A Surprise for Elena

"Gracias for coming, Regina. I wanted to ask you for your help," Mama Reynaldo said with a warm smile. She drew the young girl into the bedroom closest to the kitchen, opened the armoire and pulled something from one of the bottom shelves. As Mama unwrapped the fabric, Regina gasped. The fabric was gorgeous and beautifully embroidered.

"It's so pretty!" Regina blurted out, reaching out to touch it.

"I was hoping you'd try the dress on for me. You and Elena are very much the same size and I need to see if it fits. I don't have much time to make alterations."

"I don't mind. It will just be tough taking it off and giving it back, but I'm happy to help," Regina said.

"Bueno, I shall be back in a few minutes. If you need help with the buttons, just call for me," Mama said. "And gracias... thank you... Regina."

A Request from Mama Reynaldo

"Regina! Hóla, Regina!"

It was Elena's brother Armando calling her. The girls had left the house itself and were sitting in the dark coolness of the nearby barn, playing with a litter of three week old kittens. The little cats' eyes had recently opened and were a beautiful blue. Their ears were also open and stuck up like little peaks from their furred heads. They were adorable.

"What does he want with you now?" Elena complained. "We watched the niños all morning. Surely we deserve some time to rest."

"And some quiet. Those kids were full of energy and so noisy!" Regina laughed as she set the little black and white kitten back in the straw beside its mother. "I'll go see what Armando wants."

As she excited the dim light of the barn, Regina shielded her eyes from the bright sun. Armando spotted her before she could call out to him and dashed over.

"Is Elena with you?" he asked in hushed tones.

"She's in the barn, why?"

"I need to talk to you. Mama has a plan," Armando said, glancing toward the barn with a mischievous grin. "Go on. Go find Mama in the salon. I'll stall Elena."

Regina looked doubtfully at him and took an involuntary step toward the barn. Armando reached out and took hold of her shoulders.

"No, the salon. Please. Mama sent me and she needs your help. Go on now," Armando's tone was insistent.

"Fine, fine. I'll go," she replied. "But please make sure Elena knows it's your fault I'm gone, OK?"

"Whatever you say, chica," Armando laughed quietly. "Now go on before she comes out. Hurry!"

Breakfast

If she'd thought she would be lonely and sad without her grandfather during the holidays, Regina was very mistaken. The Reynaldo household was bustling. Aunts and uncles (tías and tíos as they were called) had come for Christmas and brought their children, their animals, their parents. Regina and Elena were pressed into service watching the children each morning while the women cooked and chattered away. The smells wafting from the kitchen made them all hungry - it was tough to keep the little ones out of the hacienda's kitchen until desayuno or breakfast.

When they finally sat down to eat, Regina's stomach was grumbling loudly. "Mmm, this looks delicious, Elena," she whispered. "Thanks again for bringing me to your home. There's nothing they serve as Miss Porter's that tastes this delicious."

"Thanks, but make sure you tell madre that, Regina." Elena replied, shooting a glance down the length of the table toward her mother. "She worried that you wouldn't like the food."

"But 'Lena," Regina protested. "I've stayed with you before and I love your mother's cooking. She knows that doesn't she?"

"Yes, but you've never stayed so long and she's not just cooking for us this time. She's got a whole houseful of relatives who expect the usual holiday fare. Plus, she likes you. She wants you to be happy." Elena shrugged and forked another bite of chorizo and eggs into her mouth.

"I'll be sure to tell her then," Regina said and fell silent as both girls ate their fill.

Christmas at Elena's

Elena and Regina were packed and waiting outside the school's front gate when her family wagon pulled up. There had been carts and wagons arriving all day, hauling laughing girls away with their happy families. Elena didn't ask but she thought Regina was watching the other girls wistfully as they hugged and kissed their parents. She hoped she was right, that they'd have a good time at her family home. Elena wanted to put a smile back on Regina's face again.

"There you are, chicas. The two most beautiful ladies in Santa Barbara. Ahora, Armando, load up their bags," Papa ordered. "Time to head out. Mama has been cooking all day. She can't wait to see the two of you again."

Regina clambered up into the back of the wagon behind Elena and settled in. She'd come to enjoy watching the scenery - it was so different than back home in Kentucky, but still lovely. For the next several weeks she would pretend to be a member of the wonderful, big, noisy Reynaldo family. She would keep busy and forget how far away she was from her own home and her Pappy. It would be a sad Christmas but maybe if she kept busy, stayed occupied, she wouldn't cry too much.

Sarah's Letter to Jo

My Dearest Josephine,

My sweet Jo, it was so wonderful to hear you are doing so well. Your father and I are very proud of you--you have been so brave and strong. I do hope you have been getting a chance to be to yourself and find out what you might want to do later on. I have been thinking about you so much, you have been in my dreams and I know you should listen to what I am about to say next: I want you to come home for a week. I want you to leave school and come home and sit with me and stroll the grounds with Sugarbees and listen to your father read his stories to you at night. I want you back for a spell, love. Please consider this. Grant would love to have you back too. I know the holidays are a dance to tiptoe around, your father and I can figure out a way. Let me know as soon as you can. I am missing my little heart.

With all my love,
Mom

Layers

It was nearly a month and a half since Josephine had written Malcolm and Sarah, and the Ayers' were beginning to worry about their only daughter. More accurately, Sarah was beginning to worry. Her last letter seemed too chipper--almost false. Josephine had never been one of those girls that giggled and flounced in petticoats, but maybe this new school and the wealthy girls there were shaping their tomboy into some kind of debutante. But more than that, Sarah could sense--as mothers always do--Jo was hiding her true feelings from them. Probably so Malcolm wouldn't worry. Jo knew her papa would only concern himself with her if she let on something might be amiss. Sarah thought of this and smiled faintly at the idea of Josephine learning all too quickly how to get along in this world. With a mind to really hear from her daughter, Sarah sat at the dining room table and started a letter.

Sunshine for Christmas

Regina was spending a lot of time studying for her final exams. Back in Kentucky, they'd never had finals and only rarely had they been given tests. Sometimes Miss Smith would call them to the front of the class to recite their lessons, but here at Miss Porter's they wrote papers, had exams, stood at the front of the class to recite their lessons and all sorts of other tortures. After she studied for her History test, she had a paper to do for English. And there was still Latin and sometime she had to find time to practice her music lessons.

Faith, Regina's wealthy and spoiled roommate, continued her campaign to get a new room, preferably one she didn't have to share. The two girls had nothing in common and spent almost no time together. Even now, Regina was studying in the school's small library to stay out of the way of Faith and her wrath. Faith had continued to ridicule Regina's accent, even though nearly everyone else found it charming and barely noticeable.

According the communications Miss Porter had had with her Grandfather, Regina would be spending the Christmas holidays with Elena and her family at their rancho. While Regina loved her visits with Elena's family, she missed her Pappy. Especially now that it was getting closer to Christmas, her heart ached more frequently as her thoughts turned more frequently to Pappy and the holidays they'd shared in Kentucky. She hadn't had a letter from Pappy in almost a month and if she'd had more time to think about it, she'd have been worried. As it was, Regina was concerned, but she was snowed under with schoolwork. She was doing well in her classes, but she was also working nonstop. To be fair, almost all the girls at Miss Porter's were working just as hard or harder so Regina didn't feel put-upon.

Faith didn't feel the same. She griped and moaned and sometimes paid other students to do her work for her. Once, Mr. Tufts, their English teacher had caught Faith turning in a paper that had several phrases that were identical to another girl's paper from the previous year. Mr Tufts ordered Faith to serve a month's detention as well as Saturday study hall. By rights, Faith should have been expelled for cheating, but apparently her father had made a hefty donation to the school's scholarship fund and the girl was allowed to remain. The other girls who knew the situation grumbled about a double standard but no one wanted to confront Faith about her behavior.

Elena found Regina sitting at one of the tables near the window at the back of the library. Surrounded by stacks of books, Regina was in her element.

"Hey, chica," Elena whispered, and smiled. "Almost done here?"

"Yeah, I guess. This term paper's nearly done," Regina said. "I've got the notes to finish it later. What's up?"

"I just wanted to talk to you about Christmas," Elena replied. "I'm excited that you're coming home with me. Aren't you excited?"

Regina sighed and closed her book and shuffled her papers into some sort of order. "I'm really looking forward to it. But I miss my Pappy, Elena. I really miss him," she said sadly. "Don't be mad, but this is my first time to have a Christmas apart from everyone in my family. It's hard."

Elena nodded, lips pressed tightly together. "I know, chica. But this won't be like your Christmas at home. In California, it's sunny for Christmas. We'll eat pollo asado and churros and chile rellenos. It won't seem like Christmas, I promise. Besides, the presents arrive on Dia de Los Tres Reyes. On Christmas Eve, there'll be La Posada. It's a reenactment of Mary and Joseph's search for a place to spend the night when they arrived in Bethlehem. We get to carry candles and sing songs."

"La Posada means 'the inn' doesn't it?" Regina asked.

"It sure does," Elena responded with a grin. "You're going to be speaking Spanish in no time."

"I don't know about that, but do you really have sunshine on Christmas?"

"Usually."

"I've seen sun on Christmas Day but usually it's pretty cold and sometimes there's snow," Regina said. "I bet you never get snow here, do you?"

"Nope, never," Elena said thoughtfully. "That would be fun though. I like snow. My Padre took us to the mountains to visit the snow once. It's a long journey though."

Regina gathered up her books and papers and smiled as the librarian, a plump older woman who also served as the house mother for the younger girls' dormitory, came by to make her presence known and, possibly, to shush them. Elena and Regina were silent as she walked past them slowly.

"Come on," Elena hissed. "Let's get out of here!"