"Pretty, isn't it? Billy Lee made it. Take a peek into my bedroom. It's just as gorgeous. If that man is an idiot, I'd love to see what he could have done with a brain."

We started Christmas off early with presents. Billy Lee gave me a gorgeous quilt rack that he'd made out of aspen, and I gave him a signed copy of James Lee Burke's newest novel. It seemed as if I was copying the idea he'd had for my birthday, but he was truly tickled with his present. Together we had a dozen packages under the tree for Crystal, most of them bought at the last minute and some pretty silly, like a new alarm clock with huge numbers. But she squealed at each gift like a little kid.

"This is the best Christmas ever," she said after each one.

"It really is," Billy Lee agreed. "Gert would've loved this day. Now, let's start cooking in earnest. I'll make breakfast," he said.

"I'll set the table. Can we use the good china for dinner?" Crystal asked.

"Of course. It's a holiday. Get out Granny Molly's pretty glasses too," I said.

She went to the dining room, and Billy Lee and I headed for the kitchen.

He touched my arm. "I want to thank you again for the book. I'm not too good with words, Trudy. I can talk all day about wood and refinishing, but ..

"Your face showed that you liked it. But there's no way you are as proud of that book as I am of the quilt rack," I said.

He smiled, and my heart melted. Billy Lee Tucker was the best thing that had ever happened to me.

At ten o'clock Crystal drove the Maverick over to the nursing home and picked up Momma and Lessie. Momma came in the front door all dressed up in a velour jogging set I'd bought for her for Christmas the year before. She and Lessie each had presents under the tree, and they carried on like two little girls.

Marty and Betsy arrived at eleven with a basket full of homemade cookies and candies. They went straight to the kitchen to help and sent Crystal in to visit with Lessie and her grandmother.

I couldn't have asked for a better gift than Momma's knowing everyone that day. We put the finishing touches on dinner, and Billy Lee sat at one end of the dinner table and carved the smoked turkey. Momma and Lessie were on his right. I was to his left, with Betsy, Marty, and Crystal across the table from Momma and Lessie.

Momma clinked her iced-tea glass with a knife and got everyone's attention, then raised it in a toast. "To Trudy, who has redone this house beautifully and who cooked this dinner for us" Everyone held up tea goblets and made some kind of "hear, hear," noise.

I didn't clink.

I stood.

"I can't take the credit for this meal or this house alone. Billy Lee has worked twice as hard and long as I have on the house. He's worked all day beside me, teaching me all kinds of valuable lessons. One in particular is that paint stripper will take the skin right off the knuckles if I don't get it washed off in a hurry."

Everyone chuckled.

I went on. "He's kept the carpenters, painters, plumbers, and electricians as well as all the laborers on schedule and organized. Then in the evenings he went to his shop and built furniture. You are welcome to tour the upstairs after dinner and take a look at his work."

Betsy and Marty glanced up the staircase. I bet they wished right then that they hadn't been so eager to plow the old place down.

I took a breath and kept going. "But most of all, Billy Lee has kept me sane through all my personal troubles this year. He's been my true friend, and I couldn't ask for a better one. As far as dinner, I can't take credit for that, either. Crystal and Billy Lee helped all day yesterday and this morning. And she got up early both mornings, so that is truly a Christmas miracle."

That brought a round of laughter.

"So the toast goes to Billy Lee and Crystal also, not just to me. By the way, Crystal brought me the most wonderful Christmas present ever. She's having my first grandchild. So please raise your glasses to the next generation."

Crystal wiped her eyes, pushed her chair back, and stood up. "I didn't help that much. Billy Lee and Momma did most of it. I did get up early, but it was out of necessity. Morning sickness is horrible." She laughed. "To avoid a bunch of questions, I got married in Vegas a few months ago. The father of my child has chosen not to be a part of this baby's life. This toast is to Momma and Billy Lee, who have taught me more in two days than I'd learned in twenty years. And not just about how to make a pumpkin pie from scratch. I love you both."

A wide grin split Billy Lee's beaming face, and his blue eyes twinkled.

Momma leaned over and whispered, "When is Granny Molly coming out of her room? Are we taking a tray up to her later? She did a fine job on this sweet-potato casserole. I always did like it when she put in extra pecans. It's the only way to eat yams. Did Gert make the cranberry salad? She told me once that her secret is grinding up a whole orange, peelings and all, for it, but I think she was teasing. What do you think?"

"That's what she told me too," I whispered back, wishing she hadn't slipped away.

The table was silent for a while, but in a few minutes everyone was talking again. Momma kept right on eating, putting food into her mouth, laying the fork down between bites, her hands in her lap. Whether she could remember any more that day or not, the manners that had been drilled into her as a child had stuck. She'd always be prissy. What other constant was there in my life?

Billy Lee's name came to my mind without hesitation.

After dinner Momma and Lessie were both worn out, so Crystal offered to take them back to the nursing home. Momma shook her head. "When I come to this house, Billy Bob Thornton takes me home in his red Caddy. We leave the top down. Call him and tell him I'm ready to go home."

"Grandma, Billy Bob Thornton isn't here," Crystal said apologetically.

I touched Momma on the arm and smiled at her. "I will call him right now. I'm sure he's already on his way. He was really sorry that he couldn't be here with you today"

Lessie was the only one who smiled and nodded at everything I said. Everyone else looked at me as if I'd grown an extra eyeball right in the middle of my forehead. I kept talking to Momma about Billy Bob while Billy Lee slipped out the back door, and in a few minutes he drove the red Cadillac up into the driveway and honked.

"There he is, Momma, right on time. I'll help you get your coat on, and he'll take you home"

Marty, Betsy, and Crystal wasted no time getting to the back door to see who had honked. Poor little Crystal's face was a sight to behold, but Marty and Betsy's jaws hanging loose and eyes nearly popping out of their heads was just payment for the night they'd made fun of Billy Lee at the fireworks show.

"What in the .. " Betsy got control of her jaw before Marty did.

Momma clapped her hands together like a little girl. "I told you. See there? It's Billy Bob Thornton in his red Caddy. Come on, Lessie. He'll give us a ride down Main Street and then take us to the home. He's a good man."

Lessie led her outside, where "Billy Bob" opened and closed doors with a flourish and then drove away.

"I know that's real, but I don't believe my eyes," Crystal said.

"God, that thing is beautiful," Marty said. "I had no idea Billy Lee had a car like that"