Chapter 7 "I love you,Kenneth!"

Chapter 7~"I Love You,Kenneth!
"Hey,Kenneth."Peter shook him awake."I'm A headin' out towards the bakery fer'
breakfast.I'll be seein' ya later."He then placed his cap on his head and left the apartment.
"I may as well get up too."He thought to himself."Say,I'll go back an visit Tina."
With this thought in mind,He grabbed his cap and walked out the door.
The whole town was white as snowflakes poured down from the sky.
As he approached the church,He heard voices.And as he neared closer he could hear that
they were voices singing.It sounded familiar,in a way.Now he could hear the words of the song they were singing:
"Silent night,Holy night,All is calm,All is bright."
That song,It sounded so familiar.But why?Suddenly memories flooded his mind.Memories of Mam
Holding Tina,And him sitting on Pop's knee,All gathered in the parlor with Grandma,and poppa,
all singing that song together.All at once he began to wish to have those Times back,
When he used to sit on Pop's knee,and Watch Mam snuggle Tina.But that was impossible.
Mam and Pop were no longer here,Nor were Grandma and Poppa.They had all died of
A rare illness called Cholera.And He had been left alone in the world with no one to care for Him
And Tina.
All of a sudden he was broght back to the present as a little gir's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Merry Christmas."She smiled placing a small green pouch in his hand.He watched the girl
skip away,then opened the puch to discover it was filled with small mint candies.
"Why I'll give these ta' Tina!"He exclaimed to himself.Then thrusting his hands in his pockets,
continued down the street.
When he arrived at the cottage he was greeted by a group of children,clad in mittens,hats,scarves and jackets.All with their faces bright pink from the cold.one of which was Tina,who when she saw him coming,
ran towards him in delight and informed him of the snowman they were making."He's almost done!"She exclaimed."And Mrs.Holenwald gave us a carrot for his nose!Emily brought
out a special bag too!It had buttons a hat and a scarf in it.Will you help,Kenneth?
She looked up into his face eagerly.As much as he wanted to say yes,Something seemed to be holding him
back.
"Maybe after awhile."He finally told her."But let's go inside fer' a bit."
"Okay!"She willingly agreed and slipped her mittened hand into his bare one.
As soon as they were inside the house,Mrs. Holenwald greeted them with her cheery smile,And helped
Tina out of her wet clothes.
"I'll lay these by the fire to dry,until you're ready to go back out again,Dearie."She smiled down at her.
"Kenneth,I made you something for a christmas present."Tina suddenly announced."I want to give it to him now."She turned to Mrs. Holenwald.
"Of course dear."She chuckled.She left the room only for a minute,and returned again carrying a bundle,which she handed to Tina,Who had promptly jumped off the davenport and held out her hands for it.
"I made them just for you,Cause' I love you."She smiled as she placed the bundle in his lap,
then sat back down and snuggled up next to him.
Once he had unwrapped it he found a pile of cookies.
"There's two kinds,"she told him."Chocolate,and Peanut."
(By this time Mrs.Holenwald had left the room to tend to one of her children.)
Tina looked up adn saw him brush away a tear with his dirty hand.
"Why,Kenneth!What's the matter?"She cried."Don't you like them?Don't you like those flavors?"
"Why,yes,Tina.Course I like em'."He sniffed."They're jus' grand."
"Then what's the matter?"She asked again."Did you want more?we can make more if-"
"No,Tina."He cut her off."I don't need more,this is jus' fine."
Suddenly remembering the candy in his pocket,he set the cookies down and reached into his pocket for it.
"Here."He smiled at her."This is fer' you."
She pulled the string and opened the bag.her eyes lit up with excitement when she saw what was inside.
"candy!!"She gasped."Oh,Kenneth!I love you!Thankyou!Thankyou!"She jumped off the davenport and threw her arms around him."You're the best brother!"
He squeezed the little body wrapped around him.Warm circles raced around his heart.
Tina loved him.He had almost forgotten what it felt like to be loved.
"Oh,Kenneth!"She exclaimed suddenly."May we go out and make the snowman now?"
Mrs.Holenwald entered the room."Of course you will,Lad.And here are some warm things to put on."
This time he could'nt resist."Alright."He grinned,and started putting the things on.
How good it felt to be outside playing with the other children in the snow.It was wonderful to feel carefree and young again.He had almost been forced to grow up too fast.
That was an unforgettable evening for Kennenth.And he never forgot it.