A LITTLE BIT OF UNEXPECTED COMPANY

“Damn!”, she cried as the mousetrap snapped shut on her finger. This was the second time this morning that she didn’t get her finger out in time as she emptied the traps. She had emptied 6 of them already, throwing them out onto the snow for the hawks to clean them up, Her fingers were stiff from the cold, and she didn’t move them as quickly as she once had. Kris had gotten the wood stove fired up as soon as she entered the barn, but it still hadn’t taken the chill off the air. It takes a while to heat up a barn and there was enough work to get started on while she waited. She reflexively looked up at the clock on the fake mantle where stockings would soon be hung. The clock hadn’t worked for years but she still checked it for the time. The Christmas Tree farm was scheduled to open in three days, and she was nowhere near ready.  Orders had come in for 4 more wreaths and some swags that had to be done today. The tables had to be set up with eclectic items for sale and the displays artfully arranged. Today was for wreath making however and she made her way through to the bins holding her supplies. There were seeds everywhere and pieces of chewed up fabric. Mice! She hated those creatures. They got into everything, eating, pooping and peeing on all her supplies. Placing the supplies in plastic bins didn’t seem to help, though she had to admit that she wasn’t terribly good about closing them up again.

Kris tried to get started on her work, but the cold was too much for her arthritic hands. The wood stove had finally begun to put out heat so she poured herself a cup of tea and sat down in her comfy chair to take a break. Kris was in her late 60’s and knew that she wouldn’t be able to keep up the farm much longer. The work was too difficult to do alone, and she couldn’t afford much help. It made her intolerably sad to think that this might be the last season for her third-generation farm. Try as she might to control it, the tears began flowing. Scolding herself for being maudlin, she reached for a tissue and looked down at the floor. There, sitting right on the toe of her boot, was a tiny little mouse, staring up at her and shivering. The poor thing was trying to warm itself by the fire, just as she was. Kris gazed down at this creature, not knowing quite what to do. It seemed so helpless and cold. She carefully shifted her foot and tried to gently shoo the mouse away, but it just stayed put in its warm spot by the fire, staring at her. Kris couldn’t bear to see this tiny creature suffer. A bagel that was meant for her solitary breakfast became a shared meal. Little bits of the bread made their way down to her boot and they were immediately snatched up by Sweetie, as Kris was now calling her. “You’re starving, aren’t you? And you are still shivering.”  She reached for a small box on the side table filled with cotton batting. Using her fingers to make a little nest, she bent down and gently coaxed the mouse off her boot and into the comfy box, placing it close by the fire. She then filled a bottle cap with water and gathered some more crumbs and berries from the decorations. Placing these in the box with Sweetie, she sat back down again and the two of them ate in companiable silence.

Working on her wreaths for the rest of the morning, Kris checked on Sweetie now and then to see her still nestled in her box. She talked to her softly, telling her of how sad it would be to not keep the farm going. Sweetie proved to be a good listener and Kris was able to pour her heart out without fear of embarrassment. Somehow that made the work easier, and she soon found the barn shaping up into a semblance of a Christmas Tree shop. Folks came from miles around to the Chose and Cut farm. After tromping through the snow to pick their perfect tree, they would come into the barn to warm up by the fire and have a cup of hot apple cider. Hopefully they would also see some perfect ornament or decoration on the tables to purchase, along with the tree.

As the sun was setting, Kris wrapped up her work for the day. She tamped down the stove, put the covers back on her bins and swept the floor. Picking up Sweetie and her box, she carried her outside and placed her on the ground under a tree. Throwing her a kiss and thanking her for the company, Kris went back inside the barn and reset her traps. Those mice were getting into everything!