A Christmas to Remember(23)

She arrived right on time and had to stifle a smile as she saw Adam standing at the front of the lot, his coat pulled up around his chin, his breath billowing out in front of him, talking on his cell phone. One step at a time, she thought.

He looked like something out of a magazine, and she couldn’t believe how in the world, looking like he did, he was still single. As she parked the car, she thought how similar they were. He was still single for the same reason that she was still single—they both worked all the time.

“There’s your daddy,” she said, turning off the engine.

“I can’t wait to get at tree!” Olivia said. David sat quietly, his eyes on his father. His face was curious, watching, as if he were taking in every one of Adam’s movements. Carrie could tell that David was like a little adult himself, and if he were just given the opportunity, he’d probably want to spend every minute with his daddy. Her mind was spinning with ways to facilitate that scenario.

She opened the car door and helped the kids unbuckle themselves. They hopped out, and she quickly assessed the parking lot, worried they’d run to Adam, but they didn’t. They stood right with her, and she noticed again what little bond they had with their father. Adam had looked their way and finished his call, sliding his phone into his pocket. He put up a hand and waved at them. In the sunlight, she noticed that his hair had strands of bronze like Olivia’s, and his face was even more striking when he wasn’t exhausted. She took the children’s hands on either side of her and walked across the parking lot.

“Hi,” she said as they neared Adam.

“Hello.” He had his hands in the pockets of his coat.

He had a quality about him that made her want to walk with him, take her time, get to know him better, but she was there for one purpose: to get the children with their father. “There are a lot of trees here,” she said for the kids’ benefit. “We may want to split up. David, why don’t you go with your daddy, and Olivia and I will go to the other side. We’ll each find a tree and compare them. How does that sound?”

David was still watching his father, a hesitant look on his face. Then, without warning, he leaned toward Carrie and whispered, “I want to go with you too.” He moved closer to Carrie, putting a giant gap between the three of them and Adam.

Carrie had made the suggestion, hoping to give David a little time with his dad, to give them a chance to enjoy each other, and it had just backfired terribly. She could feel the splotches climbing up her neck as she looked over at Adam. How must it feel to have a son who would rather be with his nanny than with his own father? Even given the situation, it had to hurt at least a little. She searched his face, worry swelling up in her stomach, but if it had hurt him, he hid it well. His smile was gone, but his face was pleasant.

“Why don’t we go together?” he suggested. “We have enough time to find a tree, even if we don’t split up. Plus, Carrie knows what would look best in the house.”

“Okay,” she said, glad that she’d have some time with him, and that the atmosphere was still friendly and happy for the most part. They started walking into the rows of spruce trees, all tied to posts, their branches dusted with snow. Big, buzzing white light bulbs hung from tree post to tree post, their light masked by the bright sun. Despite the clear weather, the temperature outside was so cold that the snow hadn’t moved. It still blanketed the field, contrasting with the green of the trees and the blue of the sky. Carrie ran her hand down one of the trees, its short needles springing into place from under her palm, sending a tiny puff of snow down to the ground.

“Do you want a fat tree or a skinny one?” she asked David.

“A big fat one,” he smiled, his dimple showing on his cheek. “That will give us room for more presents!” he giggled.

Carrie thought about this comment. As of now, David didn’t have any presents because Adam hadn’t bought any—and unbeknownst to him, she wasn’t going to do it. Did Adam even know what his children liked? Did he know what would make them gasp and squeal with joy on Christmas morning? She had a lot of work ahead of her if she was going to get him to buy the presents. At this point, it seemed daunting, and she felt a twinge of worry that she wouldn’t be able to accomplish such a task. She worried, too, about the children. What would their Christmas be like if they opened a bunch of gifts that they hadn’t asked for? What if Santa didn’t come? Didn’t Adam realize that he only had a handful of years where the magic was there? And then it would be gone. Forever. He’d never get that magic back. If she didn’t work fast, his children would grow up and look back on their childhood never knowing that kind of magic.