Baby's First Christmas by Pratt Lulu

Author:Pratt, Lulu
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lulu Pratt
Published: 2018-11-24T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

JUDE

“I JUST WANT to thank everyone for coming out. Please drive safe and have a good evening,” said the man dressed in the Santa costume.

The intercom system had given him a difficult time throughout his entire closing speech, with loud shrieks of feedback interrupting every third word. I was grateful when he bowed out, handing the microphone over to the leader of the local band, who immediately broke into a sped-up rendition of “Winter Wonderland.”

“Would you like to donate to the Girl Scout Troop 478 fundraiser?” a cheery voice called out.

“I was wondering where you were during the movie. I wanted to get some apple cider,” Holly spoke softly, squatting so she was eye to eye with the young girl. She had dark brown hair much like Holly, her eyes bashful as she twisted her fingers nervously.

“Oh yeah, we ran out too soon. We have to bring more next time,” the girl’s shoulders slumped recalling their underestimate.

“Well, that just means you didn’t make too much. You wouldn’t want to waste, right?” Holly asked, tilting her head as the small girl thought about her question.

“I guess not, because when we have leftover cookies, it’s hard to find new people to sell them to. Sometimes, my mom has to buy them. Especially Tagalongs. For some reason, no one likes the Tagalongs,” the girl thought aloud, scrunching her nose as she reached a new conclusion.

“Tagalongs weren’t my favorite. I liked Trefoils,” Holly smiled.

“Trefoils are my favorite!” she shrieked, clapping her hands.

“How about this? You put this in your donation bin, and when cookie season comes back around, you make sure to have a Trefoil cookie on me. Deal?” Holly asked as she extended her hand, holding a ten-dollar bill.

“Deal!” The young girl accepted the money before extending her hand for a handshake.

“Oh? You’re making it official?” I chuckled, smiling at her ethics.

“Deal,” Holly nodded as she shook the girl’s hand before standing tall, watching the girl walk away, the confidence evident in her posture.

She was so patient, and from the longing in her eyes, I wondered if she wanted a little girl who looked like her, as I had Chris. He was a spitting image of me, everything I ever dreamed of in a son.

“Oh, Jude!” Holly yelped, staring down at her phone.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

“I need to go get Chris. It’s almost his bedtime and I don’t want to mess up his schedule,” she explained as she quickly folded the blanket.

Holly’s parents didn’t live far from the park, and driving through Savannah on auto-pilot, I realized how familiar I was with the city. Unlike near my apartment in the city, I never needed to look up at a street sign to remember where I was. A GPS was unnecessary.

“Jude, you can go right to get to your parents.”

“Oh, you wanted me to go home?” I asked, the disappointment clear in my tone.

“I thought that’s what–” Holly rushed.

“I want to see Chris,” I admitted, pausing at the light as I awaited her answer.

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