Page 51 of Sweet Surprises

“I’m gonna borrow that one,” Chance said, jumping up and down.

“I don’t know that one,” Charlotte said, frowning.

“When we get home, you can read it to me,” Chance crowed, his sorrows forgotten.

They all headed out toward her car with an energy that seemed all the happier because of the sadness that had come before it. She got Chance settled in his booster, and pushed the seat back again so Olivia could get in.

“I could do all that, you know?” Olivia said.

“Of course you could,” Charlotte said. “But you shouldn’t have to. You’re a kid too.”

Olivia nodded and got in without another word. Charlotte started the car and Chance made a loudvroomsound right along with it, like he always did. Olivia rolled her eyes, but she laughed, like usual.

“So, where are we headed?” Charlotte asked, starting up the silly game she and Chance loved to play every day after school.

“A castle,” Chance yelled back. “A firetruck race, a robot battle.”

“What about a clown convention?” she offered.

“No,” he yelled back, delighted. “Let’s go to the North Pole.”

“Those all sound fun,” Charlotte said, pretending to have a hard time deciding. “Maybe I’ll call your grandma to help us decide. But she might be kind of busy, because she was putting pumpkin bread in the oven this morning…”

“Pumpkin bread,”Chance squealed. The way to the active little boy’s heart was definitely his stomach.

“I guess we could just go home and have a snack,” Charlotte said thoughtfully.

“Yes,” Chance yelled. “Let’s go home.”

“Okay, home it is,” she said.

Olivia was shaking her head in the seat beside her, but she was smiling. The girl was very attached to her little brother. Charlotte was pretty sure she didn’t mind all the silliness, since it made him happy. As the song on the radio ended, the announcer came on.

“That was Elvis Presley, with another classic,”he said.“But you can be sure this Christmas won’t be blue, thanks to our generous sponsor,Treasure Chest Toys of Sugarville Grove, who wants us to remind you that this Saturday they’ll be throwing our Town Snowball Fight. And the winner will take home the pirate ship sled displayed in their front window?—”

“I want to win,” Chance yelled from the backseat. “I want the pirate ship.”

The toy store had announced the big snowball fight last week when it started snowing again. They even said that if the snow melted, they would bring in a machine, but they were determined that Sugarville Grove would have a community snowball fight.

Tag called it flashy flatlander nonsense, but Chance’s imagination was captured by the idea of all those snowballs, and the chance to win the coolest sled he had ever seen. They had been stopping by so he could admire it longingly in the shop window whenever they were in town.

Charlotte was pretty sure some energetic teenager would win. But she saw no reason not to let the little guy look forward to the fun. Besides, the town Christmas tree would be lit afterward, and presents for the Giving Tree project would be collected. There would be plenty of fun things to help him forget his disappointment.

She was looking forward to the weekend herself. The ice cream shop would finally be open again, and she was really hoping that all the people in town for the activities would stop in and try the new flavors.

When they reached the covered bridge, Charlotte tapped the horn and waited a few extra seconds before crossing.

On the other side, the bare branches of the big red oaks seemed to welcome them. Charlotte couldn’t help wondering what they would look like covered in lush greenery.

“Dad’s outside,” Olivia noticed as they pulled up close to the stone farmhouse.

Charlotte spotted him right away. The big man was pacing on the porch, looking downright impatient. He was hard to miss.

She wondered if there had been a call from the school about Chance’s behavior. But she didn’t want to say it out loud, because it would only make the boy feel worse. And the smile that lit up his face as they parked set her mind at ease a little.

“Okay, guys,” she said brightly. “Let’s hop out.”

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