Page 60 of Broken SEAL'S Secret Baby
“We made gingerbread men, too,” Manuela says. “So we can perhaps all sit down together to eat them sometime.”
“I like gingerbread,” pipes up one of the Weber cousins.
Grace rolls her eyes. “See what you rescued me from, Kate? I’m so glad you talked Charles into hiring me.”
“You are welcome,” I say, before the conversation can get too far that direction. “Tell me about this amusement park place.”
“Well,” Kate says, “It can be a lot of fun, but it is super expensive. James went as a chaperone, and I got a free passand some extra tickets for making straight A’s and having perfect attendance.”
“Were you valedictorian?” I ask, imagining Kate behind a podium, wearing a cap and gown.
She shakes her head. “No. That went to one of the other students. I didn’t have enough extra-curricular credits. But I did get a partial scholarship that paid enough that I didn’t have to take out student loans.”
Student loans have never been one of my personal issues, but I’d had classmates who lived in dread of graduation because of the financial burden they had taken on. “Nice,” I say. “But tell me more about this holiday special.”
Grace says, “The water attractions are mostly closed, of course, but there’s a parade on December 7th, plus two live performances — this year they are doing ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ and ‘A Christmas Carol.’ According to the website, admission is limited because of social distancing, and, of course, everyone has to be masked. Then there’s the Santa’s Pancakes and PJs Cruise — same story, but you get to visit with Santa Claus, get your picture taken with Rudolph . . .”
“I want to go!” Cece announces. “That sounds like loads and loads of fun! Can we, Daddy? Can we, please?”
“I’ll look into it,” I say. Then I have a terribly diabolical idea. “Since it is Miss Grace’s idea, perhaps she and James can go with you on the Santa Cruise. I think Miss Kate is due a little time off. Is there a decent hotel there?”
“Lodge of the Ozarks might be good,” Kate says. “Or there’s the Hilton. Both are on the strip, which puts them within walking distance of many of the attractions.”
“Manuela?” I asked.
“I’ll look into it, Mr. Charles. That young lady works almost as hard as I do.” And she gives me a wink that lets me know that she is aware that this is not an ordinary employee perk. I never could put one over on Manuela.
The rest of the evening is spent selecting a place to stay, planning out an agenda, and making arrangements for Gidget and Mr. Fluffy — who certainly can not go with us.
Kate manages to steer us away from the sillier ideas, while pointing out things that everyone will enjoy. She is amazing and marvelous and all of a sudden I wish very much that I could find some excuse to take her away from the rest of the household, and . . .
My imagination gets to work on all the possible ways to leave Grace and James in charge of Cece, or to send them on some mysterious errand so that it will be only Kate and I in the house after Cece has gone to bed.
I imagine giving them theater tickets and sending them to watch some inane cartoon movie that would appeal to Cece — not really possible, since most of the movie theaters are still closed. Then I envision giving them the keys to the camper…no, that doesn’t work. The truck belongs to James and his father.
In my mind’s eye, I envision walking down the lane outside the house, holding hands with Kate. The stars will be pinpoints of light in the sky, and the moon will be out…but none of those things will outshine Kate, who will be snuggled next to me, sharing her warmth . . . Oh, how I miss the waterbed and glamping — but it is too cold now.
“Charles? Are you all right?”
“Huh? What?” I let go of my daydream and return to the room.
Kate smiles at me. “Welcome back to earth,” she says. “I asked if you thought a family or company suite would be a good idea? There’s a sizable discount for six bedrooms, which might be overkill. But it will give us plenty of room to spread out if the weather gets bad and we are snowed in. We can even take Gidget and Mr. Fluffy.”
“Sounds great,” I say heartily. Maybe with six bedrooms Ican find some way to get Kate alone without attracting too much attention from James, Grace, or Cece. “Book season tickets for everything, including the rooms. We might want to get away again.”
“Are you sure?” Kate frowns at me.
“Certain,” I say magnanimously. “It’s been a tough year for the tourist industry. We’ll be supporting the arts. If we don’t use all the slots, we can send star employees on paid vacations.”
“I’ll take care of it, Mr. Charles,” Manuela says. “When do you want to go?”
“I want to see the parade!” Cece bounces excitedly in her chair. “Can we go then, Daddy? Please!”
“Manuela?” I ask, indirectly.
“Of course, Mr. Charles. Don’t worry about it at all. I’ll talk with Miss Kate about particulars, and we’ll put it all together. You might want two suites, since you’ll need to take your security team.”
“Good thinking,” I approve. “I forgot about them.”
