Page 76 of Pity Present

“That’s perfect.” I tentatively lean over and give him a kiss. The thing with kissing someone you’ve only just started seeing is that you don’t want to be pegged as the needy one by always being the first to instigate physical contact. Having said that, I can’t seem to keep my lips off Blake. Thankfully, he doesn’t seem to mind.

Once I’m back in my room, I check the internet to see if the picture frame I ordered yesterday has arrived. According to the site, it’s already been delivered to the front desk. I have no idea how it got here so quickly, I’m just glad it has.

I hurry downstairs to pick up my package. Trina is talking toone of the desk clerks. I approach her and say, “Good morning! Do you have a minute to chat?”

She nods her head. “I sure do.”

“Let me just grab something and I’ll be right with you.” I tell another man behind the desk what I’m there for and he immediately hands the package over.

Then I turn to Trina. “Where should we go?”

“Let’s sit in the great room,” she says. “I can’t get enough of that Christmas tree.”

“It’s really spectacular,” I tell her. “I haven’t put mine up at home yet so I’ve been enjoying yours a lot.”

Once we’re sitting at a small table in the corner, I open the envelope I’m holding and put the contents on the table in front of us.

She looks down at it. “You bought a digital picture frame?”

“I did.” Her brow furrows in confusion so I tell her, “I think you should carry these in the gift shop.” Then I elaborate, “Thanks to your and Heath’s generosity, a lot of the families that come here have children who are having a hard time. And a vacation like this is the kind of thing they would really appreciate remembering.”

“What a fabulous idea!” she says.

“I spent the day with a family yesterday who have a young son that I think might be terminally ill.”

She nods her head. “I’m afraid that could be any number of people.”

Opening the box, I pull out the picture frame, then I take my phone out of my purse. I plug the USB connector from the box to my phone and I transfer the files of the pictures and video that I took of Ben’s family yesterday. Once I’m done, I hand the frame to Trina.

Her expressions softens as she watches the still images of such a happy little family move into footage of them zip lining, then playing in the snow. “This is remarkable, Molly. Seriously.”

“I always have the best intentions of transferring my picturesto the digital frame that I bought.” I add, “The one that’s still in the box it shipped in three years ago.”

She laughs. “Life has a way of getting in the way, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, and I’m single with no kids. Imagine how hard it is for these families to get something like this done.”

“It sounds like you’re suggesting more than selling picture frames.”

Nodding my head, I tell her, “I am. I think you should consider hiring a photographer to spend a couple hours with each family and then make them a frame of their own.”

“Oh, Molly, I love that idea!”

“And the families could always add more pictures as they go.”

Trina looks like she’s about to cry. “This is exactly why you’re so good at your job,” she says. “You’ve looked beyond the surface and found something that will make people’s time here a lifelong memory. We could still carry the frames in the gift shop for regular guests, but I really love your idea of helping the people whose trips we sponsor.”

“This kid broke my heart,” I tell her. “He’s been saving his money so he could buy a frame for his parents.”

“His name is Ben, right?” Trina asks.

I nod my head. “His parents are Ward and Francie.”

Her expression turns serious. “Ben has leukemia. Heath heard about their family from his brother.”

“Is it really hopeless?” I ask, both wanting to know the answer, and not. I can’t stand the thought that such a child is living on borrowed time.

Trina shrugs. “I’m not sure. I know that Heath has asked a friend at Sloan Kettering to look at Ben’s files. There’s a chance there’s a clinical trial he might be right for.”

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