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"That wasn't the plan, but we can probably fit that in, too. I was thinking that I probably need a Christmas tree, since I've got two helpers to decorate it with me."
"Yes!" the girls chimed. Their enthusiasm was infectious, and I let their joy seep in around the edges of my own misery, loosening my chest just a bit.
They picked out one of the bigger trees and the man at the lot helped tie it to the top of the car. The girls instructed me to drive slowly so "Christopher" wouldn't be injured.
"Is naming the tree standard practice at your house?" I asked them as I guided the car slowly back down the lane toward my house.
The girls were quiet for a long minute, and I found Taylor's eyes in the rear-view mirror. She looked thoughtful, and then said, "Mommy used to do it."
And there was the familiar pain of loss. I hated that these little girls were familiar with that pain, and wished I could take it away from them, but I also knew that the memories they had of Linda were some of the things they needed to hold onto as they grew. I’d lost my parents not long before Linda had died—Mom and Dad going in quick succession, and I knew that pain a bit. But these girls were so young. "Well, your mommy was a very smart lady. If she said we need to name our Christmas tree, then that's what we'll do." I rolled the window down and reached up to pat the roof of the car. "You doing okay up there, Christopher?"
"The twee doesn't talk," Maddie said, her voice full of the derision three-year olds can muster so easily when addressing silly adults.
I pulled up to the gate at the house to discover two things at once. One, there was a little silver Honda parked outside the gate containing a certain television producer I had wondered if I might be seeing again. And two, I couldn't for the life of me remember the code to open the gate. I parked and switched off the engine.
"You guys wait here a sec, okay? My security system is very high tech and it's gonna take just a minute to get it opened up."
The girls nodded as I got out of the car. I cast a glance at April, who was getting out of her car, too, and despite the fact that we had a fundamental disagreement between us, I couldn't help but smile at her. "You're back."
"I told you I would be," she said.
"I'm not going to change my mind about the cameras and the decorating and stuff." I tried to sound stern, but the two eager little sets of ears in the back of my car didn't need to hear me badmouth their favorite holiday.
"Looks like you might be willing to give just a little," April said, eying Christopher tied up on top of the car.
"That's for my nieces." I approached the keypad on the gate and stared at it. Six, five…? Seven? I thought there might be a two in there somewhere. I punched in four different codes as April watched with a tilted head and sparkling eyes, but the gate didn't open.
"No joy?" she asked.
"I'm just practicing," I told her, trying one more useless combination as I felt an embarrassed flush crawl up my neck. I was an adult. I owned the biggest house in town and I couldn’t even manage to open up the front gate without help. I grunted in frustration as I tried another code.
"Anyone you could call?" April had stepped closer and was staring at the keypad like the numbers might just pop out at her any second.
I blew out a frustrated breath and pulled my phone from my pocket, dialing Jessica Betts at her office. Voicemail. Perfect.
April watched all this with interest, and I felt myself flush hotter with embarrassment. Not that I cared what she thought of me, but being locked out of my own yard was not the coolest thing I’d done lately.
"Told you I think I can scale it," she said, eyeing the gate with a measuring gaze.
"No. No way I'm going to have you getting hurt on my property. Your network is already talking about suing me—can you imagine what would happen if you got injured on the job at my house? Not a chance."
While I was explaining how there was no way in hell I’d allow her to climb the gate, April climbed the gate. She now sat atop the massive steel doors, one leg on either side.
"When I get down, is there some way to open these from inside?"
"Be careful," I scolded. "I swear, if you get hurt—"
April cut me off by jumping down from the gate with an agile ease I both admired and envied. "I'm fine, see?" She asked me from the other side of the gate. "Do I need a key? Is there an alarm on the main house?"
I shook my head and passed her the key through the gate. "I'm pretending this isn't humiliating.”
She grinned. "Is it working?"
I felt my face flush hotter. "Not even a little bit."
April's face smoothed, and she tilted her head, lifting a finger to her plump pink lips. "Do you think maybe you'll feel like you owe me anything if I let you in?"
Ha. Clever girl. "Tell you what, I'll repay you by not calling the cops to tell them you're trespassing."
