The Only Christmas Present I Want

The only Christmas present I want is to see my sister, I said. My husband took a deep breath, but agreed to the six hundred mile trip. This was 1970, and airline tickets were too expensive, so we would drive. When we got into town a person at a four-way stop sign waved. I did not recognize her, because she had gotten a new car. She pulled over and motioned for us to pull over too. It was my sister! How weird. We had travelled six hundred and three miles. She had not known we were coming, and we ended up at the same sign. I jumped out of my car and into hers. My husband waved good-bye. He was going to our mother’s house to take a nap. I was invigorated. My sister said “Let’s go up town and look at stuff.” “Sounds great!” I said. We had a terrific day. We had not seen each other for five months, so we had to catch up. We stayed up until two a.m. talking. Not tired in the least, “I can sleep on the way home,” I told my sister, and I did.