Angel Unaware by Elizabeth Sinclair Page A

Whistling, he gathered his dishes and deposited them on the counter by the dishwasher. “See you both around six o’clock.”
     
     
    By six thirty, all three were sandwiched in the cab of Tony’s black pickup truck and driving to an unknown destination. A small paper fir tree that swung from the rearview mirror saturated the warm air inside the truck with the sickening smell of artificial pine.
    Dora curled her nose and absorbed the brilliance of the colored lights strung across the porches and eaves of the homes they passed. In one yard, deer outlined in tiny white lights bowed their heads as if grazing on the snow. In another, a tall, pine tree bathed in colored lights towered against the night sky. In yet another, strings of white lights dripped from the eaves of the house like sparkling icicles.
    Excitement bubbled up in her. How she wished she could be here for Christmas morning to watch Penny and Tony open their gifts. Her excitement dimmed a bit, but was soon reborn when they turned down Main Street and she saw the decorations the city fathers had strung across the streets.
    Bright green and red lights crisscrossed the thoroughfare, their colors reflected in the snow. Illuminated wreaths, reindeer, and snowmen hung from each street-light. On the sidewalks people bearing gaily wrapped packages chattered happily to each other as they hurried along. Kids threw snowballs at one another. It was like a picture on the cards Dora had seen the mortals exchange each year at this time.
    But Penny didn’t seem to notice any of it.
    “I wonder where we’re going,” Dora whispered to Penny. The stoic child shrugged and continued to stare out the windshield. “Aren’t you even curious?” Penny shook her head and burrowed deeper into her baby blue ski jacket.
    Dora and Tony exchanged a glance above the child’s head.
    “We’re almost there,” he announced, his excitement sounding forced.
    A moment later, he pulled the truck to the curb behind a small car, nearly hidden under the large pine tree tied to its roof. When Dora glanced to the side, she saw the Christmas tree lot. She turned back to Tony. He grinned, and her heartbeat nearly deafened her.
    Penny glanced up and for the first time that night, he became animated. “Are we getting a real tree, Uncle Tony?”
    He grinned down at her. “We sure are. And guess what? You get to pick it out.” Penny’s eyes grew wide. “Me?”
    “Yup. You.” He opened his door, stepped into the street, then reached for his niece. She stood on the seat, held out her arms, then slid into his embrace. Carrying Penny, Tony came around to Dora’s side of the truck and opened the door for her. “Come on, Dora. You have to come, too. After all, this was your idea.” Though the last words could have been accusatory, his soft tone and ready smile made them sound more like a thank-you.
    Dora didn’t need a second invitation. She sprang from the truck to the sidewalk. As her feet hit the ground, they slipped out from under her on the ice, and she would have gone down if Tony had not been there to slide an arm around her waist and catch her while he balanced Penny on his hip. He held Dora against his side. The warmth of his big body seeped through her layers of clothing and sent a chill rushing over her that had nothing to do with the winter weather.
    “Thanks,” she mumbled, caught in his gaze. He stared silently down at her for a long time before he nodded, then released his hold on her.
    When Dora had regained her composure and her footing, she looked at the other people milling around the lot. Laughing adults wandered among the variety of trees, and the excited chatter of children filled the air. Piped in from some unseen location came the strains of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.”
    They could have been one of those “normal” families out getting their Christmas tree. But they weren’t. Forgetting that would be a foolish thing to do. But Dora refused to let anything ruin