Chapter 30 thirty

Gage's viral cold lasted another week, and he recovered, and a week later he had another bout of bronchitis, which later caught Ellie and Rachel, and in the run-up to Christmas, the three of them walked together. Coughing everywhere, like an old greyhound wheezing.Louis was not sick, and Rachel deliberately stayed away from him so that he would not catch the infection. The last week of school before winter break was a tuberculosis week for Louis, Steve, Haddou, and Charlton. A case of tuberculosis and pneumonia.Two days before the Christmas break, six drunk schoolboys moaning in agony were sent to the infirmary by their friends.It's confusing at first, reminiscent of that nasty morning in Pascoe, and then it turns out that these six bloody fools were huddled down the hill on a medium-sized sled (Louis speculated that the sled was actually too small, the sixth person sits on the shoulders of the last person).They cheered as the sled accelerated, but then the sled went off track and crashed into a Civil War cannon.The result was two broken arms, a wrist, seven ribs, a concussion, and countless bruises.Only the guy sitting on someone else's shoulders was unhurt.When the sled hit the cannon, the lucky fellow flew out, over the cannon, and fell headfirst into a snowdrift.There's no laughing matter in dealing with these guys' wounds, and Louis scolded them sternly as he sewed and bandaged them.But then when he told Rachel about it, he laughed again until he burst into tears.Rachel looked at him strangely, not understanding what was so funny.Louis couldn't tell her it was a stupid accident, that people were hurt, but they quickly forgot about it.Louis's laugh was part relief and part triumph.Louis, won again today, and healed these patients.

The family recovered from bronchitis on December 16th, the day Ellie's school was about to end, and the four decided to have a happy, old-fashioned country Christmas.The North Lutheran house had looked so strange when they moved in August, not only strange, but even malicious, because Ellie had cut her leg that day and Gage had been stung by a bee.Now they feel very dear, completely at home. On Christmas Eve, after the kids were finally asleep, Louis and Rachel stole from upstairs to downstairs like thieves, arms full of brightly colored boxes—one for Gage A set of racecars the size of a matchbox, and he's been particularly fond of toy cars lately; there's Barbie and Kane dolls for Ellie, a large tricycle, clothes for the dolls, a toy stove with a small light bulb, and a few other things.

The two sit under a tree with twinkling lights and arrange gifts for the children together.Rachel was in silk pajamas, Louis was in a nightgown.He thought he was as happy as he had ever been that evening, with a fire burning in the hearth and the two of them throwing in a piece of birch now and then. Church the cat rubbed against Louis once and he pushed it away in disgust, he couldn't stand the smell.Then he saw Church trying to lie down next to Rachel's lap, and Rachel pushed it too, and said impatiently, "Shh, go away!" A moment later he saw his wife rubbing her lap hands, the way people sometimes think they might touch something dirty, and he doesn't think Rachel even realizes what she's doing.

Churchey walked slowly to the brick stove and fell awkwardly.Now the cat seems to be walking without any dexterity.Louis thinks it started that night, and Church seems to have lost something else.Louis was aware of it, but it took him a full month to figure out what it was.The cat no longer purrs contentedly, and used to purr loudly when she slept.Sometimes Louis had to get up at night and close the door of Ellie's room to fall asleep. But now the cat sleeps soundlessly as a stone, as if dead. No, he remembered, with one exception.The night he slept on the sofa bed, with Church curled up like a smelly blanket on his chest, Church had whined that night, made some noise anyway.

But as Chad knew or guessed, it wasn't all bad.Louis found a broken glass behind the furnace in the basement, and if it hadn't been for Church the cat, he might not have found out for weeks or months. It was true that Allie didn't want the kitten to sleep in her bed with her anymore.But sometimes she puts the cat to sleep on her lap while she watches TV.But there must have been many times when the kitten was dangling in the bag of Ellie's electric bicycle, and Ellie would just let it stay for a while and then push it to the ground and say, "Go away, Church, You stinky cat.” Ellie still feeds it often, and still loves it, even Gage pulls the kitten’s tail from time to time, of course it is friendly, not malicious, just like a little monk pulling a furry clock like a rope.Church would slump under the radiator at such times, out of Gage's reach.

With dogs, Louis thought, we might observe more differently, but cats are very independent.Always alone, weird, even crazy, no wonder the queens and pharaohs of ancient Egypt would have their cats made into mummies and buried under the pyramids with them, so that they could go to another world where cats can keep their souls company.Cats are somewhat mystical and supernatural. "Sir, is the electric tricycle ready?" Louis pushed the loaded car and let out a "da da da." Rachel pointed to the bag and the three or four extra plastic parts inside and said, "What are those for?"

Louis said with a guilty smile, "It's a spare part." "You're hoping it's a spare, but Ellie's going to break her neck if it's not installed properly." "Not now," Louis said, deliberately maliciously. "That's not going to happen until she's 12 and shows off her new skateboard." Rachel moaned under her breath and said, "Well, doc, you have mercy on saying things like that!" Louis stood up, put his hands on his waist, twisted his body, and his spine shuddered: "All the toys are ready." "And it's all complete, remember last year?" Rachel giggled.Louis laughed too.Last year it seemed like every toy they bought needed to be assembled and they worked until 4am on Christmas morning, both whining and unhappy.By Christmas afternoon Ellie decided those toy boxes were way more fun than toys.

"Damn-sick!" Louis said, imitating Elle. Rachel said, "Okay, let's go to bed, I have a present for you earlier." Louis straightened his body and said, "Ma'am, that's my right." "Don't even think about it," Rachel said, laughing, covering her mouth with her hand.At that moment she looked so much like Allie and...Gage. Louis said, "Wait a minute, I have something to do." He hurried to the hall closet and brought back one of his boots.He opened the glass door covering the stove. "Louis, what are you doing?" "Just watch!"

The fire on the left side of the fireplace has been extinguished, leaving only a thick layer of ash.Louis put the boot in, making a deep shoe print.Then he took the boot like a big rubber stamp and made a few shoe prints outside the fireplace. Then he put the boots back in the closet and said, "Okay, do you like it?" Rachel giggled again and said, "Louis, Ally's going to be dumbfounded." In the past two weeks, when Ellie was in school, she had been hearing children in the kindergarten say that Santa Claus was actually Mom and Dad, which made her a little puzzled.This thought was reinforced by Ellie's sight of a skinny Santa a few days ago while passing an ice cream parlor in the Bangor Mall.The Santa sat on a stool at the counter, pulling his beard aside so he could eat the ice cream.The sight bothered Ellie, though Rachel explained to her that the Santas in the store and in the ice cream parlor were sent to help by the real Santa, who was busy reading the letters the children wrote him and List of gifts for the kids, but Ellie still doesn't believe it.

Louis closed the oven door carefully, and now there were two footprints in the fireplace.One in the ashes, one on the hearth.Both shoe prints were facing the Christmas tree, as if Santa Claus had just landed one foot on the ground and immediately stepped out to deliver gifts to the family.This feeling is perfect, but if you pay attention, you will find that both shoe prints are left by the left foot.Louis wondered if Allie could figure it out. Rachel kissed Louis and said, "I love you, Louis." Louis smiled happily and said, "Honey, you're married to a big winner, follow me and I'll make you a star." They headed for the stairs, Louis pointing to the oatmeal Ellie put on the table in front of the TV. Biscuits and two bagels, and a can of beer with Elle's big letters on it: "For Santa."Louis said, "Would you like a biscuit, or a bagel?" Rachel said, "Wrapping." She picked up a bagel and ate half of it.

Louis opened the tab of the beer can and said, "I'm going to get a sour stomach with a beer this late." "Lie," Rachel said cheerfully. "Come on, Doc." Louis put down his beer, and suddenly grabbed the pocket of his nightgown as if remembering something, and took out a small box from it, although he had been thinking about the small, heavy box in his pocket all night.Louis handed it to his wife and said, "This is for you, you can open it now, it's past midnight. Merry Christmas, baby." Rachel unwrapped the wrapped blue ribbon, peeled back the shiny silver wrapper, and held a small box in her hand. "Louis, what is this?" Louis shrugged. "Soap, shampoo samples. I forgot all about it." Rachel opened the box upstairs and screamed when she saw it was a Tiffany jewelry box.She pulled out the cotton pad inside and stood there with her mouth open, looking at the box. Louis, who had never bought his wife a piece of real jewelry before, was a little nervous and asked anxiously, "How is it? Do you like it?" Rachel took out the necklace, holding the exquisite gold chain in her finger, and holding a small sapphire pendant in the other hand, looking at the light in the living room. The sapphire slowly rotated, scattering blue light. "Oh, Louis, it's so beautiful——" Louis was moved and disturbed when he saw his wife crying with joy.He said, "Hey baby, come on. You put it on." "Louis, we can't afford it—you can't afford..." "Shhh," said Louis, "I've been quietly saving some money since last Christmas...and it's not as expensive as you might think." "how much is it?" "Rachel, I didn't want you to know." Louis said seriously. "I wouldn't tell even if a large group of people tortured me, but I'll tell you, $2,000." "$2,000!" Rachel said, startled, and suddenly hugged Louis so tightly that he nearly fell down the stairs.Rachel continued, "Louis, you're crazy!" "Put it on," Louis said again, and he helped his wife fasten the necklace.Rachel turned to look at him and said, "I want to go upstairs and have a look. I'm going to make myself pretty." Louis said, "Go get dressed, I'll get the kitten out and turn off the lights." Rachel looked Louise in the eye and said, "When we made love later, I was wearing nothing but this necklace." Louis said, "Go get dressed, then." Rachel laughed out loud. Louis went downstairs to find Church, holding the kitten in his arms.He didn't use the broom to chase the cat away these days, and despite some strange things happened, he was used to the kitten again.He turned off the light and walked to the door.As he opened the kitchen and garage doors, a cold draft swirled around his feet. "Merry Christmas, Yau—" Louis stopped. On the mat at the door lay a dead crow, its head bitten off and one wing torn off, lying beside it like a piece of black charcoal.Church immediately squirmed free from Louis' grasp and jumped to the ground, eagerly digging at the already stiff dead crow with his nose.When Louis watched, the kitten stretched its head forward and its ears pricked up. Louis was so frightened that before he turned his head away, the kitten had already pulled out one of the little bird's bright eyes. Church is preying on small animals again, Louis thought a little disgustedly.He turned his head away from the eye sockets of the bloody bird with holes.I shouldn't be afraid, I shouldn't.I've seen worse than that, oh yeah, like Pascoe, Pascoe was worse when he died, much worse— But Louis was still uneasy.His stomach turned over.The sexual desire that was still hot just now was gone.God, that bird was almost as big as a kitten, and the kitten must have caught it by surprise.This door, the way of this door!It has to be cleaned.Nobody wants that kind of gift on Christmas morning.It's his responsibility, isn't it?Of course it was his responsibility, who else could it be?Subconsciously, he recalled the night his wife and children came home, and he had intentionally knocked over the tire in the garage to cover the mouse that the kitten had killed. Men's hearts are harder.The thought was so strong, so real, that Louis staggered, as if Jud had tapped him on the shoulder as he spoke. Men reap what they sow, and what they sow, they reap what they do. Churchy was still hungrily hunching over the bird, now eating the wing, as it tugged.There was an unpleasant rustling sound.Don't take it off the ground, Orville.Yes, Wilbur, a dead horse is like shit, better feed it to a cat than— Louis kicked Church suddenly, hard.The kitten fell to the ground on all fours, got up, looked at Louis again with those vicious green-yellow eyes, and walked away. Louis was also like a cat, and said fiercely: "I will let you eat." "Louis," Rachel's voice came faintly from their bedroom, "won't you sleep yet?" "It's coming." Louis replied loudly.But I said in my heart, Rachel, I have to get rid of this mess of dead birds here, okay?Because I caused it.He fumbled to turn on the light in the garage, then quickly walked over to the cabinet under the kitchen sink to get a large green garbage bag, went back to the garage, got the shovel from the wall, scooped up the dead bird with the shovel, and threw it into the bag inside.Then he scooped up the missing wing, put it in a bag, tied the top of the bag, and threw it into the trash can.After doing all this, he felt that his ankles were almost numb. Church stood at the garage door, and Louis swung his shovel threateningly at it, and the kitten scurried away. Upstairs, Rachel was lying on the bed naked, wearing only the sapphire necklace as she said, and she said to Louis with a lazy smile, "Sir, what took you so long?" Louis replied, "The light over the kitchen sink didn't work, I changed the light bulb." "Come here," Rachel said, pulling Louis gently.Then he sang softly with a smile on his lips: "If you're asleep, Santa knows, and if you're awake, Santa knows... Oh, my God, dear Louis, what's this?" Louis took off his pajamas and said, "Something that just woke up to move around, I guess. Maybe we should see if we can get it to quiet down before Santa arrives, you say?" Rachel propped herself up on one hand and kissed Louis, and he felt her warm, sweet breath. Rachel went on singing staccatoly, "Santa knows, if you're a good kid or a bad kid...so be a good kid...for God's sake, Louis, have you been a good kid?" "I guess so," Louis gasped. Rachel said, "Let's see if you have a good baby." The sex was satisfying, but Louis didn't fall asleep as easily as he used to, forgetting about himself, his wife and his life.Lying in bed, listening to his wife's slow, deep breathing in the darkness of Christmas morning, he thought of the dead bird by the door, a Christmas present from Church the cat.This gift seemed to tell him: Remember me, Dr. Creed, I lived, I died, and now I live again.I have gone through a reincarnation, and I am here to tell you that men reap what they sow, and what they reap, they will reap what they have done.Don't forget, Dr. Creed, I am now part of what you planted, your wife, your daughter, your son, and me.Remember this secret and take good care of it. At some point, Louis fell asleep.