ATF Universe
Disclaimer; The original characters of The Magnificent Seven are owned by MGM and Trilogy. The ATF universe belongs to Mog.
The vigorous rendition of Dashing Through the Snow, accompanied by Buck's jingling of the harness bells, slowly died away as the Suburban rounded the last bend leading up to Chris Larabee's ranch. The five men inside were momentarily puzzled as they peered out of the windshield.JD was the first to voice his worry. "You don't think Chris's house is on fire, do you?"
"Nah, kid. We would see the smoke from here if it was." Buck was quick to reassure his young friend, while at the same time craning his neck to look around Josiah at the strange phenomenon in front of them. "Besides, that don't look like flames. It's more like a glow in the sky."
Nathan chimed in with his own observation. "I think you're right, Buck, but what's causing it?"
A slow Southern drawl answered from the back seat. "Speculations are pointless, gentlemen. We will be in sight of the ranch in moments." His words were proven accurate as the old Suburban chugged up the last hill and Chris's house came into view.
"Oh, dear lord!"
"Amen to that, brother."
The other men were too stunned to comment; they could only take in the spectacle before them.
The first impression was of blinding lights-red, green, blue, and yellow—some blinking, some merely brightly glowing. The riot of color separated into individual figures as the car pulled up to the drive. The five men stared in open-mouthed amazement. JD stuck his head out the window to get a better look.
The expanse of front lawn was covered in every imaginable Christmas decoration. Santa, outlined in red lights, stood next to a sleigh pulled by nine reindeer. Rudolph, complete with blinking red nose, led the way. Angels joined in with carolers in a mute display of heralding glad tidings. Wooden cutouts of Frosty and his snow family vied for space with elves hard at work in Santa's toy shop. The whole collection of figures was illuminated with massive spotlights. Net lights blanketed every tree and shrub in the yard and added still more color to the garish scene. The entire front of the house was outlined in lights as well.
As the five men finally pulled themselves from the car, Chris and Vin came out of the house and walked down the drive toward them.
Vin was grinning from ear to ear. Chris, with a wry smile of his own, greeted their friends. "Welcome to Christmas hell, boys."
The team acted predictably. JD turned around in amazement, trying to take it all in at once. "Cool" was his only word before Vin enthusiastically grabbed his arm to take him on the grand tour. Buck, still wide-eyed with shock, but game as usual, followed the two younger men. He could be heard muttering "damn, living way out here by himself has finally driven him crazy."
Ezra at first was able to maintain his cool façade, but the sheer magnitude of the tacky decorations that seemed to surround him broke through his normal good manners. Facing his host, he stammered, "Chris, this is...this is..." He couldn't think of the right vocabulary to describe what he was viewing.
Chris was amused to observe his glib undercover expert floundering for words. "Well, Ezra, while you're lookin' for a polite way to express your horror, I'll just go ahead and say it for you." The pleasant smile never left his face as he continued, "This is the most god-awful gaudy display you 've ever seen in your entire life."
Unable to take his eyes from the array of lights and figures spread out before him, he muttered fervently, "Dear lord, is it ever!"
Chris's gentle smile settled on his best friend, who was now showing Buck and JD the herd of lighted, animated deer that could be seen on the far side of the lawn. "And isn't it the most wonderful thing you've ever seen."
Nathan and Josiah were quick to pick up on Chris's meaning. Nathan nodded knowingly. "I thought that Vin would be behind this somehow. So, this is all his idea?"
Chris partly agreed with him. "You might say that. Vin just wouldn't let go of the idea that I had to decorate for the holidays. Every time I turned around it was 'Dontcha think you should have a tree?' or 'How about a wreath for the door?' or 'Some lights in the windows sure would look nice.' Finally, just to shut him up, I told him if he did it all himself, he could do whatever he wanted."
With a self-conscious shrug, he continued. "Don't ask me how I got suckered into going shopping with him. The next thing I knew, we were hitting every store in town that sold Christmas decorations. Somewhere along the line, things sort of got out of hand, and well...here we are."
Josiah's deep voice was filled with approval. "You did a good thing, Chris. I bet this will be a Christmas that Vin will remember for a long time."
Ezra was still too stunned by the surfeit of holiday spirit he found himself in the middle of to be discreet. "But really, Chris, isn't this all a bit excessive?"
The older man quietly replied, "Not to me, Ezra. The way I see it, Vin has about twenty-five years' worth of Christmases to make up for. For the privilege of seeing the happiness on his face every time he drives up, I can live with the affront to my aesthetic sense and..." The smile returned to his face. " the huge increase in my electric bill."
The core of goodness in Ezra that neither circumstances nor Maude could eradicate asserted itself. "Indeed, Chris, that is a gift of inestimable value. I shall gaze upon these festive decorations with a new perspective."
Josiah threw an arm across the shoulders of the smaller man. "Now that's the real spirit of the season, brother."
Sounds of disagreement could be heard as the other three men approached. JD was insistent in his opinion. "I still say you should have more than one male deer, Vin. It just looks better."
Vin motioned with a tip of his head toward Chris. "Don't blame me, kid. That was all Chris's idea."
"What was my idea?" Chris wasn't sure what the argument was about, but he knew he'd better defend himself.
"The deer" was Vin's short response.
"Now wait a minute, cowboy. You were the one who said the baby Jesus needed a whole herd of deer to watch over Him."
Vin was quick to reply, "Well, the stores didn't have any cows or sheep for sale, and you put your foot down about gettin' live ones."
"Damn right, I did."
Vin continued as if the interruption had never occurred. "Besides, that ain 't what we're talking about. JD wants to know why we have so many does. I just told him it was your idea."
Chris grinned as he looked over at his oldest friend, who was standing next to JD. "Well, when you have a Buck, you just gotta have a whole bunch of women around him, and he sure as hell doesn't want any competition hanging around."
The others joined in the laugh at Buck's expense, but the tall mustached man beamed his agreement. "Now Chris, you know when ol' Buck's around the womenfolk don't need nobody else."
The laughter followed the seven into the house. No one was surprised to find that the exuberant décor had found its way inside. A large decorated tree dominated the living room. This had been done in relatively good taste since Chris's old ornaments had been used. The same could not be said for the rest of the house. Every available surface and floor space was occupied by an animated Christmas figure. When Vin pressed a switch, music and sound filled the room. "Jingle Bells" competed with "Rocking around the Christmas tree." Angels caroled, trees sang, and Santas ho, ho, hoed.
The men wandered around taking it all in. Gaudy, garish, tacky—it didn't matter. Good spirits filled the room.
Josiah leaned over to shout in Chris's ear. "Brother, you just might be nominated for sainthood for this one."
Chris shook his head as he shouted back. "I'd hold off on that until after Christmas. I can take Douglas the fir tree singing, and Billy, the big-mouthed bass is beginning to grow on me, but if that Santa wiggles his butt at me one more time, I'm gonna have to shoot him."
Josiah's hearty laugh boomed out over the cacophony of joyous noise that filled the house.
As the other men amused themselves with the sights and sounds, Ezra made his way over to the Christmas tree. At least that was one decoration that didn' t assault his senses. He noted with a sense of appreciation the very old-looking nativity nestled among the gifts. He knelt to inspect the tiny figures. He shook his head in resignation at what he saw. As he rose to his feet, he tried to get Chris's attention. His shouts went unnoticed, so he walked over to the mass of electrical cords against the wall and pulled the plugs. Silence fell.
The six started to protest. Overruling their objections with a raised hand, Ezra motioned for quiet. Now that he had the attention of all, he addressed Vin. "I know I'm going to regret asking this, but my curiosity just won't let this go." He turned back toward the tree and pointed downward. "Will you please tell me what a catnip mouse is doing in the manger with baby Jesus?"
The others gathered around to check this one out for themselves. Chris sat down and let Vin do the explaining. Somehow, weirdness didn't sound so strange coming from Vin.
"Well, Ezra, it's like this. Gabby has been real understandin' about all this decoratin' me and Chris have been doing. She just runs out of the room and hides when I turn on all the musical things, and she ain't hardly bothered the tree at all. So when she brought her mouse toy in here and dropped it in the manger, I figured what the hell. It ain't no worse than that frankincense and myrrh those wise men brung. Besides, I always thought the baby Jesus sorta had a soft spot for animals and wouldn't mind her gift. If it's okay with Him, it's okay with me. It's His celebration, after all."
Six men nodded in agreement. The lights and the music and the decorations got your attention, but it was the small things that brought the message home. This was going to be a very good Christmas.
THE END
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