In "The Christmas Memory," a story is told of a boy
(Buddy) and his [elderly] cousin, and a memory of Christmas celebrations, which though a
long tradition with them, will be their last Christmas
together.
Each year, Buddy and the woman eagerly look
forward to "fruitcake weather," as this announces the imminent arrival of the holidays.
They spend a great deal of time preparing to make fruitcakes, a total of thirty-one,
which they give to people who have been kind to them over the past year, some total
strangers.
There is a wonderful yet sad and nostalgic tone
created by Capote (the author), as he relates that these two not only share in this
experience, but help each other to survive living among people who 'can make them cry.'
They are best friends.
However, after this particular
Christmas passes, everything changes. Buddy is sent away to military school, and summer
camps, so that he does not again get to see his elderly cousin. This, of
course, stops their yearly Christmas tradition. They keep in touch with each
other for a while, but ultimately, Buddy's elderly cousin is unable, mentally and
physically, to keep us with the making of fruitcakes. Eventually, knowing
before he is told, he receives a message that his cousin has
died.
These two lonely souls, Buddy and his cousin, had
found refuge and joy in each other's company, and the reader can sense his sadness and a
child's sense of loss in her passing.
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