Page 21 of Sugar Plum Serenade

Mike chimed in from the place he’d claimed on the couch, where minutes earlier Tuck had been sitting. “It’s exhausting.”

Thank goodness Tuck had gotten that call! What if Mike and the girls had walked in at an inopportune time? Another note to herself for tonight. Lock the door.

Willow danced to the Christmas tree. “You used to be a ballerina,” she said as she struck a dancer’s pose. Well, she tried to but that was no pose Olive had ever seen.

“I did,” she said.

“Can you teach me? I want to be a ballerina, like you. Mommy said you were very good.”

Not good enough to survive the fall… “Maybe one day, when you’re a little older, I can show you a few moves.”

Willow tried to spin around, but she stumbled and landed on her behind. Oh, that face! She was disgusted by her performance.

“When you fall, you get up and try again,” Olive said. Her heart seemed to skip a beat. That was good advice. Too bad she hadn’t taken it herself. That was enough about dancing! “A pirate, huh?” she asked as she turned toward her youngest niece.

Ava joined them. “Yes! It’s so hard to tell what he’s saying, sometimes. He growls and mumbles and some of his words sound funny.”

“Your words sound funny,” Willow said to her sister.

Ava stuck out her tongue, then turned an angelic face to Olive. “His name is Giles, and he’s lived here a very long time. Too long, he says. He likes you better than the last lassie who lived here. She was an old biddy and not as pretty as you and she never kissed anybody like that.” Ava looked over her shoulder. “Like what?” There was a brief pause before the child continued. “I think you’re confused, Giles.” In that moment, little Ava looked an awful lot like her mother. Same bossy tone of voice, too.

“Oh, oh, Giles says you should be brave.”

Olive’s stomach twisted, and for a moment felt like it was going to jump into her throat. Maybe she’d misheard. Where did that be brave come from? Desperate to change the subject, she said, “Who wants cookies?”

Mike groaned. “This is not going to help matters. They’ve had enough sugar!” The girls jumped on their father and argued, as they squirmed, that they had not had too much sugar, proving his point.

With her attention diverted, Ava had stopped talking to her pirate friend. Her invisible friend.

Olive stood still as Mike gathered up his girls and told them, in as stern a voice as he could manage, that they couldn’t have any more cookies. The girls pouted and begged in a simultaneous whine, and Mike gave in. Just one, he said. They each grabbed one cookie from the box on the coffee table, arguing about which shape they preferred. Bells or wreaths? They’d had their outing, now it was time to head home. She apologized to Mike for offering sweets before checking with him, but he didn’t seem all that concerned. The kids had needed a break, and they’d gotten one.

There were hugs and kisses from the girls, one last check of the Christmas tree, and a wave, from Ava directed toward the bookcase. Be brave.

Olive locked the door behind them. All afternoon she’d been obsessed with Tuck and what she wanted to happen, what was going to happen. Now a new thought dominated her thoughts.

Did this charming blue house on Jasmine Street come complete with its own pirate ghost?