Page 28 of Scrooge-ish
“You’re an angel.” Her small voice is full of breathless wonder. Strawberry blond curls cover her head. Her dark blue eyes are wide and curious as she looks at me.
“No. I’m only Eva.”
“But you look like an angel.” Still awe-filled, she stares at me.
“You look like an angel,” I tell her.
“This is Tamarra. She’s my little devil,” Zebb teases, brushing a hand over her long hair. He’s lowered to one knee beside her bed.
She giggles. “I’m not a devil, Daddy.”
“But you’re as hot as one.” His hand flattens on her forehead, palm down before he flips it and presses the back of his hand to her head, checking for fever.
She giggles again. “I’m not sick.”
Zebb harrumphs as I scan her room. A Doll and Me doll sits on the floor. One specially designed with prosthetic legs. An array of doll clothing is spread around a toy bed while a miniature table nearby holds a tea set.
“What’s your Doll and Me’s name?” I take the liberty to step around Tam’s bed and point at the collection of doll things.
“I named her Zuzu.”
I glance over at Tamarra. “Like the little girl inIt’s A Wonderful Life?”
“I didn’t watch that movie. I thought it was boring.”
I smile. The tale is really more for adults. “What is your favorite Christmas movie?”
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
“Good choice.” I pause and turn back to the doll. “Have you ever been to a Doll and Me tea at Ashford’s?”
Her little eyes widen. “No.” She shakes her head to add emphasis.
“I don’t know if your daddy told you, but I work at Ashford’s. We have a special Christmas tea party every year.”
Tam’s mouth opens wide, and she glances at her father before looking back at me. From his perch beside his daughter’s bed, Zebb looks over at me as well. “That event sold out last summer.”
“I might have an in.” I’d wink but the mood between us is not playful. Instead, I turn to Tam. “If you’d like to go, I could get you tickets. It’s Tuesday the thirteenth at three.”
“Daddy, can we go? Please.” Tam’s little hands press together as she bats her eyelids. How could he ever say no to that face?
“The thirteenth? I have to work, Tiny Tam.”
Tam rolls her eyes. “I’m not tiny, Big Daddy. I’m growing.”
“Yes, you are, and too fast.” He leans forward and rumples her hair.
“You’re growing,” she teases him back. “You keep eating all Granma’s Christmas cookies and you’ll look like Santa.”
“Ho-ho-ho,” Zebb bellows, making a good imitation of the man himself. With the wreath still on his head, and the emerald-green robe, he looks like a youngish Saint Nick.
I clear my throat. “If you have to work, I could take her to tea.” I have no idea where the invitation comes from or why I allow it to escape before thinking through the invite.
Zebb stares up at me while Tam’s mouth falls open. Then she’s cupping her dad’s face with her delicate hands and forcing him to look at her. “Say yes, Daddy. Please, please,please.”
“I could try to find someone to cover my shift.” He puzzles the thought more to himself than to me or his daughter, but I sense his hesitation. Maybe he doesn’t trust me with his little girl whom I’ve just met.
“I could get your sister Marnie a ticket instead of me. So you don’t have to change your shift.”
