LITMIR.BIZ

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you see the tree?” the boy asked. “Isn’t it great?”

      “Yes,” Richard replied. “You picked a nice one.”

      “Is it tied on good?”

      “Trust me, it’s not going anywhere.”

      “Will we be able to get it down?”

      “Albert will help me.” Richard couldn’t stop smiling at his nephew’s enthusiasm. He turned the tables and asked a question. “Do you think you bought enough ornaments for such a big tree?”

      “We bought lots. Grandma told me we’d need that many.”

      “I wanted to be prepared,” Elizabeth said.

      “Yes, Mom, that was good thinking. I wouldn’t want to have to shop for ornaments now. I’m hungry.”

      “Me, too!” Toby called. “I didn’t get a snack today.”

      “I’m sorry. I’ll have to speak to Delores about that,” Richard said.

      That remark brought Molly to life. “There’s no need to speak to Delores. It’s my fault we didn’t have a snack.”

      “Why is it your fault?”

      “I didn’t ask for it. I forgot.”

      “I see.”

      He noted her anxious expression. Apparently he hadn’t convinced her he wouldn’t chew Delores out. The fact that he had never done such a thing hadn’t occurred to her.

      Elizabeth leaned forward. “Molly, don’t worry. He’s never said a harsh word to Delores. She might burn the next roast she cooks and that’s his favorite meal.”

      Molly glared at him. “Oh, thank you, Elizabeth.”

      Richard grinned at her and she looked away.

      Obviously Molly wasn’t a forgiving woman. At least not to him. He figured Toby was easily forgiven. Even his mother seemed to be in Molly’s good graces.

      When they reached home, he sent the other three into the house and asked his mother to send Albert out. Together they’d unload the tree and put it right into the stand he’d purchased. They could take it right into the garden room.

      A few minutes later, after the tree was standing tall in the garden room, water in its basin, he removed his overcoat and gloves and entered the dining room. It appeared the others were waiting for his arrival.

      “I’m sorry to keep you waiting,” he said as he entered.

      “We had a cup of hot chocolate while we were waiting,” his mother said. She rang the bell to let Delores know they were ready.

      Dinner began with tortilla soup. Toby seemed even more skeptical this evening, but Molly encouraged him to give it a try.

      “It’s okay,” Toby said with a shrug.

      “It will warm you up faster than last night’s soup,” Richard said. “It’s a little spicier.”

      “It’s delicious, Toby,” Molly said with a smile.

      So the nurse had a stomach for Mexican food? “Have you had tortilla soup before, Molly?”

      “Yes, of course. Florida has many Mexican restaurants.”

      “Oh, really? I would have expected Cuban restaurants, but not Mexican.”

      “They have both,” she answered briefly and continued to eat her soup.

      “How does the tree look?” Toby asked.

      “Tall. It almost touches the ceiling.”

      “Do you have a ladder? We’ll need one to put the angel on top.”

      “Yes, I have a ladder,” Richard said, sighing, “but you may be too small to climb to the top.”

      “Richard!” Elizabeth protested.

      “That’s okay,” Toby said calmly. “That’s the daddy’s job, anyway.”

      Richard smiled at the little boy. “You know, Toby, I may have to get a list of the daddy jobs. I’m not sure I know all of them.”

      “It’s okay, Uncle Richard. I’ll help you.”

      Uncle Richard?

      He couldn’t stop the smile that lit his face. This was the first time Toby had called him that. The first time anyone had ever called him that. He knew enough to not make a big deal about it and embarrass Toby, but he liked it. A lot.

      Molly, however, leaned over to the boy and said, “You don’t really have to make a list. He’s just teasing you.”

      “No, I wasn’t, Molly. Not having been a daddy, I don’t know all the jobs a dad must do.” He certainly hadn’t learned the list from his father. The man hadn’t spent a lot of time with his family, and when he did, he tended to control them, not be a role model for them. His mother had done the best she could for both him and Susan under the circumstances.

      Molly gave him a quick, disbelieving look and turned her attention back to her soup.

      “Richard, do you think we can decorate the tree this evening?” Elizabeth asked.

      “No, Mom, it’s already eight o’clock and Toby will need to go to bed after dinner. Besides, the limbs will look better in the morning. The man at the lot told me they had just put that tree up today.”

      “Right. Yes, we’ll wait until tomorrow to decorate it. But you’ll need to be here.”

      “Tomorrow’s the last day before Christmas vacation, Mom. We close at noon.”

      “Oh, that’s right. I’m so glad.”

      Molly stared at him. “You close tomorrow for Christmas?”

      Elizabeth answered her. “It’s a trend in Dallas. A lot of businesses close for the two weeks including Christmas and New Year’s because so little work gets done. It’s mostly parties.”

      “I see. But it’s still a week and a half until Christmas.”

      “I decided to close tomorrow because it’s Friday. Already work has slowed down, so there’s not much point in holding everyone there when they want to go shopping and to parties.”

      “Ah. So you’re not taking the vacation out of the goodness of your heart?” Molly asked.

      Elizabeth rushed to his defense. “Yes, Molly, he is. His father never let his people have even one day off. They worked all the way through the holidays except for Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.”

      Molly smiled at her hostess. “Of course, Elizabeth, it is generous of Richard.”

      Richard noticed he didn’t get a share of her smile. Which meant, of course, that she didn’t really believe he was being generous. Not that he could blame her after his remarks in the car earlier.

      When dinner was done, Molly led a sleepy Toby up to his bed, after the good-night hugs and kisses he gave both Richard and his mother.

      Elizabeth looked at her son once the other two were gone. “What did you say to Molly earlier about Christmas?”

      “What do you mean?”

      “I noticed you two talking in the front of the car when we were on our way to the tree lot. She got upset. Which, I think, led to that comment about your generosity.”

      “I told her I wasn’t excited about Christmas.”

      “I was afraid of that. Don’t you think it had something to do with your dad’s death and then Susan’s?”

      Richard sighed. “I don’t know, Mom. Christmas hasn’t been very exciting since I was still a boy. There’s a lot of rushing

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