Seth hid his grin and started searching for clothing companies in Boulder. By the time they reached The Coffee Loft, he had narrowed the possibility to two manufacturers. One was close, only about twenty minutes. The other was almost an hour away. That meant they’d be pushing their time limit. He explained the situation as they waited their turn in line.
“I say go to the closest one. We can’t risk being late getting back to the train. We’ll fail if we don’t make it back in time.”
“Or we could split up.” The idea made sense to Seth.
“I don’t think we can. Besides, if we split up, how would we know what the other has chosen?”
“We could send pictures. I could take a cab to the far place.” He really didn’t want to mess this up by ending up without proper outfits for the kids. “Jenny didn’t say we had to stay together.”
“True. But do you want to separate and find out we were wrong? I can’t take the risk of being accused of cheating and getting thrown off the train.”
“No! I want to ride to Canada,” Chantal blurted, grasping Seth’s sleeve, and pulling on it. “Please, Mr. Mathison. Stay together. I want to see Canada.” Her eyes shone with tears.
A little piece of the ice he’d protected his heart with since his niece’s death melted. He could picture his niece begging to finish the trip. “We’ll stay together.” He tapped her on the nose. “Just for you, munchkin.”
“Where do you want to start?” Joy smiled gratefully over Chantal’s head.
“Let’s get our order to go and hit the closest place.” She agreed. With luck, this would be their last argument of the day.
Before he finished his coffee, they arrived at Galliger’s Dress Works. Silly name for a clothing company, if you asked him. Though they must know what they were doing, the sign indicated they’d been in business since 1856.
He hopped out and tried to remain patient while Chantal fumbled her way out of the vehicle. He had to admire the strength in her arms as she lifted herself, scooted across the seat, and moved her legs one at a time. Joy held out her crutches, Chantal grabbed them and they hurried toward the warehouse entry.
“Are they open to the public?” Joy asked.
He gestured for her to go ahead of him up the narrow walk. “I don’t know. Their website didn’t say they weren’t.” He shrugged, even though she couldn’t see it.
“Oh boy. Maybe we should have gone to the other place,” she fretted.
He placed his hand on her shoulder, gently pulling her to a halt. She turned to look at him, questions in her eyes. “We’re here now. I’m sure we’ll find what we need. We can always hit a mega mall if we need to. If we rented a scooter for Chantal, we could shop an entire mall in no time flat. She opened her mouth, snapped it shut, and nodded.
“Here’s hoping they’ll let us in.”
A receptionist greeted them with an unhappy look. “Sorry, we aren’t open to the public.”
Seth stepped forward and smiled. “We’re on a mission of mercy,” he explained their situation, hoping she’d like the smile his mother said was so amazing. Quickly, he laid out their mission.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated. “We aren’t open to the public. This isn’t a retail shop.”
“Thanks for your time.” He turned to leave.
“Wait,” another voice called. He turned toward the double doors behind the receptionist.
“You said you’re with the Rocky Mountain Christmas Train?”
“Yes, we are,” Joy said. Her voice rang with enthusiasm.
“My brother applied to be on the train, though he never got in. He did make the shortlist in case someone canceled. Apparently, nobody did.”
“That’s too bad,” Seth said. “I heard there were thousands of applicants for the one hundred spots.”
“What is your charity?”
“Mine is the Cerebral Palsy Foundation.”
The woman smiled, obviously understanding why. “What’s yours?” She nodded towards Seth.
“The Alberta Children’s Hospital Burn Unit.” He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat every time he thought about his niece.
