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"Why don't you open it?" Troy's eyes swung
from the small box to me and back to the box. "I will." Gingerly, taking great care not to tear
the paper, I unwrapped the present to find a small,
dark blue velvet box. I opened it and took out a heavy,
gold locket in the shape of a heart with a sparkling
gold chain. I pressed the release button and the locket
opened to a tiny picture of Daddy and me standing on
The Jillian. We both looked tanned and happy. I
remembered why I looked so happy. We were on the
way home and I thought I would find Momma waiting
for me at the dock.
"Can I see?" Troy asked. I held the locket out
and he plucked it carefully from my palm to gaze at
the picture. I saw his eyes widen and then grow small.
"I have a big picture of my daddy," he said. "But he's
not smiling. I told Tony and he said Daddy's smiling
in Heaven and he will always smile as long as I am
good."
"Then I'm sure he will always smile," I told him. I had him help me put on the locket and then we
returned to opening our gifts.
I spent Christmas Day helping Troy set up his
toys and put away his gifts of clothing. Late in the
afternoon, we watched some shows on his new
television set. We had a delicious turkey for
Christmas Day dinner, and Rye Whiskey prepared
vegetables with sauces I had never before tasted. Troy kept me so busy that I was grateful for the
reprieve when it came time for him to go to sleep. I
went to sleep early myself that night. I had promised
him that we would ride his pony in the morning,
which we did. In fact, there was so much to do at
