December 31
Dear Daddy Longlegs,
I meant to thank you for your Christmas check before today.
But life in the McBride house is very busy!
I used the money for a new evening gown.
I must confess that I didn't need a new gown.
I just wanted one!
I've been having the most wonderful vacation.
Sallie lives in a big, old-fashioned brick house.
It's the kind of house I used to imagine when I lived at the orphanage.
I never imagined that I'd step inside such a place.
But here I am!
I think Sallie is surprised at how much I like her house.
On our first day here, she showed me around, and I couldn't stop talking.
"There are so many rooms!" I said.
"I'll probably get lost."
"We did lose my little brother, Tom, one rainy day.
We were playing hide-and-seek and couldn't find him.
We finally gave up and went downstairs.
Half an hour later, he came sliding down the banister in the front hall!"
"You have so many fireplaces!"
I said as we stepped into one of the parlors.
Sallie laughed. "We'll make popcorn over the fire one night.
Speaking of food, let's go visit the kitchen.
We should say hello to Mrs. Jamison, the cook."
We stepped into a great big sunny kitchen.
Mrs. Jamison, a large, cheerful woman, was busy making pies.
She stopped to give Sallie a hug.
"I saved you a piece of dough to bake."
The cook pointed to a miniature pie plate.
"Let's sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar," Sallie said to me.
"That'll make it taste even better."
Sallie put the dough in the oven, and in a few minutes, we were eating a wonderful treat!
All the meals here are delicious, and we have such fun at the table.
Everybody laughs and jokes and talks at once.
Besides Sallie's parents, her grandmother and siblings live here.
Sallie's sister, Ellen, is only three, and she's the sweetest little thing.
Sallie's younger brother, Tom, is always getting scolded, but in a loving way.
He never remembers to wipe his feet when he enters the house.
He reminds me of Master Jervie!
Sallie also has a handsome big brother named Jimmy.
He's a year older than we are, and he's a junior at Princeton.
We've done so many things since I arrived.
I can't even begin to tell you about them all.
Mr. McBride owns a factory.
On Christmas Eve he had a Christmas party for his employees' children.
There was a Christmas tree, and one of the rooms in the factory was decorated with evergreens and holly.
Jimmy was dressed as Santa Claus.
He wore a white beard and a red suit.
A pillow at his waist made him jolly and plump.
"You're looking rather fat, brother dear," Sallie said.
"Shh!" I poked her arm.
"Don't let the children hear you.
Let them think he's the real Santa Claus!"
"This young lady is perfectly correct," Jimmy said to Sallie.
"I don't know who you're calling brother dear." Then he turned to me.
"I hope you've been a good girl this year.
What would you like for Christmas?"
I laughed.
He's so much fun.
Sallie and I helped him hand out the presents.
It was a strange sensation to be handing out gifts.
The whole scene reminded me of Christmas at the orphanage.
Only this time I was playing the part of a kindly trustee instead of an orphan.
I even kissed one sticky little boy.
But I didn't pat anyone on the head.
I used to hate being patted on the head!
Right after Christmas the McBrides had a dance at their house—for me!
"This is the first real ball I've ever attended," I said nervously to Sallie.
She was helping me get dressed.
"Well, you look beautiful!" she said.
"Turn around so I can see the back of your dress."
I was wearing my new evening gown.
(Your Christmas present. Many thanks for that!)
Plus white satin slippers and long white gloves.
Sallie had to button the gloves for me.
It's hard to do that by yourself.
"You look perfect," Sallie said. "Jimmy will be very impressed."
And indeed he was.
"You look lovely," he said to me.
And then we danced every dance.
That is, until his mother said he must be polite and ask someone else.
I was utterly, totally, completely happy that night.
I only wished that Mrs. Lippett could have seen me dancing with Jimmy McBride.
Please tell her about it the next time you visit the John Grier Home.
Happy New Year,
Judy
P.S. Would you be disappointed if I didn't turn out to be a great author?
What if I'm just a regular girl who likes wearing pretty clothes and dancing with good-looking boys?