Ella woke up early on Christmas Eve morning. It was the day after her tenth birthday. She got some nice gifts, including a Lego set that she thought she might get for Christmas, which was only one day away. The gift she loved best though, was a fifty dollar bill her Uncle Seth had given her. She knew exactly what she wanted to do with that. First though, she would have to convince her mother to let her spend the money.

At breakfast, her long dark hair combed straight back, she said, “Mom, I got such nice gifts for my birthday. I’m not sure Santa will be able to think of anything I might like.”

Her mother smiled and took a sip of her coffee. “I’m sure Santa has something special in mind for you.” She glanced at her fingernails and thought she might schedule an appointment that afternoon.

“Maybe. Uncle Seth gave me fifty dollars and told me to buy something I like.”

“He did?” Of course, her mother knew all about it. Her brother Seth, who didn’t have children, was very generous. “Do you think it might be a good idea to put that money in the bank for college?” She took her last spoonful of oatmeal and got up to put the bowl in the dishwasher.

“I knew you’d say that! But I have a different idea. I want to buy a Christmas gift for Grandma.” Ella was especially close to her grandmother. Her grandma always took the time to do things with her; interesting things that made her feel special. She taught her how to bake a cake and how to sew pajamas. She even took her fishing once and taught her how to bait the hook.  

“Oh, Ella, Grandma wouldn’t want you to spend that much money on a gift for her. What were you thinking of getting her?”

Ella let out a rather huge sigh. “Mom, I don’t want to say what it is. I want everyone to be surprised when she opens it, even you and Daddy.”

Alisha and Brett were very proud of their daughter, Ella. She was growing up quickly and she had an independent streak they both loved but, occasionally, worried about. They felt she should be encouraged to think independently, question, but respect legitimate authority, and strive to achieve her dreams. They did their best to respect her privacy. Still, there were some areas that simply demanded scrutiny. Alisha felt this was one of them. “Ella, you can keep Grandma’s gift a secret, but I’ll need to know where you plan to get it.”

Ella thought about that for a moment, while she fiddled with her egg and cheese biscuit. “Can I just say it’s a store that’s in walking distance from our house?”

Alisha laughed. “There aren’t any stores in walking distance from our house. We live in Graystone Estates, remember?”

“The store is only about a mile away, Mom.”

Alisha remembered now that about a week ago, Ella had asked her to keep track of her car’s odometer when they went food shopping. So, she had an idea of which store it might be, probably either the drug store, or the grocery store. “Okay, but I’ll have to drive you to the store, because you can’t walk there. The main road doesn’t have sidewalks all the way to your secret destination.” She gave her daughter a conspiratorial wink. “We can go this afternoon if you like. Maybe we’ll both get our nails done, too.”

Ella shrugged her shoulders and said, “Maybe.” Alisha shook her head. Her daughter was more like her grandmother than her mother. Ella even mimicked her grandmother’s facial expressions and her way of talking. The way she said the word, ‘maybe’ was a perfect example.

After breakfast, Ella told her mother she was going to the little park that sat in the middle of the subdivision. She didn’t feel like she was lying, exactly, she would be walking through the park on her way to the store. It was cold out, only 25 degrees that morning, but she dressed warmly, including a red woolen hat, a scarf and mittens.  She walked quickly, paying strict attention to her surroundings and the traffic along the main road. Since she knew what she wanted to buy, she was sure she would only need a few minutes in the store. She would be back home in time for lunch.

Her journey seemed to go by quickly. As she walked through the store’s parking lot, she suddenly became aware of snowflakes falling. They were rapid and tiny, certainly not flurries, but she didn’t realize that. She was just happy it was snowing a little bit on Christmas Eve. She had never experienced a white Christmas. 

She entered the store, an antique shop she had been to recently, with her mother. The store was decorated for Christmas with lots of lights, several Christmas trees and ornaments for sale at every booth. She reached into her pocket and felt the fifty-dollar bill she’d tucked away. The store wasn’t very large, but it was big enough for a pot-bellied stove. A fire was burning in the stove and she stood in front of it trying to warm up after her walk.

“Hello! How may I help you, young lady?” The store’s owner, a plump woman, dressed garishly for Christmas, with an ugly holiday sweater and ornament style earrings, walked over to her. “I’m looking for Santa mugs.”

“Oh my! Which ones? We have a number of them,” the woman answered.

“They’re old.” Ella had not expected the woman’s question.

She laughed. “Everything in our store is old. Can you describe them?”

Ella was beginning to get nervous now. “Maybe.” She hesitated. “I’m sure I’d recognize them if I saw them.”

The owner made a sweeping gesture with her arm. “Why not take a walk through the store, then and see if there is something you might like. Just remember if you break something, you will have to pay for it.”

Ella walked through the store, checking each booth. The woman was right. There were a good number of Santa mugs. This was taking longer than she expected. She thought she found them once, but then she noticed that they were a little bit bigger than she thought her grandmother would like. Finally, she found what she was looking for. She recognized Santa’s rosy cheeks and he was winking with his right eye. They looked just the way her grandma had described them at Thanksgiving dinner a year ago. Alisha had asked her mother if she still had the Santa mugs she’d used for Christmas morning coffee every year. She’d said, “I must have lost them when we moved. I can’t find them.  The price tag said, 1960s vintage Santa mugs, which excited her at first. Then she noticed the price: $65.00!  

The owner walked over to her, acting casual, but checking on the little girl. “Did you find the ones you were looking for?” She asked.

“Yes,” she whispered. Ella didn’t like to cry. Her mother was fond of saying she didn’t even cry much as a baby, even when she was hungry or needed a diaper change. Yet, she could feel tears welling up. Unable to hold them back she said, “I wanted to buy these for my grandmother for Christmas, but I only have $50.00.”

The woman pretended not to notice Ella’s tears. She sensed it would embarrass the girl. “I’ll tell you what I’ll do. This item wasn’t put in this booth by the woman who rents it. A friend of hers asked if she could place it here. The mugs have been here since September. Maybe the seller will take less for them. I’ll give her a call. Wait right here, dear.”

The owner checked her log book and found the number she was looking for. She called the woman who was selling the mugs and explained the situation. “What would you like to do?”

The seller didn’t hesitate. “Go ahead and sell them to her for $50.00 including the tax. I love the idea of a grandmother getting such a thoughtful gift from her grandchild. I’m happy the mugs will be appreciated.” She could easily imagine her own granddaughter doing something just like that. 

The owner took Ella’s money and carefully wrapped the four Santa mugs for her. “I hope you live nearby, it’s cold and the snow is sticking to the ground.”

Ella said, “I do,” and hurried out the door. It was snowing harder now and it was indeed sticking. The streets were getting slippery. She was wearing her tennis shoes and doing her best to walk quickly without losing her balance. About half-way home, she slipped and hit the pavement hard. It stung, but she was proud of herself. She had protected her grandma’s mugs. It seemed like it took forever, but she finally arrived at the entrance to her subdivision.

Immediately, she knew she was in trouble. Her mother was driving her SUV up the street, traveling very slowly. Ella wasn’t much later than she thought she would be, but late enough to make her mother worry. And, with the snow, it was dark for early afternoon. She got into the car. Neither of them spoke. Her mother turned the car around. Ella could see she was fighting back tears. Alicia picked up her cellphone and called Brett. “I have her.”

As they drove to their house, in spite of being in trouble, Ella was happy. She’d accomplished her mission. She looked at the houses as they rode. The Christmas lights on most of the houses were already lit. It looked especially pretty. As they turned the corner onto their street, her mother finally spoke to her. “You’re lucky it’s Christmas Eve, Ella. How could you worry me like that?”

“I’m sorry Mom. I didn’t think I would be gone very long.”

“Are you going to tell me what’s in your bag?”

They pulled into their driveway and waited for the garage door to open. “I’d rather not. Can you wait until we’re at Grandma’s tomorrow?”

Alicia looked at her daughter. She smiled in spite of herself. She was so relieved that Ella was safe, she couldn’t scold her. “Okay.”

On Christmas Day, after they’d had a delicious dinner, it was time to open presents. Ella had been so excited that, except for her grandmother’s dressing and candied sweet potatoes, she could hardly eat. “Grandma, will you open the gift I got you first?”

Ella’s grandmother said, “Would you like that?” She picked up the beautifully wrapped box. “Did you wrap this yourself?”

“Mostly,” Ella glanced at her mother. “Mom helped a little.”

When she opened the box and saw the Santa mugs, she cried. “I love them!” She struggled to fight back tears. “You picked these out? How did you know I wanted these?”

“You talked about them last year on Thanksgiving. You said you lost them, remember?” Ella’s eyes were shining brighter than the tree lights.

“I remember.” She also remembered that she’d found the mugs and on impulse decided to sell them. A friend of hers, an antique dealer had offered to put the mugs in her booth. While she carefully placed the Santa mugs in her China cabinet, she said a silent prayer that Ella would never know she bought the mugs from her grandmother.