Skyler delivered a trembling smile at Joe and he batted his eyes in response. She was a pretty elf he decided amid his troubling thoughts, her cute nose catching his interest. And she looked kind, as if she held a good heart. Then again, he knew that she did by the way she had responded to Jenny.
Through the silence, he suggested to his overwhelmed daughter, “Why don’t you go get dolly situated, darling so I can talk with….mommy?” he managed, Skyler nodding positively in the process.
Skyler had a vague idea of their situation. Obviously, Jenny was in need of a mommy - and thought that she - Skyler was the ‘mommy’ she’d ordered for Christmas.
“Then we’ll bake cookies?” Jenny asked, whirling to Skyler for a response.
Skyler looked at Joe who nodded discreetly so she told the child, “Oh yes we will, darling.”
Jenny delivered one last hug to Skyler who was still planted to the ground on bended knee, then scampered happily away with her dolly carefully cradled in her arms.
Joe reached out a hand to assist her to a standing position, then stepped aside to allow her entrance to his home as he asked, “Do you have a moment? I-I realize how ridiculous and strange this might appear.”
“In fact I do have a moment,” she smiled, entering the house as she continued saying, “This was my last stop on this sunny Christmas day. However, I heard that we may have snow moving in. A white Christmas - can you imagine?”
"I don't think I've ever experienced one. Jenny would like that," he managed, still deciding how to approach the situation.
Joe led her to the den and as they both settled onto the sofa, he scanned her hands in search of a ring. Nothing there - a great sign.
He began, “It’s probably obvious that Jenny wanted a mommy for Christmas and she thinks that you’re it.”
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