Enough to Miss Christmas

"Not today."

"I suppose you want the key to my room so you can lock me out," she said, reaching for her purse.

"Unnecessary. We trust you." I rose, kissed her good night, and Paul and I climbed the stairs leaving our bewildered daughter sitting alone.

"I'm really sorry," I heard her say.

Paul and I snuggled but didn't make love. Both of us were disappointed at the collapse of our first neighborhood social engagement but relieved that Karen was truly contrite for her lapse and appeared to accept her punishment. Paul congratulated me on my choice of penance. While I couldn't sleep, Paul was snoring contentedly in less than ten minutes. Sometime after midnight, I crept downstairs. Karen was either awake or heard me coming.

"It's not as soft and comfortable as the love chair," she muttered as she sat up, pulling the afghan around her.

"It's expensive and relatively new. Give it time to get old and soft like me."

"You shouldn't be down here. I'm being punished. I deserve it. I'm really sorry. I know you wanted to get to know our neighbors. I screwed it up for you."

"And you're being punished."

"You know what grandma would have done."

"Yes. She would have done just what I'm doing."

"No way! She would have . . ."

"My punishment would have been about the same as yours. You didn't do anything mean or hateful, or on purpose. You made a mistake; a serious one, and you're being punished accordingly, just as I would have been."

"It's not enough."

"You haven't seen the clothes I'm going to pick out for you in the morning!"

"Sarah!"

"Now, quick, before I go back upstairs; tell me about this play business."

Karen immediately perked up. "It's a high school play, only it has some young girl-parts in it so Mr. Upton the drama teacher asked our teacher to recommend six girls in our grade to try out. Julie and I got to do it, and I got a speaking part!"

"What's the play?" I asked.

"The Crucible. It's about the Salem witch trials, and I read for Betty Parris. It's a really cool part! I'm on stage when the curtain opens and I stay for the entire first act. Then I'm back in later scenes too."

"You have to do a lot of screaming and carrying on, don't you?"

"How do you know that?" Karen asked.

"I know the play very well. I played Mary Warren when I was in high school. Isn't that a coincidence? I wasn't very good."

"I bet you were great. That's cool! Maybe you can help me with my lines. Julie's character doesn't speak but she's my understudy too. She already practically knows the part by heart."