Page 1 of Soldier's Chrismas Hope
1
NORA
Nora felt a jolt of real happiness as she stepped into the lobby of the Bedfordshire Grand.
Sure, she had a three-year-old on her hip who seemed to weigh as much as a baby elephant. And his big sister, a tiny six-year-old, had insisted on pushing the cart full of bags to the elevator, but was struggling so much that it zig-zagged across the plush carpet of the lobby floor.
And yes, Nora was getting some looks from other residents, possibly because of the zig-zagging cart, but more likely because the kids were in their pajamas and the Bedfordshire Grand was… well, grand.
But both kids had really enjoyed their trip to the grocery store, and now they had all the supplies they needed to be fed and comfortable for another week.
They just had to make it up to the condo without a meltdown and the day would be a total success.
As if on cue, Pixie suddenly abandoned the cart andscampered forward to push the call button on the elevator.
“I want to push the button,”John-John wailed from Nora’s shoulder.
Pixie paused, her finger extended in the air, and then pulled her hand back.
“Okay, John-John,” Pixie said softly.
Nora’s heart squeezed.
Most kids would have quickly pushed that button, not caring if they sent their little brother or sister into a spiral. But Pixie worried about her brother these days. She was protective of him, and that meant making sacrifices, which was honestly pretty impressive. Pushing the elevator call button was kind of a big deal in Pixie and John-John’s world.
“That’s so kind of you, Pixie,” Nora said approvingly as she lowered John-John off her shoulder enough to push the button. “You can choose our book tonight.”
John-John whimpered lightly.
“Farmer Bear’s Christmas,” Pixie said immediately.
It was her brother’s favorite book.
“Pixie,” John-John said tenderly, reaching for his sister. “That’s nice.”
Pixie came up and kissed his chubby cheek, a fond smile on her face, and Nora felt her heart squeeze again, this time with gratitude that the kids still had each other.
Losing her sister hurt so much. She couldn’t imagine how they felt losing their mother.
Taking the two of them in after that happened had cost Nora her marriage, but it was worth it to know theywere going to be okay—at least if she had anything to say about it.
Pixie ran back and grabbed the handles of the cart, pushing it carefully into the elevator without smashing it against the mirrored walls.
Nora pointed to thePHbutton for John-John to push.
“Pixie,”he announced firmly.
Pixie grinned and darted out from behind the cart to push the button. The elevator glided up, mercifully not stopping anywhere along the way to pick up more passengers, and finally opened on their floor.
With her free hand, Nora helped Pixie guide the cart, and managed to get them out of the elevator before the doors started to close. The kids were used to the big, rented brownstone they had grown up in with their mom, and the elevator here at the Bedfordshire Grand was the source of a lot of drama, good and bad. They both adored pushing the buttons and going up and down, but even though she’d demonstrated that it wasn’t really possible, the idea of the doors closing while they were trying to get out really spooked Pixie.
“Okay, John-John,” Nora said brightly once they were inside the apartment. “I have to get these groceries put away quickly, especially the cold ones since we don’t want them to melt.”
“My popsicles,” he agreed, his eyes widening a bit as he nodded.
“Would you like to play with toys while I work?” Nora asked. “Or would you rather keep me company in the kitchen and listen to music?”
“I’ll play with mytoys,” he sang out.
