The Piggy Bank (AIO Christmas Fic)
MapleInk62
Summary:
A charming, little piggy bank, full of silver coins, has always sat on the fireplace mantle in the Meltsner home. It has been a sort of centerpiece to the family photo frames that have been placed beside it. But what is the story behind this old piggy bank? This piggy bank, which has been kept safe for many years by an old man who simply hoped to one day see his grandson again. Who would leave a coin inside the piggy every Christmas of those many years. And well, the day has come for this charming, little piggy bank to have its story told to the Meltsner family’s newest member—not only passing on a Christmas tale, but recommencing a family tradition.
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Several Christmases Ago…
Light, delicate flakes of snow fell from the sky on that winter’s evening, the sun having long since set over the horizon. The young, ever curious toddler had lost interest in watching the snowflakes falling from the frosty living room window now that they were hardly visible in the dark. He had now set his sights on the brightly colored, and beautifully decorated Christmas tree.
Sitting on his knees, Eugene gently reached out towards one of the more low-hanging ornaments. The ruby red, diamond shaped ornament slowly swayed the moment his small hand touched it. Remaining surprisingly gentle, the toddler retracted his hand briefly, before gently reaching out to touch it again. He slowly turned it over, watching the white lights on the tree reflect off the silver colored, glittery stripe that wrapped around the middle of the ornament.
“It’s pretty, isn’t it, Eugene?” Looking up over his shoulder, Eugene saw his grandfather crouched down beside him, smiling. He looked back at the ornament, and answered, “Yes!” Hiram smiled in amusement, ruffling his grandson’s hair a bit. “You know, I think this would be much prettier if it were higher up on the tree. What do you think?” Eugene hummed.
He looked at the ornament as it hung currently, not really surrounded by many other ornaments or much tinsel. He then looked upwards to the rest of the tree which seemed to tower over him. Gold and silver tinsel decorated the many branches, with a variety of different ornaments having been placed on even more branches—some complimenting others. Though, there was one spot that looked to be missing something. Taking the red ornament off its branch, Eugene then tried reaching upwards to put it in the spot he had his eye on. His grandfather seemed to notice it, too. “Here, I’ll help you up.”
Hiram picked his grandson up, then standing up from the ground, held him closer to where he was trying to put the ornament. Even though Eugene was quite bright for a child his age, the toddler was still a bit uncoordinated. To make sure the ornament didn’t fall from the boy’s small hand and shatter, Hiram held onto his grandson’s hand to help him hang the decoration on the empty branch. He took a step back. “There. How’s that?” Eugene smiled. “Good!” His grandfather nodded in agreement.
Hiram stepped away from the tree, and went over to the fireplace. Behind a decorative metal screen, a warm, lively fire crackled, keeping the living room nice and toasty. The mantle shelf above had a handful of small Christmas decorations among two picture frames. A ceramic reindeer and a branch of holly were set next to a frame of an aged photo taken on the day Hiram and his wife had been wed. A small, silver Christmas bell was sitting next to a second photo of the couple with their son, Leonard, who had been around Eugene’s age in the photo. But what Hiram was looking at, was the item in the middle of the mantle—between the frames.
“Do you see that little piggy, Eugene?” Hiram asked, gesturing to the object in question. Eugene nodded. “That’s called a piggy bank.” His grandfather told him. The toddler looked to be quite interested in the piggy bank. “How about we take a closer look at it, hm?” Seeing his grandson nod enthusiastically, Hiram reached for the piggy bank and took it off the mantle. Holding onto both it, and Eugene, he went to sit on the couch.
Once at the couch, Eugene excitedly scrambled to sit on the spot next to his grandfather. Remaining still, he waited to be handed the piggy bank. For a moment, Hiram simply held it for his grandson to see. “This is a very special piggy bank,” He began. Pointing out the unique design of purposefully painted green swirls, and tiny, rose colored flowers on the piggy, he said, “Your grandma painted it all nice herself.” The toddler’s eyes were wide, looking closely at the hand-painted pattern. “Wow!”
“And look here,” Tilting his head curiously, Eugene watched his grandfather turn the bank over. In the bottom of it, was a cork plug. “What tha’?” He asked, taping a little finger on the cork. “That is a cork. It makes sure nothing falls out of the piggy bank.” With Eugene still sporting a curious expression, Hiram flipped the bank upright again. “Here, think you can hold it?” Nodding, Eugene held his hands out for his grandfather to give him the piggy bank.
Sitting very still on the couch, Eugene held the piggy bank in his lap. Hiram then reached a hand into his pocket, and took out a silver dollar. He held it up for his grandson to see. Intrigued, the toddler’s eyes followed the coin as his grandfather brought it to the slot in the top of the piggy bank. He put the coin in, letting it fall inside with a clink . Eugene blinked.
He looked at the piggy bank for a moment, carefully turning it over. The movement caused the coin to slide around inside against the ceramic. Puzzled, Eugene looked up at his grandfather. “Where go?” Hiram chuckled. “The dollar is inside the piggy.” The toddler looked back at the piggy bank again, this time shaking it a little. Curious to see what his grandson would now do, Hiram watched him for a moment. Eugene eventually turned it upside down, shaking it more. Likely trying to shake the dollar out the way it got in.
“Here,” Hiram said, taking the piggy bank back. His grandson watched him expectantly. Hiram took the cork out from the bottom, and with another shake of the piggy bank, the coin fell out into his palm. Eugene gasped. “See, there it is.” Hiram said, showing off the dollar again. His grandson now had an expression of amazement on his face. He smiled. “Again!”
“Alright, I’ll show you again.” Hiram put the cork back, and flipped the bank upright. Instead of putting the dollar in again himself, Hiram instead held the coin for his grandson to take. “How about I hold it, and you put the coin in?” Taking the dollar, Eugene nodded with enthusiasm. “Okay!” His grandfather held the bank steady, as he slid the coin into the slot—to which the silver coin fell, making the same clink it had before.
Not a second after, Eugene was already trying to flip the bank over. His grandfather did so for him. He then tried pulling the cork out on his own. Seeing as Hiram hadn’t stuck the cork back in too tightly, Eugene was able to take it out. “Hold out your hands, I’ll shake the dollar out for you.” Nodding, the toddler held his palms out. His grandfather turned the bank upright, and shook the coin out into the boy’s hands. His grandson giggled, as he clasped onto the dollar.
“Say, I have an idea.” Eugene looked back up at his grandfather again. “You leave this piggy bank at my house tonight.When you come visit next Christmas, there’ll be another dollar for you to take out.” Hiram told him. “And for every Christmas after. How does that sound, Eugene?” Still smiling, his grandson nodded. “Okay!” Sporting a fond smile of his own, Hiram ruffled his grandson’s hair again. “Alrighty. I’ll do that for you.” Picking Eugene up, he set him in his lap and gave him a warm hug. “Mm… I love you, Eugene.”
“Love you!” Eugene repeated, wrapping his arms around the piggy bank.
Over at the threshold of the dining room, Ralph, a friend of Hiram’s, watched the tail end of the touching scene with Hiram, and his little grandson. As their brief conversation with Ralph had died down, Leonard and Thelma—Eugene’s parents—also came up to watch grandfather and grandson sitting on the couch together. Thelma smiled, while Leonard quietly sighed tiredly. Hiram noticed the three, shook his head a little, and waved them in. “Come, there’s no sense standing around like that.”
“We just didn’t want to interrupt.” Ralph said, as he walked up to the two. Eugene looked up at him, as the man crouched a little to be at eye level. “Whatcha got there, Eugene?” Holding the piggy bank up excitedly, the boy answered, “A piggy!” His mother giggled a little, while reaching over to pick her son up. “Did grandpa give it to you?”
“Yes!”
“What do we say?” Thelma reminded him. Eugene looked down at his grandfather. “Thanks!” Hiram chuckled. “You’re welcome. Grandpa’ll keep it safe here for you. For next Christmas.” Having said that, Hiram didn’t miss the dubious look on his son’s face. Standing up, he looked at Leonard. “Son, listen-” Leonard, arms still crossed, look down. “I don’t want to discuss it anymore.” Saying nothing more, Hiram sighed, before returning his attention to his more bright-tempered grandson—who was happily shaking the piggy bank, making the dollar clatter about inside.
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The Present
Despite having been put away in an organized fashion, the string of lights for the Christmas tree were in a tangle, anyways. Buck had volunteered to detangle them, while Katrina worked to sort through the boxes of ornaments—preparing to put them on the still-bare-tree. And as Eugene returned to the living room, Buck looked up from the lights in his hands. “Did you get the ornament?”
“I did. Fortunately , Sparky didn’t break it.” He answered, showing off the slobber-covered red, and silvery ornament. “Nothing a simple polish shan’t resolve.” Eugene added, then showing the rag in his hand that he’d taken from the kitchen. “Good, I don’t want the dog breaking any more ornaments like he did last year.” Katrina told, just as the pet in question quietly trotted back to where everyone was.
Upon earning a stare from both Eugene and Buck, Sparky instantly put on the “woe is me” act, hanging his head down in shame. Buck couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight, as his dog “shamefully” made his way to his pillow in the corner of the room. “Don’t worry, mom. I’ll keep an eye on him while we decorate.” He assured her. Katrina smiled. “Thank you… Oh,”
“What?” Reaching into the bottom of the box she’d been sorting through, Katrina pulled out a small, porcelain figure, which resembled a shepherd kneeling down. “Aha! There’s that shepherd!” Laughing a little, Katrina held the shepherd up for Buck to take. “Not sure how he ended up inside here, but can you put him in the manger scene please, Buck?”
“Yup.” Moving the bundle of lights all onto his left hand, Buck used his free hand to take the figurine from his mother to place with the rest of the scene on the fireplace mantle. He put the shepherd down next to the two others. Then, he looked over the scene again—now that all the figurines were in their place. The porcelain manger scene had been set up in the center of the mantle shelf, between the few other things adorning it. Such as, a few family photos, and a ceramic piggy bank.
For a moment, Buck’s attention lingered on the piggy bank. He’d never meant to ask about it, but had noticed it didn’t seem to match any other decor in the house. The teen assumed it was something Katrina had picked, or something like that. “Hey, mom?” Katrina glanced back at her son. “Yes?”
“Where’d this piggy bank come from?” The question had caught Eugene’s attention. “It’s a ‘family heirloom’, you could say.” Katrina answered, adding, “It’s actually your dad’s.” His curiosity now piqued, Buck turned around to look at Eugene. “Really?” His dad nodded in confirmation. “Indeed. My grandmother hand painted it, and my grandfather went on to gift it to me on the last Christmas I saw him.”
“Wow. How long ago was that?” Buck wondered. “Several years ago. I was only two at the time.” Eugene answered. “My grandfather had also given me a silver dollar to put inside the piggy bank. He told me that, if I kept the bank with him, there’d be another silver dollar to take out the following year.” He retold. Katrina hummed. “You remember that?”
“Not entirely, that’s only what I was told years later. All I do remember is a room, the tree, a smiling face, and a silver dollar in that piggy bank.” Eugene answered her. “So, your granddad told you to leave the piggy bank with him… but you just said that’s the last Christmas you saw him.” Buck noted, to which his dad nodded. “It was, and I did leave the piggy bank with him.” Buck still looked a bit puzzled. “You didn’t see him again the next Christmas? Why …?”
“Well, the reason why that had been our last Christmas together, was because of an argument between my father and him. About the archeological expedition to Africa my parents were planning to embark on.”
“Oh…” With a sigh, Eugene added, “My grandfather had said they would die in Africa, and to an extent, he’d been correct… My mother, unfortunately, did pass away there.” He recounted. “I’m sorry.” Buck said, almost feeling a little bad for bringing it up. “Yes… anyway, for each Christmas following, my grandfather didn’t lose hope that I would return. He put a silver dollar in that piggy bank every year until it was full.”
Curious, Buck set the string of lights down, before then going to pick up the piggy bank from the mantle. As Eugene said, it was full. After setting it back down, Buck then asked, “So, did you see your granddad again?” Eugene smiled sadly, and shook his head ‘no’. “Years after that Christmas, after I had moved to Odyssey, a set of circumstances had led me to where my grandfather had been residing all these years… Sadly, by the time I returned, he had… already passed two weeks prior.”
“Two weeks…?” Eugene nodded. Buck gave his dad a sympathetic look. “Man…” The teen wasn’t quite sure what exactly to say in answer to that. “Once we’d arrived to my grandfather’s home, Mr. Whittaker and I had met Ralph Reems—whom had been my grandfather’s oldest companion. He was the one who told me the story of that Christmas, and had also given me the piggy bank.” Eugene continued. “I’ve kept it ever since then.”
“That’s cool he held onto it, and that he added coins to it… but it’s also still kinda sad.” Buck commented. Eugene hummed. “Yes, it is… It makes the memories—of what I can remember—bittersweet when I think on them.” Buck nodded. “Definitely.” He agreed, though was still looking a little saddened by the story.
Pausing to think for a moment, Eugene set the ornament down on the coffee table. He then reached into his pocket, and pulled out his wallet. Luckily for him, he did have a silver dollar. Having taken it out, he replaced his wallet, and went over to his son. Buck smiled, seeing his dad hold out the silver dollar for him to take. Eugene smiled too, watching as Buck took the coin and went to add it to the numerous others inside the piggy bank.
As Eugene wrapped an arm around Buck, Katrina spoke up. “Maybe it’s time to start your grandfather’s tradition again.” She suggested, standing up to join her husband at his other side. He nodded. “Maybe it is.” Eugene agreed. Buck was now smiling happily. Eugene held his loved ones tightly in a hug. “… It most certainly is.”
~Fin~
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originally posted to ao3 click here
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