“I heard a man say something about a woman stumbling out of the restaurant, hollering and screaming and running down the middle of the street. Probably just one of them slow-wit retarded souls having a fit,” I replied, cranking up the motor.

“That poor woman. I bet it was because of a man.”

“I bet it was, too. Even retarded women can be fools when it comes to men. I’m glad we didn’t witness it. Something like that would have gave the boys nightmares and I—” A commotion in the back seat interrupted me. “Boys, stop kicking and punching one another or I’m going to get back out of this car and go get a switch,” I scolded. The chaos stopped right away. I rarely had to whup my boys, but I was the kind of parent who believed in chastising kids whenever it was necessary. Usually, a warning about a switch was all it took for them to act right. They was as quiet as mice now, and that made me beam with pride on how well we was raising them. Another thing I believed in was rewarding good behavior. “Y’all want to sing some more songs, or want me to tell a Christmas story?”

“Daddy, tell us the one again about the three wise guys that came to bring presents to baby Jesus when he was born,” Daniel said with a anxious look on his face.

Me and Betty Jean laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Daniel asked.

“Son, it’s not ‘wise guys,’ it’s the three wise men,” I corrected. All three boys sat still and didn’t say another word until after I finished telling the story. It was one of their favorites and I enjoyed telling it.

When we got in the house, the boys ran to their room. Me and Betty Jean took off our coats, hung them on the hook by the door, and eased down on the living-room couch. “Baby, thanks for picking out such a nice tree.”

“Thank you, sugar. And the best thing about it is that it was free.” I laughed.

“Now all it needs is some presents under it,” she hinted, giving me a hopeful look.

“Don’t worry about that. We’ll get some of our shopping done tomorrow and next weekend. This year’s Christmas will be our best one ever,” I assured her.