Such a Hot Christmas by Weston Parker

Author:Weston Parker [Parker, Weston]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Star Key Press
Published: 2023-07-11T18:30:00+00:00

21

DALLAS

“You know, I brought you here to spend time with you, right?” I asked Daphne over a giant stack of pancakes with whipped cream and strawberries. I took another sip of my coffee before setting it down next to the plate of scrambled eggs and bacon I’d hardly touched. “It would be nice to get to see you a little.”

Daphne rolled her eyes and finished chewing her bite of breakfast. “I know, Dad. Don’t worry. We’ll get to see each other plenty. I just think that Ms. Cindy can help me find you the perfect Christmas gift, that’s all.”

“Spending time with you is the perfect Christmas gift,” I reminded her. “Daph, you don’t have to get me anything.”

“But I want to,” she argued. “I hate it when we have our Christmas time together, and I’m over there opening a bazillion presents under the tree and you have a macaroni necklace I made you in art class or a drawing. That’s not fair, Dad. Christmas is the time for giving, so I want to give you real presents this year, not just stuff I made for you.”

“Those presents are some of the best I’ve ever received.” I meant it. “But I am glad to hear that you’re starting to understand that Christmas is more about giving than receiving.” I didn’t want to take the joy of giving away from her. It had certainly become my favorite part of the holidays.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t still want presents,” she said, pointing a finger at me for emphasis.

I reached over and grabbed her finger, squeezing it a little until she squealed and pulled it away. “Oh, don’t you worry, missy. You’ve already got plenty of presents at home. Soon, they will be wrapped to perfection by yours truly.”

“Dad, when you wrap the presents yourself, it looks like a T-Rex did it,” she said, teasing me with a giggle. “You should hire someone.”

My mouth dropped open as I pretended to be offended. “How dare you? Fine. From now on, you only get those gift bags that are no fun at all!”

“I’m just kidding!” she said. “No, no gift bags. You know the fun is in the unwrapping.”

I pretended to have T-Rex-length arms as I said, “Well, I’m afraid I can’t help you with that.”

“Stop!” She swatted at me and laughed some more, music to my ears. “You’re ridiculous.”

We both laughed for a few moments, but then a serious thought entered my mind. “You sure like Ms. Cindy, huh?”

Daphne’s smile faded slightly, and her head rocked back and forth. “Grandma Stella isn’t anything like Ms. Cindy, Dad. Whenever I spend time with her, I feel like I’m at an etiquette lesson. She’s always trying to tell me how to be prim and proper. But Ms. Cindy is just fun. She tried dipping her pizza in ranch last night because I like it that way. She’d never tried it before, but she liked it. And she let me drink soda after the sun went down.” She shrugged.

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