Chapter 20

He was home in Florida, and he wasn’t going to be spending Christmas alone. Marisol was right. He may not have come to remember, but that was what he was doing anyway. Wind whistled down the fireplace and David began to laugh.

That first Christmas David’s family had spent in Florida, Janet Whitmore had been able to get them into the house before Christmas. The night before. Christmas Eve.

David had already started school, and he remembered his mother’s dismay when she picked him up that day. She had wanted to make things look nice, but she hated the idea of anyone, especially moving men who probably had families of their own, working on Christmas Eve.

“I bought new blankets and pillows,” she said. “We can always use more of those. Do you mind if we rough it tonight?”

“No, it’ll be awesome,” David said.

Charles showed up that night with pizza, and said, “I’ve got another few surprises in the car.”

He returned with a big leathery looking plant in a ceramic pot.