The puzzle

It was an inexpensive gift, Leta knew, but then again, Ralph did not have much money. No one did during the Depression. At least this time her ex-husband and the father of her children had taken some consideration into his daughter’s feelings. Usually, he gave her both birthday and Christmas gifts as one lump package. In fact, he did it pointedly, stating quite clearly that this was all Vivian could expect. She was always disappointed, but had come to expect this disregard by her father as a matter of course.

Leta, however, endeavored to separate the two. A birthday, although not a large reason for celebration in her mind, was still a birthday. Just as Christ’s birth celebration was wholly his own, so should her daughter’s, even though it took place only four days later.

Having some kind of celebration on December 29 was not always easy or convenient. Vivian’s birthday did come, after all, between Christmas and New Year’s, and many people were well nigh worn out already by Christmas. By the time the 29^th arrived, Leta herself was ready to simply recover from the hullabaloo and anticipate her New Year’s Eve celebrating. However, she had a daughter, and that daughter deserved the personal celebration of being alive on the earth.

Again, they didn’t do much for birthdays, but the day included for each of her children a favorite breakfast to start the day, and a special supper followed by cake and ice cream in the evening. She gave them two gifts—a necessity such as a new blouse and a toy or something personal. On the Saturday after, they would go to the movies as a family. On the following Sunday, the children would spend the day with their father and celebrate again. Although Ralph’s mother thought birthday celebrations were barely a half-level above complete foolishness, she would comply with her son’s request for a special dessert at least. After all, Ralph saw his children so rarely he wanted their time together to have some uniqueness to it.

Vivian had turned 12, and like her mother was quickly becoming a woman. Maybe that scared Ralph. Leta suspected that he feared his daughter would be too much like her mother, a woman with a scandalous reputation. For Christmas, he disregarded Vivian’s request for a collection of books by Charles Dickens and gave her a china doll. Vivian was devastated. “I’m 12, Mom!” she declared. “What am I going to do with a doll?” While she never said, Leta suspected that the word got back to Ralph by her little chatterbox—their son Dale, because a few days later, Vivian returned home from the day with her father proudly sporting two small boxes. The first contained three sets of doll clothes made by her grandmother, no doubt the original present and quickly tossed aside. The second box was a new cardboard jigsaw puzzle.

Vivian was thrilled with the puzzle. It was of a painting of the famous Mona Lisa painting by Leonardo da Vinci. The next morning she commandeered the dining room table and began to work on it.

Leta smiled to herself. Without realizing it, Ralph had succeeded in tapping into their daughter’s child-like qualities and her more mature ones simultaneously by giving her a toy for children and grown-ups.