Dreaming of His Snowed In Kiss - Jessie Gussman Page 0,57
over the innocence of the children and what they were losing.
“Don’t think about that,” Poppy whispered to him. “Think about the beauty. And the joy. And the memories they are going to have.”
“Okay, Pollyanna.” He bent down to her ear, whispering before he kissed the top of her head.
“Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!” Santa said as he walked in, carrying an armload of gifts.
Warren’s and Garrett’s eyes were as big as dinner plates, Hazel’s matched them and even Trevor bounced in West’s arm.
“Merry Christmas, everyone!”
West recognized his sister Blakely dressed in an elf uniform, complete with a hat and big ears, and carrying her own armful of gifts.
He assumed that Santa must be her best friend Martin. It seemed like Blakely and Martin did everything together.
He was sure of it when he noticed Blakely’s elbow poking Santa in the ribs as she walked by him.
“Ouch,” Santa said under his breath. Then, louder, he said, “You boys must be Warren and Garrett. And I think your brother Trevor is supposed to be around here somewhere.”
Warren’s and Garrett’s heads nodded up and down, but their mouths didn’t close.
“Are you really Santa?” Warren said.
“I sure am,” Santa said. “Let me guess. You’re Warren.”
Warren gasped. “How did you know?”
“Maybe my elf told me,” he said, then winked. “Just kidding. Santa knows everything, right?”
Santa talked to the kids a bit more, then they all went into the room and sat down while people from church arrived and carried casserole dishes and a roaster pan with what smelled like a ham in it into the kitchen. Race and Penny directed that discreetly, and the kids never even noticed.
West was excited about the food, but as he watched as the children chatted with Santa, and Santa talked to Minnie, and Minnie beamed over it all as she held Gabriella in her arms, and Poppy snapped pictures, and all the children gathered around Minnie, with Santa standing behind them, his arms outstretched, including them all, and Blakely, with a goofy grin and a silly elf pose, stood there too, West felt his heart thumping hard and his blood flowing lethargic, like syrup in his veins.
By the time the kids were done opening their gifts, Minnie was dragging, but she still managed to come out to the table and eat with her family, insisting that Race and Penny and Santa and Blakely stay. And even the hospice workers, after they had set up the hospital bed in the room facing the Christmas tree, were invited to sit down as well.
It was a lot of people at the table, and they ended up using chairs and stools from the kitchen in order to seat everyone, but there was plenty to go around, and everyone got full.
Despite the sadness in his heart, it was a happy day, but West couldn’t get over the idea that maybe there was something more he could do.
Chapter 20
Poppy tiptoed down the stairs after putting the children to bed.
She felt like she were walking with a warm glow emanating from her.
She’d never spent a nicer day.
Poking her head into the living room to check on Minnie, she was surprised to see Minnie’s eyes open, watching, almost like she was waiting for her.
“Poppy. Would you mind coming in for a minute?” Minnie said, so tired her words were almost slurred together.
“I can. But just for a minute. You have to be exhausted.”
“I am. And I ache all over, deep in my bones. But I didn’t want to say anything while the kids were still up.”
“Where’s the hospice helper? Devon. Can he do something?”
“Probably. I sent him away, because I wanted to say something to you. And West.”
“Devon told me to come in. He said there was that thing you wanted to talk to me about.” West’s voice came from the doorway that separated the living room from the dining room.
His eyes brightened when he saw Poppy, and he strode over to her, putting his arm around her but not saying anything as Minnie had started to speak.
“Thank you. I do. Something I want to say to both of you.”
“Don’t overdo it,” West cautioned. “It was a big day.”
“I know. And I wanted to thank both of you so much. I already thanked Race and Penny while you guys were putting the children to bed. And I know they had a lot to do with it. But so did you. You were the ones who decorated.” She looked at the tree and lifted her hand as though to