Clay Lancaster became a fixture in our house that holiday season. And we had a new housekeeper; a black woman named Belle. I had met my match in Belle. I was in love with Belle.
And Ruth was in love with Clay Lancaster. She adored the big oaf. She would climb him like a cat and perch on his shoulder. They really were a lot of fun together. I think it was he who taught her to laugh –– really laugh. She hung from his ears and bounced on his stomach. He took quite a beating, but he was the best goddamned stuffed animal a kid could have. And about as smart.
But it wasn't his intellect my father wanted. It was his presence and the presence of his patrol car out front. Clay had been sitting out there in the cold when Belle invited him in for hot chocolate. Pretty soon he was decorating the tree with the rest of us and putting Ruth to bed. We met his parents and heard all about his romance with the jeweler's niece. Christmas morning, each of us got a nice package with love from Clay. My father gave him a savings bond from us. And on New Year's Eve he kept us awake until after midnight watching Guy Lombardo on TV. Thanks to him, we saw 1956 arrive.
Never once did any of us kids experience the threat my father was feeling. Clay Lancaster dispelled any notion of danger with his smile. And when the threat was gone, he stayed on as a family friend. So much for nasty Christmas cards! My father returned Will's gun.
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