Make a wish. Ken fought a snort of skepticism. That attitude didn't belong at Divine's. He walked up to the tree. When he picked his ornament, he glanced up at the angel.
It winked at him.
He flinched. I
wish… I need a date for the company Christmas party. Someone classy. A real
lady. Someone wonderful, who'll stick around forever. After all, if he was
going to take a chance on wishes, why not go for broke? And if Allistair
shows his true colors in front of the boss, that'd be great, too.
He watched Jo while
the rest of the decorating party made their wishes. Some aloud, others silent.
Ken remembered when he had been part of the laughing and teasing, the
complaints about the crowds at the malls, comparing plans for holiday
celebrations. It felt like a lifetime ago.
Jo didn't join in the
teasing, which reinforced Ken's suspicion the kid was new in town and didn't
know many people. Poor kid, looking for work while he was still in school. He
wondered if Jo was from the orphanage. Angela mentored the kids who lived
there, finding jobs for them in her shop or other shops in town.
If you want good
things to happen in your life, his mother used to say, you should make
good things happen for other people.
"I swear,"
Diane, one of Angela's clerks said, laughing, "you get a bigger tree every
year, but it's never a problem."
"We don't
believe in problems at Divine's Emporium." Angela looked positively prim
in her smugness. "You've worked for me long enough to know that."
"Just solutions
and miracles," Jo said. "Christmas is the right time of year for
miracles, that's for sure." He smiled, but there was something wistful in
his expression, and that decided Ken.
"Hey, Jo."
Ken dug in his wallet for a business card. He held it out to the boy, whose
eyes were bright blue among the dust from lugging boxes of decorations up from
Angela's cellar. "Go see the Human Resources director at Myerhausen.
She'll find you a job."
Jo's eyes widened and
his long, delicate fingers twitched as he took the card. "Thanks -- uh,"
he glanced at the card, "Ken. That's really nice of you."
"That's one wish
already come true," Angela said.
"I haven't even
applied yet." The boy laughed.
"Oh ye of little
faith. Where's your Christmas spirit?" She wrapped an arm around Ken's
shoulder for a brief hug. "I think I can guarantee your wish will come
true."
"I didn't do it to make my wish work," Ken muttered. He hated it when his face got so hot. Brittney had always teased him about being able to use his face for a warning beacon.
"That's exactly why it'll work." Angela winked and walked on past to talk to Jane Wilson.
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