i stood in the cold little kitchen, misery overwhelmed me. for the first time in my life, i doubted the existence and his mercy, and the coldness in my heart was colder than ice.
the doorbell rang and peggy ran fleetly to answer it, calling that it must be santa claus. then i heard a man talking heartily to her and went to the door. he was a delivery man, and his arms were full of parcels. "this is a mistake," i said, but he read the name on the parcels and there were for me.
when he had gone i could only stare at the boxes. peggy and i sat on the floor and opened them. a huge doll, three times the size of the one i had bought for her. gloves. candy. a beautiful leather purse. incredible! i looked for the name of the sender. it was the teacher, the address was simply "california", where she had moved.
our dinner the nigh was the most delicious i had ever eaten. i forgot i had no money for the rent and only fifteen dollars in my purse and no job. my child and i ate and laughed together in happiness.
then we decorated the little tree and marveled at it. i put peggy to bed and set up her gifts around the tree and a sweet peace flooded me like a benediction. i had some hope again. i could even examine the sheaf of bills without cringing.