Page 39 of 5 Golden Flings

“She’s got a nice figure, too. Not too skinny,” Leo added. “I’ve always liked my women curvy.”

She’d been wearing a long pea coat, so Foster couldn’t comment much there, but he could make out enough of a solid hourglass figure hiding beneath it to pique his interest. Perhaps when he saw her again on Monday, she wouldn’t be so bundled up.

Speaking of which... “Dad, where’s the Santa suit? I’ll have to take it over there on Monday.”

Leo gestured toward the hall. “In the closet with the winter coats.” Then he sighed and frowned. “I hate that I let her down. And all the kids. I always look forward to the parade and takingphotos with the children in the park afterwards. It’s the highlight of my year. And I ruined it. What’s wrong with me, Son?”

Foster noted the defeated expression on his father’s face and he didn’t like it. Things had gotten out of hand while he was away. “Nothing is wrong with you, Dad. You’ve just let things go a bit too far. A drink or two got you through things when Mom left and now you’ve forgotten how to get by without it.”

“I suppose so. There’s not much else to do in this town,” Leo lamented. “The boys get together at Woody’s Bar for a few beers. We have a few at the ball game. We have a few while we’re fishing. It didn’t seem to hurt anyone.”

“The boys aren’t climbing water towers and mooning people, Dad. Do you not realize how serious that was? You could’ve slipped and fallen. You could’ve gotten yourself killed with that silly stunt of yours.”

Leo made a dismissive noise and sat his coffee on the end table. “I was a lineman for the telephone company for forty years. I’m not falling off of anything.”

“You weren’t drunk up on the phone poles.”

“I got down just fine. And I won’t be climbing up there ever again, so you can stop worrying. I just got riled up after losing our big rivalry game. I wanted those Hawks to see what I thought of them and their coach. They played dirty. Coach Chamberlain didn’t stand a chance with his boys.”

Foster stared at his father with a blank expression on his face. What was he supposed to say to that, anyway?

“Alright, it was a bad idea. After a couple of beers I’m full of bad ideas.”

Clapping his hands on his knees, Foster stood up. “And that’s why we’re cleaning out the fridge and the cabinets today.”

Leo followed him into the kitchen as a few cans of beer and half a bottle of whiskey went down the kitchen sink. “A damn waste,” he muttered.

“Yeah, well, I made a promise to Sheriff Todd. It’s my job to see to it that the next full moon over Rosewood isn’t going to be yours.”

CHAPTER 2

It was only December first,but Alice always put up a Christmas tree early. In part because she enjoyed seeing it sparkling in the corner of her living room, and part because the holidays were such a busy time for her. If she didn’t do it now, she’d look over and realize it was three days to Christmas and she hadn’t decorated a thing.

Rosewood, of course, would be decorated with sparkling snowflake lights and red bows on each street light. A few pine garlands would be hung over the downtown streets with large ornaments and banners wishing everyone a happy holiday season. The huge tree in the park would be decorated and lit at a big ceremony the evening after the parade, and a smaller tree in City Hall would be up and decorated by Alice personally on Monday. Besides all that, there would be the Winter Wonderland ball, and charity fundraisers to collect toys and food for needy families. Every bit of which was planned, coordinated, and executed by Alice.

Anything she wanted to do for herself had to happen now. The new pre-lit artificial tree she bought on sale after the holiday last year went up quickly. After it was properly fluffed andglistening with the soft glow of white twinkle lights, she opened a dusty box from the garage and started unpacking her collection of ornaments to hang on its branches.

When she was finished, she took a step back and remembered the new ornament she had bought yesterday afternoon. It had been such a stressful day that she’d put the shopping bag on the kitchen counter with her purse and completely forgotten about it.

Alice retrieved the bag now and pulled out the tissue-wrapped bell. She gave it a little shake and it made the expected jingle. Then she took the red velvet ribbon that was tied to it and looped it over a branch near the front of the tree.

What was it the woman had said? To hang the ornament on the tree and make a wish? Alice stared at the tree and its new decoration for a moment. There were a million things shecouldwish for. No one would be dropping a fortune on her front porch or making the last twenty-five pounds disappear, magic or no, so she decided to focus on what she really needed.

She needed a Santa Claus.

She felt a little silly, but she took a step back from the tree and spoke aloud to the empty room. “My Christmas wish is for me to find a new Santa Claus for the Christmas parade.”

There. Wish made.

There was no magical swirl of stars. No chime of bells. No man appearing in a puff of smoke on her doorstep. Just her in the living room with the same Perry Como Christmas song playing in the background. Alice sighed and stuffed the wrappings back into the bag. She hadn’t given a timetable for the magic, but she was in a hurry. So much for the magic of Christmas and the mysterious Tinsel Trailer.

She smothered her disappointment with more holiday chores around the house. She hung garland down her staircase railing and draped more outside along her porch. Electriccandles went in each window. She hung the wreath on the door and a set of bells she got from her grandmother on the doorknob. An antique Santa was placed on the fireplace mantle beside the hook for her lone Christmas stocking. She glanced at the sad knitted sock for a moment, and then turned her attention on gathering up all the packing materials to carry back into the garage.

Work—be it at the office or at home—was Alice’s distraction from anything that was remotely unpleasant, including her own thoughts. At least that was what her last therapist had said. Unfortunately, she’d been too busy to keep attending sessions, so that was all she knew about it. But work was good as far as she was concerned. It silenced her brain and gave her the dopamine hit of accomplishment she craved.

When the house was decorated and all tidied up, she finally held still long enough to realize she was hungry. She didn’t need to glance into her refrigerator to know her options were limited. Grocery shopping seemed to go out the window this time of year with the rest of her self-care. Instead, she opted to put on her coat and walk a few blocks over to Ellen’s Diner.

The sun was shining despite how cold it was today. It had the perfect nip in the air for a walk instead of driving the short distance. It was the kind of weather she hoped for on parade day. No rain, no wind, just clear skies and enough chill to bring a festive sting to your nose and cheeks.

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