Summary: Esther, with help from Cammie, arranges a special Christmas Eve surprise for Steve and Catherine.
Notes: Mari and Sammy are doing the heavy lifting for 12 Days of Nonna so a huge thank you to them for the wonderful idea and the marvelous execution! I'm excited to be a part of it in any way I can. And thank you for the daily joy of knowing you both! Special kudos to Mari for the idea for this story!
Thank you to Esther for always being incredibly supportive and generous!
Thank you, readers and REAL McRollers, for your enthusiasm and support - particularly for this special Christmas series!
I hope you enjoy this little interlude - expect a few more throughout the 12 Days! Wishing you a very merry Christmas!
Meanwhile in Hawaii - Santa's Favorite Helper (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
Christmas Eve - 5:45pm
"Okay, Cammie," Esther said as she knelt in front of the dog in the living room. "Let's get a nice picture to send to Steve and Catherine."
She dug around in the duffel bag beside her and held up a red Santa collar, complete with white faux fur. Cammie sniffed it with interest and then straightened her neck so Esther could fasten it.
"Such a good girl," Esther said, smiling brightly. "Now let's go over by the tree."
She stood and led Cammie over to the Christmas tree, positioning her directly in front of it.
"Sit. Good girl," she said when Cammie readily obeyed.
Esther took a few steps back and surveyed the scene. She tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Hmm . . . not quite right." She smiled conspiratorially at Cammie. "Good thing I came prepared."
She knelt again by the duffel bag and pulled out a red blanket.
"Come over here, Cammie," she said, patting the floor beside her. When the dog complied, Esther said, "Stay," and proceeded to arrange the blanket on the floor in front of the tree.
There were a couple gift boxes under the tree and Esther shifted them around. She turned back to Cammie.
"Okay, let's try this again. Come on, Cammie."
Esther had Cammie sit on the red blanket. She moved one of the presents behind the dog into a more visible position, fluffed Cammie's Santa collar, and stepped back to look.
"Maybe . . ." she said and approached once more.
She took one of the boxes wrapped in green and red plaid paper from behind Cammie and set it in front of her.
"Here, Cammie. Put your paw right up here."
Cammie cocked her head but allowed Esther to guide her left paw up onto the box.
Esther stepped back, and a wide smile spread on her face.
"Perfect. Stay, Cammie."
She moved the duffel bag out of the frame and pulled out her phone. Kneeling, she tapped the screen and brought up the camera.
Just as she snapped the photo, Cammie's head turned and she gave an excited "woof!"
"Oh, Cammie!" Esther sighed as she looked at the blurry photo.
The front door was unlocked and opened as Chin entered the house.
"Hey," he said in surprise as he took in the scene.
Cammie look plaintively up at Esther who gave a resigned chuckle and stood. She stepped closer to Cammie and touched her head.
"Okay," she said, releasing the dog who immediately went to greet Chin.
"Well, don't you look like Santa's favorite helper, Cammie?" he said with a chuckle as he rubbed her head. He looked over at Esther. "What's going on?"
"Well, I know how much Catherine and Steve are going to miss Cammie while they're gone, so I wanted to send them a picture every day. It's Christmas Eve so I thought this one should be . . . festive."
Chin smiled at her.
"Sounds like a great idea. They'll love it. I'm sorry I interrupted. I just wanted to check on Cammie before I picked up Leilani for dinner with her family."
Esther looked at her watch and gasped. "Oh! Is that really the time? I didn't realize how late it was. I should have called you so you wouldn't have to come back here first."
He waved off her apology.
"Well, come on, Cammie," Esther said. "Let's get this picture taken. Come here."
She motioned for the dog to return to her place in front of the tree. Cammie trotted back over and sat. She put her paw on the box without any prompting.
Chin laughed.
"She's a natural," he said.
Esther grinned back at him and moved Cammie's paw to the center of the box.
"Okay, here we go." She stepped back and knelt once more. She snapped several pictures as Chin looked on with his arms folded, a huge smile on his face.
"Perfect!" Esther said triumphantly as she scrolled through the photos. "You're a star, Cammie!"
She pocketed her phone and pulled a small bag of treats from her pocket, feeding the dog a few. She kissed Cammie's head and rubbed her neck affectionately.
"And what's this?" Chin asked, picking up a red and white stocking with 'Cammie' written in silver glitter along the top from the chair.
Esther looked a little sheepishly. "Oh, just a . . . just a little stocking." She shrugged with a smile. "Just a few things. Some treats, a new chew toy . . ."
"And a new ball or two to play with?" Chin asked, pointing at the red, white, and green ball on the floor.
Esther grinned. "I couldn't wait."
"Well, in that spirit," he said, setting the stocking back down and walking to the tree. He pulled out a gift bag. "Steve and Catherine have something they wanted me to give you."
He handed her the bag.
"Ohh, they didn't have to do that," Esther protested.
"Just like you didn't have to do that?" he asked with a smile, motioning at the two packages labeled with Steve and Catherine's names that hadn't been there that morning.
Esther smiled. "Or this . . ." she said, lifting a small box of cocoa dusted truffles with a red bow on it from her duffel bag and handing it to him.
"Esther," he said admonishingly.
"Just a little something. I was going to put it in the kitchen for you when I left. I didn't want to leave it under the tree with Cammie here."
He sighed with a smile. "Thank you." He motioned to the bag in her hand. "Well, go on. Let's see what you got."
She grinned in excitement and set the bag down so she could remove the tissue paper. She pulled out a flat red and white ornament with a photo of her and Cammie on it.
"Aww! Look at that," she said, showing Chin.
He smiled genuinely.
"That's a great picture," he said.
"Look at us, Cammie," Esther said, holding the ornament out so the dog could see it.
Cammie gave a soft woof, wagging her tail.
"This is going right on my tree."
"Looks like there's something else in there," Chin said, nodding toward the bag.
Esther set down the ornament and pulled out a large envelope. She looked at the front and gasped. Hurriedly, she opened the envelope and pulled out the paperwork.
"I don't believe it," she said, staring at the kite logo.
"What is it?"
"About a month ago I was telling Catherine about the Hawaii chapter of SCBWI," Esther began.
Chin shook his head in confusion.
"Sorry, it's the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators," she explained. "It's a professional organization for writers, illustrators, and others with an interest in children's literature. They got me a year membership. I can go to the local conference in March, apply for grants, meet with other writers. Oh my gosh, this is so exciting!" She looked up at him with a huge smile.
"That sounds perfect for you," Chin said, reflecting her enthusiasm.
Esther stopped, her brow furrowing. "But this is too much. I can't believe they did this."
"I can. Steve and Catherine are two of the most supportive people I've ever met. They must think you have real talent and want to encourage you."
Esther gave him a small smile, but her expression was still conflicted as her gaze drifted back to the papers in her hands.
Chin leaned forward and spoke conspiratorially.
"They are also two of the most stubborn people I've ever met, so don't even think about trying to cancel it."
Esther laughed.
"Okay," she agreed. She returned the papers to the envelope. "You should get going. I can take Cammie out again and lock up."
"Are you sure?"
"Definitely. My family eats late on Christmas Eve."
"Okay, thanks." He knelt and rubbed Cammie's head. "See you in a couple hours, Cammie." Straightening, he gave Esther a quick hug. "Merry Christmas, Esther."
"Merry Christmas, Chin."
"Thank you again for the truffles," he said, holding up the box as he headed for the door.
"Share them with Leilani," she said.
He nodded with a smile. "I'll bring them along tonight."
He opened the door and gave a little wave before stepping outside and closing the door behind him.
Esther turned to Cammie and smiled.
"It's a little late in New Jersey, but I'm going to send this anyway," she said, taking out her phone. "I can't wait for Catherine and Steve to see you!"
Steve and Catherine were just entering their bedroom at Nonna's to change clothes for midnight mass when they heard the sounds of incoming texts on both their phones. They exchanged a look as they took their phones from their pockets and checked the screens.
"Aww," Catherine said with a laugh and tapped the screen to enlarge the image. "Look at that face!"
Steve grinned, looking at the picture on his phone. With a hand on Catherine's back, he read the accompanying text. " 'Santa's Favorite Helper.' "
"Oh, I have to call her," Catherine said, navigating to her contacts and selecting Esther's number. She put the call on speaker and they waited for a connection.
"Hi!" Esther's voice came through the speaker. "You got the picture?"
"We did," Catherine said and shared a smile with Steve. "That is absolutely adorable. Thank you. What a wonderful Christmas present."
"Speaking of presents . . . Chin gave me your gift. You guys, that was too generous."
"Not at all," Steve said. "You've got talent and you need to connect with other writers. This seems like the way to do that."
"Well, thank you very much. I will definitely take full advantage of their resources. I'm so excited to get started. And the ornament is wonderful. I can't wait to hang it on my tree."
"Glad you like it," Catherine said with a smile. "We don't know what we'd do without you. You've been such a huge help this year and what's more, you've become a good friend."
Steve nodded. "What Catherine said."
"Aww, you guys. You're the best. And you know how much I love Cammie."
"We do," Steve said. "That's what makes you the best dog-sitter we could have found."
"Okay, now I can actually feel myself blushing."
Catherine chuckled and said, "Well, we need to get ready for midnight mass. Thank you again for sending the picture, Esther."
"I figured you'd be missing Cammie . . ."
"You got that right," Steve said.
"I might have gotten a little carried away with the collar and the blanket."
"Not at all," Catherine insisted. "We love it."
"Oh, good." They could hear the smile in her voice as she continued, "Because next year . . . I'm thinking of adding a hat . . ."
Hope you enjoyed!
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