A Story a Month: December
Ubiquitous pinpricks of stars reflecting on the pristine blanket of white powder, two candles, and an elegant Christmas tree provided the perfect light for a night of gambling. The hour was near midnight, the moon was full, and the children were not in the least bit weary.
“Fold,” said Nick, scratching his beard. The children, with undeveloped poker faces, beaming madly. An attendant dressed in a green velvet tunic dealt three cards to a scrawny longhaired boy, one to a girl with pigtails, and another to the smallest boy with a twisted smile. The girl, eyes bright, raised her bet by adding two lumps of coal to the pot. The round continued until each child revealed their cards.
For the first boy, a pair of threes, the ace of spades, four of clubs, and jack of hearts.
The girl held a four of a kind.
The smaller boy had a two of hearts, a three of hearts, a queen and king of spades, and a nine of diamonds.
For the worst hand, the attendant pushed the pot toward the small boy. He hung his head in a dramatic manner, close to tears. The girl beside him patted his shoulder with delicate fingers, concealing her glee as she was skipped and the attendant dealt four lumps of coal--double his bet--to the oldest child at the game. She only had five lumps remaining, and the winner was the first to run out.
The prize was much better than in grown-up poker games.
As the attendant began to deal the next round, all eyes were upon the fourth player, a man who, although not the most skilled at cards, held the highest stakes for the game. To the kids across from him, he almost ruled the world and while they were hesitant to let him win, they each silently agreed that it would be better him than another opponent.
Thinking similar thoughts, the smallest boy pretended to look at the card table, while simultaneously keeping an eye on the glittering, glowing evergreen in the corner, laden with ornaments from every corner of the world. Hidden beneath the shield of branches and needles, boxes wrapped with silver foil stars and emerald holly and embroidered quotations wishing one happy holidays and season’s greetings whispered his name in taunting song. He didn’t like it, because he wanted to win and his pile of coal was twice the size of his sister’s. He crossed his arms in a pout, and refused to pick up his cards, certain that they would only increase his pile again.
“I quit.”
“The proper term is ‘fold’,” his older brother laughed. “And you can’t fold before you look at your cards.”
“I can do anything I want.”
“Okay, you can do anything you want,” he agreed. “I'd like two cards, please.” He returned two cards face-down to the attendant.
“Fine!” the smaller boy yelled to no one in particular, and picked up his hand. Instantly, a grin flashed across his face, giving away his cards as clearly as an x-ray could have. He pushed five lumps of coal toward the centre.
Nick scratched his white beard, kindness glittering in his eyes. He raised the bet by five.
Catching on, the older boy smiled and met the bet, although he had nothing but a pair of sixes.
The girl, momentarily overzealous, went all in, because she only had five lumps at the beginning of the round. She had not yet won, however, because the round was not yet over. She had four kings.
When the time came to reveal each hand, Nick and the oldest boy did so immediately and unemotionally, for they both knew they had not won.
The pot went to Nick, who accepted it with a smile. He did not want to win.
The girl and youngest boy both had empty piles before them, and by this point the girl had realised that her hand was not good enough to win. The smallest boy was grinning and jumping and shouting as he lay his hand on the table, knowing just enough about cards to see he could not be beaten.
On the wall farthest from the table, two scrolls of parchment displayed long lists of names, and as the youngest boy stopped to stare, his name materialised in embossed gold lettering at the bottom of the one entitled “Nice.”
Outside, against the backdrop of snow-laden pines, a sleigh was just beginning to be filled with the shimmering boxes that had previously been sheltered under the Christmas tree.
“Thank you” he called out, either to Nick or to his siblings, and then he ran outside and perched atop the sleigh, waiting. The attendant began to reshuffle the cards.