Page 16 of A Ferry Merry Christmas
“That’s true, sweetheart. Thank you for being so patient,” Beth commented, but her daughter wasn’t listening.
“Mommy,” Olivia said excitedly, grabbing hold of Beth’s arm. “Is that Daddy over there?” Olivia quickly slid off the chair and raced over to a tall man in a black leather jacket.
The blood rushed from Beth’s face. It was her husband. He must have recently climbed the stairwell up from the car deck.
With her arms open wide, Olivia ran up to Logan. “Daddy, Daddy, you’re here.”
At the sound of Olivia’s voice, he whirled around. He looked as shocked as Beth was.
“Pumpkin, what are you doing here?”
Breathless with excitement, Oliva spoke in a rush. “Mommy is taking me to see Santa, but he might be gone by the time we get to Seattle. I told her it was all right. Santa’s got me covered.”
Logan looked to where Beth was sitting, and their eyes met and held. It’d been two months or longer since they’d exchanged more than a few words. On his weekends, he collected Olivia and dropped her off and that was it. She often stood in the open doorway as he drove away with their daughter, her heart aching.
Beth watched Olivia follow Logan into the cafeteria, where he purchased a cup of coffee.
Grabbing hold of Logan’s sleeve, Olivia pulled him over to where they’d been sitting.
Logan reluctantly followed Olivia back to where Beth waited.
“You can have my seat,” Olivia said, her face bright with joy at seeing her father.
Beth knew this was awkward for them both. For Olivia’s sake, she pretended running into her soon-to-be ex-husband was no big deal.
Logan sat where Olivia had indicated, next to Beth.
“Merry Christmas, Logan,” Beth said.
He nodded and stared at his coffee as if he was reading tea leaves.
After a couple uneasy moments, he asked, “Are you and Olivia doing okay?”
“We’re great,” she said cheerfully, although she doubted she’d fooled him. “What about you?”
Logan shrugged. “I got laid off in October . . . construction work, well, you know. On again, off again. I went back last week, and thankfully it’s a long-term project.”
That he’d continued paying support even when he wasn’t working must have been a hardship. Beth appreciated that he hadn’t forgotten or abandoned his obligation toward Olivia. No matter how difficult financially, he’d been faithful with child support.
“Did you know I lost both my front teeth?” Olivia asked. She stood in front of her father with a huge grin, displaying the large gap between her teeth.
“You told me on the phone,” Logan reminded her. In a whisper he added for Beth’s ears, “About a hundred times.”
“Did I tell you the Tooth Fairy brought me a dollar for each tooth?” Olivia asked.
“You did.”
“Sarah at school got five dollars when she lost a tooth. Can you imagine a whole five dollars? I’d start pulling all my teeth if I got five dollars for every tooth.”
Logan laughed, and because he did, Beth smiled.
“Are you spending Christmas with your parents?” he asked Beth.
She nodded. “What are your Christmas plans?” He’d been raised in California and didn’t have much of a family. He rarely mentioned anything having to do with his childhood, and when she asked, he often changed the subject.
He shrugged, indicating he didn’t have any plans.
“You should come and be with us for Christmas,” Olivia piped in with enthusiasm that was hard to ignore. “It would be the best Christmas ever if you came to Grandma and Grandpa’s with us.”
