Out of the Frying Pan

Good Karma Pays in Cookies

At the next crossroads, Grandpa turned left and there we spotted Mrs. Tomlin and her daughter Trish pulling a sled with groceries on it, so Grandpa stopped. Lanny was sitting next to the door and he rolled the window down. Grandpa asked them why there were out there and where was Silas, her husband.

She replied, “The truck wouldn’t start, so Trish and I went on ahead to get the groceries. He was supposed to pick us up so we waited for a while, but I guess he’s still working on it. If anything, we figured we might meet him on the way home.”

Grandpa wouldn’t hear of that. He told us to get out and help the ladies load their groceries and the sled in the truck bed. Mrs. Tomlin and her daughter climbed up into the cab, thanking Grandpa for his generosity while my brothers and I climbed into the back. It wasn’t so bad back there, he had a camper shell on it. That was a big help, at least we weren’t in the open air. The only complaint was that the ride was quite a bit more bumpy, but at least we could see out the back window and two little side windows.

Grandpa turned the truck around and headed for the Tomlin’s place. It was probably a little more than half a mile there, which doesn’t sound like much, but that’s quite a bit of a walk in the snow and cold for anybody. We turned down Hensley Hollow, the Tomlin’s house was on the right. As we pulled into the driveway, Mr. Tomlin came out to see who it was, wiping his hands with a rag. Grandpa got out of the truck to greet him.

“Merry Christmas, John,” Mr. Tomlin replied as we were climbing out of the back of the truck. “Why, who’s this?” he asked.

“That’s my grandsons, Silas,” said Grandpa.

“Why, they keep getting bigger each time I see them,” Mr. Tomlin smiled and nodded at the three of us. “That sure was nice of you, bringing my wife and daughter home. I told them I’d come fetch them as soon as I got the truck started, ain’t had much luck though.”

Grandpa turned to us. “You boys help get the groceries in and see if there’s anything else needs done while Silas and I see about getting his truck started.”

“Yes, sir,” we replied in unison.

“Where do you put the sled?” Lanny asked.

Trish spoke up, “Over in the garage, I’ll show you.”

Lenny and I carried the groceries into the house for Mrs. Tomlin, going in through the back door into the kitchen, which was nice and warm. After Lanny and Trish came in with the rest of the groceries, we asked if there was anything else that might need done, firewood brought in or even chopped, or anything in the barn that might need tending to.

“No, there’s nothing else that I can think of,” Mrs. Tomlin said. “You all have done enough. Why don’t you go on in the front room and sit down, and Trish and I will fix you something warm to drink and bring it in there.

“Yes, ma’am,” we replied.

There was a coat rack in the front room, so we took off our coats and hats and hung them up. We sat down on the couch with me in the middle like usual. They had a beautiful tree in the corner of the room, all decorated, and lots of little decorations around. I was warm and cozy sitting across from the fireplace.

In a few moments, Trish and her mother walked in, carrying two trays, one with hot chocolate, the other with Christmas cookies. Mrs. Tomlin told us we could have all the cookies we wanted, that she and Trish make a ton of them every year to give for Christmas, and if we wanted any more hot chocolate, all we had to do was ask. We thanked her and she left the room. Trish stayed and Lanny asked her where her drink was.

“I’ll have some later,” she said.

We each picked a cookie, which was a little hard because there were so many to choose from. There were all different shapes, Christmas trees, Santa sleighs, stars, and wreaths. My favorites were the ones with raspberry filling in the middle of the star.

I asked Trish about the different decorations they had, and she was eager to tell us where they came from or who made them. She actually let me hold and touch some of them, while the bumps sat on the couch stuffing their faces. I have always loved to see handmade things.

We heard Mr. Tomlin’s and Grandpa’s voices as they came in through the back door. They took turns washing up in the bathroom, then came into the front room where we were. Mr. Tomlin smiled and said, “I see the Mrs. gave you some of her cookies to eat. I’m glad because that means Trish and I won’t have to eat them all ‘til we can’t fit through the doors. She always makes a lot more than we can eat or give away.” He turned around to Grandpa. “Eat some, John, and I’ll get you some coffee, unless of course you want some hot chocolate.”

“Coffee will be fine, thanks, Silas,” Grandpa said.

Mr. Tomlin started heading for the kitchen when his wife met him halfway with two cups of coffee. He thanked her and taking the cups from her, turned right back around and came back into the front room.

Grandpa said, “That was quick,” as he sat down in one of the chairs. He reached for a cookie and chose one of the star-shaped ones with raspberry filling. I just smiled.

“Did you get your truck running, Mr. Tomlin?” I asked.

“Sure did. With your grandpa’s help, the truck is running like a top,” he replied. “Now eat some more cookies,” he added. I thought to myself, Boy, she must bake a lot of them. If we keep this up, we won’t be able to fit through a door either. Oh well, I had another one anyway.

Grandpa said to Mr. Tomlin, “I see you’re all ready for tomorrow, Silas.”

“Yep, my wife and Trish took time from their baking to decorate things. Trish and I went to the woods and cut the tree and brang it back.”

I turned to Trish and asked if she had cut it herself.

“No, Pa cut it, I just helped to pick it and bring it back to the truck.”

Grandpa told them about our own tree-hunting trip. Mr. Tomlin turned to look at me.

“You climbed and cut the top out?”

“Yes, sir, I did.”

“Not me,” he said, “I like having my feet as close to the ground as possible. I’m not even too keen on climbing a ladder.”

Grandpa stood up from his chair. “Well, folks, we need to go, we have a few things we need at the store.”

Mr. Tomlin stood and shook Grandpa’s hand. “John, if any of you need anything, just give me a holler. Sooner or later I’m going to have to get a telephone put in, that will make things easier.

Grandpa nodded. “I don’t use mine much, but it sure beats a long ride to find out nobody’s home.”

We got dressed for the cold and Mr. Tomlin and Trish followed us out. They shook our hands, wished us a Merry Christmas and thanked us for our help. Mrs. Tomlin came out and gave us a basket full of cookies. Even the basket was handcrafted, woven by Mrs. Tomlin and Trish.

With hearts warm and bodies cold, we got back into the truck and headed for Dewy’s store.