
Natalie buried her face in her hands. "Oh my god," she said.
"Nattie, I'm so sorry," Esther said.
"What am I gonna tell her?" Natalie said.
"She's gotta know, sometime," Esther replied.
"Esther, Peggy is a five year old girl!"
Esther sighed and got out of the bed. "Maybe I shouldn't-a come," she said, sadly.
"Esther - "
"It's okay, Nattie," she said. "Look, I'll go check into a hotel -- and call ya later."
Natalie reached out and took Esther's arm. "You don't have to do that," she said. Gently, she pulled Esther back onto the bed. "We'll -- figure something out," she said.
Later, Emmaline made up the sofa in the front room for Peggy to sleep on. Esther would spend the night with Natalie in her old room upstairs.
"How come I can't stay with you, Mommy?" Peggy asked as Natalie was tucking her in for the night.
"Sweetie, it's warmer down here," Natalie replied.
"Is it because Aunt Esther's here?"
Natalie hesitated. "That's part of it," she admitted.
"How come you and Aunt Esther were in bed without any clothes on?"
Ye gods, thought Natalie. She knew she would have to have this discussion with Peggy one day -- but had truly believed (and had hoped) that it would not come until she was in her late teens -- or even when she was twenty.
"Mom!" Natalie wailed as Emmaline was starting up the stairs.
"Is there a problem, Natalie?" Emmaline asked.
"Help..." Natalie pleaded, weakly.
Emmaline smiled knowingly and came back down the stairs. "Margaret Jean, I need you to get up and do something for me," she said, reentering the front room.
"Yes, Grandma?" Peggy replied, tossing the blankets back and rising from the sofa.
Emmaline pointed over toward a very heavy trunk that sat in a corner of the room. "I need you to bring that trunk over her, please."
"Mother, she's just a baby - " Natalie protested.
Emmaline placed a finger to her lips. To Peggy, she said, "Go on, little one."
Peggy looked doubtful -- then padded over to the trunk and attempted to move it. Of course, it would not budge. "It's too heavy, Grandma...!"
"Come now, Peggy -- put some back into it."
Peggy struggled -- but the heavy trunk would simply not move. "I can't!" Peggy wailed, starting to cry as she made a heroic effort (for a five-year-old) to move the trunk.
"Come here, little one," Emmaline said, holding her arms out. "I know you did your best..." Peggy ran to her grandmother's arms. Emmaline lifted Peggy into her arms and embraced her. "Peggy... you were asking your mother what she and your Aunt Esther were doing earlier."
"Grandma, they were in bed without any
clothes!"
"I know, Peglet...and if your mother or I were to give you a true answer to that...it would be just like it was when you tried to move that trunk."
"I don't know what that means, Grandma!" Peggy said tearfully.
Emmaline gave her granddaughter a gentle smile. "One day, Peggy...you'll be big and strong enough to move that trunk," she said. "Right now, you're too little and weak."
"So...?"
"So, Peggy...one day, you'll be big and strong enough to understand about your Mommy and Aunt Esther...but right now, you're too little and weak...do you understand?"
Peggy sniffed. "I think so," she said.
Emmaline kissed Peggy's forehead. "Now...you go to sleep, little one...and in the morning, your Grandpa Isaac will make nice blueberry pancakes for us!"
Peggy smiled as her grandmother lay her down and tucked her in once again. "Good-night, little one," Emmaline said.
"G'night, Grandma!" Peggy replied.
Natalie leaned over and kissed her daughter on the forehead again. "Good-night, my precious," she said.
"G'night, Mommy," replied Peggy.
On their way upstairs, Natalie said, "Thanks, Momma."
Emmaline grinned. "Now you're starting to understand what you put me through," she said.
It was difficult for Esther not to notice the absence of Christmas decorations as mid-December came and went. Other houses on the block were gaily decorated with ornaments, manger scenes, candy canes and other Christmas accouterments. Some of the houses even had electric lights hanging from the eaves and attached to window frames.
There was nothing like that at the Greenbaum home -- not even a Christmas tree. At first, Esther wondered if it was because they were Jewish -- Greenbaum was a fairly common Jewish name, after all -- but they did not even put up a Hanukkah menorah.
"Doesn't Santa Claus come to your house?" Esther asked Peggy one day as they sat in the front room.
"Mommy says Santa Claus isn't real," Peggy declared.
"But of course, he's real, sweetie - "
"Actually, Santa Claus is a form of bribery and blackmail," said Natalie, entering the room with tea and cookies.
Peggy nodded. "That's what Grandpa says," she added.
Esther was stunned. "What sort of thing is that to tell a little kid?" she said.
"Esther, when you have children, you can raise them your way," Natalie replied. "I'm raising Peggy my way."
For a moment, Esther looked as if she would cry. "It's sad that your family doesn't do anything for the holidays," Esther said.
"Oh, we do," Natalie said with a smile. "I think it would be very nice for you to share it with us."
Esther was completely puzzled. Over the next few days, as the world got ready for Christmas, one would never have know there was any holiday at all at the Greenbaum home. Then, on the morning of the first day of winter, Natalie rose early and started dressing to go out.
"Where you off to?" Esther asked.
"Off to celebrate," Natalie said. "Would you like to come along?"
"It's not Christmas," Esther said. "Anyway, you told me your family doesn't celebrate Christmas."
Natalie reached down and took Esther by the arm. "Come on," she said with a smile. "Get dressed -- I think you'll find today to be interesting."
Natalie and Esther arrived downstairs to find the family dressed and ready to leave. "Esther, you're coming with us today?" Isaac asked, rather surprised.
"Natalie invited me -- to whatever you folks are doing," Esther replied.
"That's wonderful, my dear," Isaac said. "Always happy to have one more."
"Where are we going, Grandpa?" little Peggy asked.
"We're having a party!" Isaac announced as he opened the door and led the family outside. The weather had turned cold and blustery; a wind-driven drizzle was blowing in from the North Pacific.
Isaac, Emmaline, Teddy, Alan, Natalie, Esther and Peggy all bundled into the family sedan. It was a snug fit, with six adults and a child trying to fit into a car meant for five -- but the mood was light and cheery.
They arrived at Greenbaum's Deli, the family restaurant that had been in operation for fifteen years. Esther noticed people were already lined up at the door. Isaac unlocked the door, welcoming them in.
Esther couldn't help notice that the people were shabbily-dressed and looked as if they had known better times.
"Natalie -- get the coffee and tea going!" Isaac ordered. "Emmaline, let's get the soup on! Alan, Teddy -- start carving up the turkeys and the ham and let's get them heating!" Turning to Esther, he handed her an apron. "You can help me cut up potatoes and carrots."
"What about me, Grandpa?" Peggy asked.
Isaac looked down at his granddaughter. Patting her head, he said, "Why don't you go around and tell these people hello?"
For the next several hours, Esther and the Greenbaums served up generous dinners to anyone who walked in. And nobody received a check afterward.
On the way home, Esther commented, "Why do you do this? It must cost a fortune!"
Isaac nodded as he drove slowly on the now-icy streets. So nice to have an enclosed car with a heater and a self-starter, he thought, remembering the ancient Model T Touring Car he had driven for years. "We usually spend anywhere from two to three hundred dollars every December," Isaac said. In truth, it was more than that. Though Isaac Greenbaum didn't generally announce it, since Natalie had given most of her inheritance from Eva -- almost a quarter-million dollars -- over to the family, it was his practice to give free meals to anyone hungry and down on their luck who happened to wander in.
"Natalie says you folks don't even go to church -- or temple, if that's what it is," Esther commented.
Isaac chuckled. "I haven't seen the inside of a synagogue since I married Emmaline," he said, taking his wife's hand, adding, "and I only did that for my parents' sake...but what does that have to do with it?" When Esther didn't reply, Isaac continued: "Sometimes, my dear -- we should do things not because some Cloud-deity is going to reward us or punish us if we don't -- but because we're all part of a community...and they're simply the right and ethical things to do."
"It's something my people did for strangers -- even if they were from another tribe," Emmaline said. "They even welcomed white settlers who wanted to hunt, fish and gather like they did...of course, we know what that got them," she added, rolling her eyes and remembering the horror stories she'd heard from Moon Feather and Sun Bear of the time when the mining company moved into their valley.
Isaac nodded. "Your Hollywood movies do Indian people an injustice, I think," he said.
"I never did any Westerns -- but what do you mean?" Esther asked.
"The movies depict them as simple, warlike savages," Isaac said. "In fact, based on my experience with the Tsiwahan, I'd say our aboriginal peoples were more civilized than most white people."
"Indians around here -- the Chinooks -- used to have what they called potlatch," Emmaline said.
"What's that?" Esther asked.
"It's when the wealthiest, most powerful member of the tribe had a party -- and simply gave everything away," Emmaline explained.
"What do you mean?" Esther asked. "You mean they had money?"
Emmaline laughed. "No...well, they did, in way," she said. "Wampum shells...spears, drums, canoes, clay pots, cedar longhouses...that's how they measured wealth."
"And the chief just gave it all away?"
"Yep," Emmaline said.
"Whatever for?" asked Esther, incredulously.
"It's a great way to win friends and influence people," Emmaline replied. "Isaac and I even went to a potlatch, several years ago."
"They still do it?"
"Oh yes," Emmaline said. "Of course, it's a bit different, these days..."
When they arrived home, Isaac prepared a holiday supper for the family. It consisted of smoked salmon with onions, wild mushrooms and various root vegetables and salad with hearty wild greens that Emmaline tended in the back yard. As Isaac and Natalie served the family, he said proudly, "Everything we're eating tonight -- except for the wine, of course -- is all gathered from right around here."
Esther was beginning to think the Greenbaum family very strange -- but had to admit, it was one of the best and freshest dinners she'd ever eaten.
Later that night, Esther joined the Greenbaums as they gathered in the front room. There was a fire blazing in the hearth as the family sipped tea or coffee and enjoyed plum pudding. But what was unusual was Emmaline.
Esther had not known she was a performer in her own right.
Emmaline had adorned herself with feathers and a wampum-shell necklace. She held a small drum in one hand, beating it softly and steadily with a leather beater. She sang:
Tsiwox xahn'hyeh ya-ta-hey..."
Emmaline chanted in the strange language for several minutes, accompanying herself on the small drum. When she stopped, she began to tell the family a story.
"Thousands of seasons ago...longer than anyone could remember...the Tsiwahai were born of snow and ice. It was always cold in that place, and no creatures could live there but the big white bear, the shaggy tusked one with the long snout, the giant cats with the dagger teeth and the dog-fish, and the monstrous gray fishes that lived under the ice...and our People were always cold and hungry.
"One day, Wahanneh led our People south, through the mountains and the valleys...after many moons, we came to the Valley of the Warm Running Streams. It was a place of green forests and running rivers. Wahanneh gave us deer and buffalo, fish in the rivers, berries and roots to feed ourselves.
"Those gifts should have been enough...but some among the Tsiwaha decided to scratch the skin of Wahanneh-Xiesha -- our Mother Earth -- to find more. They made wounds in their mother's skin and buried seeds, tending them more lovingly than they did their own children, willing to toil all day -- presuming to have the ability to create life as Wahanneh-Xiesha did...
"Wahanneh punished us -- by taking away the sun and sending the snow and ice. Again, the People were cold and hungry...many died.
"When the People repented, Wahanneh slowly brought back the sun. But in order to remind us, Wahanneh would take away the sun and send the snow and ice for a few moons every year." Emmaline then smiled. "The day that the sun starts to return is the day we celebrate...the day that white people call the 'Winter Solstice'."
With that, she sat down and started in on her plum pudding.
Nobody said anything for several seconds. Esther was both horrified and fascinated; Natalie's family was far stranger than she had imagined.
Yet they seemed happy -- and very close to one another.
Esther thought about Christmas shopping -- the pressure of trying to find just the perfect gift for someone you didn't really care about, who more often than not didn't even like it or couldn't use it -- fighting crowds in stores along Fifth Avenue, spending more money than you meant to when you really didn't have it to spend...remembering how she had felt as a child, terrified and not knowing if she'd been "bad" or "good," and wondering how some old man living thousands of miles away was keeping tabs on her...disappointed if she didn't get what she'd asked for...expectations, pressures...
Suddenly, for the first time in her life, Esther wished she had been a man -- for no other reason than to be married to Natalie and even give her children...
