Page 50 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
Lina nodded. “Okay, well. How about you read off the qualities you’re looking for, and your dad and I will keep track of which tree has what? Then we’ll know which one is the one we’re supposed to bring home.”
“Perfect!” Asher cried.
And we began the process. After going through his checklist with extreme attention to detail, we decided on the tree on the left, a very robust, dense, rich-colored specimen that would look just perfect in the living room in front of the window.
After paying the family and working with the sons to get the tree fixed to the top of my car, the three of us piled into the Beamer, and I started the engine to warm her up. Lina held her hands in front of the vents and shivered. “Holy smokes, it’s cold out!”
“Pittsburgh,” I mused.
She shot me a grin and wrapped her jacket tighter around herself as I drove out of the parking lot. The very tip of the tree was visible through the windshield on the roof above. Lina twisted around in her chair to look at Asher in the back seat. “Did you guys have any other traditions? Like a snack you get after tree shopping?”
Asher looked at me in the rear-view mirror. “Uh.”
“Like ice cream?” Lina winked.
“I thought you said you were cold!” I laughed.
She shook her head. “I’m never too cold for ice cream.”
Asher piped up in the back. “Let’s get ice cream, Dad!”
“Yeah, Dad.” Lina giggled. “Let’s get ice cream.”
20
LINA
Asher burst into a fit of giggles when Cal held open the door to the ice cream parlor for us, and I budged in ahead of him. I gave him a light push backward, egging him on, and Asher took off after me as I made for the counter.
I beat him there, and he put his elbows on the counter as we waited for someone to come help us.
“Too slow,” I teased, sticking my tongue out at him.
Asher grinned up at me. “You cheated! I didn’t know we were racing.”
“Yep. That’s why you lost and I won.”
Asher was still grinning as he shook his head at me. Cal came up behind us, put his big hand on Asher’s head, and pointed his son’s eyes toward the menu board. “What are you going to order, kiddo?”
Asher pursed his lips. “Hmm.”
I scanned the menu as the employees on the other side of the counter loaded giant scoops into waffle cones or pink cups and passed them over the glass case to customers. I spotted Sugarlane Candy Cane as one of the flavors and pointed at it. “I’m going to get something festive.”
“Sounds sweet,” Cal said.
“Literally or figuratively?”
“Literally.”
I frowned. “Do you know what I would normally order?”
Cal shook his head. “Not now, no. But when we were young, you’d never deviate from good old fashioned chocolate. It was your bread and butter. You always said there was no sense in messing with a good thing.”
I considered his words. It was easy to put two and two together and conclude that he and I had gone for ice cream together when we were young. Ice cream parlor visits sure sounded like a date to me. I kept my mouth shut about it. I had enough to remember without worrying about who I was dating when I was sixteen.
A young guy behind the counter came over to the cash register and smiled at us. He wore a cotton candy pink visor, as per his uniform, and a baby blue apron. “Welcome to Sal’s Ice Cream Parlor. What can I get for you today?”
He looked at me first, so I blurted out, “One small Sugarlane Candy Cane please. In a cup. No cone.”
