about to light the tree. Come on, let’s hurry.”
Without another word, the quartet weaved their way through the throngs of people clustered around the giant tree’s perimeter. They were able to find a spot about six feet away. Stephanie figured that was as close as they could get without actually trampling on toes, strollers, and, looking down, the largest boot she had ever seen. Her eyes followed the boot to the calf, then the knee, all the way to the thigh. Why did this look familiar to her? Before she knew what was happening, the boot man snatched Amanda right out of her grip and hoisted her on top of his very broad shoulders.
Patrick!
“If you’ll follow me, I’ve got the perfect place to view the tree,” he said.
Stephanie was about to tell him to back off when Melanie shook her head and pointed to the girls. They were so excited, the sparkle in their eyes could light up half the giant tree if needed. She mouthed okay and inched behind Patrick, with Ashley sandwiched between her and Melanie.
Patrick guided them through the crowd without too much pushing and shoving. On the opposite side of the street, Stephanie spied what she knew to be a giant boom lift, or a cherry picker as some referred to it. She couldn’t help but grin. She glanced behind her at Melanie, who wore a grin as big as the tree. Ashley hadn’t said a word since Patrick had come in and literally swooped Amanda onto his shoulders. Not that she could’ve been heard through the sounds of excitement coming from the groups gathered around the center of the resort.
“Let’s hurry, we have about two minutes to climb up in this thing,” Patrick said.
“This will hold our weight?” Stephanie asked cautiously. Up close, the machine didn’t look that big or steady.
“I’m one hundred percent sure,” Patrick attested. “I wouldn’t risk it if I wasn’t.”
Was that supposed to be a dig of sorts, she wondered, as Patrick opened the glass door. Did he think she’d taken too big a risk when she’d allowed Melanie to take her girls skiing on the mountain? She figured if he had, too bad. It wasn’t his concern how she raised her children. She told herself if he really knew her, he would know the last thing she would do would be to place her children in danger. A small voice reminded her that was exactly what she’d done when she’d remained married to an abuser. But that’s for another time. Tonight, I simply want to enjoy being with my daughters and Melanie.
Trusting he knew what he was doing, Stephanie allowed Patrick to lift Amanda inside the boom. Ashley wasn’t nearly as excited as her sister about climbing into the small bucket.
“Mommy, is this safe?” she asked.
“Absolutely,” Stephanie replied in her most reassuring voice. “I would not allow you inside if I thought otherwise,” she added.
“Well, okay then,” Ashley said, allowing Patrick to assist her.
Patrick placed Ashley next to Amanda on a small seat. He grabbed Stephanie’s hand to help her take the giant step leading to the inside of the bucket. Sparks shot up and down the length of her arm as he held her for what she thought was a minute too long. She felt out of sorts for a few seconds. She stood behind the girls, then Melanie climbed in. Once they were all securely in position, Patrick spoke up.
“I’m going to be operating this thing. It’ll only take a minute to reach the height you’ll need to view the lights. Just try not to jump around too much, okay?” Patrick said.
“You’re not gonna watch the lights with us?” Amanda asked.
“I’ll see them from below, kiddo. Now let me close this door and get all of you ladies up in the air,” Patrick said. He gave Stephanie a small smile before closing the door.
She wondered if this was his way of making up to her for the way he’d talked to her at Snow Zone. She wasn’t sure, but again, for the girls’ sake, she wouldn’t question it, at least not just then. There would be plenty of time later for her to think about and rehash the day’s events.
Before any of them could utter a word, they were lifted in one giant swoop. Patrick had positioned the boom so that they were able to view the tree at its midpoint. They could look up and down, yet they weren’t so close that they couldn’t see the people below them, too.
“Oh, Mommy, this is the best fun ever,” Amanda said.
“Okay, let’s watch,” Stephanie said.
Within a matter of a few seconds, the giant evergreen lit up…just like the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center!
Hundreds of red, green, blue, and white lights clung to the tree’s branches, illuminating the entire perimeter around the tree. From somewhere there was a drumroll, then a giant silver star as big as a car tire sparkled, completing the ceremony.
“Wow,” Ashley said. “This is so way cool from up here.”
“And I’m not even scared, right, Mommy?” Amanda informed them.
“See, she’s doing it again!” Ashley pointed out.
“Girls, now isn’t the time. Let’s just enjoy the view before Patrick puts us down.”
A few minutes later, Patrick lowered the boom to the ground. Once they stopped, he stepped out of the cab, opened the door, and let them out into the frigid night air.
“That was the coolest thing ever, thanks,” Ashley said.
“Yep, it sure was. Mommy thinks so, too, right?”
“Amanda,” Stephanie chastened, “it was wonderful. Now, what do you girls say to Mr. O’Brien?”
Quizzingly, Amanda said, “That we want to do it again.”
They all burst out laughing, even Stephanie.
“That’s not what I had in mind,” she said as an afterthought. Her girls knew their manners. Or at least she thought they did. Apparently tonight, that knowledge had taken a leave of absence.
“Thank you, Mr. O’Brien. That was very thoughtful of you to think of us,” Ashley said in her most prim and proper voice.
Again, the adults laughed.
“You two are very welcome. That tree sure is a sight to behold, huh?” Patrick said as he gazed up at the rainbow of colors.
“Do you wanna go to Burger King with us?” Amanda asked. “We didn’t have lunch today when we were with the pups. I am starving, and Mommy says we both can have double-dipped ice-cream cones because we didn’t talk on the ride home.”
If there had been a giant hole somewhere, Stephanie wished it would swallow her up right then and there. She was really going to have to start explaining to Amanda exactly what social manners were. She realized her daughter was only seven, but she had to learn sometime, and it might as well be now, before she totally humiliated Stephanie.
For once, Patrick saved her from Amanda’s eagerness. “I’d love to, but I need to go to Claude’s to see how the pups are doing.”
“Oh, I want to go with you,” Ashley said. “I’ve been so worried about them. Can I go with Patrick, Mom? Please?”
Stephanie wasn’t sure exactly what had gotten into her girls, but she was really going to have to sit them both down and discuss manners with them.
“No, you may not. And please don’t assume that Mr. O’Brien has to invite you just because you want to go. That is very rude.”
“I tell you what I’ll do if it’s okay with your mom,” Patrick said to both girls. “As soon as I leave Claude’s, I will call your mom with a pup report. Maybe later this week, if it’s all right with your mom, I can take both of you girls to see the pups.” Patrick looked at Stephanie, shot her one of his killer smiles, and her heart turned to mush, but only for a second. She remembered just how hateful he had been to her that afternoon.
“I’ll