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As was his habit as soon as she pulled up to the house, her nephew flew out the door. After the first few days when Lisa agreed to watch Ricky, she rarely spoke to the other woman.

“It’s about the party,” he explained. “We went to Ethan’s house, remember, and then ice-skating, and to McDonald’s, and then we watched the movie and then I went to see Michael and Lilly and I forgot.”

Little wonder it had slipped his mind. Their weekend thus far had been a whirlwind of activity.

“It’s on Tuesday, the twenty-third,” he explained, as he scooted up from the table. “There’s going to be popcorn and candy canes and all us kids are going to…Oops, that’s a surprise.” His eyes widened, as if he suddenly remembered something.

“The party sounds like it would be a lot of fun.”

“You’ll be able to come, right?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Ricky’s smile told her how pleased he was that she’d attend.

Whatever was on her agenda Tuesday afternoon would need to be rescheduled. This was important to Ricky, and Sage was determined to be there for him. The last thing he needed was another disappointment.

Leaving his breakfast only half eaten, Ricky returned to his bedroom and brought out his backpack. He opened it and pulled out the invitation to give to Sage.

“I made the invitation,” he said, handing it to her.

Sage read it over and complimented his artwork. “You did a good job drawing the Christmas tree.”

While Sage finished her coffee, Ricky dressed for church.

By the time they were ready to leave, the snow had already started to melt. Although this was only his third Sunday at the church, Ricky had already made friends in his Sunday school class.

Since living in Seattle, Sage had let her own church attendance slip as she’d become more involved in her career, choosing to sleep in on Sunday morning and laze over coffee and The New York Times weekend edition rather than getting dressed for church.

Now, after three weeks, she realized how much she’d missed the positive messages and how good she felt about life in general afterward. Another gift Ricky had given her. One she wouldn’t let lapse again.

Following the service, Sage collected Ricky from his class. He proudly showed her the sheet he’d colored and told her about his lesson.

“King Herod was a really bad guy. He wanted to kill baby Jesus.”

“He was a terrible king,” Sage agreed, unsure why Ricky had mentioned the bad king. The birth of Jesus must have been part of the lesson for that Sunday.

“I’m glad Gabe got that part in the Christmas program and not me. I’m one of the Wise Men who bring the baby Jesus presents.”

Sage had forgotten that Ricky was part of the evening performance and was grateful for the reminder.

After leaving church, Ricky and Sage returned to the condo and Sage made toasted cheese sandwiches for lunch. She was proud of herself that she managed not to burn the bread. Even prouder that she hadn’t called Uber Eats all week.

The condo association’s Christmas party was scheduled for that afternoon. Sage hadn’t mentioned it to Ricky, wanting to surprise him. When she checked, he was in his room, reviewing his lines for the church program.

“I bring you gold,” Ricky declared proudly, as he pretended to set the imaginary box at the foot of the makeshift cradle where the baby Jesus slept.

“How would you feel about attending a party this afternoon?” she asked him.

“Will there be cocoa and cookies?”

“I believe that’s on the menu.”

“Will Michael and Lilly be there?”

“Not this time. This party is for all the boys and girls who live in the condo building, and everyone else, too. Santa will be there.”

“Not the real Santa, though, right?”