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His present to his parents had been a ride around their subdivision, where nearly every house was decorated in lights and Nativity scenes.
His younger brother, Matthew, knew what would please his parents most, and had been planning on making the announcement Christmas morning. He had been struggling with whether to go on a mission or to join the military, but a few months ago, as he had been asking Heavenly Father if from this commandment he could be justified not keeping, an image of the Savior's tormented face appeared before him. He was in the Garden of Gethsemane, praying, and the scripture of Matthew 26:39 became alive, as he had become alive in Christ. "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." As he had risen, he had whispered so only God Himself could hear him, "I will do whatsoever thou asketh of me; thy will be done."
He turned in his mission papers the very next day.
While Michael was driving his parents around, Matt had set the manila envelope with his papers in it in his father's recliner where he knew he would see it. He hadn't yet peeked to see where he was going, for he wanted all of them to open it and share in his special moment together.
His parents' gift to both of them had been his mother, who voice was like that of the angels, singing the "Cherry Tree Carol," and his father reading the Christmas story he had found from an old article of the Ensign.
His mind fastfowards to that Christmas night Laurel had shown up on their doorstep like an angel descended from Heaven, the snowflakes falling off of her eyelashes as she fluttered them. He waved to her mother who had driven her, and took her hand to lead her inside. "Nice perfume," he commented as he began to help her take off her coat, but halfway through doing so, his baby sister, Mandy, screamed and his parents weren't back from picking up his mother's parents yet, so he dashed off to shush her. After he had rocked Mandy to sleep, he had went back into the living room where he found Laurel placing his gift under the tree.
When it was time to open presents, he remembered the black leather jacket he had coveted in the department store the other day while he and his parents had been out shopping for his brother. Disappointment had clouded his face when he had opened his present from his parents, for there in the box was a jacket that looked exactly like the one in the store, except it was not real leather. He smiled weakly, for he knew how badly his parents had wanted to buy him that jacket.
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