Chapter 30

thirty

LIAM

I attached the last garland to the edge of the fireplace. "What do you think?"

Paul smiled. "It looks incredible. The decorations have transformed the entire room."

Amy picked up the ornament I'd given her. "It looks like Christmas. Do you think Santa will know we're here?"

I hadn't thought about Christmas from Amy's point of view. We were hundreds of miles away from Milwaukee and everything that was familiar to her. "Santa definitely knows you're here. Did you know he has a special team of elves who let him know if you've moved?"

"Are you sure?" Amy asked. "If he can't find us, he won't be able to deliver our presents. Even Rudolph won't be able to find us."

Paul took a red and green striped tablecloth out of a box. "Liam's right. Santa knows exactly where everyone lives. We even have an enormous fireplace he can slide down."

Amy's neck arched backward as she followed the chimney into the towering ceiling .

She turned to me and frowned. "Does Santa know you're here, too, Liam?"

"I hope so. Have you ever called Santa on the North Pole's hotline?"

Amy's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "We can talk to Santa? Can I call him now?"

"As soon as I find the phone number, you can. How about we finish hanging the decorations, then we'll look for the number?"

"Okay." Amy looked inside Paul's empty box before racing across to see what I'd found. "You've got monkeys!"

I grinned. "These are special musical monkeys." I stood four toy monkeys on the coffee table. They were about ten inches high and dressed in bright yellow, red, and blue marching band uniforms. "Where should we put them?"

Amy pointed to the floor beside the hearth. "What type of music do they play?"

"Let's see." I smiled as I pushed the button on each of the toys. The leader of the band lifted his baton into the air. The other three monkeys stood to attention. One placed his drumsticks on his drum, while the other two lifted their trumpets to their mouths. Within seconds, the first notes of Jingle Bell Rock filled the living room.

Amy giggled and joined the monkeys as they wiggled their way through the song.

Paul took out his cell phone and snapped a picture.

The smile on his face was good to see, especially after everything that had happened. I just hoped it lasted.