A Christmas to Remember(14)

David rolled over onto his belly and swung his feet off the side of his bed, hopping off. He grabbed his dinosaur and stood next to Carrie. His curly hair was bunched in haphazard clumps on his head and his pajama bottoms were twisted, but he didn’t seem fazed as he darted over to the corner to grab his slippers. They were big, puffy things in the shape of lambs. He struggled to hold his dinosaur and get his heel into the slipper, but after a few tugs, he got it on and stood up.

“Ready?” He nodded again. As they walked down the hallway, she asked, “Have you seen your daddy yet this morning?”

David shook his head. “He goes to work.”

“Did he leave already?”

“I don’t know.”

That sadness that she’d felt earlier was back in full force. Why didn’t Adam’s own son know if he was in the house or not? Why hadn’t David felt that he could get up and go see his father? And why hadn’t Adam even checked on his children before he left? It was all a stark contrast to the warmth that she’d seen in Adam’s face last night. It didn’t make any sense.

She opened Olivia’s door, and when she did, the little girl sat up in bed and looked at them with groggy eyes. Her hair was in a braid, loose strands puffed out around it, falling down along the sides of her face. She rubbed her eyes. “Can we get up?” she asked.

“You can always get up on the mornings when I’m here. Just come and wake me up. I’ll get up with you whenever you’re ready to start the day.”

Olivia looked at David then back at Carrie, her face showing uncertainty. “Okay,” she said quietly.

These were the facts that she had: One, there were two children in front of her who clearly had not ever played or acted the way she expected children to act. Two, Adam didn’t seem to have prepared in the slightest for Christmas. And three, Adam had put her in charge.

“Kids, what do you want for breakfast?” she asked. They continued to look back and forth at each other. “What do you usually have?”

“Oatmeal and fruit,” Olivia said.

“Do you like oatmeal and fruit?”

Olivia didn’t answer.

“What would you rather have?” Carrie stopped in the hallway and kneeled down to their level. “It’s okay. Tell me.” Neither of them answered. They were only four. Perhaps they genuinely didn’t know what they wanted to eat. “Would you rather have pancakes?” she asked.

Their eyes were as big as saucers. “Yes!” Olivia answered.

“With chocolate chips or bananas? Or both?”

“Both,” David finally spoke.

“Yes, both!” Olivia said hopping on her toes.

“Perfect. Let’s go make pancakes. After that,” she pulled out the small bottles of food coloring that she’d brought from her last job, “I’d like to take these out into the snow and make a rainbow volcano. Would you like to join me?”

She hadn’t heard such noise come from these two since she’d gotten there. They were whooping and stomping and giggling all at once.

“That’s the answer I wanted to hear,” she smiled and stood back up. “Now let’s go make those pancakes.”

When they got to the kitchen, Carrie pulled two chairs over to the sink. “Wash your hands, please. We need clean hands to make our breakfast. Hold them out.” She squirted foamy soap in each of their hands, piling it up as if they were holding a fistful of whipped cream. When they started to laugh, she squirted more until their little fingers were lost in the suds. “Hang on. I don’t think I’ve put enough on. Rub them together,” she said, trying to hide her own laughter at seeing their expressions, and squirting more. The children looked at each other, clearly trying to decide if she was serious. Then, she turned on the water and asked them to rinse.

After hand washing was complete, Carrie scooted their chairs over to the island in the center of the kitchen. It was a large slab of granite with cherry wood cabinets underneath and sleek, chrome drawer-pulls and handles. “Hop up,” she told the kids, and they climbed onto the chairs again. Olivia was on one side of the island and David on the other. All they were doing was standing on chairs, but they were giggling like crazy. Olivia’s chest rose and fell with every giggle, her eyes darting from side to side, and David’s smile was wide and jovial, his dimple showing on his cheek just like his baby picture.

“Why are you laughing?” Carrie asked, nearly laughing herself at the sight of them.

“I’m very tall,” Olivia said with a grin that spread across her entire face. She put her hands on the counter and leaned on it, hopping up and down in her chair. Carrie laughed and shook her head. She’d missed this age. She set the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in front of her and began measuring out the amounts into a bowl she’d found in the cabinet beside the sink.