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stairs.
    “Hi, Daddy! Guess what?” Dustin jumped on his lap. He was small for six, but he had enough energy for two boys his age. “Me and Mommy are making Christmas strings.”
    Christmas strings.
Brian hid his frustration. Every year Tish saved up junk mail and old magazines so the kids could cut them apart, twist them into colorful wads of paper, and sew them onto long pieces of string. Christmas strings, they called them. They draped the strings around the apartment as a way of preparing for the holidays.
    Couldn’t they have real decorations? Just once? Brian kissed Dustin on the cheek. “Good for you, buddy. I’ll bet they’re the best yet.”
    Tish leaned down and hugged Brian. She was so beautiful, so happy despite their means. He breathed in her optimism and smiled. “Where’s Gideon?”
    “Stacking newspapers for Mrs. Jones in zD.”
    “Again?” He slid to the edge of the sofa. “Didn’t she do that last week?”
    “Hmmm.” Tish lowered her chin. “I’d say someone’s been a little preoccupied.”
    Brian’s mind went blank. “What do you mean?”
    Dustin slid down and ran upstairs to play. When he was gone, Tish sat on one of Brian’s knees and wove her arms around his neck. “I mean Gideon’s been working for the neighbors ever since that first night at the mission.”
    “What? How come I didn’t know about this?”
Why is Gideon working for the neighbors?
    “I think she wants it to be a surprise.” Tish nuzzled her face against his. “She makes a quarter every time she brings the mail up for Mrs. Jones and fifty cents for stacking newspapers or dusting.”
    Brian’s frustration doubled. “She’s only eight years old, for heaven’s sake, Tish. We can’t have her out working like that. What’s she trying to do?”
    “She must need money for something.” Tish gave the end of his nose a light tap. “Don’t worry about her, Brian. She wants to do this. Whatever she’s up to, I figure let’s let her do it. She probably wants to buy a present for someone. If it matters to Gideon, it should matter to us.”
    T he following Monday, Gideon brought a tattered paper bag of change to Brian and made an announcement.
    “I need to go to the store.”
    Brian kept his expression neutral. “What for, honey?”
    “I wanna buy a Christmas present for Earl.”
    A strange mix of awe and frustration shot through Brian. “Old Earl, the man at the mission?”
    “Yes.” Resolve was written across Gideon’s earnest face. Her excitement was palpable. “For the Christmas dinner at the mission tomorrow. I asked God to make Earl believe again and I decided maybe he needs a present. Maybe no one’s ever given him something for Christmas.”
    “Okay.” Brian hesitated. The old man didn’t deserve a gift from Gideon, but how could he tell that to his daughter? “How much money do you have?”
    Gideon’s eyes sparkled. “Five dollars and fifteen cents.”
    Five dollars and fifteen cents.
The amount was barely enough for a greeting card. Still, Tish was right. If this gift mattered to Gideon that much—no matter what he thought—he could hardly stand in her way. He pulled Gideon into a hug and whispered in her ear, “Alright, sweetie. I think I know just the place.”
    Two hours later they were walking out of the secondhand store arm in arm. Swinging from Gideon’s elbow was a gift that had cost every last dime she’d saved. Everything she’d worked for those past two weeks.
    When they got home, Gideon asked Tish to help her.
    “I wanna sew something inside the gift.”
    Tish’s smile was tender and understanding. Brian watched, frustrated.
Better her than me. Too much time and money on the old man.
Gideon’s love was far too precious.
    Gideon spent another half hour coloring a picture for Earl. She slipped the gift into a brown paper bag, dropped the picture inside, and tied it shut with a piece of string. Then she decorated the outside with Christmas trees and angels. Smack in the