Eventually the two ladies came out, still laughing like school girls, and Sarah rang up the old clock her friend had picked up. “Bill is going to love this,” the woman, dressed in a loud red coat with shimmering rhinestones across the lapel, mused.“I certainly hope so,” Sarah replied, her face beaming. “All right, Ruth. Here it is, darling. Now you two kids stop by and say hello before the parade. Melody and I will be right out there on the bench in front of the store.”“Bill will be excited to see you,” Ruth replied with a giggle, “but not as excited as he will be to see this clock!”“Take care, dear,” Sarah said as her friend headed for the door.“See you in a bit, hon,” Ruth shouted back and then added, “Goodbye, Melody!”Turning to smile in her direction, Melody said, “It was ni

Now that Michael’s dangling legs were no longer an obstruction, he slid over a bit closer to Melody. The smell of warm vanilla and peppermint alighted in the breeze, and he debated whether or not to tell her she smelled good or she looked nice—or neither since her mother was sitting right beside him.Melody smiled at him, and said, “You look really nice,” as if she’d been reading his mind.“Thanks,” he replied. “I was just about to say the same thing. I mean, that you look nice. Not that I look nice.”She giggled, and he hoped she knew him well enough now that his silliness wasn’t enough to send her running for the hills. “Thanks.”An older gentleman stopped to say something to Sarah, and he watched Melody’s eyebrows raise and then lower. She stared at her mother for a long moment and then, with a hesitant smile, said quietl

Melody felt a tear in the corner of her eye, but she didn’t brush it away, and despite the sadness, she realized she was smiling. “No one ever calls me that—except for my dad. And you.” He looked surprised, but before he could attempt to apologize, she said, “I really like it when you call me that.”The crooked grin she found so endearing was back. “Good.”Melody took a deep breath and let it out. There was more she wanted to say, but she hesitated to do so. Even though this didn’t feel like a first date, it really was one, and she didn’t want to alarm him. At the same time, she thought he needed to know how much he had already helped her make the holidays special again. “There are so many things I’ve done this Christmas that I never thought I’d do again. You and Michael have changed everything for me. You’ve made me see the magic of the season again. An

Melody smiled so brightly, she was sure she rivaled the Christmas lights. “You know, when Michael bribed me into going along with this, I was skeptical at first. But I guess you’re okay. At least I’ll get some candy out of the deal.”He laughed, and Melody was proud of herself for catching him off guard. “That boy would not trade candy for anything in the world—except for maybe more time spent with you. Even if you are only here due to bribery, thank you for coming.”With no further explanation necessary, Melody said, “Thank you for inviting me.”“Do you think we should go rescue your mom?” he asked, coat in hand.“I think we better go rescue you--middle-of-the-night you. She’s probably sugaring him up so that he’s bouncing off of the ceiling.”“We’d better hurry then,” Reid sa

The snow from the night before crunched under her feet as Melody carefully climbed the steps to the library, Michael’s hand in hers. Reid was on the other side of him, and even though it wasn’t slippery, the idea of tumbling down the steep flight of stairs did not sound appealing, particularly since there was quite a crowd of people around.Ever since Reid had picked her up about thirty minutes ago, Michael had not stopped talking, and he continued to chatter all the way to the door. Melody had always loved this building. She wasn’t certain, but she believed it was colonial revival. It crossed her mind that Reid would know for sure, but asking would mean interrupting Michael. He was in the middle of a soliloquy about how Santa takes care of his reindeer, and Melody felt it might be rude to interrupt.Once they entered, Michael was finally quiet as he gasped in awe. The wide open space where the children usually gathere