A Gift for Mary Sue

Everett Jackson, called Jack by his family and the people he employed, and by other less-flattering names by those who didn’t have to kowtow to him, was a man who knew how life should be lived, and he made sure his family abided by those rules. He had four children, three sons and one girl, Mary Sue. He was strict but indulgent with his sons, mostly strict with his daughter and his wife.

Jack had a tradition that he carried down from his father and that was to give a brand new Lionel train set to each of his sons on the Christmas after their twelfth birthdays, at which time he deemed them sufficiently responsible to take care of such an expensive gift. Mary Sue, being the youngest child, had watched this happen with each of her three brothers and, having turned twelve in November, looked forward to finding her own train under the decorated tree in the parlor on Christmas morning.

As the boys noisily opened their presents, Mary Sue quietly searched for her train. Finally, she had to accept that it just wasn’t there. “Daddy,” she said three times before Jack heard her.

“What, little girl?” he said, not pleased that she had interrupted his pleasure in watching his sons rip the wrapping paper off of their gifts.

“Daddy, where’s my train?”

“What do you mean ‘your train’? Girls don’t play with trains. Go and help your mother with the dishes.”

Fourteen years later, Mary Sue stood in front of a department store window, looking at the Christmas display, holding hands with her new husband Robert, exclaiming over each toy as her eager eyes discovered it. When she spotted a red Lionel train engine, her enthusiasm died, and memory took her back to the Christmas morning when she stood at the kitchen sink, tears dripping into the dishpan to mix with the suds, trying to hide her disappointment from her mother.

Robert, startled by her sudden silence, turned to look into his bride’s eyes. “What happened? You got quiet all of a sudden.”

“It’s nothing. Just an old memory, best forgotten.” Mary Sue tried to regain her Christmas spirit, but Robert could tell that she was trying too hard, and it wasn’t how she really felt. That night, he finally got her to tell him about the Christmas morning she didn’t get the train she had been expecting. He hugged her tight and they finally fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Over the years, Robert’s business thrived, and he made it a point to indulge his wife. He bought her jewelry and she loved every piece. They took long vacations to exotic places and bought new cars every two years. When their children came along, they bought a bigger house. He and Mary Sue rarely argued and, when they did, he usually let her win.

Inevitably, the December came when all of the children had their own families and their own plans, and Robert and Mary Sue faced a Christmas by themselves. They decided to stay home and relax with some popcorn in their media room and enjoy some old holiday movies.

When they finally got sleepy, Mary Sue got up to go to bed. Robert said, “Come downstairs first. There’s something I want to show you.”

Puzzled, because they had agreed to not get each other presents this year – after all, they needed absolutely nothing – Mary Sue followed him to the big Christmas tree in the family room. Robert flipped a switch that turned on the lights on the tree, then a second switch that turned on the red Lionel train engine. The train ran slowly around the track under the tree, the chugging engine pulling colorful cars with small elves, a little Santa and reindeer, and a couple of polar bears bobbing up and down.

Mary Sue stood silently, taking it all in. For the first time in their marriage, Robert saw tears in her eyes over a present. Diamonds hadn’t done that, nor had the new Mercedes she had campaigned for. A little red Lionel train was the most treasured gift she had ever received.