by: DaisyMae Duke

This is inspired by one of my favorite stories “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry. I hope you like it!!!!

Luke Duke shook his head sadly as he mucked out Maudine the mule’s stall. It was going to be a hard Christmas this year…in more ways than one.

There was no money, little food, and quite frankly, after the sadness the year had brought no one was really in the mood for Christmas. In fact, if Luke had his way, they would skip the holiday all together. But then there was Bo. Bo who insisted on whistling Christmas carols while he did chores; Bo who adorned Maudine’s fetlock with a small red bow in honor of the season; Bo who spent hours untangling the old Christmas lights in order to decorate the tree he had insisted on having. It was Bo who was making Christmas happen this year- Luke was just trying to get by.

The year had started off bad with Jesse getting a cold that he couldn’t shake. The cold turned into pneumonia which proved to be too much for him to handle. With his kids surrounding him, he had fallen asleep, not to wake again, and the first wave of grief rolled over what was left of the Duke family.

Luke hadn’t allowed himself to mourn too much for his uncle. It wasn’t that he didn’t miss him- there simply wasn’t time. Now that Luke was the patriarch there were still Jesse’s hospital bills to be paid, the mortgage to pay, and crops to tend to. Between Daisy working and Bo racing every so often they had managed to make it to December. Now if they could make it through Christmas.

Luke sighed heavily. Truth be told, he was tired- tired of everything. He marveled at how his aunt and uncle had always provided a merry Christmas for them, when they had so little and the farm and shine runs as their only income. Now Daisy worked and Bo raced along with Luke tending the farm and doing odd jobs here and there and they still couldn’t get ahead. He chalked it up to his inability to manage and eventually, though he had gone to the loft purposing in his mind to stack hay, he ended up laying in it, tears burning his eyes.

The barn door creaked open. “Luke? Lukas? You out here?”

Luke sighed. He might not be the best mechanic in the world, but his sense of timing was incredible. “Up here Bo.”

Bo frowned climbing the rickety ladder. “Whatcha doin’ up here cuz?”

“Just thinkin’ is all,” replied Luke with a slight quiver in his voice, biting his tongue to stop his tears from falling.

“You alright?” asked Bo detecting the quiver and knowing the answer to that before he asked the question.

“Fine.”

Bo frowned again. “Daisy an me are stringin’ the popcorn…ya wanna help?”
Luke shook his head. “No thanks. I gotta go to town.”

Bo looked at him. Something was troubling him, that much was certain. “Luke what’s wrong?”

“Nothin’…I gotta go…” he stood up going past Bo and climbing down the rickety ladder. “Tell Daisy not to wait supper on me.”

“Luke…” Bo watched as his cousin got in the old truck and left, noting who there were faint tear stains on his cousin’s tan face. Climbing down the ladder, he made his way inside. “Daisy…Daisy….somethin’s wrong with Luke….”

Daisy looked up from her string of popcorn. “What?”

“He was cryin’…he said nothin’ was wrong but…”

“Maybe he’s missin’ Uncle Jesse,” suggested Daisy.

“Maybe…maybe…he needs a really nice Christmas…”

Daisy smiled. She had made the boys a couple new shirts apiece and knitted them each a blue scarf as her gifts to them. It wasn’t much, but their shirts were mended beyond further repair, and she reasoned that they, along with the homemade cookies she intended to make would be enough. “You have somethin’ in mind sugar?”

Bo bit his lip. He might not be in charge of the finances, but he knew that things were tight. Even if there was extra money in the box above the stove, Luke wouldn’t want it spent on him for a gift. They would need to save it for the next time the tractor needed repairing, or the next time Boss saw fit to throw one of the boys in jail. No, he would have to figure a way to make Christmas merry for Luke on his own. “Not yet.”

“Well…you’ll think of somethin’.”

Bo sighed nodding. He hoped so.

Luke sighed as he walked past the decorated store windows in downtown Atlanta. There were so many things he saw that he wished he could buy for his cousins, but the more he looked, the more depressed he got. The diamond earrings that would be perfect for Daisy seemed to taunt him with their brilliance and sparkle. The price tag on the Gibson guitar he longed to get for Bo seemed to laugh at him in ridicule. Putting his arm to the window he rested his head against it before catching a glimpse of the store front behind him in the reflection: Honest John’s Pawn Shop. Swallowing Luke crossed the street opening the door, a tingle of bells sounding.

A balding older man greeted him with a welcome. “What can I do for you?”

“I…I uh…I wondered what you could give me…for this…” he carefully took the jackknife out of his pocket and set it on the counter.

“Hmmm,” observed the man as he examined it. “It’s got some wear and tear…but then…it’s quite old…in fact…they don’t even make this brand anymore.”

“Belonged to my great gran-daddy-Hank Duke.”

“Hmmm,” the man that Luke supposed to be honest John said again. “Well I can give you five dollars for it.”

“Five dollars?!”

“I don’t generally deal in antiques…”

“Fine…I’ll find someone who will…” snapped Luke moving to take his knife back.

“Wait…wait…you seem like a nice fella…I’ll make it fifteen…”

“Twenty-five,” countered Luke.

The man laughed. “You know how many new ones I could get for that price?”

“Twenty-five,” said Luke again his hand on the knife.

“Twenty…and that’s my final offer.”

“Done,” said Luke unexpectedly holding his hand out for the money.

Honest John carefully opened the till and counted the bills into his hand and Luke, feeling a good deal richer than he had been moments before, left the store. Now to find something for his cousin…

He had already made a jewelry box for Daisy. It wasn’t as beautiful as the ones he had seen in the windows, at least not in his opinion, and he couldn’t afford to put a beautiful pair of earrings or a necklace into it like he wanted to. Still, he had worked hard on it each night when she worked late at the Boar’s Nest, sanding every crevice until it was smooth to the touch. He then varnished it, the color and grain of the wood coming out. Daisy’s gift was done. It was Bo’s gift that he wanted to be extra special…

He knew he couldn’t get much with twenty dollars, but he began the task of looking anyway. His mind kept going back to the guitar he saw in the window. It was a good deal more than twenty. Bo definitely would not be getting a new guitar for Christmas…but he did need a strap for his old one. With the twenty dollars in hand, Luke went into the shop.

Christmas Morning came and Daisy had outdone herself with breakfast: eggs, grits, ham, and toast.

“Daisy where’d you get the ham?” asked Luke with a frown. It had been a long time since the family had had any meat that wasn’t caught in a trap or with a bow.

“Boss and Lulu…seems Boss ate so much ham and things all week that he declared he didn’t want to see another bite all year…so Lulu gave their Christmas ham to us…and all the trimmings to go with it. I just cut off a bit to go with breakfast for a change,” she said smiling over her plate.

Luke nodded a little. “S’real good.” He looked over at Bo who was grinning like a cat that swallowed a canary. “What’s with you?” he asked a slight smile on his face-Bo had that effect on him.

“I wanna open presents!” said Bo almost sounding like the impatient five year old he had been so many years before. “Auntie never made us wait ‘til after breakfast.”

Daisy chuckled. “I thought you could handle it…guess not.”

Luke finished his plate, though his heart ached a little, the presents he was about to give looked so meager.

“You two first,” said Daisy handing each of them an identical box with a kiss. “Merry Christmas.”

Bo and Luke carefully opened their gifts exclaiming with delight at the new shirts and scarves. Bo put his blue scarf on right away. “How do I look?”

Luke playfully took the scarf and wrapped it around, covering his face. “Much better.”

Bo laughed a muffled laugh as he undid the scarf, handing Daisy his present from him. “Merry Christmas.”

Daisy bit her lip opening the small box and exclaiming with delight as she saw the small wooden cross strung on a string inside. Lifting it out, she slipped it over her head. “You made this…Bo… it’s beautiful… thank you!”

While she was still gushing over the gift, Luke handed her the carefully wrapped box. “Hope you like it…” he added softly.

Daisy looked to him before un-wrapping the box her eyes growing round with pleasure. “Oh Luke….it’s so beautiful. Did you and Bo plan to get gifts that go together like that?”

“Sure didn’t,” put in Bo with a smile.
Daisy sniffed hugging bother her cousins. “Thank you fellas…so much.”

Ever uncomfortable when he was feeling emotional, Luke cleared his throat and pointed to the box on the floor.

Bo grinned and like a child tore the paper off his gift stopping when he saw what the gift was- a brown leather guitar strap.

“He’s speechless,” giggled Daisy.

“I wish it was more…” said Luke softly.

“It…it’s great,” said Bo softly. “Open yours…”

Luke bit his lip and opened the small package that was left. It was a knife pouch for his belt.

“I know…how you’re always so worried about losing Hank’s knife…” he explained softly.

Tears started rolling down Luke’s cheeks.

Daisy swallowed seeing them.

“Luke? Dontcha…Dontcha like it? S-see if yer knife fits?” asked Bo, a quiver in his voice.

Luke bit her lip. “I can’t do that Bo.”

“Wh-why not?”

“I…I sold it to get your strap.”

Daisy’s hand flew to her mouth knowing how much Luke treasured his knife.

Bo burst into tears when he heard that rushing forward and tackling his older cousin in a hug.

Luke was taken aback, tears threatening his own eyes. “It’s okay…I wanted to do it…go get your guitar… so we can see how the strap works…” he said hoping to find a distraction for his little cousin, who, despite his five-and-twenty years was sobbing like a baby in his cousins arms.

“Can’t,” whimpered Bo between his sobs.

Luke frowned looking to Daisy who simply shrugged.

“I sold my guitar…to buy the pouch for your knife,” he explained burying his head against his cousin’s shoulder.

Luke lost control of his carefully guarded emotions at that point, hugging his brother close and holding an arm out to Daisy, drawing her in to the hug as well. Closing his teary eyes, he felt that what his uncle had tried to instill in them all those years had been right all along. There were things more important than money and worldly possessions…things like love…and with a family like his, Luke knew he was the richest man in the world.