8

Crabapple Cove, Maine
Christmas Eve, 1954

The Pierce home was beautifully decorated for Christmas. Margaret was busily cooking for the guests. One by one the guests began arriving. Their guests were in awe of the twelve foot Christmas tree in the living room and the beautifully decorated house.

"Margaret! You are certainly not going to do all this cooking by yourself while we all sit in there and do nothing."

"Thank you, Mrs. Potter."

"So Margaret what are you cooking? And oh by the way the house next to us you and Hawk liked so much is up for sale."

"Is it? Oh Peg thats wonderful it would make the perfect summer home."

"So when are you and Hawk coming down to Boston again?"

"Well Louise how does the weekend after New Years sound?"

"Sounds great!"

"While you are in Boston you'll have to have dinner with Charles and I."

"That would be lovely Isabella."

"Margaret darling! Is dinner ready?"

"Almost Ben!"

When dinner was finally done the Pierces, Houlihans, Hunnicutts, McIntyres, Potters, O'Reillys, Klingers, Winchesters, Freedmans, and Fr. Mulcahy all sat around the long oak antique table to eat. After Fr. Mulcahy finished the blessing they all began to eat the meal that Margaret Pierce began and Peg Hunnicutt, Mildred Potter, Isabella Winchester, Louise McIntyre, Soon-Lee Klinger, Mrs. Houlihan, Ani Freedman and Edna and Patty O'Reilly all finished. After they had finished their meal of turkey ham and vegetables,they were all enjoying Margaret's homemade triple chocolate cake. They all washed it down with a nice dessert wine, most of them. Margaret sat at the table picking at her cake contemplating what she was about to do. She stood up and clinked her glass.

"I'd like to make an announcement, now I've known about this for about two weeks and I wanted to save it for tonight when we were all together."

"Come on Margaret spit it out," said B.J.

"Alright well anyway Ben has no idea what I'm going to say so here it goes, in about nine months I'm going to have a baby. Merry Christmas Ben, I've saving that as a present for you."

"Wow! Margaret thats the best present a man could ever get."

"Hot Dog! That sure is congratulations you two," said an over joyed Colonel Potter.

"Wow! Wow! I can't believe it, this is the best Christmas yet, Merry Christmas! and here's to family!" he says as he raises his glass in toast to his extended family.