When the mayor had asked if Eb would talk about the event in his speech, he’d declared he wouldn’t. He hadn’t shared his speech with Sandra, so she watched with interest as he deftly referred to situations where people stepped into harm’s way—but then namedotherinstances around Huckleberry Falls that year, like when four people had braved a burning car to pull out the driver and the neighbor who’d gone into a raging creek to save a child who had fallen in.
The mayor smiled as she realized what he was doing. When he ended his speech, she was the first one to applaud.
Friends and well-wishers crowded around. His hand reached out behind him toward Sandra, and she took it, allowing him to pull her beside him with Rue hurrying up to cling to his leg. Finally, Santa Claus and his helper Schmutzli, inspired by the Swiss tradition but not as spooky looking, arrived. Like the Pied Piper, they led the crowd away from Eb to the throne set up for Santa.
Beside Sandra, Eb’s shoulders had finally relaxed, and he reached down to pick up Rue. “I’ll bet you want to talk to him too, don’t you?”
The little girl eyed the Schmutzli with his dark beard and black cape before shaking her head. “Mommy took me to see Santa already. He had elf helpers. I like them better.”
It took a second for Sandra to realize Rue had been talking about her when she’d saidMommy. A thrill ran through Sandra, quickly followed by guilt. For all the problems with Paige, shewasthe little girl’s mother.
Almost as though thinking of the woman made her appear, Paige Briton stepped up to Eb with a glare on her face. A tall man with unnaturally white teeth hovered behind her. Sensing danger, Sandra did what she always did when traveling with Walt and someone approached him. She pulled out her phone and set it to video record.
Paige cocked her hips to the side, her furry hat tilted to give her a flirty look. She had a smell of alcohol on her breath, so she must have been enjoying the drink booths.
“I couldn’t believe it when we got to town and saw a poster withyouon it. Seriously? Why would they honorEbeneezer Grinchlyfor anything?” She said his name like it tasted nasty.
“It’s nice to see you again too, Paige,” Eb said, pleasantly, though Sandra knew him well enough to recognize the seething inside.
“I’ve come for my daughter. Come to Mommy, Rue. Your visit here is over.”
The woman held up her hands as though she expected the little girl to come to her, but the child buried her face in her father’s neck.
“I said,cometo me.” Paige almost stamped her foot while the man with her glanced around, looking uncomfortable. As he should have been, since people were noticing.
“Is something wrong?” Walt stepped beside Eb and put a hand on his shoulder. Linda and her family quickly surrounded him too.
“I was wondering the same thing,” Gretchen said, coming to stand on the other side of Sandra, her husband at her side.
When Paige had recognized Walt, her eyes widened, but they looked about to explode when her gaze fell on Gretchen.
“I came for my daughter,” Paige insisted, but her voice shook a little.
“Do you want to go with her, Rue?” Eb asked, his voice gentle. His daughter shook her head vehemently.
“She’s not old enough to decide that for herself.” Paige lunged forward and tore the little girl from her father’s arms.
Rue shrieked, struggling to get free. “Don’t beat me! Don’t beat me!”
“Why you little—” And Paige called the poor child a word which wouldn’t go over well in sound bites. “Howdareyou?”
At the foul name, Eb moved so quickly that Paige didn’t have time to stop him. He took Rue, who came to him willingly, and stepped back into the crowd of their friends. His ex-wife looked about to launch herself at him, but the man with her put his arms around her, saying something Sandra couldn’t hear.
Whatever it was, it seemed to get to her, and she went still. Then a sad expression settled on her face, and she even managed to tear up. The transition reminded Sandra of the elderly Bilbo Baggins in the movieFellowship of the Ring,when the power of the One Ring had taken control of him for a second, only in reverse. And Eb had been married to this woman?
“I’m so sorry,” Paige said to the adults, her pretend sorrow almost believable. “I was distraught from missing my daughter.” She held out her arms. “Rue, baby, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to call you a name. Mommy shouldn’t have done that.”
“You do it all the time,” the child said, lifting her head from Eb’s shoulder enough to be understood.
“I donot.” Paige’s anger spiked again, and the man gave her a little shake.
His alarmed gaze scanned the growing crowd again. Sandra assumed it was the senator-elect. It was time he knew the entire scene was being recorded. She raised her free hand so he would notice the phone she held pointed at Paige.
The poor guy’s face blanched, and he stumbled back, like someone had pushed him. Without a word, he spun and strode away. The actress scanned the row of famous faces and then followed her boyfriend. Sandra stopped the recording and slid her phone into her pocket while the others expressed their outrage.
“Are you all right, Miss Rue?” She reached up and straightened the girl’s knit cap, which had gone askew during the scuffle with her mother.
The little girl threw her arms around Sandra’s neck. Eb let her take the child but encircled the two of them in his embrace.
