Page 20 of Sweet Home

Dulcie glanced over to where a walking path led to a beautiful old stone building that looked like a classic elementary school out of a movie.

“It seems like a very nice school,” Dulcie told her. “Are you excited to go to school one day?”

“I’m excited forrecess,” Elizabeth said.

“Her cousins have told her all about elementary school,” West said, chuckling. “And we’ve gone to play on the school playground a bunch of times, so Elizabeth is definitely ready for recess next year.”

Dulcie smiled at the laid-back exchange between father and daughter. Her own dad always seemed to be impatient and argumentative, if he paid attention at all.She couldn’t imagine him taking her to a special playground, or getting her ready for much of anything in life.

Inadvertently, maybe,she admitted to herself. Dealing with her dad had certainly prepared her for a lot.

But then the town appeared, and she was too charmed to let thoughts of her dad take up any more of her headspace.

Just ahead, four blocks of old-fashioned shops bordered a beautiful park with a skating rink on one side and an actual pavilion on the other. All the shops were beautifully decorated for the holidays, and the pavilion had been hung with pine boughs that were threaded with twinkling golden lights. For a second time this morning, Dulcie felt like she was on a movie set, because what was in front of her was too perfect for reality.

“There’s the toy store,” Elizabeth yelled excitedly.

“Let me park, Elizabeth,” West said with a smile.

“Can we go there?” she asked.

“We’ll definitely check out the window,” West told her. “But we need to get clothes for Dulcie before we can go fun-shopping, okay?”

“Okay,” Elizabeth agreed. “We’ll look in the window, Dulcie. They have a big castle in there.”

“Wow,” Dulcie said. “I can’t wait to see it.”

West pulled onto a street calledBear Avenueand parked right in front of the toy store.

All around, people walked slowly down the sidewalk, arms laden with shopping bags. Dulcie tried to imagine what it would be like to be one of them—enjoying life, with money to spend on gifts and time to enjoy each other’s company.

We’ll have that one day,she promised herself.Delphine and I will be walking down a pretty street just like this, smiling and carrying packages.

Honestly, she didn’t need the packages or the pretty street. She just missed her sister so much that it hurt. Some days, it was hard to remember why she had traveled so far away. But she didn’t really have a choice, not if she wanted to give Delphine a better life.

“Come on, Dulcie,” Elizabeth urged her from the backseat. “Let’s go see my castle.”

Dulcie waited for West to tell her that it wasn’thercastle, but the big man just smiled at her as he helped Elizabeth down. He clearly saw no harm in his daughter seeing that castle as her own, even if there had been no discussion about buying it.

Dulcie scrambled out of the car before he could try to open her door for her like before. She didn’t want him thinking she was some helpless girly-girl type of person. She needed him to know she was ready for work. The air outside was cold, but just as sweet as back on the farm. This place was unreal.

Elizabeth grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the toy store window as an older couple walking past tried to hide their smiles.

“Easy, Lilibet,” Dulcie told her gently. “We don’t want to bump anyone.”

“Look,” Elizabeth said, pressing her face to the glass of the toy store window.

Dulcie moved beside her and had to smile at all the wonderful things inside the shop—therewere dolls, costumes, train sets, and rows of toy cars, all visible from the window.

Elizabeth’s eyes were fixed on the display in the corner, where a huge, wooden castle sat on a bed of cotton snow. Through one of its front windows, she could just see a tiny Christmas tree inside.

On top of the turret, three little figures gathered to survey their territory. There was a little woman with a crown who could have been a princess or a queen, a knight in armor, and what looked like a baby dragon.

“That’s us,” Elizabeth said casually, nodding to them.

“Am I the knight or the dragon?” Dulcie asked her.

“You’re theprincess,” Elizabeth howled. “And Daddy is the knight and I’m a babydragon.”

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