Page 1 of Flamingo Christmas

Prologue

The dark scared her the most.

Every nearby sound appeared amplified when one couldn’t see. The smell of cedar wood surrounded her so that each breath she took seemed filled with a rotten taste.

Choking, she began to cry while clinging tightly to the stuffed toy her daddy had grabbed for her at the last minute.

Why didn’t her mommy come and get her? She hated it in here. Her daddy had promised they’d be back soon, but it seemed like forever she’d had to wait.

Remembering the horror she’d seen on her parents’ faces and their adamant orders for her to stay hidden, she didn’t dare disobey.

Instead, she clutched her new fuzzy friend closer in her arms so she could put her face into the softness of the furry pink body. Finding solace from her companion, she whispered, “You’re here, Lovey. You’re my friend. We’ll be okay. Mommy and Daddy said so.”

For what seemed like hours, the little girl and her stuffed flamingo waited. Until finally, when her little heart felt it would burst from so much fear and sadness, the top of the chest opened, and loving arms reached inside. They lifted both her and her new toy into their warmth, her parents together, blessing her and telling her what a good girl she’d been.

They hadn’t forgotten her.

When the gunman had rampaged through the store, killing more than a few people, she’d been saved.

Chapter One

Sue Ross loved flamingoes.

Ever since she was a child, her mother had given her a special addition to add to her collection for every occasion and her assortment had grown over the years to where she had a room in her apartment designated just for her indulgence.

Other people would tease her and even make jokes about her commitment, but she ignored their taunts and went on her merry way, happy with her hobby. In fact, she’d become so enamored that after school she’d stumbled on a way to turn her so-called hobby into a career. In college, she’d specialized in design art and had begun to make her own flamingo items in various styles including ceramics, artwork, and cloth. Having a great time with her favorite collectible, she came up with incredible new ways to display the magic bird.

Eventually, she’d worked with a friend to help her build a wonderful website, and in a short time, it gained a large following. Her sales were beginning to grow so much that she was forced to rent a workspace and hire extra help, which made her content as she could concentrate on the designing.

Crafting and constructing yet more flamingo artifacts made her one of the happiest people she knew. And with the Christmas season only a few months away and orders piling up, she faced every morning filled with enthusiasm to get back to the job.

Really, how many people were able to work with something that gave them as much joy as Sue experienced daily? To say she felt lucky would be an understatement. Unfortunately, today she had to contain her joyous nature when she met up with her two closest female friends who were both going through hard times.

Neither of them were in the same place in their lives as she was, and it made things difficult to say the least. As much as she loved them, she always had to hide her happiness or get dissed about her penchant to be smiling… all the time.

According to one of her closest friends, Jacquie, she was out and out annoying at times. Though normally a happy person herself, her family was going through a rough patch, and naturally it affected Jacquie strongly.

And her other close friend, Colleen,always seemed to have upsets in her love life that would be downers for anyone else, yet she somehow managed to keep a smile on her face.

Getting ready for the day, Sue made up her mind to play it low-key, meet with her friends and be supportive for their troubles and then beg their forgiveness because of her overload at work.

Thankful it had been her turn to choose the restaurant for lunch, she’d picked a favorite spot close to her small shop where they produced, packaged, and sent out the items she sold. There was a sewing area where the three machines ran constantly and the colorful materials they used filled the shelves to overflowing.

Then another larger area in the back of the building had work tables loaded with ceramic birds of all sizes and shapes, some funny and others just out and out gorgeous, waiting to be painted and glazed and then loaded into the kiln to be fired.

The room she spent the most time in was filled with artwork. Various paintings or drawings dedicated to their mascot flamingo. Her specialty was detailing the bird in hysterical poses to bring cheer to all who saw them. The cuter and funnier she could make them, the better they sold.

Reaching the restaurant first, she took out her cellphone and opened her emails. Waiting for her was a message from a distraught father who’d found his daughter’s favorite flamingo destroyed in a car accident. According to his comments, he’d do anything to replace it as soon as possible.

Seems his child had been holding it when the car was t-boned, and the stuffed lovey had been torn apart and covered in blood. When they’d taken the four-year-old to the hospital, the well-loved flamingo had been left behind and no one could tell him where it ended up.

Right now, she wouldn’t be allowed any personal toys in the ICU. But when she healed from her surgery and was taken to her own room, he desperately needed to have a similar flamingo waiting for her.

He ended the request with these urgent words:

Miss,I know the toy was quite old because my wife bought it to give to her before she passed four years ago. I’m just praying it might be possible for you to have one that’s similar, or if at all possible, the same. It would bring a smile to my baby’s face.

Art

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