Robbie paused for a moment, looking up as he thought. “I don’t think that’ll work. They’re not usually thin enough to show much light through them, are they? And you want the lights to be visible.”
“Good point. Can’t hurt to check, though, right?”
“Lead the way,” he said.
We headed back to the holiday decoration section, and as we roamed, I let Lina pick out a wreath for the door. We spotted a section of tree skirts thatwerepretty, but like Robbie had said, they wouldn’t work. The fabric wasn’t thin enough.
“Daddy, look!”
I turned to where Lina was pointing and groaned inwardly. “Inflatables?”
She nodded vigorously and ran in the direction of the inflatables, Robbie and I following after her at a more reasonable pace. She was jumping up and down by the time we reached her, standing in front of a vast inflatable scene. There were reindeer, several Santas, a variety of different colored inflatable Christmas trees, popular cartoon characters, and, to my surprise, a giantwhite unicorn with a rainbow mane and tail, with a wreath around its inflatable neck.
“Please, Daddy? Can we?”
I looked at Robbie for help, but he held his hands up in mock self-defense. “Don’t look at me,” he said. “You don’t want to hear my answer.”
I laughed softly and rubbed the back of my neck. “Which is?”
He grinned and I knew my goose was cooked, so to speak. “All princesses need a unicorn as a friend.”
“Daddy, it’s a white unicorn pony!” Lina was practically shouting, still jumping up and down. “Please? Can we? Please?”
I sighed. “Of course we can. You’re right. What princess scene doesn’t need a white unicorn pony?”
She cheered in excitement as Robbie slid the box from the shelf and hefted it into our cart. “This thing is heavier than you’d think,” he murmured.
“It’s the least you can do,” I muttered dryly.
After that, I led the way to the checkout line, deflecting any other requests—except the one where Lina asked for a necklace with Christmas lights that actually lit up, because as I’d proven again and again that day, I had a hard time saying no.
“No more, though,” I said firmly.
She nodded and let out a sleepy sigh, telling me that even though she was a grown-up kindergartener, she still needed a nap from time to time. “Thank you, Daddy.”
I ruffled her blonde hair gently. “You’re welcome.”
A few minutes—and a few hundred dollars—later, we were in the parking lot, working creatively to load everything into the back of my minivan as Caroline put herself into her car seat. Once it was all in, Robbie took the shopping cart back to the corral and headed to his car, saying he’d promised his mom he’d help her with something and wishing us luck.
I looked over my purchases one last time, sighing softly as I realized just how much I was in over my head, before I closed the trunk and took Lina and myself back home.
Chapter 4
Colin
Istoodbacktoadmire my work, grinning so hard my face hurt. I was really proud of the way my house looked, with the trees and bushes dripping in lights, the house with its shooting stars and icicles, and the animatronic Santa figure waving from next to the driveway.
As I surveyed my progress, trying to decide if I needed to add or adjust anything, Dakota came out of his house, carrying a big roll of what looked like fencing wire in both arms. He dropped it to the ground in the middle of his yard and headed back inside.
Curious, I lingered, making my way to his yard and standing next to what was in fact flexible chicken wire. There was a small stack of pieces of plywood, looking freshly-cut, a thick wooden dowel, and various other supplies. A few moments later, Dakota emerged from his house holding a Styrofoam head, a dress form under one arm.
I smiled and waved as he approached. “Hey there, neighbor. What’s all this?”
Dakota gave me a cynical smile. “A princess winter wonderland, apparently.”
“Oh?”
With a nod, he gestured toward the house. “Lina got so excited about your lights that she convinced me to do a display of our own. Princess themed.”
