Chocolate Thieves!
A Tumultuous Christmas Eve
JT and I were excited to be in Banff and went to explore the town while dad and Marilyn were involved in deep conversations with old friends over an early morning coffee.
It was Dec 24th and while the town was beautifully decorated, it was surprisingly quiet, snow falling gently.
Only minus 10 outside, so still enjoyable - we were incredibly lucky this time of year – and most especially we loved the Christmas shop downtown.
Wandering for hours, we snooped, poking around, looking to find a few items for dad, Marilyn and each other before heading back to the Paris restaurant and then back to Calgary and grandma.
Dreading supper, Omi, once a good cook, wasn’t very good at it any more and we all joked about the serious possibility of getting food poisoning tonight on Christmas Eve.
We all begged dad to cook – please – save us!
In an un-characteristically good mood Omi met us at the door, triumphantly showing off a package that had arrived from her sister in Europe – and important as that was – we need to hurry up, come in and go sit somewhere and be absolutely quiet, because her favorite TV show, the Young and Restless was on. Once that was finished, then we could speak …lol!
Rolling our eyes, JT and I headed off to one of the bedrooms to compare our treasures, hoping they would be liked.
Blaring TV and all, Omi was so involved in her program, it was like she was actually living it with the actors. The more twisted the plots the more excited and happier she became.
And then it was over.
She had gotten her fix and it was now time for her to turn her attention to her guests.
The mysterious package from Europe contained prized Belgian chocolates, Italian coffee, some brandy and liquer chocolates and Omi’s favorite pefferneuse cookies.
Happily she gathered them all up and disappeared into her room, only to emerge a few minutes later announcing she had put a Turkey in the oven and it should be ready soon – only it wasn’t.
There sat the raw bird in the oven – she had forgotten to turn it on.
It was too late for it to be ready for dinner and who knows how long it had been sitting there.
“We’re saved, someone heard and blessed us! Thank god for Swiss Chalet!” muttered Marilyn as dad headed out to pick up a family pack.
With laughter and good cheer, we all had a tasty, enjoyable meal and tired after a long day we all headed to bed, with JT and I sharing a room.
“GET UP – ONE OF YOU HAS STOLEN MY CHOCOLATES!” The bedroom door flung open and the lights flashed on.
Struggling to wake from our slumber neither JT or I knew what she was blathering about.
“I took my chocolates to my room, and now they are gone – one of you must have stolen it!” Omi cried.
It was 3 am, and now the whole house was wide awake.
Dad was aghast. Marilyn was just putting on her robe, and JT and I were struggling out of our blankets to head into the kitchen, explaining we had no idea what heck she was talking about.
Putting the coffee on, dad spoke to each of us quietly, while Omi rummaged through all of our suitcases looking for her missing chocolates. She even searched dad and Marilyn’s suitcases.
This was crazy.
Coming up empty handed, Omi insisted JT and I must have eaten them.
Having enough of her tantrum, dad asked her where she had put them. Under one of the pillows on her bed, she replied.
With all of us looking on, dad and Marilyn went into Omi’s room and lifted the pillows.
Nada. Nothing. Zip.
“See!” she exclaimed “I TOLD YOU SO!”
“One of these two, or both of them have stolen my chocolates!” she fumed, starting to once again ramp up into a full-blown snit fit.
Looking under the bed, Marilyn declared that she didn’t see them there either.
Getting frustrated, dad moved the mattress away from the wall, and lo and behold … there were the chocolates!
Happily, Omi grabbed her chocolates, not bothering to even say “thank you”, or “I’m sorry” while the rest of us trudged back to our rooms to try to get some sleep.
Next morning, before the sun broke the horizon, dad awoke JT and I, quietly whispering “Let them sleep, let’s go for a drive!”
And an adventure began … from Calgary to Cochrane, Canmore and Banff, back and up to Sundre, Olds and back down to Calgary, dad drove with us through a beautiful, magical Christmas winter wonderland, stopping in to pick up hot chocolate and a few goodies to munch on along the way when we spied a place open on Christmas day.
The heavy, gloomy darkness of the night before was forever changed, replaced with warmth and a sense of adventure.
Although different, it was delightful, heart-felt and beautiful – a time for us, a time for family to enjoy each others company, together.
It was one of the best Christmases EVER.