By+Ted+Bosley

Once again， the Christmas season was upon us. And once again， my daughter Tania was asking，“What do you want for Christmas， Dad？”

“The usual，”I replied.

After 23 years， she knew that this meant boxer shorts and some Happy Socks， the kind that help that old bunion. These were Christmas rituals for me. Every day for two weeks prior to Christmas， unable to contain her excitement， she repeatedly said，“Youll never guess， but youre going to love what we got you for Christmas！”

The girl was relentless in her teasing and her quest for my reaction. She was determined that I should be impressed.

It was fun to watch and listen to her excitement and enthusiastic teasing day after day. Her joy and anticipation of my reaction to this special gift was contagious. By the morning of Christmas Eve， I had become more than a little curious.

At 11：00 a.m. on the 24th， my wife and I were asked to join the kids for some last！minute shopping. We elected to opt out. My wife wanted to finish her own festive preparation， and I just wanted a cold beer and a snooze. Four hours later， the kids were back at the door， shopping mission completed.

“We have your gift out in the car， Dad，”Tania exclaimed，“and its getting cold！”

We were then not asked， but ordered to vacate the premises. No， not just to another room， but upstairs and out of sight with an emphatic“No peeking！”command.

So， obediently， we retreated upstairs. The minutes passed in that odd kind of anxious， wondering， quiet anticipation that makes butterflies in your stomach. We strained our ears but couldnt hear anything.

Then we heard them hollering，“Okay， you can come down now！”

Descending the stairs， we were directed into the front room where the Christmas gift was waiting to be opened. Immediately， my excited daughter said，“No waiting until Christmas morning. Open it now！”

“Okay，”I said.“This is highly irregular， this is breaking the ritual... But what is this？”I wondered out loud. The three！ foot"square， irregularly shaped lump by the tree was smothered under a blanket. Out came Tanias camera， and the guessing game started in earnest.

“Maybe its a pinball machine，”my wife offered.

“No， no，”I said.“Its got to be something perishable， otherwise they wouldnt have been so anxious to bring it in out of the cold. Maybe its a crate of Florida oranges， or maybe its a puppy！”

By now， my daughter was about to explode with excitement， and I， too， had passed the stage of mildly curious， feeling somewhere between inquisitive and demanding.endprint

“What on earth can it be？”I asked as I felt the lumpy object， looking for a clue. My daughter sharply rapped my knuckles with a classic，“Dad！”

Finally， we arrived at the unveiling.“Okay，”Tania instructed us，“on the count of three both of you grab a corner of the blanket.”She stood by with the camera， and even though I was trying my best to remain unimpressed， Id by now reached an emotional state ranging from paranoia to frustration. My heartbeat speeded. My wife and I lifted the blanket in one fell swoop， and the gift was exposed.

The next few minutes were a blur. My heart pounded. The blood rushed to my head. My stomach contracted. My mind was jumbled. Overwhelmed with astonishment， I thought，“I cant believe my eyes！ Perhaps I am delusional！ This is just impossible！”

The flash of my daughters camera went off when， rising up out of that heap of blanket and wrapping me in an enormous bear hug was none other than my six#foot$two， one hundred and seventy%five pound first& born son Greg， home for Christmas for the first time in nineteenyears！

圣誕節(jié)再次如約而至，我的女兒塔尼亞又一次問道：“爸爸，你圣誕節(jié)想要什么呀？”

“跟以前一樣?！蔽一卮鸬?。

問了23年同樣的問題，我女兒此刻明白，我指的是平角短褲和快樂襪，就是那種可以緩解我一直以來的拇囊炎疼痛的襪子。這些就是我圣誕節(jié)例行收到的禮物。

距圣誕節(jié)還有兩周，塔尼亞每天都會帶著掩飾不住的興奮反復說：“你絕對猜不到我們給你準備了什么圣誕禮物，但你會喜歡的！”

這孩子不斷地逗我，想要看看我的反應(yīng)。她篤定我會被這份禮物打動。

每天看著她，聽她用興奮的語調(diào)樂此不疲地逗我，其實挺有意思。她想要知道我對這份特殊禮物的反應(yīng)，而她的興奮和期待似乎會傳染，到圣誕節(jié)前一天的早上，我已經(jīng)變得非常好奇了。

24號上午11點，孩子們要求我和妻子與他們同去，為節(jié)日進行最后的采購，我倆都拒絕了。妻子還要為節(jié)日做準備，而我只想來杯冰啤酒，再打個小盹兒。四個小時后，孩子們回到了家，購物任務(wù)顯然已經(jīng)完成。

“爸爸，我們把給你的禮物放在車上了，”塔尼亞大喊道，“外面冷起來了！”

孩子們不是請求，而是命令我們離開房間。不是去另一個房間，而是要上樓，去一個完全看不到樓下的地方，并且嚴詞命令我們：“不許偷看！”

我們只好順從地上樓去了。時間一點點過去，那種奇怪、有點焦慮和疑惑而又無聲的期待，讓我們的內(nèi)心不禁有些忐忑。我倆豎起耳朵，但還是什么也聽不見。

然后就聽到他們大喊：“好了，你們現(xiàn)在可以下來了！”

下樓之后，我們被領(lǐng)到客廳，圣誕禮物擺在那里，等待著被人拆開。女兒立刻歡呼雀躍地說：“不用等到圣誕節(jié)早晨了，現(xiàn)在就打開禮物吧！”

“好吧，”我說，“這極不符合慣例，咱們的習慣被打破了……這是個什么東西？”我大聲問道。這個差不多一米見方，形狀不規(guī)則的東西被放在圣誕樹的旁邊，上面還蓋著厚厚的毯子。塔尼亞掏出相機，我們的猜謎游戲正式開始。

“可能是彈球機?！逼拮又鲃诱f。

“不，不，”我說，“肯定是什么容易變質(zhì)的東西，不然他們不會這么急著把它從冰天雪地里搬進來?；蛟S是一筐佛羅里達甜橙，或者是一只小狗！”

猜到現(xiàn)在，我的女兒都快要控制不住自己的興奮之情了，而我也不再只有一丁點好奇心，情緒處于迫切想要知道又難以滿足的狀態(tài)中。

“這到底會是什么東西？”我摸著這一大塊東西，試圖尋找線索。女兒急忙敲了一下我的手指，用特別的腔調(diào)喊道：“爸爸！”

終于，揭曉答案的時候到了。“好吧，”塔尼亞指揮道，“我倒數(shù)三下，你們倆抓住毯子的一角?！彼弥障鄼C站在一旁。我盡量裝出一副不為所動的樣子，但情緒已經(jīng)處于一種極度好奇和泄氣來回交替的狀態(tài)。我的心跳開始加速。我跟妻子一把提起毛毯，這份禮物終于揭曉了。

之后的幾分鐘里，我有點恍惚，心臟劇烈跳動，血液直沖上頭頂，胃部開始痙攣，大腦一片混亂。我驚奇得不知所措，心里想著：“簡直無法相信自己的眼睛！或許我產(chǎn)生幻覺了！這是不可能的?。　?/p>

有人從堆成一團的毛毯中站了起來，給了我一個結(jié)實的熊抱，這不是別人，正是我那高1.89米，重79千克的大兒子格雷格！今天是他19年來第一次回家過圣誕節(jié)。這時，女兒手中的照相機的閃光燈亮了。endprint