the treats sprayed across the floor.
Tess quickly covered her nose. “They’re horrible! What are they?”
Cora, however, gobbled them up quickly from the floor, and within seconds the offending treats were gone, safely inside her stomach.
He picked up the bag and, holding it at arm’s length, read the label. “ ‘Giblet Niblets.’ ” He shuddered. “I wonder if they all smell this bad.”
“If they do, Cora gets one chance to eat them, and if she doesn’t snarf them down the way she did these nasty things, out they go. I think I’ll flush them. Are you sure they weren’t bad or something?”
“I think they were okay.”
“Maybe they were spoiled. Come here, sweetness—come to me.” Cora ambled over and climbed lazily on Tess’s knee. “I wonder if they were okay. I hope she won’t get sick.”
The cat looked up at her and yawned happily. Tess turned pale. “I hope her breath will smell better by the time we come back, or else she’s sleeping outside.”
Cora’s eyes drooped, and Tess put her on her blanket by the heat register. “I think she’s okay. She probably just has horrible taste in food, no pun intended.”
Jake quickly mapped out his plan for the rest of the evening.
“We’ll do the Pines and then the End. By the time we finish with that, the memory of Giblet Niblets should be gone, and I’ll be ready to eat again without gagging. Sound okay to you?”
“Sure.” It sounded heavenly to her, spending this much time with him.
“Do you have any suggestions about dinner?” he asked her.
“How about Stravinski’s? We’ll be late enough that we probably won’t need reservations. I like it because you can get a salad or pasta or whatever. The food is wonderful there.”
They agreed on Stravinski’s and bundled up again to face the inevitable cold. After a quick trip into the coffeehouse on a mysterious mission, he returned with a familiar white box, a thermos, and two cups.
“I can’t understand why you don’t weigh four hundred pounds,” she grumbled as she investigated the contents of the box. “Ooh, look at this! And this! I don’t know what it is, but it’s chocolate, so it has my attention.”
“They’re cookies and fudge,” he said. “We’re offering ready-made tins filled with them for people who need quick Christmas gifts. The thermos is filled with hot chocolate, and here’s a bag of marshmallows and a can of whipped cream,” he added as he reached in his pocket, pulled them out, and laid them on the console of the car.
“Chocolate to eat, chocolate to drink. And Christmas lights to look at. Life is good, very good,” she commented happily.
As they left, Jake drove around to the front of Panda’s so she could see how it looked with all the trees lit up.
It was an amazing sight. The rich tones he had chosen were strikingly beautiful. She could see why the hues he had chosen reminded him of the three Wise Men and their camels. The jeweled hues were majestic.
The Pines was aglow with Christmas lights. Jake pointed to one house on the first block they visited. Full-size snowmen made out of wire and colored bulbs guarded the front yard. On the roof a Santa and sleigh were parked—not the usual plywood cutout, but a real sleigh and a mannequin to portray Santa.
He pulled over to the side so she could see it better. “Look,” she said, pointing to Santa, “he seems so real.” She nearly passed out from shock when Santa got out of his sleigh and waved at them.
Jake laughed. “That’s Mike Summers up there. He does this every evening between six and seven. Great fun, isn’t it?”
One yard had an elaborate nativity scene with animated animals. “Mary and Joseph look chilly out there in the snow with only their robes on,” Tess said.
Jake agreed. “Makes you want to throw some coats on them, doesn’t it?”
In a neighboring yard the owners had used the snow to sculpt a three-dimensional scene of Bethlehem in white that extended the
Tess quickly covered her nose. “They’re horrible! What are they?”
Cora, however, gobbled them up quickly from the floor, and within seconds the offending treats were gone, safely inside her stomach.
He picked up the bag and, holding it at arm’s length, read the label. “ ‘Giblet Niblets.’ ” He shuddered. “I wonder if they all smell this bad.”
“If they do, Cora gets one chance to eat them, and if she doesn’t snarf them down the way she did these nasty things, out they go. I think I’ll flush them. Are you sure they weren’t bad or something?”
“I think they were okay.”
“Maybe they were spoiled. Come here, sweetness—come to me.” Cora ambled over and climbed lazily on Tess’s knee. “I wonder if they were okay. I hope she won’t get sick.”
The cat looked up at her and yawned happily. Tess turned pale. “I hope her breath will smell better by the time we come back, or else she’s sleeping outside.”
Cora’s eyes drooped, and Tess put her on her blanket by the heat register. “I think she’s okay. She probably just has horrible taste in food, no pun intended.”
Jake quickly mapped out his plan for the rest of the evening.
“We’ll do the Pines and then the End. By the time we finish with that, the memory of Giblet Niblets should be gone, and I’ll be ready to eat again without gagging. Sound okay to you?”
“Sure.” It sounded heavenly to her, spending this much time with him.
“Do you have any suggestions about dinner?” he asked her.
“How about Stravinski’s? We’ll be late enough that we probably won’t need reservations. I like it because you can get a salad or pasta or whatever. The food is wonderful there.”
They agreed on Stravinski’s and bundled up again to face the inevitable cold. After a quick trip into the coffeehouse on a mysterious mission, he returned with a familiar white box, a thermos, and two cups.
“I can’t understand why you don’t weigh four hundred pounds,” she grumbled as she investigated the contents of the box. “Ooh, look at this! And this! I don’t know what it is, but it’s chocolate, so it has my attention.”
“They’re cookies and fudge,” he said. “We’re offering ready-made tins filled with them for people who need quick Christmas gifts. The thermos is filled with hot chocolate, and here’s a bag of marshmallows and a can of whipped cream,” he added as he reached in his pocket, pulled them out, and laid them on the console of the car.
“Chocolate to eat, chocolate to drink. And Christmas lights to look at. Life is good, very good,” she commented happily.
As they left, Jake drove around to the front of Panda’s so she could see how it looked with all the trees lit up.
It was an amazing sight. The rich tones he had chosen were strikingly beautiful. She could see why the hues he had chosen reminded him of the three Wise Men and their camels. The jeweled hues were majestic.
The Pines was aglow with Christmas lights. Jake pointed to one house on the first block they visited. Full-size snowmen made out of wire and colored bulbs guarded the front yard. On the roof a Santa and sleigh were parked—not the usual plywood cutout, but a real sleigh and a mannequin to portray Santa.
He pulled over to the side so she could see it better. “Look,” she said, pointing to Santa, “he seems so real.” She nearly passed out from shock when Santa got out of his sleigh and waved at them.
Jake laughed. “That’s Mike Summers up there. He does this every evening between six and seven. Great fun, isn’t it?”
One yard had an elaborate nativity scene with animated animals. “Mary and Joseph look chilly out there in the snow with only their robes on,” Tess said.
Jake agreed. “Makes you want to throw some coats on them, doesn’t it?”
In a neighboring yard the owners had used the snow to sculpt a three-dimensional scene of Bethlehem in white that extended the
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