Miss Giraffe, whose real name was Grace, sighed dramatically when Tony knelt on the sidewalk outside of the department store so she could climb off his shoulders. She seemed sad about having to say goodbye to her new friends.
"I had so much fun!" she chirped.
Tony, still kneeling so he was eye-level with Grace, raised an eyebrow, grinning at her. She giggled uncontrollably.
"Well, maybe we can have fun again sometime soon, 'ey? You, Miss Saffron and meself? Go to the park or the zoo!"
"Can we? When? When?" Grace squeaked, clapping her tiny hands together happily. She then wrapped her arms over her chest, shivering a bit. She was dressed warmly, but still felt the growing cold.
Tony hoisted her into his arms. The night had started out chilly, but the east wind was now blowing and the temperature had dropped dramatically.
Saffy, who'd been purchasing one last Christmas gift, now joined the pair. Mimicking Grace's arms over chest pose, she shuddered as a frigid gust of wind made the flags lining the store exterior flap and then stiffen as if they were all at attention.
"Brrrrrr! It's freezing out here!" Saff said, rubbing her hands against her coat sleeves. She reached up and gently pulled Grace's wool cap down until it covered the child's ears. "Are you cold, Grace?" she asked.
Grace nodded, quickly adding, "But Mister Tony is all warm!"
Saffron laughed, putting her hands into her coat pockets as she eyeballed Tony and Grace. Clearly, the little girl was absolutely smitten with him.
She wasn't alone.
"I'll bet he is," Saffy remarked, looking right into Tony's eyes. He looked away quickly.
Tony, a bit embarrassed at being the focus of the girls' attention, blushed and, with a short laugh, tried to make light of things.
"Say, Saff," he began, "Grace 'ere and I were thinking the three of us should go to the park or the zoo sometime soon. So she can see a real giraffe, 'ey? What d'you think?"
"I think we should go on Saturday," Saffron said with a smile. Then, leaning in towards Tony, she added, "We could play hooky just this one time, don't you think?"
Tony laughed.
"It'll be like me old school days," he joked.
"Miss Saffron, what's 'hooky'?" Grace asked innocently. "Is it a game?"
Tony and Saff exchanged a look, realizing they'd been put on the spot.
"Can we play it at the zoo?" the little girl went on.
"It's not a game you should ever play," Saffron said, trying hard not to laugh. "I was just teasing Mister Tony here. And I can think of much more fun things we could do when we go to see the animals. Tony, are we on for Saturday, then?"
"Wild 'orses couldn't keep me away!" Tony said, grinning.
"Yay!" Grace exclaimed, thrilled.
Seeing Grace try to pull up her coat collar against the wind, Saffy frowned, removed her own woolen scarf and carefully wrapped it around Grace's neck, mouth and nose. Then she tucked the ends inside the girl's coat.
"Better now?" she asked Grace, who nodded exuberantly.
Tony looked towards the street. A small bus was pulling up to the curb.
"Gracie, I think your ride's 'ere," he said. "Let's get you on the bus where it's nice 'an warm, 'ey."
Seeing the bus, the little girl suddenly wrapped her arms around Tony's neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"I'll miss you, Mister Tony!" she said, her voice a little muffled by the scarf Saffron had given her.
Tony blushed deeply and then gave his smallest fan a quick peck on her cheek. When he saw Saff watching them, obviously touched by the sweet scene, Tony felt his breath catch in his chest.
Now Grace put her arms out to Saffy for a hug. Tony carefully moved to where Saff could reach her. With a brilliant smile, Saff hugged the girl and gave her a kiss on the part of her cheek not covered by the scarf. Then she tenderly tweaked Grace's nose through the wool, which set the tot to giggling.
"I'll miss you, too, Miss Saffy. I like this warm thing you gave me."
Saff grinned.
"It's called a scarf," she told Grace, "and I think it looks lovely on you."
"Couldn't 'ave said it better meself," Tony remarked.
Seeing that the children were beginning to board the bus, he carried Grace over to her friends, taking pains to set her down gently. Saffron knelt down beside her and whispered in her ear.
"I hope Father Christmas brings you everything you want, Grace."
Grace gave Saff another big hug. Just then Mrs. McMillar, who oversaw the children's home, started lining the group up, so Saffron and Tony waved goodbye to Grace. But they spoke with another woman in order to arrange their coming Saturday zoo trip.
By now, the wind was howling.
"Want to get some coffee or tea?" Saff asked Tony.
"Absolutely," he replied.