Page 42 of Kit
“Something funny?” Parker asked.
My face heated. “I just love Christmas so much, Daddy.”And you.But I couldn’t say that out loud yet. It was too soon.
Parker didn’t haveto be at the Club until just before nine. He took me to lunch, and after we came home he said, “Leave your parka and scarf on, baby boy. We’re going to make a snowman!”
I clapped. “Yay.”
“Get your mittens on,” he ordered. “We don’t want frozen hands, do we?”
I got my mittens from my pocket. Parker helped me put them on.
That first big snowball base was really hard to build. I did a lot of scrounging around in the snow, getting it all over me. Finally, we formed the base and added to it. It took a lot of time and energy, but it was so worth it when our ice sculpture started to look like a real snowman.
Just as we were putting on the finishing touches: a carrot nose with rocks for eyes and a smile, a delivery van pulled up the driveway.
My heart leaped in my chest. I knew what it was. I’d ordered everything yesterday online. Inside my cold soaked mittens, I crossed my fingers that Parker would like what I had done.
I stood by our new snowman and watched Parker meet the delivery guy on the pathway. The guy handed him a red gilt-wrapped poinsettia plant.
Parker fished in his pocket for his wallet and the guy held up his hand and said, “Everything’s prepaid, sir, including the tip.”
The man walked back to his truck.
I slowly slogged through the snow to Parker.
I looked at him with my wide-eyed questioning gaze. “What is it?”
“A poinsettia. There’s an envelope with it. Addressed to me.”
“Well? Open it.”
He frowned suspiciously, then handed me the plant and opened the envelope. “It’s tickets.”
“Tickets? To what?”
“The Christmas train in Windhaven for dinner the night before Christmas Eve. And a note.”
“A note?”
He opened and read.
“Dear Daddy.” He blinked rapidly as he glanced once again at me. “Thank you for having me at your house this holiday season. You are a fantastic daddy and a wonderful Santa. Love, Kit.”
“Kit? When did you do this?”
I held tightly to the poinsettia and swayed back and forth. “Yesterday.”
“This is a beautiful gift.”
“And a surprise, Daddy?”
“A big surprise. Thank you.”
“I hope you like trains.”
“Who doesn’t love a train? And dinner on a train is even better.”
I grinned. “It’s a three-hour excursion. It takes us up the mountain and back again. We can watch out the big windows while we eat. And the train is all decorated and lit up for Christmas. It’s for the night before Christmas Eve. I hope that’s okay.”
