[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.Lana pretends to.”“Does she?” Sylvie laughed.“My friend Helen did this too.She’s very pragmatic.While Santa still brought presents, she wasn’t about to let anyone know she didn’t believe in him.”“Lana isn’t hiding it because of the presents.And I hate it.She’s only six – well, seven now.She’d supposed to believe in Santa Claus.” Nick rubbed his forehead with his knuckle.“Do you know why she pretends to believe in Santa, Sylvie?”She shook her head.“It’s for me.She’s pretending for me.She thinks I’ll be disappointed if I find out she doesn’t believe in Santa anymore.”Sylvie grabbed his gloved hand and squeezed it.“How do you know?”“I suspected for a long time, but I didn’t realize why she was still pretending.Then I heard her talking to the cat about it,” he said soundlessly.“What kind of a father am I? She won’t talks to me about what’s bothering her, but she talks to that cat!”“She’ll come around, Nick,” she told him, feeling helpless.What did she know? “And you’re a wonderful father.You’re doing everything you can for you.She’s smiling more, isn’t she? And expressing interest in things.Like the clown.Right? She’ll be fine.”“Sorry,” Nick’s beard moved, which probably indicated a smile.“Didn’t mean to dump this on you.And yes, she’ll be fine.I know she will.” He threw the burlap bag over his shoulder and headed for a door at the end of the hall.“Now, let’s get this show on the road.”Against her expectations, Sylvie enjoyed herself at the party.Once Nick had gotten his Santa duties out of the way, and the Santa costume off, he was charming company, even while he dragged her from group to group, introducing her as he mingled with his staff.She got a lot of curious looks, but she didn’t mind.Grandma Alex wouldn’t have minded.Grandma Alex would have smiled broader and stood up straighter, enjoyed the envy in the women’s gaze when they saw Nick smile at her.Sylvie dragged down everything she had from her Grandma Alex genes and was determined to enjoy the evening.“Must have been rather hot inside that costume,” Sylvie said when they retreated to a corner with their drinks, and she’d been introduced to probably every person in the room.A couple of long white Santa-beard hairs clung to his shoulder, and she reached up to pick them off.She twisted her fingers, trying to get shake the tuft of hair off, but static electricity bound it to her skin.“Damn,” she said exasperated.“Static electricity is worse than superglue, isn’t it?”“ I know something that works.” Nick grabbed her wrist, brought her hand to his mouth and blew hard.The warm current of air slithered across her skin.The Santa hairs drifted to the ground.And Sylvie stood there, mesmerized by the warm breath against her skin, the sudden fire in his eyes.Her skin tingled, first the spot he’d blew on, then the warmth spread all over.Oh, my.Nick broke the mood, grinned, kissed the back of her hand briefly and let it drop.He resumed conversation like nothing had happened.And nothing had, had it?“The worst thing is the damn itching, actually,” he said, and she blinked, finally working out he was talking about the false beard and wig.“Drives me crazy.But it’s tradition.I wear that stupid suit twice: one for my staff, and once for my children.All in all, it’s worth it.”“Speaking of your children.” She laughed.“My cousins were sure you’d asked me here just to keep me on a short leash in case you think Lana needs me again.”Nick laughed, as if she’d told a joke.But she noticed with trepidation that he didn’t deny it.“Your cousins?”“You know, the comfort zone gang.”“Oh, they’re your cousins? I thought you’d mentioned a group of friends.”“Yeah.Helen and Susie.They’re my friends, but also my cousins.This comfort zone thing actually comes from our common grandmother.We call it the Grandma Alex pact.”“Go on,” Nick prompted.“This sounds interesting.”“Our grandmother died a year ago.She was the type of person who lived life to the fullest.My cousins and I felt rather inferiors in comparison.We have nice enough lives, but we stay firmly within our comfort zones.We’re missing out on all the excitement and risks that were such a big part of Grandma Alex’s life.We wanted to change that.”“Maybe your Grandma’s comfort zone was just naturally that much bigger,” Nick pointed out.“Maybe it didn’t feel risky or frightening to her.”“Maybe, but she worked on making it that way,” Sylvie argued.“She constantly wanted challenging herself.If she was afraid of something, she’d deliberately expose herself to that until she got over it.She was a great lady.” Sylvie sighed nostalgically.“We all miss her.”“So that’s where it all began? In your grandmother’s memory you decided to jump in the deep end and entertain at a children’s birthday party?”“ My friends decided that for me,” Sylvie corrected.“That was how it’s supposed to work.We need to be pushed out of our comfort zone.We won’t walk out of them voluntarily.That’s why it’s our comfort zone – because it’s a place we don’t want to leave.” She shrugged.“I thought getting into that clown suit and putting on the make-up was bad enough.Actually going to the party was worse still, but I thought I’d just be there, observing.But then Susie dumped me there and.you know the rest.”“Yeah.And you did it.Twice.Is the pact over now that you’ve done this?”“Absolutely not.It’s an on-going thing.For life.”“For life?”Sylvie shrugged.“What can I say? I’d had milk and pancakes.”Nick stared at her.“You sound like you’re telling me you were drunk on milk and pancakes.”“It’s a Grandma Alex thing
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]