Chapter 1
What do you see in these things?”
Sheila’s gaze moved to the Christmas ornament her sister Samantha held up. A little brown mouse held a sprig of mistletoe over its head; its lips were puckered up and its eyes tightly closed. She loved that piece. “What’s not to like?” she countered. She bent back down and carefully unwrapped another Woodland ornament.
“It’s a rodent, Sheila!”
The wrapping paper revealed a little brown bunny pulling a winter sled and two cute baby skunks under a blanket. “No, it’s a cute Foster’s Woodland creature; it’s a collectible.”
“Just because the signature on the bottom says ‘Foster’s Woodland Collectibles’ does not make it cute.”
Samantha placed the ornament on a low-hanging tree branch with two fingers as if it carried some kind of disease.
“No, cute is in the eye of the beholder, and I say they are cute.”
Samantha’s laughter tinkled throughout the room. She flipped her blond hair over a slender shoulder, winked, and then teased, “Is that why you still don’t have a boyfriend? No one’s cute enough?”
Sheila took the ribbing in stride. She stuck out her tongue at her baby sister. “For your information, I haven’t found a man who’s nearly as sweet as these little critters.” She hung the rabbit and baby skunks on the tree.
From the corner of her eye, Sheila watched her older sister, Sarah, waddle into the room. Sarah and her husband, Dave, were expecting their second child in two months.
“Well, maybe if you got your nose out of a book for a little while, you’d find a husband,” Sarah snipped.
With her hands on her hips, Samantha confronted Sarah.
“We were only joking. No need to get ugly.”
“Who’s getting ugly? I’m just thinking Sheila deserves to be as happy as you and I are.” She patted her well-rounded stomach and smiled.
It was the same every year. Sheila shook her head. Samantha in her playful way would tease about the lack of a husband in her life, and then their sister Sarah would take it to a more serious level. She sighed. “Books are how I make a living, Sarah.”
“I know, but do you have to become a recluse to be a writer?” Sarah lowered her body into a chair, all the while protecting her stomach with her right hand.
Unlike Samantha, Sarah had a bob-style haircut and dark brown hair. At the moment, with her rounded tummy, she reminded Sheila of the purple character from that movie where the boy ends up with the chocolate factory.
“Did the doctor say if the baby was going to arrive before Christmas?” Sheila hoped the change of subject would take her sister’s mind off their current discussion.
Sarah sighed. “No, he insisted this baby is going to arrive around New Year’s.”
“I’m sorry, sis.” Samantha knelt beside Sarah’s chair and placed her hand on her sister’s bulging belly.
A twinkle entered Sarah’s eye. “I bet I’ll have this baby before Sheila can find a date for the family Christmas Eve party.” She winked at their youngest sister.
Samantha groaned.
Sheila answered in a dismissive voice. “You know I don’t play those kinds of games.” She set the box of ornaments to the side and stood. “How about a cup of hot chocolate, a nice fat sugar cookie, and a change of subject?”
A couple of hours later, Sheila returned to the living room to finish decorating her Christmas tree. With both her sisters on their way home to their own homes, she could enjoy her collection and dream of the many stories they conjured up in her mind. Sheila’s creativity seemed to explode with ideas when she unwrapped the ornaments she loved.
Sheila turned on the music and hummed along with
“Away in a Manger” as she pulled a tiny squirrel decorating a Christmas tree from the brown wrapping paper. She smiled at the delightful sight within her hand. In her mind’s eye, she could see the squirrel’s little home. It stood behind the small Christmas tree he worked to
What do you see in these things?”
Sheila’s gaze moved to the Christmas ornament her sister Samantha held up. A little brown mouse held a sprig of mistletoe over its head; its lips were puckered up and its eyes tightly closed. She loved that piece. “What’s not to like?” she countered. She bent back down and carefully unwrapped another Woodland ornament.
“It’s a rodent, Sheila!”
The wrapping paper revealed a little brown bunny pulling a winter sled and two cute baby skunks under a blanket. “No, it’s a cute Foster’s Woodland creature; it’s a collectible.”
“Just because the signature on the bottom says ‘Foster’s Woodland Collectibles’ does not make it cute.”
Samantha placed the ornament on a low-hanging tree branch with two fingers as if it carried some kind of disease.
“No, cute is in the eye of the beholder, and I say they are cute.”
Samantha’s laughter tinkled throughout the room. She flipped her blond hair over a slender shoulder, winked, and then teased, “Is that why you still don’t have a boyfriend? No one’s cute enough?”
Sheila took the ribbing in stride. She stuck out her tongue at her baby sister. “For your information, I haven’t found a man who’s nearly as sweet as these little critters.” She hung the rabbit and baby skunks on the tree.
From the corner of her eye, Sheila watched her older sister, Sarah, waddle into the room. Sarah and her husband, Dave, were expecting their second child in two months.
“Well, maybe if you got your nose out of a book for a little while, you’d find a husband,” Sarah snipped.
With her hands on her hips, Samantha confronted Sarah.
“We were only joking. No need to get ugly.”
“Who’s getting ugly? I’m just thinking Sheila deserves to be as happy as you and I are.” She patted her well-rounded stomach and smiled.
It was the same every year. Sheila shook her head. Samantha in her playful way would tease about the lack of a husband in her life, and then their sister Sarah would take it to a more serious level. She sighed. “Books are how I make a living, Sarah.”
“I know, but do you have to become a recluse to be a writer?” Sarah lowered her body into a chair, all the while protecting her stomach with her right hand.
Unlike Samantha, Sarah had a bob-style haircut and dark brown hair. At the moment, with her rounded tummy, she reminded Sheila of the purple character from that movie where the boy ends up with the chocolate factory.
“Did the doctor say if the baby was going to arrive before Christmas?” Sheila hoped the change of subject would take her sister’s mind off their current discussion.
Sarah sighed. “No, he insisted this baby is going to arrive around New Year’s.”
“I’m sorry, sis.” Samantha knelt beside Sarah’s chair and placed her hand on her sister’s bulging belly.
A twinkle entered Sarah’s eye. “I bet I’ll have this baby before Sheila can find a date for the family Christmas Eve party.” She winked at their youngest sister.
Samantha groaned.
Sheila answered in a dismissive voice. “You know I don’t play those kinds of games.” She set the box of ornaments to the side and stood. “How about a cup of hot chocolate, a nice fat sugar cookie, and a change of subject?”
A couple of hours later, Sheila returned to the living room to finish decorating her Christmas tree. With both her sisters on their way home to their own homes, she could enjoy her collection and dream of the many stories they conjured up in her mind. Sheila’s creativity seemed to explode with ideas when she unwrapped the ornaments she loved.
Sheila turned on the music and hummed along with
“Away in a Manger” as she pulled a tiny squirrel decorating a Christmas tree from the brown wrapping paper. She smiled at the delightful sight within her hand. In her mind’s eye, she could see the squirrel’s little home. It stood behind the small Christmas tree he worked to
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