Page 197 of How My Neighbour Stole Christmas
As Bob Krampus speaks to the crowd, laying out the rules of the competition today, I glance around the gym, noticing people from all over town.
The Dankworth kids sit in the very front, lined up from tallest to smallest, all wearing matching red polo shirts and khaki pants. Their hands are in their laps while their parents sit at the judging table.
To the left is Tanya along with Jefferson Chadwick—surprised he’s here—and neither of them is talking to the other, but that’s not uncommon. Jefferson talks to no one.
Frank and Thachary are in the middle, surrounded by friends, and…yup, I believe that’s a thermos in Thachary’s hand. I can only imagine what’s inside it.
Sherry Conrad, the antiques store owner, sports a very large hat blocking the view of the irritated people behind her.
Peach and Paula make their way up the bleachers toward Frank and Thachary, both of them carrying a thermos as well. The middle section is going to get rowdy.
And then there’s Mr. and Mrs. Maxheimer along with Felix and Ansel, Max’s siblings. When I make eye contact with them, Ida—Mrs. Maxheimer—waves at me with a huge smile and then holds out her phone to take a picture. I wave back and then grab Max by the shoulders so she can photograph us together. When she’s done, she offers me a thumbs-up.
Losing my parents was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to endure in my life, but I will say this: Ida and Otto Maxheimer helped me immeasurably during that time, and they still do. Ida treats me like one of her sons, always giving me hugs and kisses, treating Max and me like we’re the same. And Otto, well, he gave me a chance, a job, a place to heal when I was hurting the most. I’m so grateful for both of them.
“You ready for this?” Max says.
I nod, ready to win this for my family. “Yeah, I’m ready.”
And so the contest began, the Kringle-ees running around,
Jimmy with the wrapping paper, Ursula with a frown.
They cut and they taped, and they taped and they cut,
Cole stealing glances at Storee’s round butt.
Beatrice sneezed, and Jimmy said bless you,
while Ursula haphazardly stuck her hair with the glue.
There were ribbons and holly and Christmas-y junk
While the crowd in the middle got very, very drunk.
Bob Krampus called out the time was halfway done,
and now for the dreaded stocking-y fun.
The fabric was thrown; the thread tumbled to the floor.
They pasted, they sewed, they ironed some more, more, more.
Clock’s a-ticking, but did that stop them? No. They simply said,
“We don’t have time to sew;
we’ll simply just glue it instead.”
Ursula and the doctor used glue like they were pros.
Jimmy stood bewildered, just scratching his nose.
Storee and Cole, they stuck with the thread,
even though Storee’s stocking began to shred.
“Hands up,” Bob said, his voice booming through the air.
