December Gift

He was eight when he came to us, a special Christmas Eve gift, small, quiet, hollow eyed, hungry. Gifts under the tree bore his name. His eyes devoured the table, laden with food, cookies, pies. “Let’s eat,” I said, “Gifts can wait.” After all the packages were opened, he said, “Grandma, can I have some more of those green beans?” “Honey, you can have all the green beans you want.” He’d never been inside a classroom. We helped him identify colors, shapes, letters, numbers, and enrolled him in school. He finished kindergarten and first grade in one semester. At the final adoption, he chose to drop his last name and take ours, in effect, adopting us.