Reading my daughter Ruth’s letter to Santa, I was surprised by her demand for a set of heart-shaped earrings—just like the ones her father had handed Gloria, our nanny. Questions and uncertainties crowded my head, and I couldn’t get rid of the sense that something was wrong.
Ruth’s simple and inventive demands had become second nature to me as a mother, but this one seemed unusual. What did it mean, and why would she want something so exact? Though I tried to dismiss it as simple curiosity, the picture of those earrings stayed with me.
The days passed and I started wondering about the meaning of the earrings. Jerry’s interactions with Gloria, his grin at her, and the kind presents he handed her started me to observe. Possibilities flew through my head, and I couldn’t help but wonder whether I had been blind to something right in front of me.
Driven to find out the truth, I chose to handle things myself. In the living room, I set up a nanny cam hoping to catch a glimpse of what was actually going on. And then the unanticipated transpired.
Jerry was presenting Gloria a little, gift-wrapped box on camera. Seeing the spectacle develop sank my heart. But something didn’t fit as I got closer and observed Gloria’s expression of surprise and thanksfulness.
The bits didn’t come together until Jerry revealed the truth. It turned out that Jerry’s earrings were a vow he had to his best friend Brian, who had died fourteen years before, not a sign of his adultery.
Brian left a gift box for Gloria, his sister, to mark different turning points in her life and had requested Jerry to look after her. One of those presents, the earrings served as a constant reminder of Brian’s legacy and love.
Listening to Jerry’s account, I experienced a range of feelings: thankfulness, guilt, and relief. My darkest worries had been baseless, sorry for questioning Jerry’s honesty, and I was glad for the love and allegiance that had pulled our family together.
We sat down with Ruth that Christmas and told the background on the earrings. Her wide-eyed listening was captivated by the story of Brian’s love and Jerry’s pledge. Ruth also opened a small box on Christmas morning to discover her own heart-shaped earrings, a memento of the strength of love and pledges.
Looking at my family, I realised that the real meaning of Christmas had become clear to me. It was about our love and relationships, not about the presents or the decorations. And sitting around the tree among the people and objects we loved, I knew this Christmas would be one to remember.
