Christmas was on us almost before we had a chance to decompress. Mack had to wear a light cast, which he hated because he couldn’t ride his bike after school and on weekends. Charlie had to take antibiotics for the cough he developed, probably not from the Thanksgiving ordeal but from greeting and talking to every kid that dropped by the garage. His greetings usually required a hug, which might have contributed to his illness.
The first week of December, I corralled him about presents. “Are you thinking of giving everyone something?”
He said he wanted to but was too worn out to shop.
Nice try, since I knew he hated shopping. But being the best friend ever, I ended up sitting down at the computer and ordering the stuff he asked me to get. I knew I’d probably be the one wrapping everythin
