Page 11 of Flamingo Christmas

Not missing a beat, Art replied, “It’s on my recordings so I’ll probably get to it one day.”

Enjoying their silliness, they both cracked up and didn’t make any moves to stand until one of the nurses who saw the accident rushed to help.

That’s when they both scooted around, gathering the wrapped gifts, and piled them in a stack.

“I’m so sorry.” The female’s voice sounded melodic, sweet, and soft, and it gave Art pleasure to hear it. “I was just dropping off these gifts for the children’s tree. We do it every year.” She looked closer and seemed to recognize him because she added, “Hi” in a soft voice.

“Hi.” He replied. Then he smiled and added, “Please don’t apologize. These things happen.” His gaze caught her smiling eyes and something shining deep inside – like a secret only she knew – that made his heart stop. She looked back at him, and they stared at each other, both still grinning. A noise close by brought them back to earth, and he quickly moved.

“Here let me help you right this silly thing.” He lifted the offending cart and shoved the wheel back into place, locking it down. Then he helped her pile the rest of the packages again.

He watched until the two women – both carefully wheeling the buggy, one on each side to be sure it made the trip – were out of sight. No doubt, they would be stacking the gifts near the children’s tree, the one beautifully decorated by a mother and daughter who lived nearby that came to take on the challenge every year.

He knew this happened because one of Lisa’s older nurses told him the story, trying to get him into the spirit of the season. As scroogey as he felt, even he could tell they’d put in a huge amount of work. Not just adorning the large tree, but the whole room shone with lights, gorgeous ornaments, and all done with childish themes. What had gotten his attention had been the rather adorable flamingo angel decorating the top.

Suddenly he remembered his own flamingo troubles. Returning to Lisa’s bedside, he searched for an answer to his last email and felt his stomach drop.Oh, no!He’ d never sent the message… it still waited in his draft folder. What an idiot!

Reading it over to be sure it made sense, he quickly clicked send and hoped the woman called Sue would still be interested in helping him. Seeing his Lisa fading away before his eyes made it imperative for him to replace the one toy she’d carried with her everywhere.

Though it had become slightly ragged over the last four years, he often wondered if she’d clung to it in the same way she would have clung to her mother had she lived. Carrying it with her all day, she could only go to sleep if she held it close. In fact, just the night before the accident, he’d had to override her wishes for Jingles to bathe with her, telling her that if the stuffed bird got wet, it wouldn’t be able to sleep in her bed.

“Daddy, really?” She’d sighed as if she were the adult and he the child. “Did you forget that we could put him in the dryer?” Her childish sarcasm delighted him because at her age it seemed hilarious rather than argumentative.

Pretending to take her seriously, he waited seconds before replying. “We could, that’s right. But dryers take a long time, and you have to go to bed in…” He looked at his watch… “in ten minutes.”

Lisa had sat thinking his answer over before replying. “Okay. He can just sit and watch me have my bath then.”

“Right. As he always does.”

Thinking back to his many discussions with his parents over her strong attachment to Jingles, he’d ended up seeing their point of view. His mom had often reminded him that it had been Janette who’d bought Jingles as a Christmas gift before Lisa was born. By the time the little girl could understand, the whole family made her aware that it was a gift from a mommy who loved her. Therefore, she probably still identified the toy with her unknown mother.

Though the jingling feature had long since stopped working, just the feel of the toy in her arms seemed to satisfy the little girl. Being a man who’s feet were firmly planted on the ground, it became more and more difficult for him to continue allowing her this strange dependence on a toy.

But when his father had pitched in with his opinion, it had made him think long and hard. “Does it make Lisa happy to have this toy? Yes, it does. And we want her to be happy, right? Seems like a no-brainer to me.”

Hearing that philosophy out loud, he’d decided to leave well enough alone. And so he had, to the point that they’d had to return to the house more than once when Jingles had been accidentally left behind.

Now, when his baby girl needed every advantage they could give her, he kicked himself mentally for having forgotten her love for Jingles. How could he have been so careless?

Hearing the door to the room opening, he turned and saw the same woman he’d met in the hallway. She just poked her head in, and her soft voice hesitated before she spoke. “I’m sorry to intrude. The nurse said you might be able to help us in the waiting room. Seems the tree is about to collapse, and we have no idea how to shore it up. Would you be able to come?”

Art stood quickly and went to where she waited by the door. “Of course.” He glanced back at Lisa who hadn’t moved all morning. “Of course I can help you.”

Following behind the young woman in her attractive black yoga pants and bright red sweater, he arrived just in time to stop the crash. One of the nurses he’d become attached to because of her gentle ways with Lisa was using her strength to keep the tree from falling over.

As soon as she saw Art, she called out. “Help. Please grab the tree before it falls.”

Art race forward and using his long arms, he was able to stabilize the tree in time. Pushing it backwards, he gave orders. “Can one of you check to see if the stand is okay?”

On her hands and knees, Sue wriggled under the tree and soon found the culprit. “The stand is barely clinging together. No wonder it’s not holding the weight. I think we’ll need to replace it.”

Art carefully set the tree sideways over one of the visitor’s chairs and then he joined her down below. “Yep. I can see cracks on both sides. Would they have any heavy tape around that we could use to keep it together?”

The nurse laughed. “We’re in a hospital filled with bandages and tape. I think I can get something that would help.” She disappeared for a few minutes while Sue sat on the floor next to Art and waited.

“Do you think tape will hold it together?”

He grinned toward her, his expression teasing. “Not sure they’d be willing to operate, so bandaging it seems to be the best we can do.”

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