The next morning, Tessa and Genevieve went out on a girl's day out. That
left the men and Richie, as Duncan put it, to their own devices until
dinner. They spent the morning wrapping presents for Genevieve and Tessa
or rather Richie spent the morning wrapping presents for Genevieve and
Tessa. Jean offered him five dollars a present, which he gladly accepted.
Duncan saw what Jean was doing and took his lead offering to pay Richie to
wrap presents for him, too. That afternoon they went back to the mall
where Richie spent his wrapping money on a hand carved tobacco pipe for
Jean. He had it wrapped at the store which ate up the little money he had
left after buying the pipe.
That afternoon, they took up time by giving Jean a tour of the city. They drove all over from the beach to the stadium, from the docks to the park, from the little league fields to historic down town Seacouver. By the time they got back to the store, they had just enough time to change and meet Tessa and Genevieve for dinner.
"Hey, Mac?" Richie ventured as they got ready for dinner in his room.
"Yes?"
"Um.I know how you and Tess wanted me to stick around while her folks are in town.but I kinda got somewhere to go Saturday night. So, is that okay?"
"I'm sure it'd be fine. Have fun."
"Thanks, Mac."
"Whose party is it and when will you be home?" Duncan asked handing Richie his shirt.
"It's not a party but I'll be home by ten."
"Not a party? Where are you going?"
"It's kinda a tradition with me. No big deal."
"Where?"
"The orphanage Christmas pageant."
Duncan smiled as he sat down to tie his shoes. "Is it exclusive?"
"What?"
"We've been running out of ways to entertain Jean and Genevieve. What's it like?"
Richie blushed. "It's nothing special. Just a bunch of kids singing songs and looking cute. I just promised some people I'd be there and I would have told you earlier but I swear I just remembered. So you mind?"
"Richie, it's not a problem. When we told you we wanted you to stay around, we just meant that we wanted you to spend some time with Tessa's parents. The question is not if you can go, but if you mind if we tag along?"
"Well."
"You can say no. If you want some time away that's fine."
"I don't see why you shouldn't come.just I may disappear. A lot of my friends are still there and I haven't seen them since I moved."
"That's fine, Rich. It's Christmas; you should see your friends. We may go; we may not. But you go and have fun."
"Cool, thanks, Mac."
The men (and Richie) got to the restaurant a few minutes before Tessa and her mother did.
"Richie?" Tessa asked after they had ordered.
"Yeah?" Richie could already tell that he wasn't going to like what was coming.
"Maman and I were wondering.how old were you when you found out about Santa Claus?"
"What?" Richie laughed. That wasn't what he was expecting.
"We were talking about when I was younger and we got curious. How old were you?"
"Ready for a laugh? I was twelve."
"Twelve?" Duncan repeated.
"Yeah, twelve, okay? I was a believer until I was twelve."
"That's so adorable, chou chou," Genevieve cooed.
"How'd you find out?" Duncan asked.
"How did you?"
"My parents never told me about Santa," he answered. "I didn't hear about him until I was too old to believe anyway."
Richie's jaw dropped at that. "What kind of a childhood doesn't include Santa Claus?"
"Mine. You never answered the question; how did you find out?"
"My foster parents told me."
"Just like that?"
"Well, they had me play elf and help them put together my foster brother's bike. It wasn't so bad. It was actually a really good Christmas that year."
"So you weren't scared for life?"
"Obviously not."
"That's very cute, Richie," Tessa said.
"That's what happened with a lot of my friends," he shrugged. "I guess it's easier when you become part of the secret."
Their salads came and Richie welcomed the distraction. It had only been two days and he had already spent too much time in the spotlight. Duncan had warned him that it may happen, but Richie hadn't had this in mind. He had expected some nosey questions and potential embarrassing stories but Genevieve's enthusiasm was a little more than he could handle. She was nice and very affectionate, but it was just way too much for Richie's taste. Tessa fussed over him occasionally, but the continual attention wasn't what he was used to.
"Hey, Rich, what made that Christmas so good?" Duncan asked suddenly.
"What?"
"You said the Christmas you found out about Santa was really good. What made it so great?"
Richie shrugged. "Good presents."
"What did you get?" Tessa asked.
He blushed. "I got an engine."
"You can't leave it at that," Jean teased. "An engine?"
With a deep sigh, Richie dove into his story. "My foster dad owned that garage that used to be on Baltimore and twenty-eighth. I helped him every weekend; that's how I got started in mechanics. So for Christmas, he made me this toy engine that once you put it together right and pushed this button it would light up and the belt would start rotating and the fan would go. I loved that thing. It took him a month to teach me how to put it together."
"A month? Who would have thought it took you more than twenty minutes?" Duncan teased.
"We did one part a day and he made me memorize how it all works and why it works at the same time."
"Sounds a little harsh for a twelve year old."
"I loved it," Richie defended. "And I guarded that thing with my life for six years and I almost couldn't give it up."
"Why did you get rid of it?" Tessa asked. "If you loved it so much, why don't you still have it?"
"I gave it to Michael."
"Who's that?" Jean asked.
"My little brother.well, practically my little brother.just a kid at the orphanage." Once again the attention was getting to him and Duncan came to the rescue.
"Speaking of the orphanage," Duncan rescued. "They're holding a pageant on Saturday. It's a fundraiser to buy gifts for the children."
"Actually.it's a fundraiser for other stuff," Richie interrupted. "The presents are already bought by then."
"Oh. Well, it's a fundraiser and I was thinking it might be fun to go."
"Richie, is it being held where you grew up?" Tessa asked.
Richie squirmed. "Yeah. I used to get forced to be in it all the time."
"What did you do?"
"Just little songs and stuff. Nothing special."
"What songs?"
"Christmas songs."
"Which ones?"
"Different ones."
"Do you think.?"
"I gotta go to the bathroom," Richie mumbled as he got up and left.
Duncan looked at Tessa and smiled. "I think you made him mad."
"I didn't mean to. I was just curious."
"I think we should come up with new topics."
They discussed their plans for Christmas until they started to wonder about Richie. Jean went to find him. Richie was loitering outside the bathrooms next to the phones.
"Papa," Richie looked up from the point he was staring at on the floor.
"What's wrong, Richie?" Jean asked.
"Nothin'."
"Then why are you hiding?"
"I was stretching.my legs. Charlie horse."
"Really?"
"Yup."
"Is it gone?"
"Uh, yeah.feeling good."
"Okay. Then we should get back before the food beats us." He held out an arm and waited for Richie to walk into position so his arm was around his shoulders. "And we can talk to your Maman about calling you chou chou."
"Okay."
By the end of the meal, Richie and Jean had plans to go the mall the next day for some more shopping in the morning and that afternoon, they would all go ice-skating (Richie's suggestion). Jean and Genevieve rode home with Tessa leaving Richie to go with Duncan.
"Hey, Mac?" Richie asked at a stoplight not far from the store.
"Yes?"
"Can I ask you a favor?"
"You can ask."
"Can I get an advance on my pay?"
Duncan set his face to neutral. "Why?"
"I still have some presents to get and I'm low on cash."
"What happened to the money I already gave you?"
"I spent it."
"Already?"
"I have a lot of people to buy presents for."
"And that's why I saw you buying a hundred dollar pipe at the mall?"
"That's for Papa!"
"And how expensive is the tea tray you bought Genevieve?"
"I just wanted to get the something nice."
"Richie, it doesn't matter how much you spend. They're not expecting anything fancy from you."
"Mac, I just have a few more gifts to buy, okay?"
"Richie, you have to learn how to budget. No."
"But, Mac! I'm gonna pay you back every penny."
"Rich, if you need the money, you can return things you've already bought and get people less expensive gifts."
"What would you say if I told you I can't return what I've gotten?"
"I told you to keep your receipts."
"I did. I kept the receipt from the tray and I kept the receipt from the engraver."
As much as Duncan wanted to help, he felt hypocritical giving Richie the money after telling Jean that he wanted him to work for any money he got from them. "Maybe you can wrap more presents," he suggested.
"I guess.but it's not going to be enough, Mac. I need more than thirty dollars. Can't I wax the floor, or clean the attic, or organize the store room?"
"If it's that important take it out of your stereo money."
"Mac, I've been saving for months!"
"Then you can save for a few more months."
"Fine. Then you have to take me to the bank."
"You can stop on your way to the mall."
"Can I at least borrow your car?"
"That I can do for you."
"Gee.thanks."
Duncan sighed as he put the car in park behind Tessa's. "Richie, I'm not trying to be mean to you. I'm trying to teach you something."
"Can't you teach me later, Mac?"
"You have to learn sometime. Now's as good a time as ever."
Richie pouted as he got out of the car. "Fine. I'll just start all over."
"It happens, Rich."
"What would you know? You've got, like, a billion dollars."
"Because I saved and budgeted and went without."
"I'm sure," he groused.
"Fine, Richie, be a brat."
"Hey!"
"Richie, you're acting like a child. Things will be hard for you sometimes once you're out on your own. Right now, you have no bills to pay except your insurance. You've had plenty of time to save your money for buying presents. Don't whine."
"I can't believe you just said that to me!"
"If you're going to act like a child, I'm going to treat you like one."
"I wasn't acting like a child! I agreed with you."
"And then you started slamming doors and stomping around," Duncan explained calmly.
"I didn't slam the door and I've barely walked three feet."
Duncan took a deep breath. "I think we're both just tired. Why don't we just call it a night and get some rest."
"Fine."
"And, Rich?"
"Yeah?"
"Let's just forget this ever happened."
"So I'm getting the advance?"
"No. But we didn't fight about it."
. . . . . .
"You ready, Papa?" Richie asked after they cleaned up the breakfast dishes.
"Whenever you are ready we can go," Jean told him.
"Cool, I'll get my coat."
A few minutes later, they were in the drive though for the bank. Richie took out three hundred dollars.
"Why so much money?" Jean asked.
"I have a lot of gifts to buy."
"For who?"
"Some kids I know."
"What are you going to get them?"
"I don't know yet."
"You have no ideas?"
"I'll find out what they want in the mall."
Once they got to the mall, Richie made a beeline to a small tree set up near the food court. Instead of ornaments, there were pieces of paper hung on paper clips to decorate the tree. Richie looked around the tree and picked ten pieces of paper.
"What are those?" Jean asked.
"Friends of mine."
"I don't follow you."
"Here." Richie gave him the papers he had picked. "This tree is for the orphanage I grew up in. Every year, they ask the kids what they want. Then they write it down and put the paper on this tree. Then people pick the kid they want to buy presents for, buy what's on the list and then bring the gifts here. That way, on Christmas morning all the kids get what they asked for."
"Richie.you say this is where you grew up?"
"Yeah."
"You used to get presents this way?"
"For thirteen years," Richie said, without a hint of shame.
"So now you are buying gifts for the children still there?"
"I've been buying gifts for a couple years, but this year I can afford more."
"That is why you took out so much money?"
"Yeah. I asked Ma. Yeah."
"You asked who what?"
"Nothing."
"Tell, your Papa. There is something on your mind."
"Nothing, really."
"Does it have anything to do with why you and Duncan were so standoffish last night?"
"It's no big deal. Come on, we got lots of ground to cover."
"Tell me, it will make you feel better."
"There's nothing to feel better about," Richie shrugged as he started walking to the toy store. "He's just big on teaching me lessons right now. I don't know why. I mean, obviously I can budget if I saved up this much for the stereo." He held up his wad of bills.
"This is your stereo money?"
"That's what Mac and I got into it about. I asked for an advance and he told me no; if I wanted to buy more presents I should take it out of my savings."
"That's very generous of you. Let's go get." he looked at the papers still in his hand. "A Ninja turtle action figure."
Richie got everything for the kids he chose and got the presents back to the tree before they left. They met Tessa, Duncan and Genevieve at the frozen pond in the park. Everyone went to rent some skates, taking ten minutes to convince Genevieve, and Richie sat on a bench to lace up the ones that he owned. Then they all got out on the ice. Richie shot off at top speed while Tessa and Duncan took their time with Jean and Genevieve.
"Come on, Tess," Richie encouraged darting in circles around her. "Stop hanging with the old people. Get out here where you belong."
"Richie, I'm not very good."
"Because you putz around the edge the whole time. You gotta get out on the good ice."
"That's okay, Richie, I'm just fine where I am."
"Maman?" Richie offered her hand. "You're braver than, Tess. You come."
"Fine!" Tessa took the bait. "I'll go." She took his hand and he took her out on the ice. He skated in front of her backwards and led her by both hands. He started out slowly, but soon had her screaming and laughing as she held on for dear life.
"Richie, slow down!" Duncan yelled as they zoomed past.
Finally Richie brought Tessa to a gentle stop beside everyone else.
She was laughing and panting as she tried to yell at him. "Don't you ever.."
"Come on, you had fun."
"Richard Ryan!"
He grinned at her. "Who's next?"
"I'll race you," Duncan offered, Richie's enthusiasm rubbing off on him.
"Okay, where to where?"
"From here around the rink and back stay on the outside."
"Cool. Someone judge."
"We all will," Genevieve offered. "So it will be fair."
"Sounds good," Duncan nodded. "Someone say go."
"GO!" Tessa chirped and the two shot down the ice.
Duncan was in the lead with Richie right on his heels. It looked like Duncan was going to win until they gained on a group of kids. Duncan slowed down to get around them, but Richie darted right though the middle at top speed. To everyone's surprise, not a single child was knocked down. Duncan started to catch up with him, but Richie had too much momentum built up and beat him by a little over a second. He had to stop so abruptly that he showered Tessa and her parents in ice shavings.
"Where did you learn to skate like that?" Duncan asked as he brushed ice off Tessa's jacket.
"Hockey," Richie answered, skating around the small group. "Is anyone else freezing?"
"Yes," Jean said. "Why don't you all get ready to go and I'll get us some hot chocolate."
"Sounds like a plan to me." Richie made his way off the ice and sat down to take off his skates.
Jean recruited Duncan to help him carry the hot chocolate. "You have a very selfless boy," he told him as they stood in line.
"What do you mean?"
"Richie spent three hundred dollars today."
Duncan sighed and rolled his eyes. "On what?"
"Five please. On gifts for orphans."
"What?"
"He wanted that money to buy gifts for some of the kids he left behind."
Suddenly Duncan felt very bad for yelling at Richie the night before.
That afternoon, they took up time by giving Jean a tour of the city. They drove all over from the beach to the stadium, from the docks to the park, from the little league fields to historic down town Seacouver. By the time they got back to the store, they had just enough time to change and meet Tessa and Genevieve for dinner.
"Hey, Mac?" Richie ventured as they got ready for dinner in his room.
"Yes?"
"Um.I know how you and Tess wanted me to stick around while her folks are in town.but I kinda got somewhere to go Saturday night. So, is that okay?"
"I'm sure it'd be fine. Have fun."
"Thanks, Mac."
"Whose party is it and when will you be home?" Duncan asked handing Richie his shirt.
"It's not a party but I'll be home by ten."
"Not a party? Where are you going?"
"It's kinda a tradition with me. No big deal."
"Where?"
"The orphanage Christmas pageant."
Duncan smiled as he sat down to tie his shoes. "Is it exclusive?"
"What?"
"We've been running out of ways to entertain Jean and Genevieve. What's it like?"
Richie blushed. "It's nothing special. Just a bunch of kids singing songs and looking cute. I just promised some people I'd be there and I would have told you earlier but I swear I just remembered. So you mind?"
"Richie, it's not a problem. When we told you we wanted you to stay around, we just meant that we wanted you to spend some time with Tessa's parents. The question is not if you can go, but if you mind if we tag along?"
"Well."
"You can say no. If you want some time away that's fine."
"I don't see why you shouldn't come.just I may disappear. A lot of my friends are still there and I haven't seen them since I moved."
"That's fine, Rich. It's Christmas; you should see your friends. We may go; we may not. But you go and have fun."
"Cool, thanks, Mac."
The men (and Richie) got to the restaurant a few minutes before Tessa and her mother did.
"Richie?" Tessa asked after they had ordered.
"Yeah?" Richie could already tell that he wasn't going to like what was coming.
"Maman and I were wondering.how old were you when you found out about Santa Claus?"
"What?" Richie laughed. That wasn't what he was expecting.
"We were talking about when I was younger and we got curious. How old were you?"
"Ready for a laugh? I was twelve."
"Twelve?" Duncan repeated.
"Yeah, twelve, okay? I was a believer until I was twelve."
"That's so adorable, chou chou," Genevieve cooed.
"How'd you find out?" Duncan asked.
"How did you?"
"My parents never told me about Santa," he answered. "I didn't hear about him until I was too old to believe anyway."
Richie's jaw dropped at that. "What kind of a childhood doesn't include Santa Claus?"
"Mine. You never answered the question; how did you find out?"
"My foster parents told me."
"Just like that?"
"Well, they had me play elf and help them put together my foster brother's bike. It wasn't so bad. It was actually a really good Christmas that year."
"So you weren't scared for life?"
"Obviously not."
"That's very cute, Richie," Tessa said.
"That's what happened with a lot of my friends," he shrugged. "I guess it's easier when you become part of the secret."
Their salads came and Richie welcomed the distraction. It had only been two days and he had already spent too much time in the spotlight. Duncan had warned him that it may happen, but Richie hadn't had this in mind. He had expected some nosey questions and potential embarrassing stories but Genevieve's enthusiasm was a little more than he could handle. She was nice and very affectionate, but it was just way too much for Richie's taste. Tessa fussed over him occasionally, but the continual attention wasn't what he was used to.
"Hey, Rich, what made that Christmas so good?" Duncan asked suddenly.
"What?"
"You said the Christmas you found out about Santa was really good. What made it so great?"
Richie shrugged. "Good presents."
"What did you get?" Tessa asked.
He blushed. "I got an engine."
"You can't leave it at that," Jean teased. "An engine?"
With a deep sigh, Richie dove into his story. "My foster dad owned that garage that used to be on Baltimore and twenty-eighth. I helped him every weekend; that's how I got started in mechanics. So for Christmas, he made me this toy engine that once you put it together right and pushed this button it would light up and the belt would start rotating and the fan would go. I loved that thing. It took him a month to teach me how to put it together."
"A month? Who would have thought it took you more than twenty minutes?" Duncan teased.
"We did one part a day and he made me memorize how it all works and why it works at the same time."
"Sounds a little harsh for a twelve year old."
"I loved it," Richie defended. "And I guarded that thing with my life for six years and I almost couldn't give it up."
"Why did you get rid of it?" Tessa asked. "If you loved it so much, why don't you still have it?"
"I gave it to Michael."
"Who's that?" Jean asked.
"My little brother.well, practically my little brother.just a kid at the orphanage." Once again the attention was getting to him and Duncan came to the rescue.
"Speaking of the orphanage," Duncan rescued. "They're holding a pageant on Saturday. It's a fundraiser to buy gifts for the children."
"Actually.it's a fundraiser for other stuff," Richie interrupted. "The presents are already bought by then."
"Oh. Well, it's a fundraiser and I was thinking it might be fun to go."
"Richie, is it being held where you grew up?" Tessa asked.
Richie squirmed. "Yeah. I used to get forced to be in it all the time."
"What did you do?"
"Just little songs and stuff. Nothing special."
"What songs?"
"Christmas songs."
"Which ones?"
"Different ones."
"Do you think.?"
"I gotta go to the bathroom," Richie mumbled as he got up and left.
Duncan looked at Tessa and smiled. "I think you made him mad."
"I didn't mean to. I was just curious."
"I think we should come up with new topics."
They discussed their plans for Christmas until they started to wonder about Richie. Jean went to find him. Richie was loitering outside the bathrooms next to the phones.
"Papa," Richie looked up from the point he was staring at on the floor.
"What's wrong, Richie?" Jean asked.
"Nothin'."
"Then why are you hiding?"
"I was stretching.my legs. Charlie horse."
"Really?"
"Yup."
"Is it gone?"
"Uh, yeah.feeling good."
"Okay. Then we should get back before the food beats us." He held out an arm and waited for Richie to walk into position so his arm was around his shoulders. "And we can talk to your Maman about calling you chou chou."
"Okay."
By the end of the meal, Richie and Jean had plans to go the mall the next day for some more shopping in the morning and that afternoon, they would all go ice-skating (Richie's suggestion). Jean and Genevieve rode home with Tessa leaving Richie to go with Duncan.
"Hey, Mac?" Richie asked at a stoplight not far from the store.
"Yes?"
"Can I ask you a favor?"
"You can ask."
"Can I get an advance on my pay?"
Duncan set his face to neutral. "Why?"
"I still have some presents to get and I'm low on cash."
"What happened to the money I already gave you?"
"I spent it."
"Already?"
"I have a lot of people to buy presents for."
"And that's why I saw you buying a hundred dollar pipe at the mall?"
"That's for Papa!"
"And how expensive is the tea tray you bought Genevieve?"
"I just wanted to get the something nice."
"Richie, it doesn't matter how much you spend. They're not expecting anything fancy from you."
"Mac, I just have a few more gifts to buy, okay?"
"Richie, you have to learn how to budget. No."
"But, Mac! I'm gonna pay you back every penny."
"Rich, if you need the money, you can return things you've already bought and get people less expensive gifts."
"What would you say if I told you I can't return what I've gotten?"
"I told you to keep your receipts."
"I did. I kept the receipt from the tray and I kept the receipt from the engraver."
As much as Duncan wanted to help, he felt hypocritical giving Richie the money after telling Jean that he wanted him to work for any money he got from them. "Maybe you can wrap more presents," he suggested.
"I guess.but it's not going to be enough, Mac. I need more than thirty dollars. Can't I wax the floor, or clean the attic, or organize the store room?"
"If it's that important take it out of your stereo money."
"Mac, I've been saving for months!"
"Then you can save for a few more months."
"Fine. Then you have to take me to the bank."
"You can stop on your way to the mall."
"Can I at least borrow your car?"
"That I can do for you."
"Gee.thanks."
Duncan sighed as he put the car in park behind Tessa's. "Richie, I'm not trying to be mean to you. I'm trying to teach you something."
"Can't you teach me later, Mac?"
"You have to learn sometime. Now's as good a time as ever."
Richie pouted as he got out of the car. "Fine. I'll just start all over."
"It happens, Rich."
"What would you know? You've got, like, a billion dollars."
"Because I saved and budgeted and went without."
"I'm sure," he groused.
"Fine, Richie, be a brat."
"Hey!"
"Richie, you're acting like a child. Things will be hard for you sometimes once you're out on your own. Right now, you have no bills to pay except your insurance. You've had plenty of time to save your money for buying presents. Don't whine."
"I can't believe you just said that to me!"
"If you're going to act like a child, I'm going to treat you like one."
"I wasn't acting like a child! I agreed with you."
"And then you started slamming doors and stomping around," Duncan explained calmly.
"I didn't slam the door and I've barely walked three feet."
Duncan took a deep breath. "I think we're both just tired. Why don't we just call it a night and get some rest."
"Fine."
"And, Rich?"
"Yeah?"
"Let's just forget this ever happened."
"So I'm getting the advance?"
"No. But we didn't fight about it."
. . . . . .
"You ready, Papa?" Richie asked after they cleaned up the breakfast dishes.
"Whenever you are ready we can go," Jean told him.
"Cool, I'll get my coat."
A few minutes later, they were in the drive though for the bank. Richie took out three hundred dollars.
"Why so much money?" Jean asked.
"I have a lot of gifts to buy."
"For who?"
"Some kids I know."
"What are you going to get them?"
"I don't know yet."
"You have no ideas?"
"I'll find out what they want in the mall."
Once they got to the mall, Richie made a beeline to a small tree set up near the food court. Instead of ornaments, there were pieces of paper hung on paper clips to decorate the tree. Richie looked around the tree and picked ten pieces of paper.
"What are those?" Jean asked.
"Friends of mine."
"I don't follow you."
"Here." Richie gave him the papers he had picked. "This tree is for the orphanage I grew up in. Every year, they ask the kids what they want. Then they write it down and put the paper on this tree. Then people pick the kid they want to buy presents for, buy what's on the list and then bring the gifts here. That way, on Christmas morning all the kids get what they asked for."
"Richie.you say this is where you grew up?"
"Yeah."
"You used to get presents this way?"
"For thirteen years," Richie said, without a hint of shame.
"So now you are buying gifts for the children still there?"
"I've been buying gifts for a couple years, but this year I can afford more."
"That is why you took out so much money?"
"Yeah. I asked Ma. Yeah."
"You asked who what?"
"Nothing."
"Tell, your Papa. There is something on your mind."
"Nothing, really."
"Does it have anything to do with why you and Duncan were so standoffish last night?"
"It's no big deal. Come on, we got lots of ground to cover."
"Tell me, it will make you feel better."
"There's nothing to feel better about," Richie shrugged as he started walking to the toy store. "He's just big on teaching me lessons right now. I don't know why. I mean, obviously I can budget if I saved up this much for the stereo." He held up his wad of bills.
"This is your stereo money?"
"That's what Mac and I got into it about. I asked for an advance and he told me no; if I wanted to buy more presents I should take it out of my savings."
"That's very generous of you. Let's go get." he looked at the papers still in his hand. "A Ninja turtle action figure."
Richie got everything for the kids he chose and got the presents back to the tree before they left. They met Tessa, Duncan and Genevieve at the frozen pond in the park. Everyone went to rent some skates, taking ten minutes to convince Genevieve, and Richie sat on a bench to lace up the ones that he owned. Then they all got out on the ice. Richie shot off at top speed while Tessa and Duncan took their time with Jean and Genevieve.
"Come on, Tess," Richie encouraged darting in circles around her. "Stop hanging with the old people. Get out here where you belong."
"Richie, I'm not very good."
"Because you putz around the edge the whole time. You gotta get out on the good ice."
"That's okay, Richie, I'm just fine where I am."
"Maman?" Richie offered her hand. "You're braver than, Tess. You come."
"Fine!" Tessa took the bait. "I'll go." She took his hand and he took her out on the ice. He skated in front of her backwards and led her by both hands. He started out slowly, but soon had her screaming and laughing as she held on for dear life.
"Richie, slow down!" Duncan yelled as they zoomed past.
Finally Richie brought Tessa to a gentle stop beside everyone else.
She was laughing and panting as she tried to yell at him. "Don't you ever.."
"Come on, you had fun."
"Richard Ryan!"
He grinned at her. "Who's next?"
"I'll race you," Duncan offered, Richie's enthusiasm rubbing off on him.
"Okay, where to where?"
"From here around the rink and back stay on the outside."
"Cool. Someone judge."
"We all will," Genevieve offered. "So it will be fair."
"Sounds good," Duncan nodded. "Someone say go."
"GO!" Tessa chirped and the two shot down the ice.
Duncan was in the lead with Richie right on his heels. It looked like Duncan was going to win until they gained on a group of kids. Duncan slowed down to get around them, but Richie darted right though the middle at top speed. To everyone's surprise, not a single child was knocked down. Duncan started to catch up with him, but Richie had too much momentum built up and beat him by a little over a second. He had to stop so abruptly that he showered Tessa and her parents in ice shavings.
"Where did you learn to skate like that?" Duncan asked as he brushed ice off Tessa's jacket.
"Hockey," Richie answered, skating around the small group. "Is anyone else freezing?"
"Yes," Jean said. "Why don't you all get ready to go and I'll get us some hot chocolate."
"Sounds like a plan to me." Richie made his way off the ice and sat down to take off his skates.
Jean recruited Duncan to help him carry the hot chocolate. "You have a very selfless boy," he told him as they stood in line.
"What do you mean?"
"Richie spent three hundred dollars today."
Duncan sighed and rolled his eyes. "On what?"
"Five please. On gifts for orphans."
"What?"
"He wanted that money to buy gifts for some of the kids he left behind."
Suddenly Duncan felt very bad for yelling at Richie the night before.