Micah searched for a way to distract her. “Let’s work on getting in the truck where it’s warm, and then we’ll figure out a solution, okay?” He prayed that she’d accept his delay tactic.
She nodded, though one tear streamed down her cheek. She swiped it away with the back of her mitten and sniffed.
They began the trek back to the parking lot. It took much longer than it should have because he had to stomp out a path for Lizzie to follow. At one point, a rumbling lifted his eyes to the road, and he watched the snow plow blow by, spraying ice melt out the back. Thank goodness for that!
Lizzie nudged him to keep going.
Once inside the cab, with the heater blowing to thaw out their red cheeks, he stared down at his phone. In a small town like this, there were few options. They could go to the coffee shop for a hot chocolate–but they’d made hot chocolate last night, and it was unlikely Lizzie would trade her worries for a cup.
Going back to their tiny apartment would be dismal. Most days, he felt like a caged bird–a spirited child like Lizzie bounced off the walls.
Charlotte would know what to do.
He shook his head at himself. He had no evidence to support his belief in her, but he knew it was true, anyway.
Maybe she was at The Christmas Shop today. They weren’t that far away, and judging by the plow’s direction, Main Street was already clear. At the least, he and Charlotte could browse her store. Charlotte would love the decorated trees, ugly Christmas sweaters for pets, and ornament wall with decorations in every color.
“Do you want to go Christmas decoration shopping?” he asked before Lizzie could revisit her turmoil over missing pageant practice.
“I guess.” She turned to the side and pretended to pick something off the seat. “Do you want to go shopping with us, Wishy?” She kept her arms out as if she were holding a ball.
Great. They were back to talking to Wishy again. Guess she was more stressed about the pageant than he thought. He’d talked to his sister-in-law about it last night–she’d gotten a master’s in social work and had insider understanding of how a child’s mind worked.
“Lizzie talks to Wishy to practice social skills or process things that happen in her life,” she’d explained. “Between losing her mom, being adopted by you, and now moving to a new town–she has a lot to process. Give her time to find her comfort zone and just love her.”
He promised he would. And he reminded himself of that promise as he pulled over a large snow drift onto the road.
“What kind of decorations do you think we should get?” he asked, hoping to draw her into the real world without pushing Wishy away. He should also start looking at art for the walls to make it feel more like a home, but one thing at a time.
She pressed her lips together as she thought. “We already have a tree….”
They did, though it was half the size of Charlotte’s tree and had the bare minimum of decorations. When he’d seen the trees in Charlotte’s shop, he realized how little he’d done to make their holiday merry.
“We don’t have a wreath for our door.” Her face lifted in hope.
The perfect solution. A wreath wouldn’t take up the space they desperately needed, and he could reuse it for years. It was a solid investment. “Sounds like we’re picking out a wreath.” He smiled into the rearview mirror, and she returned the grin.
As they crawled down Main Street, Lizzie chatted with Wishy about what kind of wreath they should get. Apparently, ones made out of ornaments were high on the imaginary pet’s approval list. It didn’t escape his notice that Charlotte had the same kind of wreath on her door.
Because the plow had been through, giant piles of snow blocked his view of the shops, making him feel claustrophobic. “This can’t be normal,” he mumbled. Hehopedit wasn’t normal. He and Old Man Winter were never tight, but this year they’d become besties, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about the change in their relationship.
He glimpsed someone in front of The Christmas Shop, locking the front door. She wore a cream stocking hat with a fur ball on top, and her long brown hair hung down her back, shiny despite the clouds. He slammed on the brakes and winced as they protested embarrassingly loudly. Considering the fact that they were going three miles per hour, the stop wasn’t all that abrupt. Rolling down the window, he called, “Are you open?”
Charlotte flipped around and peered through the snow. The red awning over the door gave her some protection from the snow. She shook her head. “Just closed up!” She opened her arms and grinned. “This is perfect sledding weather!”
“You’re kidding, right?” he yelled back.
She shook her head. “Are you coming?”
Micah turned to check with Lizzie. He’d dressed her for the weather just to get her to school. Even he had all the right gear. No wonder Charlotte thought they were ready to hit the slopes–er, hill.
“Can we, Dad?” Lizzie kicked her legs. She showed more interest in sledding with Charlotte than she had Christmas shopping, which was saying something.
“Yep.” He motioned for Charlotte to join them in the truck. “Want a ride?”
“Sure.” She struggled over the mound of snow, throwing one leg over the top and sliding down the other side as if she did this daily.
He hopped out to open her door. No one else was out in this weather, so he didn’t worry about putting his vehicle in park in the middle of the street. It appeared all of Moose Hollow was smarter than him and had stayed home today.
