Silent Night

We had reached the massive door.

“So, Spenser, will we see you at Christmas Mass this morning?”

“I am afraid not, Father. But believe me, I will be giving thanks.”

“And we will be praying for you. And we will be praying for Juan Alvarez and his family as well. We are all God’s children, regardless of our faith or our deeds.”

“‘Those I fight I do not hate; those I guard I do not love,’” I said.

“‘And say my glory was I had such friends,’” Father Ahearn said, and we walked together toward the front of the church. People were begi

“My father gave me a book of his poetry when I was a boy,” I said.

Father Ahearn shook my hand. “Merry Christmas, Spenser. May God be with you.”

“And also with you, Father.” I said. Some things you just didn’t forget.

SUSAN HAD SET THE TABLE, and it was worthy of a spread in Architectural Digest. First an antique white linen tablecloth, then tall, delicate red wine goblets from a Venetian glassblower. Green linen napkins, big ones, enough to withstand the rigors of the turducken mess, or whatever Pearl didn’t get to first. The silver place settings, the pattern elegant in its simplicity, gleamed.

I poured champagne for all but Slide, who was having orange juice with a big maraschino cherry. We sat in a circle. Carmen and Susan were on the sofa, with Pearl between them. The women were admiring the pin Slide had given Carmen. I sat in an armchair opposite them, Slide on a footstool inspecting the blue Razor that Carmen had given him, and Hawk was in the loveseat opposite me.

I had finished the sweet potatoes, the brussels sprouts with walnuts, and savoy cabbage. The gravy was made. The turducken had come out of the oven and was loosely tented with aluminum foil, waiting for its half-hour before it had rested enough to carve. Pearl’s gaze had not wavered.

Paul had called just before we sat down, and Susan and I took turns talking with him. We would visit him in January, after the debris was cleared from Times Square.

Carmen and Susan were doing most of the talking. Hawk and I were content to look and listen.

“Hawk,” Susan said, “do you have a special holiday tradition, other than spending the day with Spenser and me?”

“Celtics–Lakers game on at four,” he said. “Thought I’d ask if I could watch it here.”

Susan pointed at me. “He seems to know how to get sports on my television.”

Hawk smiled. “I know that’s not the only reason he come over here. Never understood the reason why you let him in.”

“So what do you think Vi

“Vi

Silence filled the room.

“What a delightful Christmas story,” Susan said. “Thank you, Hawk.”

“’Course.” Hawk smiled. “You did ask.”

She lifted her glass to me, and then included all of us. “I think it’s time for a toast. Merry Christmas to all, and how lucky we are to spend it together.”

The di

“An engineering masterpiece,” Susan said. Carmen raised her glass of champagne. “Are we lucky, or what?”

Hawk took a forkful and said, “I got to admit, I feel sorry for all those folks out there with their little bitty one-bird di

I dropped a bite on the floor with furtive dexterity so that Pearl could partake. The faces around the table were a little different this year. And that was good.

AFTER DINNER, SUSAN STARTED to clear the table.

“Leave those,” I said. “Hawk and I will take care of the dishes.”

“In that case,” Susan said, “I think I’ll have a quick lie-down. Watching you cook is exhausting.”

I promised to call her in an hour.

Hawk, Carmen, Slide, and I formed a pretty efficient kitchen crew. The dishes were washed and put away, and the kitchen was as spotless as if we’d never been there.

“I think Slide needs to run around outside a little,” Carmen said. “It’s not good for a boy to be stuck inside all day.”

“There’s too much snow to use the Razor,” I said. “I think there’s an old basketball in the closet. There’s a hoop up on the garage door. I brought it over here once to fool myself into thinking I’d get some exercise. You two can practice.”

“I love a challenge.” Carmen gri

“You going to come, too, Hawk?” Slide asked.

“No,” he said. “Game’s about to start. Plus, playing in the snow’s bad for my image.”

Slide and Carmen bundled up against the cold. I rummaged around the closet and found the basketball. We went outside, and Slide started ru

Carmen and I watched Slide. I said, “You serve a table knife with amazing power. You’re good.”

“Thanks. That’s years of practice. We were so poor back in Puerto Rico, my dad gave me anything handy to practice my serve with. He’d have me toss ’em up in the air over and over again. Then get my racquet back and swing using my wrist.” She paused. “He taught me to defend myself, too. I guess the other night the two came together. Instinct. I saw that gun and grabbed whatever was handy and used everything I had ever learned about speed, accuracy, and power.” She looked up at me. “Lucky, right?”

“Maybe you were lucky he was a slow draw. I’d say it had more to do with courage and talent than luck. Now that you are free of Juan, what are you going to do?” I smiled at her. “You don’t have to look for trouble.”

“I thought I might help Jackie at Street Business. And take Slide to live with me. We both need to go back to school.” She smiled at me.

I gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Merry Christmas, sport.”

I left them and went back inside.

Hawk was standing by the window in Susan’s living room, watching Slide and Carmen play in the front yard. The NBA pregame show was on the television. Stuart Scott was bantering with Mike Tirico in Los Angeles.

“Well,” I said, “another successful Spenser family Christmas.”

“Look like the family gets a little bigger this year,” Hawk said.

“Perhaps,” I said. Hawk continued staring out the window.

“Trying to memorize the recipe for turducken?”

Hawk shook his head.

“Thinkin’ ’bout them,” he said.

“What about them?”

“What we did.”

I considered that for a moment.

“We went in there knowing we had to protect Carmen and Slide.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Right. Protecting a woman and a little boy. What in the world were you thinking?” I was trying to make a joke, but Hawk had gone somewhere else.

“Wasn’t thinking,” he said. “You know how it is. Situation like that, you don’t think, you just act.”